Amazing Spider-Man #518 Discussion [Archive] - Comic Book Resources Forums

cosmicspidey

03-23-2005, 09:35 PM

So this issue wraps up the Skin Deep storyline. Spidey confronts Charlie in Peter & MJ's apparent, which is on fire. Spidey escapes by pulling the ceiling down on top of them. Outside, Spidey passes out and has a revelation regarding science and how he can stop Charlie (the scene nicely combines the flashback style of Mark Brooks and the modern style of Deodato). Spidey goes to Stark for help, wraps up Charlie in a bunch of webbing, and takes him to Stark's building where he locks him in a pressurizer thing. The science-y stuff in Spidey's dream had to do with how certain materialsn can only be converted to solids under extreme pressure. Like helium in real life and vibranium in comic life. So Charlie gets put under extreme pressure and the vibranium solidifies with him inside, trapping him, but not killing him. Afterward, Spidey learns that Charlie burned down May's house.

So I guess the destruction of both homes leads to the move to Avengers Tower next issue. And here I thought it'd be May's kidnapping in the horribly-out-of-continuity MK Spider-Man.

I love the "real world" solution to the vibranium suit problem. It's cool that Spidey used his brain instead of his brawn to solve the problem. Haven't seen that in a while.

And JMS finally acknowledges that Charlie's problem is quite a bit like Molten Man. I wonder if that was the plan all along...

chicainery

03-23-2005, 10:45 PM

I love the "real world" solution to the vibranium suit problem. It's cool that Spidey used his brain instead of his brawn to solve the problem. Haven't seen that in a while.

And JMS finally acknowledges that Charlie's problem is quite a bit like Molten Man. I wonder if that was the plan all along...

Those are the two things that stuck out to me in this issue. Spidey uses his brains to win. Also, it was nice to hear Spider-man compare Charlie to the Molten Man. I was waiting for that the whole arc.

I also like that it isn't apparent that Spider-man has organic webbing. You could read it either way. Sometimes it's better to forget.

Dennis K

03-24-2005, 06:40 AM

I really liked how they wrapped up this storyline. Like Chicainery, I was glad to see the comparison made to the Molten Man, it was too obvious for them to try and ignore it like that. I also thought it was a nice bit of writing that made me feel sad for Charlie at the end. I also liked how Spidey got off a few funny lines during the fight, that was classic! With both the house and apartments being ruined, it sets the stage nicely for everybody to move into the Avengers high rise.

tony2074

03-24-2005, 08:17 AM

oh yippee!!!!!

jade_nova

03-24-2005, 09:18 AM

If Spider-Man wasn't going to move into the Tower, how do you think they would have dealt with the loss of both homes. I loved the joke about Casa Quesada but can someone explain the part about housekeeping comes every six months. Does that refer to how often Quesada puts out an issue or whether how often books are ended? I think Spider-Man was bit too talkative when he was asking Iron Man to borrow some equipment. You have got to feel for Charlie trapped like that in the vibranium.

TonyS

03-24-2005, 12:19 PM

I liked it too - particularly the dream bit while spidey was unconscious (p.s. - does it seem to you all that this happens at least once per major arc?)

My favorite joke was during that sequence. It's Peter's unconscious/subconscious - so in the middle of the teacher's lecture, the usual guilt stuff comes up for him. JMS treats this like static, with a "yadayada...Uncle Ben...yadayada...Capt. Stacy...etc." - Hilarious I thought.

Dennis K

03-24-2005, 05:16 PM

can someone explain the part about housekeeping comes every six months.

I'm sure it means exactly what first comes to mind, the place is kind of a flea bag, and not some five star hotel. No need to over analyze it.

jade_nova

03-24-2005, 07:44 PM

I'm sure it means exactly what first comes to mind, the place is kind of a flea bag, and not some five star hotel. No need to over analyze it.

There is a bit more than that. It is a joke about Quesada or else the hotel wouldn't be named after him.

Dennis K

03-24-2005, 07:51 PM

There is a bit more than that. It is a joke about Quesada or else the hotel wouldn't be named after him.

Why do they have to be related? :confused:

sony

03-24-2005, 08:07 PM

There is a bit more than that. It is a joke about Quesada or else the hotel wouldn't be named after him.

Without having read the issue and the actual context it was used in maybe it has something to do with something that Quesada is having retconned that JMS is responsible for (I have my pipe dream of House of M retconning Sins Past but doubt that will happen)

Kevinroc

03-24-2005, 10:29 PM

I imagine the joke could be about how long it has taken Quesada to get Daredevil: Father and NYX out.

olympichero62

03-24-2005, 10:44 PM

I thought this was the best issue in the 4-part series. The stuff in the class-room scene was brilliant. I guess I would have been more upset that aunt-mays house went up in flames if i didn't already know that they were gonna live in the towers.

