Rain, MJ, and Peter – what more do you need to know? Well, actually just forget all of that and let’s jump into so good old fashion Tombstone and Norman goodness! See you on the other side of the credits, dear readers. This is a good one!
Credit Where Credit Is Due
Story Title: Did we just get rid of these? We got onomatopoeias back and had to trade off titles? OK, I going with… “What Do You Want on Your Tombstone?”
Writer: Zeb Wells
Pencils: John Romita Jr.
Inker: Scott Hanna
Colorist: Marcio Menyz
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramanga
Cover Artist: John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna, and Marcio Menyz
Asst. Editors: Lindsey Cohick and Kaeden McGahey
Editor: Nick Lowe
Published: May 25, 2022
Remedial ASM 101
Wow! If you didn’t read #1, well… Let’s see, six months ago some glowy guy that looks like, but can’t be, the Lightmaster approached Peter and MJ and said the trail of blood led there. Then flash forward to Spider-Man having exploded some device and sitting in the middle of devastation. Flash forward six whole months and Peter is just returning to his life. Aunt May is mad. Randy is pissed and getting married, but not pissed that he’s getting married, just pissed at Peter for leaving him with the rent, the Fantastic Four is mad because apparently he stole something from them six months ago. Oh, and a gang war. You know, just go back and read Chi-Town’s review for the rest. There’s a letters page or something like that.
The Story – Pay Attention, This Will Be on the Test
We start off with JR Fettinger, I mean, Norman coming to Peter’s apartment to offer him a job. Peter takes him up on it with no details and that turns out to just be babysitting Norman’s grandsons. Tombstone begins to ditch his more cultured side in order to better deal with this gang war. Peter, once he finishes his child care services, heads out and confronts Tombstone, but by the time he got there, Tomby had completely wiped out Crime Master’s gang. Spidey attacks and after a fight with Tombstone, finds himself trapped in a truck which takes him to a warehouse.
What Passed and Failed
PASS – Norman – more about this in the analysis, but I am hoping that if Wells can continue to write him like this, he is a major part of this story line.
PASS – Tombstone – This rather flat character is really showing some depth here. I love how he is trying to be a good dad, in his own way, of course, and how he is trying to keep his daughter from seeing who he really is, not in a deceptive way, but in a loving way. I didn’t piece together that it was his teeth that were off in the last issue, but this issue addresses it by showing that he is removing his caps in the most manly way possible to embrace his inner Tombstone.
PASS – Costume change – OK, I’m sure we’ve seen this in recent comics, but it feels like I haven’t seen him just jump in an alley and change clothes lately. This scene just felt like I was reading some ‘80s era scene. I’m sure it was just me. Feel free to tell me how silly I’m being here.
PASS – This henchman – I think it’s great that even though he’s the bad guy, he doesn’t shoot at Spidey.
PASS – Crime Master’s stupid commentary – during the fight between Tombstone and Spidey, he makes a few remarks that don’t try to steal the spotlight, but add much needed humor and depth to the scene.
FAIL – A question mark at the end – Of course it’s going to be continued. Why is this even here? It’s not like we saw Spidey die and they are trying to pretend it’s real. Just annoying.
Plus I think this is another misleading ending. I think Tombstone wants Spider-Man’s help and doesn’t know how to properly ask him.
PASS – No letters page – You guys can’t even begin to understand how obscenely obnoxious Chi-Town gets when gets yet ANOTHER letter published by Lowe.
OOTI (Onomatopoeia of the Issue)
Lots of great noises to pick from. I might have to start wearing ear plugs!
On a scale of 1 (POW) to 10 (BLRKBQRKPQRBLNB), FUMP rates a 6. Nothing fancy, but a decidedly different sound for punching the gut than for punching the head. I appreciate that ear for detail.
Misleading Covers
There is no MJ. There is no rain. This cover has three items on it and only one appears in the comic! However, as I did not like this cover, I am fine with it not being what the issue was about.
Analysis
Norman – There is a lot more here than just a throw away babysitting joke. Norman’s sins being taken away does not mean he is a good guy. Norman is still Norman. Here we see that while he is not the Green Goblin, he’s still the prick we know and love. I may be just adding to my own head canon here, but the fact that he is still the jerk he was before that this shows his ‘deal’ with Mephisto isn’t what made him who he is. He was already there. The deal just opened some easier pathways for him. The exchange between the two of them was funny and felt organic. Plus, this scene reminded me of when Chi-Town showed up at my door step a while back.
I also liked how the editor’s box was used to let us know that the job they were referencing happened during the six months span.
