Deron Generally
Deron Generally
Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #301
Marvel Comics
Written by Chip Zdarsky
Art by Joe Quinones
Inks by Joe Rivera
Colors by Jordan Gibson
Spider-Man swings back to his home with Aunt May in the past and finds that he is not alone in his room. His spider-sense doesn’t alert him to the presence and what he finds there is shocking to say the least. Present day Spider-Man, J Jonah Jameson and Teresa are all waiting for him because they need his help.
After reluctantly agreeing to help his future self, Teresa and Jonah leave to meet up with some contacts to get some information to help them find the Tinkerer. As both Spider-Men decide to deal with some present day threats, Jonah decides to confront his younger self with some interesting information and a warning about the future. Teresa decides to confront a familiar face from her past and gives him a personal revelation about her past. The Spider-Men decide to take out Doctor Octopus and Green Goblin while they’re working together and one of those confrontations might come back to bite them like a radioactive spider.
I love both the classic look and feel of this issue. Zdarsky and Quinones do a really great job of capturing the look and feel of the classic Lee/Ditko issues and the story is fun for what it’s setting out to accomplish. There’s an establishing moment that takes away most of the stakes for their adventure in time, but it does help serve the overall story, especially in some rather cathartic moments for Jameson. I had my misgivings about Jameson knowing that Peter is Spider-Man, but the humanity that revelation has brought out in him has made him a more well-rounded character.
I think not having the Tinkerer in this issue was a good idea as well. It gave the story a moment to establish itself in this time period without having to rely on huge events or side characters. It brought the story back to Spider-Man, his world and his rogues. It will be interesting to see where this goes when the team is forced to confront the Tinkerer as well as what happens to the people in the past that they’ve affected just by being there.
