When Peter Parker's marriage was erased, this was followed by some changes to the rest of the supporting cast, particularly Harry Osborn, Mary Jane and the Black Cat. One argument in favor of undoing One More Day is that it will allow these characters, along with Peter Parker to be restored to their earlier levels of maturity, thus reversing their regression.

The purpose of the supporting cast is to serve the protagonist's story. So their roles are going to be different when he's single than when he's married, as new storytelling opportunities are open for the writers, and new contrasts become necessary. There's little doubt that many of the changes in portrayal resulted from the removal of the marriage, so it does stand to reason that if Marvel backtracked on that part of One More Day, the supporting cast would be back to where they were prior to that story.

Mary Jane Watson

The last page of Amazing Spider-Man #560 revealed that an actor stalked by a supervillain was dating Mary Jane. This upset some readers. CBR poster Jeffgamer compared it to adultery.

Okay, so the issue, as I understand it (and have seen the scan of the last page), shows that some sleazy celeb named Bobby Carr has been dating a mystery woman who turns out to be Mary Jane. The last page reveals it, showing her response to a question of how she always looks so amazing...MJ is shown laying on his couch reading Faust, and she replies "It's magic, tiger. Come here and let me explain it to you."

If anything, this makes the whole deal even more offensive than before. I'm sorry, but the REAL continuity has Peter and Mary Jane married. This is a BS alternate reality universe manufactured by editorial decree and rubber-cemented by satanic pact. Now they're suggesting that MJ is doin' the nasty with some other guy, calling HIM her pet name for Peter. It's adultery, regardless of what Mr. Quesada wants the readership to accept. I don't give a rat's tuchus about "how it came to be" or what "loose ends" they tie up if those loose ends are dangling from the BND continuity. I KNOW how it really came to be...we ALL do -- by editorial mandate...and it needs to be UNDONE before they take it further, even if it means scrapping plans.*

This scene that is being described, re: the end of #560, is yet another Quesada &  Crew "slap to the face" of the long-time readers who care about the real timeline and the married relationship that is a cornerstone of the REAL life of Peter Parker. Me, I hope that scene knocks another 10,000 readers off the title. It should.
It is pure offensiveness, and Marvel should be called to task for it. Despite the advance solit promos for #560 that were saying "Something happens that YOU'VE BEEN ASKING FOR!!!!!", the fans have most decidedly NOT been demanding that MJ come back to the book in this fashion. A huge number of fans have been demanding that the MARRIAGE and the continuity be restored. I doubt that anyone will be able to even RECOGNIZE the MJ that Marvel is going to be depicting, the one who showed such unwavering loyalty to her husband as recently as Sensational Annual #1, the spotlight-on-MJ Sensational issue, or even the wretched OMD.* 

I'm sorry, Marvel, but you're being despicable.*

It's pretty clear that if Mary Jane were married to Peter Parker, Marvel wouldn't depict her in a relationship with a lowlife actor. But this does fit the current status quo. She's Peter's ex, so there's story potential in having her be in a bad relationship, especially with a guy who would make Peter uncomfortable.

Harry Osborn

Aside from coming back from the dead, Harry Osborn went from being a family man to dating a glamorous socialite. His earlier status quo fit the book at the time, with Harry and Liz consistently one step ahead of Peter and MJ. They got married first, and had a kid first, so there was an element of "When are you guys going to?" to their interactions with the lead. It also made sense for a young married couple to hang out with another young married couple.

Harry's Brand New Day status quo also fit that book. His relationship with Lily Hollister was integral to the Menace/ Election Day subplot. There was also a romantic triangle, in which Peter essentially lusted for, and had awkward interactions with, Harry's girl. These stories all made sense with Peter Parker being a single guy, so it's likely that if Peter and MJ's marriage was restored, Harry would either reconcile with Liz, or go back to the grave. Otherwise, his private life is more interesting than that of the protagonist.

The Black Cat

The most controversial BND characterization may have been with the Black Cat, who began a friends with benefits relationship with Spidey in Amazing Spider-Man #607. Before One More Day, she had grown to like Peter Parker, but now she had no interest whatsoever in the guy underneath the mask. Mike Mcnulty summed up his feelings at the time.

