Starring
Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man 23
Writer : Peter David
Pencils : Todd Nauck
Sensational Spider-Man 40
Writer : Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Artist : Clayton Crain
Amazing Spider-Man 543
Writer : J. Michael Straczynski
Pencils : Ron Garney
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $2.99 each
From next month, the Spider-Man titles are changing.
Again.
For those who are unaware, it runs something like this: Next month all three Spider-titles (Amazing, Sensational and Friendly Neighbourhood) unite in a single storyline by a single creative team - writer J Michael Straczynski and artist Joe Quesada. A storyline described by Marvel as “The biggest event in Spider-Man’s history begins this September in One More Day, as Peter Parker must confront the greatest challenge of his life! [This] storyline will tie together story threads seeded throughout JMS’ six year tenure! When this four-part story concludes, nothing will ever be the same for Peter Parker, as his decision affects the past, present and future of everyone’s favorite wall crawler!”
This is not a new thing. Over the last couple of years we have had the inter-title crossover The Other and general theme Back In Black. Reaching back into the past, other storylines spring to mind that were designed to change the character, to make him more palatable to a general audience - storylines such as Chapter One and the Clone Saga. To say that Spider-fans are approaching the forthcoming One More Day storyline with caution is an understatement - message boards are currently full of people theorising on what will happen in the story, and whether or not they will continue to buy Spider-Man comics afterwards. The current storyline has Peter as a fugitive after the events of Civil War, his identity publicly known and his Aunt May even closer to death’s door than usual, and from the solicitations and speculation it certainly seems likely that nothing short of a full revamp will bring the title to the place it is expected to be after One More Day.
On the other hand, many people are enthused about the new creative teams coming on after the storyline is over - when the smoke clears, both Sensational and Friendly Neighbourhood will be no more, replaced instead by a thrice-monthly Amazing Spider-Man title, written (in alternating arcs) by Dan Slott, Zeb Wells, Bob Gale and Marc Guggenheim, with Phil Jimenez, Steve McNiven, Salvador Larroca and Chris Bachalo on art.
This means that the latest issues of the Spider-titles are the last ones of the pre-One More Day era. So, how are they? More importantly, where do they leave Spider-Man?
First up we have the newest title, Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man. This is the youngest of the three titles, launched two years ago when it kicked off the The Other storyline, with every issue after that storyline ended written by Peter David. This title has barely settled in and found a place for itself before the end has come along. Over the course of the title, David threw various challenges old and new at Spider-Man – Luchadores, three Mysterios, Sandman, Vulture and more. Through a combination of the book’s name, Peter David’s writing and the artists working on the title (such as Mike Weiringo, Todd Nauck), this came to be viewed as the “fun” Spider-Man book – a not entirely inaccurate assessment.
The final storyline – which mainly dealt with Spider-Man facing Ero, the nemesis set up for him during The Other – featured a subplot where J. Jonah Jameson fired his managing editor Joe “Robbie” Robertson, and that’s where this issue starts off. JJJ arrives at the Robertson house, battered and bruised and holding a bottle of wine. He proceeds to tell Robbie about his day, and his face-to-face meeting with Spider-Man.
The issue focuses on one of David’s strengths, characterisation through dialogue and action. The confrontation takes up over half of the issue, and it’s everything you’d expect from a face off that’s been building up for over 40 years. If you’ve been waiting to see them actually come to blows, then this is the issue for you.
Todd Nauck first paired up with Peter David on DC’s much-missed Young Justice, and the team work just as well here. While some of the anatomy in this issue is a little off (Which is uncommon for Nauck), he draws a wonderful Spider-Man.
Where does this issue leave Spider-Man? Well, his relationship with JJJ (which was changed almost entirely when Spidey unmasked during Civil War) has evolved again and possibly irrevocably… but beyond that, Spidey is still Spidey.
Next, we come to Sensational Spider-Man. Originally titled simply Spider-Man and published under the Marvel Knights banner, the title was launched with a year-long run by Mark Millar, who was followed by Reginald Huddling. The current writer is Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, who took over with issue 23 (when the name changed). Aguirre-Sacasa’s writing style has led to this book being viewed as the “intellectual” Spider-Man title, and over the last year or so has been quite possibly the strongest of the three.
Aguirre-Sacasa’s final issue takes us through a wonderful but brief retelling of Peter’s life before and after the spider bite that gave him his powers. As Peter lets off some aggression over his current situation by pummeling a dumpster in an alleyway, he is approached by a mysterious scarred man who knows his name, heals his battered hands and then reveals to Peter who he actually is. He’s God.
Yes.
The rest of the issue is taken up with a conversation between Peter and the Almighty, which goes in expected and unexpected directions. The Lord shows Peter what effect he has had on people’s lives, and then leaves him with some simple advice.
Crain’s digitally painted art is used to good effect here, and works well with the story. There are a couple of moments in the early flashback sequence that appear to be designed specifically to reference the recent movies.
Where does this title leave Spider-Man? In a surprisingly good place. He’s met God and been told what his purpose in life is, and the final page suggests a better-than-to-be-expected future for Peter.
Which brings us to Amazing Spider-Man, the original Spider-Man solo title. Written by JMS for the last six years, this has been the main Spider-book, and is where the vast majority of the big events in Spider-Man’s life start. The title has had its fair share of controversy over the years, with storylines including Spider-Man’s powers being revealed as possibly mystical in nature, Aunt May learning of Peter’s secret identity, the arrival of the children of Gwen Stacy and the Green Goblin, the main Civil War storyline and, most recently, Aunt May being taken down by an assassin’s bullet that was meant for Peter. Straczynski’s run appears to split fandom down the middle.
Straczynski’s final issue brings the five-part Back in Black storyline to a close. Over the last few issues, Peter has hunted down the people responsible for Aunt May’s current condition, the previous issue featuring a knock-down, drag out battle with the Kingpin that leaves the giant crime lord battered and broken, with Peter swearing to return and finish him off when Aunt May dies.
Over the course of this issue, Peter assaults a Police Officer, steals an ambulance, commits fraud and forgery to get Aunt May into a new hospital, and… well, quite frankly, that’s more than enough for this reader. Over the last few years, Marvel have piled punishment upon punishment onto Spider-Man, and not in the usual “Peter has to choose between fighting the Rhino in Central Park, making it to his date with Mary-Jane or getting Aunt May her medicine on time” way. His supporting cast have gradually been stripped away, every interesting development in his life being written out too early or ignored, stories that reveal previously unknown things about past stories without seeming to understand what made those stories work in the first place, sloppy, almost absent inter-title continuity, big “events” that lead nowhere and a whole host of minor little annoyances that could be applied to many comics… but right here, they seem to be building up.
Not to say that it’s all been bad – all of the main Spider-titles have had their fair share of good stories over the last few years (read the reviews of this year’s Spider-Man Annuals that ran on this very site if you need convincing) and even in the middle of some of the worst stories there have been some wonderful moments. Overall, however, it’s not been the best few years for Spider-Man.
Where does this final issue leave Peter? Damaged. In desperate need of some kind of an extreme, continuity-wiping reboot that takes him back to where he was before so many of these stories happened to him. The effect is reminiscent of a small child who stomps on their toys until they are smashed, and then demands a new one because the old one is broken.
What will happen during One More Day, and where will we be at the start of the Brand New Day? Only time will tell. Let’s hope it takes Spider-Man to a better place, because it couldn’t get much worse.
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Russell Hillman was born in London but now lives in Coventry. His hobbies include precious little. He doesn’t get out much, but thinks reading a lot of comics makes up for it. He’s wrong.