US Shipping Date: January 2009

Previous Issue: Amazing Spider-Man #577 Next Issue: Amazing Spider-Man #579

Synopsis
In the pouring rain Peter gets a fortune cookie note that says “Today Will Be Your Lucky Day”. A MetroCard lands on his webbing umbrella which he finds out has enough fare left on it for one journey! He runs to the train but is stopped from entering a pretty empty carriage by two policemen. A young lady jams another door open for him and he just makes the train. Aboard the lady flirts outrageously with him but suddenly his spider-sense goes off and he pushes through the crowd to get to a door…!

Suddenly the whole train is rocked with an earthquake and leaves the tracks!

In the darkness a policeman’s torch is flicked on to reveal Spider-Man holding up tons of wreckage over two fallen passengers. With help from some other passengers Spidey is able to free them and himself. He assesses the situation and learns that only one carriage (the nearly empty one) is trapped and that it’s occupants are all part of a Maggia-trial jury. An old man directs the group with Spidey out of the carriage where they are met by water flooding in from the ceiling and learn that they are blocked in all directions apart from up. Spidey asks the man to hold his Spidey torch as he climbs up an access shaft ladder but his spider-sense goes off again… as he is grabbed by Shocker and shocked! Shocker reveals he caused the earthquake under direction of Maggia boss Carmine Karnelli and that he’s here to finish the job and make sure the trial never goes ahead. Spidey uses the close quarters of the access shaft to crush Shocker’s vibro-gauntlets which causes the whole shaft to crumble and cave-in on them! Spidey pulls himself from the rubble – he looks at the roof which is letting water in, the access shaft closed and can’t see a way out. The old man turns to Spidey and decides to apologise to him before he dies… his name is J. Jonah Jameson… Senior!

Highlight
Marcos Martin’s awesome lighting tricks.

Comments
I have to say that Marcos Martin is quickly becoming one of my favourite artists and I firmly believe in the fact that he could make any lowly script into stunning artwork. I’ll be quick to deny that Mark Waid’s proper opening on Amazing Spider-Man isn’t a lowly script but Martin launches this story into a whole new stratosphere of quality. It’s not enough that he gives us the same quirky, edgy pencils that played with panels, layout, and immense detail and gave off this lovely bygone feel that he did during #559-561. This time around Martin adds in a classic take on a classic Spidey villain and some brilliant and logical tricks with light to really capture the close and tense atmosphere of the story. The torchlight and electricity shocks are very clever and allow for a memorable closing image.

Waid’s decision to introduce JJJ Sr. is fine and dandy. I don’t really feel any more bothered about it than that if I’m honest. I think this arc, like the opening salvo of Brand New Day is an introduction story more than anything else and that great things may come of the character at a later date. A better thing that Waid does is the other guest character – Shocker! Long has it bens ice we’ve had a good Shocker appearance and, whilst his involvement in the plot is far from original (oh look, he’s been hired as a powered goon again!) but it allows for a brilliant visual scene and Shocker actually fits the nature of the story well.

The structure of the story is something else I think Waid excels at. There is no juggling of dozens of characters, he does not really have to generate a lot of character and doesn’t need to achieve anything apart from good storytelling (unlike other arcs which have been written to retell origins, fill in gaps and introduce important villains) and he is able to keep the focus of the story on the reason we buy this comic – Spider-Man. The story begins immediately and doesn’t jump focus once and throughout the action is balanced with logical thinking, real human reaction and stacking the odds against Spidey like only true Spider-writers can. To do this in this original and simple way is a sign of great things to come.

Martin’s cover struck me from when I first saw it as a bold design and one which swells with pressure and weight. It’s simple but incredibly powerful.

This is fresh in its simplicity and memorable for its quality; a superb example of a good Spider-Man comic.

Rating
Cover –
Overall –

Reviewed by Adam Rivett

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