Peter finally learns where Hellgate comes from and why he came to see him. Sabotage on the ship! Peter stands up for Raelith the Wretched! All of this, plus … Symbie does *nothing*?
(“When Aliens Attack” was right there …)
CREDITS
Writer: Joe Kelly
Artist: Pepe Larraz
Color Artist: Marte Gracia
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
PREVIOUSLY IN AMAZING SPIDER-MAN …
In Space …
Peter helps Rocket out with a debt he owes by agreeing to wrestle Betty in a pay-per-view match. During the match he discovers that the suit he’s been wearing is alive, a member of the Technarch named Glitch, who is able to communicate with Betty and convince it to stop the match. Rocket learns that Peter is working with Dr. Starblood, and Raelith the Wretched kisses Peter, with Peter responding in kind.
On Earth …
Norman Osborn continues being Spider-Man, despite the Spider-Gang’s insistence that he stop. Tombstone realizes that something is wrong with “Spider-Man”. Ben continues to be successful as “Peter Parker” at his job. Norman learns that Maira (Peter’s boss) has a son that has a terminal illness. Jonah has coffee with May and Ricardo about “Peter’s” erratic behavior. Spider-Norman is summoned by Tombstone, who quickly realizes that he is not the real Spider-Man, and has Plague RX attack him. Spider-Norman defeats Tombstone, and runs off, telling Plague RX to help him. Meanwhile “Peter” works on his science project for Rand.
SUMMARY
On an unknown planet, the ship Peter and his group have been travelling on has crashed. Meanwhile Peter and Raelith the Wretched are off for a walk.
Peter wants to talk to Raelith the Wretched about their recent kiss and make sure he is not giving her the wrong idea. She insures him that she does not love him.
(“So, do you like … stuff?”)
Suddenly an astral projection of a woman appears in the sky, calling Spidey “Prince of the Steelsick”(1). Peter recognizes her from his battle with Hellgate.
(All of these words that she and Hellgate say sound like Kelly pulled some random words out of a hat.)
Peter tries to protect Raelith the Wretched but she is immobile, in a prone position, bowing before “Force Ghost Space Karen”.(2)
FGSK reveals that she, Raelith the Wretched, and Hellgate are all members of the same race, and they come from the planet Kailo. A cataclysm befell their planet, and she had a vision that Spidey would be able to save them, so she sent Hellgate to find him.
(Finally, some answers!)
Meanwhile Glitch – who has detected that Peter was in trouble through their neural bond – shows up and gives him his Technarch suit.
Spidey is angry that FGSK sent Hellgate after him, and refuses to listen to her until she apologizes to Raelith the Wretched for calling her “it”.
FGSK unleashes alien monsters after Raelith the Wretched so that once she is dead, Spidey will have no distractions and will listen to her. He attacks the monsters to save Raelith the Wretched.
(“Don’t worry, Raelith the Wretched! I won’t let anything happen to you and our relationship, even though I barely know you.”)
Back at the ship, Rocket discovers that the ship crashed because of sabotage caused by one of them. He realizes that it wasn’t Peter and Raelith the Wretched, that Dr. Starblood doesn’t have the engineering knowledge to do this, Glitch could have just possessed the ship, and Symbie is too dumb, so it has to be Nial.
Spidey fights the monsters as he tells Raelith the Wretched the story about how when he was a kid he knew of Mr. Grasso, a retired soldier in the neighborhood, who ran a candy store. Everyone thought was a good guy, but Peter heard stories about him “taking advantage” of kids. Peter didn’t do anything about it because he thought nobody would believe him. When the truth came out, he lied to Uncle Ben about knowing, and Ben knew Peter was lying, and he felt shame.
(“Shame on you, Peter, for not acting like an adult when you’re literally a child.”)
Fighting multiple monsters, Spidey’s suit explodes (because of “science”), leaving him defenseless. Suddenly Raelith the Wretched, inspired by Spidey’s story, comes to his rescue, standing up to FGSK.
Back at the ship, Nial admits that he crashed the ship so they could all stay here and be a family.
(Is Nial supposed to be an adult? Because that’s not the vibe I’m getting.)
Raelith the Wretched returns, carrying Peter, who tells Rocket that it’s time for him to go home.
(Finally!)
TO BE CONTINUED!(3)
INITIAL RESPONSE
Well, it’s another “Spiderians of the Galaxy” issue, but at least this time it’s important to the overall plot. We find out more about Hellgate, and why he was sent to find Spidey. And we finally have Spidey deciding to go back to Earth. So, actual progress.
But, to sound like a broken record, I just don’t care about Spidey-in-space. I’m just counting the issues until he’s back on Earth. How is that the alternate issues without the title character are more interesting than these issues?
Time for a tangent … these issues are reminding me of the current run of Ultimate Spider-Man.
