Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #434

Background

Through the mechanations of the nefarious Norman Osborn, Spidey has been framed for assaulting Osborn (whom the public believes is a sincere philanthropist), and the murder of a street thug names Joey Z. A $5 million reward has been put on his head, and every Tom, Dick, and Frank Castle has been on his case since. Not willing to give up crime fighting, but recognizing the need to lay low as Spider-Man, Peter Parker has adopted four new costumed identities, including the rollicking Ricochet!

Meanwhile, the storylines in ASM have been focusing on a new South American crime boss named the Black Tarantula (possibly a relation to the original Tarantula?), who has recently arrived at New York to take his bite out of the Rose's share of the New York crime scene. He soundly thrashed Peter at their last encounter.

Story ''Round And 'Round With Ricochet!'

We first get a brief origin of the Ricochet identity (Pete and MJ made the costume -- told you it was brief), and feature a fight between Ric and Delilah, which ends up in an uneasy pact to team up to bring down the Black Tarantula (who also defeated Delilah in their last encounter).

Across the globe, Joe Robertson is on vacation with his wife in the Aegean sea, where a certain Alison Mongrain has relinquished custody of a mysterious valuable commodity. Robbie discovers that her yacht belongs to Norman Osborn, but before he can question Mongrain, it explodes, barely sparing her life.

General Comments

I really liked the Ricochet costume, as drawn by Joe Bennett. The bouncing disc weapons seem better suited to Bullseye, but I like the character, overall.

And, the Black Tarantula situation is finally beginning to really heat up, as Mary Jane appears to be in possible danger after Peter's defeat. Too bad I've already been bored silly by this guy for the last year.

Overall Rating

Some good potential here, three and a half webs.