*No, my problem is that with this issue and as well as with last week’s, is that by taking Spidey and Felicia’s relationship back to square one, it doesn’t feel the least bit fresh or inspired. And since we are essentially told that it’s not going to be anything more than just sex between them and that it’s going to end badly eventually, there just doesn’t seem to be much emotional investment in them rekindling their “relationship.” Not to mention that Felicia Hardy, despite all the development she’s undergone with Spidey over the years, is now essentially reduced to “Spidey's kinky booty-call.”

When Peter and MJ were married, it served the story to have Black Cat still have feelings for Peter, as that resulted in an awkward dynamic for the married superhero, and created some conflict at home. Although one problem with that from a storytelling perspective is that the unrequited lover is more interesting than the happily married guy with a slightly jealous wife. As a result, you had a guest star more compelling than the lead.

There were some cries of misogyny after the depiction of the Black Cat and MJ as sexually active young women, which gets into difficult questions of gender and what's appropriate in this type of book. Though there are things that are more socially acceptable for a young married couple than for a group of young unmarried people, so you could argue that this type of controversy is unnecessary in a book that will have plenty of younger readers.


There are some complications exclusive to superhero comics, where the story's been ongoing for decades. The majority of the top 25 best-selling comic books last month featured characters who have been around for over a generation. The possible exceptions were Winter Soldier, which featured a character who was killed off in the 1960s,  Teen Titans, which still features new versions of decades-old characters, and Avengers X-Sanction, which one could argue is primarily a story for Cable, who premiered in 1990. In any other medium, most of the material would feature entirely new characters. There are also remakes, but in those cases a regression would be completely acceptable, as it would feature the characters before they had matured. 


With the Spider-Man comics however, you have the same exact characters who have been in stories published and read decades ago. They haven't gotten noticeably older, and the social norms have changed in terms of what stories creators are able to tell, which can be jarring for some consumers. An inevitable consequence is that single young people in fiction will be in relationships in stories that are more explicit than in the 1980s.

Many readers became familiar with these figures after they had matured, and developed into slightly more responsible people. For fans of those characters, this growth was part of the appeal. Harry Osborn was a loving father who sacrificed his life to save his best friend, MJ was Mary Jane Watson Parker, and Felicia Hardy at least no longer chased after married men.

A problem with this kind of maturity is that it isn't particularly interesting in the long term. In a series with a clear protagonist, it's the end of the story, rather than where you position the characters when there are decades of stories left. At the current point, you want characters who screw up and still have a lot to learn. A few months ago, Mark Waid was able to tell a fantastic Daredevil crossover that required the Black Cat to be a potential rebound for Spidey. It's probably not what middle-aged social conservatives approve of, but it was fun.

One counterpoint is the possibility that any new storytelling opportunities didn't matter. It was clear that many readers preferred it when Peter Parker and company were all more adult. The change was guaranteed to be controversial, so was it even worth the risk?

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Daredevil!, The Man without Fear, and one of my favorite characters. In the last issue of Spider-Man, Spidey went to DD to get help, as he was convinced that the Black Cat was innocent of stealing the holographic cell phone.

The Story

At the start of the issue, we see that Matt Murdock's partner - Nelson, taking some care of some case where Matt's father was buried.

This issue starts right where the last left off - Spider-Man being electrocuted by the Black Cat. DD gets out of the rubble and stops her. She does mention that she had no intention to kill him, but rather hurt him badly. She is under the impression that Spider-Man turned her in because she would not sleep with him. (Typical). She does seem to fancy the new masked vigilante though - DD.

Once Spider-Man is back on his feet though, he explains that they were both set up. The three head towards the home of Wasserschmidt - the inventor of the stolen device. Wasserschmidt, scared to death explains how he had faked the robbery, and had actually stolen it himself, so that he could sell it for more on the black market.

As they speak, DD smells a drug in Wasserschmidt's sweat. He concludes that the man has 10 minutes to live. With that Spidey rushes him to the hospital, while DD and Cat go to retrieve the holographic device.

DD and Cat spilt up and DD eventually finds it. Unfortunately, he still seems dissatisfied as he didn't find out who framed Spider-Man and the Black Cat. Cat, distracts DD by kissing him and making out on the roof. This eventaully leads to DD's bedroom where they do some funny things ;) They are interrupted however by Nelson, who tell's DD that his dad's body is missing.

