Issue 6

I said in my review of the last issue of The Amazing Spider-Man that the cliffhanger would be some form of red herring and as expected that was exactly what it was. We’ve had innumerable unmasking scares over this character’s long history and they’ve never really been worthwhile. It’s a bit of a cheat when an issue ends with an apparent unmasking and then having it turn out to be dodged in a contrived way in the next.

This particular example is no exception, what we have is something so silly it would have seemed ridiculous in the 60s. It turns out where Jameson is standing has his microphone cover Spidey’s entire unmasked face so that nobody at home can see him as well as Black Cat not directly looking at his face. Of course we have Silk jump in and make sure his face is covered at the last second. I’d almost be able to accept all this if the spell he had Doctor Strange perform to keep his identity hidden was fully in effect but it isn’t and even if it was, a public unmasking would still negate that. To quickly sum the spell plot point up – Spidey arranged for Doctor Strange to cast a spell that would stop people being able to learn his identity through investigating it. People getting close would put the information together in hilariously inaccurate ways. It was actually a clever plot point for a while that was really amusing. It’s really difficult to believe that not one person -with the exception of Silk- around there didn’t see Peter’s face when he was briefly unmasked. It’s not like Dan Slott to do something so ridiculously lazy so I’m somewhat baffled that this has happened.

Nothing from that point really manages to dazzle either; this issue gives us the conclusion of the Black Cat and Electro team-up but it’s all just a little uneven. Much of it is my almost complete inability to accept that Felicia Hardy would go to these extremes. She isn’t a bad person nor is she that spiteful and she’s certainly not the type to want to become the most powerful crime lord in the city. She’s almost murderous in her intentions at the moment and that really isn’t her. It doesn’t seem that Slott understands her character very well. I did like that Peter risked everything to help Electro and make sure he was cured, that’s really consistent with who he is as a person but it seemed like he was only really along for the ride rather than being an integral part of the story. I understand that Cindy/Silk has only just been introduced so needs to make a big impression but she seems ridiculously overpowered with her ability to change the chemical makeup of her webbing as the need arises, it’s all a little too convenient really. I’m not sure what to make of her character at this point but it’s clear that she’s here to stay.

Peter’s personal life is a bit of a question mark at the moment but I’m particularly impressed with Anna-Maria’s unwavering maturity at the whole situation. Her life has been completely turned upside down by learning that the man she was in love with was actually Doc Ock in Peter Parker’s head but she’s definitely just getting on with it and seemingly not letting it get to her. I imagine it will emotionally blow up in her face at some point but I’m pretty intrigued to see what Peter Parker’s social structure will look like once he settles back into his life.