Amazing Spider-Man #8/809 Review: The Bogenrieder Perspective

“–I just want to find something that sticks for once.”

Amazing Spider-Man: The Thievius Raccoonus.

Amazing Spider-Man Vol 5 #8/809

“The Heist, Part 1”

Writer: Nick Spencer

Pencils: Humberto Ramos

Inks: Victor Olazaba

Colors: Edgar Delgado

Editors: Nick Lowe and Devin Lewis

Editor-in-Chief: C.B. Cebulski

Plot:

In a high-end club, Odessa Drake is approached by a banker, who tries to offer her a proposition; since he hasn’t been paying his cut, (Or in a more metaphorical sense, he isn’t paying up for the shady way he got his money.) it doesn’t really end in his favor.

Meanwhile, Peter and MJ are spending a day out in Smorgasburg, where it’s revealed that MJ is still on the job prowl as well, having been fired/quit from Stark Industries when he reformed it as Stark Unlimited. However, the plot timing fairy is aware of this, as Peter gets a call from Iron Man himself to talk to Spider-Man. Turns out they’re missing something, and it isn’t Spider-Man: rather, it’s everything but Spider-Man! Iron Man’s armors, (Even that weird Squirrel-themed Hulkbuster? That’s just desperate.) Cap’s shield, Thor’s hammer; you name it, they took it. As Peter runs off to play Spider-Man, with MJ saying she can take the subway home (She’s lying, the G train blows.) an off-panel figure appears to MJ’s surprise.

Meanwhile, Peter has fully suited up, only to realize mid-leap that the Thieves Guild has stolen his webshooters as well; thankfully, Black Cat has appeared and saves his neck. Turns out it wasn’t out of kindness; Felicia wants to settle the score.

Thoughts:

This is probably the first issue where I haven’t given Spencer’s ASM an A grade. Here’s where I explain why.

For one, let’s start off with some positives. For one, Humberto Ramos, with the exception of a few panels, actually does some really good art. Particularly, when it involves the action-based pages that Captain America and Thor are in; those are some of his best pages, period. That said, typical Ramos rules apply, so awkward anatomy and weird faces are to be expected. But, surprisingly, compared to a lot of his previous work, he puts on a good show; sadly, it’s just a reminder of how much I miss Ottley and how much funnier it would have been if he had been doing the interiors. (Which was one of my bigger draws to the series and determined that it would at least look good, and I’m glad he’s coming back after this arc.)

Second, Spencer totally nails the dynamic between Peter and Mary Jane. It’s a dynamic I’ve missed since the JMS run ended, and while they’re not married, Spencer keeps making constant hits that he’s going to at least address the marriage, if not outright restore it in some capacity. I don’t how to keep talking about it without sounding like a broken record, but if Spencer has proven anything with this book, he totally gets the romance between Peter and MJ.

Speaking of which, why don’t we go down the list of potential people that could be talking to MJ?

1. Jonathan Caesar: This guy is a relatively deep cut for Spider-historians, seeing as how he’s been dead for 30 years. But his resurrection by Centidemon would be in the pattern he has created in those who he resurrects to be used as a proxy in his game, and another man chasing her would put her relationship with Peter into perspective.
2. Carlie Cooper- As somebody who was abandoned in Slott’s run by Peter frequently so he could play Spider-Man, she has a reason to say this line. Not to mention that, given Spencer’s propensity for retooling BND characters, it would make sense that MJ would have a talk with an old friend about her relationship with Peter.
3. Cindy Moon/Silk- Cindy and MJ have never met in-universe as far as we’re aware; their relationship is one that, given Peter and Cindy’s… complications from Vol 3, and with Spider-Verse/Geddon over and done with, would be another sound person for MJ to talk to for perspective in her love life.
4. Centidemon himself- Disguised as any one of the others to try and sway MJ to his side of the game.
5. Aunt May and Jay’s Crack Dealer- Simply because Mark wouldn’t address the possibility.

That said, it’s time to talk about the negatives. For all the good, down-to-Earth stuff Spencer put in this comic, it certainly takes its time letting people who don’t read other titles what’s going on in the greater Marvel Universe. For one, the plot is very thin, leaving the meat to be left until the two other issues in this arc. Four pages are dedicated to one superhero each (Three if you don’t count Jarvis at Avengers Mansion) getting their stuff stolen, along with another two pages showing the Thieves Guild infiltrating Avengers Mountain (A development that only makes sense if you’ve been reading Aaron’s Avengers run), the Sanctum, and stealing Ghost Rider’s Hellcharger. It takes away from the more personal Peter-based story Spencer is trying to tell, and that didn’t sit right for me.

(There’s also the personal note that Doctor Strange and Ghost Rider can teleport their stuff right back to them. I’m willing to be more forgiving since the story isn’t taking itself so seriously, but it’s not something I’m willing to completely overlook. (Also, anybody who steals Frank’s stuff is asking for a Franking.))

I like this issue, as negative as I’ve been about it. But this is less an issue and more of a trade-based issue meant to set up the arc, which isn’t why we buy floppies. Black Cat has my interest, and it could go either way with this arc. However, this issue on its own doesn’t hold up to the high-quality bar that Spencer has set himself up for with his series. It’s okay, but it has enough hits against it that for the first time in the volume, we drop below an A.

Final Grade: B+

(I sincerely apologize for the late and brisk review this time around. I’m kind of running out of good things to say without beating a dead horse, and real life is catching up with me in all the wrong ways. So, hopefully, ASM 9 will turn out quicker and longer.)