When I was going back and buying these a couple years ago, I couldn’t resist this homage cover to ASM 87. It’s pretty clever, using the same layout and dialogue in a whole new situation. The original printing cover is just a generic action shot by Angel Medina…
This is more fun. The usual suspects of Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Angel Medina, Scott Hanna & Dan Kemp inside. As he didn’t put Spider-Man in the armor immediately when everyone else did, Aguirre-Sacasa begins this issue with him the red & blues. He finds a guy trying to do a B&E, but the guy turns out to be a cop, and this was a sting operation to catch our hero.
Well, ok. Didn’t see that coming.
This feels like a lot to get into with the clock running out, bu Aguirre-Sacas has built up some goodwill with me, so I’m reserving judgment. So our guy Ethan there decided to go out and Spider-Man, and got caught in the dragnet. He says he’d tell them who gave him these powers if he could, but he has no idea. But, he says, he was treated decently. The cops want to call his folks back in Cincinnati, and Ethan does not like them. So, then, we find Spider-Man swinging to the Tombs, wisecracking internally in his black suit, because Lamont (Lamont!) told him exactly where Ethan was, right down to which cell. When Spidey calls to him through the window, Ethan says he’s in pain, so Spidey tears the wall open.
Well, that’s gross.
Ya doofuses! The doofuses assume Spider-Man did this to Ethan, so he’s gotta flee, but he tells them he’s going to Metro General, to call ahead, and to call Reed Richards. But Reed is out of the country, off-planet, even, with Sue trying to repair their marriage, so either they won’t be able to get him or continuity is over. Which will it be? 25 minutes later, the cops are crawling all over the hospital waiting for Spider-Man. How could they possibly get there before he did?? And Reed Richards has been called, boooooo! He’s on a rooftop 2 buildings away with a Nurse Palmer.
No idea what Nurse Palmer is talking about. Nurse Palmer is the only character I’ve literally ever looked up who doesn’t have a wiki entry, is this just supposed to sound like a reference, but not really a reference? Uh, things take several turns for the weird then, and Spider-Man takes off with Ethan’s blanket, thinking his family has been put through the ringer, with a panel of May and MJ as they appeared the night May was shot. As if this takes place before? Which would make SO much more sense, but can’t be true because of the suit? And the other weird thing is, he takes the blanket to Curt Connors to try to figure out what changed Ethan. I think… I think Reed both can handle that better, and would figure it out in the course of trying to save Ethan. And THEN we see another new Spider-Man testing his powers. Whoever’s doing this is really getting his money’s worth out of the process.
He does not make it. When he hits the ground and dies, people find out he’s not the real Spider-Man. And then we find another guy walking down the street when the car pulls up and tells him to get in. He says no.
Why is Dr Calvin Zabo, rarely seen alter ego of Mr. Hyde, making Spider-Men? I sure don’t know. I wonder if I’ve ever talked about his origin on the blog. Ah, yes, when talking about ASM 232. Man, those were the days. This enterprise seemed more fun looking at older comics. No one was sniping Aunt May back then.