Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #24

Background

Last issue, when a French hospital called to inform Peter Parker that Sarah Stacy had tried to kill herself, he rushed to Paris to be at her side. But Sarah denied the suicide attempt, and Peter agreed to spend some time in Paris getting to know her. But unbeknownst to Peter, there are strange people lurking around the Stacy estate, and Sarah may or may not be involved with them...

Story Details

This issue opens with Peter Parker snooping around Norman Osborn's study in the Stacy house in Paris. Sarah finds Peter in there, and she tells Peter that Osborn treated her well, although she flashes back to the brain-washing that she and her twin brother Gabriel had to endure at his hands. But Sarah moves the subject away from Norman and manages to get Peter to agree to spend a day with her in Paris.

Meanwhile, back in New York, Mary Jane and Aunt May are sitting around discussing the situation that Peter is in. Mary Jane is very insecure about Peter spending time in Paris with a beautiful young woman, and despite May's protestations, MJ decides to travel to France to find her husband. Back in Paris, Peter and Sarah are hanging out in a café while mysterious people spy on them. Before long, Peter and Sarah continue their tour of Paris, and as they do so, Sarah continues popping headache pills when Peter's not looking, and Mary Jane arrives at the Paris airport.

Peter and Sarah travel down to the Paris subway when Sarah makes an excuse to wander away from Peter for a few minutes. Sarah goes to see the drug dealer from whom she buys the strong painkillers for her headaches. But several other thugs arrive and corner Sarah, and they take her pills, saying that they'll be put towards the interest on her brother's debt. Sarah and the thugs start fighting, and when Peter hears the commotion, he comes running and uses his web-shooters to swing himself and Sarah away from trouble.

Peter and Sarah get on a subway train, and while aboard, Sarah stops to consider the romantic feelings that she is developing for Peter. Before long, Sarah wants to get off the train, and they go to see the famous cemetery where Chopin and Jim Morrison are buried. While there, Peter inquires about Sarah's preoccupation with death, but before she can answer, her cellphone rings. Sarah steps away from Peter to take the call, and the caller tells her that Mary Jane has arrived in Paris. Sarah wants to know why the caller didn't stop Mary Jane from coming to Paris, because things are very dangerous here...

General Comments

"Sins Remembered: Sarah's Story" continues with more intrigue developing in this issue. But like last issue, none of this intrigue is particularly intriguing. Interesting elements are being injected into this story by writer Samm Barnes, but I don't really care for the character of Sarah Stacy the way that he is writing her. She was a likeable character when she first appeared in "Sins Past", but now Barnes is turning her into a pill-popping wannabe home- wrecker, and I'm just having a hard time developing any sort of empathy for her. And like last issue, the art by the team of Scot Eaton and Cam Smith is very mediocre.

Overall Rating

Just as bland as the first part. Two webs.