Will.S

03-25-2005, 03:13 AM

This last issue of the arc ties it up very well. This is one of the strongest stories as of late from JMS and Mike Deodato Jr. (his Spidey is looking better with every rendition).

It's definitely nice to see Spiderman using his keen scientific mind, it seems like too rare an occasion and I was thinking to myself "Man how is he going to defeat someone made out of Vibranium!?". The issue had it's fair share of very cool action such as Spiderman pinning both cars against Charlie, bringing down a rooftop and hauling Charlie's ass up to the Stark facility. Tony's cameo doesn't really seem forced btw, it's pretty natural especially now that Spidey is in the New Avengers to which this issue perfectly sets up their moving into the place.

Charlie's a sympathetic character but he's far from innocent so while the sadness within him was apparent in those last few pages, I was glad to see him finally immobilized. I think we'll be seeing him again sometime in the future though so he probably won't stay that way forever.

I was surprised to see Mike Deodato and Mark Brook's artwork both mixed in the dream sequence, it looks very cool like a more adult future compared to the cartoony more innocent look of the past so big props to the artists, inkers and colorists for those visuals.

Good stuff 8/10

Pedalhome

03-25-2005, 08:20 AM

I liked this whole arc. It wasn't mind blowing and ASM it isn't even close to being my favourite title at the moment, but I'm glad I picked this up.

I wonder if they're going to get Charlie out of the solid vibranium casing that surrounds him? I still feel a little bit bad for him.

Also, I'm not nuts about the idea of Spidey moving into the Avenger's building, yet I'm going to stick around to see what happens. This is title has been okay for the past while and I hope that it keeps up.

Andy S.

03-25-2005, 08:25 AM

So does Mark Waid begin his writing stint on Spidey next issue or what?

UncleBob

03-25-2005, 08:27 AM

Yeah, I felt bad for Charlie too... first time in a while I've actually felt bad for a villain...

protege

03-25-2005, 09:01 AM

So does Mark Waid begin his writing stint on Spidey next issue or what?
Nope; Mark Waid gets his own Spidey book in the fall. JMS ain't going anywhere, so he says.

Andy S.

03-25-2005, 11:53 AM

Nope; Mark Waid gets his own Spidey book in the fall. JMS ain't going anywhere, so he says.

Huh? I heard that the creative teams for Amazing Spider-man and Fantastic Four were switching in the next month or so. Anyone have more info on this?

Kevinroc

03-25-2005, 11:55 AM

Huh? I heard that the creative teams for Amazing Spider-man and Fantastic Four were switching in the next month or so. Anyone have more info on this?

Waid and 'Ringo are leaving Fantastic Four. JMS will be writing Fantastic Four with Mike McKone on art. But JMS will still be writing Amazing.

Waid and 'Ringo will be launching their own Spider-Man title later this year.

Andy S.

03-25-2005, 12:34 PM

Cool. Thanks for the info.

TomGun13

03-25-2005, 02:29 PM

I didn't really care for the flashback artwork that much. It looked to flashy to me. Also I liked this story but I think that they should have introduced the Charlie character a while ago (maybe several arcs before). He just seemed like "Here's a "new" character from Pete's past that we are just introducing for this story!"

I didn't feel sorry for Charlie either. I felt he was FAR too WHINY for me to feel sympathetic towards. BOO HOO! I was a nerd, everyone owes me. I think it would've been much cooler had they set him up earlier, he held it in for years and years, now I have superpower! Payback is a bitch.

What do I know...

cosmicspidey

03-25-2005, 11:09 PM

At first, I figured the Casa Quesada/housekeeping every six months comment was obviuosly a jab at Quesada's inability to put out books on any siort of a regular basis.

Then thinking a little deeper, maybe it has to do with "cleaning house" every six months. Like first they cleaned up the X-Men by ret-conning Xorneto and relaunching the books. Then they cleaned up Avengers by killing lots of people and basically dissolving the team. Now they're cleaning up the Marvel U with House of M. All roughly six months apart. Am I thinking too much into this? Or do we have to look forward to a Spider-Man reboot in fall (when the Ringo/Waid book launches...coincidence?)?

sony

03-26-2005, 10:19 AM

Smuggletrain

03-26-2005, 04:58 PM

I loved the joke about Casa Quesada but can someone explain the part about housekeeping comes every six months. Does that refer to how often Quesada puts out an issue or whether how often books are ended?

Maybe Q's just a damn slob. No need to read that deep into it.

WildChild

03-26-2005, 10:15 PM

I thought that how it ended was typical of Spideys life.
He saved the day, but the guy was imprisoned in his own skin.
Spider-Man could help, but only to a certain extent. The man was stuck in his own skin without escape.
Possibly in the future, but not yet.

EmmaFrostSlavingFanBoy

03-27-2005, 03:31 PM

I felt bad for Charlie, but don't forget that the suit also affected his mental health and thinking. It's clear that the vibranium caused Charlie to fly off the handle there.

