Spider-Man: Back in Black
Writers: J. Michael Straczynski and Peter David
Artists: Ron Garney, Todd Nauck, Ronan Cliquet, and Colleen Doran
Cause I'm Back in Black!
Ranking: 5 stars
I know I'm parodying the famous song from AC/DC, I'll just admit it, this is one of the best modern Spider-Man stories that I've ever read! The story begins right after the end of the Marvel Superhero Civil War, when Aunt May was suddenly shot by an unknown assassin who was really aiming for Peter Parker! With the whole world knowing Peter's secret identity, and his Aunt May dying, Spider-Man must find the ones responsible for putting his aunt's life on the line! And to do that, he must make a turn to the dark side!
Yup, you guessed right! The Black Suit (not the alien costume though, but the classic black suit molded after the symbiote)!
Although we know that Spider-Man has always followed the lesson he learned from Uncle Ben, "that with great power comes great responsibility" the black suit is the only time he can abandon those morales (symbiotie or black costume). And those times are so cool!!!!!!
This story tells how even the greatest hero can have a dark side when he is provoked enough to unleash it. Spider-Man figures out that it was the Kingpin who ordered Aunt May's death, and Spider-Man sets out to kill him, but in the end he doesn't do it! He spares the Kingpins life and will only kill him if his aunt dies. Deep down I think that he couldn't do it because he would never cross that line, because it would go against every thing his Uncle Ben stood for. Just what a real hero would do at a time like that.
The sensational main storyline is written by the great JMS and illustrated by the talented Ron Garney, and long-time Hulk writer Peter David writes the side story! Although it doesn't reach the standards of JMS, it provides a great follow-up to the new powers that Spidey gained in THE OTHER story arc. It truly is the last great story arc of Spidey's life before the awful ONE MORE DAY arc took place! I blame you Joey Q, for ruining everything about Spider-Man when you erased his marriage with Mary Jane.
"From this moment on Joe Quesada, you are my mortal enemy!"
-Paraphrasing Sheldon Cooper from THE BIG BANG THEORY.
But aside from my hatred of Joey Q, BACK IN BLACK is a great story arc that allows Spidey fans to dive into the darkest, and most heart-pounding moments of the web slinger.
