THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #580
Spider-fans have made it to issue 580! Wow, our hero has come a long way. But at what cost? Under Quesada’s new direction, Spider-man has gone from the audacious hero he once was, to a state of retrograding imitation. Stern returns to the helm, entering the world of Brand New Day with a state of familiarity. And for the first time, I have admit to myself that I miss the old Spidey. Inconclusive, though I am, join me as I review this much anticipated issue. I don’t know what to think. I’m drawing blanks…
“FILL IN THE BLANK”
WRITER: Roger Stern
ARTIST: Lee Weeks
COLORIST: Dean White
LETTERER: VC’s Cory Petit
PLOT:
Peter’s venerable Aunt May is in trouble. While she is trapped in a bank held up by super-slick criminal the Blank, Peter fears for the worst. He can’t bear to lose his aunt. He cannot make the same mistake he did with his Uncle Ben. But, the Blank walks out of the bank, confident and boisterous, just as Spider-man arrives to stop him.
Slipping away from Spidey’s clutches, literally, the Blank heads to his hotel room where he basks in money and greed. Peter, now reunited with Ray Donavon from his days at the Globe, becomes fearful and frustrated with the fact that his aunt nearly died. Donavon then invites Peter to a news briefing dealing with the robberies of the Blank.
Later, the Blank attempts to rob an armored car. Donavon discovers the vacuous-faced villain just as Spidey comes to the rescue. But how can Spider-man stop a villain smooth and glossy enough to slip out of his webs? With more webs, of course! Peter saves the day and decides to treat his aunt to some Italian cuisine, realizing that the future is blank and unpredictable. He doesn’t know what it will bring for him and his Aunt May, but he will always be there, rain or storm, to protect those he loves.
LIKES:
Weeks’ art is a fresh merriment!
DISLIKES:
The story was just okay, lacking qualities that could augment the tone of Amazing.
THOUGHTS:
I really don’t know, folks. Despite my disagreement on Brand New Day, I tried to retain a positive attitude, a constructive enthusiasm for my favorite hero of all time. But these post Brand New Day stories seem too fraudulent and insincere towards the mythos and tone that makes up the essence of Spider-man.
Anxious for the issue, and eager to read a Stern story, I read 580 with high hopes. I am sorry to say I was not happy with it. Stern knows how to establish a firm story, but he can never seem to give his tales an engaging element, a quality that draws readers into the story. There is no class or relevance to this hasty plot, nothing that makes it out of the ordinary. I enjoy to read a Spider-man story that has deeper meaning, themes, metaphors, elements that have always given Spider-man an epic quality in the past. Elements that have allowed Spidey to connect with readers, making him one of, if not the, most iconic comic book heroes of all time.
Of course, Stern used his West Coast Avengers to bring back the Blank, one of the most dullest villains, in my opinion, to face Spidey.
What was very disappointing was the abounding feeling of hopelessness spreading through my mind. For the first time, I read Amazing and put the issue down with disgust. I had aspirations for Brand New Day, but I don’t think Spider-man is getting anywhere. Spider-man used to be the best, no exceptions, title I would collect and read. But I can’t help but feel Spider-man slipping, no pun intended, from the grasp of the portrait hero. This isn’t who Spidey is supposed to be. This review was intended to discuss Stern’s return to Amazing, but instead, I find myself criticizing the deformations of Brand New Day. I feel as though I am approaching the review too harshly, but sometimes, fans become fed up with a comic series, especially one that disregards an established mythos and transforms the hero into anything but what he was praised to be.
One thing I did find interesting, though, was Stern’s use of frustration and anger as seen through Peter’s rather out of character reaction towards Ray Donovan. Sure, he is worried about his aunt, but it felt like anger-black-suit Spidey. The last issue with Mark Waid did have a bit of that atypical irregularity as well, but it seemed a bit more believable. Furthermore, Peter’s repetition of his deceased Uncle Ben was something I wasn’t used to seeing. Before Brand New Day, Peter Parker grew and matured into a hero who put the past behind him but retained his vow to use his powers for good. But now, with that past erased and altered through Peter’s “deal with the devil,” he regards Uncle Ben’s loss as though it had happened yesterday, which makes me wonder what other aspects of Spidey’s life have been altered. Harry’s back, Mary Jane is gone, and Spidey has mechanical web shooters again, but can Gwen Stacy still be alive? Could Uncle Ben’s death be different? One thing is for sure, with Brand New Day, we may never get the answers.
