THE GIST OF IT… The time has come Crawlspacers! Last April, we wanted to know what did Peter do? Why is Mary Jane not with him and with someone else? She’s a mom now?! Why was everyone so upset with Spider-Man?! Who caused all of this? (*cough* Editorial *cough*) Nick Lowe did promise us that all these questions would be answered! This “mystery box” holding down the storytelling for about A YEAR is going to be revealed and the question that will be on everyone’s mind. WAS IT THWIPPING WORTH IT!? Nick Lowe HOPED that the stories leading to this issue should have “made up for any anger and sadness you are feeling right now”. Well, you can wish is one hand and crap in the other and see which one gets spilled first. Let’s dive into what (I believe) Marvel Editorial thinks is best for you. (I HOPE I’m wrong.)
(Writer) Zeb Wells
(Artist) John Romita Jr
(Colorist) Marcio Menyz
(Editor) Nick Lowe
(EIC) C.B. Cebulski
Date Released 3/8/2023
Issue Number #21 LGY #915
Price Tag: $4.99
GRADE: C-
SUGGESTION: It didn’t need to be this way.
STORY: Peter wakes up thinking it’s Saturday, but really it’s Friday and he’s late for work (Classic Parker). Mary Jane and Paul are taking the kids to the park. Apparently the boy, Owen, hates the park and the girl, Stephanie (S’funny, I thought her name was Romy) is in deep thought about clowns having ears. Strange snowy weather has come to New York and so cometh the “Scribble Man” (Dr Rabin). Terrified, MJ tells Paul to run. Paul will ONLY come back to Mary Jane once “their children” are safe. Mary Jane calls Peter to warn him that Dr. Rabin has returned.
FLASHBACK TIME!
ONE YEAR LATER
Benjamin Rabin is a mathematician who summoned the Mayan deity Wayep in an attempt to merge with him and become “Kuhul Ajaw”. Wayep fought Spider-Man until it was too late for Rabin to complete the sacrifice to merge with him. This all took place in ASM #555 during the BND phase back in 2008. Imprisoned in The Raft, Rabin kills inmates that teleports him to MJ’s apartment (ASM #895, yep, he’s the glowing man outside the window). Rabin wants a mulligan* in becoming the Emissary, so he marks Spider-Man with “Vengeance” (because he’s the guy that yelled out “FOUR!” during his backswing the first time) and Mary Jane with “Sacrifice”. They are then both “SHZARK’ed” to what looks like an apocalyptic New York.
TIME LINE: If you are confused, allow me to explain. At least that’s how I see it. So when ASM (Volume 6) #1 came out Peter was left in a crater yelling and then the “mystery box” 6 MONTHS LATER appeared. Apparently all the events from issue 1-21 in this run happened within another 6 month ADDED to the previous “mystery box” 6 months. 6+6=12. There are twelve months in a year, so we are at the year mark. Ironic…since in reality, we have been waiting a year for answers.
WHY SO SERIOUS?: Remember that epic fight that Peter had with Wilson Fisk during the Back in Black event before OMD? He beat Kingpin within an inch of his life, in prison, with all the inmates watching. It was badass! All because Kingpin ordered the hit on Mary Jane (but it hit Aunt May instead). You harm Mary Jane or Aunt May, you are going to get a pounding by Spidey. Sure, he’s “Friendly Neighborhood”, but if you mess with a loved one, you are going to get “Angry Back Alley” instead. This issue fight with Rabin reminded me of that and it was enjoyable to read and see (props to JRJR artwork). I like that kind of writing from Wells in this standard.
NITPICK 1: Which unfortunately, it leads to my first nitpick. In ASM 556 (Wells wrote it) Spider-Man knew Rabin. So how does he NOT know who this guy is that he helped put away? Wells is clearly contradicting his own story here. I get it, Spidey does put a lot of bad guys away without knowing all their names and it’s been a long time (actually 15 years…look, don’t try to do the comic time math with real time, you’ll get a headache), but still pretty significant if you ask me.
PARENTING: As much as I hate showing images (and I’m not gonna) of Paul and MJ together, the panels of them heading out the door with the kids is pretty spot on accurate. I would be better if it were Peter and MJ, but I digress. As a father, I feel the burden and annoyance of getting snacks together for the kids just to go ANYWHERE. I never had snacks…it was Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner!
