Amazing Spider-Man #2
Written by Dan Slott,
Art by Humberto Ramos – Pencils, Viktor Olazaba – Inks, Edgar Delgado – Colors
Peter Parker’s kind of an insecure, shallow jerk, y’know? After last issue’s cliffhanger (Anna Maria knows Peter is Spider-Man) Peter deals with the big news in a very aloof fashion. Anna Maria has every right to be upset. Her lover is dead, and some shallow, insecure jerk has taken his place. He lays out his entire mind-swap story over a couple pages, and jokes his way out of the situation. I get that this is shallow superhero fun, but the focus on Peter’s problems only serve to diminish Anna Maria’s. He’s been gone for a while in the Marvel U, but all he has to do is catch up on his TV shows and reset his ringtones. They’re great jokes, but maybe not the best place for them. Anna Maria is going through some real shit, or as real as you can get in stories like these.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Spider-Man comic if he just had girl problems the entire issue (oh wait, of course it would) so Slott and Ramos squeeze in a few scenes with Elektro, whose powers are on the fritz thanks to some evil experiments Doctor Octopus pulled last year in his Spidey-guise. He and Spidey fight, but the fight is mostly used as a placeholder to show us what’s up with The Black Cat and The Human Torch. This issue of Spider-Man is firmly committed to catching up with every character and bringing them up to speed on Peter Parker’s predicament.
The second issue of Spidey’s new series was a better read than the first, but it still wasn’t any good. At least we’ve got an idea on the plot now. Issue #1 bombarded the reader with so many upcoming threads, I had no way of knowing what the story was actually going to be about. Now we’ve narrowed the focus back down, gotten our villain figured out, and even gotten a main theme for the issue. The last page promises a direction for upcoming stories, and it looks like Peter’s going to dive back into the ethically problematic territory that made Superior Spider-Man so interesting. Slott’s method of writing still seems to be throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks at this point, and the last page throws a hefty plot point down in a monologue, no less, but maybe if he’s moving into some truly interesting territory, he’ll slow down enough to do some quality writing.
P.S. What’s up with Elektro? Of any Spider-Man villain, he’s got the least personality, the worst costume, and the least reason to stick around. He doesn’t even have an animal theme! He could’ve been the Electric Eel! I just don’t get why he’s such a mainstay in Spider-Man’s rogues gallery. If any commenters can recommend a good Elektro story, let me know. I’d love to figure out why he’s such a fixture.
Art by Humberto Ramos – Pencils, Viktor Olazaba – Inks, Edgar Delgado – Colors
Peter Parker’s kind of an insecure, shallow jerk, y’know? After last issue’s cliffhanger (Anna Maria knows Peter is Spider-Man) Peter deals with the big news in a very aloof fashion. Anna Maria has every right to be upset. Her lover is dead, and some shallow, insecure jerk has taken his place. He lays out his entire mind-swap story over a couple pages, and jokes his way out of the situation. I get that this is shallow superhero fun, but the focus on Peter’s problems only serve to diminish Anna Maria’s. He’s been gone for a while in the Marvel U, but all he has to do is catch up on his TV shows and reset his ringtones. They’re great jokes, but maybe not the best place for them. Anna Maria is going through some real shit, or as real as you can get in stories like these.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Spider-Man comic if he just had girl problems the entire issue (oh wait, of course it would) so Slott and Ramos squeeze in a few scenes with Elektro, whose powers are on the fritz thanks to some evil experiments Doctor Octopus pulled last year in his Spidey-guise. He and Spidey fight, but the fight is mostly used as a placeholder to show us what’s up with The Black Cat and The Human Torch. This issue of Spider-Man is firmly committed to catching up with every character and bringing them up to speed on Peter Parker’s predicament.
The second issue of Spidey’s new series was a better read than the first, but it still wasn’t any good. At least we’ve got an idea on the plot now. Issue #1 bombarded the reader with so many upcoming threads, I had no way of knowing what the story was actually going to be about. Now we’ve narrowed the focus back down, gotten our villain figured out, and even gotten a main theme for the issue. The last page promises a direction for upcoming stories, and it looks like Peter’s going to dive back into the ethically problematic territory that made Superior Spider-Man so interesting. Slott’s method of writing still seems to be throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks at this point, and the last page throws a hefty plot point down in a monologue, no less, but maybe if he’s moving into some truly interesting territory, he’ll slow down enough to do some quality writing.
P.S. What’s up with Elektro? Of any Spider-Man villain, he’s got the least personality, the worst costume, and the least reason to stick around. He doesn’t even have an animal theme! He could’ve been the Electric Eel! I just don’t get why he’s such a mainstay in Spider-Man’s rogues gallery. If any commenters can recommend a good Elektro story, let me know. I’d love to figure out why he’s such a fixture.
A Look Inside
