Amazing Spider-Man #534: Review

Sep 2006

J. Michael Straczynski, Ron Garney

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Story Name:

The war at home, part 3 of 6

Review & Comments

Rating:

Amazing Spider-Man #534 Review by Rob Johnson (April 25, 2016)

This issue is only listed as part of Civil War. It has dropped the Iron Spider and Spider-Man Unmasked arcs.

I'm pretty sure some people have known about the spider-sense. And I would have thought Spider-Man would tell his fellow New Avengers about his capabilities so they'd know what to expect in battle.

This issue is set between Civil War #4 and #5. It is intricately tied in with Fantastic Four #569 where we learn that this was all orchestrated by Mad Thinker and Puppet Master to give them a chance to kill loads of heroes from both sides. The Yancy Street Gang are puppets and 1 of them gets killed. Thing stops the battle and all the prisoners escape.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Amazing Spider-Man #534 Synopsis by Rob Johnson

The issue begins with some of the pro-Registration team (Spider-Man, Ms Marvel, Wonder Man, Doc Samson and Invisible Woman) vs some of the Resistance (Captain America, Vision, Daredevil (actually Danny Rand), Cable, Goliath (Bill Foster), Hercules, Falcon, Luke Cage, Speed and Patriot).

Afterwards Iron Man congratulates them on a good job. (We also now see She-Hulk, Wasp and Yellowjacket.) It seems at least some of the Resistance were captured, but we don't know who, and they're in temporary holding cells. They will be transported to a more secure facility. He's keeping the route secret and they will protect the convoy against any rescue attempt.

Peter Parker is not happy about having to arrest friends and allies, but he's going along out of loyalty to Tony Stark.

The convoy is on the move past mixed crowds of supporters and opponents. The Golden Avenger is flying overhead and Spidey is in the roof of 1 of the trucks. Stark says he's got others scouting ahead but he wants SM here where his spider-sense can tell when something's about to go wrong. Peter thinks to himself that he never told Tony (or anyone except Mary Jane and Aunt May) about the spider-sense. He begins to wonder how much the Iron Spider costume is telling his 'boss'.

Then his spider-sense does detect trouble from below. (Down in a sewer we see Cap, Daredevil and Luke Cage (so they weren't captured) along with Cloak and Dagger.) Iron Man redirects the convoy down an alternative route. Which is blocked by protesters. So he then chooses route C - Yancy Street.

Spidey senses diffuse minor danger, and the trucks are pelted with objects and abuse. Stark sends some of his forces to deal with the problem sensitively. We see She-Hulk and Wasp on the move. Then Peter detects real missiles coming in from elsewhere. IM uses his repulsors, Wasp her bio-blast and Ms Marvel her fists, but 2 of the missiles get through. So SM weblines them and swings them up and away, and then makes them collide explosively high in the air.

We see Cloak, Dagger and DD, with Thing holding up a truck in the background. (An editorial note directs us to Fantastic Four #539 to find out what he's doing.)

Spider-Man has been thrown clear of the convoy. He sees someone running away and is about to give chase when Captain America interrupts to ask Peter to swap sides - to follow his heart. Pete is tempted but his promise to Stark makes him try to arrest Cap. The Star-Spangled Avenger of course is winning in a close-up fight, so Spidey changes it to long-range. Then he dodges Cap's thrown shield, works out where it's going to land and webs it in place.

But then he realises Cap knew what he'd do, and is ready with numbing blows. So he tries a move Cap won't be used to - the mechanical arms that his new costume can extrude. And manages to slice his foe's cheek.

But the fight is interrupted by a far off explosion, and Cap springs away to see what he can do to help his allies. Spidey is about to follow. But 1st he chases off some people who are trying to steal the shield. Then he rewebs it in a less accessible place, knowing that won't stop Cap from retrieving it. (Which he does later.)

The issue ends with Peter still trying to convince himself he's doing the right thing.

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