Overlooked Gems: “Skin Deep”

Today we will be taking a look at Skin Deep in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN vol. 1 #515-518 by J. Michael Straczynski (JMS) and Mike Deodato from 2005.

Despite having many fans, it’s fair to acknowledge that JMS’s lengthy run on AMAZING SPIDER-MAN from 2001-2007 also has its fair share of detractors. Criticism for his stint primarily stems from some rather controversial decisions (not all of which were JMS’s fault mind you) such as making Peter Parker a science teacher, revealing that his powers were the result of mysticism rather than science, moving him into Avengers Tower, revealing that Gwen Stacy had an affair with Norman Osborn and of course the infamous Mephisto deal.

While I will acknowledge that some of those grievances are fair and justified, I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t absolutely love JMS’s run as a whole. Under his pen, the popular marriage between Peter and Mary Jane was written more organically than ever before, Aunt May finally became an interesting and relevant character after 40 years by discovering her nephew’s dual identity and the stories themselves were often very engaging, character-driven and action-packed.

Even some of the more controversial changes didn’t really bother me. I thought making Peter a high school science teacher was an excellent fit for the character and allowed him to help people in ways that didn’t involve spandex and webbing (well, usually). Moving him into Avengers Tower was certainly a jarring change, but I thought it made for an interesting temporary status quo that saw him working alongside the Marvel Universe’s greatest heroes. And thankfully, it ended before becoming overplayed.

And yet, there is one aspect of JMS’s Spider-Man work that I feel doesn’t quite receive the admiration it deserves: the villains. Throughout the course of his stint, JMS tended to shy away from using classic rogues for the most part and instead introduced his own. While not instantly iconic, I do think many of his creations proved to be entertaining and interesting in their own right; Mr. Charlie Weiderman chief among them–which finally brings us to Skin Deep.

Our tale begins with our dear Mr. Parker running late for his class.

While teaching (and dealing with some rather unruly students), Peter glances out the classroom window and spots a familiar face: Charlie Weiderman.

Who exactly is this Charlie Weiderman now? Fear not; this flashback will shed some light on your questions.

Charlie wasn’t exactly Mr. Popular back in school as you can see. Even Peter wanted to steer clear of him.

Back in the present, Peter heads out to greet Charlie once his classes are completed.

But as it turns out, Charlie didn’t just stop by to catch up on old times.

Sounds all fine and dandy. Charlie’s predicament though?

We then transition to another flashback as we see just how great a “friend” Peter was to Charlie.

With friends like those, Charlie will never need any enemies.

Feeling rotten over his treatment of Charlie, Peter later approaches him in chemistry class to apologize. It is here that we receive further insight into Charlie’s character.

Unfortunately, things get worse for poor Charlie.

Returning to the present, Peter decides to give Charlie his letter of recommendation; leading to an interview with Tony Stark.

For once, things actually end up going well for Charlie (which I’m sure will last) and Tony grants him the money he requires for his research.

Later that night, Peter gets a rather unexpected phone call.

Peter naturally voices his concerns to Charlie.

Charlie explains his actions, but Peter doesn’t exactly take too kindly to his explanations.

Now panicking over the prospect of his research being shut down, Charlie begins rushing his experiments.

That goes about as well as you’d expect.

How is Charlie going to react to his sudden transformation? Will his mind finally snap from one misfortune after another? Hey, it’s a superhero comic; things always turn out well in them, right? Right?

In spite of his appearance as a Mark Raxton/Molten Man knockoff, Charlie Weiderman is actually a far more interesting character than Raxton ever was. He’s a gifted boy with good intentions who has sadly received nothing but scorn, failure and misfortune his entire life. Nothing has ever gone right for him despite his best efforts and it isn’t surprising when his lab accident finally pushes him over the edge.

The high school flashbacks further serve to humanize Charlie’s plight and even adds some good insight to Peter’s character. This is before he gained his spider powers and is just an ordinary kid desperately trying to get by in a harsh learning environment.

Another strength of this story is, believe it or not, Uncle Ben’s character! We actually get to see more of him during the flashbacks and JMS fully takes advantage of the opportunity. He really shows what a good man Ben was and why Peter looked up to him so much. Aside from some stellar work from Paul Jenkins, JMS has arguably made the best use of Uncle Ben; using him as an actual character instead of just a constant reminder of his nephew’s failure.

You can track down the individual issues or look for the Amazing Spider-Man: Ultimate Collection vol. 3 TPB.

 

Another solid option would be the Best of Spider-Man vol. 4 TPB.

Charlie Weiderman is, in my humble opinion, one of the most interesting Spider-Man villains of the past twenty years; so it’s a real shame that he never appeared again after Skin Deep.