At first, I thought that Slott was clever for having Peter realize that he could talk to his counselor about his problems as Spider-Man if he spoke in code. Under this approach, he could say that Flash gave him the black eye that the Thing actually gave him. But, I realized that Slott was even more clever for having this approach backfire. The counselor forces Flash to apologize to Peter for punching him, provoking his undying ire. Talk about the Parker luck. Moreover, even when Peter takes responsibility for the lie, he winds up worse than he was before he confessed: Flash now has a blanket excuse to call him a liar anytime that he does actually punch him, and his counselor no longer trusts him. Poor Pete.
It's not that I like this development, per se. But, I like it in the sense that Slott really manages to capture the tone of those first few issues of Peter's time as Spider-Man. Having read some of the stories that Slott uses as a backdrop here, I'm really impressed by how he conveys the anger and angst that Peter felt at this time in the same way that Lee did, particularly the sense that nothing can go his way. In those first few issues of "Amazing Spider-Man," Peter is a morose pain in the ass. Slott doesn't try to soften his attitude, but he does do a good job of reminding us why Peter feels this way, since almost every interaction with people goes badly. He feels guilt for blowing off Clash and lying to his counselor, he feels anxiety over providing for Aunt May, and he feels outrage over the fact that he's trying to help but people like JJJ, Jr. see him as a menace. Seriously, it's a lot for a 15-year-old kid to handle.
But, Slott tries to do what he can for Peter. I liked the idea of Peter getting introduced to the other nerds at Midtown High. I'm guessing that Lee couldn't imagine a world in 1962 where nerds would openly embrace their nerdom, resulting in him portraying Peter as a loner. But, with the updating of the story, Peter can associate himself with other nerds, given their higher visibility. As one of them tells him, he never really had to eat alone in the cafeteria. But, Slott doesn't go too far here. He makes it clear that Peter doesn't exactly have a lot of time for friends or extracurricular activities given his responsibilities as Spider-Man and his need to pay the bills. But, it's nice to see that he wasn't just crying over his microscope every night.
This issue really capitalizes on the potential of this exercise, and, if Slott keeps more like it coming, I'm going to be a really happy camper. DC has pretty much cornered the market on these "Year One" stories, but Slott's staking out territory that even Miller could envy.
**** (four of five stars)
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