Amazing Spider-Man #20.1 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Man, Conway has really told a great classic Spider-Man story here.  I could rave about it in a lot of detail, but I think that it's all probably best experienced as a reader.

I want to talk about two parts in particularly, though.  First, I loved how well Conway really "gets" Peter.  Peter realizes that he's turned a blind eye to Felicia and Yuri's descent into darkness because he had too much faith that they would eventually correct their course.  One of my main complaints about authors writing Spider-Man is that they portray him as excessively naive.  After spending the better part of his life as a costumed hero, he has to understand how the world works, even if he tries to see the good in everyone.  Conway essentially operationalizes that here.  He's more excessively optimistic, if you will, and he's aware that it's a problem.  Naive people generally are incapable of seeing the darker side.  Peter does, even if he doesn't like it.  It's a great insight into him as a character, and it takes someone like Conway to realize tease out that part of him.

Second, Conway also lets characters change.  Felicia and Yuri at this point are full-time villains.  Whereas Slott played with the idea that they could be redeemed, Conway functionally moves them beyond redemption here.  It's rare to see in comics.  The best recent example of it is the years-long process of Cyclops becoming a villain in the X-Men, and this evolution has been so well received because of the effort that Marvel put into making sure each step of that process made sense.  We haven't quite gotten that with Felicia, since her fury at Peter still strikes me as something that Slott manufactured.  But, Conway manages to right the ship, making it clear that Felicia is doing what she wants to do, as is Yuri.  The evolution of both characters feels totally organic, and Peter's rogues' gallery just got a lot more dangerous.

In other words, I'm a fan.  I miss this sort of story, where Peter actually reflects on his role as a costumed hero, and I hope that its reappearance inspires similar ones in the future.  The entire series is a solid read, even if (actually, particularly if) you're a casual fan.

**** (four of five stars)

Amazing Spider-Man #19.1 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

For the first three issues, Conway was telling a solid story of Mr. Negative manipulating Yuri Watanabe (a.k.a. the Wraith) into eliminating his competition to run the streets of New York and Yuri knowing full well that he was manipulating her.  But, a bunch of developments in this issue left me wondering if Conway hasn't literally lost the plot here:

- Mr. Negative offers an alliance to the Ringmaster, noting that the Black Cat and Goblin King were "temporarily sidelined."  However, I'm not really sure that I buy that.  Felicia was active last issue in her attempt to lock up more territory.  Sure, she decided not to break out Hammerhead and Tombstone (and thus win their loyalty and territory), but it doesn't mean that she won't make another attempt.  Moreover, the Goblin King was fine after he tangled with Hammerhead; he also could make another play.  That said, I initially had no recollection of the Goblin King and Hammerhead fighting.  Mr. Negative mentions it as he recites the tips that he gave to Yuri, but I had to re-read issue#17.1 to recall it.  In that issue, Yuri hypothesizes that Phil "got the message" after she and Spider-Man beat down Hammerhead's men, so I guess that we're supposed to believe that Mr. Negative also believes that he's no longer a player.  Phil is pretty cowardly, so I guess that I buy it.  But, I think that you could make an argument that he's also ambitious, so he'd be reluctant to pass up the opening that Hammerhead and Tombstone behind bars presents.  In other words, I don't buy the fact that control over the streets is simply a matter of Mr. Negative working out a deal with Ringmaster.

- Conway rushes through the revelations about the Crime-Master (another potential player).  Yuri claims that he's one of Mr. Negative's Inner Demons and that he's the one that shot Tombstone at the end of issue #18.1.  Although it theoretically makes sense, Conway never established it on its own merits (outside Yuri saying so).  Moreover, I'm not sure why Mr. Negative would have him shoot Tombstone.  Spidey hypothesizes that he was trying to frame Yuri, but he'd really be framing the Wraith.  Did he believe that Yuri would get caught and her identity exposed?  That seems like a stretch.  Was Yuri simply lying?  I actually think that it's the more likely scenario, though Conway has Spidey tell us that he believes Yuri, so I'm not sure what we're supposed to think.

- Finally, I'm not sure what we're supposed to believe about Mr. Negative and the Ringmaster.  As I already mentioned, Mr. Negative offered an alliance with Ringmaster to split up crime in New York, but Ringmaster declined.  However, Mr. Negative somehow knew that the Circus of Crime was going to hit a technology fair to steal an expensive watch, so he dispatched Yuri (and Spider-Man).  But, once there, the Ringmaster revealed that it was all a distraction so that one of Mr. Negative's Inner Demons could swipe the watch.  Were they really working together?  If they were, why would Mr. Negative get Yuri involved in the first place?  Wouldn't the distraction go better if two superheroes weren't there and the Circus only had to distract the guards?  It makes more sense that they weren't working together, and Mr. Negative dispatched Yuri and Spider-Man to distract the Circus of Crime so that his man could swipe the watch.  But, then, what distraction did the Ringmaster mean?  It wasn't like the Inner Demon had to beat one of his men to the watch.

Needless to say, I feel like I need a map to follow all the crosses and double-crosses.  I was doing well, but, seriously, even after re-reading the first three issues, I'm not really sure where we are at this point.

All that said, Barberi can draw Spider-Man any time that he wants.  His movements are really fluid, something that works well with both Spider-Man and the Wraith.  Moreover, he really manages to juggle a lot of action on a page, as the two-page splash shot of the Circus of Crime proves.  Even though the plot confused me, at least I had pretty pictures.

** (two of five stars)

Amazing Spider-Man #18.1 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Conway continues to build his story, and I can honestly say that I'm not sure where it's going to go.

First, the appearance of a new Crime Master leading the Enforcers raises all sorts of questions, but Conway puts them aside for the moment.  All we know is that Crime Master is offering to help the Black Cat take the Kingpin's place as the head of organized crime in New York.  When she fails to convince Hammerhead and Tombstone's crews to switch allegiance to her, he suggests that she gets the two of them to swear allegiance to her by breaking them out of jail.  Mr. Negative passes word of this plan to Yuri (presumably thanks to one of his snitches), and Spider-Man and the Wraith go to Ryker's Island to stop the jailbreak.

The most interesting part of the issue is Peter's conversation with Felicia.  He convinces her to take her men and withdraw since the cops are en route and they'll likely shower the place with bullets.  She agrees (leaving Hammerhead in his cell), though Conway implies that she does so simply because she acknowledges Peter's point.  Spidey tries to make the larger point that he worries that she's a good person making bad decisions, but Felicia isn't buying it, specifically telling him that him letting her leave doesn't change anything between them.  I'm still not sure where Conway is going with Felicia, but we seem to have some sort of opening here that may mean we might finally get back our Black Cat.

Meanwhile, Yuri gets her hands on a semi-automatic weapon and fires at Tombstone, presumably in anger after she discovers that Judge Howell was stabbed as part of a contract killing.  Conway does a good job here of showing how erratic Yuri is at this point, acting on emotions alone.  (Peter makes an early speech to himself that felt totally forced, but identified that the self-confidence that makes Yuri a good cop has become corrupted.)  It's obviously not going to end well.

Before I go, I just have to note how much I love Barberi's art.  He not only draws a great Spider-Man, but he also really has a knack for detail.  In the scene where the crews are leaving the scene of their fight, he has one guy dragging another behind him.  Something about it made me laugh, acknowledging the ridiculousness of these sorts of rumbles.  I would love to see him on the title full time at some point.

