Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #15

Background

Mary Jane is presumed dead, but Peter doesn't believe it. So, when he gets a mysterious call that his wife is alive and being held in Latveria, he jumps on the next airplane to find his beloved! But, due to recent events Spidey is unsure of whether he'll have to face of against Stryfe, Doctor Doom or a new monarch of Latveria.

Story 'We're All Doomed...Again!'

The story begins with Peter having a conversation with Aunt May. May is concerned about Peter's intentions of running off to Latveria on the say so of an anonymous phone call and also the financial problems they're having. Peter soothes his Aunt and hops on a plane by hiding in the landing gear as Spider-man.

Once arriving in Latveria Spidey heads straight to Castle Doom and while trying to enter runs across some rebels trying to stage a revolt. Spidey rescues most from certain defeat, but one of the rebels is caught and his daughter begs Spidey to go back and save him. Spidey tries to re-enter the castle, but is struck down by some soldiers, who step aside to reveal Doctor Doom as their leader! Anyway, Spidey, realising he is out gunned for the moment heads off and ends up hiding the basement of one of the rebels.

Spidey returns later and battles Doom, who he reveals to be a robot replica and not the real deal. The Doom robot manages to eject Spidey from the castle despite the loss of his head. Our hero picks himself up off the ground outside the castle and reveals he now has a plan.... to be continued next issue!

General Comments

Not too bad. There are some good things happening in this comic. Firstly, I'm glad that the Spidey offices aren't leaving the plot of Mary Jane's death/disappearance to hang around in the background and are dealing with it pretty much straight away. I'm interested in what is going to happen, I want to know who the lolly pop sucking guy is (my best guess at the moment is Harry Osborn) and he's up to. It's great that Mackie and co. are producing comics that make you want to pick up the next issue.

What is also great about this issue is that the characterization of Spidey/Peter Parker is just about spot on. I especially like the way that Spidey quips to Doom and his guards, when he's obviously beat to buy time. The other good thing is the art, especially during the fight scenes. Finally, the idea of one of Doom's Doombots taking over in his stead is good.

There is annoying thing though. Spidey is determined to find Mary Jane at the start, but he seems to get easily distracted by the rebellion and seems to focus on this more than finding his wife. This seems a bit hard to buy, especially since the first few pages are devoted to getting across how determined Spidey his to find his wife.

Overall Rating

A mostly great comic. If the Spidey titles could all be as focused and entertaining as this one, we'd be halfway to living in a perfect world! Four webs.