Lizards are running in Horizon and spiders are fighting vampires in the sky, seems like a normal day in the Big Apple. Major Spoilers has your run down of Amazing Spider-Man #690 just after the jump.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #690
Writer: Dan Slott
Art: Giuseppe Cammuncoli
Inkers: Klaus Janson, Daniel Green, Giuseppe Cammuncoli
Colors: Frank D’Armata
Letterer: VC’s Chris Eliupoulos
Editor: Axel Alonso
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Previously in Amazing Spider-Man: The secret worker inside Horizon Labs was recently discovered to be Dr. Michael Morbius. Our not so friendly neighborhood vampire has been trying to create a formula to cure Dr. Connors. Morbius was able to turn Connors back to his human self, but remnants of the Lizard have remand attached to his psyche. The Doctor is now trying to recreate the formula to return to his reptilian form, while Spider-Man is rumbling with Morbius throughout the city. And now, on with the synergy!
THERE’S A GIANT LIZARD IN THE ROOM
We catch back up with our now fully limbed doctor just as he is ready to take of the arm that has re-grown. His reasons for this are two fold: 1) He doesn’t want to be perfect, and 2) Needs to keep up the appearance he isn’t experimenting on himself. The freshly severed arm also makes a great snack for lizard Modell, which was horrifying. The inner-dialogue of Conners/Lizard work well throughout the issue just as it has through the full arc.
From there we are taken back to the continued tussle between Spider-Man and Morbius, but during the fight Madame Web drops in and continually interrupts Spidey so he isn’t able to button smash fast enough to pull off his finishing move. It is rare that you see the wall crawler out for blood this much, but he is tired of seeing Morbius get free passes for the travesties he has committed.
For the rest of the story Conners continues to work on the formula to return him to Lizard state by testing it on the Horizon think-tankers. There were great character moments with Lizard, mainly with Connors hallucinating that Uatu was his son Billy. Connors’ reluctance to let Uatu help him with his work showed that Lizard hasn’t taken complete control and that maybe he could fully return to his human self.
PETER? IS THAT YOU?
Guisseppe Cammuncoli has been heading up the art in the arc and continues his work here. The only problem with the issue wasn’t necessarily that artist fault, but simply a logical issue. Spider-Man has had one eye piece shattered for the last two issues and in this has most of his suit ripped up. Now how could he be around his co-workers and current girly-friend, but neither of them recognize Peter inside the suit? Maybe I’m the only one thinking it, but I doubt it. Besides that bug-a-boo, nothing stands out as a big wow factor nor that didn’t work at all, just a solid issue. And great art has been a staple for ASM for a long time now. It is outstanding how the title rotates out artist well enough that readers aren’t faced with drastic changes every arc.
BOTTOM LINE: THE SYNERGY WORKS
Since this Lizard story arc was presented in Amazing Spider-Man #679.1, I was set with the mind that this was just suppose to be here to capitalize off the movie crowd to grab a few extra bucks. I have been pleasantly disproven as Slott is taking aspects slightly from the movie (turning others into lizards) and working it to play on the emotions readers have built up for characters exclusively inside the comic. Amazing Spider-Man #690 isn’t the greatest issue that I have ever read, but pushes the current storylines forward at a nice pace and earns 3 out of 5 stars.