*** (three of five stars)

Amazing Spider-Man #18 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

I have to had it to Slott that he manages to resolve a number of outstanding plot issues before the launch of "Secret Wars" without making this issue feel rushed at all.

The action in this issue revolves around Spidey's fight with the Ghost as he also tries to save the people inside Parker Industries.  But, the real focus is Peter's relationship with his supporting cast, and Slott really delivers some great moments along these lines.  I loved Clayton getting a chance to prove himself, using the sonic technology on Spidey's stealth suit to shock the Ghost corporeal and opening up a window for Anna Maria to use flaming webs to restrain him.  (I'll admit that I don't really remember why Peter developed the flaming webs or why they were necessary here.  Anna Maria hypothesized that the Ghost could feel heat, so she chose them to use against him.  But, once he was corporeal, any ol' webbing would've done in terms of restraining him, wouldn't they?  But, I'm not too fussed, since, after all, it gave us the moment where Anna Maria rode into the fight on the Living Brain's shoulders.)

With the Ghost handled, Peter, Sajani, and Anna Maria have a come-to-Jesus moment.  Sajani is furious with Peter for keeping secret the fact that he was still designing Spidey's technology and for overruling her in deciding to take the prison contract, since both decisions may ultimately have doomed Parker Industries.  However, Anna Maria admits to Peter that she and Sajani have been working on the nano-technology, and she encourages an outraged Peter to remember the feeling that he has in that moment, when he realizes that someone that he thought that he could trust has lied to him.  Emphasizing her point, Peter pledges not to keep any more "important" secrets from them, but Sajani dismisses this vow, accurately suggesting that Peter'll decide what secrets are sufficiently important for him to keep.  Parker Industries then collapses around them, forcing Peter to give a not-so-convincing speech that the people, and not the building, constitute the company.  (Someone in the crowd notes that, even with the insurance money, they'll still be where they were before the first day, and another stresses that Peter designing tech for Spidey will always put them at risk.  Obviously I wasn't the only one not convinced.)

Finally, in the epilogue, the Black Cat sets her former penthouse ablaze, with all the valuable bought from auctions -- along with Jay, May, and the heiress that we saw last issue -- inside it.  Peter arrives just in time to save them, but the story provides two important hints about where Slott is going in the future.  First, Peter suggests that the Cat has lost her mind, possibly due to some sort of unanticipated impact of her bad-luck powers.  Second, May tells Spidey that his rescue reminded her how many times that he's saved her and her nephew and informs him that she would allow Peter to design for him again.  It's an interesting development, in part because it really heightens Peter's dilemma.  He's got free rein from May to design Spidey's tech again, but it's Peter's connection to Spidey that causes his colleagues at Parker Industries to worry.

In other words, Peter's life is a familiar mess.  His responsibilities as Spider-Man once again threaten his professional life.  His personal life is non-existent, though he gets a modicum of relief here as May gives him some breathing space in terms of his relationship to Spider-Man.  Even his costumed identity isn't going well, as he watches a former ally fully embrace a life of crime (whatever her reasons).  In fact, without Anna Maria, all aspects of his life would be in totally shambles.  Thinking more about that, I'm starting to wonder if Slott isn't relying too much on Anna Maria to solve Peter's problems, as she does here not only in smoothing over Peter's fight with Sajani but also in making sure that he's able to preserve his secret identity by getting him his civilian clothes.  I get that she's becoming his Girl Friday, but she's really becoming his Girl Monday though Friday.

Looking ahead, I could really use an issue where Peter takes stock of his life.  Slott's greatest weakness in this series has been his inability to see Peter as a serious person and not a perpetual optimist.  I could use a story similar to the ones that we used to see in the 200s era, with Spider-Man webbing around Manhattan to clear his head as he contemplates his life.  (Maybe it's just because Gerry Conway is back.)  I'm not sure if Slott is ever going to deliver that to us, but it would be interesting to see Slott stretch himself in that way.

*** (three of five stars)

Amazing Spider-Man #17.1 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Conway continues to tell a quintessential gang-land story here, full of oversized egos and shifting alliances.  It really does make you nostalgic for the '80s.

First, he makes it clear that Yuri has gone completely off the deep end.  When the judge that she busted last issue for taking drugs from Tombstone confesses that he did so to help his sick wife alleviate her chronic pain, she doesn't care.  When Peter lets her know that Mr. Negative used an inside man to get the photos of the judge and Tombstone, she doesn't care (even though Mr. Negative was clearly using her to set up Tombstone).  When her boss tells her that she came close to firing her for going straight to the DA with evidence before getting the CSI results, she doesn't care.  It's like watching a rebellious teenager date the wrong guy.

As such, it seems unlikely that Yuri will still be a police officer at the end of this story.  In fact, Conway makes it clear that Yuri's disillusionment with the system is so great that I'm actually not sure that she'll still be a good guy...

*** (three of five stars)

Amazing Spider-Man #17 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

On some level, this issue has less to do with Peter or the plot and more to do with Anna Maria and Sajani.

I love Anna Maria.  Seriously, if I had to endure "Superior Spider-Man" to get Anna Maria, it was worth it.  Sure, we get a great example of pet peeve #3 here, when Slott uses her to skewer the idea that anyone was ever going to believe that Peter had stopped designing tech for Spidey.  But, I don't care.  In fact, it's part of the reason why I think that she's a great character.  Slott generally uses her to disabuse Peter of the ridiculous fables that he tells himself.  We've all gotten used to him doing so, but Anna Maria suggests that he might actually be able to stop overcomplicating his life if he just listened to her.  I mean, I don't expect him to become Johnny Storm overnight, but it would be nice if he relaxed a bit.  If she occasionally uses this insight to skewer a ridiculous plot point that shouldn't have existed in the first place, so be it.

Moreover, Anna Maria often uses her sharp mind not just to help Peter as Peter, but also to help Peter as Spider-Man.  Several times in this issue, she provides cover to Peter so that he can use his Spider-Powers to save the staff from their experiment when the Ghost turns it against them.  She's exactly the sort of character that Peter has always needed.  Mary Jane used to play this role to some extent, but it was complicated by her relationship (and concern) for Peter when he acted as Spider-Man.  Anna Maria respects Peter's role as Spider-Man, and she doesn't come at it with the same baggage as Mary Jane did.  If Parker Industries is going to work, it's because Anna Maria essentially allows Peter to be in two places at once.

Turning to Sajani, I'm still not sure what Slott wants us to think about her.  She tries to make a deal with the Ghost here to destroy Peter's prison project, so she definitely continues to tip-toe a line between good and evil (or, at least, truthful and devious).  But, as the Ghost says, maybe she's just smart and ruthless.  So far, she's never really done anything that isn't necessarily in Peter's interest.  Her opposition to his project comes from the fact that she thinks that it's bad for business.  In other words, everything she does, she does for the company; if the company succeeds because of her actions, then Peter also succeeds.

