Spider-Man: Identity Revealed
June 19, 2006
As a side effect of needing to choose a side in Marvel’s Civil War event, Spider-Man has been put in a position where he needs to reveal his identity to side with Iron Man’s pro-registration views, or become a criminal with Captain America and the other super heroes who are anti-registration.
Amazing Spider-Man #532 is the big lead in to his monumental decision. They brilliantly cover the topic from many angles as Peter Parker and family explore the many facets of his character. In the end, Peter has made his decision, he’s going to run. Until Aunt May meets him on the way out the door. To her their is clearly no option about the decision he has made, he will reveal himself, she believes more in his character than he does. This is the last bit of reassurance he needs to make the hard decision. It then cuts to him at the press conference with Tony Stark who has already made clear his identity Iron Man connection. The final frame of this issue was exhilarating. In his classic red and blue costume Spider-Man steps to the podium and says: “Hi, good morning. Thank you for coming. I’m standing here today because… well, because… I have an announcement to make.”
I had to wake my wife up to read that one page panel. This was a crazy conclusion that was clear to be one of the most significant events in the history of Spider-Man. This rivals the death of Gwen Stacy or his marriage to Mary Jane. It obliterates the new costumes and recent power changes. This is an event that cannot be taken back and changes the stories for the entire future of Spider-Man.
As a fan, I feel a little mixed about it. In many ways I hate to see some of the old formula modified. In other ways I’m happy to see them do it in a way that can’t be taken back. I can clearly see how this spins all new fresh stories and excitement for Spider-Man.
Civil War #2 hits shelves this week and is being clearly promoted by Marvel as the issue where Peter reveals himself as Spider-Man. Following issues are being unified under the Spider-Man Unmasked event title. The major media has latched onto this story and its actually gotten coverage on CNN, MTV, NY Times, USA Today and more. It’s fun to see printed comics find their way into main stream media occasionally. Usually that honor is reserved for comic based movies…
Immediate repercussions I expect to see will hopefully answer some age old questions. What will J. Jonah Jameson’s reaction be? How Peter’s school sees him when he returns as their teacher. How will newly hired gym teacher and former bully/biggest Spider-Man fan Flash Thompson react? How will this effect the daily lives of Mary Jane and Aunt May? How does this fit into the larger Civil War story arc? Can Peter finally be less poor? Will Spider-Man be less hated by the public?
It’s an exciting time to be a Marvel fan and definitely great to be a Spider-Man fan.
Tags: aunt may, civil war, comic, comic books, comics, costume, fan, flash thompson, gwen stacy, iron man, j jonah jameson, marvel, mary jane, powers, secret identity, spider-man, spider-man unmasked, spiderman, tony stark, unmasked
Comments
6 Responses to “Spider-Man: Identity Revealed”
Got something to say?
[...] As for Spider-Man/Peter Parker, I always felt as though he was protestant, but I couldn’t put a finger on it. Seeing all the evidence clearly laid out was an interesting viewing. The image included above comes from Amazing Spider-Man #494. The scene occurs as Peter and Mary Jane reunite after a temporary seperation. This scene strikes deeply for me considering the current talk that MJ may get killed in or as a result of Civil War. Personally I hope this doesn’t happen. Between The Other and deciding to unmask, Peter is going through enough. [...]
[...] Zach over at NoSheep! recently brought me into the comic book fold with Marvel’s Civil War. For weeks his posts have been piquing my interest. It wasn’t until his post on Spider-Man’s identity being revealed that I broke down and read something. [...]
[...] We knew that there were going to be greater risks for the important people in Peter Parker’s life when he revealed himself has Spider-Man. This risks are suddenly very real and potentially fatal for Aunt May, Robbie Robertson, Flash Thompson, but especially Mary Jane. It was this in mind that I’ve been freaked out ever since seeing the cover on the left. [...]
This bullsh1t story line is part of the government campaign to get Americans and Brits to accept ID cards. Using a superhero no one cares about (Captain America) to resist, while everyone’s favourite, Spidey, sings from the authority’s hymn sheet and brings all of his fans with him.
It’s propaganda of the most deceptive form, they used it against the Germans in WW2 and they’re using it against us now. Don’t take my word for it, do your own research. Or….you could just role over right now and let them stick an ID chip up your a55.
Hello. I’ve been searching for a credit card with airline rewards, since I started to fly on business regularly. I was about to apply for such a card, but learned that this card won’t give you free tickets right away, so I applied for a universal credit card and read a lot of useful information at
how to bulid bad credit
[...] Spider-Man, embroiled in the Civil War of the Marvel Universe, had held a press conference and revealed his true identity to the whole world. And in the process of digging through the heroes’ respective pasts for dirt, [...]