Amazing Spider-Man #665: "Women in Refriger...," um, I mean, "Crossroads"

* (one of five stars)

Favorite Quote:  "What about Boomerang?  Or the Owl?  I can get you leads on them --"  -- scared bad guy to Spidey

Summary

Betty wants to see a limited-engagement foreign film as part of her and Peter's Friday-night movie nights, but Peter is too distracted by his FFing, Avenger-ing, and Spider-Man-ing, not to mention working, to go.  Betty asks Flash, but he's on his way to a "V.A. conference" and the movie will close before he's back.  Betty decides to go by herself, despite Flash warning her that it's showing in a bad neighborhood ("Little Chechnya"), and she's mugged.  Glory calls Peter and the gang and, while everyone else gathers at her hospital room, Spidey hunts down the perp.  However, Aunt May calls and demands that Peter comes to the hospital, telling him that she hasn't been this disappointed in him since the night he abandoned her when Uncle Ben died.  Peter is next to Betty's bedside when she awakens, and returns to her a locket her mother gave her before she died, which he found (during his Spidey time) on a fence who had bought the stolen goods from Betty's mugger.  Later, Spidey catches the perp.

In the back-up feature, JJJ, Sr. reveals at a dinner with Carlie, JJJ, Jr., and Peter that, after the events of the previous few weeks (the Spider-Slayers attacking, May working for Mr. Negative, Betty getting mugged), he and May have decided to move to Boston.  JJJ, Jr. starts arguing with JJJ, Sr., while Carlie discovers that her fork is webbed to her hand and excuses herself.  On moving day, Peter takes MJ (who is helping pack) on a tour of Aunt May's house, revealing how he sees it, recalling all the Spidey-related confrontations that happened there and acknowledging that the two of them will be safer in Boston.  However, he notes that he wishes he could keep an eye on Aunt May all the time.  May and Peter then share a poignant moment before she leaves.

Review

Grrrr.  I like Betty Brant.  In fact, one of the best parts about "Brand New Day" was that Betty has returned as a major figure in Peter's life.  "Amazing Spider-Man" #583 is one of my favorite issues of all time, not because of President Obama's appearance, but because it's about Betty and Peter's friendship.  However, can we please -- please -- stop going "Women in Refrigerators" on her?  I mean, we just -- literally, just -- did that in "Venom."  It's bad enough that she's dating yet another nascent super-villain, but do we constantly have to have her getting attacked?  This issue is fine in and of itself, and I might have ranked it higher if it wasn't coming on the heels of the "Venom" story.  But, it does come on the heels of the "Venom" story, and it's just too much.  I originally gave it a two, but, looking at my laundry list of bad items, I think I have to be honest and give it a one.  Ouch.

On a side note, I'm very excited about the "Avenging Spider-Man" announcement.  I've enjoyed the team-up mini-arcs (except for the Power Man one) that the editors have sprinkled through the post-"Brand New Day" run.  Now, I get a whole series devoted to them!  It's even more exciting because I love Zeb Wells; his work on "Brand New Day" was some of the best.  Exciting!

The Good

1) Ryan Stegman is a welcome addition to the roster of pencilers.  His lines are really sharp and dramatic and he has a great sense of motion.  Plus, all his female characters don't look alike, which seems to be the most difficult thing for a penciler to accomplish these days.  Thumbs up!

2) Despite my misgivings (see below), Slott does wrap up the story nicely, with Peter's absence being explained by him going vigilante on Betty's mugger to retrieve her locket.  The faux ending was a nice touch.

3) "Little Chechnya."  OK, it's kind of dumb, but I did actually really laughed at that.

The Bad

1) I don't know if I buy that Peter would go immediately onto the streets to find Betty's attacker rather than go see her.  It does seem kind of cold, or, at least, mis-prioritized.  But, Slott has written him that way before, like when he wore a Fantastic Four uniform on his first mission with the FF, despite the fact that the FFers had all agreed wearing the old uniforms would disrespect Johnny's memory.  I don't know if Slott is trying to stress that Peter isn't always the most socially adept guy or what, but, instead, he's just kind of making him look like a jerk.

2) Slott is really heavy-handed here with Aunt May's reaction despite the fact that, quite honestly, Aunt May is totally, totally right.  As I said above, it did seem cold and un-Peter-like, even if you knew he was Spider-Man, that Peter wasn't at the hospital.  I'm glad she talked some sense into him, but I felt like having to bring it back to him leaving her the night Uncle Ben was murdered was a little over the top.  I think "Your best friend has been brutally attacked, where the hell are you?" would have sufficed.

3) I don't like that Mary Jane's only participation here -- despite the fact we haven't seen her in ages -- is to be kind of catty, noting that Peter at least was able to hang up the costume for the night for "one of [them]."  Can we please not squander MJ's appearances?   Please.  I'm not above begging.

4) The back-up feature is actually pretty terrible.  Aunt May moving to Boston gets shunted to a back-up feature?  Really?  Moreover, what the hell was happening with Carlie's hand and the webbing?  At first I thought Peter somehow got webbing on her fork, but, in a second reading, it looks like it could be a "Spider-Island"-related power.  But, again, we see that in a back-up feature?  Moreover, Peter's conversation with Mary Jane makes no sense.  He gives her a tour of the house, telling MJ that he's having no problems cutting the apron strings given the bad Spidey memories of the house, but, then, notes how he wishes Aunt May would stay right there so he could keep his eye on her.  So, which one is it?  He wants her to move or not?  Also, Peter really only has Spider-Man memories of the house where he was raised?  Nothing good?  No science experiments with Uncle Ben?  No wheatcakes with Aunt May?  Nothing?

5) It's nit-picky, but:  doesn't Betty Brant look really, really good in the last few pages for someone who allegedly had brain swelling?  I'm pretty sure the doctors would have had to do SOMETHING to her head to stem the swelling, but her hair is hardly out of place here.  I liked Stegman's work, but, really, Betty looks nowhere near as injured as she allegedly was.  In fact, Peter looks more injured than she does.  I don't really want to see Betty injured, but if we're supposed to believe she was in critical condition, she should probably vaguely look like it.