Unknown to DD, Black Cat met the culprit who framed her while she had split up from him. Apparently, she was framed, so that she would 're-steal' the device, giving the crook a chance to speak with her in private. Cat is offered a new job - the custody of Matt Murdock, to which she would get a handsome reward.

Thoughts
Fairly okay issue. Being a Daredevil book, the focus is obviously more on DD. Spider-Man plays a rather tiny role in the story. As far as the Black Cat is concerned, the panels are drawn in such a way that the reader automatically assumes Felicia has accepted the offer - thus seducing DD, as the first step in her new job. Somehow, I'm not so sure she has actually accepted the offer though, as we all know that Felicia is a playful girl. She may very well be seducing DD for the hell of it, and may very well turn things around.

First of all. I'd like to apologize again for the late review. To start, I'll point out that nothing too much takes place in this issue. Everything that takes place in this issue can be summed up in a few sentences. Nonetheless, I'll try to make this interesting.

Note: For those who like the cover art,... the inside is nothing like it.

The story
We start off with Peter, moaning over his break up with his girlfriend - Carlie. As he walks around the city, he notices couples everywhere. Wanting to release some stress, he changes into Spider-Man and takes it out on a pitiful robber.

Just then, the Black Cat comes by. Spider-Man begins " flirting" with Felicia, hoping to score a lil something that night. Anyway, none of it works out in his favor as she pick up on what he's up to - using her as a rebound.

Felicia then goes back to her apartment, only to find a Spidey tracer on her costume. She is then arrested by Police. The next day, at work, Peter finds out about Felicia's arrest. It appears that she had stolen a hologram projecter device from Horizon Labs, with video footage to prove it.

Peter immediately picks up that something is not right as the Black Cat would never make such a silly mistake. He also finds out that the time of the robbery was the same time that Spider-Man was with her the night before.

As Spider-Man, Peter goes to see his trusted lawyer friend - Matt Murdock aka Daredevil. DD agrees to help Spider-Man out.  Spider-Man tells DD that there is no point in bailing the Cat out of prison as she is probably out already. (Yes, they do show her breaking free) Instead, the two begin searching for Wasserschmidt, the inventor of the stolen device.

While searching, Spider-Man sees Wasserschmidt being held hostage by several armed guards. Spider-Man tells the guards that they will back off. DD however seems confused as to why Spider-Man is behaving so timidly.

As far as DD's sonic hearing is concerned, he did not see any hostage. Spider-Man realizes he's been fooled by the holographic device. The two take chase, only to find themselves in a booby trap in which the walls around them come falling down.

Spider-Man digs his way out, cursing about his bad luck as he grabs an electrical wire. When he's finally able to see light, he sees a very pissed Black Cat standing over him.

Thoughts
It's always great to see Spider-Man teaming up with other characters of the Marvel U in his own book. This issue really emphasizes the greatness of Daredevil, who truly lives to his name as portrayed even in this book as the two freefall down a building, beyond even Spider-Man's comfort zone.

I'm also eternally grateful that Felicia didn't fall for Spider-Man's pathetic pick up lines. In this issue, we see that Felicia is not just some slut with bad luck powers. She actually has class and, as we can see, not easily kept in prison. Felicia is bound to be really pissed with Spider-Man ( since she thinks he placed the tracer on her suit to tip off the cops) To make matters worst, she was actually hoping to get a place on the Avengers at one time. Being arrested was definitely not on her to-do list.

This story continues in Daredevil # 8, which I suppose will be reviewed here.

Enjoy!

Given the negative reviews Spider-Man: Edge of Time was getting on conventional gaming sites, I decided to wait for a sale before diving into the latest Spidey offering from Activison and Beenox.  Which turned out to be much sooner than I expected; when I walked into my local GameStop this week, Spider-Man: Edge of Time was on sale for half price!  So is the game really as bad as the internet says?