Tombstone – He dominates the fight between him and Spidey. Some may have this as a con, but not me. Tombstone is tough and in this scenario, he has all the advantages. Spider-Man is in a tight spot and can’t use his agility. Tombstone was prepared for this while Peter is playing it by ear. Tombstone took a beating – granted, Peter being in a tight spot impacted his ability to strike his hardest and doesn’t impact his ability to squeeze.
The Six Months – The success of this arc largely depends on what caused the big explosion and why he was out of sight for six months. However, until the reveal, I plan on enjoying the ride. The first two issues are fantastic! Plus, we have a new mystery to figure out (and no, Evan, I’m not doing a chart on it – I’m done with charts)!
Here’s what we know:
There was an explosion – from the looks of it, it may be something that Peter failed to stop, but from the tag line (What did Peter do?), it may have been something Peter did intentionally.
Peter stole from the FF – what did he steal? No telling. Maybe the explosive. Maybe a trans-dimensional device to get to where ever the explosion happened.
Peter was gone for six months – and during that time he didn’t stay in contact with Randy and, my guess at least, he didn’t stay in touch with Aunt May, which is why she is irritated with him.
Peter owes a lot of money – the debt collector is harassing him and his loved ones. My guess is that this has nothing to do with the six months and is merely the bills he owes the hospital. The fact that Peter was gone for six months means that the debt collector has started to expand his efforts to friends and family.
MJ and Paul – I really believe that Paul is Mysterio and is trying to help MJ hide somehow. I also think that he is hoping that she will come to love him and his fake kids (I’m betting robots) and when this is over and she tries to leave, he is going to try and stop her and keep her against her will.
Norman – he helped Peter somehow during this time. Did he get the explosive? Did he get the robot kids? Something else? Whatever it is, I love that everyone wants nothing to do with Peter, except Norman!
What did I miss?
Extra Credit
The henchman who won’t shoot Spider-Man has an interesting design on the back of his head. Should I have recognized it?
Also, don’t forget to create YOUR title for the issue since Lowe and Wells have dropped that ball!
Final Grade
I love this whole comic. Bring me more of this, Marvel!
A
What’s Next?
I know that this is just #3, but did you notice that it’s LGY #897? That means something big is RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER! There are things you don’t know about Tombstone. Neither you, nor Spider-Man, will ever forget them.
Assuming Chi-Town has recovered from the Paul panels of #1, he should be covering this (he has the odd numbers because, well, he’s odd). What a cover! I’m loving it already! Now watch it be all about Paul and MJ! I’m keeping my fingers crossed!
‘Nuff Said!
Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts
Spotify
Pandora
Amazon Music
iHeartRadio
Podbean
Amazon Alexa
Player.fm
Listen Notes
Stitcher
I think I share the opinion of most people posting. Good story and good character work. Tombstone is portrayed as an interesting villain and “Good” Norman is an intriguing character.
But the cover is a complete mislead, and everything related to the new status quo is pretty much avoided. And the comic is probably better for it, but we’ll have to make our way back to that stuff eventually, and I’d rather they’d not annoying tease us about MJ like they did in the last issue by showing her with kids but with no explanation and planting her on the cover here when she doesn’t appear in the book. It’s a cheap trick, and it really isn’t enjoyable for the reader.
This issue was actually pretty good, but that’s probably because it minimized the new status quo, which is a negative overall in that every issue cannot do this.
Cons:
The cover. I kept waiting for a Peter/MJ interaction, or a phone call, or at the very least an MJ/Paul appearance. But nothing. I understand most covers nowadays are pretty generic, but this cover addressed a plot point which was not addressed/mentioned in this issue. Very annoying.
Norman pinching Peter’s cheek when he tells him “Don’t be late.” I don’t care if this is the “good Norman” and he’s a grandfather. This is just wrong.
Normie’s age has always been fluid, but Stanley looks a lot bigger than the last time I saw him. When was the last time we saw Stanley? Whenever it was, it feels like he was a baby then. Kids grow a lot in 6 months, I guess.
I was pleasantly surprised that Norman’s “job” for Peter was babysitter, so I was disappointed that we didn’t get to see any of his time with the kids. This would have been some nice proto-parenting time with Peter (although current Marvel probably would have hit us over the head with examples of how bad Peter was trying to parent other people’s children, so of course he shouldn’t have kids of his own).
The “letters page” was actually a 2-page interview with the EMT son of a Marvel letterer??? Yes, it was nice to read about someone who’s actually saving lives in their job, but what is this doing in a Spider-Man comic? I’d much rather have 2 more pages of story (even if it was just to check in on MJ and Paul).
