Amazing Spider-Man Volume 8: Sins Past Tpb (Spider-Man)

Rating:
Summary: C'mon Straczynski, what were you thinking?
Review: Until the Sins Past storyline hit, Babylon 5 creator and Supreme Power scribe J. Michael Straczynski's run on Amazing Spider-Man has been nothing short of, well...amazing. However, Sins Past finds him trying to unravel a part of the super hero's past, a very prolific and impacting part, that spells doom for the rest of the read. One of the most powerful and heartbreaking moments in the history of Spider-Man was the tragic death of Gwen Stacy at the hands of the Green Goblin, and here Straczynski attempts to play off the classic, and never before treaded upon, storyline by placing the idea that Gwen and Norman Osborn had a secret affair in which Gwen secretly gave birth to twins. Twins who aged at an accelerated rate. Twins who are also trained ninjas. Twins who are trying to kill Spidey, who they know is Peter Parker. C'mon Straczynski, what were you thinking? To say that this idea sounds contrived is saying it lightly. Now don't get me wrong, up until this point Straczynski's run on AMS has been superb, and his efforts on the MAX series Supreme Power and Rising Stars are even better, but this is by far the worst and most ridiculous he has done. On the plus side, the art by Hulk artist Mike Deodato is excellent, but it's too bad you'll be distracted by how ridiculous the story is. Hopefully JMS will realize the error in his ways, and this storyline will be written out of the Spidey mythos in the near future. Hopefully.

Rating:
Summary: Straczynski sucker punches Spider-Man big time
Review: When J. Michael Straczynski took over writing "The Amazing Spider-Man" with issue #30 (#472), it was clear he was going to do a major overhaul. There was Ezekiel forcing Spider-Man to question whether there was another explanation for how he got his powers that the rather absurd idea of a bite from a radioactive spider while Peter Parker suddenly gets a job at his old high school as a science teacher (#31). By the time Aunt May discovers her nephew is really Spider-Man and have "The Conversation" (#38) there is an entirely new dynamic for the character, albeit one that stays true to the roots of the comic book. When Peter finally admitted to Aunt May that he is Spider-Man because of his guilt causing the death of Uncle Ben, only to have her confess that she considered herself guilty because he walked out of the house when they were having an argument, it became clear Straczynski was capable of writing stories with great emotional resonance.

That certainly explains "Sins of the Past," but for many Spider-Man fans it will probably not excuse it. I assume that Straczynski's goal was to give Spider-Man an emotional wallop of epic proportions, and I think we will all agree he has done that (although the term "sucker punch" seems more appropriate). Volume 8 in the trade paperback collection of "The Amazing Spider-Man" collects issues #509-514 making up the six-part "Sins of the Past" story-line, drawn by the comic book's new artist Mike Deodato and inked by Joe Pimentel (the conspiracy theory would be that Straczynski came up with this story so that everybody would be talking about that instead of bemoaning the fact John Romita, Jr. is no longer drawing the book).

Part One begins with much joy in the Parker household as Mary Jane finally gets a party in a Broadway play, but the celebration is cut short when Aunt May gives Peter a letter from Gwen Stacy. The return address is Paris, France, but the postmark is NYC on the date of June 23, 2004. Clearly somebody is playing head games with Peter Parker and when he visits Gwen's grave he is attacked by a pair of figures, one male and one female, dressed in black. He escapes by using his powers, a fact that does not go unnoticed by his assailants, one of whom says, "It just gives us one more reason to kill him." Things get worse in Part Two when Peter receives a pair of photographs. One shows the blacked out figure of a young man helping Aunt May with her groceries and the other the blacked out figure of a young woman getting directions from Mary Jane. Also enclosed is a note declaring, "We can kill them whenever we want."

Peter is trying to figure out what past sins he could have committed towards Gwen that would make him a target, but the truth is (literally for me) beyond belief. Finding out that Norman Osborn fathered a pair of twins by Gwen Stacy is pretty textbook adding insult to injury, given that it was Osborn as the Green Goblin who caused Gwen's death, which remains the pivotal tragedy in Spider-Man's life after the murder of Uncle Ben back in the beginning. This is an absolutely horrific revelation. No wonder it makes Peter Parker physically ill, because it will strike a lot of long-time Spider-Man fans as a sick joke. Like Peter, I find it almost impossible to believe that Gwen would do this. If his point is that Gwen Stacy has become the patron saint of the Spider-Man mythos and she needs to be de-deified than Straczynski has certainly succeeded in tarnishing her image.

I think I have just as big of a complaint in terms of Norman Osborn's decision to convince the twins, Gabriel and Sarah (who is, of course, a dead ringer for her mother), that they are Peter Parker's discarded illegitimate offspring seems taking the long way round. Since Osborn had the "Spider-Man killed your mom" card to play (remember what the police heard Spider-Man say as he cradled Gwen's body that fateful day), would it not work a lot better without turning Gabriel and Sarah into Orestes and Electra? There are some nice moments in "Sins of the Past," particular when Peter and Mary Jane have some things to confess to each other (points for Peter recognizing MJ is right to keep secrets other than the big one about his secret identity).

It is too early to judge whether the events of "Sins of the Past" constitute going too far in terms of Straczynski's reign as the writer for "The Amazing Spider-Man." If he bails on the comic book before the end of the year that would earn a thumbs down for doing the hit-and-run bit and leaving whoever follows in Straczynski's footsteps to pick up the pieces. But "Sins Remembered: Sarah's Story," the sequel to "Sins of the Past," is not being written by Straczynski in "The Amazing Spider-Man," but rather by Samm Barnes in "The Spectacular Spider-Man." I find that troubling as well, because it suggests Straczynski is not setting up something bigger and better, he is just sucker punching our hero and running away.