Amazing Spider-Man 625

I don't even know where to start with this issue. This was hands down the best issue in the Gauntlet so far, and I submit that if the writing on this book was consistently this good, it wouldn't be suffering from its current sales slump. Indeed, if every story in the Gauntlet had this level of emotional impact, it would certainly live up to its name. I debated whether I'd summarized this issue in full, as I think it's such a powerful story that I didn't want to ruin it. However, I don't think it's power comes from the originality of the story; on the contrary, it's actually rather predictable. It's Kelly's superb story telling, not the shocking nature of the story itself, that makes this tale so compelling.

Poor Aleksei Sytsevich. When last we saw him, he was trying to make an honest life with his wife Oksana, whose fate was unfortunately sealed before this story began. The story is largely narrated by Norah Winters, and begins as the new Rhino makes a rather explosive visit to a naturalization ceremony in an attempt to goad Aleksei into a fight and earn his new title. Spider-Man attempts to contain the situation, but is unable to make much headway until Aleksei agrees to meet the new Rhino later for a fight. This turns out to be a ruse, as Aleksei reveals that he wishes that he and his wife be put in witness protection, with Spider-Man's help.

Things turn bad quickly as the van carrying Aleksei and Oksana to protective custody is attacked on a bridge by the new Rhino. While Spider-Man is distracted rescuing hostages who've been dropped from the top of the bridge, the Rhino destroys the van with Aleksei and Oksana inside, killing Oksana. Aleksei blames Spider-Man for her death, and agrees (for real this time) to don his classic attire and meet his would-be successor in battle. The battle is quick and decisive; the new Rhino is disabled after the first titanic hit, and Aleksei, now the original Rhino once again, kills his usurper despite Spider-Man's best efforts to prevent it.

The power in this story comes from Spider-Man's desire (and failure) to help Aleksei succeed in his new life and prevent him from returning to his former life of crime. His desperate need to do the right thing by Aleksei contrasts with his poor decisions in his own life, and yet the results are ultimately the same. It's this as much as Aleksei's fall from grace that makes this such a moving story.

Fiumara's art is an integral part of this story, as well. While I'm not a huge fan of his manga-esque character models, his depiction of the climactic moments of the story is wonderful. The Rhino of the Silver Age never struck me as particularly visually interesting, a dull, block-y, grey blob that wasn't much fun to look at. But Fiumara's depiction of him is primal, animal, deadly.

In addition to the main storyline, there are a few important developments in the life of Peter Parker. Mary Jane spurns an attempt by Peter to reconnect, though she hints that there may be an opportunity in the near future. And Pete decides against applying for unemployment benefits after being recognized by a number of people as "the lyin' guy from the paper."

Not everything works great in this story; Norah's narration is a little awkward, as it's far to informal to work as the newspaper article it's apparently supposed to be. And the plot is a tad predictable. But I really recommend you go out and read this story for yourself, my summary does it no justice. As I said, it's not really a new story if you're familiar with comics, but Kelly's storytelling and Fiumara's art make this a memorable comic.