RATING:
2 out of 5 for the story, 4 out of 5 for the cover.
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After reading this story today, I put it down and wondered how long it will take for me to forget this one-shot story. I have to agree with the review, the story is ‘eh, the art and cover are very good. Too bad, I loved Roger Stern’s run tremendously on both Amazing and Spectacular. If this is indeed a holdover story from the 1980’s, I can see why it was not used during that timeframe, it simply was not up to the level of quality he delivered then. Hopefully Roger will pick it up with the other stories I hear he will be doing…
I thought the issue was fantastic! Not just Stern’s writing but Weeks’ art as well. And, I must say, I have thoroughly enjoyed every issue but one (Punisher one-shot issue) since the “Ana Kraven” story last summer; I personally think this title has been very good to great ever since then. I also am looking forward to next week’s Molten Man story that will explain Harry’s resurrection. 4 webheads!!
I loved the issue. The art was fantastic. It was refreshing to have a self contained one issue Spider-man story again. The story was very nostalgic in a good way.
Stories like this one make me wish they’d bring back Untold Tales of Spider-man. Rotate the creative teams like they do with Amazing and have past writers tell stories they wanted to tell with Spider-man and get JRJr to draw it.
PLEASE SOMEONE DRAG STRACZYNSKI’S SORRY ASS BACK HERE SO HE CAN UNDO THE DEVIL-WHAMMY HE LAID ON THE SPIDER-MAN MYTHOS?!? It’s amazing (no pun intended) how he brought sales up when he came in, and took those sales with him when he left the atomic bomb upon his departure! PUNK!
Aren’t ALL comics ultimately “just filler?” 😉 Personally, I thought this issue was alot of fun, The art was excellent, (I particularly liked the image of Spidey flipping over the armored car.) and the Blank makes a great addition to Spidey’s
“B-List Rogues” gallery (along with guys like Shocker and Hydroman.)
I’m curious why everyone tends to associate “Black Costume Spidey” with anger; as far as I can tell the alien costume never made Spidey “angsty and violent” (it just took him out for web-slinging while he was asleep.) Wasn’t the anger thing
was just a 90’s cartoon creation?
Okay, first of all, it’s nice to see Uncle Rog gracing the pages of Amazing Spider-Man once again. Also, I find it quite refreshing that, in an age of decompressed storytelling, he manages to crank out a self-contained 22 page story with a beginning, middle, and end in a single issue–something which has become increasingly rare these days. However…
Mr. Stern, back in an interview he gave on the Spider-Man crawl space podcast, said that this particular story was something that he had in the works for Amazing Spider-Man back when he was the regular writer 24 to 25 years ago. And therein lies the big, BIG drawback to this story. For all intends and purposes, this issue read like a reprint of a story from 24 to 25 years ago.
Oh sure, there’s a couple of tidbits here and there to update it, such as usage of cell phones, the mortgage crisis, and nods to the current status quo and what not, but other than that, this is a story that’s circa 1983 or 1984. Sort of like how the early Spider-Man Marvel Age stories written for kids were basically reworked versions of the original Stan Lee and Steve Ditko stories only with different artwork, scene arrangement, and updated references. After all, when you have a cannon fodder villain like the Blank who hasn’t appeared in the comics since West Coast Avengers #3 and make it seem like he hasn’t been out of action for a couple of months–even though in real time it’s been a quarter of decade–it’s pretty hard not to think this.
Granted, I know there are folks who will be appreciate of this kind of nostalgia, but otherwise this easily came across as filler. Harmless and tightly written filler, but filler nevertheless.
