AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #591 REVIEW

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN # 591

Writer: Dan Slott
Penciler: Barry Kitson and Dale Eaglesham (pages 5-8 lower tiers and pages 13, 14 and 20-22)
Inker: Jesse Delpergang and Barry Kitson (page 23)
Story Title: “Face Front Part 2: ‘Nuff Said!”

Plot

Headless Spider-Man. What’s going on at home. Peace achieved. Revelations. A Mayor is elected.

The Commentary

So it turns out I was both right and wrong.

(By the way, even though it has been a lousy secret I will be discussing the major plot point of this issue in detail so here’s your spoiler warning. Click “Read More” at your own risk.)

Towards the end of my review for issue 590 I made a passing comment about how I was worried that when the next issue rolled around the cliffhanger would have an unsatisfactory conclusion. My feeling was that when push came to shove Peter’s identity would remain unknown and a permanent wedge between the FF and Spider-Man would be formed. I was right in that the payoff to the cliffhanger was not Peter Parker standing unmasked before the Fantastic Four. I was wrong because Slott saved that unmasking for the end of the issue.

And in all honesty that works a lot better dramatically. Seriously. If the unmasking happened right at the beginning all of the comedic/dramatic tension between Johnny and Peter would have been lost. The emotional crux of this issue was Peter’s unwillingness to tell Johnny and the rest of the FF why they can’t remember who he is and the main plot of bringing peace to the Macroverse was largely unimportant except for the mirroring of Patronus revealing his “true identity” which brings about the previously mentioned peace. It all fit together rather nicely. This may be a little on the thin and possibly clichéd side but it works. I liked it. It wasn’t my favorite part of the story because there was a lot to like about this issue but Slott made a plot point that could have easily fallen apart something that really, really worked.

Peter pulling his mask off was powerful because you can tell how much he was wrestling with it and how much Patronus played into that decision. More than that the Spider-Man creators are finally…FINALLY dealing with the issue of why everyone forgot who Spider-Man really was. It was a small piece to a larger puzzle to be sure but given the pacing of this title it fits right in. I may not be happy at the pacing but at least the writers are consistent, which is important for the readers that are enjoying this series. The explanation was fairly basic but surprisingly it worked. The deal made with Mephisto set up a mental block that causes people trying to put two and two together about Spider-Man’s true identity to always get five. It does, however, bring up all kinds of questions the biggest being do Peter and Mary Jane remember the past? That’s extremely important but I am sure the writers will eventually get to it. Another important question is if, as Peter explains, everything comes rushing back do the FF (and the Avengers as I have been informed that Peter dropped the mask in that title as well) remember him being married? If the “psychic blindspot” has been removed when you see Peter’s face under the mask does it only bring back the adventures the heroes shared together or does it pull a Celine Dion and it’s all coming back to the hero now?

In the end this is a Spider-Man though and the questions feed into the soap opera that is super-hero comics. At least that’s how I see it. While I would love to know everything now I think that the journey might be worth it. It was in the case of Menace and the Spider-Tracer killers, speed bumps in Character Assassination notwithstanding.

The Final Analysis

I liked the story and I enjoyed the art. I would have preferred more than layouts from Kitson but at the same time you can’t go wrong with Dale Eaglesham. The scenes from “back home” were a great addition to the story and allowed Slott to get a lot of sub-plot development out of the way. Harry’s end of it was interesting, especially his relationship with Carlie, I liked the J. Jonah scenes and the beginning of May’s relationship with J.J.J. Sr. ended on a humorous note.

Then there was that last page.

Didn’t see it coming but liked it just the same. J. Jonah being elected Mayor is the cherry on top of the Norman Osborn being in charge of the Avengers sundae.

Things are looking very interesting for this title in the near future.

Very interesting indeed.

4 out of 5 webheads.