A WEB LINE THROUGH TIME - THE MAJOR MOMENTS IN SPIDEY'S HISTORY

A Web Line Through Time- Major Moments in Spidey’s History  

By Hector Ramirez

Hey there Clashers! It’s 2012 and with that comes the 50th year of everyone’s favorite web slinger. Every month this year, your friendly neighborhood clasher, yours truly, is doing a special piece on the wall crawler; starting with this timeline of some his biggest checkpoints thus far. So grab your web shooters, shoot out a line and lets go for a swing.

ORIGIN 

   A very familiar story to all true fans of the medium. Meant to only fill a few pages in Amazing Fantasy # 15, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko wrote the story of a 15 year bookworm by the name of Peter Parker. A social outcast, Peter spends his time at science demonstrations and museums. While at one of these demonstrations, a spider became irradiated and bit young Peter; giving him the speed, agility, and proportionate strength of a spider. Using his powers, Peter became a wrestler which made him kind of cocky so when a thief robbed the arena he was performing at he stepped aside allowing the man to escape. That same man broke into his home killing his Uncle Ben and it is then that Peter heeds his uncle’s great advice “with great power comes great responsibility.” While this story has been told and retold time and time again, that quote remains and as does the greatness that is Spiderman.    

ORIGINAL CLONE SAGA

  While attending Empire State University, Peter fell in love with the beautiful Gwen Stacy. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only one. Professor Miles Warren was infatuated with the young Ms. Stacy as well to the point of obsession. To get rid of Peter, Warren created a clone of him. Believing himself to be the real Spiderman, the clone sought to destroy Peter. After the battle that ensues, Peter eventually throws the clone into a smoke stack believing him dead. As any true fan knows this sets up for a very important storyline, Marvel’s good at set ups.

DEATH OF GWEN STACY & THE "DEATH" OF NORMAN OSBORN

   Every great hero has equally great villains. One such villain for Spiderman has to be Norman Osborn aka the Green Goblin. Willing to do everything and anything to hurt Spiderman, after discovering his secret identity the Goblin decides to attack Peter through his emotions. Norman kidnapped Peter’s beloved Gwen and takes her to the Brooklyn Bridge. Upon  Peter’s arrival, Norman pushed Gwen over. Spiderman shoots out a web line to catch her but the sudden upward jerk snapped her neck, killing her. Needless to say, Peter was distraught and a seemingly final battle between Spiderman and Green Goblin ensued. The battle ends when Norman attempts to impale Peter with his glider only to get impaled himself courtesy of Spider-sense. Osborn was seemingly killed but oddly enough his body goes missing. Cue dramatic music.  


THE COURTSHIP & MARRIAGE TO MARY JANE

               While he was heartbroken at the loss of Gwen Stacy, Peter does eventually start dating again. While he’s dated a plethora of women the most prominent relationship in his history would have to be the one with Mary Jane Watson. The girl next door with a dark past, MJ was constantly running from her problems. At one point, she even ran from her feelings for Peter but eventually she settled down and married the web swinger. Their marriage wasn’t always ideal but I guess that’s the case when you marry a costumed crusader, I bet Lois Lane could attest to that. As with any marriage there are ups and downs the downs a bit worse than most but in the end it’s Mary Jane that was always there helping him get through things. The thought of going home to her is what kept Peter going.


  THE SYMBIOTE (BLACK SUIT) SAGA
 
         When the Beyonder kidnapped the worlds greatest villains and heroes to partake in the Secret Wars, Peter Parker’s costume needed to be replaced. He found a machine that produced a small black glob that enveloped him in a black costume resembling that of Julia Carpenter aka Spiderwoman which is what Peter wanted. Thinking it was some sort of alien nanotechnology he started using it in place of his red and blue suit. After a while Peter starts to notice something is off, his attitude is changing, and he wakes up feeling completely exhausted sometimes even finding himself out web-swinging with no recollection of leaving his bed. Eventually Peter finds out that the suit is actually a living organism bent on controlling its host. Peter manages to rid himself of the symbiote but it transfers itself to Eddie Brock who hates Spiderman. The black suit is definitely a fan favorite, even Felicia hated to see it go and made him a cloth version of it which he wears until Venom completely freaks out Mary Jane and she asks him to stop wearing it.
 

