*** (three of five stars)
Favorite Quote: "So, Thursday, then. Morning or afternoon?" "Morning's no good. Parent-teacher conferences. I defnitely need afternoon." - Conchata and Boru, de-conflicting their calendars
Summary
Miguel listens in increasing frustration as various Alchemax division heads plead their cases to him. Snapping, he stands on his desk and begins a game of "duck, duck, goose," tagging each one on his head before declaring one of them "goose!" When one of them asks what he's doing, Miguel says that they were playing their game of "who can jerk around the new boss and get the most for himself?" so he changed the game. Informing them that he's not playing their game anymore, he evicts them from his office, telling them that he'll address their concerns in due time and in his own way. He then calls Personnel as the men leave his office, asking where his secretary is (given the loss of Winston), since he needs a gate keeper. Personnel sends in someone named April, who looks almost exactly like Aunt May. She buttons Miguel's top button and he tells her to take a seat. He then calls Personnel again, asking for someone else. However, the guy in Personnel says that no one's willing to take the job, since it's "like volunteering to be the first trooper in line to go down in battle." However, someone appears around the corner, telling the guy that she may have the perfect candidate.
Downtown, Raff calls Kasey to the window, telling her that he's watching the biggest gathering that he's ever seen. Kasey says that she's not in the mood, but Raff tells her to get into the mood, observing that it's all the "grunt" unions ("sewer workers, construction guys, watchdogs, truckers..."). Kasey wonders what got them together and then notices a guy with bionic arms at the front of the column. She recognizes him as someone named "Boru," but she tells Raff that she thought that he was dead. Meanwhile, a driver is bringing Miguel to Xina's, since he's planning on offering her the leadership of Alchemax's E.T. research division. He wants to tell her that he trusts her and realizes that he originally thought that Gabe was the one that he could trust. However he hasn't heard from Gabe since Dana died. He believes that Gabe thinks that Miguel should've saved her and comments to himself that he agrees with him. The driver halts the car, given the chaos surrounding Stark-Fujikawa's broadcasts about the Fantastic Four (see "Fantastic Four" #2). Miguel tells the driver that he'll walk the rest of the way and then changes into his Spidey costume to cover the remaining distance to Xina's. He realizes that the only time that anything is good in his life is when he's wearing the mask, acknowledging that he doesn't really have to wear the suit anymore but does because he's invested the better part of himself into his role as Spider-Man. He arrives at Xina's and blows past Jack (Xina's Lyla) when Jack tells him that she won't see him. Miguel announces that he's there to offer the job to Xina, but Jack tells him that Xina's left, possibly not to return (if her words are to be believed).
The division heads swarm around Miguel when he returns to Alchemax. He flees into his office, but, before they can follow, his new secretary tells them to make appointments with her for tomorrow. When one of them tries to press his case, she pulls a gun on him. Miguel realizes that it's quiet and goes to his office's lobby to disocver that the secretary is Conchata. (Meanwhile, Boru leads the army of grunts with a smile.) Miguel tells Conchata that she's crazy to think that she can work for him, but she tells him that she's the perfect barrier between him and the rest of the world. She also tells him that they're in it together, since she's the one who shot Tyler and got Miguel the job in the first place. Miguel expresses shock, but she tells him that she was trying to protect Dana from Tyler, since he was "evil incarnate" and Dana was innocent. She says that she wishes that she could've saved her and MIguel pauses a moment before laughing. She says that she had the same reaction when he told her that he was Spider-Man. Miguel pauses again and heads to the roof for some peace. From there, he notices the mob and decides to see if Spidey could negotiate a peace.
Down below, Spidey asks who's in charge and Boru confirms that he is. Spidey asks why they're there and Boru says that they're the "common laborers" whose demands have been ignored. He says that they have lived in a world run by Tyler Stone and Alchemax and, now that the wheel has turned, they want their due. Spidey asks why they went with a show of force rather than sending a representative, but Boru said that they did and O'Hara ignored him, along with the others clamoring for his attention. Boru asks if Spidey speaks for him; Spidey says that he doesn't, but he does speak to him. Spidey says that he's been accused of being a corporate stooge, but that he's worked for the betterment of the city. He says that shows of force often make matters worse; Boru agrees but says that sometimes they also make a point. He then lunges at Spidey, who's shocked by his speed and the distance that he's able to cover. He avoids him, but Boru grabs his ankle mid-leap. Spidey realizes that Boru's something more than human, particularly when Boru shows his claws and fangs. He manages to kick Boru in the jaw, but he keeps coming. Elsewhere, Xina drives through the desert and decides to pick up a hitchhiker (possibly the Net Prophet) since she figures that she's already working on borrowed time.
In New York, Spidey realizes that he's in a no-win situation. If Boru wins, he'll go looking for Miguel, who'll, of course, be lying unconscious. If Spidey wins, the crowd riots and thrashes the city. He decides that prolonging the fight would only make sense in terms of his pride and flees in order to change into Miguel and meet Boru. Boru begins to rally the crowd as the Private-Eye troops prepare to face them, but Conchata arrives and tells him to make an appointment. Boru calls her a "dumpy little gnome" and Conchata smacks him, something that he finds amusing. They then make an appointment (working around Boru's parent-teacher conference) and Boru declares the march over. Miguel arrives and Boru complements Conchata's courage to him, saying that she has more than Spider-Man. Conchata berates him for bad-mouthing Spider-Man and Boru leaves amused. She then asks Miguel about vacation days.
The Review
David doesn't really cover any new ground here in terms of the series' ongoing plots and sub-plots, but, partially because of that, this issue is a breath of fresh air. After the gauntlet of twists and turns in issues #34-#41 (amazing though they were), David gives Miguel a moment to catch his breath. Accordingly, we're treated to some insight into Miguel's struggle to adjust to his new status as CEO of Alchemax and, seemingly, his first opportunity to change the company's policies when it comes to the common man. But, it's the comic relief on the part of Conchata that really makes this issue special. I'm sure that next issue we're going to see a resumption of the various plans and schemes that Miguel's various enemies are hatching. But, it was a fun break while it lasted.
The Good
1) A seemingly re-incarnated (not literally, but metaphorically) Aunt May as "April," Miguel's secretary? My first response was shock that Lyla wasn't Miguel's secretary. My second response was that this book was going down hill quickly. My third response is that we've already mined that joke (in issue #2). But, her replacement with Conchata was nothing short of genius. Her old role as crazy person complicating Miguel's life was growing stale and this new one is a great re-invigoration of her character (and fertile source of comedy).
2) Speaking of Cochata, I liked
the idea that she was acting on Dana's behalf. It's a bit of a stretch,
but it still works and it humanizes her in a way that we really haven't
previously seen.
3) David raises an interesting issue when it comes to Miguel pondering whether Spider-Man is the best part of himself. After the events of recent issues, you'd figure that he'd see Spider-Man as bringing nothing but grief onto him. The fact that he doesn't view him that way shows how much his role as CEO of Alchemax is weighing on him.
The Bad
It's not really all that bad, but Boru highlighting Miguel's busy schedule by nothing that they sent a rep but Miguel couldn't meet with him/her was a little over the top. The point that Miguel was swamped had already been made; we didn't really need Boru to emphasize it.
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