NITPICK 2: Her name is Steph, they call her Romy, she thinks that clowns without ears are pretty funny. I don’t understand what is with the name change. Is there a story behind this or is this Wells being lazy? Middle name, nickname, what?
MARKED: So Peter has been “marked” with VENGENCE! Mary Jane has been “marked” with SACRAFICE! There have been a lot of theories on the internet and our discord of how this is going to play out with Wells. Peter will act all vengeful and MJ will have to sacrifice something. I do have a problem with is because “Vengeance” is more like a Batman thing, than a Spider-Man thing. So does Spider-Man take this mark with responsibility, which is HIS M.O? What kind of sacrifices is MJ going to have to make? Honestly, this isn’t the issue we’ve been waiting for, it only raises more questions. However, given to where the marking on MJ’s wrist is, I’m guessing THAT’S how she got her slot-machine superpowers from.
CONCLUSION: Art was fair, but not JRJR best. Wells writing is just every which way you wanna take it. More questions than answers and more closesure for the writer’s creations, I guess. Spidey beating up the villain because he “harmed” his loved one, was good. Everything else…kinda “meh”. Also, how did Peter get in full strength again during that fight. Maybe his love for MJ gave him the second wing he needed, just would have been nice to acknowledge that.
* Dark Mark, “a mulligan” is simply a second chance shot when a golfer has hit a poor tee shot that they would rather forget. Ex: Dark Mark always calls for a mulligan after he enjoyed an ASM issue that featured another publish letter from The Chi-Town Spidey.
I have said before on this platform and on the podcast, that IF I’m not satisfied with the outcome, that I’ll drop this book. It has become abundantly clear that Marvel Editorial (The Dreaded Editorial Mandate) have returned after ASM (Volume 5) #60 was on the comic stands. For Dr. Strange to confront Mephisto on Peter Parker’s soul and then to make it all about Harry Osborn’s soul in ASM (Volume 5) #74, with a guest writer?! C’mon, did Marvel actually think we would be be completely oblivious to that? To recon Sins Past just because C.B Cebulski didn’t want Gwen Stacy (his favorite) reputation tarnished and not THE most dreaded Spider-Man story (OMD) in comic book history EVER? That’s ridiculous. Cebulski has even stated at C2E2 22′ that “Marvel will never disrespected Mary Jane in the comics.”. This entire run HAS disrespected Mary Jane (in my opinion) . Also, to write Peter Parker/Spider-Man as a lost cause, an unrelatable MAN-CHILD, and NOT the Spider-Man we are supposed to look up to!? This is basically BND 2.0 🙄.
The only thing good about this run was the Spidey villains (becoming more deadly) . I already touched on how Marvel character annihilated Ben Reilly. I lived through the 80’s to Back In Black storyline, read the past issues before my time and dropped the book when OMD hit the stands. The Crawlspace has gotten me through the Slott-Era for a decade and honestly, those stories could have been told with a married Spider-Man (I have picked up a few). Nick Spencer was about to FIX EVERYTHING (I got re-invested) about the character and he was on the road to accomplish that, until the Quesada “influenced” editorial staff came back. I’m not going to waste my time or money AFTER my rotating reviews of ASM #21-26. Speaking as a “TRUE” Spider-Man Fan (and I’m forever grateful for that). I’m not going to drive to my LCS and pay money for something I’m not going to be happy with and I encourage you to do the same.
Look, I have tried, both in my published letters and confronting Cebulski at C2E2 22′. At least I know, that I made several attempts in voicing my concern on the matter of how important Spider-Man and his supporting cast are. How essential their characterization are. Marvel haven chosen to ignore it, they CHOSE to live out their single-free glory days via a popular fictional character. Like Brad said, “Support the things you like.” …and drop the things you DON’T. I have heard from Marvel stating “Sorry, you don’t like the book” or “I can’t give an answer that’ll make you happy.” Fine. Then I’m sorry that I can’t make you happy by driving PAST my LCS, instead of to it. The funny thing is, I’m not the only one who thinks this. My fandom for Spider-Man is my passion. My fandom for Peter and Mary Jane is strong and swift when it comes to their characterizations.