VENOM

    Speaking of Eddie Brock, the introduction of this particular villain/anti-hero into the web-slingers life as Venom gave Peter a whole new problem. With the symbiote and Brock’s combined hatred for Spidey, added with its enhanced spider powers its not exactly an easy feat for Pete to beat. And it doesn’t help that the symbiote has been in Peter’s mind and knows all his secrets; not to mention it nullifies his spider-sense so yea they’re a problem. Even though they have worked together and Brock does try to reform and does his best to help people, the symbiote’s vicious nature does tend to win over Brock’s attempts at being a hero until he eventually gets rid of it just to find out it gave him cancer. Ironically, his extended connection to the symbiote transformed his white blood cells into an Anti-Venom symbiote that fights radiation as well as crime.    

THE "DEATH" OF HARRY OSBORN

   After learning of his father's death in a battle with Spiderman, Harry Osborn swears vengeance against the wall crawler. Taking on the mantle of the Green Goblin, Harry winds up in multiple battles with Spiderman. Eventually losing his memory, Harry and Peter become friends again. Unfortunately, this is short lived when the Hobgoblin forces him to become the Green Goblin again. Harry defeats Macendale and considers becoming a super hero but Peter talks him out of it. Later, Harry suffers psychological trauma causing him to become the strongest he’s ever been and is re-consumed with his hatred for Spidey. Planning to kill Peter and all of his father’s enemies, Harry rigs his home with explosives and throws a dinner party not realizing his son and Peter’s wife were also there. Harry leaves Spidey incapacitated after a pretty one sided battle and arms the explosives before learning of Normie and MJ’s presence. Peter convinces Harry to save the two when he laid paralyzed. Realizing he left his best friend to die, Harry doubles back saving him but getting caught in the blast which triggers a side effect of his goblin formula killing him. But fret not Clashers, for Harry returns because of the events of One More Day.    

THE "RETURN" OF PETER'S PARENTS

   As quite obvious as it is, Harry Osborn was responsible for quite a bit of douche baggery during his stint as the Green Goblin but the one thing that really takes the cake is when he attacked Peter emotionally by making him believe his parents were alive. You see as some of you may know Peter’s stay with Ben and May was supposed to be temporary but while out on a top secret government mission his parents were both killed. Fast forward Harry hired the Chameleon to create to androids of Peter’s parents to pluck at Peter’s heartstrings, like I said douche baggery. Eventually his “parents” “die” revealing their falsehood. This infuriates our hero causing him to lash out against the Chameleon nearly beating him to death. This plotline is good because it shows that super heroes are people too and even they have breaking points. Some things are sacred and Harry and the Chameleon really crossed the line.


THE CLONE SAGA

    Remember that very important plotline I mentioned earlier? Well guess what? That clone Peter “killed” didn’t really die. SURPRISE!!!! Taking on the name of Ben(in honor of Uncle Ben) Reilly (Aunt May’s maiden name), he traveled the country keeping tabs on Peter through May whom he convinced that he was a distant relative. While touring the country another of the Jackals clones the wretch known as Kaine follows Ben around attempting to kill him believing he meant harm to Peter. Realizing this wasn’t true kaine backed and was later killed   After a few years Ben decides to return to New York creating the identity of the Scarlet Spider. At first he’s taken as a joke but after some impressive heroics he’s taken a bit more serious even though nobody remembers his name.  Eventually  teaming up with Pete. They work well together but at some point Norman Osborn decides to mess with Peter’s head by introducing the possibility that Peter is in fact the clone which haunts the both of them.

BEN REILLY AS SPIDEY

      After learning Mary Jane was pregnant, Peter decides he no longer wants to be Spiderman and hands over the mantle to Ben. Although reluctant at first, he does revamp the costume and take swing as Spidey. He makes a pretty decent Spidey; although he sometimes doubts he’s as good as Peter. Others notice the difference in the wall crawler too. He’s less experienced which leads to a few rookie mistakes. Peter and Mary Jane move out of NY for a more peaceful life but eventually come back and Peter reclaims the mantle. Norman Osborn, who has been presumed dead for years, returns to take credit for the turmoil the clone fiasco caused and tries to kill Peter with his glider. Ben jumps in front of the blades and disintegrated proving he was in fact the clone.