Spider-Man: Edge of Time features a story made in collaboration with legendary Spider-Scribe (and creator of Spider-Man 2099) Peter David.  In 2099, a scientist from the Alchemax Corporation named Walter Sloan travels back to the present day and starts the Alchemax Corporation several years before it was originally founded.  Spider-Man 2099 attempts to follow Sloan through time but instead gets caught between time periods.  Because of this, he is unaffected by the changes Sloan makes to the past and is able to see a vision of the future in which Anti Venom kills the original Spider-Man.  Sloan uses his knowledge to make Alchemax into a powerful corporation, with his actions changing certain aspects of the Marvel Universe (Peter Parker now works for Alchemax instead of the Daily Bugle, Otto Octavius never becomes Doctor Octopus, Adrian Toomes owns a fast food chain that serves chicken) while leaving other aspects intact (Peter Parker is still Spider-Man, Anti Venom is still around).  When Spider-Man 2099 gets back to his time period, he is able to create a link between himself and Peter Parker.  The two agree to work together to stop Sloan.


The highlight of the game’s story was the banter between the two Spider-Men.  I liked how the youthful energy of the present Spidey contrasted the more cynical Spider-Man of 2099.  Watching these two get on each other’s nerves and eventually develop a friendship as the game progresses keeps you invested despite the sometimes tedious gameplay.  In addition, the story does throw you a cool twist at the end of act II, one that will make you want to play through to the end. 

Gameplay

The two Spider-Men (who you will switch back and forth between) have identical move sets consisting of a light attack, a heavy attack and web shots.  In addition, both Spider-Men have the ability to freeze time around them, stopping enemies dead in their tracks.  Where things slightly differ between the two is in how each Spidey can dodge enemy attacks.  Spider-Man can activate his spider-sense, causing him to move at a super speed, while Spider-Man 2099 can create a decoy of himself to distract enemies.  Each Spider-Man can upgrade his move set by collecting experience, both by defeating enemies and by collecting the orbs littered throughout each level.

Graphics

Audio

The rest of the audio, from the sound effects to the score, gets the job done nicely.

Spider-Man: Edge of Time fails to live up to the greatness of its predecessor.  One level of Shattered Dimensions packs more variety and content then the entirety of Edge of Time.  The terrific voice acting and solid story make the game worth picking up for Spider-Man fans, but only if they can find it on sale.  Despite my complaints, I still stayed up until 4 in the morning to beat the game, which says something.  Thanks Beenox!
Rating: 3/5

Of late, we have been given the privilege of viewing some behind the scene clips of the new Spider-Man Edge of Time video game, set for release this October!

While, I may not be much of a video game guy, which totally explains why I take so long to post video game news up on the site, watching these behind the scene clips does make me pretty interested to know the story behind the game. Below we have scenes of Mary Jane, Felicia/ Black Cat, or at least a clone of her, our crook in the game ( Walter Sloan ), and Anti-Venom, who appears to be mind controlled.

It all started when an independent artist sent then editor in chief of Marvel, Jim

Shooter concept art of Spider-Man wearing a black costume, and the rest is history.

“Spider-Man: Birth of Venom” chronicles the history of the black suit alien symbiote from it’s days with Peter Parker, to it’s selected bonding with Eddie Brock to form the vengeful anti hero,Venom..

This trade paper back, which features the reprinted editions of Secret Wars # 8, Amazing Spider-Man 252 – 259, parts of 298 – 300,315-317, Annual # 25, Fantastic Four # 274, and Web of Spider-Man # 1, is a significant chunk of continuity, covering a time span from 1983 – 1989. The book helps highlight the work of famous artist Todd McFarlane, credited with the design and success of Venom.

Looking back at what would become known as the “alien costume saga”, it was definitely a major milestone & turning point for both Peter Parker and Amazing Spider-Man itself, but how well does it hold up as a single block of story? To find the answer we need only look through the pages.

Any renowned spider fan will tell you, Spider-Man first happened upon the suit in the 1983 crossover mini series “Secret Wars” Long story short, Spidey finds the black liquid substance and learned that the costume was actually a living and intelligent parasitic alien creature, seeking to bond with him permanently. Fearful of it’s intentions, Spidey decided to separate himself from the creature, but as fate would have it, they eventually came back together.

What came next would arguably become the biggest threat to Spidey’s existence and Peter’s private life, since the Green Goblin kidnapped Gwen Stacy. The symbiote would strike again and this time pair itself with a man hell bent on revenge. Eddie Brock took on the role in the epic and memorable 25^th anniversary, ASM # 300.

