Oh boy, what a nice week at The Crawlspace Beach House! I feel more rested and relaxed than Peter Parker on any given day. Big shout out to Brad for letting me spend the week there with the family. The kids loved the pool and the wife adored the health spa massage treatment at the beach house. Not to mention the food!!! Good lord, we ate like royalty! Looks like we got A LOT to cover in this landmark issue 900! It’s actually my very first “hundredth” issue to review so I’ll make it as educational and entertaining as I possibly can. So did we get a good issue?…
(Writer) Zeb Wells
(Artist) Ed McGuiness
(Colorist) Marcio Menyz
(Letterer) VC’s Joe Caramagna
(Editor) Nick Lowe
(EIC) C.B. Cebulski
Date Released 7/26/2022
Issue Number #6 LGY #900
Price Tag: $9.99
STORY: One year ago from this issue (I guess) at a construction site, fake Dr. Patty reveals himself to be the actual Living Brain, and digs up the original Living Brain Robot. We then cut to cast and crew of Brand New Day 2.0 planning a birthday party for Peter Parker, you know, the guy that everyone is on “outs” with. There’s no explanation one WHY everyone seems to be okay with Peter now (despite some awkwardness conversations), but the plot moves along. Jonah bust through the brick wall “Kool Aid” style wearing Doc Ock’s tentacles. The tentacles are trying to send the S.O.S message to Spider-Man. Peter quickly changes into Spidey and makes friends with the tentacle harness. It was Doc Ock who sent that message, but the actual Living Brain is two steps ahead of the super villain. He then captures Aunt May, Flash Thompson, Felicia Hardy, Joe Robertson, Betty Brant, and Anna Maria Marconi just to find out who Spider-Man is and what makes him tick. Spider-Man and his newfound pet tentacles team up to fight the Super Sinister Six Adaptoid, but lose round one. The Living Brain tells Peter’s friends his origin story of how he was created by Randall Stephen Petty, killed his creator and created the original Living Brain Robot. Plagued with the question “Who Is Spider-Man.” he believes that his purpose in life. Spidey comes to and it’s round two against the Super Sinister Six Adaptoid. Spidey manages to get the upper hand when he finds out that the Living Brain has captured all of the Sinister Six. Despite that the six hate Spider-Man, they team up with him and defeat the Adaptoid by having it destroy itself due to the egotistic characteristics of the Sinister Six. The Living Brain finds out what kind of “being” Spider-Man is when he sees Spidey defending him against the six. L.B sends the six back to where they came from and Spidey pulls the plug on The Living Brain and promises to find a place to keep him safe. Black Cat gives Peter a deep birthday kiss (cause MJ’s not there apparently) and Doc Ock tentacle watches.
THE BREAKDOWN:
- Plots resolved
- BDay Invites
- ME-WOW
- New pet
- In the back
- Nitpicks
- Grade
PLOTS RESOLVED: Wells has rounded up on some subplots that began with the start of his run. so I thought I focus in on that first. He concluded the Tombstone Crime War last issue. Granted there are still more to come concerning that subplot, but for the most part it did what it had to do. Unfortunately, that was pretty much the ONLY thing that kept Spidey readers interested and for giving his run a chance. The aspect of a ground level superhero has now left the comic. This issue concludes the subplot at the end of his first issue. We find out that the mystery man holding Doctor Octopus was The Actual Living Brain. Wells does a reimagine of the character and presents it in canon. I wasn’t a big fan of the original tin can, mainly because Slott used him way too much. It’s nice to see a reimagined that provides character depth and a decent backstory. I’m actually looking forward to the stories that can come from this, especially since The Living Brain knows Peter is Spider-Man. So I’m giving props to Wells on those two fronts, unfortunately we STILL don’t know the”6 Months Later” mystery box and WHY Mary Jane is living with some douche named Paul and is a mother to two kids that look like miniature versions of Peter and Mary Jane. I would like to think that Wells is going to address those two points in the issues to come, but I’m concerned that it may get drowned out by The Queen Goblin/Hobgoblin storyline that is on the horizon.
BDAY INVITES:
Group 1: Did we go back in time? It feels like we did. Brand New Day cast and crew come back for a reunion to celebrate Peter’s birthday and it just feels weird. Let’s look at few that really shouldn’t be there..
- When’s the last time we saw Anna Maria Marconi or “Bobbi” Morse? Anna is a Slott creation designed for Superior Spider-Man and stayed within Otto’s wheelhouse. She even considers Otto her “back up”. Bobbi was forced in there by Slott as another love interest for Peter when he sailed the ASM ship. The superhero community is still “on outs” with Spider-Man, yet she’s there just to add jealousy/drama with Felicia? Give me a break.