IDENTITY CRISIS/SLINGERS

  After being framed for murder Spiderman is marked an outlaw and with Osborn in control of the Daily Bugle he makes sure the word is spread. In order to keep fighting crime, and to try and clear his name Peter dawns four new identities. Using a flying apparatus invented by Hobie Brown aka the Prowler he becomes the Hornet gaining the trust of  Osborn by claiming Spiderman was  not an issue. Under the alias of Ricochet Peter found himself going up against the Black Tarantula again, teaming up with the revenge seeking Delilah. As Dusk Peter dawned a dark stealth suit he acquired in the Negative Zone and rescues the Trapster who has replaced him as the biggest bounty in New York with Spiderman’s “disappearance”.  Finally we have the golden boy known as Prodigy. With invulnerability, super strength and able to jump insane distances and a personality “so square it makes Captain America seem radical” as Peter himself put it. Eventually Peter gathers the evidence needed to clear Spiderman and as Prodigy presents it to the public to Norman Osborn’s displeasure. Later four aspiring young heroes take on Peter’s four new aliases and form the group known as the Slingers with the wall crawler as their inspiration.  



THE OTHER/ORGANIC WEBS/MORLUN

    After finding out he is dying of some unidentifiable disease, Peter also has to deal with the fact that the vampiric entity known as Morlun has returned from the grave to seek revenge on him. Spidey eventually encounters Morlun; who hands him the beating of a lifetime and rips his eye out, leaving him to absorb later. Pete is rushed to the hospital where MJ stays with him. Morlun attacks and Mary Jane stupidly tries to intervene. As Morlun attempts to end her life, Peter becomes a spider beast and kills Morlun before dying himself. To protect his identity, the Avengers take his body to Stark towers where it is reduced to a husk. A new and improved Peter later emerges from a cocoon. With new powers such as organic webbing, he has to fight his corpse that is being controlled by spiders. After being defeated, his spider filled corpse retreats to the sewers.


NEW AVENGERS/CIVIL WAR/ONE MORE DAY

      After the original Avengers disbanded due to the destruction Scarlet Witch unleashed in her bout of insanity, a new super team is needed and Spidey along with Luke Cage, Spider-Woman, Iron Man, Daredevil and Captain America heed the call. Electro knocks out the power at the super-villain maximum prison known as the Raft allowing for a massive prison break. The aforementioned heroes band together to contain the chaos but 42 prisoners manage to escape. Cap sees their banding together as fate and offers them membership in the Avengers. All but Daredevil accept and the New Avengers are founded. Of course, their first mission being to round up the escaped prisoners. Eventually the teamed is joined by Wolverine, Sentry & Ms Marvel.

               After 600 people are killed in Stamford, Connecticut because of the New Warriors and their haphazard behavior (CBC EIC Frankie Rodriguez : HEY!! That's my favorite team you talkin' bout there Hector), the government introduces the Superhuman Registration Act where all superhumans must register with the Federal government. About half of them comply including Peter but the rest refuse. Those who refuse go underground, joining Captain America's side against registration.and are joined by the wall crawler when things go bad with his enemies knowing his identity. A Civil War ensues hero against hero causing the majority of the New Avengers to become an underground vigilante group. Eventually the danger of people knowing his identity is too great when Aunt May is hit by a sniper bullet met for Peter. In order to save his beloved aunt, Peter goes to Mephisto aka the Devil (After going through nearly everyone he knows) who restores his aunt in exchange for his marriage to Mary Jane. The entire danger of  Peter’s leaked identity is erased but it backfires; only later to be fixed by Dr. Strange.  

