I hate the idea of these characters having Neighbours-style previously unmentioned extended families. I nearly split a log when Gail Simone started going on about Gus Beezer being Peter Parker’s cousin. That these characters – Peter, May, Mary Jane – are more or less alone in the world, or isolated at the very least, lends them an important sense of vulnerability. Something from which to draw strength (characters) and drama (storytellers).

I do think the Reillys are a fraud as well, though. Al Pacino, you’ll see…

Not so bothered about the “single bound.” Could have been worse: Chamois could’ve buried Peter out back, only for him to burst out of the ground in the middle of a thunderstorm…

//\Oo/\\

[Also, constructing a "death trap" in your temporary hideout seems like a LOT of work, just to kill a couple people. It really clashed with the legitimately creepy Chameleon.]

Re: JJJ, for a while there it seemed like they were taking Jonah’s character in an interesting direction, having the paper and his marriage taken away, and having to control his temper out of fear of another heart attack (although apparently becoming the mayor has cured that?). Suddenly he’s back to being an angry cartoon. Oh well.

Re: crazy Bostonions, do these people not have jobs to go back to? Who takes an open-ended vacation anyway (and in suburban Queens)?? And I’m still unclear on why May never mentioned her huge extended family to Peter, or why Jonah Sr. had to “find them” for her when they’ve obviously lived in Boston their whole lives. Really feels like I missed something.

So we see how Peter Parker escapes the Chameleon’s acid death trap in this issue. But for some reason it didn’t gel with me, so I went back and re-read the first issue of the arc. And I see why Peter’s escape didn’t ring true.

The first guy to go into the acid does so the minute the trapdoor opens. The acid bath is already full. Yet Peter escapes (spoiler warning) because the acid bath isn’t full, but is piped in.

It’s only a minor detail, but it bugged me, because I knew reading 604 that something didn’t add up. When you set up a device to work one way at the beginning of the story, you lead the audience to think a certain way when it’s used again. But changing the way the device works halfway through is a bit of a cheat.

It bothers me because it was one writer writing the whole arc. And that script could have been done in one hit…he had the first issue to refer to. And the cheat’s still there.

I don’t know, maybe I’m being too picky, but if I read this in the trade, I’d be giving it a bit “What the…” moment.