The problem is that she goes about it in such underhanded ways.  If she and Anna Maria have time to work on their "secret project," then it stands to reason that she could convince Peter that they should be allowed to do so without the secrecy.  (Also, Anna Maria hates secrets, but only secrets that Peter keeps?)  In other words, I don't entirely understand why Slott has her in this back-stabbing deputy role, forcing her to work with super-villains to position Parker Industries where she wants it.  She's Peter's partner, after all.  She should be able to green light her own project without resorting to the level of subterfuge that we often see her embracing here.

Speaking of Parker Industries, I'm still not sure if it's working.  Tony Stark manages to run Stark Industries and be Iron Man, but he had Pepper Potts doing all the work.  In these early days, it makes sense that Peter wants to make PI work and feels a responsibility to manage it directly.  But, at some point, the stories of him trying to juggle his role as CEO and Spider-Man are going to get old.  Hopefully, we're on a trajectory here where Anna Maria and/or Sajani will run the company and Peter occasionally contributes a brilliant idea, like he did at Horizon Labs.  Otherwise, it's just feel like a little too much responsibility, even for Peter.  As Anna Maria once said, he doesn't have to have all the responsibility.

*** (three of five stars)

Amazing Spider-Man #16.1 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

I like Dan Slott.

By my count, Slott has written 124 issues of "Amazing Spider-Man" and "Superior Spider-Man" (including the "Spider-Verse" one-shot), and I have enjoyed the vast majority of them.  OK, sure, I wasn't thrilled with Otto taking possession of Peter's body, but I can at least acknowledge that it was an innovative story (at first) now that I don't have to deal with daily assertion from him and Wacker that the change was permanent.  Slott injected the type of fun into "Amazing Spider-Man" that it had been missing for a long time, while at the same time moving Peter to a more adult status quo, from his initial gig at Horizon Labs to his current position at Parker Industries.  He also brought back the Spidey-focused events that I used to love as a teenager, like "Assassin Nation Plot" or "Round Robin;" even if "Spider-Verse" was little meh, "Ends of the Earth" was solid and "Spider-Island" is probably the best event that I've read.  When Slott eventually wraps up his time on Spidey, I have no doubt that we'll all think Spidey is much better for his time writing him.

But...

...it was really great to read a "real" Spidey story again.  It makes me realize that they're going to need someone like Conway after Slott leaves, to return us to basics.  Although Slott may be great at witty repartee, he's never been particularly good about "normal" conversations.  It's not even just the conversations.  Last issue, everyone treated Peter as a bumbling idiot when he couldn't get to the company's presentation on time.  He couldn't just be chronically late; he had to be comically late.  Again, I love(d) the fact that Slott introduced fun into the series again, but, occasionally, it's forced, undermining a dramatic point that he's trying to make.  (Similarly, when we do have drama, it also feels forced, like Aunt May suddenly becoming a bigot in time to disapprove of Anna Maria.)

Conway obviously doesn't suffer from this problem.  Although Spider-Man is funny and witty as he always, both he and Peter are capable of serious moments befitting the fact that "they've" been at this game a long time.  Peter isn't cracking wise when he visits Yuri at the hospital as she keeps a vigil over her dying partner.  Spider-Man isn't flip as he warns the Wraith that she's crossing a line in breaking into Tombstone's vault to try to show that he control the judge that let him off the hook.  In other words, he isn't a happy-go-lucky kid reveling in Web-Slinging; he's a hardened hero that knows that Yuri is engaging in behavior that could lead her down dangerous paths.

It's hard to put my finger on it, but I guess that I'm saying that this story just doesn't seem like one that Slott would think of writing or manage to execute.  But, a cop with a vendetta adopting an secret identity as a vigilante to take down a crime boss like Tombstone is exactly the sort of story that we've been missing in this title.  When you add in there that her actions could set off a larger gang war as everyone scrambles to fill the void that the Kingpin left when he headed to Europe, I suddenly find myself wistfully thinking of "Amazing Spider-Man" #284-#288.

In other words, yes, you should definitely pick up this issue.

**** (four of five stars)

Amazing Spider-Man #16 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

With "Spider-Verse" already fading into the past, Slott gives us an old-fashioned Spidey story as we kill some time before "Secret Wars."  It's honestly a nice change of pace.

The plot itself is pretty simple.  Peter is yet again scrambling to right his personal life, this time as a result of the havoc that his prolonged absence during "Spider-Verse" caused.  He assures Aunt May that he and Anna Maria are coming to dinner that weekend (while worry about finding a way to tell her that they're no longer a couple) and tries to put down the Iguana in time to make it to Parker Industries' presentation on building a new Raft.  He arrives not only in time to make the presentation, but also to tease Liz Allan about her chances of getting Alchemax the contract.  It inspires Tiberius and the Molten Man (Alchemax's "reformed" head of security") to hire the Ghost to try to take out Parker permanently, responding to an off-handed comment from Liz about Peter's ability to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and wishing that he weren't the competition.  Away we go!

Again, this plot feels like something that we could've read in the mid-200s of "Amazing Spider-Man," and I can't thinking of higher praise than that.  Slott also continues to keep his cards close to his chest when it comes to Liz.  Was her comment really off-handed?  Or, did she know exactly what she was doing when making that comment in front of her ex-con step-brother and ethically challenged staff member?  Slott isn't clear, and it's all part of the fun.

My only complaint continues to be Slott's portrayal of the Black Cat as a hardened criminal, as he does in this issue's back-up story.  It also doesn't help that her storyline almost exactly mirrors Catwoman's in "Batman Eternal" at this point, with both of them running their operations from an underground casino.  It's getting hard to keep the two of them straight.

*** (three of five stars)

Amazing Spider-Man #15 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

I'm...not really sure what I can say about this issue.  I had pretty low hopes for this one from the start.  After all, it was pretty clear early in "Spider-Verse" that we were going to see some sort of ret-con.  I figured that it was going to be something endogenous to the plot, but it now appears that "Secret Wars" will largely fill that role.  I don't know which one is worst.

Let me take it back a step and walk through the story.  We spend the first few pages sending back various Spider-People to more or less happy endings.  May is returned to her world and, despite all possible odds, her mother and boyfriend have survived.  (If you read "Amazing Spider-Man" #8, it's pretty clear that they're dead.  I mean, we don't exactly see their deaths, but Daemos hurls Wes into a wall and we hear Mary Jane scream before the burning house collapses on them.  They're pretty dead.)  Apparently, Mary Jane just ditched Peter and pulled Wes from the house just in time!  [Sigh.]  Whatever.  Let's just keep going.  We then see Spider-Ham, two unidentified Spider-Men, one of the retro Spider-Men that was part of Miles' "Web Warriors" team, and Punk Spider-Man return to their timelines.  Jessica and Miles then return to the Ultimate Universe, with Miles telling Peter that he regrets that they didn't get to spend more time together and Peter alluding to "Secret Wars" by saying that he's sure that they'll see each other again.  [Gag.]  Then, conveniently, all hell breaks loose.

