Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #324

Background

Spider-Man has been hired by Silver Sable to protect King Stefan of Symkaria from an assassination attempt. While they were able to protect the king, his fiancee Vivian and Prime Minister Limka were killed during an assault by the terrorist group Ultimatum. In an ironic twist, Limka was involved in the attempt on Stefan in an effort to rise to greater prominence. They soon discover evidence that the United States may have been involved in the assassination. The alleged involvement of the United States has created a major international crisis.

Captain America has volunteered to assist Silver Sable (and Spider-Man) in resolving this issue before their respective countries declare war. Through their combined efforts, they have discovered the mutant Sabretooth was the person contracted to assassinate Limka.

Despite having fulfilled his contract - and being dismissed by Silver Sable - Spider-Man is determined to see this mission through to the end.

Story 'Twos Day'

Spider-Man returns to New York in time to prevent a squad of Ultimatum soldiers from destroying Ellis Island. Solo teleports in and "saves" Spider- Man from a perceived attack by one of the captured terrorists, eliminating their chances of questioning them. Hoping to avoid a similar incident, he offers Solo a chance to work with him to capture Toler Weil, the high-ranking Ultimatum officer who arranged Limka's assassination. Solo accepts his offer and instructs Spider-Man to leave any messages for him at the Symkarian embassy. After they part ways, Peter returns home to spend the remainder of the night catching up with MJ and watching the news coverage of the Symkarian crisis.

The next day Spider-Man leaves a message for Solo, who meets up with him outside the Metropolitan Museum. The intel from Captain America's source in Washington shows that the remodeling is funded by the Life Foundation as a cover to hide Toler Weil. Solo's eagerness to shoot first and question later has Spider-Man feeling uneasy.

Following the information from his Washington source, Captain America and Silver Sable track Sabretooth to Mexico. Silver decides to take on Sabretooth by herself and nearly pays for her impatience with her life. She manages to use Sabretooth's momentum to her advantage and brings down a temple wall on top of him. When Cap catches up with her, he finds Sabretooth buried under a collapsed wall and is unable to find a pulse.

Once Spider-Man and Solo make their way into the museum, they encounter some high-tech security measures put in place by Weil's unidentified financier. Realizing that Solo and Spider-Man are tearing through the security, Weil attempts to escape via helicopter. He is quickly captured by Spider-Man. Solo tries to kill Weil on the spot, but Spider-Man stands his ground and forces Solo to back down.

The next day at the Symkarian Embassy, Cap places a call to his contact in Washington and learns some disturbing news. Symkaria has formally severed their relations with the United States. Rumors are beginning to circulate that they are planning some retaliation for Limka's assassination.

General Comments

Don't think that because he was crushed by a wall and the fact that Cap couldn't find a pulse, Sabretooth is dead. Don't let overwhelming evidence lead you to that conclusion - he'll get better.

The issue involved a great deal of action with little plot development. In many cases, that's not a problem with me. However in this case, it was a bit disappointing as I found the action sequences to be generic.

Overall Rating

2.5 webs. This chapter was not as good as its predecessors. It had nothing to do with the artwork. Larsen did a good job as a fill-in artist. The story was simply not up to the level as the other chapters. What we had in the first four parts was a tightly plotted story involving a mysterious organization bent on starting a war between the United States and Symkaria. This issue is bascially a decompressed story with a "you take the high road, I'll take the low road" theme.

The nickel recap goes like this: Spider-Man returns to New York where he and Solo are able to capture Toler Weil for interrogation. Captain America and Silver Sable travel to Mexico where they fail to bring in Sabretooth due to Silver's desire for revenge. Risking her very life to fight him alone, she eventually brings down an entire temple wall on him, presumably killing him. When Cap and Silver return to New York, Cap learns that the United States and Symkaria are one step away from all-out war.

In my opinion, that doesn't really require 22 pages. Had they used the first half of the issue to show both missions and moved on to something else, I think it would have helped the story. I don't see this part of the story as requiring a full issue. It felt like they were stalling until next issue. You could pretty much skip this issue without missing too much.

Footnote

Spider-Man and Silver Sable discovered that the Life Foundation planned to hide the assassin (now revealed to be Sabretooth) upon completion of his mission in Amazing Spider-Man #320.