Monday, March 27, 2017

The Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #5 Review


The Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #5

Writer: Gerry Conway
Art Team: Nathan Stockman, Jesus Aburtov
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Release Date: March 22, 2017
Cover Price: $3.99

Spider Family Fun Night

The Spider Family has just finished knocking Mole Man back underground, where he belongs, and is now looking to cash in on that victory with a little bit of couch time. That’s the idea for two out of the three of them anyway. Much like any family raising a young child knows, there is little time to rest or relax since kids never stop, especially when they have super powers.  To be honest I’m also interested now because I’m flat-out out of ideas about how to keep my own kid busy, so join me, and let’s discover how Peter and M.J. do it, here in issue five, and see if they can finally get that R&R they desperately crave at the end.


Our events start with Peter and M.J. trying to squeeze a nap in on the couch, while still in their super hero garb after a long day. Meanwhile their daughter Annie, a.k.a. Spiderling, is jumping around the room, waking her parents up, screaming about “Family Fun Night”, and begging to be taken to Bouncy Bunny’s (aka the Marvel U’s version of Chucky Cheese).  Since “no” is not an option on Family Fun Night everyone changes and heads out … rest is for the weak anyway.   


Across town, in a shifty part of New York, the Sandman gathers with a random group of armored henchmen to discuss plans of robbing the Empire State Bank.  The group thinks the job will be a “cake walk”, but little do they know, as the Sandman discusses plans with his crew, we the reader easily noticeable on a G.P.S. screen that the Bank is positioned right next to Bouncy Bunny’s, setting up our  premise going forward.


 The story continues with simultaneous scenes of the Parker’s at Bouncy Bunny’s, getting their Family Fun Night on, while Sandman and his henchmen are next store attempting to rob the Bank and running into multiple issues their unprepared for along the way … not such a calk walk after all.  Annie ends up getting one of her ‘Spider-Sense’ premonitions, which was setup previous arc, and runs to tell her father of exactly what ‘she thinks’ is going on.  Peter and M.J., still getting a sense of their daughters new powers, are skeptical of Annie’s information, but Peter decides its best to check the scene out anyway … it is only next door after all. 


As our third act beings Spidey discovers what we already know, that Annie’s premonition’s or her version of a Spider-Sense are correct, leading Spider-Man to catch the thieves red handed. Obviously a fight breaks out between the hero and the group of henchmen, Sandman too joins in, unknowingly distracting Peter from the true intentions of the heist we later discover.  Just as it looks like Spidey has his hands too full for his own good Spiderling and Spinneret come swinging to the rescue just in the nick of time lending the helping hand, and the teamwork necessary, to chalk things up in the good guys favor. 


The issue concludes by revisiting lil’ Osborne again, at his corporate headquarters, where he ends up meeting with a henchmen from the Bank heist who was able to weasel away with a lockbox during the ruckus.  The ‘forgotten henchmen’ hands the contents, we find he was hired to obtain for Osborne, as the creepy little bastard whispers sweet nothings to himself, obviously with ideas for his new toy we’re not yet privy to. The issue closes with the Spider Family,, finally getting that R&R they craved so badly, as our issue comes to a close.

Overall, this is a book I continue to enjoy, finding a lot of satisfaction with Spider-Man entrenched in family life, balancing super hero duties, and the responsibility he may have lived before the entire Mephisto storyline years ago. Gerry Conway does a great job this issue telling a nice complete one shot story, hitting on a few key character moments for the family, while introducing a new/old villain in this continuing else worlds tale. The art continues to also be fantastic, I love the ‘Spider Ladies’ costumes more and more each time I see them, and the splash pages and fight scenes are show stealers for sure.   

Bits and Pieces

I recommend this issue and series to anybody that wants a little bit of family flavor added into their super hero lineup each month.  This really is Marvel’s best answer to the Superman lineup that DC puts out and is really equally as enjoyable.


8.0/10     

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