Ben, you are absolutely right about the spider tracer. I totally missed that, lol. I don’t know what I was thinking.
However, I just want to mention that I wasn’t complaining about Stern’s use of Uncle Ben. I was simply pointing out that I was rather surprised at his use and placement of the mechanism. Over the years, especially in the early Stracynski run, Peter seemed to establish a balance between his guilt and crime fighting with enjoying his life. He matured, not forgetting about his uncle. I am sorry the way I worded that. Apparently, people have misread my true intentions.
But, Ben, you have to admit that Spider-man has matured and has been able to move on, never forgetting, but also realizing that he is human. Brand New Day, though, has moved Peter back to his previous mentality, somewhat, hence my disscussing the whole matter.
Hm. I really enjoyed the issue. Mostly because of the art – that opening picture is awesome, and I loved the way Weeks drew spider webs. There is this nice angle web near the end of the story that is just beautiful.
Stern’s story was alright. The villain was a bit lame, I agree, and I didn’t see a point in having these pages of him in the hotel room. That didn’t contribute to the story at all. Neither does his backstory do much unless he is going to be a major player in the BND universe. Let’s hope not. But seriously, I enjoyed most of it. It’s a one-issue story, but it felt at time like more things happened than in most other issues. The only problem is BND. I don’t feel like I know this Spider-Man. And I honestly don’t know anything about his ambitions or any of the other characters. This is a different universe than the “Amazing Spider-Man”. They just put the title on it to sell it better. I’m still waiting for the real Amazing to come back … as sad as this sounds …
Kinda feel self-conscious about the ‘shame on you, Mr. Stern’ bit. I wrote that way too hastily, and wish to retract it. I’m more frustrated with how disjointed the series reads from issue to issue, not with RS’s style. His 4-year run was killer and without the backdrop of BND, #580 was a tight read.
“One thing I did find interesting, though, was Stern’s use of frustration and anger as seen through Peter’s rather out of character reaction towards Ray Donovan. Sure, he is worried about his aunt, but it felt like anger-black-suit Spidey.”
Peter was doing that to secretly plant a spider tracer on Donovan. I don’t think you were really paying attention…
And Spider-Man should never put his past so far behind him that he forgets about the lesson he learned from Uncle Ben’s death. Complaining that he mentioned Uncle Ben is absolutely insane.
I’m really interested in your review as well, Brad. Always good to have another take.
Ok gang, I haven’t done a review of a book in a looooong, looong time. I’ve been waiting for Stern’s return for 20 years. I’m going to my local comic shop and if they have a copy I’ll post my version of the review. 2 webheads? WOWZA!
Retrograding imitation… your words, bjohns, and probably nearer to how I felt after putting this issue down. And oddly enough, I started thinking how BND really has regressed Spidey. We lost something essential in BND, something more then a marriage, or maturity, or even a past… we lost perspective, the very viewpoint of this character has been taken from us. There’s nothing grounding this series now. It’s floating around aimlessly or moves explosively as some scalar, but as some quasi-lifeform void of any observer in science or something. They’re just not connecting the dots anymore, a telltale sign that ASM could care less about it’s readership right now.
Roger Stern wrote a story that had nothing to do with BND; but he also wrote this story as if nothing ever happen since he left the book way back in the eighties!!! Shame on you, Mr. Stern!!! Taking advantage of Spidey’s current degraded state!
That said, Web-Head has some valid points. It’s only one issue, how much are we suppose to expect?
I tried to keep reading the series long enough to get to this issue, because the idea of Roger Stern comming back was pretty interesting, but I couldn’t make. It looks like I’m not missing much, though. Keep up the great reviews!
Seriously? I loved this issue. It was for me what I love in a Spidey story: Nothing too trivial or groundbreaking, just a fun, entertaining story that satisfies on all accounts.
I try and not be biased toward either side of the BND line no matter how god-awful OMD was. I just judge on whether the story alone and by itself works. And I thought this one was great.
Welcome to the ever growing club of people who are dropping Brand New Day Spider Man Bjohns. Its a disgrace of everything Spider Man stood for.