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.

Amazing Spider-Man 624

Mark Waid, I (as the meme goes) am disappoint.

So, the cliffhanger at the end of the last issue is quickly thwarted at the beginning of this one (turns out it's not JJJ's body but that of a helpful staffer who was in the wrong place at the wrong time). Spidey runs out of web-fluid trying to bring down the Vulture and is unable to prevent his escape. Peter Parker makes some questionable decisions in an attempt to clear Jonah's name and is promptly rewarded with a public firing. And we're treated to the origin story of the new Vulture, which is as cliche as it is nonsensical.

Jimmy, as he was known before his transformation, is a "fixer" for the mob, who's responsible for cleaning up after the various mob members as they go about their mobby business. Unfortunately, business getting sloppy and Jimmy's got more than he can handle. So Jimmy finds himself a professor who's gotten his hands on the same tech that made the Scorpion, and hires said professor to build him a new Vulture henchman who'll prey on any fellow mob members who're making too big a mess. And no, it doesn't make any god damn sense to create a super henchman and then send him after your own people, but let's press on. So Jimmy pitches this idea to his mob bosses, who immediately stab him in the back (well, shoot him in the leg) and offer him up as a test subject. Why would they sacrifice one of their best "fixers" when the workload is already getting out of hand? Well, because they've been watching 1930s mobster movies and don't share more than a handful of braincells between them, obviously. They're criminals, you can't expect them to act logically, as that would be silly. So the procedure predictably goes wrong, Jimmy gets crazy and violent and decides to exact revenge.

I understand what Waid is going for here with the homage to Silver Age comics, and on paper it seems like an interesting idea, especially during an ongoing storyline featuring the return of classic Spidey villains. But style alone isn't enough to overcome a weak storyline, and it was not without good reason that some of the storytelling devices used in comic books in the 60s and 70s were abandoned. The bait and switch with Jonah's body at the start of the issue is cute, but still seems like just as big a cop out now as it ever did. The new Vulture is a flat, boring character with only the most basic motivation, and his origin story (another apparent allusion to comics' "good ol' days") just doesn't work.

Paul Azaceta's art is meant to add to the nostalgic feel, but try as I might I just can't bring myself to enjoy it. The thick, heavy lines don't lend themselves to detail work, so faces just become vague shapes, and it's hard, if not impossible to interpret emotions (like is Peter crying or simply rubbing his forehead as he's being fired?). And in one particularly poorly drawn (and inked) frame towards the end of the book Azaceta explores what Peter might look like if he were black. No, I'm not making that up.

I did enjoy some of the developments in Peter's personal life, as his job loss and public humiliation serve to further complicate his already complicated life. And I hope it's an indication that "The Gauntlet" story line is actually headed somewhere meaningful, as opposed to just being an excuse to showcase old Spider-Man villains.