They said we’re going to ASM 18 originally. This struck me as odd the whole time, considering that’s the middle of the 3-parter where Spider-Man quits because Aunt May is sick and all that. Now we have 3 issues left and we’re on ASM 17. It’s not adding up. We open on Green Goblin killing a Spider-Man dummy, as in the original.
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This is almost sad. Liz is not a member of this book’s cast! Who knows or cares what she thinks of Peter!? She hasn’t even appeared in this book for 4 issues. She only shows up when Ditko’s original plot absolutely forces Byrne to include her. Well, Spider-Man interrupts the filming of a movie trying to be a hero, and 2nd group of ordinary actors flying around in an actual spaceship in this series. And JJJ loves it, as in the original…
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This is just… insane. All of a sudden, 3rd-to-last issue, Byrne decides the supporting cast matters. Also, you would think a comic book wouldn’t have the problem TV shows and movies have where teenagers are obviously being played by people in their late 20s, but look at them! I think Peter & Betty in particular might be older in this than they are in the present day books! Peter’s danger sense goes off because Norman Osborn is leaving JJJ’s office, which is a nice allusion to his future background appearances in ASM. Then he walks Betty home and she winds up mad at him about the fan club meeting, more or less as in the original, but without Johnny Storm being involved. Then he goes home and finds out he forgot his date with MJ is tonight, but her plane was delayed, so she’s not available, anyway. Great. It occurs to me that, if Byrne had just been reasonable and done ASM 1-12, this series probably would’ve been fine. He’d have been able to, like USE the supporting cast, flesh out the fights, and having it end in a rematch with Doc Ock would give it some symmetry with his new origin, Doc Ock starting and ending things. Instead, it never reads like a complete comic until issue 10. Ugh. I wonder why Aunt May’s hair is gray in this. I assume to make her seem younger, but people younger than May have white hair all the time, and she’s barely a guest star in this series, so what does it matter either way? Ok, so it’s fan club time, everyone’s there, we’ve seen this before. Liz and Flash are arguing, and then Byrne drops a bomb…
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Flash has a RAT TAIL!!! This is too much for me. Goblin attacks, yadda yadda. And back home…
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Some continuity nerd you are, Byrne, Stan plainly said Betty is younger than Peter (Whether that makes a shred of sense or not). How old do we think she is, anyway? Just how weird is it for her to be dating a 17-year old? Like, prison time weird, or…? Back at the fight, there is more fighting. As bad as this series is, it’s really helped by just letting the story breathe. What a mess.
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The fight continues, Peter uses the chance to change clothes and talk to Liz, as in the original, which is another really silly thing Byrne could’ve fixed. Betty gets jealous, it’s like this book has more than one character in it. Torch gets in trouble, Spider-Man reappears. Pretty much the original, only less exciting fight scenes. Which, to be fair, would be true of almost anyone, Ditko is hard to top.
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With only 2 issues left, things go completely off the rails next time.