I don't like Jason Latour at all. Seriously, sometimes I worry that he'll find my blog and feel bad about the things that I've said about him. I pretty much constantly accuse him of ruining titles. "Winter Soldier." "Wolverine and the X-Men." They're both titles that I enjoyed before he took over writing responsibilities, but I wound up dropping both of them shortly after his debut. (Actually, Marvel canceled "Winter Soldier," but I would've dropped it if it had stayed in the line-up.)
However, I'm glad to say that he'll finally find something nice here, because, OMG, I LOVED THIS ISSUE.
First, the concept is amazing. Actually, so many aspects of the concept are amazing. Gwen Stacy is in a band called the Mary Janes front (of course) by Mary Jane Watson. A spider bites Gwen and gives her powers; she becomes Spider-Woman. Peter Parker feels insecure after she saves him from Flash Thompson and creates a formula to give him powers, turning into the Lizard. He dies in Gwen's arms, telling her that he just wanted to be special like her. She realizes that she has to honor his death by accepting the responsibility that come with her powers. Amazing. It's all amazing.
But, the part that makes it amazing is that it's not just a cut/paste origin story. Gwen isn't a science geek trying to honor her uncle after she indirectly winds up responsible for his death. The Green Goblin doesn't throw Peter off the Brooklyn Bridge. It's not the same. Latour allows Gwen to be different from Peter, but it a way that honors the mythos of Spider-Man. She learns with great power comes great responsibility because she wants to make Peter's death mean something. Her father serves as her Uncle Bean because he's a police officer that can teach her what she needs to know about facing her fears. Peter's death weighs on her.
(I have to say that I had trouble focusing on the later part of the issue, because the revelation that Peter became the Lizard was so mind blowing. Peter never had to face high school without his powers in our universe, so we never know what he would've down as the Age of Marvels unfolded around him. It's a question that I never considered, but it unfolds in parallel to the story that Slott is telling in "Amazing Spider-Man: Learning to Crawl," where another teenage genius decides to use his smarts to become something "special.")
Moreover, Gwen has her own problems. Just like Peter back in the day, she's trying to find a way to balance the things that are important to her in her civilian life -- like her music -- with the responsibilities that come with her costumed identity. She also faces the scorn of JJJ, Jr., because, hey, somethings don't change.
Also like Slott in "Amazing Spider-Man: Learning to Crawl," Latour brings Gwen into the present. It's hard to think of Gwen beyond the nerd wish-fulfillment figure that she represented when she debuted in the 1960s. But, Latour is making exactly that point. It's not your mother's Gwen Stacy. This Gwen Stacy had a more modern childhood, leading her to be a bit more audacious than the original one. She's a little more like Peter in that regard, fast with the quips and the snark like a kid raised in the Internet era would be. In this way, Latour gives us the right amount of adolescent rebellion while still getting across the fact that she's a good kid. It's why putting her in a band and college is such a great idea, because it's not only forcing her to chose between her civilian identity and her Spider-Woman responsibilities, but also between traditional and non-linear paths. But, she's recognizable by her good heart. The original Gwen saw through Peter's awkwardness to see something inside Peter that she loved and this Gwen Stacy is no different.
Also, Latour leaves us with the feeling that Gwen inhabits a fully realized world that we just haven't seen yet. Beyond just the back story involving Peter, we also learn that Matt Murdoch is the Kingpin's lackey, sending the Rhino to kill Captain Stacy and "help" Spider-Woman in ending his crusade against her. We have no idea why he would want to help her, but it can't be good.
Finally, the art is great. Rodriguez is the right person for this gig. Gwen is fluid like liquid, with a grace that seems impossible to catch on paper. But, Rodriguez also gets across real emotion, like the sadness that Gwen's hunched shoulders convey as she holds Peter or the shock on Captain Stacy's face when she reveals her identity to him. I haven't even mentioned her costume. Usually, these sorts of new character costumes are too over the top, but, in using a pretty simple black-and-white base, Rodriguez has created something really eye-catching.
I just...yeah. I just can't believe that I'm reading a book about Gwen Stacy and she's not a fossilized relic from the 1960s or a bad ret-con victim.
I've rambled enough. BUY THIS BOOK. Even if you're not collecting "Spider-Verse," BUY THIS BOOK.
Gwen Stacy is dead. Long live Gwen Stacy!
***** (five of five stars)
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