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Posted December 27, 2012 by Mikael Angelo Francisco in Comics
 
 

COMIC BOOK ANNOTATIONS: Amazing Spider-Man #700

This is a reading companion for this week’s Amazing Spider-Man #700. This is NOT a review. Also, thanks to FlipGeeks reader Joey Gonzales for the last-minute assist/fix regarding the page numbers!

(Page count starts from first page after the cover, and includes advertisements.)

PAGE 3

I’m just glad they didn’t reference “Kung Fu Fighting” in this sequence (Peter & MJ’s song, according to MJ in Amazing Spider-Man #153).

PAGE 4

Panel 1 – “Master Planner”, of course, is a reference to Doc Ock’s other nom de guerre from way back in Amazing Spider-Man #31 .

Panel 2 – MJ’s first line, from the end of Amazing Spider-Man #42.

Panel 5 – “Explain!” Classic Doc Ock.

PAGE 5

Panel 1 – You’re really going to have to do a better job at pretending to be Peter, Doc.

Panel 5 – I love how there’s a picture of Daredevil fighting Coyote in the Bugle’s front page – it’s a nice, subtle reference to Superior Spider-Man’s technical first appearance in the pages of last week’s Daredevil #21.

PAGE 7

Panel 2 – Ahhh, delicious recap exposition. I’m actually liking this look for the Doc (well, Pock, in this case) – too bad it’s only for this issue. Because, you know, he dies here.

Panel 3-4 – Careful, Peter, you’re beginning to venture into bowlcut territory…

PAGE 9

Panel 1-2 – Yep, Peter’s definitely got the Doc Ock speech pattern down pat at this point.

Panel 6 – Aaaaaaaaand cue the pages released in the preview last month.

PAGE 10-11

From left to right: Tim Harrison (from Amazing Spider-Man #248); Richard and Mary Parker; Jean de Wolff; Gwen Stacy; Billy Connors and Martha Connors; Lance Bannon; (unidentified couple); Ned Leeds; Sally Avril; Peter Parker; Marla Jameson; Nick Katzenberg; Nathan Lubensky; Capt. George Stacy; Frederick Foswell (shadowed).

I’m kind of disappointed that Charlemagne from Spider-Man VS Wolverine #1 doesn’t seem to be in this sequence. I also wanted the Burglar, Ezekiel, and Ben Reilly to be here, too, but oh well.

Also, the green border around the caption boxes remains a nice touch.

PAGE 12

Panel 1 – Tim Harrison has occasionally been erroneously called “Tim Hammond” in his past appearances. It’s nice that they got his name right here. Notice Peter’s wardrobe changing as the panels progress, to reflect both his state of mind and the era in which the characters he interacts with were significant. The use of Peter’s “first appearance” duds here match the location he dreams himself to be in – his old home, Forest Hills.

Panel 2 – Aleksei Sytsevich (the Rhino) and his wife Oksana are featured here. Oksana died in a tragic showdown between the original Rhino and one seeking to be his replacement, and her death was the trigger that propelled the then-reformed Rhino back into a life of crime (Amazing Spider-Man #625). Notice Peter Parker’s clothes changing into more relaxed and comfortable threads.

Panel 4 – The presence of both the Rhino and Silver Sable in this sequence puts the authenticity of this “vision of Heaven” into question, as the Rhino has yet to be confirmed dead, and Sable was recently proclaimed by Madame Web (Julia Carpenter) to be alive.

PAGE 13

Panel 1 – Capt. George Stacy and Gwendolyn Stacy. Peter’s clothes change once again. I particularly love this ensemble, as this reminds me so much of the times when Peter and Gwen were still together.

Panel 3 – Marla Jameson died in Amazing Spider-Man #654. Prior to her death, however, it was her recommendation that eventually opened the doors for Peter to work as one of Horizon’s top scientists. (Amazing Spider-Man #648)

Panel 4 – Richard and Mary Parker, S.H.I.E.L.D. spies who died due to the machinations of the Red Skull (Albert Malik, not Johann Schmidt). Peter’s clothes become his Horizon uniform – it’s a nice, heartwarming touch, further emphasizing that deep down, Peter Parker wants his parents to be proud of him and of what he has become.

Panel 6 – Oh my God, it’s Cliff Robertson! You are dearly missed.

PAGE 14

Panel 1 – Peter’s back in the Spider-suit… Yep, he’s about to get kicked out of “Heaven”.

Panel 3 – So THAT’s what the Post-It was covering.

Panel 5 – I can’t help but hear Gifts and Curses by Yellowcard playing in the background.

PAGE 15

Panel 1- Wow, waking up to those three faces. Que horror.

Panel 5 – Remember how I said I liked this new look for Ock? Well, now I LOVE it. Tron helmet, hell yeah!

PAGE 16

I still can’t get over how their cells are just so conveniently adjacent to one another.

Panel 4-5 – Ah, good ol’ JJJ, giving one of his patented crazy rants.

PAGE 17

Panel 2 – Ohhhhhh snap.

