**** (four of five stars)
Favorite Quote: "One scientific mishap, and hours later I'm sewing a costume. Deja didly vu." -- Peter
Summary
An omniscient narrator introduces us to Andy Magurie, a student at good ol' Midtown High. But, unlike Peter Parker, Andy doesn't have much going in his favor. His parents aren't all that engaged in his life, with the narrator describing his mom as "not the most hands-on parent" and his dad as "not much better." Life isn't much better at school, where he's a straight-C student with lousy SAT scores and no extracurricular activities. He's also a social outcast, pining for a cute (in a "nerdy/Asian/Tina Fey kinda way") girl named Chrissy and marveling at how a new guy at school, Mark Hunsacker, is already dating the head cheerleader. As we learn from the narrator, Andy has never really done anything to improve his lot in life, since doing so would require more effort than he's willing to expend. But, in a rare moment of decisiveness, he forges his dad's signature on a permission slip that he forgot to sign so that he can go to a science demonstration at Horizon Labs. (Dun dun dun!)
At Horizon, Peter is set to reveal his "Parker particles," a "hyper-kinetic form of energy tied into the forces of universal expansion itself." Watching from the sidelines, Tiberius Stone comments about the fact that they're making the revelation in front of high-school students and Max Modell responds by noting that Horizon could use the good publicity after the Dr. Morbius and Lizard incidents. Stone observes that a spot has opened in the think tank (thanks to Morbius' departure), but Max tells him that he's not ready to chose him this time. Stone says that he gets the message "loud and clear" and secretly disengages the safety systems on Pete's invention. As such, the device goes wild. Peter bounces around the room to save the students, cursing himself for wanting to "[show] off to all the young Flash Thompsons and Liz Allans of the world." Just as Chrissy is set to be hit by a blast, Andy saves her, taking the blast on himself. Chrissy asks "Randy" if he's OK but suddenly part of the device begins to fall on them. Andy suddenly displays an energy-projection power and destroys the falling device, saving himself and Chrissy.
Hours later, Andy's parents and their lawyer are berating Horizon for the accident and Max notes that he's called in the world's "top super-human specialists" to examine Andy. Pete is joined by the Beast, Hank Pym, Iron Man, and Mr. Fantastic and they begin the examinations. Iron Man notes that the energy source has permeated every cell of Andy's body and that he should be able to discharge it in "standard superhuman ways." They confirm that he has several abilities, namely energy projection, strength augmentation, super speed, force field, and flight. However, the Beast notes that he can only manifest one power at a time. Mr. Fantastic pulls Pete aside, telling him that Andy's power is tied to the Universe itself. As such, it'll grow with the Universe, "without limit." He calls Andy an "alpha-level threat." Pete laments inventing Parker particles and Mr. Fantastic tells him that he didn't invent them, that he did so years earlier but knew that "there are some genies you don't let out of the bottle." He tells Peter that Andy is his responsibility to train, observing that someone of his power needs one-on-one attention, more than Avengers Academy can provide at this time. Mr. Fantastic talks to Max, who proposes that Andy becomes Horizon Labs' "spokes-super-hero," Alpha. Andy's parents accept the offer, since it's more than they'd likely get in a settlement. Max tells Pete that he'll be overseeing the "Alpha Project," designing his gear and working with him like he does Spider-Man. Later that night, Pete rues this turn of events as he finds himself sewing another costume after a scientific mishap.
Later, Alpha debuts on a TV commercial advertising Horizon's "aPhone." (It's "Alpha-fast! and Alpha-tough!") Off-camera, Andy's dad tells their lawyer that they want part of the sales, since it'll be the best-selling product of the quarter, and Andy's mom criticizes him for only now taking an interest in Andy. Monday at school, Andy is welcomed by a huge crowd of students cheering for him. He's greeted by Chrissy (and Hunsacker noting that Chrissy is crazy because she could've been a superhero had Andy not shoved her aside). Andy invites Chrissy to come to his "secret lair" that night to see the new Alpha t-shirts (she's wearing the only one on the market) and then "accidentally" bumps into Hunsacker, sending him flying. Spidey, meanwhile, observes Andy from the rooftop. Later that night, Pete has dinner with Aunt May, JJJ, Sr., and MJ. He's distracted and he apologizes when he doesn't hear Aunt May telling him that she was sorry for not being in town for his big presentation. He tells her that he's glad that they weren't because it was a disaster. Aunt May expresses concern for his job, given how much he loves it and talks about it, and Pete acknowledges that he talks about it too much. He then changes the subject and tells them that MJ now runs a nightclub. At the end of the evening, JJJ, Sr. pulls Pete aside telling him that Aunt May is worried about him. He chastises Pete for not calling after the world almost ended a few weeks earlier. When Pete tells him that he was "busy," JJJ, Sr. scolds him, telling him to find time and be responsible. The two leave (wondering if Pete and MJ are back together) and MJ asks Pete wants wrong. Pete explains about Alpha, telling MJ what a jerk he is, and MJ tells him that he can't stand Alpha because he's doing everything Pete wanted to do when he got his powers.
