AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #44

By: Arnold T. Blumberg
Date: Friday, August 30, 2002

Woohoo! Now we're talkin'! Spidey in pitched battle with not one, but two deadly Doctors Octopus! (And yes, that's correct grammar.) The original Doc Ock is finally - finally - regaining some of his former glory after years of being played for laughs or appearing as little more than an incompetent stooge...and I have to say, that white at the temples makes him look rather more distinguished as well. And this new Octopus? Well, what can I say but that he seems to up the ante a thousand-fold with his high-tech threads and young energy. Now both tentacled terrors have a certain spider in their sights, or at least as a secondary target in the midst of their own internal power struggle. I'm telling you, for a dedicated old-time Spider-Man fan, it just doesn't get any better than this! And the artistic team of Romita Jr. and Hanna know exactly what they're doing too - this is one of those rare occasions when I didn't mind in the least that a battle sequence segued into several large splash panels. The flailing appendages of the two Ocks demanded the space and time to enjoy the ensuing carnage.

And if that isn't enough to warm the hearts of Spiderphiles everywhere, this issue also sees some movement at last in the static Peter/Mary Jane separation situation. Visiting MJ on the set of her new superhero blockbuster movie (hmm...), Peter tries to explain why he was unable to see her last issue (he was astral, you know). He also swings into action for the very first time with Aunt May's full knowledge, and that scene also plays beautifully. At last, May plays a more substantial, more logical, and much more dynamic role in the life of her nephew. Who knew anyone could ever pull that off?

One thing, though - that cover is terrible. Not that it's a bad piece of artwork in and of itself, mind you, but it hardly conveys any of the action and excitement you find inside of two Doc Ocks waging war against the wall-crawler. Now I know AMAZING has been doing this a lot lately, perhaps due to Straczynski's quite understandable desire to keep plot threads under wraps - it's a lot easier to maintain the element of surprise when the cover solicited in catalogs months in advance doesn't tip anything specific. Nevertheless, this is one issue where I would gladly have traded surprise for a nostalgic rush. How about a Romita Sr. cover with Spidey swinging in dead-center - his back to us, spider-sense raging - as two sets of metallic tentacles snake in from either side, ready to engulf him? "Look out, Spidey," the bright yellow starburst would scream, "because THE DOCTORS ARE IN!!!"

Hey, who says this isn't the Marvel Age of Nostalgic Cover Correction?