The story featuring Eddie stalking MJ, and preparing a fight to the death with Spidey, also described how Brock was chosen by the symbiote for his intense hatred, and that in bonding with the alien, Brock had gained the knowledge of Spidey’s

secret identity. Brock would go on to be defeated by Spidey on two separate occasions and escorted to the super security prison known as the vault, and that’s where this compilation ends yet the feud would go on for over a decade and a half.

For a book titled “Birth of Venom” you would expect to have a little more backstory on Eddie Brock, yet this title fails to include or even mention the character’s debut in the famous story arc” the Death of Jean De Wolfe “.

Honestly the book could have done with some serious trimming as many of the stories featured elements that had little to nothing to do with the titular character, and went on at great lengths to distract from said topic.

The book should have been more accurately titled “The Alien Suit Saga” and perhaps used black suit Spidey on the back cover for the front. The front of the book itself is a lovely rendition of ASM 316.

Strangely the book reads more like a love triangle between Pete. MJ, and Felicia, with overtones of drama with Aunt May, and off beats from stories like the debut of the Rose and ASM 255.

If a few stories had been excluded and a few included (mainly ASM 290-293 & ASM annual 1987) this would have made an excellent Mary Jane book. Yet it just comes off as odd that MJ tells Pete her entire life story, without any connections to Brock or the symbiote.

This book merely gets the ball rolling with Venom’s 1^st and 2^nd appearances, not enough to really be considered a Venom collection.

For a more important and satisfying Venom tale, I would suggest “Venoms Returns” Still it’s great to have a book that contains so many covers and classic tales.

However, if the writers and editors had known what a success Venom would be. I believe these earlier titles would have had more focus on the symbiote and build up with Eddie, but from these stories it seems like Venom was only meant to be just a creepier newer version of the Sandman or Rhino.

If you’re a fan of nostalgic 80s pop culture, or just curious about the artwork at the time, this is a decent collection but don’t look for deep plots, character development or explanatory origins. It’s not here. Sadly the alien costume saga, just wasn’t very eventful, but the end was result gave us 1 of the all time greatest marvel characters ever created.

I have to admit, my interest isn't in Peter finding the right girl, but in being entertaining. If being miserable makes him entertaining, then maybe he should meet the wrong girls.

I'm one of the Vicious Cabal that thinks the marriage should never have happened. I thought Gwen was kind of a drip -- very sweet and lovable and passive, when she wasn't irrationally jealous or angry about something. She'd probably have made Peter an excellent wife, but the result wouldn't have been exciting, which is why John Romita thought it would be a good idea to kill her off -- she makes a much better "ideal girl lost forever" than she does an active player in an ensemble cast. I liked MJ when she was an overcaffeinated hipster, and lost a lot of interest in her when she turned out to be a product of a broken, abusive home, and under the "laughing on the outside" exterior was a sad, wounded moper like so much of the rest of the cast -- Peter, MJ, Flash, Betty, Liz, Harry...sometimes it seems like everyone in the cast is from a damaged background. Still, she had more drive to do her own thing than Gwen did, and that made for better drama.

But I don't think Spider-Man needs a Lois Lane -- there are enough comics characters with one great love already. I'd be fascinated if he had several major romantic foils, the way Milt Caniff did wit Pat Ryan in the old TERRY AND THE PIRATE comic strip. Pat pined after Normandie Drake, lusted after Burma and was intellectually challenged by the Dragon Lady, striking dramatic and romantic sparks with each of them that illuminated his character in different ways, with others that cropped up when they were offstage. Readers argued over which of the three would be the best for Pat to end up with, and there were good cases to be made all around.

I like Peter's life hectic, where he has to juggle lots of responsibilities, so I'm for there being multiple characters who he strikes sparks with, and different reasons each of them might be a good idea. For instance, I don't think in a million years he should "end up" with Felicia Hardy, but I think things are often more fun when she's around.

So I say mix it up, pull him in different directions, but do it with characters with vivid, compelling personalities who each have their own strengths and weaknesses to offer.