Over the years The Amazing Spider-Man has become just a bunch of disparate comic book stories. Often rehashings. No ongoing character development. Not much point in maintaining a historical collection of this title anymore.
@Evan, @Chi-Town, @Sthenurus, and @Robin MB
Evan – Your appreciation of proper punctuation is noted and held in high regard by the Crawlspace Committee on Good Grammar, though since Chi-Town is the chair of that committee, some may see it as less than an honor. Not me, though! Gold stars on your chart!
Oh crud! I mentioned ‘chart’ again! I’ll work in some Crawlspace odds soon!
I also like it when we have different takes on an issue. Spider-Man has been going on for 60 years, and has had many incarnations. They can’t all be as good as the Electric Company version, but they all speak to a particular crowd of fans. I imagine it must be even harder for a fan of Batman, who has 90-ish years of versions of the character. As for me, I love this Spidey vs. Tombstone/Tombstone vs. Rose type stories. And, as an added plus, Wells seems, at least to me, to have a good grasp of Peter’s character and the character of the supporting cast and villains. This doesn’t feel like the writer of Shed to me.
Chi-Town – Of course you would be someone who would order a filet-o-fish. If the next issue is about MJ, then it seems for certain that Lowe messed up on cover and solicits designation. I bet there is some story behind the scenes there. Wonder if we’ll ever hear it. I’ve never cared one bit about White Rabbit or Tombstone, but I am so liking this pairing right now.
Better banter than I “spew” at you? You wound me, sirrah. I have never been anything but kind to you, best buddy! As it is my anniversary today, I am in a forgiving mood and will ignore your insolent jabs in my direction.
Sthenurus – Sad to hear that you are not enjoying it. I am wary about the reveal of what the six months had. How long they wait for the reveal is probably almost equal in importance as the actual reveal itself. I’m remaining hopeful in my doubt that Wells is going to pull it off.
Robin MB – I’m not a fan of the art either, but the story is compelling enough so far that I am able to get past it. It’s consistent enough, so my eyes are adjusting to it. I say give it a try before dumping it!
Still not sure I am down for this run. Still have both issues being held at my lcs. I could almost try to get with the story but I really can’t get behind the art I’m sorry
So far I am not loving it. I HATE stories that start with a time jump, a huge change to the status quo and a big mystery that will make everything click when revealed. Reminds me of omd and we all now how that turned out.
I felt that this issue was missing something. It felt like I ordered a Filet O Fish and got a Whataburger. Nothing against the Whataburger, I ate it, enjoyed it, but I DID order the Filet O Fish. I’m just saying! So basically, Marvel has just confirmed that the reader has NO clue on what is going to happen in the next issue, putting a new spin on “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.”. I didn’t like the cover as well, but still want to know WHAT HAPPENED to “The Best couple in comics”. It reminds me of BND when sales starting going down and then they brought back MJ in the “Red Headed Stranger” arc and she was barely in it, but the covers said otherwise.
I give this issue a B. Not sure HOW Peter got pudding in his mask..but I digress. I right there with you between the exchange of White Rabbit and Spidey, I want more. It’s better banter than you could ever spew at me, that’s for sure and you got me hungry for Tombstone Pizza. Nick did say he was doing something different on the letters pages and I’m glad I wasn’t featured on there. Greatness needs to take a day off every now and then.
@Mark — I’ve tried to think of a better story title, but “What Do You Want on Your Tombstone?” is better than anything I’m able to come up with right now. Plus, it demonstrates how to accurately place a necessary question mark.
Oh, c’mon, just one more chart! Okay, I’ll settle for some Crawlspace Odds.
After seeing Ryan’s review, it was pleasantly surprised to see so much praise for this issue. I love it when multiple reviews for the same issue result in different grades. I’m intrigued by your Mysterio theory, but, while that would be a straightforward explanation (and, presumably, resolution), I’m going to take it at face value for now and suppose that Paul and his children are actual, true-to-life humans — although, I wouldn’t put it past Mysterio to know how to push just the right buttons to make his illusion especially convincing and appealing specifically to Mary Jane.
I really hope the pay off for this story is worth it. Someone commented on the previous issue that (in my own words, from memory) this sort of narrative is cheap, in that creates interest by filling in the blanks retroactively, rather than being a story whose events themselves are interesting enough to drive the narrative forward, and that made me think of the old “mystery box” approach of our friend J.J. Abrams. It seems a variation of that. I just hope we don’t get the Spider-man rendition of “A good question — for another time.”
With all that said, I’ll enjoy the ride, as Chi-Town says — though I wonder if after next issue he’s going to regret inspiring me with that approach.
