Panel by Panel: Amazing Spider-Man #49

Barren week at the shop today, but that doesn't mean I can't. . .

DIVE INTO THE LONG BOX! Today up on the review block is Amazing Spider-Man #49!

No, not Stan Lee's and John Romita Sr.'s #49. You see, back in 1999, Marvel rebooted the franchise in an attempt to gain new readers. A new #1 and all that.

It wasn't so good. The plot staggered along; Pete's supporting cast regressed to forty years ago, but the worst part of it was. . . MJ's and Peter's relationship was terribly miswritten, with the two of them as "too young for these kinds of problems."

The schlock continued for 29 issues, but it all changed with some nobody (you might've heard of him) called JOE MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI (I remembered how to spell his name! THAT's how you can tell I'm a FAN.). Aunt May was wise now, more than just a doting mother figure. Peter was responsible, mature, but none of his sense of humor disappeared.

But the best part is, MJ and Peter's relationship was written well. They weren't constantly whining about their relationship. They loved each other, and yes, Peter's trade was a big hamper at this point, but they did their best to work it out. Because their love for each other was real and true.

A perfect example of this is issues #49 and 50.

(A special note about the numbering: When JMS took over the title, it adopted a dual numbering system - Issue 49 is also issue 490, and so on, until the book returned to its original numbering with issue 500!)

I love that cover. If you look real hard, you can find John Romita Jr.'s and Scott Hanna's names there, the penciller and inker. I love the pose there, and JR Jr. always nails Spidey's anatomy and his eyes - especially the eyes! Now, if you look at his legs, they are a little anorexic, but if you can draw a good Spider-mask and -head, and -eyes, and an expressive Peter Parker, there's a lot that I'll let you get away with. Creative licensing, right?

So, to recap last arc, Spidey was faced with a totemistic villain called Shathra, an anthropomorphic Spider-Wasp.

With the help of Ezekiel and some mythical African ruins, he defeats her, and in this panel Ezekiel talks to him about his possible totemistic origins.

A lot of JMS's detractors claim that his "mythic" origins ruined Spider-Man. What they don't realize is that that's not what Straczynski's saying. He's merely bringing up the idea, the possibility of totems to introduce new kinds of stories to Amazing. He's not doing this to completely revamp Peter Parker! Ezekiel was the complete embodiment of this totemistic idea, and once he died (and Mike Deodato took over for art), the ideas became an afterthought!

Remember that in his very first arc, Spider-Man didn't say his origin as totemistic or scientific. He says it doesn't matter - he is what he is, and whether the spider came first or the radiation is impragmatic.

And Peter is witty! His response to Ezekiel is very appropriate, no? Some people write Peter's banter as simple quipping, mere joking, but they forget to instill wit into it. This is not the case here.

So Ezekiel goes on his spiel a little longer. An interesting point here is that Ezekiel is pretty much a father figure. Ever since Uncle Ben, don't you think that Peter would want a father figure in his life? That was a very natural and interesting point that I'm glad was explored.

Once Ezekiel finishes his spiel, he takes Peter on a limo ride back to the airport (yes, Ezekiel is loaded).
What the heck does this page MEAN? I love the vagueness here; it lets US bring something to the table.

Obviously, the back of a limo represents luxury. It represents privilege. Flaunting it, though, in front of the villagers is pure arrogance, and we all know that Peter is much too humble (and guilty?) to do this.

Peter's an Everyman; extravagance will always make him feel uncomfortable, and this page brought out that characterization so well. It's so rare to see this characterization in Pete.

So once Peter gets to the airport, he realizes something. He decides to exchange his first-class one-way to NY for a coach round-trip to LA!

MJ's been on his mind since issue 30, and here's where we get to see more of that fleshing out!

Little does Pete know, though, that MJ's on her way to NY! TO MEET PETER!

MJ at her plane:

Sound familiar? Here's Peter at his plane:

There's a lot of fun in this issue, but also a lot of heart.

You see the both of them when Peter tries to get to MJ's suite:

I love that Peter's so much shorter than Mr. Anonymous Security Guard. And you know who the "someone very special" is, right? How cute that she left it on her machine.

And y'know probably what Peter's thinking? He's probably worried who the "someone" is. Because Peter's always been a neurotic kind of guy. How ironic.

Let's go back to MJ now! She's at New York, taking a cab, when the driver warns her. . .

MJ's lines are so awesome. She's been through a lot, and she wants to face everything else. This is a gal who's tough and assertive. She's come a long way from being that party girl.

No wonder we all love her.

Also, Peter is basically living in a cheap apartment, in "not exactly the most beautiful part of town." How great is THAT?

Back to Peter, who, having failed the front-door approach, takes the back-door approach.

That's right - he wall-crawls up the building to MJ's suite!

There is so much in this issue that I love; it's worth its cover price ten times over.

So Peter finds MJ's suite empty, and MJ? She finds Peter's dump the same.

They both pine for each other. MJ looks through his closet, and finds the jacket that reminds her of a great memory at a restaurant. Peter looks through her photo album.

AND THEY MISS EACH OTHER!

That panel to the right brings up one of Peter's traits that doesn't always get explored. He's still socially awkward! Not so much as a teenager, but it's still there. Mark Millar mentioned this a little, during his awesome run on Marvel Knights Spider-Man, but only a little.

Peter's high-school class is having a twenty-year reunion, and MJ had to practically "drag his arm" or something.

Or maybe I'm just pulling crap out of my butt. On this blog, who knows?

They begin to realize that the other won't be showing up anytime soon.

Nooooooooooo.

And then they leave. Sadness ensues =(.

But then a thunderstorm hits! For safety, their pilots take a stop at Denver, which leaves the two at the airport.

I love comics.

To very much be continued!












Friendly Neighborhood Reminder: The season finale for KidsWB!'s The Batman is tomorrow morning! It's a one-hour special titled, "Lost Heroes"!

Also, The Spectacular Spider-Man premieres tomorrow after that! It's a one-hour two-episode special!

The Batman says:

Get out of my face before I punch you with this Kryptonite, you stupid fan. Be there!