Comics Amazing Spider-Man #603 preview (spoilers)

[JJJ's Ulcer]

Is Peter eight? No, he's a twenty-something adult male. And does it really matter if a 8 year old picked up Amazing and saw Peter wake up next to Michelle? I remember seeing MJ being depicted in the shower quite a bit when I was much younger, or taking "tasteful" photos for Peter. Or any other Marvel female character with a barely there costume and bulging breasts. I just saw on the news that Miley Cyrus did a pole dance at the Teen Choice Awards. The uproar over this whole thing is silly.

Right. The naked (or was it lingerie) pics that MJ had taken for Peter. That was in the late 80's. I had forgotten about that. Thank God the internet wasn't around back then. Can you imagine the "think of the CHILDREN!!!" indignation we would have had to put up with? t: And McFarlane drew MJ more cheesecakey than any artist before or since.

 

[Spider-Gnome]

My point is, once upon a time comics were for kids, adults did not read them.

Things have obviously changed. Kids don't read comics. The problem is if this continues, the average age of comic readers will go to their 40's, 50's, 60's, until that audience is gone.

Joe Q wants to attract the younger reader. It makes sense to keep the industry going. This is why he went through such lengths to make him single. He felt kids would not identify with a married man.

So if that's the case, why throw this stuff into Spidey? The media is bad enough with what kids are exposed to today. Should that be justification for making Peter irresponsible enough to get someone pregnant?

 

[Themanofbat]

My kid is going to be 11 in the fall, and he just signed up his first pull list at the comic shop (red hulk if you can believe it)... he likes more action and less talking in his books, but at least he's buying them...

 

[JerseyJoker]

What's worse exposing kids to a little morning after scenario (where we dont even see actual sex, unlike how it use to be with MJ/Peter where it was quite obvious they where talking while screwing. or the overblown action in comics that are so blatant and violent?

This country is from the sound of mind, that you can let your kid watch people die, be tortured, shoot, kill...but if you show a sign of anything sexual, we must immediately step in and block the child from knowing.

How about this, if you don't want your kid to read this comic, READ the comic first and see if its appropriate enough, cause as many comics that have this content, there is a bunch that is perfectly safe for younger readers.

 

[Spider-Gnome]

My kid is going to be 11 in the fall, and he just signed up his first pull list at the comic shop (red hulk if you can believe it)... he likes more action and less talking in his books, but at least he's buying them...

That's great, TMOTB! I've tried in vain with my kids. My daughter at least likes to read books. Anytime I bring my son to the comic book store, all he's interested is Pokemon cards. I've tried to entice him with Spider-Man, Batman (he likes watching Brave and the Bold), or Star Wars (a big fan, now particularly Clone Wars), but no avail. He will sometimes read the Clone Wars digests that come out.

 

[Spider-Gnome]

What's worse exposing kids to a little morning after scenario (where we dont even see actual sex, unlike how it use to be with MJ/Peter where it was quite obvious they where talking while screwing. or the overblown action in comics that are so blatant and violent?

This country is from the sound of mind, that you can let your kid watch people die, be tortured, shoot, kill...but if you show a sign of anything sexual, we must immediately step in and block the child from knowing.

How about this, if you don't want your kid to read this comic, READ the comic first and see if its appropriate enough, cause as many comics that have this content, there is a bunch that is perfectly safe for younger readers.

For the record, I don't approve of that either. I understand what you mean. And again, my comment was more aimed at the what if scenario who's the daddy comes up.

I was just point out the comments Joe Q made about getting younger readers.

And when I was 8, I started reading Amazing Spider-Man. I didn't need a Marvel Adventures Spider-Man.

 

[JerseyJoker]

Oh all of that wasn't pointed at you, i just got off in a little tanged as i started to type about overall criticism towards sexual content and what is let by with violence. lol

 

[Spider-Gnome]

Oh all of that wasn't pointed at you, i just got off in a little tanged as i started to type about overall criticism towards sexual content and what is let by with violence. lol

No problem, fellow Jersey-ite! t:

 

[stillanerd]

First review of this issue is out already, with some minor spoilers:

http://www.comicsbulletin.com/reviews/125060727298897.htm

 

[JerseyJoker]

Great review, looks like this is basically going to be THE story to bring Chameleon back to the upper ranks of villains again.

I love how the story is progressing, and thinking it was just going to be a solely MJ story with a subplotted Chameleon i was thinking they were not going to give to much to Chameleon, but now, its really just a personal look at the lives of Peter and the people around him, and even more as Chameleon takes his persona and basically ****s up his personal life.

 

[Jennifer Walters]

Which didn't need ****ing up in the first place. It was already incredibly ******.

