Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #539 Review

The Amazing Spider-Man #539
Title: “Back in Black” Part 1 of 5
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Penciler: Ron Garney
Inker: Bill Reinhold
Colorist: Mat Milla

Plot: Aunt May just got shot and Peter Parker is pissed. So pissed he throws a Jeep at the sniper! A Jeep! The would-be killer runs away to get his butt kicked another day. Pete swings his Aunt over to the hospital and drops her off in a bed. With no secret identity, staying by May’s side would just bring her more trouble, so Peter has to leave her behind. Over at the penitentiary, and oblivious guard gives the Kingpin a cryptic message indicating one of Spidey’s loved ones has been taken out. The big bald evil guy grins and recites a relevant quote from Euripides. Apparently king-pinning requires an education. Peter scours the sniper’s perch for clues and finds a snapped-off piece of scope. His next stop is a warehouse full of gun runners whom he pounds for information. The level of violence our hero unleashes clearly shows he’s snapped.
At the hospital, a doctor informs Mary Jane that May has fallen into a coma and, barring a miracle, will die. Peter retrieves and dons his black costume. It’s his way of telling the world that he’s had it. No more mister nice guy. He vows to find and kill the person responsible for shooting Aunt May.

Likes:

– We all know that this whole black costume thing is a blatant attempt to cash in on the upcoming movie, but JMS makes it real. Peter Parker has lost his mind. Who wouldn’t? In the last few years’ worth of stories he’s: met his dead girlfriend’s love children from his arch enemy, died, resurrected, revealed his identity, gone fugitive, and watched a hole get brutally blasted through his elderly aunt. Oh, and he got his eye eaten too. It is jarring to see Spidey go this dark, but the important thing to remember is at this point he’s running on pure instinct and anger.

– The Kingpin is only in this issue for two pages, but they are two of the best pages of villainous dialogue I’ve read lately. Wilson Fisk is just one of those personalities who’ll be Kingpin no matter where he goes, even prison, and that’s what makes him an A-list villain. Even his guard addresses him formally as “Mr. Fisk”. He’s right to be terrified, because the Kingpin doesn’t merely kill his victims; he systematically destroys their lives.

– I really like the cover art. In fact, I can’t think of a single Spider-Man cover I’ve ever liked more. The interiors are fantastic as well. Garney breaks free from the fetters of simple panel grids so that each page as a whole works as a unified piece of art.

– Spidey threw a Jeep at a guy. That’s the coolest thing since catching a bullet.

Dislikes:

– I can’t help feeling we’ve tread much of this territory before. Peter obviously isn’t really going to kill the Kingpin. That would never happen. I say he’ll freeze right before delivering the final blow and realize he’s gone to far, just like he has a dozen times before with a dozen other villains. Paul Jenkins perfected that formula in his “A Death in the Family” storyline, so I really hope Straczynski surprises me.

– Most of the complaints I’ve heard about this issue revolve around a few apparent continuity errors. One involves where Peter stored his black costume. The other is Peter getting his Aunt’s maiden name wrong. The editor has said that mistake will be fixed in future printings.

Favorite Quote: Kingpin: “Euripides. Greek Playwright. 480-406 BC. Wrote Alcestis, Medea, Electra … he loved tragedies, which, I suppose, gives us something in common. He wrote what is probably my favorite line of all time. ‘Whom the gods would destroy … they first drive mad.’ Prolongs the pleasure, you see. Intensifies it a thousand-fold.”

Rating: 4 out of 5. A Jeep!