"FROM THE DEPTHS OF DEFEAT!"
Writer: Stan Lee/Penciller: John Romita Sr./Inker: John Romita Sr. (but it looks a hell of a lot like Mike Esposito)/Letterer: Sam Rosen/Editor: Stan Lee/Cover Art: John Romita Sr.
Synopsis: Both the Vulture and Kraven the Hunter want Spider-Man dead, and he's about to fight them both at the same time...
Review: As the final part of a loose trilogy, ASM #49 is a bit of a damp squib. That's not to say it's a bad issue, but it is a decidedly average one; there's certainly no sense that this is a big climax that the past couple of issues have been building to; it just feels like any other issue. In fact, I'd say that's the overall vibe with Issues #47-49; each one is so self-contained that it barely feels as if we're reading a trilogy at all. The only continuity between them is the villains, plus the fact that the last issue ended on a cliff-hanger. And what a cliff-hanger it was! Spider-Man left for dead by the Vulture, slowly succumbing to an icy grave on a snowy rooftop. How does this harrowing scenario get resolved? Well, apparently, instead of killing him, the cold somehow revives Spider-Man. How the hell does that work? I've heard incredible stories of human will-power and endurance in freezing conditions, but I don't think I've ever heard of below-freezing temperatures reviving somebody. You can laugh this kind of thing off as a quirk of the Silver Age, but it's indicative of the direction the rest of the issue will take.
There is a lot of fun to be had with Kraven and the Vulture, however. It's great fun seeing them battle each other, and I just wish their temporary alliance against Spider-Man had lasted a bit longer - longer than three panels, at any rate. Blackie Drago continues to be a fun villain, although I still prefer Adrian Toomes; Drago has the suit but none of the menace, none of the character that Toomes has in just his face alone. It's always nice to see Kraven and his obligatory showcase of strength - this time besting a tiger in combat - and the fight between the two villains and Spider-Man is great, with lots of big panels that allow Romita to show just how good he's become at drawing action scenes. This would become a problem further down the road, where the emphasis of the comic would switch from having a good plot with lots of nice character moments to basically being a load of big splashy fight scenes, but at this point in the Lee and Romita run, it's the exception rather than the rule, and the fight scenes, whether they be between Kraven and the Vulture, or Spider-Man and both of them, are the highlight of the issue.
We get a few bits of character interaction, but nothing too spectacular, and actually I find that this issue spotlights a larger problem that has been affecting all of the issues in this loose trilogy: a sense of complacency. The tone of the early Lee and Romita stuff is very much on the light and fluffy end, with a nice, breezy, summer-lovin' quality that I like a lot, but even within that light-hearted, almost Archie comics-esque setup, there's still a lot of really fantastic character work, particularly with Peter and his conflicted emotions about Gwen and Mary Jane, about his aunt, and about leaving home for the first time - Issue #46 is especially strong with these themes. Since Issue #47, however, and especially with this issue, there's been a gradual shift towards a general amiability and 'we're having a great, swingin' time' kind of feel, but without any of the relatability and emotional resonance to back that up, leaving the book feeling kind of hollow. Thankfully, this will be course-corrected in the next issue, but that doesn't stop this one, and to a lesser extent, the two before it, from feeling a bit lacking in the drama department.
ASM #49 is one of the most middle-of-the-road issues yet. There's a lot of fun action, the typical ESU chatter that defines this era, and the usual high quality of artwork from Romita, but there's very little actually going on. As said, the next issue changes this in a big way, and the direction of the book will start to shift a little bit going forward, leaving this issue feeling more like a big ball of average than ever.
Rating: 3/5
Next time, Peter Parker renounces his superhero identity in the most iconic way possible, in 'Spider-Man No More'...
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