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40 |
Shed |  |
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| -The Amazing Spider-Man #630-#633 | |||||
| Another part of the "Gauntlet" series of villain stories, Shed has a miserable Curt Connors juggling between working on a stressful new science project and trying to get back custody of his son after the death of his wife. Fate, and his own human failings conspire against him and result in not only the reemergence of his Lizard persona, but in the complete burial of his Human side. Shed is a visceral and exciting story with some excellent artwork from the very talented Chris Bachalo. | |||||
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39 |
Death and Destiny |  |
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| -Death and Destiny Miniseries #1-#3 | |||||
| Underrated story that's set shortly after the death of Captain Stacy (somewhere around Amazing Spider-Man #91). Death & Destiny follows Spidey trying to track down Doctor Octopus after the fatal altercation between the two that lead to Captain Stacy's death. Pete tries to deal with all the fallout caused by the tragic end of a very public figure that also just happened to be his girlfriend's father, whilst Doctor Octopus repairs his arms and gears up for his own revenge plans. Its a well-written story that does a good job of filling in some of the blanks of what is one of the major events in Spider-Man's lifetime. | |||||
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38 |
Doomed Affairs |  |
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| -The Amazing Spider-Man #491 | |||||
| Pete and Mary Jane's marriage is on the rocks, they've been separated for a while and as luck would have it the latest attempt at reconciliation had been cruelly prevented by fate. Here the two get a lucky break when they run into each other at the airport and are given another opportunity to put the past behind them, unfortunately Doctor Doom, Captain America, and a bunch of Latverian freedom fighters are also at the airport! The issue does a great job of mixing action and drama, with the situation forcing the two to open up about their problems and concerns whilst giving the readers some excellent character moments. | |||||
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37 |
Return of the Sin Eater |  |
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| -The Spectacular Spider-Man #134-#136 | |||||
| Sequel to Peter David's excellent Death of Jean DeWolff plotline. After a full psychological evaluation the Sin-Eater has been released back into society with the conclusion that he had not been responsible for his actions and that his mental health had been compromised by experiments carried out while he was in the army, Spidey is not convinced and decides to keep tabs on him. This story highlights some of the consequences of vigilantism, after the beating he received from Spider-Man in the original story the Sin Eater is now a broken man with a walking stick and a speech impediment, and he may not have been in control of his actions in the first place! Spidey starts to question himself just as Electro makes a reappearance on the scene. An interesting story that covers areas you don't often see in the genre. | |||||
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36 |
Torch Song |  |
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| -The Amazing Spider-Man #657 | |||||
| The Human Torch is presumed dead and Spider-Man and the rest of the Fantastic Four reminisce about the adventures the five of them have had together over the years and of their friendship as a whole. This is a poignant and funny issue from Dan Slott that does a great job of highlighting one of the best, and most natural-feeling crossover relationships that Marvel has devised for their universe. | |||||
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35 |
The Lost Years |  |
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| -The Lost Years Miniseries 0-3 | |||||
| Set directly after the events of the original clone Saga, the Lost Years follows Spider-Man's clone as he pulls himself from the smoke stack he had been unceremoniously dumped into and goes out into the world unsure of his future. The plot follows the clone (who names himself Ben Reily) as he tries to make a new life for himself and leave behind all the memories of a life that wasn't his. Whilst this is happening Spidey's other clone, Kaine, is also struggling with his identity, the path's of the two characters are destined to cross. This DeMatteis story is definitely one of the best things to come out of the Clone saga (and thankfully it largely stands up as a separate entity), its a moody and contemplative story about identity and self belief, and with excellent artwork from Romita Jr to boot. It's narrated from the perspective of the middle of the Clone Saga, so bear in mind Ben believes he is the true Spider-Man (but isn't). | |||||
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34 |
Negative Exposure |  |
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| -Negative Exposure Miniseries #1-#5 | |||||
| Smart Doctor Octopus tale from Brian K Vaughn, the writer of the heralded Saga and Y: The Last Man comics series'. The story concerns a Daily Bugle photographer who's been competing with Pete for years and has been growing more and more bitter and deflated as he is effortlessly outshined and upstaged at every turn no matter how hard he tries. The photographer makes a deal with Doc Ock to try to out scoop and finally get one over Peter Parker, but of course the Doctor has plans of his own. This is an interesting story that delves into some of the unintended consequences of Pete's double life and how it effects others, it also shows the extent of Doc Ock's intelligence and ability to manipulate others better than any other story, with him able to pull the strings and predict the actions of all the players masterfully. | |||||
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33 |
Saga of the Alien Costume |  |
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| -The Amazing Spider-Man #252-#258 | |||||
| This is the story that introduced the original Alien Costume that would go on to cause Spider-Man much grief in the coming years (the Secret Wars series actually came out later than this issue, explaining how the events had unfolded after the fact). The plot has Spidey getting into a series of scuffles whilst searching for information on the Hobgoblin, all the while using his nifty new Black costume that makes its own webbing and can change into any clothes he has in mind with a thought. The story had a big impact on the Spider-Man mythos to say the least, not only do we get the costume, but MJ also reveals that she knows Pete's secret identity for the first time. There's also some nice earnest scenes with Pete talking to New Yorkers and breaking up bribery and match-fixing, as well as some memorable fights and new villains. | |||||
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32 |
The Goblin Lives |  |
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| The Spectacular Spider-Man #2 | |||||
| The moment Spider-Man had long been dreading! Norman Osborn regains his memory of being the Green Goblin and with it Spider-Man's secret identity as Peter Parker. The Goblin invites everyone to the most awkward dinner party of all time where he proceeds to mess with and provoke Pete in front of all his friends. This story is where the scene where the tense Pete/Norman/Harry dinner party seen in the animated series (and to a lessor extent the first movie) comes from. The comic is full of nice art from the ever excellent John Romita Sr, with some excellent splash pages and memorably surreal imagery. | |||||
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31 |
Unscheduled Stop |  |
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| -The Amazing Spider-Man #578-#579 | |||||
| Some first-rate storytelling from Mark Waid here, as Spider-Man is involved in a Subway accident caused by the Shocker and ends up trapped underground with a group of survivors (including Jonah's newly introduced father). Where Unscheduled Stop really succeeds is in its careful attention to all the little details, its clever plot structure, and just overall polish. It has a fantastic set-up, hits all the right notes at all the right places, and has one of the better call-backs to the oft-imitated scene from "If this be my Destiny" with Spidey desperately holding up wreckage to protect survivors long enough to get away. | |||||
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