Comics Amazing Spider-Man #621 spoilers/discussion

[stillanerd]

Okay, here’s what I thought about this issue:

Spoiler

*First of all, Michael Lark’s art work is on this issue is very good. However--and maybe its because I’m more used to seeing his work in Daredevil--it does bring a kind of gritty and washed appearance to the book which might not gel right with the subject matter at times. Although, it does work particularly well with the Black Cat scenes and Spidey’s encounter with the Inner Demons and Mr. Negative, since they‘re pretty close to, like Daredevil, being “superhero noir.”

*Also, I got hand it to Dan Slott for moving some of the subplots and characters along, as there is quite a bit he’s juggling around here. And he does manage to pull it off, establishing quite a few interesting developments (although some do work better than others).

*One of the things that work in this story is, of course, the chemistry between Spidey and the Black Cat (even though, yes, I do think her past development has been undermined and is still a Catwoman pastiche). What’s more, there’s a strong suggestion that Felicia may know more than she’s letting on. For instance, she insists Spidey does not take along on the break-in. When that doesn’t work, she then tries to proposition him for sex right then and there in the air vent. And when THAT doesn’t work, she practically shoves him in the room with Mr. Negative’s Inner Demon’s while she gets Spidey’s blood sample, all while telling herself she does not want Mr. Negative to know she’s been there. This seems to lend credence to the idea that, perhaps, Black Cat’s “mysterious employer” from issues #606 - 607 might actually be Mr. Negative and that she doesn’t want Spider-Man to figure this out. Certainly it would be in character for her, although it is a bit of a throwback to earlier partnerships she had with the Kingpin and the Foreigner.

*We also get more of “corrupted” Aunt May (who now, interestingly enough, resembles her Ultimate counterpart). And while this is STILL ongoing, it did establish two things. One, it appears that with kicking out the three Reilly girls from Boston, Aunt May’s extended family appears to have written out of the series for the moment (which is good since they weren’t contributing much to begin with other than their bad New England accents). The other is forcing Harry out of the Forest Hills house, to which he then winds up couch-surfing at Mary Jane’s apartment for, what he claims will be, a couple of days. And while MJ is all smiles about this and willing to help him out, deep down she knows this is a really, REALLY bad idea. And sure enough, as if to set-up the eventual love-triangle, Harry is already working his mojo on MJ as he reminds her of the “good times” they used to have and cooks her a surprise hot breakfast in the morning. You can be sure the eventual conversation between Peter and MJ will be even more tense, since I doubt he’s going to be all too happy that his ex has taken in her newly-divorced, former boyfriend from college who also happens to be an ex-super-villain, even if he is also Peter’s best friend.

*But the best development actually comes what he does with Carlie Cooper and how he resolves the issue of whether or not her father is really back from the dead. In a clever twist, Carlie learns that this man really is her father--by pretending that she’s about to kill him with Mr. Negative’s “devil breath” derived from her own blood when it’s really red tinted knock-out gas. As she explains to Peter at the end, this experience with finding out her father is really alive and was a crooked cop has given her a new-found, “take charge” attitude. And I would also contend it’s given her a rather harder, blunter edge to her personality as well. Now sure, this development is all designed in preparation to make her Peter’s new girlfriend (and she flat out tells Peter that she does indeed like him and is giving him “one more shot,” so I guess the guilt-tripping continues) but at least it’s a step in the right direction in making her less dull.

However, Slott does tend to get rather heavy-handed at times. For instance, Spidey talking about how Mr. Negative is one of his worst villains and is major-league seems almost presumptuous given how short a time he’s actually been in the books. To be fair, he does establish how much of a “bad-ass” he is by throwing Spidey through the roof of his pagoda, through another building, and into a deserted alleyway which ends up giving Peter a bruised eye and a cracked-rib--all with one karate like shove of the hand. (Well, at least we finally know his powers work.) Still, it did set-up a great “rah-rah” moment when Spidey tells Mr. Negative that HE was the one who trespassed first--because “New York is [Spidey’s] home.” Another heavy-handed instance occurs when Carlie, as she helps Peter clean his bruises, lecturing to him about how, unlike him, she’s gone through “the Gauntlet” and lectures to Peter how “if you do it right, it makes you stronger.” Yeah, real subtle reference to the title of the ongoing arc, there.

*A couple of other annoyances are Michelle Gonazles (of course) and a little epilogue involving Doctor Connors which, while setting up the upcoming Lizard story for the Gauntlet, feels a bit out of place.

So, in terms of “setting things up for the future” Slott does exactly that with this issue quite effectively for the most part, and you really get the sense that things are coming to a head on several key fronts. Who knows, of course, how they’re exactly going to pan out, but then that’s what creating suspense does.

 

[Spider-Gnome]

I enjoyed this issue. I really liked the characterization between Spidey and Cat (and I'm an MJ "shipper" ). I even liked Carlie this issue, but still hate the hair cut.