Otto decides that he's going to reject what fate has in store for him by...destroying the Web of Life and Death.  He's apparently doing it to restore free will, even though it's pretty much destroying reality.  It also is destroying the connections between the various worlds, since the Spiders have apparently been traveling between worlds thanks to the skeins of the Web.  (Who knew?)  Peter accelerates the time table of sending Spider-Men home as the portals collapse, deciding that the Earth-616 crowd can take the last portal home together.  Miguel and Gwen get sent to their timelines while Anya, Jessica, and Peter battle Otto.  In the process, Anya manages to read the dagger that Otto is using to destroy the Web, realizing that someone can re-create the Web.  Silk wonders if it's her destiny since everyone called her the Spinner.  (That would make sense, but it's unfortunately not the answer.)  It turns out that the Master Weaver has always been a future version of Karn.  (Seriously, we're just keeping on going.  Slott doesn't even try to explain how the future version of Karn returns to the past to become the Master Weaver that the Inheritors kidnapped millennia ago.  In fact, in a great example of pet peeve #3, the closest that we get to an explanation is Peter complaining about time-travel stories.)  Karn decides to take over the role as Weaver just as Peter takes down Otto.  Nefariously, Otto quietly orders Anna (his version of Lyla) to enter a 100-day sleep mode, as they had "discussed."

However, Otto regains his footing soon, and Peter eventually hurls him through a portal that Karn manages to open.  The explanation for him not remembering the events of "Spider-Verse" when he returns is that crossing into his own timeline will addle his brain sufficiently to cause amnesia...despite the fact that Miguel suffered none of those consequences when returning to 2099.  (Yes, I'm not even bothering to save my snark for parenthetical notations at this point.)  Apparently, Spider-UK didn't manage to return with everyone else -- despite the fact that he was completely absent during the battle with Otto -- but his universe has been destroyed by one of the "incursions" that I already found so mind-numbingly boring that I canceled my subscription to "New Avengers"  Karn announces that the Web has been damaged, weakening everyone's Spider-Sense.  Since he's now homeless, Spider-UK decides that he's going to go fix the Web, and Anya randomly decided to join him.  (It's unclear what exactly they're going to do.  Spider-UK originally implies that he'll go places that lost -- but need -- a Spider-Man, but Karn specifically states that they're going to "mend the severed skeins across time and space."  Apparently we can read more about it in "Secret Wars:  Spider-Verse."  I think you all know how I feel about that.)

Then, the Earth-616 team returns home, with Peter sparing at least 15 seconds to mourn Kaine (killed as the Other by the Inheritors) on the way.  Thankfully, it was just a "Chekhov's gun" moment, because Kaine's hand breaks through the skin of the Other's dead shell at the end.  In Earth-616, Peter now feels confident enough to run his company because he "led an entire army against crazed unkillable vampires."  Then, he helps a women while her purse is getting stolen.  The End.

In other words, we didn't get a ret-con, but it didn't matter, because the entire Marvel Universe is getting ret-conned.  Maybe if I didn't know about "Secret Wars" I would've been able to give Slott credit for at least making some consequences stick.  Then again, maybe not.  On some level, the real tension of this series was how Slott was going to manage to send back Otto into the timeline where his knowledge of these events didn't change everything that happened after "Superior Spider-Man" #19.  But, it feels like Slott just sort of decided to worry about that part later and, when "later" came, he didn't have any better ideas.  So, he pretended that he was writing for "General Hospital" and went with the amnesia excuse.  I guess that he's hoping that we're all so tired of Otto-Spidey that we'd just go with it. (He wouldn't necessarily wrong.)

Moreover, Slott created so many alternate realities that it's hard to believe that the characters that died are really dead.  Every moment in every Spider-Man's life seemed to create another Spider-Man, so it seems, in all likelihood, that Peter Parquagh is still out there in some version of 1602, if not several billion versions.  In other words, the whole nature of "Spider-Verse" served as a ret-con, even without "Secret Wars."

Man, "Spider-Verse" sucked.

* (one of five stars)

Amazing Spider-Man #14 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Well, that was...anti-climactic.

The Inheritors begin performing the ritual in this issue, but it's such chaos that I still have no idea what it was supposed to do.  By bleeding Kaine onto the web, the Other apparently won't be able to select a new totem.  Does that mean, if Kaine survives*, he'll no longer be cursed as the Other?  When the Spiders interrupt the ritual, Cindy says that the web is healing, but I'm not sure if she just means her part of the web or Kaine's part as well.  Speaking of Cindy, by bleeding her onto the web, no Spider-Totem will now appear by chance.  But, how many Spiders actually appear by chance?  After all, it seemed like chance that Peter got bit by that radioactive spider, but previous storylines involving the Inheritors and the Other have implied that he was destined for it.  What's destiny and what's chance?  Plus, why bother with chance when, by bleeding Benjamin, they would've eliminated all Spider-Totems all together.  Doesn't that cover the ones created by chance?  Why not just start there?  But, it all doesn't matter, because Otto literally cuts to the point and just kills the Master Weaver.  We're apparently all supposed to be aghast, since the Weaver is "the web of life and destiny."  Morlun acts as if time and space are going to collapse into itself, but...nothing actually happens.  Other than Peter's moral issues with his actions, it seems like Otto really did save the day here.

Beyond the confusion over the ritual, the problem with this issue is that the Inheritors suddenly become easily defeatable.  When Morlun first fought Spider-Man, he just kept coming after Spidey until Peter collapses from exhaustion after hours and hours of fighting him.  Here, they just sort of shrug and surrender when they can't complete the ritual.  Seriously.  Karn appears, and he and the other Spiders apparently defeat the weird unnamed Sister and the Twins off-panel.  Despite Slott building to this moment for months, we miss the actual fight.  We at least see Spider-Voltron engage Jennix, though all he actually does is grab him; we have to assume that they actually fight.  Daemos just folds when May threatens to destroying the crystal that contains Solus' spirit.  (Also, what the hell was that?  We've never seen anything showing the Inheritors putting their souls in crystals.)  In the end, the Spiders just dump the Inheritors on the irradiated Earth, hoping, I guess, that they all just stay locked in that bunker.  But, if Jennix is such a genius, isn't it possible that he'll invent a way to protect them from radiation?  Speaking of radiation, wasn't the Spider-Voltron supposed to have radiation as one of his power sets?  Is that how he stopped Jennix?

Looking over the story overall, I still have no idea why the Inheritors started on this latest killing spree.  It started when they became aware of Cindy, and I think that it's because it was the only time that the Bride, Other, and Scion all existed at the same time.  But, that's still not clear to me.  I assume in the epilogue that we're going to see the fates of the other Spiders, including the ones that have been killed.  We definitely need to see what happens with Otto, given that he essentially knows that Peter defeats him.  But, after all, he's always known that, since we've already accounted for his missing time in the main series.  I have no idea how Slott is going to reconcile that, but he better.

Look, I'm not saying that this event was terrible.  Slott is a victim of his own success, since "Spider-Island" was one of the greatest cross-over events of all time.  But, it's really hard to say that it even came close to meeting expectations.  We didn't gain any new insights into Peter or watch him defy unbelievable odds.  In fact, he barely played a role in this whole event.  He's just going to go to bed, wake up tomorrow, and hope "Secret Wars" doesn't wipe out his sexy time with Silk.  It's hard to see it as a win.

* In a great example of pet peeve #1, we learn that Morlun theoretically killed Kaine last issue.  Although it was clear that Kaine was wounded last issue, it wasn't clear that he was dead.  It reminds me of "Avengers vs. X-Men" #12 where I was surprised to learn from the title page that Scott had killed Professor X in issue #11.

Amazing Spider-Man #13 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

I'm conflicted about this issue.

