TITLE: The Amazing Spider-Man #1
AUTHOR: Dan Slott
PENCILLER: Giuseppe Camuncoli. Cover by Alex Ross.
PUBLISHER: Marvel
PRICE: $5.99
RELEASED: October 7, 2015

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

Toy companies love to put Spider-Man in cars, on motorcycles, vehicles in general. The frustrated fanboy in me really dislikes that. After all, he’s Spider-Man! What does he need a car for?

Low and behold, Dan Slott (who may be the definitive Spidey scribe of the last decade) and Giuseppe Camuncoli answer the question in The Amazing Spider-Man #1. Spider-Man doesn’t need a car. He wants a car. In this issue he gets that and more.

Part of Marvel’s “All New All Different” relaunch, The Amazing Spider-Man #1 shows us that Parker Industries has done rather well for itself. In addition to the new “Webware” smartwatch, Peter Parker’s corporation is developing tech for S.H.I.E.L.D., as well as his own Spider-Man ventures. He’s also got his very own Spidey body double in Hobie Brown, a.k.a. Prowler. But as Peter is spread thinner than ever at the head of Parker Industries, Spider-Man must face attacks from The Zodiac. What’s more, Parker Industries is facing attacks from within.

This issue also comes with a nice little Spidey sampler, pulling from a few other different books in the Spider-Man line. Thanks to the events of Secret Wars, we’ve got no shortage of Spider-Man material out there.

This issue introduces us to Peter Parker’s new global initiative, not just as Spider-Man, but as the head of his own company. It’s a little bit like Batman Incorporated in that with help, Peter is trying to reach his fullest potential as a hero and a humanitarian. He’s got a S.H.I.E.L.D. liaison in Mockingbird, Anna Maria Marconi working on tech stuff at the company’s London branch, his old friends from Horizon Labs running an institute for technology in San Francisco, and he’s got Hobie doing Spidey stuff when he’s not around. He’s also linked to Miguel O’Hara, a.k.a. the Spider-Man of 2099. I can only assume he has ties to Miles Morales, who’s also swinging around New York. As such, the scope of this story is huge.

Naturally, there opportunities aplenty for the ol’ Parker luck to strike. I’m particularly interested in Peter using Hobie as an alternate Spider-Man. He flat out tells Peter he’s not comfortably in the role, and that’s demonstrated when he fails to stop The Zodiac at the wedding of Max Modell. Asking Hobie to assume his identity, while Spider-Man is also serving as a mascot of sorts for Parker Industries is a tall task. It’s also a giant risk that Peter may end up regretting.

There’s enough heart in Peter’s strategy with Parker Industries that you want him to succeed, but at the same time know it’s doomed to fail. Slott lets us know that Peter only pays himself a middle-management salary, which certainly makes him look heroic in an era where people love to talk about “the top 1 percent.” We also see him start the Uncle Ben Fondation, which believe it or not isn’t dedicated to rice in some way. But at the same time, lines like: “With great power…comes greater speed, storage, and battery life” feel wrong coming out of his mouth. This is the point, of course. It’s supposed to feel like an ill fit. So in that sense, Slott’s got something here.

Giuseppe Camuncoli and the artistic team add some lighting to the Spider-Man eyes and chest emblem, which again, brings Batman Incorporated to mind. Camuncoli brings his usual blend of stylized realism to the mix. As it turns out, he draws a hell of a Spider-Mobile. And it looks damn good in what was definitely the most suspenseful comic book car chase I’ve seen in quite some time!

And so, the next chapter in Dan Slott’s historic run on Spider-Man continues. He’s been able to stay fairly consistent since he took over in 2010. So the smart bet is he’ll have taken us on quite a ride by the time Parker Industries comes crumbling down.

 Images from author’s collection.

Follow Primary Ignition on Twitter @PrimaryIgnition, or at Facebook.com/PrimaryIgnition/