- Vin Gonzales. I’m sorry, WHAT?! Is this sort of sick joke?? He admitted that he was involved in the Spider-Tracer killings by planting Spider-Tracers on deceased victims to frame Spider-Man as a killer and turn the public against him. Didn’t he nearly kidnap Stanley, the son of Peter Parker’s best friend?!
- Liz Allen clearly does NOT want to be there and who can honestly blame her after what has happened to her family.
- Max Modell shouldn’t really be there. He’s the best boss Peter ever had, but he’s in Otto’s wheelhouse along with Anna. Still I’ll cut him some slack since he generally is really nice to Peter and treated him with respect.
- Carlie Cooper…..
How about the people that ARE there, like…
- Flash Thompson. He should be there! Flash died in Peter’s arms in ASM #800! Peter should be overjoyed that he’s back, instead we get “Glad you’re alive” after a classic old Flash insult. They are just kind “meh” to each other. This is Peter and Flash’s first encounter after Flash comes back?? Being jerks to each other?
- I see Betty (still pregnant) is there without Ned. Would rather see Ned there. If Flash can explain coming back from the dead, so can Ned Leeds.
- J Jonah Jameson. You can’t go wrong with J Jonah Jameson though, I did enjoy the scenes he was in.
- Aunt May, Felicia, Robbie Robertson are a must.
Now what about people that SHOULD be there.
- Randy Robertson. He’s going to get married and is still very much apart of Peter’s life. His dad is there!
- Curt Conners. Peter is still going to school right? He and Conners have gone through so much together, he can still be in human form to join a party to one of his best students and dear friend.
- Mary Jane. Look, I truly get WHY she’s not there. All because of the shameful editorial subplot that she’s “moved on” that can’t be explained (..yet), but it doesn’t make it right. She should AT LEAST be mentioned, by Peter or even Felicia and Aunt May!!! Both these women know what heartache Peter is going through.
It just feels off, weird, and forced as far as the story is concerned. It’s badly placed and I’m not sure what Wells was thinking when he scripted this scene besides, moving the plot along.
Group 2: I suppose you need to go “big” in any centennial issue of The Amazing Spider-Man and Zeb Wells did deliver for Group 2. The Living Brain just didn’t capture one member of The Sinister Six, he needed the COMPLETE SET. Zeb captured the one weakness that the Six could never overcome, individual egos colliding. Doc Ock holds himself supreme over anything and anyone, so if you think any of the rest are going to take that lying down, you are sadly mistaken. It was that weakness that destroyed the Super Sinister Six Adaptoid. As old and predictable as it is, you never grow tired of The Six bickering at each other on who is better, while Spidey is swinging around mocking fun of it.
ME-WOW: Okay, it’s the elephant in the room for this issue.
I get it! It’s HOT! Right now, our very own Ashley is smiling from ear to ear. Wells played Felicia as the super over protective girlfriend to Peter in this story, which is a bit uncharacteristically for Felicia. Was she really jealous that Bobbi was there or protecting Peter from other exes for Mary Jane or herself. I do like the fact the she declares herself Peter’s “bodyguard”.
I know that there are a lot of Black Cat/Spidey fans that WANT this to happen, but it doesn’t outweigh the Peter/MJ fans that DON’T want this to happen. Black Cat loves Spider-Man, not Peter. Gwen Stacy loved Peter, not Spider-Man. Mary Jane learned to accept, love, and embrace both Peter AND Spider-Man as ONE person. See what I’m getting at? Don’t believe me, read past issues and you’ll know I’m right.
Given that continuity that has taken place, I only see this as Felicia being flirtatious at best. She likes to tease Peter, always has. She’s the kind of girl that will go for it when the time is right, so she’ll sneak in a deep kiss while MJ and Peter are on the outs. If Wells is shipping these two together, I think MacKay won’t fly with that over too well on his Black Cat run and it would completely RUIN what MacKay did for Mary Jane and Felicia in MaryJane/Black Cat Beyond #1.
Once again, I get it. The writers are probably thinking “Why wouldn’t you want to get a passionate kiss from Feliica!?” Every person who is attracted to The Black Cat, it’s their fantasy. However, there’s more to Felicia Hardy than sex appeal and I highly doubt Wells thought of that while scripting this out. However, I could be very wrong since he did a great job scripting her LAST ISSUE.