SECRET INVASION/DARK REIGN

        Some of the superheroes in the Marvel Universe are replaced by shape shifting aliens named Skrulls. They try taking over Earth starting a huge war, with the queen disguised as Jessica Drew (Spiderwoman) since before the formation of the New Avengers. All of Earth’s warriors, regardless of alignment, jump into the battle.  But it is Norman Osborn getting the killing shot on the Skrull queen. SHIELD is disbanded and replaced by HAMMER, which is run by Osborn, who puts together his own team of Dark Avengers; villains who are actually take up identities of other heroes such as Ms Marvel taken up by Moonstone, Venom Mac Gargan being Osborn's Spiderman, Daken becoming Wolverine & Bullseye as Hawkeye to name a few. Most of the real heroes are forced undergroun,d including Spidey. Osborn uses his power to pursue personal vendettas; like trying to kill the web head, force the Cage family under his control and  try to kill Nick Fury, who continues to run SHIELD underground. Of course, he fails. Osborn makes his biggest mistake by teaming up with Loki and pushing the mentally unstable Sentry to attack Asgard which eventually gets him thrown from power and arrested.


BIG TIME

       Peter is banned from being a newspaper photographer ever again and winds up homeless. With a recommendation from Marla Jameson, he gets a job at Horizon Labs. Meanwhile, Phil Urich has gone completely insane and become the Hobgoblin by killing the original; adding to the Hobgoblin arsenal with  sonic laugh he kept from his time as the "good" Green Goblin. To battle Phil, Pete develops a special harmonics suit which makes him immune to the laugh. Also in this plotline, Alistair Smythe returns bent on getting revenge on J. Jonah Jameson. He turns people who hate him  (Jameson) into Spider Slayers and turns Mac Gargan back into an updated Scorpion. Here’s a kicker; they all have a spider-sense. In order to defeat them, Spidey develops a spider sense killing bomb. Unfortunately, he is forced to withstand the blast, losing his own spider sense in the process. Angered by the defeat of his Spider Slayers, Smythe tries to kill Jameson himself but his wife Marla gives her life to thwart the assassination attempt. Fed up with all the death in his life, Peter vows no one else will die on his watch; not even Smythe or the emotionless killer Massacre who were both to face the death penalty on Jameson’s orders.



FUTURE FOUNDATION/SPIDER ISLAND

      To prevent an Annihilation Wave (a massive, killing legion that are responsible for several planets destruction and nearly wiping out the Skrulls)  from the Negative Zone, Johnny Storm aka the Human Torch seemingly sacrifices himself. Believing Johnny is dead, the remaining members of the  Fantastic Four and Spidey watch his video will asking that the team not be disbanded and that Peter take his place on the team. Feeling that continuing to call themselves the Fantastic Four and using the same uniforms would be disrespectful, they renamed the team the Future Foundation and dawned uniforms made of unstable molecules that can be altered with just a thought. At this time, Manhattan is infested with bedbugs which have been genetically altered by Miles “The Jackal” Warren to administer a spider virus. This virus endows its host with spider powers but eventually turns them into giant spiders under control of the Queen, a failed super soldier who once fought Spidey and Captain America Steve Rodgers. Jackal resurrects the imperfect clone Kaine, renaming him Tarantula to go with his monstrous form and kidnaps Steve Rogers turning him into the equally monstrous Spider King. A huge battle ensues between heroes and spiders that ends with Peter administering a cure made of Eddie Brock’s Anti-Venom symbiote using a whole bunch of octo-bots from the police evidence locker even turning Kaine into a perfect clone.



And that was our history lesson for this month. Next month: The MANY LOVES OF SPIDERMAN! Until then, Keep Clashing.

Amazing Spider-man:Big Time #648 - 651

Welcome Ladies & Gentlemen to the beginning of a revolution. A beginning of where heroes, villains and stories all clash. This is where comic books will be graded and challenged to see where the story and the art mesh together.  We will start with the Big Two for the first 2 weeks. And considering this is the first week out our illustrious blog. And a battle it will be:

It’s Amazing Spiderman’s Big Time 

How have these storylines and books grabbed readers? How have these characters changed or grown? 

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN

Issues #648 – 651

Story(arc) Name: Big Time

Written by Dan Slott; Penciled by Humberto Ramos

Marvel Comics


Review by Frankie Rodriguez

            Let us begin. Spidey, in Marvel proper, has not been treated well in some time. And while many fans LOVE him in the New Avengers (and now Avengers) book, working and interacting with other heroes it’s almost a complete opposite in his solo book. To be honest, things have not bode well for Spidey in Amazing at all.

