Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #438

Background

Following the events of the 'Spider-Hunt' and 'Identity Crisis' storylines, the Spider-books are gearing up to what could be a major turning point in the lives of Peter and Mary Jane Parker. Joe Robertson has apparently unearthed some startling information concerning the Parkers, Norman Osborn, and a mysterious "package" kept by Alison Mongrain since the 'Revelations' storyline.
None of this is important in this story, but it's good to keep in mind.

Story 'Seeing is Disbelieving!'

What appears to be a typical bank robbery from afar becomes extraordinary when Spider-Man swings inside the bank, and finds it teeming with dinosaurs. A very mysterious woman leaves the building just before the scene, obviously just an illusion since Petey's spider-sense never warned him of any danger, turns back to a normal bank.

Later, crusading attorney Matt Murdock, whom all true believers know and love as the fearless Daredevil, is meeting with a new client -- Bert Gilmore, president of Gilsoft Games -- who wants to secure the rights of any games created by his employees. While most employees rage against this turn of events when Matt and Foggy Nelson inform them of it, one employee by the name of Angela Bradford sulks out silently. Matt slips into something a little less comfortable (I don't believe for a second that Daredevil's tights are less constraining than Matt's tailored suit) to follow her.

Angela, who is secretly the supervillainess Synario, notices Daredevil, and uses her holographic projector to conjure the image of a volcano in downtown Manhattan. Daredevil, being blind, takes no notice of the holograph, but Spider-Man, who is swinging nearby, swoops down to investigate. Synario uses her image inducer to make Spider-Man believe that Daredevil is really an otherworldly robot. The two fight for a while before Spidey is reminded that his spider-sense is, again, not reacting to Dardevil.

Meanwhile, Gilmore has stolen the projector from his employee, but a toss of a billy cane and a smash of a spider-fist later, Gilmore is captured and the projector is broken. So, the story ends happily ... for our heroes, at least.

General Comments

Is it just me, or did we just see a single-issue team-up filler story last month? Now, I have nothing against taking an occasional break from dragging, year-long storylines, but it seems strange that two other heroes should cross weblines with Spidey in two consecutive months.

All that aside, this was a pretty solid book. The Spidey/Daredevil dynamics were still there, and the plot flowed nicely. The art by guest penciller Scott Lolins were very nice, sort of like (and I beg you to pardon me for not thinking up a better comparison) Joe Bennett's with a few Mike Wieringo tendencies. Still better than the ruler-people by young John Romita, anyways ...

Overall Rating

Strong characterization and good plot flow support this issue, but it, like too many others, ultimately lacks purpose.
Three webs.