Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #5 (2017)

Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #5 (with review’s thoughts)

Writer: Chip Zdarsky

Artists: Adam Kubert

Colorist: Jordie Bellaire

C.Artist: Adam Kubert and Jordie Bellaire

Editor-in-Chief: Alex Alonso

The issues starts off…

With Vulture holding Mason by the neck ready to swoop him away for the Tinkerer.  Teresa is not having that so she grabs a web shooter, fires it, and off they go into the night sky.  Spidey fires webbing in the lab to smoother the bombs from going off and has some effect, not much.  Lab explodes, but Spidey is holding the roof over his head, costumed ripped, in order for Uatu to get clear.  How many times have we see that situation where Spidey is holding the roof up.  It’s like a signature Spidey move.

Teresa wings are disabled by fires another webline at Mason and then they fall.  While they fall Mason quickly fixes her wings…in mid free fall….and they swoop to safety before they go splat.  Spidey and Uatu make it out safe and the Vulture returns to finish the job.  Spider-Man is ticked and let’s vulture know and feel it.  Vulture knows that and flees.

Thoughts:  Meh..I can deal with it.  This entire scene felt okay to me.  Zdarsky did put a lot of footnotes in there.  Peter still has his PI suit on which annoys me and once again takes the fight seriously after the ordeal that he just went through.  Vulture picked up on that vibe and knew when it was time to run.

Peter knows that Mason is not safe so the only place he can think of to keep him safe is Aunt May’s.  Aunt May takes him in, but is annoyed with Peter skipping out on her all the time.

Thoughts:  I didn’t like this!  At All!  This is classic Peter “Man-child” Parker in this scene.  Dumping his “protecting issues” on his Aunt and then bailing.  Congrats doofus, you just endangered your Aunt, she’s only the woman that raised you.  It’s AMAZING to me that no one has figured out that Peter IS Spider-Man.  This whole “bodyguard” page taken out of Tony Stark’s Iron Man playbook is not working for me. 

Scene shift to Betty Brant talking to Flash about the story that she and Jameson are working on.

Thoughts: THIS I like.  Betty and Flash are good friends and their history is rich with stories.  She is very concerned for Flash and even though he’s not feeling it, he wants to be there for Betty.  It’s a tender scene and I like it.

Scene shifts to Peter and Teresa coming back to Parker’s Pad and there’s a knock at the door.  Teresa runs and hides and Peter opens up to greet J. Jonah Jameson.  He want’s Peter’s help to which he refuses.  He’s trying to rush Jameson out so he doesn’t sniff out Teresa.  They have a banter and they agree to have Spider-Man show up for an interview with Jameson for one hour and in exchange he’ll supply what he knows about the Gray Blades.

Thoughts: Again…This whole “bodyguard” taken out a page from Tony Stark’s Iron Man playbook is not working for me.  Everyone is going to Peter asking to speak to Spider-Man.  Why hasn’t anyone put two and two together?  This scene is basically put in there to set up for issue 6.

Issue ends with Agent Mintz saying in order to get to Teresa, we need to get to Spider-Man, and in order to do that, we need to arrest Peter Parker!

Thoughts:  I mentioned my dislike on the whole “bodyguard” taken out a page from Tony Stark’s Iron Man playbook is not working for me, right?  And the fact that no one as put two and two together, that no one has figured out that Peter IS Spider-Man?  I did?  Good…just making sure.

Pros:

• Art (as always)
• Betty and Flash moment

Cons:

• Mason now at Aunt Mays
• Fight scene
• No one has figured out that Peter is Spider-Man!  The bread crumbs are there, the size of golf balls!

Grade: D