Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows Vol. 2 #5

Background

Recent issues have set up the status quo of this world of a married Peter & Mary Jane, who have a daughter Annie, who is super-powered. Mary Jane herself also siphons Peter’s powers thanks to tech once used by the vanquished super villain Regent.

Together, the family of heroes thwarted the plans of the Mole Man, who was causing trouble under the city.

Story 'Brawl In The Family, pt. 5'

It’s a Tuesday night, and the spider-parents are exhausted. But Annie is having none of it, and is insisting on “family fun night”. Peter suggests pizza and a movie, but Annie has something better in mind, a kid’s fun place that has “robot animals, video games, two ball pits, and burgers and music” called ‘Bouncy Bunny’.

Elsewhere in a “shifty part of town”, Sandman is in the back room of a bar called Vinnie’s, where he’s going over the blueprints for a bank and their security system. The map on the computer screen shows its located right next to the spot Annie wants to go.

Elsewhere still, in a “better part of town”, Normie Osborn and a lab technician are studying the drone that was left behind in the fracas with the Mole Man last issue, the drone Peter constructed to take pictures of him while out in costume. Normie instructs the tech to extract all info from the device, find out where the items were bought from, and if he “find any photos of a girl with powers like his, send them to me immediately” referring to Annie, who Normie is infatuated with.

Normie reconvenes to a conference room, where his aide, Ms January, informs him that Betty Brant has come by to interview him about the events the last few issues at the site of where the Mole Man was causing trouble, which is owned by Normie and Osborn Industries. They briefly discuss Harry and how it was odd that he left his empire to his ten-year old son. Normie retorts that he’s not any typical ten-year old, and is ready to shoulder the burden and fulfill the Osborn legacy.

At the Bouncy Bunny, Peter, Mary Jane and Gloria Grant are at a booth talking and eating while Annie plays with Gloria’s son Jermaine. Outside, at the nearby bank, the thugs are taking too long at penetrating the building’s security, so Sandman goes into sand form to smash it to bits. While playing, Annie has one of her premonitions, of Peter in costume fighting thugs at the bank. Annie runs to tell her parents, freaking out, and they pull her aside to get the lowdown. Peter says he’ll go to check it out.

As the thugs and Sandman break into the vault, they find Spider-Man waiting there for them. Spider makes short work of the thugs, but has to contend with Sandman. One robber finds what he was looking for in the vault, a small green box with an initial ‘R’ on the top. At that point, Spinneret and Spider-Ling (MJ & Annie) crash on the scene in costume. Together they all web up Sandman and contain him. Peter notices that there are only four henchmen taken out among them when there were five.

Back at Normie’s building at night, the fifth thug has brought him the green box. Inside is what looks like a small computer card. The thug inquires as to what it is, and Normie says he wouldn’t understand if he told him, but to think of it as “the last piece of a vast puzzle”,one which will bring about the destruction of Spider-Man. The final splash page shows the family all passed out together on the couch.

General Comments

After the first four installments of this series, which were basically a decompressed, long version of an introduction to this new series, the book gets its first one and done issue and its a refreshing change. What’s also good is to see another classic Spider-Man villain appear with Sandman (Scorpion appeared briefly in issue one). It's also always good to see former classic members like Betty and Gloria.

This issue also teases at unravelling a few ongoing mysteries, such as what Normie Osborn is up to and what the company’s “project G” is, hinted to again here. What it doesn’t reveal anything more about is Annie’s ability to experience premonitions (though as the X-Men of this world are set to appear next issue, maybe Professor X can shed some light on Annie’s emerging powers).

Conway delivers his usual fairly clever script, but Ryan Stegman has been given a reprieve on art duties for this issue. In his place, Nathan Stockman does adequately, with a style not too far removed from Stegman’s own.

Overall Rating

It’s an engaging story as were the first four issues, but this is a placeholder issue of sorts before Conway and Stegman move on to the next arc. On its own, that makes for a fine read, but also not a completely memorable one. I am still looking forward to what’s to come, however. 3.5 out of 5.

Footnote

I'm a bit surprised this is considered "Brawl In The Family" pt 5, as it seems to have little to do with that opening arc (unless of course this is meant to be the Tuesday night that transpires directly after those first four issues--no doubt these first five issues are what will be collected in the trade paperback). Here's hoping they come up with a new overall arc name next issue.