Amazing Spider-Man #538: Review

Mar 2007

J. Michael Straczynski, Ron Garney

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Story Name:

The war at home, part 7 of 7

Review & Comments

Rating:

Amazing Spider-Man #538 Review by Rob Johnson (May 3, 2016)

This issue includes Civil War #7 and the end of #6.

Peter's phone call happens before the assault on the Neg Zone prison at the end of CW#6. The battle scenes and the aftermath mirror CW#7, but this issue carefully doesn't tell us what happened. Peter's return is obviously after that.

Kingpin will remain in jail until Daredevil (1998) #93.

This issue leads into Back In Black where embittered Spider-Man seeks revenge, One More Day where he'll do anything to save May's life, and Brand New Day where the result of that hits the fan.

From Our Blog:

Gwen Stacy, beauty queen of Standard High School, was Peter Parker's (alias Spider-Man) first great love.

Gwen Stacy: Classic Beauty

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Amazing Spider-Man #538 Synopsis by Rob Johnson

Kingpin's hitman is staking out the motel where the Parker family are hiding. Mary Jane and Aunt May are there but he's told to wait longer for Peter to show as well. But at some point they'll decide to take out the secondary targets anyway.

Peter calls to say he won't be home for dinner.

Then we have a double-page spread of the battle for the Negative Zone Prison 42, followed by a couple of pages of fight between Captain America and Iron Man. And some shots of Spider-Man getting beaten up.

The fight has moved from the Neg Zone to New York, and people watch it all on TV. Including Kingpin in jail who says that if SM survives then he should be killed with his family when he gets home. If he doesn't survive then MJ and May should be killed anyway - it'll surely be a mercy killing.

But when the dust settles 1 of the heroes who can't be found is Spidey.

After pages of suspense with unenlightening media commentary and MJ, May and the hitman all waiting for news, Peter arrives 'home'. The hitman lines up his shot, Peter's spider-sense goes off, he pushes MJ to the floor. And Aunt May gets hit.

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