Some skiiiiinny legs on that Spider-Man, wow.
That’s page one. Just jumping right into it this time.
A rare appearance by Peter’s wedding band.
It’s a good thing all this happened on a weekend. Jaunting off to Ghana doesn’t really fit a teacher’s schedule. I love how these books look. Romita has all these distinct phases in his career. He spent the last year or two transitioning from late 90s Romita to early 00s Romita. Which means less bulky figures, less noodley detail. All that wild crosshatching he was still into not too very long ago gone. A crispness that leaves room for more complex modern color. Peter agrees he should get back, but says there’s still a lot he wants to talk to Ezekiel about. Zeke says they’ll talk more when the time is right, and shows him to the limo that will take him to the airport with a fake passport. Peter says he’s glad Ezekiel isn’t dead, and that he’s a good person. Once Peter’s gone, Ezekiel says he hopes Peter will still think that when he learns the truth. Hey, more ominous behavior from our guy, Zeke. Peter finds some normal clothes in the kid of shoulder bag he loves in the limo, but then asks the driver to stop so he can get in the front seat. He just didn’t feel right sitting back there. Strackzynski really nails the character in that little moment. We cut to MJ, waiting for her plane back to New York to take off, responding to a really aggressive come on by a guy who she just told she has a husband by dumping a water bottle on him. But then we cut back to Peter, looking at the map in the airport and asking if he can switch his flight to LA instead of New York! Hijinks!
Well, hey, the rare acknowledgement from one book that the other exists in the form of Caryn Earle. It’s fun that they worked as hard as possible to make her intimidating and upsetting to Mary Jane in such a small space.
Peter is having a rough flight, but arrives in LA alive. He can’t get anyone in MJ’s building to even admit she’s there, her being famous and all, so he tries to call her. Her message is her saying she’s going to be with someone very special for the next few days and no one and nothing is more important than that. At first, he’s crestfallen. Then he gets very nervous and tries to call his own apartment, only to learn his phone’s been disconnected. The ol’ Parker luck. While he argues with the phone company, MJ sits in his place, on the bed, waiting. Peter has an implied conversation that seems really racist and tremendously out of character with a rep from the phone company, then tries to sneak into MJ’s room by crawling up the side of the building, where he is spotted by a crossdressing guy who would NOT pass muster in 2023 for “comic relief,” good grief.
What a wonderfully orchestrated bit of business. We see them both on their planes, headed for home, thinking “good-bye” to each other… and then a massive lightning bolt barely misses Peter’s plane. It’s so bad the pilots don’t want to risk the flight to NY and set down in Denver to have the plane looked over. And, as we see Peter getting in line for a burger, we find MJ has had the same problem! What’s the odds.
A twist of fate puts our star crossed lovers together in the Denver airport just before the gala 50th issue of ASM, Vol. 2. Could it be…?