NEW PET: Does anyone else find this a bit creepy? I mean, the metal bent into a heart… So Spidey has Doc Ock’s tentacles as a new love sick pet. Boy, Grog is gonna be jealous. Wells likes to write comedy (or try’s too) so I can see funny future stories coming from this, awkward and creepy, but funny. Its unclear if the tentacles liked the kiss between Spidey and Black Cat or was it wanting Spidey to “her” own. Unclear at the moment, but how did those tentacles get away from Otto? Living Brain sent Otto back to where he found him with his tentacles.
IN THE BACK: So every issue like this one has a few back stories. They were okay.
“Better Late Than Never” has Peter returning all his over due library books and each one title resembles his battles with baddies as Spider-Man. My good pal Dark Mark demanded I should inform you of one particular one. “Chi-Town, one of the books Peter checked out was Dr. Faustus. In that play, Faustus makes a deal with a demon named Mephistopheles, which is the inspiration for Mephisto. Why am I always teaching you stuff…” It’s always SOMETHING with him…but glad he made me aware of that.
“Spidey Meets Jimmy:” So..we’ve gone from former President Barack Obama, J.J. Abrams, Kevin Feige (in the letter’s section) and NOW Jimmy Kimmel. I’d rather read Spidey meeting Conan O’Brien any day… Why does it look like Nick Lowe is trying to smooze in on every celebrity he encounters? I hope that not true, but it sure looks like it.
“Save The Date:” I know what you are thinking…”NO, not Dan Slott on Spider-Man!!!” RELAX, it’s actually a really good story. Just Dan having fun in Spidey’s past. No continuity mess up or anything. I’m hoping he’s this good come Amazing Fantasy #1000. I LOVED his Renew Your Vows, channel into that come AF #1000, Dan!
…whew…this review is getting long…keep going Chi-Town..you can do it..
WINNING RESPONSE TO NICK LOWE’S QUESTION!!!
Patrick Gleason
NITPICKS: Does Marvel even know the answers to these questions or are they just winging it as they go along. It wouldn’t be the first time..
- The Backup Stories are wasted pages that should have used to explain or least give a hint on the Peter/Mary Jane mystery.
- Six Months later and Betty is STILL pregnant? There should be a kid now.
- What did Peter do? Why did he do it? What did he steal from the Fantastic Four? Why was Norman Osborn involved in all of that?
- The blind light guy at the end of the Beyond arc…where’d he go?
- Who is Paul? What’s his connection and why is he with Mary Jane? Why is MJ a mother to two kids that look like miniature versions of Peter and MJ?
GRADE: This is a D-. The only thing that kept this book from passing was the Art and Spider-Man fight scenes. Ed McGuiness did a great job and I know there are a lot of people that complained about the art or inking, but it didn’t draw me away from turning the next page. I know Neil might complain about that, but he complains about that kind of stuff all the time. The story itself, I felt it was an insult. To anyone who gives this issue a grade higher than a C+…
Turn in your SpideyFan card. We deserve better than what we got. I honestly think we will get a better “Birthday Issue” come Amazing Fantasy #1000 and I’m even concerned about that. The Six Months Later Mystery Box is getting old and worn, stop toying. with us Marvel. The Mary Jane separated from Peter how/why just DOESN’T and SHOULDN’T need to happen. There’s no reason for it. Keeping them together would actually keep this run in a better state than what it is. The Tombstone Crime War arc is handled for now, so now you lost your down to earth Spider-Man superhero that kept the first five issues going, now what?! This issue may have been fun and exciting, but definitely wasn’t satisfactory, especially the PRICE you had to pay to read it. Like I said, we deserve better.
Speaking of pay, should you pay and get this issue. Well, I did, because I like to collect Spider-Man centennial issues, so I had to bite the bullet on this one, plus I read this so you don’t have to. I have said this before and I’ll say it again. I’m going to give you my honest opinion on this, even if I hate it, I’ll find something that I liked about an issue. If I really liked it or loved it, I have stated that you should really go buy that issue, because it’s worth the read. This issue doesn’t feel like it’s worth it though. Feels like I got cheated. I’ll leave it up to you guys, but I just feel dirty..and not in the fun lets go clubbing kind of way.
