Amazing Spider-Man #536: Review

Dec 2006

J. Michael Straczynski, Ron Garney

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Story Name:

The war at home, part 5 of 6

Review & Comments

Rating:

Amazing Spider-Man #536 Review by Rob Johnson (May 3, 2016)

This issue re-adds itself to the Iron Spider arc as Peter Parker gives that costume up. It occurs within Civil War #5 and #6.

I've already mentioned how Punisher rescues Spider-Man from some 'Thunderbolts' before Peter meets up with MJ and May in the gym.

Pete has some adventures in Sensational SM #32-34 and Friendly Neighbourhood SM #14-16 as other villains come after him. The Marvel Chronology Project puts these between the gym scene and moving into the flophouse. But in these stories they have already moved into somewhere and Pete is wearing the old costume May gives him to replace the Iron Spider armour. So I would guess they are better placed between the flophouse and the TV broadcast.

The MCP places the broadcast at the beginning of CW#6.

From Our Blog:

Gwen Stacy, beauty queen of Standard High School, was Peter Parker's (alias Spider-Man) first great love.

Gwen Stacy: Classic Beauty

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Amazing Spider-Man #536 Synopsis by Rob Johnson

Spider-Man drops from the sky near Avengers Tower, closely followed by Iron Man. They continue their fight but suddenly Tony Stark uses a passcode to disable the Iron Spider armour he made for Peter Parker. However Peter's only playing dead because he disabled that passcode. Now he web's up IM's faceplate and an armoured blow damages some of his computer systems. When Stark recovers Spidey's vanished down a manhole.

(The story continues in Civil War #5 as SHIELD send some villains under the label of the Thunderbolts to bring Spidey in. He's rescued by Punisher and taken to be healed by the Resistance.)

Peter finds Mary Jane and Aunt May hiding in the gym at his old school, where MJ figured he'd come. She and May have taken all the cash out of their accounts. Pete says he's joined the Resistance, again what MJ expected. Peter tells her to take the money and escape with May.

But May has overheard this and insists they stay. She says that she and MJ talked him into working with Tony Stark and revealing his identity (#532), so now they share responsibility for the consequences. They'll stick together through thick and thin - that's what family means.

Peter offers to go get supplies, but MJ says his face is too well-known now. Pete retorts that her face is pretty well known as a super-model. But MJ adjusts her shirt to be more revealing and says that won't be a problem.

Peter remembers his teenage years at the school, as the nerd with spider-powers.

They book in with supplies to a flophouse. And it turns out May brought his old Spider-Man costume from the Tower.

Peter decides to use Tony Stark's tactics against him. He sneaks in to a TV studio and interrupts the news with an important message. He tells them about the Negative Zone prison where people are being held without trial. He says that safety is important, but freedom is worth dying for. He unmasks in public again and says he repudiates the Superhuman Registration Act and will oppose it with all his power.

Iron Man watches the broadcast and tells his forces to bring Spider-Man in.

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