Al n' Ann's Collectibles

Joe Pimentel
To warn the reader, I’ve got some things to say about this book, but to be fair, I am going to do an impartial review first, at least to the best of my ability. This issue is the fourth part of the sins past story arc. The art by Deodato is wonderful. Generally a talking heads may not be something that you want in a superhero book, but the artwork in this book makes it well worth it. While I have mentioned in the past that Deodato isn’t, what I would call my favorite when it comes to rendering costumed super heroes, but his style with characters out of costume is terrific. You can feel the emotion the characters are feeling throughout the entire issue. The pain Mary Jane feels from keeping secrets from Peter, the madness that consumes Norman Osborne, and the hurt and disbelief that Peter feels over the whole situation are all portrayed well. It more than makes up for my past issues with his art, this book looks good. Now comes the hard part, being objective about the content. When I first got word of what was revealed in this issue, I was angered. In fact I went so far as to send an e-mail off saying that if some miraculous turn around didn’t take place in the next two months, I was done with this title. I dropped the Spider-Man titles during the clone saga, and finally worked my way back but this could just be the end for me. 22 years of collecting a Spider-Man title in some way and this could be it. You see, I feel betrayed. SPOILER- If you haven’t read the issue yet then you may not want to read any further- Growing up I knew of Gwen Stacy. I knew that she was Peter’s true love and that she met a tragic end, death at the George Washington Bridge at the hands of the Green Goblin (Norman Osborn). Seemingly throw from the bridge as a means to punish Peter Parker for opposing him. While I did not read these issues first hand, I, over the years was able to read them in one collection or another. It was quite tragic and it helped to further define Peter Parker and make him forever tragic. The fact that one of his enemies would strike out at him randomly through people who were important to him, was pivotal. In the previous issues of the Sins Past Arc, we find out that while Gewn was away in England, she gave birth to twins, the mystery revolved around who the father was. The twins have been led to believe that it’s Peter, and they are out to punish him for abandoning them and their mother. SPOILER For Real This Time. It turns out that Mary Jane knew about the twins and also knew the identity of their father and had kept the secret from Peter all these years. Apparently (I use that word because I hope there is some twist coming to undo this issue), before she went to England, Gwen, was intimate with a single man. She was overcome by his strength and character. Before she knew it, she was in his arms. That man was Norman Osborn. Due to the chemicals flowing through him from being the Green Goblin, the children developed at an accelerated rate. They were born prematurely, yet fully developed. As they grew older, they have aged at an accelerated rate. They blame Peter due to some intervention by Norman. Now while this would be a wonderful development in the world of soap operas, I don’t believe it belongs here. At least not in this Spider-Man book. To me it sort of denigrates all that I thought their relationship was. In fact it cheapens her death. They seemed like two people genuinely in love and headed for a happy future, until tragedy took Gwen away from Peter. What seemed like an act of randomness may not have actually been so. Norman was after an heir, he was convinced that Harry (his son) was not strong enough to carry on the Osborn name. Gwen was his way to achieve that. But when Gwen found out his motives, she balked. She threatened him and said that if he tried to do anything about it she would expose the scandal. This totally changes the dynamic of everything that has come before. Was Gwen just a random target, chosen simply because it would hurt Peter the most? Or, did her sacrifice serve Norman twice? Get rid of the only ties to his offspring as payback for her spurning him and to hurt his hated enemy. While I agree this adds further depth to the evil that is Norman Osborn, but it was an unnecessary turn of events. I think it is totally unnecessary and it tells me two things. First, if a writer can evoke this kind of emotion out of a person, then they must be doing something right. Second, this writer has two more issues to make me feel OK about the direction he has chosen. I don’t think I’ll ever be totally OK with it, but based on Straczynski’s past work, I will give him the benefit of the doubt. This could either end up being a great story arc or my last one. Man, I hope I’m wrong.