RESPONSE TO NICK LOWE: As you are well aware by now, both Javi and I had our letter’s published in the letter’s section of ASM #899. First I would like to congratulate Javi on this achievement! Also, thanks for the nod in your letter, Javi! Also I would like to set the record straight with my “good pal” Dark Mark. When issue #899 came out, I was getting nothing but non stop texts from HIM, not the other way around. “You did it again!!”, “What’s your secret?!”, “Javi came before me, that’s NOT FAIR!!!”. I mean it’s vintage Dark Mark at his best, the same vinyl record that is stuck on repeat. I was on vacation! The last thing I’m thinking about is the letter’s section, but I am glad he was able to cover for me while I was soaking up the sun. Maybe I should get posted in the letter section more, it’ll make him write out a review on time. Anyways, in my letter I asked Mr. Lowe to give me some kind of reassurance that this run would be worth it. Here’s his response to that.
Even Dark Mark pointed out that he didn’t really assure me that this run was “worth it”. Mr. Lowe, with all due respect, if your most important goal is to try and top the stories before you…which include stories that Stan & Steve told, then you are failing. Winning the race just to cross the finish line better than anyone else, is not winning the race. However, respecting the legacy of the track you are racing on and how coming in/finishing strong… without some kind of hidden agenda or misguided “personal preference” interruption…MAKES you the BEST. In order to tell the best stories, do right by the characters, and more importantly, keep pushing to tell the BEST Spider-Man stories the world has ever seen, then you need to HONOR the characters, continuity, and the stories that were told before. When you achieve that, it’s then and ONLY THEN you are telling the best Spider-Man stories.
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Glad you could drag yourself away from the beach long enough to review an issue, Chi-Town. BD told me he was having to refurbish the place after y’all’s wild partying, so I guess my week gets pushed back again!
Nothing left to be said about the main story, but I did like library backup story a bit, mainly because I like books. I also really enjoyed the Slott story, which shocked me like you; however, we really shouldn’t be too shocked. When Slott was announced as the writer way back when, most of us were happy because we knew he could write the character well. Don’t know what happened when he got the reins, though.
All this talk about Peter/MJ vs Peter/Black Cat is just distraction from the REAL love interest that has been ignored for WAY TOO LONG – Peter & Deb Whitman. You know she’s the one, you just don’t like to admit it when I’m right (which is statistically speaking, 99.43% of the time).
Speaking of, one of the .53% is evidently Paul. I really thought from the get go that he would be Mysterio, but that wouldn’t make much sense for how Mysterio acts in this story.
Joshua – I’m glad to know that when I can’t be on the podcast, someone is there to annoy Chi-Town.
Micheal – Ha! I didn’t even think of them walking around naked, but man! You’re right – why did Tombstone have those suits? None of that really makes sense now.
For me, Doc Ock’s characterisation here felt off. I understand he’s back to being a villain, and he lost a portion of his memories, but the character has still evolved since his time as the Superior Spider-Man. This didn’t feel like the Otto Octavius we’ve gotten used to in recent years.
And there are other continuity issues too, that others have pointed out.
I did love the main story. I’m a sucker for obscure characters, so every time a version of the Living Brain appears it’s pure delight for me. And overall, the main story was told well, it was just things here and there which felt off.
And I’m here for a Black Cat/Spider-Man romance. This is totally something they should pursue. Sure, it isn’t going to work out in the end, but let’s explore how Peter and Felicia work together, before ultimately seeing why the two of them together don’t work out. Both characters could grow from the experience, and ultimately the romantic tension between Spidey and Black Cat can be resolved. I think this probably is the right time to tell this story.
I got to agree with you. Even though the story wasn’t bad, it’s be a better fit for an annual than a big milestone issue. I mean:
100: six arm saga
200: return of uncle Ben killer
300: venom
400: death of aunt may
500: the birthday (that will from now on be called the good birthday issue)
600: may and jay wedding
700: death of Peter, beginning of superior
800: end of sports run
Meanwhile 900 feels like a rethread of 500. Just… Not as good. Nothing groundbreaking. Nothing that changes the status quo. Or that will make a big splash in the future.
@Chi-Town Spidey Oh believe me, I have absolutely no problem being hard on a Spider-Man comic if I hate it, but I enjoyed this comic well enough. But yes, I’d like to see some significant plot progression next issue.