@Joshua Nelson, @Michael, and @Aqu@
Josh – I’ve never had much in the way of excitement for Tombstone, but I’ve got to hand it to Wells here. He’s pick a character that has been pretty flat and decided to flesh him out a bit. And I like seeing that villains have lives outside of just being villains. I also like that it doesn’t have to be a end of the world/universe/multi-verse scenario for the villain to be tough. As far as the Peter/Norman dynamic, I’m quick to forgive things that may seem out of character if it is enjoyable (a fault of mine), but I don’t think this is quite out of character completely. For one, Peter probably feels a bit guilty about the whole Harry ordeal that Kindred brought up in him and with Norman supposedly back to just being the father of his former best friend, there is probably enough guilt there to push Peter into interacting with him. Plus Norman helped save MJ from Kindred. But more importantly – something happened in the six months. Peter had to humble himself to go to Norman to ask for help. What that could be, I don’t know. That’s going to be a hard teaser to make good one, but for now, I feel like Peter has put himself in a position where he feels his fate is tied in with Norman’s for the time being. I still felt like Peter didn’t like the position he was in, but certainly felt like it gave Norman the upper hand here. We’ll see how it progresses. I might get to where I hate it or maybe you’ll start to enjoy it. I don’t have a lot of faith that the finish will be as good as the build up.
Michael – Peter has always been gullible when it comes to believing villains. Also, he’s not on his A game here, so I believe that he blundered into this trap. It works for me. As for the costumes, I sure hope these guys are running around naked somewhere in New York! There is some big build up for a Sinister Six robot of sorts for the #900 issue, so I guess this is a tease for that. I don’t read the previews and try to stay spoiler free, so that’s all I know about that.
@Aqu@ – I liked the editor box because in one small corner, they let us know that this reference was to the six months and let the story just continue without cluttering it up with what would be needless exposition for them. I would have assumed that he was talking about the Kindred event, but the box lets me know otherwise. Worked for me at least, but I see your point too. It sounds like the teaser and cover for #3 was really in reference to this issue, so I wonder if #3 will be all about Peter and MJ? Hmmmm…… Nick Lowe realized that Chi-Town is reviewing only the odd number issues and since we know he likes to troll Chi-Town, he switched everything up! It’s a theory… 🙂
As I already commented in the preview, I found that editor’s box very silly.
We get it, Lowe: we should be very excited for this mistery. It shouldn’t be you to tell us, but the narration itself.
Interesting theory there, Mark, with the association of Paul and Mysterio.
About that cover, here’s the solicit for this issue:
• The best couple in comics is done?
• You aren’t going to believe what is happening in this volume of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN.
Does this qualify as mendacious advertising? It’s quite borderline, in my opinion. And considering the resonance of that scene in last issue, following with a cover like this is marketing at its manipulative worst.
I thought Peter was too gullible when White Rabbit told him where Tombstone was:
Peter: I must remember that White Rabbit is friends with Tombstone’s daughter and probably more loyal than the average goon.
White Rabbit: You caught me. I’ll tell you where Tombstone is. I pinky swear it’s not a trap.
Peter: Well, if you pinky swear, I guess it’s not a trap.
White Rabbit might as well have asked Peter if he’d been considerate enough to enter the death trap that she and Tombstone had worked on for so long.
Note that Tombstone and White Rabbit had a Goblin Glider last issue and they have Mysterio’s and Electro’s costumes this week. Why are they making a habit of collecting super villains’ costumes and equipment? The obvious explanation is that they helped the mystery villain capture the Sinister Six but then why remove Mysterio’s and Electro’s clothing? Maybe they’re working with Roderick Kingsley to franchise super villains? Or maybe it has something to do with whatever Chasm’s powers are? (We saw him working with Madelyne Pryor in the FCBD issue but she’s helping the New Mutants in the current arc. Everyone assumed that the FCBD issue takes place after the current New Mutants issue but maybe that’s Ben’s power? The psychoactive goo can create a duplicate of any villain but he’s needs their costumes to get an impression so he can do it or something like that?)
As somebody who has lost all faith in Marvel (and still thinks they’ll end up ruining this run somehow), I must admit that I really enjoyed this issue. Tombstone is easily one of Spider-Man’s most underrated villains, so I love how he is being portrayed here. He is a tough-as-nails, yet crafty criminal and this issue shows just how dangerous he truly is.
However, the one thing that I didn’t like about this issue (aside from the misleading cover) was the Peter Parker/Norman Osborn dynamic. Cleansed of his sins or not, Peter should still want to punch Norman’s daylights out on sight. This man has caused Peter more pain than anyone else on the planet, so this odd compliance/civility he is currently showing him doesn’t work for me.