Amazing Spider-Man #532 comes complete with one of the trademarked ugly looking Civil War covers. Amazing Spider-Man has been on a bit of a downturn for me lately. But, I enjoyed Civil War #1, so maybe Amazing Spider-Man #532 will be a good read. The Bunker smells like fresh brewed Café Bustelo and I’m ready for a review.
Creative Team
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Penciler: Ron Garney
Inker: Bill Rienhold
Art Rating: 4 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 6 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 5 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: The issue starts in the present time with Peter telling Aunt May and Mary Jane that he needs their help in making an important decision.
We then flashback to Peter and Tony Stark flying in Stark’s plane. Tony re-tells the story that kicked off Civil War #1. Tony and Peter find out just how horrid the casualties were from the event in Stamford, Connecticut. For more info on that you can check out my Civil War #1 Review.
We shift two hours later and Iron Man and Spider-Man are surveying the damage at Stamford, Connecticut. The survivors are looking at the super-heroes with pure hatred in their eyes. Iron Man then points out that the President of the United States surveying the damage in his helicopter. The President asked Tony to look at the damage at the same time as him so that they could talk about it back at the White House.
We shift forward three more hours. Tony and Peter are at the White House. Tony goes in to meet with the President while Peter Parker waits outside. Tony comes out from the meeting and tells Peter that the Super-Human Registration Act will be signed within the week. Tony says that the President asked him if he was back being Iron Man. Tony told the President that he indeed is Iron Man. Tony continues on how the Act is going to turn hero against hero. That violators of the Act will have their assets frozen, their homes seized and will be jailed as will anyone who aided or abetted the hero in keeping their identity secret. Tony tells Peter that he needs Spider-Man by his side. That Iron Man is going to take the lead on supporting the Act. That he thinks it is the right thing to do at this point. Tony asks Peter to unmask. Otherwise, he will be a criminal looking at jail time and MK and Aunt May would be jailed as accomplices. Tony puts Peter on his plane back to New York and tells Peter that if he wants to stand with Tony then the pilot of the plane will be standing by to bring Peter back to Tony.
We see Peter on the plane calling his bank to find out how much money he has to withdraw: $11, 273.47.
We shift back to present time where we were at the beginning of the comic book. Mary Jane asks Peter if he doesn’t reveal his ID then will Tony turn Peter in and give the government his ID? Peter doesn’t know if Tony would or wouldn’t. Peter tells May and Mary Jane that he will leave them and “go on the run.” Aunt May then speaks up and tells Peter that ever since she learned he was Spider-Man she has been proud of him. She has also been angry that the newspapers have called Spider-Man a criminal. Aunt May says she is proud of Peter and it is time for the rest of the world to be proud of Peter. She tells Peter that everyday Judges, Prosecutors, Governors and Senators go to work knowing their loved ones may be in jeopardy because of their work. But, they don’t wear masks. MJ agrees with Aunt May that Peter should not run. He should stand his ground. We then get a one page splash shot of Peter, MJ and Aunt May in a group hug with MJ saying “Go get ‘em, Tiger.” (That was a very well done scene and a great ending shot.)
We cut to four hours later and it is early in the morning. MJ is asleep in bed. Peter is packed and ready to go on the run. Maybe up to New England or Canada. As Peter is walking to the front door, Aunt May stops him. She gives him his original costume. She spent the night stitching it up for him. She said she did it so “they’ll know for sure it’s you when they see you.” May then reminds Peter of Uncle Ben’s with great power comes great responsibility saying.
We shift to the next morning. Tony is at the Capital. Peter appears and tells Tony that he will back him up all the way. We then see Tony at his Press Conference talking about the new Super-Hero Registration Act. Tony then introduces Spider-Man to the crowd. We see Spider-Man at the podium saying that he has an announcement to make. End of issue.
Comments:
The Good: This wasn’t an action packed issue. But, I did enjoy several of the scenes. I liked the scene between Peter, MJ and Aunt May. Straczynski did a great job with that scene. It had excellent dialogue and Aunt May was a surprise rising to the occasion and telling Peter to stand strong and reveal his ID. I also liked the scene with Peter leaving to go on the run and Aunt May stopping him and giving him his original costume. That was perfect! It was cool to see the old threads. Aunt May has always been Peter’s rock and his conscience. It is nice to see Aunt May once again as the most influential person in Peter’s life.
The ending had a nice hook with Spider-Man at the podium ready to reveal his secret ID. I can’t wait to see that in the next issue.
The Bad: Other than the scene with Peter, MJ and Aunt May, this was a rather boring issue. It merely regurgitated the storyline we already read in Civil War #1. There wasn’t much new and not much happened. It felt like a standard boring tie-in issue. We have already been told all about the Super-Hero Registration Act and what it entails. We have already been told about everything that happens in Civil War #1. I don’t think we needed another review issue on all of these already done storylines.
It feels like all we have had the past several issues has been Tony and Peter talking endlessly about the Act and what it will mean to the super hero community. And talking about whether Peter will stick with Tony. I have officially gotten tired of it. It is time to move on. Let’s kick the pacing up. It has been far too slow over the past several issues.
This issue is a good example of why I don’t like tie-in issues with large mini-series like Civil War. The tie-in issues tend to be uninteresting and boring. Much like Amazing Spider-Man #532.
Personally, I’m not a big fan of Ron Garney’s art. Garney’s artwork looks sloppy and amateurish. It adds nothing to the story and makes this a very bland comic book to look at.
