What a wonderful life!
Peter goes through some more Parker pains as collateral
damage increases.
The problem with this book has been that while it may be a
nostalgic trip back in time for most people, the sidenote type story (you know
what happened when this was happening in Amazing Spider-Man # (insert issue
no)) is proving detrimental.
The artwork tries hard to be evocative of that era but sadly
fails both as homage and as proper artwork.
SPOILERS FOLLOW……………
Clayton aka Clash goes on his first trial with his sonic
suit. Through unlike Peter who’s doing it for the money, his is more the need
for exposure as something other than a ‘rich nerd’.
So while he initially goes after the Vulture, he is
sidetracked by hearing of a Spider-Man/Fantastic Four showdown and then decides
to pay Spider-Man to lose to him on recorded video.
Everything doesn’t go as he wants though.
Peter on the other hand is going through a tough time.
Rejected by the Fantastic Four, he tries to get it off his chest by speaking in
metaphors to his school counselor saying that ‘the cool kids don’t get him’,
but sadly the counselor takes this literally and admonishes Flash Thompson for
it.
A nice parallel is drawn when Peter thinks about entering
the science fair for the prize money that would help at home while Clayton has already
completed his project and gets a handsome sum of money as reward. Clayton, like
so many in his position, believes that money is the only way to get other’s
attention.
With the cash, he contacts Spider-Man through his former
agent. The fight goes by plan initially as both hold back, but when Peter
taunts one time too much, it gets serious as a sonic attack knocks the
wallcrawler into a wall.
This drives Peter to anger and he webs up Clash, taking the
money with him. This results in Clash becoming resentful and swearing vengeance
on Spider-Man.
Back at school, Peter confesses that it wasn’t Flash who
gave him a black eye, and this only makes the counselor hurt at the deceit and
Flash promise retribution for this slight. Back home, Aunt May apparently makes
a starting discovery.
It’s a little too been there-done that and meh material that’s
happening here. Clash’s story feels on the nose while the references to iconic
Spider-Man storylines distract from the current one.
SPOILERS END…………….
Ending up focusing too much on an underwhelming antagonist
and a déjà vu feeling due to too many in-your-face references to other stories,
this has become a little underwhelming.
The artwork is also not much to talk about.
So, I give it 5.0 out of 10
+Some good character insight to Peter
-An underwhelming and rote antagonist
-Too many references to seminal storylines
-Under par artwork
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