Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #55 (496) Review

Amazing Spider-Man #55
“The Balancing of Karmic Accounts”
Writers: Fiona Avery & J. Michael Straczynski
Penciler: John Romita Jr.
Inker: Scott Hanna
PLOT: Now that the “Digger” storyline has been resolved, JMS takes a bit of a break, and Fiona Avery comes in to help out with the writing.  The story revolves around a student with a cast on her leg named Melissa, who attends Peter school.  Peter bumps into her in the morning and takes a special interest in this girl.  Through all her anger, Peter finds her smart and intuitive.  He finds that she is having trouble getting into Bio-Honors, and Peter pulls some strings to get her into his class.  While walking her home, people encounters three thugs who have broken into her apartment for a burglary, and he is able to “clumsily” beat them up with some bags so not to give away his secret identity.  Peter meets Melissa’s mom, and finds out that she is a single mom, and that Melissa’s older brother was put into jail by Spider-Man while carjacking.  There is a lot of anger in Melissa because of this, and Peter vows to help Melissa out in attaining a better future.  A fully bearded Ezekiel also makes a surprise appearance at the end of the book.  They briefly talk about Peter’s current situation, but nothing eventful happens.
LIKES: Some people may consider this a filler issue before the Amazing #500 blockbuster coming up, but I actually think that it adds to the character of Peter, the educator.  Seeing how Peter interacts with some of his students and school staff really enriches his character and makes him even more multi-dimensional than he already is.  Some people may not enjoy Ezekiel and JMS’s totemistic angle, but I rather enjoy it.  Even though Ezekiel’s appearance was brief, the mood is getting darker to what seems to be an upcoming turns on Zeke’s and Pete’s relationship.  Even though he sounds just as friendly his appearance and the beard make him look sinister.
DISLIKES: Not much to dislike about this book, except that there maybe wasn’t enough actions.  RATING: 4 and ½  webheads out of Five.  It may not be the most important story ever told in the Spider-Man universe, but it is a very good human story non the less.
Reviewed by AC-WEB (Ariel Chaidez)