Amazing Spider-Man 651 takes off exactly where the last issue ended. In the last issue we found out that the Hobgoblin had double crossed the King Pin by indirectly giving the location of the artificial vibranium to the Black Cat. Hob-Gob obviously had his own personal motives which we will see shortly. 

It's been 50 issues of Amazing Spider-Man since this blog first started. This is also the third issue into "Big Time," - a new title I kinda enjoy. I'll just cut to the point.

The Story


In the Amazing Spider-Man 649, Spider-man was last seen about to get his head chopped by the new Hobgoblin. Spider-Man was unable to move due to hobgoblins "sonic immobilizing sound waves." Anyway, this issue starts with one of Peter's new colleagues countering the sound wave with some loud Lady Gaga music. Spidey manages to escape in time to save his head from being chopped.

Mr Modell, (Peter's boss) rings the fire alarm. Realizing he doesn't have much time left, Hob-Gob decides to go for what he really came after - artificial Vibranium. The extremely weak Spidey tries to stop the him but pretty much fails.

After Hobgoblin ran off with the Vibranium, the whole company goes looking for Peter. Thinking quickly, Peter takes off his costume and puts on a cover that looks something like this.


The scene changes to the King Pin, who receives news that his Hobgoblin ( Kingsley ) is dead, and that a new Hobgoblin wants the job. To cut it short the new guy does get the job.

Realizing the threat artificial Vibranium poses to the world, Mr Modell has all the artificial Vibranium destroyed. Peter then takes responsibility to re-steal the stolen Vibranium from the Hobgoblin. At this, he calls his previous 'friend with benefits' - Felicia ( who just has to be taking a milk bath when she answers the phone.)

Back at the Bugle, Phil Urich aka the Hobgoblin, tries to impress Norah by giving her some really good footage of the break-in at Horizon labs. Unfortunately for him, Norah is so excited that she shows Randy and kisses him in front of Phil. Quite a funny scene if you ask me.


Peter is seen back at his lab in the next scene, when he gets a visit from MJ and Carlie - both who brought some food for Peter, not knowing the other was coming. In a small scene here we see a tiny bit of jealousy from MJ as she doesn't understand any of the science related things Carlie and Peter are talking about. She also brings up the topic of Peter and herself living in the Avengers tower. (something I wish they didn't bring up) Anyway, MJ eventually leaves the couple awkwardly. Carlie doesn't get much time with Peter either though as Felicia calls him with news about the artificial Vibranium.


Apparently Black cat caught some stooge, hung him upside down, and got him to spill out who was behind the stealing of the Vibranium. Cat leaves her source hanging and goes off after speaking to Spidey on the phone. The stooge is then visited by the Hobgoblin, who apparently tipped this guy off to give the info to Cat.
Unfortunately for the poor guy, he gets killed by Hobby.

Cat is later seen waiting for Spidey. She suddenly receives a package out of no where with some goggle and an ear piece. Putting them on, she sees Spidey ( who was invisible ) in a new Black and green costume! The two head off to find the King Pin.

Thoughts.
Overall I thought this was a rather good issue. I loved the art again ( An automatic 5 points out of 10 for me ). The MJ and Carlie scene was a little disappointing though. Black Cat is drawn here almost as sexy as possible with an impossibly perfect body showing a little too much skin ( milk bath ) and doing some really weird poses I'd say.

There was only one thing that I did not quite enjoy about this issue, which takes place at the start of the issue. I'm sure all who read it can agree that it ' not cool' to have Roderick Kingsley die a few pages into the book.

The story
It starts off with some anonymous person approaching Kingsley in a bar, acknowledging his past achievements as the Hobgoblin. While chatting with his anonymous recruiter, he accepts the offer upon hearing that Norman Osborn is out and in prison. The scene jumps to where Amazing Spider-Man 648 issue ended - the King Pin, hiring the Hobgoblin.

Accepting the offer, Kingsley, as the Hobgoblin goes to Norman's old hideout to look for new 'goblin' supplies. While looking through some of Norman's new "toys." Kingsley notices a hot cup of coffee. He searches to find who else is in the room and finds Phil Urich - Ben Urich's loser nephew who was helping move boxes for Norah is the last issue.