Now stick with me here. While I really like USM, one of its problems has been how each issue is a month after the previous issue, so while there are often cliffhanger endings, we rarely get a direct follow-up of them because the next issue takes place 3-4 weeks later. The time jump is very noticable.
And I feel the same way about these alternating issues. We have an issue with Space-Peter, and the next issue with him feels like it picks up weeks/a month later, because of the alternating issue format (the same thing is true with the Spider-Norman issues). So it’s like we’re jumping ahead weeks between each issue, and we’re missing out on important stuff that should naturally flow from the end of the previous issue.
WHAT I LIKED
Larraz’s return is welcome. While I’ve had problems with his art in the issues before Spidey ended up in outer space surrounded by aliens, it really works with these settings … which means we’re going to have Spidey back on Earth and I’ll have the same problems with his art there.
(I just don’t feel that JRJR could do this art as well.)
We get some actual answers to the Hellgate plot. So apparently Avarice, the Great Undoer, is causing a cataclysm on Kailo. FGSK had a vision that Spider-Man would be able to help their hero, Hellgate, so she sent him to get Spidey. Someone should have told Hellgate not to attack the person that they’re asking to help save their planet.
The Rocket/Dr. Starblood/Nial(4)story is cute, and at least gives them something to do.
I did like Peter shutting FGSK down from her “I’m important so stop what you’re doing and listen to me” attitude, and Peter standing up for Raelith the Wretched.
(“I am not a number! I am a free man!”)
While I’m starting to wonder if Kelly is relying on flashbacks of Lil’ Peter too much, I did like the story of Peter not reporting Mr. Grasso to the authorities. When you are a kid, you often think that adults will not believe you, especially when you’re accusing another adult of a crime. And the shame he felt when Ben could tell he was lying to him is apparently all Peter needed to realize that he couldn’t hide in outer space anymore and that it was time to go home.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
There’s no follow-up on Rocket learning in the previous issue that Peter was working with Dr. Starblood (this falls under my USM theory earlier). This feels like something that should have consequences in the subsequent issue when he learned it.
While I like Rocket, it feels like his only character trait in this issue (and the previous issues) is to be angry and yell at people. It’s starting to get a bit repetitive.
(Rocket’s entire contribution to this issue.)
Peter and Raelith the Wretched’s interaction before FGSK shows up is very awkward, and just goes to show that them deciding to make out in the previous issue just came out of nowhere. Peter knows nothing about this woman, as we literally find out when FGSK shows up. At least he’s trying to make sure her feelings aren’t getting hurt, but this entire pairing just feels so out of character for him (at least they clarified that they just kissed in the previous issue and nothing more).
(Seriously, besides the physical, what do these two have in common?)
While I liked that we got some answers on Hellgate, it just makes his previous appearances more frustrating. FGSK knows from her vision that Spidey will help Hellgate with the cataclysm on their planet, so Hellgate’s plan is to attack him and almost kill him? For a planet’s hero, Hellgate is kind of dumb.
Also, we have Peter being a “chosen one” to save an entire planet from a global cataclysm. Is this really what we want from a Spider-Man story?
While I liked the Peter/Ben flashbacks, a part of me feels that Ben is being too hard on Peter here. Yes, Mr. Grasso apparently did “terrible” things to neighborhood kids, and Peter didn’t tell anyone about it, he was just a kid. But Ben putting the guilt on Peter that his inaction let some kids get hurt – that’s something you say to an adult, not a child.
Once again, Symbie does absolutely nothing here, and is barely in this issue. What made Nick Lowe think that the readers were going to go nuts over this new character?
(Symbie’s entire contribution to this issue.)
WHAT THIS ISSUE MEANT OVERALL
This time there is actual progression in the overall plot. Yes, Peter is still in space, but he’s finally decided to come home. We were told in previous issues that this was impossible due to Marvel-Event-Shenanigans, but I’m sure off-panel science will make it happen. And, we finally got some information on Hellgate and why he came to Earth to find Spidey.
And yes, I’m still repeating myself here, but I am looking forward to the next Spider-Norman issue more than the next Space-Peter issue.
GRADE
C
It’s still Peter in space, but at least we got some information about the overall plot, and actual progression to getting Peter back to Earth. It was … fine.
NEXT TIME, IN AN ALL-NEW ISSUE OF AMAZING SPIDER-MAN …
(Queen Goblin returns! And this looks like Hobgoblin when he got cybernetic improvements during the Mackie run)
FOOTNOTES
(1) It’s not immediately apparent, but this is the woman we saw in the final panel of the previous “outer space” issue watching Peter and Raelith the Wretched kissing.
(2) While she introduces herself as “Nikodimu of the Pinnacle”, Peter calls her “Force Ghost Space Karen” which is a much better name for her. So for now, that’s what I’m calling her.
(3) Again, not in the next issue.
(4) I refuse to include Symbie in the description of this group.
English (US) · 