PAGE 18

Panel 3 – Good to know that Peter’s still Peter, Doc Ock body notwithstanding.

Panel 4 – Spider-Island happened during Amazing Spider-Man #667-672.

PAGE 19

Panel 1 – The blasted little troublemaker and the flash of gold in Madame Web’s visions.

Panel 2 – Carlie Cooper, Peter’s ex-girlfriend. She broke up with him when she found out his secret identity in Amazing Spider-Man #673.

Panel 3 – Really? That’s the best you’ve got, Pete?

Panel 6 – The tattoo, you idiot. You should have told her about the backstory behind the Spider-tattoo and how that was originally supposed to be an Osborn tattoo (Amazing Spider-Man #660). That’s too personal – and too insignificant, in the greater scheme of things – for anyone aside from Carlie and the real Peter to know. Come on.

PAGE 22-23

Panel  9 – The last time was during the Ends of The Earth storyline in Amazing Spider-Man #682-687.

PAGE 27

Panel 1 – This was during Spectacular Spider-Man #186-188, when the Vulture was diagnosed with cancer.

PAGE 28

Panel 5 – Wow, you just couldn’t resist, huh, Pete?

PAGE 29

Panel 3 – Amazing Spider-Man #694 is the concluding chapter of “Alpha”, which introduced the eponymous character.

PAGE 31

Panel 2 – Take that, One More Day and One Moment in Time.

Panel 4 – Oh God, no.

PAGE 33

Panel  4 – The light-up pants remind me of the Big Time costume. Or Tron.

PAGE 34

Top monitor: Uncanny Avengers (L-R: Thor, Captain America, Scarlet Witch, Wolverine, Havok)

Bottom monitor: Avengers (L-R: Captain Marvel, Spider-Woman, Hulk, Black Widow, Iron Man, Hawkeye)

PAGE 35

Panel 3 – Scorpion’s line – “Didn’t know you had it in you, webs.” In a couple of pages the irony is going to be so painful.

PAGE 36

Panel 1 – Well-played, “Spidey”.

Panel 3 – Scorpion’s got a mad-on for J. Jonah Jameson ever since his first appearance as a costumed villain (Amazing Spider-Man #20). He blames Jameson for getting him stuck inside the Scorpion suit; it was Jameson who funded the creation of the Scorpion as a foil against Spider-Man.

PAGE 37

Panel 8 – Exactly the same way they beat Sandman in Ends of the Earth.

PAGE 38

Panel 6 – See Amazing Spider-Man #20.

PAGE 39

Panel 3 – Oh Ock, ever the ladies’ man.

Panel 4 – The first of many flashbacks.

PAGE 40

Panel 3 – Yeah. there’s no way he could have survived that.

Panel 5 – This is canon; Peter Parker DOES hold back all the time. How can he not, when his maximum lifting capacity is 20 tons?

Panel 6 – Remember what I said about Page 33? Delicious, delicious irony.

PAGE 41

Panel 3 – He most likely is, Pete. Also, JJJ’s sudden hero worship is hilarious. Or it would be, under more favorable circumstances.

PAGE 42

Panels 1-3 – “Impact webbing” was developed by Peter Parker’s clone, Ben Reilly, during his brief tenure as the Sensational Spider-Man.

PAGE 43

Panel 2 – Those seconds are going to be played out for a looooong time.

PAGE 44

Panel 1-3 – More Doc Ock-fanboying from the writer.

PAGE 45

Panel 3 – WOW, HOW CONVENIENT. MASTER PLANNER IN DA HAUS. Also, carbonadium is the same metal that comprises Omega Red’s tentacles, and is especially lethal to Wolverine – it messes with his healing factor.

PAGE 47

Panel 2-3 – Uncle Ben’s first lines in Amazing Fantasy #15.

Panel 4-5 – Peter’s first line in Amazing Fantasy #15.

Panel 7 – The “logic” behind this particular mind-swap is making *my* mind hurt.

PAGE 48

Panel 3 – Yep, that’s Otto’s head on Pete’s body, and that is one terrifying creature. Scenes are from Amazing Fantasy #15.

PAGE 49

Panel 3 – From L-R: Marla Jameson’s death at the hands of Alistair Smythe; the death of Gwen Stacy; the death of Nathan Lubensky, the death of Capt. George Stacy (caused by Ock himself).

PAGE 50

Panel 2 – From L-R: Spider-Man battles Morlun, the opponent who killed him in the 2005-2006 storyline The Other; the iconic scene from Amazing Spider-Man #33; the symbiote; Spider-Man vs the Juggernaut (Amazing Spider-Man #229).

PAGE 51

Panel 5 – No. No no no no no…

PAGE 52

Panel 1 – …Just no.

Panel 4 – He didn’t even get to finish…

PAGE 53

PAGE 54-55

To be continued in Superior Spider-Man #1, out in comic book stores in January.

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Stay tuned for our review and in-depth analysis of Amazing Spider-Man #700, coming soon.  

This was made possible by our friends at Comicx Hub. Get your copy of Amazing Spider-Man #700 now!


Mikael Angelo Francisco