            One More Day changed most of Spidey’s world, by keeping Aunt May alive by changing reality. You know how that happened. In short, Spidey revealed himself during Civil War, Kingpin ordered a hitman to kill him but Aunt May was shot. Spidey asked almost everyone he knows to help his Aunt May from dying and they couldn’t but Spidey, along with then wife Mary Jane, meet up with Mephisto, Marvel’s Satan, and makes a deal with him in order to erase their marriage. Why? WE STILL DON’T REALLY KNOW!!!!

            Then we get a slap in the face with One Moment In Time as we some how find out exactly what MJ whispered to Mephisto before the deal was made. Which was bullshit!! Seriously, most fans, like me, find it to be bullshit. They come up with a crappy “what if” situation that supposed to be the altered reality which only, according to Quesada, only has 2 big changes: 1. MJ & Peter never got married & 2. everyone’s minds were altered by Dr. Strange and friends instead of Mephisto. Which means everything else happened  . . . including the birth of MJ & Peter’s daughter, May. WHAT THE HELL?!

            Since then, Peter got to work with Frontline, a new web/print news magazine ran by Robbie Robertson, lives with a woman who doesn’t like him, J. Jonah Jameson became married to the woman who helped created the Spider-Slayers, Marla Madison-Jameson; Aunt May got married to Jameson’s father, Jay. Spidey, alongside the New Avengers, survived the Osborn era, and just started dating a new woman, Carlie Cooper who is actually a forensics scientist. ???? Confused yet?  Now that we have that out of the way . . .

            Amazing Spiderman #648, according to Dan Slott, was to be a jump on point. Did he succeed?

            #648 opens with Spidey leading, yes, you heard me right, leading the Avengers against a bunch of Doc Ock Octopus-robots. The Avengers follow his lead as we get narrative from Spidey. As the Avengers, and later the Fantastic Four, join forces against the Octopus-robots; the Sinister Six work on sneaking into a military instillation in New Jersey. Well, only Chameleon & Electro sneak in. The rest of the new Sinster Six: Rhino, Sandman (yes, he’s evil again), Mysterio and Doctor Octopus watch from their little secret lair. Doctor Octopus has nearly 40 robots, the size of Sentinels, attacking New York. And while the Sinister Six talk about Ock’s  psychosis, yet the eight-limbed villain gave a very powerful statement about Spider-man: “For years I thought he was a buffoon . . . a child. But he defeated me in a battle of minds. Trust me. The man is a genius . . .and I shall never underestimate him again!”

            After Spidey beats out Reed Richards & Tony Stark to a solution to the Octopus-robots simultaneously exploding, we get to see more changes in Peter’s life in one day than we have since OMD & OMIT. Peter deals with being behind on his rent then getting kicked out, saying good-bye to Michelle, who didn’t really catch on with my hands. Peter also dealt with being blackballed from the newspaper business, so working for Frontline under the table but could not get money. So homeless and with little to no cash, Peter hunts for a place to stay, leading to several different confrontations with people including Carlie Cooper, Flash Thompson & MJ before he walks into Aunt May’s. More on Peter’s trip to Flash’s later.

            Yet, unbeknownst to Peter, while he was out and about, Marla and John Jameson (J. Jonah’s son) met up with May & new hubby Jay Jameson (John’s grandfather). Marla wanted to make amends for Peter being blackballed thanks to Jonah and help her new family heal. Marla offers to find Peter a job and Aunt May comes out a scrap book. Marla looks impressed on Peter’s achievements in science and makes a call.

            Peter enters the fray and Marla seeming hooks him up with an old scientific idol of Peter’s Max Modell. And the meeting becomes a cushy new job as a scientist for Horizon Labs; where Peter is one of 7 top scientists who can come and go as they please with their own private labs; even winning his job after solving a problem with fake vibranium, reverbium, made by one of the other 7 scientists.

Meanwhile, the Kingpin, yes, Wilson Fisk, has gained control of the Hand and is working on getting his criminal empire where he wants to be. He has hired the Hobgoblin, who is once again the original Hobgoblin, Roderick Kingsley. Yet, during their meeting, he does not show his face to the Kingpin.