On a positive side, everything flows more or less logically, even if Slott pushes the boundaries of our willful suspension of disbelief at certain points.  Anya's connection to some sort of mystical cult enables her to read the scrolls that Jessica sent to Peter; the prophecy is that the Spiders will defeat the Inheritors in a thousand years unless they sacrifice the Bride, Other, and Scion to wipe out all the Spiders, now and forever.  Fortunately for the Inheritors, Silk has decided to go to Loomworld to save Jessica, given her guilt over abandoning her there, and an enraged Kaine decides to avenge Ben's death by taking out the Inheritors on his own.  (The fact that Marvel clearly puts "Scarlet Spiders" #3 after this issue on its checklist knocked off a full star in my book.  It's a careless mistake that unnecessarily spoils the ending of that mini-series.)  With all the pieces in place on Loomworld for the Inheritors to complete the ceremony, the Spiders are left little option but to get there to try to prevent them from doing so.

My problem, though, is that we are really, really rushing at this point.  Slott has been building to this event for the better part of a year, ever since we got our first peek at Cindy in "Amazing Spider-Man" #1.  But, with only one issues left, we still have an incredible number of questions on the table.  Who are the Inheritors?  Why do they only feed off Spider Totems?  What happened to Karn?  He was a big deal in the "Edge of Spider-Verse" issues of this event, but we haven't seen him for a while.  Also, I thought the female Inheritor that isn't Bora was Solus' wife, not daughter.  If she's a daughter, does that mean that the mother really did die in in "Superior Spider-Man" #33?  If so, does that mean that they only invented cloning after that incident?  Turning to the prophecy, why did the Bride, Other, and Scion manifest now?  Or, if they always exist in some form or another, why are the Inheritors trying to conduct the ceremony now?  Moreover, why did Ezekiel send Uncle Ben to a bunker?  It makes sense why he would want to send the Bride to the bunker, given her connection to the prophecy, but does this version of Uncle Ben also have some sort of connection to it?  I know that Ezekiel invited our Peter to go to the bunker as well, but are we really supposed to believe that some form of Ezekiel tried to get every Spider-Man to go into a bunker?  Moreover, how did Ezekiel know so much about the Inheritors in the first place?  In other words, I feel like we're missing really basic information about the Inheritors, their goals, and their history, and it seems unlikely that just one issue is going to answer all of them.

Moreover, Slott barely has time to incorporate the events from the tie-in series into this issue.  Ben's death is mentioned in passing, and we never learn what Miguel and May were trying to invent in 2099.  Moreover, Solus barely acknowledges Jennix revealing that they can no longer clone themselves, a fairly major development given that he himself dies at the end of this issue.  I get arrogance, but you'd think, at some point, he'd acknowledge that they have to be a little more cautious than they normally would be.  But, we move right past it, despite it being possibly the most relevant development of this entire event.

I'm hopeful that the four tie-in issues remaining before issue #14 will help answer at least some of these questions.  But, at this point, it's hard to describe this event as "fun."  I'm mostly just looking for Slott to check these remaining boxes, since I've given up hope of seeing meaningful interaction between all the Spiders.  Let's just wrap up this event so that we can move onto..."Secret Wars."  [Sigh.]

** (two of five stars)

Amazing Spider-Man #12 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

OK, the wheels are starting to come off the bus a bit at this point.

Slott is doing his best, but it's clearly becoming a struggle coordinating all the various tie-in issues in a way that not only stays consistent with the stories that they're telling but also the characterizations of the characters that appear in them.  For example, Morlun in portrayed as "Jessica's" loving boyfriend in "Spider-Woman," but he treats her as little better than the help in this issue.  We also see Peter return with Spider-Girl and Spider-Gwen with three new Japanese Spider-Men, despite the fact that we never actually saw that mission.  It seems weird at this point that we've got an entire mini-series dedicated to following the Clone Club (Kaine would hate that name), but we're barely following Peter's story.  Moreover, we're just introducing Spider-Totems willy-nilly now, with no attempt to identify their Earth or their personalities.

Slott tries to address this chaos by making it clear that Peter feels equally overwhelmed by it as well.  I'll admit that it more or less works (even though it doesn't account for the varying characterizations).  Slott also tries to sell us on the idea that some of the coincidences and lucky breaks that we've seen throughout this event (like Jessica's counterpart on Loomworld being a member of their household staff) are a direct result of the Weaver's interference.  It's the sort of argument that works if you don't think about it too hard.  If you do think about it, then it sort of unravels.  I mean, it took the Weaver millennia to get Spider-Woman to the Loomworld, but then he managed just to whip up two prophesy scrolls?  Again, it's better not to think about these questions.

Slott hints at a larger plan afoot, implying that the Inheritors want to do more than just kill the Totems.  In so doing, he seems to clarify why the Inheritors have started their crusade now, since their goal appears to be forestalling the prophesy that seems to be in play.  But, we're going to have to wait to get more information.

In other words, this issue isn't as carefully constructed as Slott's issues normally are.  Now, I have to admit that he sets a usually high bar, so I don't want to be too hard on him.  Plus, every event has an issue where everything gets a little hard to follow.  But, I think it's time to start giving us some answer so that we can drop the tie-in stories and focus on the main event.  Let's kick some Inheritor ass, shall we?

** (two of five stars)

Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 [eye roll] (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

I'm pretty sure that this "Annual #1" is at least the third one that "Amazing Spider-Man" has had, but I digress.

Ryan tells a totally solid Spider-Man story here that actually gives us some insight into his character that I'm not sure we've seen elsewhere.  (Let's be honest, that's saying a lot.)  Ryan shows us that Peter isn't exclusively motivated by do-gooder-ism when he helps people; this story of Spidey trying to track down German tourists to return a cell phone shows us that it's a lot more fun doing that than reading a boring report (as Sanjani wants him to do).  As someone who spends a lot of time reading boring reports, I totally see the allure of Web-Slinging around Manhattan trying to return a cell phone instead.  The unexpected Hawkeye cameo is great, and I continue to hope that we continue to see my favorite super-villain team, the Menagerie, on a frequent basis.

The back-up stories?  Make not a lick of sense.  I mean, Dr. Bong?  But, the main story is solid.  I'm not sure it's $4.99 solid, but, if you're a fan, that's a price that we frequently have to pay.

*** (three of five stars)

Amazing Spider-Man #11 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Slott covers a lot of ground here, and he does it in a way that doesn't feel too rushed.  In other words, if it feels rushed, it's because events move quickly; the participants in this issue probably feel rushed themselves.

Peter's fight against Otto seems to be the marquis event, taking up the first few pages.  Slott reminds us how clever Peter is, as he realizes that Otto can't imagine that he could be from a future where he loses control over Peter's body.  Peter uses this insight to his advantage.  He stops the fight to suggest that Otto deliver the killing blow, the one that he criticizes Peter for never landing.  However, Otto realizes that he can't kill a "past" incarnation of Peter without killing "himself."  Subsequently, Peter gets to land the coup de grace due to Otto's moment of indecision.  Slott uses Peter's victory not just to establish Peter as the king of the Spiders, so to speak, but also to allow Peter to observe that the killing blow isn't going to work against the Inheritors, since they've cheated death.  In other words, Peter isn't just the king of the Spiders because he beat Otto; he's the king of the Spiders because his non-lethal method -- requiring creative ways to defeat opponents -- is the only thing that's going to save them all.  It's that sort of tight writing that made "Spider-Island" such a joy to read.