Phil explains how he came here to look for stuff that would help Norah in her story. (Obviously he has a liking for Norah). Kingsley proceeds to kill Phil. Phil, still having some Goblin powers - namely his sonic scream ends up killing Kingsley instead.

Next we see Norah, investigating the Goblin gang story. She tries to conduct an interview to learn more about them. Half way through the gang thinks she's a cop and decides to do away with her. Thats when Spider-Man and Black cat appear to save the day.

Norah uses the opportunity to interview the two heroes a little. Spidey doesn't entertain her, but Felicia does, trying to change her status quo to that of a good guy so she can join the Avengers possibly. We learn that Felicia knows Spidey is seeing someone else. At the end of it all, Spidey advises her not to talk to reporters. He then buzzes off, leaving Cat alone with nothing to do that night.

Spidey swings to his hotel, changes to Peter Parker and tries to relax. Just then Carlie, his girlfriend comes in. She apologizes for not seeing him stating that she had lots of work. Being a forensic scientist, she notices all kinds of things in Peter's room like his mixtures for webbing. Peter has a hard time explaining. Fortunately she receives a phone call from work and has to go off again.

The scene changes to the Bugle, now owner by Robbie. Phil asks Norah if she needs anything more about the goblin story. She says that the story is over and that there was nothing to it. Phil has a hard time trying to get her attention when Robbie's son - Randy comes in. We find out that Randy is dating Norah.

Changing the scene again, Aunt May appears at Peter's hotel and wakes him up for his first day at work. Aunt May is obviously very proud of her nephew. Peter is shown around the place and is designated his own lab where he can work on anything he wants privately. He is not required to report what he is working on unless he wants to. Peter immediately thinks of this place as a great place to stash his Spidey gear.

At Jameson's office, Captain America tries to convince Jameson that Spidey is really a hero. Jameson's son, John agrees with Capt, leaving JJ in a tight position. In another small scene, we see that Mac Gargan is dying without the Venom symbiote or his Scorpion costume.

Anyhow, soon after Peter gets used to his new working space, he finds that Horizon Labs - his employer, is being attacked by the Hobgoblin. Peter changes to Spider-Man and tries to fight him. The scene ends with the Hobgoblin/ Phil sonic screaming blood out of Spidey's eyes, nose and ears. It also appears as though Spidey is about to get his head chopped.

Thoughts
Overall I thought  this issue was pretty good. Unfortunately, Kingsley comes and goes way too fast. The fact that Peter gets his own private lab just makes his job even cooler. I guess we don't have to think so hard about where the new Black Spidey costume in the next issue comes from?

Norah is turning out to be a cooler character by the issue, and Carlie is just getting weirder. I'm not sure how things will work with Carlie, and I sure hope they don't last too long.

This has to be the single best issue I've read in a long long time. To start, the story here is fantastic. It's a really long issue, featuring a Spider-girl story as well. Anyway, as if the story, which is obviously building up to something bigger for coming issues, isn't good enough, the art in this issue is spectacular.

After reading a few issues with weird art, this is heaven. Even Carlie doesn't look too bad.


The Story
The issue starts with Spidey leading the Avengers to take on some giant Octo-Bots ( Dr. Octavius's Robots) All the avengers are pretty much taking orders and advice from Spidey since he know Octavius best.


In another seen, we see Major Jameson being watched from afar by a Metahuman dude, obviously wanting to harm Jameson. Jameson is busy trying to control the situation in the city, claiming the Octo-bots are really Spider-robots. Jameson claims, contrary to what his wife thinks, that Spider-Man is a menace, not a hero. His son, John Jameson is who he considers a true hero.

The scene jumps to his son, who was a handpicked pilot for Capt. America. Captain America is seen at the scene where John Jameson, relieving some officers of their duties. From the awesome art, its quite obvious that something is wrong with Capt.

Back at NYC, Spider-Man continues to fight the Octo-bots when one of the robots start self destructing. He later finds out that his ex-fling chic girl - Black Cat was behind it. Felicia sees that Spidey is impressed and asks him to put in a word to Capt America about her to see if she can join them. As an added 'bonus' she asks Spidey to try to imagine what working together would be like.

Spidey quickly swings away from his temptress remembering that he now has a girlfriend - Carlie. Spidey thinks and reminds himself why he does what he does.

