"THE FINAL CHAPTER!"
Writer: Stan Lee/Plot/Pencils: Steve Ditko/Inker: Steve Ditko/Letterer: Artie Simek/Editor: Stan Lee/Cover Art: Steve Ditko
Synopsis: After his battle with Doctor Octopus, Spider-Man lies trapped beneath a gargantuan piece of fallen metal, as water floods into the room from above, forcing him to draw on every ounce of strength he has to escape...
Review: It's rather a daunting task discussing this issue. Other than Amazing Fantasy #15 and ASM #122, there isn't another Spider-Man comic quite so beloved and iconic as this one, and I count myself amongst one of the many that consider it an indisputable masterpiece. I only hope that I can do it justice in this review, but this really is one of those occasions where reading the issue for yourself is the only way you'll ever get a sense of just how astonishing a work of art ASM #33 is.
First of all, let's get it out of the way: the first five pages make up the single greatest scene in not just Spider-Man, but comic book history. I love practically everything that Steve Ditko worked on throughout his career, but within these five pages lies his finest hour; an emotional tour de force that expertly uses shading, figure work, panel size, panel layout, and impeccable composition to create a rousing, powerhouse sequence that has my eyes welling up every time I read it. The weight of the wreckage that Spidey gradually lifts above his head is nothing compared to the weight of the scene's emotional power.
See how Ditko uses panels of gradually increasing size to emphasise the action of Spider-Man slowly managing to free himself:
See how there's a brief moment of hesitation; our hero hangs his head as the water continues to pour in, driving in torrents over his mask, but he refuses to give up, and only exerts more strength, as shown in the biggest panel yet at the bottom of the page:
And finally, we see Spider-Man triumphant, more powerful and muscular than Ditko had ever depicted him before, lifting the wreckage above his head as the water gushes around him; the shading on the musculature here is just insane, and the image stands as the most inspiring sight in any comic book for me. Despite everything, the hero is finally free:
Stan's dialogue doesn't scrimp on the emotion of the scene either, hammering home Peter's determination to lift the wreckage and retrieve the ISO-36, and despite it being some of his very best Spider-Man writing, I honestly feel that the first eleven pages of this issue, detailing Spider-Man's escape from the Master Planner's base, would be just as effective without any dialogue. Steve makes sure we see just how tired, how close to collapse our hero is, yet at the same time shows his determination as well: the web-head is practically wiped out by the time he limps out of the base with the ISO-36 in his hand, and yet there's something so inspirational and triumphant about it; no matter how beaten up and exhausted he feels, he just keeps going. He can't give up. He won't allow himself to give up. This is one of the countless reasons why Spider-Man is so important to me. He's not just a fun, likeable, exciting character with cool powers, funny quips and a dazzling costume, although all of that is very much true. He's a champion of the human spirit, that fire inside us that tells us to keep going when things seem at their darkest; we each have strength we never dreamed existed, and with it, we can do extraordinary things, we can make it through the bleakest and most depressing periods of our lives. As Aunt May says in my favourite scene from possibly any film: "I believe there's a hero in all of us."
It's an issue that is admittedly oddly structured, as after Spider-Man escapes the base on page 11, there's no more action, no rematch with Doc Ock, with over half of the issue essentially dedicated to simply wrapping up the story, similar to ASM #27. We get some more nice interplay between Spidey and Curt Connors, and of course, a hurried swing over to the hospital ot ensure that Aunt May receives the ISO-36, though there's a tantalising wait of another five pages before we find out the result. Here, we see Doc Ock's henchmen rounded up - Ditko really could draw tough underworld types well, couldn't he? - and a memorable trip to the Bugle, where Peter, covered in cuts and bruises after his ordeal, tells Betty that he has now seen the world as it really is, and has become an Objectivist. OK, so he doesn't really say that, but I'm tempted to think that Ditko intended such a declaration - the expression on Peter's face is very similar to the determinedly self-confident characters of Vic Sage or Rex Graine. Stan prefers to keep things about Peter and Betty's relationship, with Peter once again reminding Betty that he doesn't mind getting into trouble every now and again as long as he can pay his bills, prompting a nice call-back to Bennett Brant's death, as well as Betty's amusingly melodramatic, "Why can't you stick to your studies? Why must you always crave action?"
In addition to Betty, we also get one of the best Peter/Jameson exchanges of the Ditko era, with Peter finally standing up to the old skinflint and demanding that he be paid the full amount he's owed for the photos he's taken. Seeing Peter finally put his foot down and telling Jameson where to stick it is an undoubtedly cathartic moment, one that is repeated several times in the years to come, but never is it quite so satisfying as it is here; this issue really does represent Peter growing up. After all the ups and downs of teenage life, he's finally an adult and is ready to take on the world with more confidence. It's a much needed development for the character.
No matter how many times I read this issue, I'm still on tenterhooks to find out whether Aunt May is going to pull through or not. Of course she is, we know she is, but this three issue storyline has done such a fantastic job of upping the stakes and bringing every emotion to the fore that we really do begin to fear for her, and when it's announced that she's going to be fine, that the treatment was a success, we're just as relieved as Peter is. I cannot express just how much I adore the beautiful simplicity of Ditko's rendering of Peter standing by Aunt May's bedside, a relieved smile on his face, with Stan's dialogue - "I didn't let you down this time, Aunt May! I didn't fail you!" - perfectly summing up everything this three-parter has been about: Peter overcoming not just incredible odds, but his own insecurities. He is finally a man, able to accept and even embrace his responsibilities, and ready to take on the world, even as he limps home on the final page.
Honestly, I kind of wish that Ditko had just ended his run here. Everything he had done to develop Peter as a character culminates here, and had he left after this issue, he would have gone out with his greatest achievement. That's not to say that his last five issues are bad, but they're home to a few problems - which I'll touch on when I get to them - that hold them back from being quite as strong as the majority of his run. Well, they suffer from that, but they also suffer from the fact that this is probably the toughest act to follow in Spidey history. It's perfection. It's definitive. It's essential.
I just love Spider-Man, folks. And this is Spider-Man at his very best.
Rating: 5/5
Next time, we drop back in on the gang at ESU, and are re-acquainted with Kraven the Hunter...
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