Speaking of the Inheritors' command over death, Slott addresses it in other ways here.  We're seen Morlun exhibit fear over "our" Peter, presumably because he's previously killed him (twice).  But, that fear doesn't really seem to make sense in a guy that has been killed and resurrected numerous times.  Sure, maybe you'd be wary of him, but it doesn't make sense to fear him, since the worst that he can do to you is something that gets instantly undone.  Slott addresses that disconnect by making it clear that Morlun is afraid because this mysterious prophecy seems to be unfolding, given the presence of the Bride, Other, and Scion (who we learn is May's brother, Benjamin). Slott makes it clear that the prophecy portends the fall of the Inheritors, so it makes sense why Morlun is nervous.  However, I will say, I'm still not sure why only Morlun is nervous.  His other siblings don't seem to be as concerned, and Morlun seems particularly wary of Earth-616.  I'm still hoping that Slott gives us some more details at some point, despite seemingly answering the question here.

Slott then surprises us by making it clear that Peter's fight with Otto was just a warm-up exercise, as Solus and Morlun take the fight to Earth-13.  It make sense why Solus decides to strike, since he wants control over the important players, like the Scion.  However, you'd think that he'd go after the two easier marks (Cindy and Kaine).  But, he announces that he wants to go after Ben in the Safe Zone to disabuse the Spiders of the notion that they even have a "safe zone."  To be honest, killing Captain Universe Spider-Man pretty effectively accomplishes that goal.

Slott makes it clear here that we've got a long way to go before this fight is done.  I had figured that we'd end with the Inheritors storming Earth-13.  The fact that it happens in Part 3 means that I'm clearly not getting the scale of what Slott is doing here.  I was genuinely surprised by this development, and I am really excited to see what Slott is planning.  I will say that I wish that we had a little more space for interactions between the Spiders.  For example, Gwen and Peter have a moment in this issue where they talk about the fact that they couldn't save each other's counter-part in their worlds.  It would've been nice if it could've happened in more than a panel, because we're talking about some legitimately heart-breaking stuff there.  But, given the rate with which Slott is killing off Spiders, we might have a chance to get to know the remaining ones better than we think.

*** (three of five stars)

Amazing Spider-Man #10 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Honestly, I had no idea what happened in this issue.  I've spent the last 90 minutes or so re-reading other issues and cross-referencing them, so I have a better sense of the story that Slott was trying to tell.  But, if you're not willing to put in that effort (and, in particular, aren't getting the tie-in issues), you don't have a hope in Hell of understanding this issue.

The first problem is that Slott reveals here that Otto's Spider-People and the Safe Zone's Spider-People are two different teams.  To be fair to Slott, it was clear last issue that Otto wasn't operating from Earth-13 (the Safe Zone) in his previous appearances (I even noted that in my review).  But, it also wasn't clear that we were dealing with two separate groups.  The Safe Zone felt like the logical next stage in assembling Spider-People, since they weren't all going to fit in Otto's existing base of operations in Spider-Man 2099's Earth.  Otto wasn't in the Safe Zone in issue #9, but it didn't necessarily mean that he hadn't also moved his operations there.  But, we learn in this issue here that Otto didn't move from Spider-Man 2099's Earth.  As Old Man Spider confirms here, they are, in fact, two distinct groups.

I've read every issue of this event, and I had no idea that we were dealing with two different groups.  I'm going to go through the issues and put together a coherent list of the two teams in a separate post.  But, it clearly felt like we only had one group.  Even though I'm sure that Slott and his co-authors were careful in keeping them separate, I would've sworn, for example, that Old Man Spider went on a mission with Assassin Spider-Man at some point.  If I had to put my finger on it, this confusion likely comes because Slott didn't make it sufficiently clear that the Safe Zone Spider-People, when they started appearing, weren't working with Otto.  Otto was essentially Spider-Zero in this endeavor, so it stood to reason that the Spider-People that escaped the Inheritors would wind up working with him.  It's now clearly not the case, but it's a little late to make that clarification.

To be honest, we all knew that this sort of confusion was going to happen at some point.  We're dealing with too many Peters not to get confused.  But, Slott had to know that, too.  Unfortunately, he didn't really do anything to mitigate the problem.  In fact, I'm stunned that Marvel didn't use a standard intro page for each issue to show us the teams as they assembled.  They use it for every other damn book, even when they don't need to do so, like how the intro page for "Avengers & X-Men:  Axis" reminds us who the Avengers are.  But, we really could've used it here.  The question at this point is whether Slott can just draw a line under this issue as the necessarily confusing one and move forward now that all the Spider-People are together in one place (more or less).

Turning to other revelations, we learn that Old Man Spider is an alternate Ezekiel from a world where Morlun killed Peter.  He warns Peter with his dying breath to protect the Bride, Other, and still-unidentified Scion.  This revelation isn't all that Earth-shattering, since we've heard other characters mention them as "special" in other issues.  Here, Otto implies that they're special because they're the only ones unique to a dimension (namely, our dimension), though I'm sure we'll get more information on that as we go.

The bigger revelation is that the Inheritors can clone themselves, explaining (in all likelihood) how Morlun has twice survived dying on Earth-616.  Slott is going to have to go into more detail on this one, since I'm not really sure how it works.  It raises all sorts of questions.  For example, the important part of killing the Spider-People for the Inheritors is feeding on their energy.  If a clone feeds on it, how does that help the Inheritor?  I think the answer is that the Inheritors only have one body at a time; presumably, when they die, their consciousness is immediately sent to a cloned body.  Although it makes sense, I'll admit that this revelation feels like a stunt just to justify the spin-off book, "Scarlet Spiders," where the clones present on the two teams -- Earth-94's Ben Reilly, Earth-616's Kaine Parker, and Earth-1610's Jessica Drew -- try to get to the bottom of the mystery.  But, if it's handled well, it could be pretty cool.  If the clones shut down this clone program, it would definitely raise the stakes, since it implies that the Inheritors could finally be stopped for good.

As should be obvious from this scattered review, a lot happens in this issue.  We've got the revelation that we've been reading about two different teams all along, the discovery that the Inheritors use clones to prolong their lives, and the confirmation that the Bride, Other, and Scion are important for some reason.  We also split into different groups; in addition to "Scarlet Spiders," Spider-Man Noir and Spider-Woman go to protect Silk from the Twins in "Spider-Woman" and Miguel and someone else are going to have to hide from Daemos to examine the body of his clone in "Spider-Man 2099."  Given how confusing this issue was, I don't have high hopes that Slott and his co-authors are going to be able to coordinate these stories as well as they did with "Spider-Island" and its tie-in issues.  But, I'm willing to keep hope.  If they do, this event is really going to kick ass.

** (two of five stars)

Amazing Spider-Man #9 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Could Olivier Coipel draw Spider-Man all the time?  Seriously.  Peter Parker -- all the versions of him -- have never looked better.  Sorry, Dan Slott, despite you telling me not to look at his amazing ass, I couldn't help but look at his amazing ass!  It's somehow even better when he puts on his tights.  Plus, we get sexy blond Ben Reilly and sexy bearded Cosmic Spidey...and...and...it's just a little overwhelming to be honest.  Lots of sexy Spidey sexiness.