Elsewhere, Andy is getting to first base with Chrissy, who interrupts to show him the Alpha fan page she developed. However, when Andy sees all sorts of comments on the site about him being a poser, he departs, announcing that he's going on patrol to show them what a real hero can do. He's intercepted by Spidey, who tells him that "Mr. Fantastic and the rest of the Spandex Brigade" have decided that he needs to be enrolled in the "Sidekick Program." He informs him that he may one day have the greatest power of all the superheroes, but he has to learn that he also has the greatest responsibility. He then teaches him basic rules: saving lives always come first, regular punches for regular crooks, super-punches for super-villains, etc. Spidey then gets a call from the Fantastic Four and tells Andy to stay put because he's not ready to fight that level of a fight yet. Arriving on the scene, Pete finds the FF fighting Giganto, who apparently wants to mate, but, um, can't find a mate because he's the last of his kind. However, before the team can take down Giganto, Alpha arrives, having decided that Spidey was just testing him. After announcing, "Iiiiit's cloberrin' time!" Alpha takes down Giganto with one punch. He then announces to the assembled crowd that he's the most powerful superhero of them all, that Mr. Fantastic and the Avengers think that he's ready for the big leagues, and that they gave him Spidey as his sidekick. An enraged Ben tries to get at him for violating his trademark rights and Mr. Fantastic expresses disbelief that Spidey told him about how powerful he is. Spidey contemplates the monster he created while, elsewhere, the Jackal watches the events from his lair and declares, "I gotta get me some a' that!"
The Review
If I had to suffer through the disappointing "No Turning Back" arc to get this issue, it was totally, totally worth it. Slott delivers an ingenious twist by creating a Peter Parker for the Millennial set. Slott is so sharp that it's hard to absorb the multiple layers of stories that he tells in this issue, let along review them. But, I'll give it my best.
The Really Good
At the end of the day, the genius of this issue is Slott creating a new Peter Parker with a more modern sensibility. I'm pretty sure that Alpha isn't going to last. He's way too powerful to have rattling around the Marvel Universe. We already have one Franklin Richards; we probably don't need a second one. I'm assuming that some accident will happen that will remove Andy's powers just as quickly as the one that gave him his powers in the first place. But, Andy actually isn't the point. The point is that Slott is using Andy to reflect on Peter and whether Peter could exist today. After all, Andy is everything that Peter wasn't, everything that everyone complains kids now at days are. He's a lazy student, he's got uninterested parents, he's happily average. As Slott says in his narration, "not failing is good enough." As such, he only starts to make something of himself when the power to do so is dropped into his lap. He doesn't have to sacrifice anything to become special. In that way, Slott makes it clear that he's already different from Pete, who, before becoming Spider-Man, strived to be an excellent student. In fact, Pete confides to MJ that he finds Alpha annoying, because, as MJ notes, he's doing all the stuff that Pete wouldn't do when he first got his powers. It's here where Slott is clearly setting up the parallel to Peter and exploring the myth of Spider-Man. Peter realized that his powers weren't all fun and games when he failed to stop that robber and lost Uncle Ben as a result. Slott makes it clear that Andy will probably face a similar predicament, though it's unclear which path he'll choose. When faced with his own Uncle Ben, will Alpha rise to the occasion? Peter already had a sense of responsibility when confronted with his failure to save Uncle Ben. Alpha, not so much. Will Andy realize that great powers brings with it great responsibility? Or, will he continue to take the easier path? It brings the myth into the modern era, making us ask the question if we still could produce a Spider-Man anymore. Alpha may not be Peter; he might take advantage of his new powers to get some cheap thrills. But, does the myth of Spider-Man hold true? Does great power bring with it great responsibility? Slott is really exploring that question here and I can't wait to see his answer.
The Good
1) I loved the tribute to Stan Lee's narration of the early issues of "Amazing Spider-Man."
2) One of the more interesting aspects of this issue is that Pete himself hasn't totally learned the "with great power comes great responsibility" lesson. After all, he uses his genius to create something that he shouldn't have created, letting his need to prove himself to high-school bullies and superhero geniuses override his common sense. Sure, Pete takes responsibility for his mistake, agreeing to take Alpha under his wing to guide him. But, it's his ego that causes the mistake in the first place and reminds us that Pete hasn't quite gotten over his past, even if it happened 50 years ago.
3) Continuing on that theme, he actually disappoints TWO father figures in this issue, Mr. Fantastic and JJJ, Sr. Talk about a rough go of it! (Though, to be fair, I think JJJ, Sr. probably has a bit of nerve to lecture Pete about family, after he disappeared on his own family for all those years. But, he still makes a valid point, so I'll go easy on him!)
4) I loved Andy saying "Pyoo! Pyoo! Pyoo!" every time that he used his energy-projection powers. Hilarious.
5) MJ! (Needless to say, I loved even the hint that MJ and Pete might be together.)
6) "Poochie. What's a 'Poochie?'" A "Simpsons" reference in "Amazing Spider-Man?" BEST. ISSUE. EVER.
7) I loved Spidey giving Andy a noogie.
The Unknown
1) Let's talk about Andy. He's certainly not exactly the most likable character. He's annoying and impulsive and selfish. At this stage, Slott could go a few ways with him. It all goes to his motivations. Did he save Chrissy because he wanted to save her or because he wanted her to notice him? Is he trying to be a superhero because he wants to be a superhero or because he thinks it would be cool to be an Avenger? Slott is clearly leaving us in the dark at this point. At some point, his character will be revealed.
2) I will say that the inclusion of the Jackal here seemed a bit superfluous. I wonder what Slott has planned for him. It'll be big, for sure.
The Bad
OK, I really don't believe that the "safeties" for the demonstration could've been disabled with a simple turn of a knob. Seriously, it's this moment that prevented me from giving Slott a five for this issue, because it's so unbelievable. Plus, did no one ask after the event why the safeties disengaged? They couldn't tell that it happened manually, from right where Stone was standing? Given that Max should also be suspicious that Stone was responsible for stealing the Spider-Sense Jammers, shouldn't he have both eyebrows fully raised at this point?
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