We are once again digital. To my genuine shock, we have a totally different creative team this time. Why? Would a 4-part story not best be served by the same people doing it? Ugh, this era of ASM is such a mess. Well, then, bringing you ASM 602 are Fred Van Lente, Barry Kitson, Rick Ketcham and Jeromy Cox. The farm team, frankly.
Oooohkaaaay…
I guess Van Lente has made it his mission to try to make some of the goofier villains more serious. First the Spot, now Chameleon. A far from cry from trying to get sworn in as president in ASM 583. Speaking of goofy villains, we turn the page to find Spider-Man chasing Slyde. Spider-Man wants to know how he’s not dead as he webs a manhole cover and makes Slyde smash into it face first, which seems like it should hurt. But, instead, the guy in the suit reveals Slyde is dead, and he’s a cop using the suit in the world’s stupidest sting operation to catch Spider-Man. Then cops in 3 NYPD-branded Mandroid suits smash out of nearby trucks. The militarization of police is even more egregious in the Marvel U, it seems.
He’s off to City Hall to interview for a job as JJJ’s photographer. Along the way, he laments not seeing MJ last night, and figures being stood up by her is fair play for all the times he did it to her as Spider-Man. Which leads me to 2 questions:
- Does she remember he’s Spider-Man?
- If yes, does he know she remembers he’s Spider-Man?
I thin the answers are “yes,” and “yes,” but I don’t know for sure. Wouldn’t her remembering tell him that the still-undisclosed manner by which he officially put his secret back in the bag wasn’t foolproof? I guess he wouldn’t know if she remembers or not at this stage. What a mess. Anyway, Peter finds Glory Grant is JJJ’s new press secretary when he arrives, and also, some cop guy skulking in the hallway doesn’t like him. Is that supposed to be Vin’s partner? I don’t know.
Well, hey, good for you, Glory. Man, look at those faces. What is going on with this art? Well, it turns out the cop who didn’t like Peter was the Chameleon. Uh, ok. He proceeds to suddenly be a street performer dressed as the Statue of Liberty outside, apparently teleporting like Jason Vorhees, and then, just to make things more absurd, reaches out and jabs our hero in the neck with a needle sticking out of his torch, our man’s danger sense baffled by his disguise even though that’s not how it works, and specifically not how it’s worked when dealing with Chameleon in the past. Womp womp. The street performer is then identified as the guy Chammy killed and replaced at the top, which is even more ridiculous. This was his plan???? Are you serious? He loudly acts like he’s talking to the unconscious Peter as he loads him into the back of an ambulance, conspicuously with no help from paramedics, because it’s being driven by robots who look like the Chameleon. Ok, man, whatever, suddenly it’s the 60s again, for all the sense this makes.
But he was inside the building! Dressed as a cop! What are you talking about?? Oh man, what is going on?
Oh hey, MJ. About time we got back this. For good? I don’t seem to recall her being a member of the cast. We’ll see, I guess.
Oh yeah, he lost his apartment, I’d already forgotten in 24 hours. Meanwhile, in his lair, the Chameleon is replicating Peter like he did that poor shmoe at the beginning of this issue, using his conversation with Glory to start the voice. I don’t know and don’t think I care how he could have said conversation. Anyway, he drops Peter into the acid, so I guess that’s it for him. This title will be the Amazing Chameleon next issue.
How does he know her name? Or, I guess, how would he not know her name, after she wrecked his set in TAC 245? Did Mephisto’s gift that keeps on giving make him forget that, too? Will there ever come a time when One More Day stops making things unnecessarily complicated? I mean, presumably. But not right now!