The good news is that this issue isn't just great because of the sexy.  (Though, it obviously doesn't hurt.)  Slott does a great job embracing the moment that we all knew was coming, when Peter meets all the other Spiders.  It's confusing and overwhelming to the reader (so many Spiders!), but Slott makes it that way on purpose, so we feel how Peter feels.  He suddenly encounters his daughter from a future timeline, a version of Gwen Stacy from an alternate universe, and his previously dead "brother"/clone plucked from a different past.  It's a lot.  That's not even including "Downton Webby" (Spider-UK), "Spider-Pig" (Spider-Ham), and all the other Spiders

But, Peter is still Peter.  Slott juts has such a wonderful command of his voice.  I loved him declaring half-asleep that "My something-something sense is tinglin'..." right before he realizes that Silk is hanging over his bed.  Besides his "Downton Webby" quip, he also works in calling Spider-UK "Benedict Cumber-bug."  After so many unfunny issues of Octo-Spidey, I still relish the return of Peter's sense of humor.  We all know that it serves as a way to allay his nerves.  Given how funny he is this issue, he must be damn nervous (something Slott himself might want us to conclude).

However, Slott doesn't make it all fun and games.  Although Peter might just be getting in the loop on the war with the Inheritors, Slott reminds us that the other Spiders having been fighting it for a while.  Old Man Spider is skeptical that our Kaine is worth the loss of the Spider-Man of Earth-70105 (a certain Bruce Banner), showing that the Spiders that've been fighting this battle are starting to get weary of the losses.  Mayday is relieved when Cosmic Spidey returns her brother to her, a reminder not only that he's her only family but that some of the surviving Spiders have still suffered terrible losses.  It serves as a great balance to Peter's humor and reminds us that Slott isn't afraid to go to dark places with this series, even if he manages to keep up Peter's sense of humor.

Beyond just the great moments of characterization, Slott also kicks the plot into high gear.  First, we're introduced to the Spiders' "safe zone" on Earth-13.  Slott knew that the Spiders obviously needed some sort of place where they could safely congregate if they were going to be able to regroup sufficiently to plan a counter-attack against the Inheritors (as we're now calling them).  After all, I was wondering how Otto was staying under the Inheritors' radar.  I don't think that he was on Earth-13 when we've previously seen him, but it was pretty clear that he was going to need somewhere like it at some point.  Moreover, the reason why it's safe is brilliant:  it's guarded by Cosmic Spidey, and the Inheritors know not to attack a Spider with the powers of a god.  We also get hints of other stories to be clarified, like Kaine's connection to the Other as well as the identities of Old Man Spider and the mysterious Scion.

In other words, Slott proves that he's the only person that can really write a fantastic event (particularly as Remender is unexpectedly stumbling with "Axis").  Hopefully, the streak continues.

***** (five of five stars)

Amazing Spider-Man #8 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

OK, I'll admit that I totally teared up a bit when Spidey told Kamala that she was doing great, as one teen hero to another one.

In fact, this whole issue was pretty great.  Sure, it's kind of a dopey ending, with Clash (more on him in a minute) and Kamala realizing that the Kree hadn't actually sanctioned Minerva's mission (since she didn't have any actual Kree henchmen on hand) and Spidey pretending to call the Kree to spook her.  But, it was fun in an innocent way.  I mean, every outing doesn't have to be a life-and-death struggle.  It reminded me of issues like "Amazing Spider-Man" #267.  I wasn't a huge fan of that issue when I first read it, but it had the same hokey charm that this issue has.  (Slott just pulls it off a bit better than DeFalco did, to be honest.)  Moreover, I loved seeing Clayton again.  Although Peter doesn't fully acknowledge it here, I do feel like he really owes Clayton.  As I said in my review of "Amazing Spider-Man" #1.5, he pretty nonchalantly ruined Clayton's life when he exposed his identity to the public.  Giving him a job (something that Clayton couldn't get with his record) seems the least that he could do.

The "Edge of Spider-Verse" story is decidedly less innocent than the main story.  Daemos, one of the brothers of Karn and Morlun, gets into the action, killing off Spider-Girl's parents and boyfriend.  It's pretty grim, particularly when May ends it swearing to break every vow she made to her father and pledging to kill Daemos.  But, it also raises an interesting question.  Most of the characters whose lives we've seen ended or ruined so far aren't really characters that we'd expect to see again.  The closest have probably been the Marvel 1602 Spider-Man and the Exiles' Spider-Man 2099.  However, Spider-Girl is a pretty well established character.  She did appear in her own series, even if it was short-lived.  Daemos does a number on her life here, and it makes me wonder if we really aren't going to see the events of "Spider-Verse" ret-conned in the end.  We still have the fact that Otto disappeared from "Superior Spider-Man" #19, setting up the events of "Spider-Verse."  It seems like the event has to end with Otto returning to where he left, implying that everyone else (like May) would also return to where they were.  I guess we'll see.  If not, Slott is definitely breaking a lot of china.

*** (three of five stars)

Amazing Spider-Man #7 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

This issue was pretty solid.  We're still inching slowly to "Spider-Verse," but I found myself enjoying one last story before we dive head first into that event (as much as I'm actually excited about it).  My thoughts are scattered, because it's late on a Friday and it wasn't exactly a banner week at work.  So, I thought that I'd just list them, in no particular order:

- I love Ana Maria making the point that someone should've made to Peter years ago, that "great responsibility" doesn't mean "all the responsibility."  Word.  It's hard to believe that Peter just now realizes that the fire and police services can actually handle routine problems, like ringing alarms, attempted robberies, and small fires.  But, better late than never.

- I love Spidey and Ms. Marvel together.  I'm glad that Gage has Spidey take on board Kamala, telling her that "this sort of super smash-up" is his specialty.  As the original teen superhero, he'd be an asshole if he told her to sit on the sidelines while the adults fought.  Plus, their interaction is just adorable.  Her barrage of questions about Carol is hilarious, but Peter's response is even better:  "Yes, there was a date.  Let's leave it there, okay?  That's what she did."  Amazing.

- Minerva's plan makes total sense.  Seriously.  Usually, super-villains have totally hare-brained schemes, but stealing an Inhuman still undergoing terrigenesis to use his/her "still-maleable genes" to undo the Kree's evolutionary dead-end totally works for me.

- Spidey has a history with the masked henchman?  I can't wait to discover who it is.  Hopefully it's not Hydro-Man, but someone obscure, like Ox.

- The most interesting part of the Captain Spider-Britain back-up story -- besides Morlun killing Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends -- is the connection to the ongoing plot of "New Avengers."  By connecting the stories, we're definitely given some evidence that the rumors that Marvel is building to a major collapse of the space/time continuum next summer isn't too far off base.

- Speaking of Spidey and his Amazing Friends:  ouch, Dan Slott.  Don't mess with the '80s, bro.

*** (three of five stars)

Amazing Spider-Man #1.5 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Slott brings "Learning to Crawl" to an end in this issue, despite the fact that I felt like he was telling a much bigger story than the one that we ultimately get.  Overall, I thought this look (even if shorter than expected) at Peter's early days was great, though this issue itself is a mixed bag.