In the next scene, Electro is seen complaining about how he was designated a task by Octavius, far below his abilities. He is met by the Chameleon, who posed as Capt America. Apparently Octavius had recruited a number of Spider-Mans enemies to achieve his goals. Dr. Ock explains how the entire attack in the city was just a distraction to learn from the Avengers. A much bigger plan is in store. As such, he orders all his robots to self destruct.

Sandman is furious upon hearing this, knowing the danger it poses to all the lives in the city, including his daughter's. Dr. Ock however assures him that Spider-Man is a genius and will find a way to stop it.

In the city, the Avenger's suddenly see time bombs ticking away on the giant Robots. Immediately Mr. Fantastic and Iron man, being the smartest, work on diffusing the bombs. Mr Fantastic conclude that stopping one will stop all the bombs. Just as the two begin running out of options however, Spidey gets a brilliant idea as to how to delay the bombs from exploding. He succeeds, impressing Iron Man and Mr Fantastic.

At the Front line, Peter Parker as found a job, moving furniture, boxes, luggage and computers around the office. Peter learns that Norah is being given a case about the new "Goblin Culture" filled with Goblin tatoos, goblin signs and etc all over the streets.

Working with Peter, is Ben Urich's nephew, who I suppose was not as fortunate in life and landed a job moving things at his uncle's office. Norah, without thinking gives him a hard time about his condition. He overhears however about the new case Norah is on and thinks to himself what she would do if she knew he was one of those in the goblin culture.

These are the same kinda tatoos that Vin had and showed to Harry in Amazing Spider-Man 647

Major Jameson is next seen approaching the Frontline office. He has repurchased the shares from the DB, former Daily Bugle. He then gives all documentations necessary to Robbie, (also in the office), making him the new owner of the Bugle. In case you are wondering, this was all Marla ( Jameson's wife) plan.

Peter, unable to get an advance for his work, heads back to his apartment, where he finds, a beautifully drawn Michelle, locking up. She has cleared the apartment stating that her brother will be coming back. Peter obviously can't stay there anymore since he hasn't paid his rent for a while now.

Peter takes his things and webs them up somewhere while he looks for a place to stay. Basically he calls up his former roomate, who said no. He then visits Carlie, who doesn't want to rush things between them too fast.  Betty doesn't answer her phone, and Flash doesn't take to the idea either. We later find out that he was busy screwing Betty over at his place. Finally Peter goes to MJ, who just bursts out laughing thinking about it.

In the meantime, good old wife of Jameson, came to visit Aunt May and her husband ( Jameson Sr). Marla comes with her son - John Jameson, grandson of Jameson Sr. As the grandfather and grandson chat, Marla asks Aunt May about Peter, hoping he has some skills that could help her find him a job.

Unable to find a place, Peter returns to Aunt May, embarrassed to ask if he could move in with her again. As he approaches the door, Marla greets him, telling him that they are about to meet his high school idol - Max Modell. As they enter the car, Peter senses that someone is watching him. Twelve blocks away, the same metahuman who was spying and Jameson earlier was spying on Pete as well. He clearly has something against Jameson, and wants to recruit Mac Gargan to help him take down the Mayor.


To cut it short, Peter lands a job with Max Modell as a scientist, who is free to come and go as he wishes. He also gets paid for studying the material and receives his first cheque on the day itself. (Unbelievable)

Venom/ Mac Gargan is seen being held captive in a private sector. In a final scene, Spidey sleeps out in the open for a night, studying his books. King Pin is seen, being told that the attempt to create Vibranium (material from space that absorbs impact/ vibration) at Modell's lab went wrong. Peter pretty much landed the job because he prevented an absolute destruction of the lab due to the failed attempt to create Vibranium.

Anyway, the King Pin states that he still wants this imperfect Vibranium. He also hires a new Hobgoblin to work for him.

Thoughts
This issue provides the foundation for another 100 stories to come. I really took a long time doing this review, wanting to add as many images as possible to show off the great art. I can definitely say I enjoyed this issue thoroughly.We have a number of bad guys planning a hard life for Spidey, while Spidey, unaware of it all is having the best day of his life in a long while. Look out for the part 2 review featuring the new Spider-Girl soon.