Now he's got to worry about Michelle, Mary Jane, and potentially...

Spoiler

Killing Harry.

 

[shopaholic10]

Can't wait for the issue!

 

[Spidey_62]

Ouch, Chameleon's really screwed up Pete's life all in one day, hope he can sort things out with all his friends. And I hope

Spoiler

Harry isn't dead, either.

 

[bryanss3]

I can't wait for the next issue i got 602 and 603 today. I wasn't into it really from the preview I saw, but after reading the 2 issues straight through I'm loving this. I didn't realize how amusing this arc would be. Also check out Ms. Marvel #43 for 2 reason 1. it's the only book so far other than ASM where I've seen them acknowledge Norman Osborn and Lily Hollister's relationship and 2. She's gonna go on a date with Spidey in a few issues so just start reading it its a good book

 

[stillanerd]

This was actually a very interesting issue. Although the device used in this story has been done before (impostor disguises himself as the hero and does things the hero wouldn't otherwise normally do) it did provide a rather unique perspective of Peter Parker from the villain's point of view while at the same time gave us a study of the Chameleon and his overall mindset. I also like the art in this issue.

First the good, then the mixed, then the bad:

Spoiler

*Granted, like Character Assassination, it seems Red-Headed Stranger is changing artists within story arcs, which threatens inconsistency and seems to defeat the original purpose behind the rotating creative teams. Even so, Robert Atkins work here was quite decent and not over the top. Not to mention he really brought out a sense of the macabre with his depictions of the Chameleon's masks, especially his "trophy room."

*When the Chameleon sums up Peter's character at the end of the story, ironically, he would be correct in his psychoanalysis were it not for the fact that Peter is Spider-Man and does have a sense of responsibility and moral obligation. And even though we tell ourselves that what the Chameleon does in this issue is something the real Peter would never do, you can't help but think that maybe the real Peter would do something like this if his Id was unchecked. After all, we've seen cartoons of Peter wearing the black costume and how he ends up acting like a real ass, in a manner similar to how the Chameleon portrays Peter here.

*And speaking of the Chameleon, I actually digging this interpretation of him, especially the angle in which he feels compelled to "improve" the lives of those he's impersonated and killed. It makes me wonder if he does this out of the sense that, given his line of work, he can never live a normal life and that his adopting a guise and making his victim's life "better" is the only opportunity he has to experience what we would consider mundane. This issue, as well as last week's, have potentially made what was one of Spider-Man's B-villains into a rather sinister and complex character.

*However, I'm not sure about the Chameleon's behavior towards Flash and MJ here, even though it provided some pretty good scenes and gave insight to two of Peter's long-time supporting characters. The cruel manner in which the Chameleon treats Flash here (what with his "Puny Flash" remarks) obviously comes off as another attempt to reignite the rivalry between Peter and Flash from the Stan Lee days, which would really set back a lot of development these two characters have developed in terms of their growing friendship. Likewise, Chameleon's conversation with MJ brings up the specter of Gwen and how MJ feels like she is always of secondary importance when it comes to his murdered loved ones and his life as Spider-Man (and yes you cannot interpret her "narcissist" crack any other way than she knows Peter is Spider-Man--which is why it's funny because it completely goes over the Chameleon's head).

*The same goes for what appears to be the Chameleon's attempted gunning down of Harry. It's an appropriate climatic moment as we don't actually see the shooting itself, and we know Harry will survive. But part of me thinks this was set-up to once more set Harry down the path of villainy yet again. If Harry knows Peter is Spider-Man and now he sees "Peter" try to kill him, then he could believe that "Peter" was trying to prevent Harry from revealing his secret and get revenge. Again, it seems like it's heading down avenues readers have gone down before with these characters.

*But of all the Chameleon's actions, the really big negative for me was his seduction of Michelle and their make-out session on the kitchen floor. If you want to get technical, what the Chameleon does here is essentially rape, as he's taking advantage of his disguise and Michelle's attraction towards Peter to initiate sex and Michelle, had she known "Peter" was an impostor, would not have consented. Yet the fact that she was willing to have sex with Peter again after the humiliation of her and Peter's drunken one-night stand and her kicking him out of the apartment really undermines her, reducing her to a flatly developed Tsundere and a walking plot device designed to make Peter's life more complicated. Plus the whole thing with her writing "Michelle Parker" and doodling Peter's name like a lovestruck schoolgirl was just a bit much.

*I also really didn't see much of the point with the Chameleon's scene with the three attractive Riley cousins, other than it seemed more like another set-up of the upcoming "Who was Ben Reilly?" story, provide comment about how Peter always seems surrounded by beautiful women, and provide a place for Peter to stay once Michelle kicks him out (which you just know is going to happen). It also seemed an unnecessary transitional scene with the Chameleon visiting the Parker graves.