Now, someone would probably retort something like, “You know Mary Jane is a fictional character right? She’s not real.”. That’s a whole new discussion for another time, but for now, I’ll let Jamie Lee Curtis argue that.
Me about MJ: pic.twitter.com/oJzjseeUqU
— comfort for mj 💭 (@thinkerjackpot) March 3, 2023
That being said, I will continue to contribute to the Crawlspace, so that’s not going away. I still enjoy annoying Dark Mark as often as I can and I’m sure he feels the same way, but even Mark has limits to this run and how much pain can “PainBot” Reed even take? This is just my personal take on the matter at hand, you can agree on it or you can keep ONLY eating the “Fun Dip” packages that Marvel wants the reader to eat, which ISN’T GOOD FOR YOU. It would be MORE REWARDING FOR YOU to have a well balanced meal. That would be RESPONSIBLE, which is what Spider-Man is all about.
Before we continue on, a message from our very own George Berryman and what he said after the Spencer run. It speaks volumes on foreshadowing the future. As always, Crawlspacers, I thank you for your time and your comments below. I just hope that by the time you get through this review, the grade for this issue will be worth while to you.
Alright Crawlspacers, Dark Mark has the next one
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It is truly amazing going through these comments and seeing how many people share my feelings on the state of Spiderman and OMD. I cannot for the life of figure out 15 years later they are STILL refusing to give Peter any proper character development.
To everyone complaining about Dark Web, I will say I thought there was a really great idea at the heart of that. And it could’ve been done in an interesting way. But I don’t think the crossover element worked. It really forced you to read all the tie-ins, which had a lot of the best material in it. And weirdly the tie-ins aren’t really finished yet. Mary Jane & Black Cat is still going on and the events of that series are set during Dark Web. I always felt that Spider-Man’s original tie in to Inferno worked because it was pretty self contained. This was the opposite.
I get the business angle. Force your readers to buy everything. But there are better ways to do that than literally forcing your readers to buy the entire crossover to enjoy it. It’s a very exploitative practice which people are smart enough to recognize.
I would’ve enjoyed Dark Web more if the X-Men stuff was it’s own story, the Spider-Man stuff was it’s own story, and reading both enhanced the experience, but wasn’t necessary. As it is, you had a very good idea (two wronged clones out for vengeance – one finds redemption, the other damnation) but the way it was written led to a story which just didn’t feel cohesive.
Right, This issue.
Very well written. As I’ve said before, Zeb Wells is an excellent writer, for all the criticism I’ve levelled at this Spider-Man run, I think he’s an extremely talented dude. And the characterisation here for Peter and especially Mary Jane is exactly on point. It was a joy to read.
And then we have Dr. Rabin. The “Scribble Man”. I’m a continuity geek, but I had to look this guy up. This choice as the big villain that Wells has trying to build up, the heart of this mystery, is a z-list villain. And to me, that’s clearly the wrong choice to make.
For two reasons.
Number One, the guy who finally causes Peter and MJ to break up should be a significant character. I don’t feel Dr. Rabin is it. Now, maybe Zeb Wells has change my mind with a truly unique take on Dr. Rabin but I have my doubts.
Secondly, this is a magical villain. And I just don’t want the reason for Peter and MJ not to be together to be magic. I have no problem with Spidey having adventures that involve magic, but he is a science fiction character. He got his powers from a science experiment, as did most of his core foes. To have such a significant development to happen because of magic doesn’t feel in keeping with the character. As much as fans hated the Mephisto deal because it broke up Pete and MJ, the other reason was because it based on magic, rather than something more in-keeping with the character.
If Pete and MJ aren’t together because of magic, that feel more like an artificial barrier, rather than something based on character development which has a chance of resonating with the readers.
Now, maybe Mr. Wells knows this, and he’s pulling a bait and switch on us. Maybe Rabin is just a decoy. Or, maybe this will deal with One More Day, and Rabin is just there to introduce the idea of magic (because if you’re going to deal with One More Day, then you have to have a story with a magical element to it). If either of those end up being the case, then I’m all onboard. As things stand at the moment though, I’m not optimistic.