Also, since you won’t be on the next podcast, I guess I’ll have to save all of my Paul jokes for the next one. And I had so many lined up…
@Joshua: You’re already on my list, dude. lol. I will not be on the next podcast and yes, you do troll WAY too much on that certain topic. It’s good to know that you aren’t really serious about that and are just doing it for a laugh. Like I said, it’s entertaining and fun at certain points, but a complete WASTE for a centennial issue. Hence why I gave it a passing grade. I can completely understand your point on Black Cat/Spider-Man, but it was already set up as them being really good friends. You aren’t honoring the continuity or their chemistry of writers before if you just place them together because MJ is out of the picture with no explanatory reason (if Marvel has any). Felicia will make a move and for me, even though she’s a better alternative than Carlie Cooper, I don’t want any other woman than MJ by Peter’s side. She has a window of opportunity to take this, so she’s taking it, but I think even she knows that window won’t be open long. So Felicia is having fun with it while it lasts. You can also play in the factor that Peter’s life is really down and kiss from a beautiful woman can perk him up on his birthday, since his soulmate isn’t there.
You are being too nice on the comic, but I get it. It’s Spider-Man. Everyone’s favorite hero and you don’t want to be too hard that hero, but I can only take so much. Gotta speak from the heart. I hope you enjoy the ride more because the main reason why people are still reading this book has been concluded for now. Let’s hope our questions get more answers.
@Michael: Hopefully this all get resolved after the Dark Web event, but I’m not holding my breathe. I want to be proven wrong!!!
There were just too many questions:
We saw in issue 3 that Tombstone and White Rabbit had Electro’s and Mysterio’s costumes. While I’m sure that Mark will be glad that Electro and Mysterio aren’t walking around naked, this issue doesn’t address that at all. How did they get them? Did the Living Brain make duplicates of Electro’s and Mysterio’s costumes and mail them to Tombstone and White Rabbit?
Why does the Super-Adaptoid have the original Kraven’s memories? This is a CLONE of Kraven, not the original. (And Kraven mentioned teaching the clone how to hunt and how to fight, which he wouldn’t need to do if the clone had Kraven’s memories.) So if this Kraven doesn’t remember those lines, how is the Adaptoid saying them?
Flash found out Peter’s secret identity before he died. Does he still remember it?
Is Mysterio still bound to Mephisto or was he freed like Harry when Peter and MJ helped Strange win the bet? This wasn’t clear at the end of Sinister War and you’d expect a line of dialogue to clarify it here. Especially since if Spider-Man freed him, you’d think he’d be reluctant to let the other Six kill him?
Why is Sandman talking like the last time he saw Spider-Man was on the island? He saw him again during Sinister War and the other members of the Six were there for it.
Judging from this issue, it seems like Mark is wrong and Paul isn’t Mysterio. And the previews for issue 14 seem to imply that Janine is Hallow’s Eve, so Paul probably isn’t Chasm. so that raises the question- who is Paul?
I was sure from the previews that the villain was Steve Petty. It turns out the villain was a robot that Petty created. The weird thing is that in the original story with Petty, he created a Living Brain to seek revenge against those who had bullied him. But Peter helped him see the error of his ways. But now he creates a Brain to benefit humanity and it kills him. You’d think that Peter’s history with him would be mentioned, though.
Judging from the promo image, it looks like MJ WILL be playing a major role in Dark Web. I have a feeling that’s when we’ll have to wait until then to find out what happened between her and Peter.
I completely understand all of the criticisms for this issue, but I actually kind of enjoyed it overall. Yes, the story is ridiculous and ultimately inconsequential, but it entertained me. As silly as it was, I couldn’t help but smile at the Super Adaptoid spouting classic villain dialogue from the Stan Lee/Steve Ditko comics. Spidey’s interactions with the Sinister Six were also quite humorous and made me chuckle a few times.
That being said, this story did feel like a total waste for a centennial issue and could have easily been told in an annual or even a regular issue. Say what you will about ASM #800, but that story at least tried to have stakes.
And while I could troll you with plenty of “Paul is Mary Jane’s true love, so Peter must move on from her” jokes, I won’t…I’ll save those for the podcast. Ha…ha…ha…
In all seriousness, I’m not opposed to Peter and Felicia dating each other for the time being. Yes, Peter should be with Mary Jane, but if Marvel absolutely insist on the two not being an item for the sake of this little mystery story they have going on, I think there are worse alternatives (like Carlie Cooper). When written well, Peter and Felicia have great chemistry with each other and I think it could be both fun and interesting to see them date again. Mary Jane will always be Peter’s soulmate, but for Felicia, Peter will always be the one that got away. Their relationship obviously won’t be permanent and I am happy to see Felicia being written in-character again after so long.
The backups all sucked though. Spider-Man on the Jimmy Kimmel Show? Ugh.
Maybe I’m being too nice to this comic, but considering my low expectation going into this run, let alone this issue, I was amused. I’m sure Marvel will screw this up by the end, but I’ve been enjoying the ride far more than I thought I would thus far.