BT06 – Amazing Spider-Man reviews

Hmmm … that almost worked.  Let’s try a few more.

Well, maybe we’ll just get one more in this time, as it raises an interesting topic in and of itself.

Review code format (ranked 1-5, blah to faboo): [writing / art / new reader? / non-comics reader?]

Amazing Spider-Man #533 (Marvel) [5/4/4/2] (w. Joe Straczynski; a. Ron Garney)

One of the “Civil War” issues.  I’m going to take this section by section, just because.

1. Spidey has unmasked in front of the nation.  This is huge.  This is more huge than the Avengers, the funny origin stuff, the odd powers, the costume change.  This is a fundamental change in the character and his relationship to the rest of the world, that, short of some massive mind-control magical thang (don’t laugh, it’s been done before) affect the character forever.
        Is it a good thing?  A bad thing?  Hard to say.  Mess with the status quo at your peril.  Stick to the status quo at your peril.  I don’t know who decided on this change, but JMS takes it and runs with it.
        It’s huge.  And it was the centerpiece of many of the Marvel “Civil War” comics of that month.
2. I read several of those comics, and what was interesting were the different ways that J. Jonah Jameson handled the news.  Rage. Fainting. Here, he’s coldly furious, filled with a sense of betrayal that Parker has (gleefully, he thinks) lied to him all these years.  Nicely done.  And there will be consequences before the issue is over.
3. Peter deals with instant fame/infamy, as protesters (and fans) swamp his limo.  We also get an entertaining set of cell phone calls with Mary Jane, Mr. Fantastic, Sue, Aunt May — and as well as showing some of the fractures in the FF already over the Registration Act, it’s just a fun relief.
4. Peter’s being sued by the Bugle.  All those shortcuts are going to come back to haunt him — unless, between Tony’s money and some sort of government amnesty, he gets out from under.
5. Different people in the Spideyverse react.  Flash Thompson.  Various villains.  Pete’s now clearly a target.  And his family.  He knows it — but he doesn’t really know it.
6. MJ supports the decision, and him.  That’s nice.  And realistic.  We’ll see how that goes, too.
7. Heh.  Pete’s getting pulled further into the game, as Iron Man announces his task force for rounding up rogue unregistered heroes — and names Spider-Man to the team, on national TV, without consulting with him first.
8. The first assassination attempt — even if it’s just a kook with a gun.
9. Spidey confronts Iron Man on the above.  Tony acknowledges, ultimately, he should have handled it differently.  And then we see the rest of the team:  heroes such as the FF (minus the Torch, who’s in hospital), Yellowjacket, Wasp, She-Hulk, Doc Sampson — and reformed villains such as the Thunderbolts.  Interesting …

Solid writing, good characterization, secondary and tertiary characters all contributing, and a nice focus on Peter and his feelings over what he’s getting himself into.  The art is highly reminiscent of John Romita, Jr., and workmanlike and professional.

Let’s hit the next issue before we natter about C.W.

Amazing Spider-Man #534 (Marvel) [4/4/3/2] (w. Joe Straczynski; a. Ron Garney)

A more compressed story than 533, so not quite as good.  But still, well done. 

1. It picks up on the big Unregistered Hero Ambush battle we’ve seen bits and pieces of elsewhere, and the aftermath of transporting the captured rogue heroes to holding facilities.  Iron Man’s debriefing the group, and, anticipating an ambush, he readies them for the mission.
2. Peter’s feeling pretty conflicted over the folks he’s had to fight (Falcon, most obviously in the art).  He’s beginning to feel very “just following orders” and is unhappy over it.
3. The general public is conflicted, too — protesters about “Registration is Tyranny” and protesters against heroes who hide their identity.  Spidey, expecting now that he’s in the open and fighting on the right side, was expecting to feel much more accepted.  Again, conflict.
4. Spidey learns Iron Man knows about his spider-sense, which he doesn’t think Tony should know about.  (Spidey’s nattered about his spider-sense for decades, so why he thinks it’s supposed to be a secret is unclear, but never mind.)  That makes him wonder what sort of information his brand new uniform is feeding his “boss.”
5. The expected attack by Cap and company takes place, on Yancy Street (cue bottles and brickbats).  The issue then focuses on an encounter between Captain American and Spider-Man.  It’s one of the best of such battles I’ve seen, because Peter’s internal dialog rings so true, whether analyzing his feelings about fighting Cap, about the cause he’s in, or tactics.
6. The battle breaks off for reasons that are mildly artificial, but also lead to a scene that rings even more true.  Cap’s left his shield behind, webbed.  Local punks want to steal it.  Spidey scares them off, then readheres it to the side of the building up where it will be safe — but where Cap can get to it.  “Because I want him to know I left it for him.  When he finds it, I hope he understands.  I hope he gets the message — that the shield represents the country, and the
   laws of the country decide who’s right.  Even the laws we don’t like.  Even the ones that suck.  Cap thinks in terms of right and wrong, but this isn’t a matter of right or wrong, moral or immoral.  It’s legal vs. illegal.  At least, that’s what I tell myself in the middle of the night, when I wonder what the hell I’m doing here.”

It’s another good issue, and in many ways is getting to the heart of Civil War better than the actual CW title. And that’s good.

Because Civil War is shaping up to be a cheat.

More on that (apparently) later.

(listening to: “Best of Both Worlds: Humanity Taken” from Star Trek TNG – II)
(listening to: Dixie Chicks, “Without You” from Fly)
(listening to: Pet Shop Boys, “My October Symphony” from Behavior)
(listening to: Yankovic, Weird Al, “When I Was Your Age” from Off the Deep End)