false 2 0 false false Tue Jan 13 17:17:29 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 13 17:33:45 -0800 2009
Essentially this is the reprinting of Amazing Spider-Man #252-259 and deals primarily with the Alien suit SM brought back from the Beyonder's planet in Secret Wars, the alliance of The Rose with Hobgoblin, and Mary Jane confessing she knows SM identity and tales from her troubled past.

What is it about the Spider-Man character that it's popularity has grown to such heights? Is it his teenage creation that makes him so identifiable for youngsters? The journalist angle? And why the F have they not yet had some bombshell running around the movie franchise in a Black Cat costume? (Maybe they have..I didn't really keep up). It's such an homage to NYC, or a mythical NYC where the populace is routinely looking up to see costumed freaks chasing one another, and common thugs, popping in and out of dimensions, magic and science run amok in stunning spectacle. Notice how Spidey always goes into James Bond/Swartzenagger "bad pun/jokey" mode whenever the fighting starts, but his inner dialogue carries the drama and his self-doubt, assessment of his and his opponents powers.
He is a relatively young American hero, when compared to others, like Flash Gordon, or the older school DC: Batman or Superman. It's a real testament to Stan Lee and other collaborators that they generated such a figure, but then they've certainly cashed their checks, so enough horn blowing there...]]>