Review of Amazing Spider-Man (Vol 4) #1
Peter Parker is running a worldwide corporation and when he’s not able to be Spider-Man, he’s got a buddie who wears the costume. Neither of them are prepared, though, when the Zodiac attack the wedding they’re attending demanding Parker turn over his new Webware device.
Issue: Amazing Spider-Man (Vol 4) #1
Name: Worldwide
Published: 2015 by Marvel Comics
Blurb:
Creators:
Writer: Dan Slott
Artist: Giuseppe Camuncoli
Inker: Cam Smith
Colorist: Marte Gracia
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Characters:
The Good: Spider-Man, Mockingbird (Bobbi Morse), Hobie Brown (Prowler)
The Bad: Leo of the Zodiac, Pisces of the Zodiac, Sajani Jaffrey, Otto Octavius (inside the Living Brain robot)
The Undecided: Lian Tang, Dr. Yao Wu, Phillip Chang, Min Wei, Max Modell, Hector Baez, Bella Fishbach, Anna Maria Marconi
My Reading:
This issue actually contains the starting point for a number of Spider-Man comics but the majority of the book focuses on The Amazing Spider-Man and wow…this is not the high schooler Peter Parker I know from the original 1960s comics.
The issue starts out with a commercial for Parker Industry’s Webware, a wearable internet connected device that Peter is trying to sell worldwide. But we quickly jump to a car chase.
Spidey and Mockingbird are chasing some bad guys in the Spider-Mobile through the streets of Shanghai. Members of the Leo Sect of the Zodiac are trying to escape after breaking into Parker Industries and stealing the secure servers but Spidey is showing off his newly learned driving skills. Between the private lessons and the agility of the Spider-Mobile they evade explosions and bullets and even drive upsidedown at 88 MPH in pursuit of the thieves.
As the locals cheer on Spidey, he transfers control of the car over to Mockingbird and jumps out onto the hood of the bad guy’s car. He disables the car with new micro-coiled z-metal webs and then when Mockingbird takes down the bad guys, Parker zaps the leader with a dart that neutralizes the poison he’s trying to take. It’s all very action packed and exciting.
Back at Parker Industries, Lian Tang is pissed that Spidey took the new car out since she claims Peter would never have agreed to that. We then meet the rest of Parker’s development crew – Dr. Yao Wu, Phillip Chang, and Min Wei – but introductions are all there’s time for as Spidey needs to get changed so he can preside of his press conference as ever announcing The Uncle Ben Foundation. Just as Ben helped out people, the Foundation is set up to help the less fortunate around the world.
Heading back to San Francisco we see Peter talking with Hobie Morse who’s been impersonating Spider-Man in the US while Peter’s been jet setting around the world. They meet up at the wedding of some close friends of Parker’s – Max Modell and Hector Baez who are getting married. Apparently Doctor Octopus swapped brains with Peter not too long ago and as Spider-Man destroyed Max’s company. Peter’s wedding gift to the couple is to rebuild what he can of that company be founding Horizon University for them…BTW, we learn that Alchemax (who I’ve read about in the All-New Wolverine) was involved in the whole thing.
As the reception kicks into full swing, Peter’s Spidey Sense goes off and the Zodiac attack. This time, it’s a bunch of Pisces Sect and they want Peter’s Webware. Hobie breaks out the Spider-Man suit and starts going after them but he’s in over his head. To hopefully stop the Fish guys from seriously hurting Hobie, Peter encrypts his Webware and tosses it to the Zodiac. They’ve got 24 hours until the Zodiac decrypt the thing and know all his secrets.
In a final scene at the wedding, Parker pulls Sajani Jaffrey aside and confronts her about working with the Zodiac. Apparently she’d been working with the Black Cat previously and then the Ghost and Peter’s seen footage of her sabotaging projects. For some reason, he doesn’t fire her and when she gets back to London we see her call for the timetable for her plans to be moved up…she’s obviously up to something.
What did I learn:
- Hobie’s been playing at being Spider-Man but he’s really the Prowler.
- I’m not sure what Parker is doing by letting Sajani keep her job but I have a feeling it’s gonna backfire on him.
- Somehow Doctor Octopus is in the Living Brain robot.
- Peter Parker is definitely a lot older in this volume than in the early stories I’ve been reading from Stan Lee.
My Thoughts:
As I mentioned, there are 5 other Spider-Man family series that start in this issue but I decided to only focus on this one for today but there’s so much going on in this section it’s crazy. I guess Parker has been saying that Spider-Man is his body guard and also part of his advertising campaign for this new Webware thing which seems like a smartphone that goes on your wrist. But if Hobie is gonna pretend to be Spidey he better be careful since it seems that he doesn’t have any of Spidey’s power, just the costume.
I enjoyed everything that was going on in this issue and if this is any indication, this series is gonna be jam packed. And I love the Spider-Mobile! That concept of being able to crawl on walls or tunnel ceilings is great!
As far as the same-sex wedding, I think it might have been a bit “smack you upside the head” in the “we’re the new Marvel and we’re woke” category, but then I’m just jumping on board with this issue. Perhaps there was a whole to do about it in previous issues but if so I’m unaware.
Sadly though I did kinda feel like we were just getting introduced to a bunch of people with very little characterization. That could be because of my lack of reading issues before this one but I figured since this is a number 1 it should allow me to jump onboard without much pain…I think I felt some pain and confusion. In any case though, I enjoyed the comic and the other 5 stories are also pretty good, some are even better starting points for series.
My Rating: B
This comic can be found on Marvel Unlimited, Comixology or at your local comic book shop.
Daily Ramble 285.1 | Comics – Weekly Marvel – Review of Amazing Spider-Man (2015) #1