            Hobgoblin is getting more weapons till he runs into another character that is known throughout Spidey lore, a former Goblin in fact. (No, not Harry or Norman Osborn).  They even meet up in one of Norman’s old goblin labs that he kept secret to produce new goblin weapons. And sure enough, this former Goblin ends up taking over the Hobgoblin’s spot in one of the most gruesome scenes in a Spidey comic I have seen in years. The “new” hobgoblin shows up and set up to be a dark reflection of Peter as we see a character that was once considered good decent into madness. And the new Hobgoblin wastes no time in trying to move up in Kingpin’s organization, mocking Kingpin’s right hand guy and attacking Horizon Labs, which Kingpin had targeted for the Reverbium. During the attack, the “new” Hobgobin  uses his “Goblin laugh” to fend off Spidey and steal the Reverbium. Spidey, disoriented, barely escapes but does so with help from Black Cat.

            Meanwhile, Peter is getting his life together with his first pay check and really learning to be on his own. Yet after the defeat of Hobgoblin and his new job, Peter decides to use his new job, creating a new costume. The new costume was made to deal with the new Hobgoblin’s laugh powers with some other features, including stealth. And while fans were initially scared of it cause of the green color . . . the spider changes color so it goes from green to blue to red, etc. Using his brain to make the suit, he also enlists help from Black Cat, who agrees to both stick it to Kingpin & to make herself look good cause she wants to join the Avengers. (WOW. Black Cat as an Avenger?! Eh . . .Maybe New Avenger.)

            So they go in to steal the reverbium, getting separated and its Spidey vs “new” Hobgoblin round 2, but this time with new Spidey suit while Black Cat tries to steal stuff from Kingpin, only to get her neck caught by a lasso from Kingpin’s number 2 guy. (Honestly, his name doesn’t escape me but he’s NOT that important.) Spidey fends off the new Hobgoblin then starts up the Reverbium to explode, starting to make the building collapse. Spidey and Black Cat escape, Kingpin’s number 2 dies and the “new” Hobgoblin sees to have sworn loyalty to Kingpin. The comic ends with a shot of Peter, Carlie, May & Jay (lol. May & Jay) having dinner and Peter picks up the tab.

CLASH TACTICS

            Clash tactics is how I break down the story line or arc and see how things measure up. There is a point system, the point system will lead to my special rating system:

Ubersuck Crown – Run away from the story &/or book. It is bad. Treat it like the plague. Think of it as a 1 or 1 star. Pretty much VERY BAD.

Cruiserweight Contender – A book that has some great flash and ability to entertain for a while. Not a definite buy but still not too bad. It’s ok. Aka 2 stars.

X Division Contender-  Something that is out there. Brings out something a little different. Something entertaining and over all enjoyable but still not enough to make a huge impact.  3 stars or Average.

Intercontinental Contender – Something polished, some what thought provoking. Great story telling. Fair characterization but things not completely utilized to the best of their ability more than it should. Something that is on the verge of greatness but just falls short. Good or 4 stars.

World Heavyweight Contender – Outstanding. Great art. Great characterization. Great storyline. Excellent plot. Outstanding use of characters, area. Great use of new concepts or old concepts in a new way. Frellin’ awesome or 5 stars.

Why Contenders and not Champs . . . that is my little secret for now.

Onto the actually Clash Tactics:

            First, this was supposed to be a new jump on point for readers as well as Dan Slott’s first solo issue of the book. And I have to say . . .THANK YOU GOD. These first 4 issue not only reestablished Spiderman in his solo title as the big star that he is, he was finally treated as one amongst his peers (for the most part) and by the writers. This isn’t some half-assed storyline to erase the past or pretend things didn’t happen while at the same time, moving forward.

I think the biggest problem with Brand New Day when it got started was that a lot of people thought it was TOO MUCH of a throw back. Many fans have quoted that the tales were just too reminiscent of the 70s. Going back is ok but only to reflect and move forward, not to completely do the same thing over, just with new people. And I think that was a very big problem with Spidey over the last few years. And I have read a few storylines here and there but none just seem that interesting.