So, I do think this issue is well written. I just think it’s the wrong story for why Peter and MJ broke up. I think they could’ve come up with something better and something more true to Spider-Man. But it’s only the first issue of the arc, so maybe we’ll get lucky, and I’ll be proven wrong.
@Chi-Town — I completely get the “I’m tired” hashtag. You and me both, buddy.
@michaels
If I recall correctly Morlum was only the focus of his first 3 issues arc and a an issue or 2 during the other crossover. Not really dozens of issues.
Yes the machinations were Harry’s robot self… Which in itself only appeared in one or two issues 😉 so point still stands.
I agree that the starting point of this current story doesn’t seem great. But I just want to point out that taking one of characters or losers and trying to do something with them isn’t a new phenomenon in Spider-man’s history.
Hell, marvel has become the king of doing that! Remember how Wolverine, Punisher or sabertooth started?
@Sthenurus- Morlun had appeared in dozens of issues by the time of Spider-Verse. And Spencer’s story was driven by the machinations of Harry Osborn, who’s a major Spider-Man character. Rabin was just a loser who never reappeared after the three-parter that introduced him.
@joshua
That’s pretty “on brand” for spider-man story to take old , sometimes forgotten stories and use them as a springboard for new ones.
The clone saga started with Ben coming back; a basically unnamed character from an issue over 200 issues old.
Spider-verse impetus was Morlum; a rather bland and forgettable vilain (at least at the time) than only appeared what, twice?
Even the entire Spencer’s run main mystery was based off sin’s past that we ALL wanted to forget!
I’m sure there are plenty more that.i . forgetting at the moment.
The problem isn’t to use a forgotten character from a 15 years old story, the problem is not doing anything good with it or not sticking the landing. ESPECIALLY when you use it to reopen old wounds and trying to split Peter and MJ yet again.
This arc is already off to a terrible start due to the laughably underwhelming reveal that Benjamin Rabin, a thoroughly unremarkable villain who only ever made *one* appearance in a highly forgettable story from 15 years ago, is the catalyst for Peter Parker’s life ending up in shambles. Was anyone clamoring for Rabin and Wayeb’s return? Does anyone care that they’re back? Better yet, does anyone even remember them? I knew Marvel wasn’t going to stick the landing with this mystery, but good lord, the answers so far are even more disappointing than I could have predicted.
I’m with Chi-Town on this. If I’m not satisfied with the outcome of this, I’ll drop this book. Still burned on the Spencer promise of fixing OMD, only to be overtaken by Editorial in the last minute.
Zeb Wells is kidding himself if he thinks the ‘What did Peter Do” mystery is even the slightest bit interesting. Although Spencer might have had us at ‘Kindred’ even that overstayed it welcome and never quite made its landing.
It’s been chore to read this book lately. Dark Web for me been the lowest point on this book’s run can think of. I am of the minority of kind of liking Slott’s Jackal / Ben Reilly twist, but the character should have ended there. Circle complete. This silly, eat the apple, talking mailboxes, and demons running amok, was atrocious.
Don’t even get me started on how stupid Hallow’s Eve is or MJ jackpot powers are.
All these efforts by editorial, of keeping Peter, as is, single, and with problems has kept ASM as the main, title lost, and without any true direction.
Part of the problems is ASM fixation on its own incredibly messy history with stories that continually revisit the character’s most hyped moments (clones, symbiotes, etc.). Each time Marvel announces that Spider-Man will be going “back to basics” i.e. BND, Spencer’s Run, Wells’ current take — we inevitably end up here, which is nowhere. The reason, is because The Amazing Spider-Man, despite being the main series about a supposedly relatable hero, hasn’t been interested in relating to anyone in a long time.
ASM is a listless series and as been for a while now. A twice-monthly labor of brand maintenance for me, that is continually kept from forming a beating heart. Yes, we are still reading, collectively keeping track of these decades-running twists and turns, and commenting on it here, but I find it hard to imagine this book winning any new readers.
After Dark Web, and what am anticipating will be an unsatisfactory conclusion to the What Did Peter Do story, it will lose this reader of the title of over 45 years.