On the plus side, I thought Slott did a great job of bringing us full circle.  For a while, it looked like Peter was going to develop lasting friendships with the A.V. club, raising the obvious question of why those people aren't in his life now.  But, the revelation that he stole from the A.V. club (to fight Clash) and consequently ruined those friendships turns them into a brief interlude of happiness in Peter's otherwise miserable high-school experience.  Similarly, Dr. Cobbwell refuses to allow him to return to work for him; although they end of friendlier terms than Peter does with the A.V. club, it explains why Peter was never seen working for him after issue #2.  In other words, Slott doesn't change canon here.  The Peter than ends this mini-series is the Peter that we recognize, just one living in a more modern world than he did.

Although Slott manages to tie up these loose ends in a way that feels organic, other aspects of the story in this issue feel forced.  For example, I thought Jonah fired Peter last issue?  I mean, I get that Jonah is mercurial, so he could've easily changed his mind once Peter produced some decent photos, but it would've been nice for Slott to show us that.  Moreover, I find it hard to believe that Peter's guidance counselor -- a man allegedly dedicated to troubled kids -- would so easily dismiss him as "untrustworthy," a "chronic liar," and a "lost cause."  Judgmental much?  It's clear that Slott needed him to be this dismissive to explain why we never saw him again but also to set up Aunt May's joke.

In terms of the joke -- where Aunt May sneezes and sends a set of wind-up chattering teeth flying onto Peter's lap --  I have to say that I appreciate what Slott was trying to do.  I've liked everything that he's done with May throughout this mini-series.  In the original stories, she hardly gives a thought to the impact that Ben's death had on Peter.  I've loved Slott showing her as much more engaged; in addition to updating the time period of the story, it's the best thing about this mini-series.  However, just like with the guidance counselor, the problem is that it's forced.  It would be OK if it felt organic, but it doesn't.  May isn't just funny to be funny; she's funny to get Peter to realize the importance of having fun while being Spider-Man.  She claims that a sense of humor is Ben's other gift, besides his heart.  I'll buy that, but I don't ultimately buy where it leads us, namely Peter deciding to use quips to honor Uncle Ben.  He's always been described as using them as a result of his nerves, and he eventually realizes (as he does here) how they successfully distract his opponent.  I totally don't buy that he does it as some sort of homage.  I just don't get why Slott felt the need to go down this road, since it really the only part that feels negatively ret-con-y.

My biggest grip, though, is one that I often have with Slott, namely that he tries to do too much and winds up failing to deliver on certain components of the story.  We're really supposed to believe that  Peter just rips off Clash's mask in front of everyone?  I'm assuming that we don't hear from Clash again because he goes to prison, and, I have to say, it just seems remarkably callous on Peter's part to set up that.  He's also a guy wearing a mask, and it's not like Clash has been using his power to rob liquor stores.  He's mostly been just a nuisance, if a dangerous one.  Peter doesn't try to have some sort of heart-to-heart talk to him?  He just rips off his mask and ruins his life?  Moreover, he then crows about it, as if it's some great honor to Uncle Ben?  It feels uncharacteristically tone-deaf on Slott's part to have Peter be this vindictive.

But, as I said, overall, I really enjoyed this mini-series.  I'd recommend it to anyone trying to get a quick insight into Peter's origins, rater than having to track down the TPBs of his early adventures.  You get a more modern story that improves upon the original in ways that surprises you.  I just wish Slott had stuck the landing a little better.

** (two of five stars)

Amazing Spider-Man #6 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Slott crams a lot in here.  Some of it's good, some of it's bad.  

I have to start with the Black Cat, since she's at the heart of this story.  I've complained about the Black Cat's vendetta against Spider-Man since Slott debuted this plot line in "Amazing Spider-Man" #1, since Slott fundamentally changed certain aspects of Felicia's history and personality to make it work.  First, he bases it on the premise that Felicia's identity wasn't publicly known.  Since her identity has always been publicly known, it never made a lot of sense to me that the police suddenly decided to investigate her loft after discovering that Spider-Man had webbed her to a wall (in "Superior Spider-Man" #20).  They've always known her identity, so they could've really done that at any given point in time.  Moreover, this plot line got even more ridiculous after Peter revealed that Otto had taken over his body at the time that he attacked her.  Even if Felicia's identity had been a secret, Peter confirming that he wasn't "Spider-Man" when "he" exposed it pretty much erases the cause for the vendetta against him.

However, Slott kept the vendetta going by moving the goal posts:  Felicia is now really trying to kill Spider-Man just to re-establish her reputation in the criminal underworld.  As I note in my review of "Amazing Spider-Man" #3, I'm not really sure why she's trying to impress criminals, since it's been a while since she's been one.  But, Slott doubles down on this approach in this issue.  Felicia doesn't kill Spidey, but she does de-power Electro, winning the respect of the hoods at the Bar with No Name who were angry at him for accidentally killing the inmates that he tried to free in "Amazing Spider-Man" #1.  Felicia assumes control of her own gang, and we learn that her goal is to be queen of crime in New York.  I still don't buy it, but hopefully it takes us off the vendetta path.  In the future, I'd rather that we just see Felicia and Peter confronting each other over her criminal activity, like they did in the past.  That way, we can put this whole plot line to bed.  However, I'm not optimistic, since Felicia specifically states that she has to kill Spider-Man to put the unlucky part of her life behind her.  I guess we'll see.

Speaking of Electro, I'm not entirely sure how he winds up de-powered.  Felicia's plan was to pump him full of power so that he exploded; it wasn't to strip him of his power.  I don't understand how doing so to the nth degree actually winds up de-powering him.  It's possible that Felicia threw it in reverse, as she mentioned she could do earlier in the issue.  However, in the panel where she could've done that, she actually tells Spider-Man that she'd rather see him burn.  It's one of the consequences of Slott cramming too many developments into this issue, because we could've used a few panels to explain the de-powering, rather than the reporter just announcing it.  (Also, in retrospect, I'm not really sure what this plan had to do with Spider-Man.  It went after Peter, but they don't know that he's Spider-Man.  I'm sure that Slott explained it in a previous issue, but the fact that I can't remember it just shows how we moved too quickly through this issue to make all the connections that we needed to see to appreciate it.)

In terms of the good, I like the conversation between Peter and Anna Maria.  I've always liked her, and I'm glad that Slott has found a pretty solid reason for keeping her now that Otto is gone.  He seems to be setting up treachery on the part of Sajani, so I could see a future where Anna Maria takes Sajani's place at Parker Industries, running the show while Peter acts as Spider-Man.  However, I'm nervous where said treachery is going.  We need to stay with Parker Industries for a while, not move Peter immediately into another career or field.  Unfortunately, Slott's plans for Sajani seems to spell trouble for Parker Industries, and I'm worried that we're going to have yet another set of stories focused on the Parker luck.  Also, I don't like the implication that Peter's own plans for the company make no sense.  Sure, he might not have been the one to set up the company, but I'm pretty confident in Peter's abilities to make marketable products, given his run at Horizon.  It's not like Sajani was the wunderkind there.  (Remember when her reverbium almost killed everyone?)

In the end, it's a mixed bag.  I'm hoping that we can put this distracting Black Cat and Electro plot line behind us and move onto Spider-Verse.  It's time.

*** (three of five stars)