Big Time though, Big Time respected what was done before, deconstructed it nicely enough and added new without spitting in the face of the past. Not only that, it gave us different sides of Spidey we have not seen in his solo book for a while. The Avengers were included in the first part of Big Time, showing his importance to being a member of that time and how he was Big Time in the super hero community. That his experiences and intelligence were much needed in the Marvel super hero community as much as Reed Richards & Tony Stark. That other heroes truly did give him respect, unlike Jonah.

Another facet that I loved about Big Time for Peter was that fact that he had been through this cycle before and he knew it. He went through quite a few people after he was thrown out of his apartment with Michelle, who actually was also moving out. Yet what struck me most was the scene between Flash and him. First, the laughter I got from Peter forgetting what putting a sock on the door means. The other was the statements Flash said about Peter after he slammed the door on Peter. Betty Brant, who Peter had called, was there and they talked for a moment. When Betty asked Flash who was it, he answered the following:

“Parker. Looking for a place to crash. Again. It’s like going in circles with him.”

Betty said what was wrong with circles since they were now back together. Flash replies with: “. . .But with Pete? He’s supposed to do more than ‘get by.’ Don’t ever tell ‘im I said this … but back in high school, we all thought he was gonna be the next bill gates. Just wish he could be more like me . . . and move forward . . .”

That whole exchange was one of the most profound statements about Peter to ever been said. And it’s very true. Peter, writers or not, has been going in circles for sometime. And moving forward is not easy. Especially when you get into adulthood and may adult readers know exactly what I am talking about. Jumping from place to place. Job to job. Still finding your way in the world is a hard thing. And while Peter has done that as Spiderman, he hasn’t really done that with Peter Parker. He’s been a photographer, a lab assistant . . . even a teacher but still been going in this weird circle. Mary Jane was along for the ride till One More Day but now, she’s just in the background. This was Slott’s way of showing us that circle and showing what has come before and how it affects the present. Giving Peter a new job as a scientist that will help out with his both financially and as Spiderman was definitely a defining moment for Peter.

The fact that Peter later on uses his new job to create his suit and able to keep his Spiderman stuff there is also a plus. Peter is really growing into his new job and after his first confrontation with the “new” Hobgoblin, Peter decides to use his brain. He creates a suit that not only looks like a “Tron Ad”, according to Black Cat, but also can nullify sound and make his invisible . . . to NINJAS. Again . . . invisible to ninjas! And thankfully, it changes color.

 Plus, Peter’s relationship with Black Cat has come down to to respectful friends. Yet, this one friend likes to steal and wants to be an Avenger. Poor Peter.  Peter’s humor is better than it has been in years in his solo book. It is finally on par, if not better than Bendis’s portray of Peter in Avengers & New Avengers. The fact that in #650, Spiderman barely got away from being beheaded by the “new” Hobgoblin with one of Peter’s new co-workers (Blonde named Bella) playing Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance to drown out the Goblin Laugh was genius and made me nearly wet my pants in laughter.

Slott’s take on Peter was not only refreshing but let us examine the other characters, starting with Aunt May. May and Peter shared probably one of the funniest talks in a comic book in years . . . over Peter’s possible collection of Porn. You have to read it to believe. 

As outraged as some fans were by the fact that Aunt May is talking about porn, that one scene gives May her motherly touch in a whole new way. And while it started with her seeing Peter off on his first day, that conversation was hilarious. Only to book end it with an old shot of May seeing Peter off to school, saying that he’ll be a scientist someday then May looking up to the sky, thinking of her dead husband (Ben Parker), and saying that he’s made it. It actually made me tear up for a second in #649.

Speaking of the interpersonal relationships of the cast of the book, there has been some shake ups; with Phil Urich having a “special” part in the book. As well as Frontline becoming the new Daily Bugle, now owned by Robbie Robertson thanks to a very funny yet almost touching scene with Jonah, Marla & Robbie was a definite highlight. The Kingpin’s slow reemergence began with this storyline and honestly, I have to say I like it. This sets up for some major changes with crime in the Marvel Universe and I hope they utilize Fisk and the Hand well in Amazing Spiderman and in the Marvel U as a whole.

