*** (three of five stars)
Summary
Someone with mechanical wings falls from the sky by the Arch in Washington Square Park, with dialogue boxes showing a conversation between two unnamed people about how the victim "wasn't pulling his own weight." Meanwhile, at the Port Authority, the NYPD informs a mass of people arriving from outside the City that Spider-Island is over, so they might as well go home if they were hoping to get powers. Randy Robertson tries to counsel two Goth-looking kids who were trying to enter the City exactly for that reason, hypothesizing that they only wanted them to compensate for the lack of power in their own lives. One kid ignores him and hits the streets, where he's approached by an equally Goth-looking girl who offers him the chance to fly. In Washington Square Park, the Police Chief and Carlie Cooper are investigating the crime scene. When Carlie suggests the kid didn't jump (disagreeing with the Police Chief's hypothesis), the enraged Chief throws her off the case. Uptown, Spidey is "caught" by the Anti-Spider Patrol standing over a dead body. Spidey tries to explain, but the Patrol attacks. But, since Spidey designed the suits, he's able to quickly dismantle the Patrol. Meanwhile, at Shadowland, Kingpin's mole in Horizon Labs offers him the Spider-Sense Jammer schematics. Uptown, the Police Chief arrives and Spidey reminds him that he's an Avengers and that they're on the same side, with both of them investigating a series of high-rise burlgaries that happened after Spider-Island. Spidey posits that he might not have cured everyone, and the Chief scoffs, lamenting the "damn Spider-Island nonsense" and telling Spidey that it has made him hate him all the more now. Spidey leaves, pondering how he's back on the NYPD's bad side. Meanwhile, on the Upper East Side, the depressed kid from before is flying with the girl who offered him the chance to fly, along with two other "angels." They head to a penthouse, where the other two angels kill the owners while the girl and the kid loot the apartment. (The kid doesn't appear to know the other angels killed the owners.) In Chelsea, the new nightclub the Wake is having a post-Spider-Island party, much to Glory Grant's delight. She and her boyfriend Lewis run into Mary Jane Waston-Par...ahem...Mary Jane Watson. At the Coffee Bean, Carlie and Pete realize they're sitting next to one another and, after a tense conversation, realize they're working the same case and could use the other's unique "access." Post-robbery, the angels arrive at the Wake, which is revealed to be owned by the old Vulture, who's running the crew robbing the apartments.
The Review
I didn't realize that I've actually been on a two-month Spider-Hiatus; my last "Amazing Spider-Man" post is dated December 1, 2011. As such, it was a little weird initially to be reading about "Spider-Island." But, Slott excels when he's keeping previous plots alive by showing that they have real repercussions, and this arc is no different. Rather than just randomly having the old Vulture suddenly playing Fagan to a bunch of miscreant youths, Slott brilliantly ties it to Spider-Island, showing how the kids coming to New York in the attempt to get Spider-Powers would be particularly succeptible to the Vulture's offer. It's Slott's usual deft way to transition to the next arc. In so doing, Slott really makes you feel like you're reading a serialized version of Peter's life and not just discrete moments in it, as I feel with most titles. It's yet again why he's the best writer on a Spider-Man title since Stan Lee. I do have some quibbles with the issue, but, overall, it's a good way to begin the "Spider-Island" come-down.
The Good
1) I enjoyed the police catching Spidey over the dead body. Previously, I've mentioned how I enjoyed that "Spider-Island" gave Spidey the chance to have everyone around him understand how difficult it is to have the powers he has and how amazing it is that he uses them as responsibly as he does. However, it doesn't mean I suddenly want him having coffee with JJJ, Jr. and marching with the NYPD at the St. Patrick's Day parade. He's still Spider-Man, after all. As such, I enjoyed that we're back to the NYPD not trusting him, Avengers credentials be damned. I mean, he's still got the Parker luck, after all.
2) The Vulture running a gang that has to steal a certain amount of goods to keep their lives and "wings?" Awesome. He essentially becomes Spidey's version of the Penguin here. You obviously knew where it was going from the cover and the wings, but Slott does a good job injecting tension into it, since you're not really sure if it's the old or new Vulture. I love that it was the old Vulture. I just read "Amazing Spider-Man" #2, which has the Vulture's first appearance, and I had forgotten what an arrogant bastard he is. Slott totally channels that here, since he's obviously not the type of guy to care that he's using vulnerable adolescents to do his dirty work for him. Some villians -- like the original Venom -- act the way they do because they're broken people. Other villains -- like the old Vulture -- act the way they do because they're total assholes. I've always rather liked the latter, and I can't wait to see what dastardly deeds we have in store from the old Vulture.
3) I'm interested to see where Slott goes with Carlie. She grew on me under Slott's tenure and, since I acknwoledge that Marvel isn't going to get Mary Jane and Peter together any time soon, even if he isn't dating Carlie any longer, I'm glad to see she's just not fading into the background. As they realize here, the two of them can really help one another, and I'm interested to see how their relationship (be it Platonic or romantic) develops.
The Unknown
OK, to be honest, I'm over the Spider-Sense Jammer. It was interesting for a while, but I was still glad when "Spider-Island" restored Spidey's Spider-Sense. So, I was moderately annoyed when we see it appear here again, when the Kingpin's mole within Horizon Labs tries to sell it to him. I trust Slott enough to give him a chance to go somewhere intersting with this story, but it doesn't mean I didn't sigh inwardly when I read it.
The Bad
1) Camuncoli's art was a little...off to me. A lot of characters seemed to have unncessary lines and shadows on their faces and to have eyes that were popping from their skulls. It seems weird to mention it, but it happened so often that I found it distracting. I think one of the problems is that he has a style similar to Caselli's. (Did all Italian comic-book artists go to the same school?) However, I don't enjoy it as much as Caselli's, so I found myself frequently frustrated.
2) I'm not sure if it was Slott's diretion or Camuncoli's decision, but, just because kids dress as Goths, it doesn't meant that they're depressed and powerless. I mention it because their depiction is actually key to the plot. Both Randy and the lead angel basically pick the new kid from the crowd because he's dressed as a Goth. It just seems a little simplistic, particularly given that the plot, on some level, revolves around it.
3) The Police Chief seems really, really over the top here. OK, he's angry that he shot Spider-Webs from his butt. I get it, he hates Spider-Man. But, he's also the guy who orders his men to murder an unarmed Massacre in "Amazing Spider-Man" #656 and who takes Carlie off the "suicide" case here merely because she pointed out some pretty serious logical flaws in his argument that the kid killed himself. The guy seems pretty seriously unhinged, particularly given that he's the Police Chief. I wonder if Slott is going somewhere with him and his attitude because, otherwise, it's a pretty difficult characterization to believe.
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