Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #1
Marvel Comics
Slott, Kubert, Dell & Ponsor
One the most controversial Marvel stories over the last ten to fifteen years was the undoing of the marriage between Peter Parker and Mary Jane. While other stories have toyed with this over the years, this seems to be the first story that puts them back together that "counts" albeit as part of the Secret Wars event. The opening issue is a good one but doesn't cash in on the relationship aspect of Peter and MJ, but rather Peter's need to protect his family above all else. The comic is an intriguing one. I'm not sure how the fans of Spider-Man will react to this, but it certainly is an interesting opening issue.
Not only are Peter and MJ married, but they also have a child. Their daughter, Annie, is a toddler at the beginning of the book but ages slightly by the end of the book. She plays the damsel in distress role in the comic. MJ plays the crafty hero in this book that helps Spidey take down Venom. Generally there isn't enough room to explore their personalities here.
The comic contains a lot of action. Spidey battles Venom as Venom attempts to make a meal out of Annie. The questions here would be how Venom knew of Spidey's secret identity whereas the Avengers apparently do not. Another question would be what Venom's real goal here is. He seems to have had ample opportunity to kill off MJ or Annie but he hesitates.
The primary oddity in the comic book is the inclusion of the Avengers. They exist but they get killed off in this issue. The vehicle to do this is very strange. It makes me wonder why they bothered to include them in this world in the first place. Wouldn't it stand to reason that a battleworld area contains only Spider-Man in it? Very strange setup to get Spider-Man alone.
The joy of the comic book is the play on the power and responsibility theme. As a parent, the priorities change as opposed to when Parker was single. The outcome seems very logical but where does it go from here? This will be an interesting development to watch in future issues.
Kubert is a talented artist and he delivers in this issue. While his style might be too 90s-ish with big muscles and the over-the-top action scenes, it works for exciting comics and that's what we have here. He also draws a bombshell MJ and that is definitely something that helps the visuals in the beginning of the comic. Overall the art delivers a very good story that presents an exciting super-hero comic book.
"Renew Your Vows" may feel like a comic book that is twisting the knife for those readers that opposed the undoing of the marriage. While the comic reads a lot like a "What If?" story, the book explores an interesting theme. If you are looking for deep insight into the marriage then this will be a letdown. This is a super-hero comic book with plenty of action where the lead character happens to have a wife and kid. The story components that get the comic from A to B are rushed, which leaves too many unanswered questions. However, overall the comic book is worth checking out. I recommend it.
3.5 out of 5 Geek Goggles
