Sins of the Past

Reprinting Amazing Spider-Man #s 509-514, "Sins Past" is both a tremendous rollercoaster-ride of action and emotion, and a pretty provocative rewriting of some established Marvel history - particular in regards to two individuals within the Spider-Man mythos - and the rewriting aspect means that, understandably, this tale may not sit well with all readers. Personally, I felt it walked the tightrope of reimagining parts of history without arbitrarily brushing aside what has come before very well, and I felt it also succeeded in dealing out some extremely unexpected revelations about certain characters without totally destroying the credibility of the characters. A lot of the motivation behind certain things that happened in the past - and are brought to light for the first time in flashbacks - is left murky, either to the reader's interpretation or for elaboration in future stories. This aspect was also handled successfully, when it could have easily fallen on its face. Although most Marvel fans probably already know everything about how it turns out, I'll try to refrain from any spoilers for those who don't. Spider-Man finds himself challenged by two new, highly adept adversaries, who seem to know everything about his life and past, and he finds his family threatened by these new enemies. Trying to match up with not one but two of the most skilled and cunning opponents in his ever-growing arsenal of villains is hard enough, but it's when Spidey tries to ferret out the identity and origin of these new enemies - and finds it - that things get much worse. Tremendous high-throttle action, great tension, fantastic art, and a host of moving and memorable moments makes this one one of the best Spider-Man arcs out there.

I agree that J. Michael Straczynski shoots plenty of holes in the Spiderman universe with Sins Past, and am likewise disgusted by the very concept of Gwen Stacy having sex with Norman Osborn. Yet I give Straczynski credit for having the guts to pen this saga anyway. In the real world, plenty of good people make serious and irreparable mistakes out of weakness and moments of passion. In Sins Past, Gwen succumbs to one such instance, and yet she attempts to do the right thing when confronting the insanity of Osborn. She pays the ultimate price in her death at the hand of the Green Goblin, and Peter Parker later agonizes as his imagination visualizes how Gwen and Osborn could have been in their time of passion. The parallels of Sarah to her mother, and Gabe to his father were not lost on me. Sarah is like Gwen in that she weighs all circumstances before realizing Spiderman and Peter Parker are not evil as Norman Osborn has led the siblings to believe. Gabe becomes increasingly insane like his father, eventually becoming the Green Goblin for a brief battle with Spiderman. The ending leaves room for either character to return sometime in a future saga. Missed in many reviews is the brilliance that is Mike Deodato's artwork. "Deo," as his close friends call him, can draw with the best of them- and while he is growing in reader popularity, I feel he still is under-appreciated in many comic circles.

I love comic books. I've read Astonishing X-men, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Avengers, The Fantastic Four, everything. But, never before in my life have I expierience such a great comic book. I have a subscription to The Amazing Spider-man and when the first issue of this series came it was AMAZING! I couldn't wait till the next one came out. If you like the Amazing Spider-man and hate the bullcrap Brian Michael Bendis writes in "Ultimate Spider-man," please give SINS PAST a try, you won't regret it.

As a sometime fan of Spidey, i was *riveted* to my chair, shushing my hubby as i delved into this story. I quit reading -Spiderman- shortly after Gwen Stacy's death; this brings it back w/a vengeance ... & now i'd pleased, glad, *ecstatic* that Straczynski took over the reins. Having read some of the fannish buzz around this story arc, i was cringing when i opened it. Then i was mesmerized, and then.... I won't spoil this, i WON'T! But ... this was the story that *needed* telling, the tale that ties the man together. I'll never read an older, pre-Stacy-loss -Spiderman- again w/o remembering this dramatic dénoument to the agonizing tale of How/Why Gwen was taken from Peter [O what an ironic statement!] & his adjustment to that loss. If i could, i'd give it 10 stars...

When J. Michael Straczynski took over writing "The Amazing Spider-Man" with issue #30 (#472), it was clear he was going to do a major overhaul. There was Ezekiel forcing Spider-Man to question whether there was another explanation for how he got his powers that the rather absurd idea of a bite from a radioactive spider while Peter Parker suddenly gets a job at his old high school as a science teacher (#31). By the time Aunt May discovers her nephew is really Spider-Man and have "The Conversation" (#38) there is an entirely new dynamic for the character, albeit one that stays true to the roots of the comic book. When Peter finally admitted to Aunt May that he is Spider-Man because of his guilt causing the death of Uncle Ben, only to have her confess that she considered herself guilty because he walked out of the house when they were having an argument, it became clear Straczynski was capable of writing stories with great emotional resonance. That certainly explains "Sins of the Past," but for many Spider-Man fans it will probably not excuse it. I assume that Straczynski's goal was to give Spider-Man an emotional wallop of epic proportions, and I think we will all agree he has done that (although the term "sucker punch" seems more appropriate). Volume 8 in the trade paperback collection of "The Amazing Spider-Man" collects issues #509-514 making up the six-part "Sins of the Past" story-line, drawn by the comic book's new artist Mike Deodato and inked by Joe Pimentel (the conspiracy theory would be that Straczynski came up with this story so that everybody would be talking about that instead of bemoaning the fact John Romita, Jr. is no longer drawing the book). Part One begins with much joy in the Parker household as Mary Jane finally gets a party in a Broadway play, but the celebration is cut short when Aunt May gives Peter a letter from Gwen Stacy. The return address is Paris, France, but the postmark is NYC on the date of June 23, 2004. Clearly somebody is playing head games with Peter Parker and when he visits Gwen's grave he is attacked by a pair of figures, one male and one female, dressed in black. He escapes by using his powers, a fact that does not go unnoticed by his assailants, one of whom says, "It just gives us one more reason to kill him." Things get worse in Part Two when Peter receives a pair of photographs. One shows the blacked out figure of a young man helping Aunt May with her groceries and the other the blacked out figure of a young woman getting directions from Mary Jane. Also enclosed is a note declaring, "We can kill them whenever we want." Peter is trying to figure out what past sins he could have committed towards Gwen that would make him a target, but the truth is (literally for me) beyond belief. Finding out that Norman Osborn fathered a pair of twins by Gwen Stacy is pretty textbook adding insult to injury, given that it was Osborn as the Green Goblin who caused Gwen's death, which remains the pivotal tra