So all and all, a good issue. Although, I hope, considering the level of damage the Chameleon did to Peter's life here, the next issue doesn't feel rushed in wrapping this story up before the "epilogue" of issue #605.

 

[SpideyInATree]

Really enjoyed this issue very much. Chameleon is just really making it quite difficult for Pete to do damage control on. All in all, the only thing that bothers me about this are the continuity issues of The Chameleon character. Because, besides the unmasking, Chameleon did know Peter Parker was Spider-Man previously to the unmasking and all that. Anyway...

Spoiler

Chameleon seemed very eager to go after Harry Osborn. If any long time fans remember, while Harry was thought dead, he used The Chameleon to help him bring back robotic versions of Peter's parents which basically made Pete freakin' snap, especially when Harry had a recording as the Green Goblin saying "GOTCHA!". So, what has me wondering is if that is still in continuity and Chameleon is just looking to get some basic revenge for using him like that. Or if he just wants to cap Harry because he hates Norman, like most of the villains do. Would like an explanation continuity wise on Chameleon, thats really the only thing that is bothering me. Hopefully next issue they will clue us in on that. Because he didn't remember Mary Jane at all. I would figure if he was remembering ANYBODY it was Mary Jane. So, maybe this whole mind wipe thing had him forget about being beaten with a bat by Mary jane. Heh.

Though we will see how things turn out next issue. Looking very forward to it and I'm just wondering heavily how Peter survived that acid like he did. That other guy he dipped in just dissolved in seconds.

And, man, how brutal was that when Chameleon, as Peter, was sitting in the truck with Flash and says, "Puny, puny Flash. Heh" While Flash is in the wheelchair. Whew. That is going to be some serious damage control.

 

[JerseyJoker]

Chameleon was completely badass in this story.

I really am quickly finding this arch as to being one of the best in the BND era. It just works on so many levels, while really not being an action heavy story...which i love, cause sometimes story and characterization is just what you need, espeically when your going to hype up the big moment of Spidey's return and fight.

Chameleon really messes up Peter's life, and i love that line by MJ about the living never really living up to the memory of the dead for Peter. The Flash stuff was brutal, almost hard to read. Chameleon has moved up from being that C-Villain to a really high up on the totem pole.

 

[moraldeficiency]

Ok and I'm sayin this as one of the what some on this board might call "haters" this is proves one thing beyond a doubt, Ven Lente needs to be a consistant spider-man writer. This is one of the best BND or JMS era issues I've read. The chameleon is such a great character and this really showed him as a bad guy, properly creepily and believably. His taunts were as good as the joker could have done while impersonating bruce wayne. Great story great read, I damn near went back and bought it so I could read it again.

That said the issue would have been even more tramatic and event packed if Peter Parker did all that stuff while married. Just sayin'.

 

[The Prowler]

Easily my favorite story of the post-BND era. If Marcos Martin was doing the pencils, this might be up there with my favorite Spider-Man stories ever, even without Peter or Spidey in it.

 

[JerseyJoker]

Ven Lente needs to stick around. Seeing what he can do with Chameleon, would make me die to see him tackle of the other main foes.

 

[moraldeficiency]

He did that one shot with the spot that was badass too. Most competant Spider-Man since OMD.

 

[SpideyInATree]

He did that one shot with the spot that was badass too. Most competant Spider-Man since OMD.

Van Lente is also doing the Dark Reign: Mister Negative miniseries which is absolutely bad ass too. The third and final issue of that mini came out this week too.

Also, Van Lente is a part of the Spider-Man brain trust. His name was in all the brain trust writers. So, I think we will be seeing more of Van Lente. Which is fine with me. He definitely seems like he gets the Spider-Man villains perfectly because he's really doing a great job of fleshing out Mr. Negative.

 

[moraldeficiency]

Yeah, I've loved evil spider-man in that.

 

[ScottishFogg]

How did Chameleon figure out Peter identity?

 

[ragingdemon155]

Chameleon was bad ass in this issue. No doubt about that. In the past he was a villain I could honestly care less about, but he was actually pretty scary in this issue. That being said, I hate how MJ is being used. I was excited to see her come back cause I wanted her to take center stage or maybe....just maybe....start throwing hints out there that she knows everything that's happened. Instead, it almost felt like she regressed as a character back to her party girl mentality. She also seemed a bit clueless. Your telling me that she couldn't tell that Peter was acting different? When would Peter ever be cold hearted enough to tell her something like "Your not her"?

Chameleon's story and plot was amazing. I just hate everything else that's going on right now.