AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #651

Review by: Legend

What did the
iFanboy
community think?

732
Pulls
Avg Rating: 4.2
 
Users who pulled this comic:
Users who reviewed this comic:
Story by Dan Slott
Art by Humberto Ramos, Carlos Cuevas, Joseph M. Damon
Colors by Edgar Delgado
Letters by VC - Joe Caramagna
Cover by Humberto Ramos, Edgar Delgado, Mark Brooks

Size: 40 pages
Price: 3.99

After Hobglobin’s successful stealing
of the reverbium and Spidey’s new suit, I was incredibly excited to see
how things would go down.  There were a few questionable moments in this
issue, but overall, the majority of the issue being a battle between
Kingpin and Hobgoblin vs. Spidey and Black Cat, it was fun to see things
go down.  Dan Slott continues to portray the Hobgoblin, now Phil Urich,
extremely well.  Hobglobin’s dialogue is perfect, with cheesy jokes,
yet a clearly sinister tone, and I’m simply loving him as a villain. 
Spidey’s new tech savvy suit was interesting to see in action too,
giving the battle between him and Hobgoblin a cool scientific element to
it.  Humberto Ramos did a great job portraying this dichotomy of action
and science, and his artwork continues to grow on me.  I’m loving his
character work more and more.  There were times, though, during the
fight, where I tilted my head in question.  Did Parker really not expect
Hobgoblin to just scream at a higher pitch?  And as smart as he is,
especially after his huge new job and everything, I couldn’t believe
that he would actually forget that he turned his suit into a mode that
blocked all sound.  But anyway, those are minute points.  At the issue’s
end, the action heavy issue is almost balanced out with a last page
that brought a huge smile to my face.  With this new era of Spider-Man,
Dan Slott is really banking on how Peter Parker’s life is so much better
off, and those small happy moments are a great touch.

I
also love how Dan Slott draws a parallel with Phil Urich and Peter
Parker.  I didn’t even realize it until this issue, but Phil Urich’s
success as a newsman by using his role as a villain is the perfect
contrast to how Peter did it back when he was a photographer.  It makes
Phil’s character that much more fitting for the series and role as
Hobgoblin, not to mention that he, too, has an Uncle Ben.  The backup
story is great also at showcasing two other villain characters, and
Slott draws even more parallels there.  Mac Gargan is back as the
Scorpion thanks to Spider-Slayer Alistair Smythe, and while Spidey’s
villains have always related to his animal-esque powers, Slott makes
that more explicit with Scorpion’s rebirth.  The implications of the
backup also have me incredibly worried for Spidey’s and many other
characters’ future, and the final double-page spread had me both
terrified and wanting to read more.

Story: 4 - Very Good
Art: 4 - Very Good

Comments

  1. Very good review.  

    Question:  Why do you think Hobgoblin’s “cheesy jokes” are perfect?   It strikes me as inconsistent for the character and convenient for a writer who clearly likes writing in this manner.

    Phil Urich is a somewhat twisted journalist type.  How does telling jokes integrate with his character? 

  2. Thanks.  I think those bits of cheesy jokes work because he only says that stuff as the Hobgoblin, which is sort of his other personality.  Along the lines of Superman/Clark Kent, Phil becomes much more insane and sinister when he’s the Hobgoblin.  It’s like the chains are released and he can say these cheesy bits of dialogue that are cleary evil and sometimes ironic at the same time.  He’s like that cackling fool always trying to be funny in a twisted way, which I guess is an extension of that “twisted journalist” type like you mention.

  3. The hobby was aways spidey’s joker. Not quite as cunning and not as much depth, but I remember prevelent, menacing laughter and sadistic banter.

Leave a Comment