Is that BND story a must read to follow this one? I stopped going to the comics shop as BND was starting. I’ve been following Spider-man’s progress (or lack of) mainly through Crawlspace reviews and the podcast. I’ve bought some runs digitally ( Superior, Spencer’s run, Beyond and now this ). Digital comics are ok with the exception that you don’t get a hard copy of the issue. I guess it’s a statement on the quality of the books that if I couldn’t do a quick download while sitting on the bowl, I probably wouldn’t be reading Spider-man at all.
I read the entire Brand New Day run, and I have no recollection of a Dr. Rabin or a Mayan deity called Walep (and I refuse to dig the back issue out of one of my long boxes) — so if, as a reader, I’m meant to be scared for Peter and Mary Jane, I think I’ve let Zeb Wells down.
I feels sort of telling that I remember everything from Brand New Day except the one thing that would ultimately prove relevant to the story later.
@Sthenurus: Glad you agree. Yes, this run could have gone a different way. A better way, but that editorial mandate just didn’t want that to happen.
@Michael: Good Eye! I didn’t see that in the recap page. There’s ANOTHER reason to justify my grading on this issue. You might be right though.
@Steve: I’ve asked myself that question and got the same answer. They put a pin on it to tell unearned “fun” stories first. It’s just a way to get MJ and Peter apart to go back to the BND phase. I’m not even convinced that this was all part of their grand scheme.
@Mark: If helping you out makes me cute, then I must be a handsome man by now. I get what you are saying and I agree with it, I just can’t get past the fact that this story (the grand scheme) didn’t need to be told this way because of editorial mandate. The kids name changing, the recap page info, even the publish letters from fans saying the thought Dark Web was “epic”. C’mon… You got the next one pal, so you might actually enjoy doing the review.
@Chi-tow “Also, to write Peter Parker/Spider-Man as a lost cause, an unrelatable MAN-CHILD, and NOT the Spider-Man we are supposed to look up to!? This is basically BND 2.0 .”
Well it’s a sequel to a BND story so of course it’s gonna feel like BND 2.0 😉
Seriously though, I 100% agree with you. I had hope for Spencer to acknowledge and “fix” OMD (although at that point I had little hope of having the marriage reinstated) and then the end of the run happened.
This new run has been meh to me at best. It’s not terrible but far from great either.
Side note: BND is now 15 yo, and we are starting to see stories referencing it, kind of like the clone saga during the Big time run. Does it mean they are now “classic” stories? I guess some people could have nostalgia for it, as it was a lot of newer fans entry into Spider-man’s world. The same way some of us have a fondness for the clone saga despite how mediocre it was on hindsight. I just hope they will be better treated than us!
I have to say… I liked this one. I’m trying hard to not hold the delay against the story here (which is hard to do). Maybe since I didn’t feel rushed to read it and review it, but I was able just take this story in as is. We have some connection with previous stories. That’s good. We didn’t waste time, either. Wells jumps right into the story and we now know who the glowing blood trail man is and why he is there. We also get a nice cliffhanger. Don’t get me wrong – I still fully expect this arc to let me down, but It was a great start! Lots of onomatopoeias! Plus, Paul seems to be a guy who has more to offer this story. He said something about her knowing the drill – he gets the kids to safety and meets back up with her. He has shown no powers at all, yet he appears to be ready for the fight. I am assuming that we will see him do some fighting or other brave acts in this flashback. I know you don’t like him and I only like him because he triggers you, but if he is going to be in this story, at least he can have some sort of purpose. B+ for me.
Oh, and you trying to explain to me what a word means. That’s cute.
Why couldn’t the run just start with the event? Why start a story in the middle, cut back to the beginning just to reach the conclusion? This mystery box has been a dark cloud over the book since the start of Wells run. It overshadowed every story. I think the last years worth of story would have been better accepted (except Dark Web) if the plot was played out linear.
I think that Peter was marked with “vengeance” because Rabin wants revenge on him for thwarting his scheme last time, not because Peter is vindictive. In Amazing 555-557, Wayeb needed two sacrifices- a man and a woman. Rabin wants to sacrifice Peter out of revenge and MJ just because she’s there. And it seems like since that didn’t work, now he needs to sacrifice the kids.
Note that the recap says this took place a year and a half ago but the story says a year ago.