I was a little disappointed in how Charlie's character was portrayed. I mean I thought the bullying in the flashback was way over the top. I mean yes kids get bullied, but if you read the early issues of ASM, no way was Peter bullied that bad and we're supposed to believe that Charlie took over as whipping boy. I mean Peter's bullying was more like, "oh Peter's no fun, he only reads books and he's a square." I find it hard to believe that Charlie's bullying was so much worse.

With the problem of bullying in schools, JMS once again took the blame the kid being bullied approach. Like Charlie was not supposed to be mad at the group who bullied him? The bullee coming back for blood thirsty revenge is a cop out and is the typical approach to bullying that hampers current thinking in schools. Kids like Charlie are just supposed to take it and oh the solution is to move to another school. No the solution is for the school to treat the bullies harshly in school and stigmatize them not the kid being bullied.

I wasn't bullied in school by the way, but I felt horrible for those who were. JMS could have handled this thing sensitively and done some good for people reading the book who are the victims of being bullied, but no he once again sides with the "cool" kids in a hollow attempt for acceptance. Yes, follow the herd, remember the rules of the playground JMS, make fun of those who are different and pick on kids smaller than you.

StarsAndGarters

03-27-2005, 05:58 PM

This whole arc just didn't seem as important to me. I think it might be the affect that Deodato's art is having to me. Don't get me wrong, I like Deodato's renderings, but I'm starting to miss Romita Jr. I liked his comic booky drawing. Deodato feels too serious for Spidey to me.

cutchemist42

03-27-2005, 06:41 PM

Crimson

03-28-2005, 04:43 AM

I loved how JMS wrapped up the car mystery... saying Peter took Iron Man's car. It really didn't add something to the story but it gave me a laugh after the debates we've been having on the matter.

I also loved how the hotel was called Quesada and they made a cheap shot about housekeeping coming by once every 6 months... a joke about Quesada being late with his work.

Anyway! Enough of what made me smile... onto the actual story. It was a nice way to wrap up this arc. Most knew it would end with Peter having no where to go live but it was done pretty well. Shame Charlie can't move now. I know alot were hoping he wouldn't be killed off like every other bad guy JMS made but this is hardly better lol

Andy S.

03-28-2005, 10:11 AM

Yeah I too am missing Romita Jr's artwork. For a serious arc like Sins past it worked, but I cant handle Spidey telling jokes now with Deodatos art, like its goood art and I am so impressed with its realistic look but I really really miss Romita now.

I agree.

Deodato's a great artist in his own right, i'm not criticsizing his work or anything. But IMO, his style just doesn't fit Spider-man. His style strikes me as very serious, and dark - maybe better suited for a Marvel Knights book.

Anyway, I loved Romita Jr's work. Paired with JMS's writing, it was perfect for the book.

Den

03-29-2005, 02:45 PM

I enjoyed the arc, particularly the little touches in it. As always, it is great to see Peter have to his his head and not just his powers to take a villain down.

Given that we don't know how much of Charlie's actions was induced by the chemical imbalances the vibranium may have caused, I do feel sorry for the poor slob... but I don't blame Spider-Man one bit for deciding "Trap him in his own skin, or let him endanger my loved ones... hard choice, but I'll take B."

And does anyone else think JMS version of Tony Stark/Peter's interaction is pretty cool? :)

"Can I, huh?"

Crimson

03-29-2005, 06:26 PM

And does anyone else think JMS version of Tony Stark/Peter's interaction is pretty cool? :)

"Can I, huh?"

It felt like an older teenager and his father... infact 3 months down the line when I can learn to drive I know that will be me and my dad "Can I, huh?"

Den

03-29-2005, 07:24 PM

It felt like an older teenager and his father... infact 3 months down the line when I can learn to drive I know that will be me and my dad "Can I, huh?"

Heck, I thought Spidey was just having fun with the situation of having to rely on Tony for favors. Tongue in cheek exangeration as it were.

onizuka

04-03-2005, 06:57 PM

i thought it was great. with everything getting resolved the way it did it was a strong conclusion to a pretty damn good arc.

i agree it was great to see Spidey use a little brains to defeat Charlie. haven't seen that for a while, but JMS has done it a few times now. Deodato's work is as strong as ever, but i'll agree that maybe his style seems a bit too serious for when Spidey is cracking jokes. but ultimately the guy draws a fantastic Spidey, can't deny that.

good to see JMS is still going strong, i hope he's around for a while longer still.

anyone know what the next arc is about?

SUPERECWFAN1

04-03-2005, 07:41 PM

JMS really came back and showed he can create a new villain and tie him Into Peter's origin without making us all vomit. He did a solid job with this arc and I give him props.

You really felt for Charlie. The poor guy who seemingly Is a loser as a kid and a loser In Adult life. Then he gets stuck In this Vibramuim and It drives him nuts.

Good Issue. If JMS concentrates on good work and leaves horrible crap like Sins Past , In the past he may keep the good marks up on his run.