Things go wrong.
When you know Peter Parker is in a good place, you know that
the famous Parker luck can’t be too behind….
Slott puts Peter in a nice place, which must be the first
time he’s been in since the start of this miniseries. But his attempts to
rectify his mistakes with Clash take a costly turn.
SPOILERS FOLLOW………..
Instead of Spider-Man, we see Peter using his powers to
become a superhero paparazzo, clicking pictures of the Thing, Iron Man and Thor
(what’s up with the nurse thing? Don’t read too much of Thor, so can anyone
enlighten me?).
With no Spider-Man to interfere, Peter’s having it good –
regular payments from Jameson for his superhero pics, a group of friends (Miles
Warren aka the Jackal reference!), top in class (much to Flash’s disgust) and a
productive member in both counseling and lab. Through a certain alien invasion
thing does make him put on the tights again. Briefly.
You know when things are so good, if you’re Peter, things
will get back pretty fast.
And so it happens that Clash breaks up a concert to announce
his presence to the world, only to get lumped as a Spider-Man wannabe,
particularly by JJ Jameson.
This part is pure genius as Slott takes away the Spider
powers, and brings Peter into his elements. He studies sound technology rigorously
and creates an anti-sonic inverter, sadly ‘borrowing’ things from his lab
class.
And when Clash decides to attack Jameson, it seems like it’s
his chance to take out the bad guy and be the hero (after his first meeting
with Betty Brandt).
Things don’t go as planned. An initial successful attempt
using the inverter gives way to Clash changing the situation and winning, leaving
Jameson calling Spider-Man the has-been.
Flash has been spying on Peter and tells the principal of
Peter’s ‘borrowing’ which creates a domino effect as he’s shunned by his peers,
his lab mentor and even the counselor.
And the cherry on top is to endure what is going to be the first
of many ‘you’re fired, Parker!’ speeches. With Clash the new ‘menace’, Peter is
left with nothing but to turn to Uncle Ben for comfort.
Sometimes that’s all you need to become a superhero. A
really bad day.
SPOILERS END…………….
The artwork has improved considerably since the start of
this series, and this issue is no exception.
Slott focuses on Peter this issue and thankfully restrains
himself from overusing either Spider-Man or Clash.
So, I give it 7.5 out of 10.
+Excellent focus on Peter
+The artwork is improving
+The issue is a done-in-one full circle
-Clash still too underdeveloped
-If you’re a regular Spidey reader, this situation may feel
a little cliched
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