The “new” Hobgoblin. He’s been controversial to say the least. For the fact the original Hobgoblin is killed in such a gruesome manner (for an Amazing Spiderman comic), was an exclamation point on the dawn of this new era of villainy. Back in #648, Doctor Octopus showed little remorse for becoming a mass murder that could destroy a city, which is something far more disturbing then he’s ever been.  In #649, the birth of the NEW Hobgoblin showed that this person was going to be a character to watch. And again, being set up as a dark reflection of Peter made it all the more creepy. And with true and tried motives, this Hobgoblin is not some Joker rip off but a very disturbed young man who wants acceptance & power. The evolution of this “new” Hobgoblin will definitely be a sight to see, given that the readers get to see that evolution done at a good, steady pace.

Carlie Cooper did not get too much pay here but we get to learn that Ms Cooper likes to also fight in roller skating league. Um . . . ok. She said she does it to relieve stress. Ok Slott. Interesting choice. Mary Jane in the story seemed to be there, happy for Peter but still had another great scene with him when he was trying to find a place to live that only people who have friendly relationships with their exs can only truly understand. I appauld Slott for that. Yet, when MJ visits Peter at his new job with Carlie . . . I felt as awkward as Peter. MJ, for a person not wanting to be with Peter, you are certainly hanging around.

Jonah is still a prick but little by little, Marla, his new wife, has been having a somewhat positive effect on him. Marla is trying very hard to repair her family has thanks to Jonah’s hatred of both Spiderman and Peter. And the somewhat back and forth relationship between Jonah and his father was barely touched but still seen.

We lost Michelle but we gained the big brains over at Horizon Labs. While the majority of the other scientists are not seen, Max Modell stands in the forefront. He seemed to like Peter and a different kind of boss. Plus, Peter idolized Max for years so working for Horizon Labs has literally turned to a dream come true for the web-slinger.  Max is smart. Perhaps too smart? Time will tell.

            Artistically, this was Humberto Ramos’s best work in some time. And I have become convinced that it truly depends on his inker and/or colorist that works on his stuff. Sometimes, his stuff doesn’t seem to have as much life but this . . . Big Time was a tour de force. Particularly want to say big ups to Carlos Cuevas on inks and Edgar Delgado on inks & colors. They always added something positive to Ramos’s art that was clean and finished, yet always fit the mood of the scene readers were enthralled with. If you don’t believe me, look at the transition of Hobgoblin’s scene during #649. It was as dark and horrific as it needed to be in a Spiderman comic. It was a great way to open the second part of Big Time and truly established the “new” Hobgoblin as a player. And a major player. The covers, whether the first printing or second printing, gave you a sense that this was a new era for Spidey. And while many people think of Humberto’s style as cartoony or manga like . . . it has that but evolved. The expression give enough emotion and excitement when they need to, which was always an issue before. This time, nothing looks out of place. People who are supposed to be menacing, are. People who are supposed to be happy, definitely look it. Hands down, some of Humberto’s best work he’s ever done.

 Now this is how Spidey is supposed to be. Big Time closed the chapter on things before and gave readers a new starting point to be proud of. The dialogue fit the characters but Slott was not above evolving characters, which is great. In just his first issue alone, Slott gave us some memorable moments in one comic that were comical and serious that will hold as milestones and reflections of adults who are looking for their way. Slott did a great job of also giving plenty of possible plots that can and will surface throughout his run on the book that did not retract from the main story. Humberto Ramos & company conveyed Slott’s script with such passion that it will make readers feel a multitude of emotions. You will laugh. You will cry. You will be horrified. You will be satisfied. I really tried to find something wrong with it. Some kind of flaw. Some kind of thing I can latch onto that didn’t involve those missed abortions called OMD & OMIT. Yet, for the first time in over a decade, I WANT to collect Amazing Spiderman. And that is truly Amazing.

Comic Book Clash Proudly gives its first review, Amazing Spiderman’s Big Time, a World Heavyweight Contender placing. But who will Big Time Spidey's opponent be . . . why non other than one of the Dark Knights . . . Batman. Next Week, it will be Eye of the Beholder as we pit Peter Parker vs. Dick Grayson.

          VS.

See ya Then. And If you are on the side of evil, say goodbye!