Amazing Spider-Man #400

(MARVEL)
April 1994




Part 1

Good Guy: Spider-Man
Bad Guy:

Cameos: Scarlet-Spider/Ben Reilly, Aunt May, Mary Jane Watson, Anna Watson, Jackal, Judas Traveller, Dr. Nacht, Medea

Synopsis

“The Gift”

Writer: J.M.DeMatteis
Penciler: Mark Bagley

Spider-Man rushes to the hospital to visit Aunt May. She awakes from her coma and wants to go home. The Scarlet-Spider is watching through the window. When they go home Aunt May sees that Mary Jane is pregnant.

Peter meets the Scarlet Spider/Ben Reilly in the backyard who decides to leave town.

Peter takes Aunt May to the lookout at the Empire State Building and tells him she has known that he is Spider-Man for years. She feels ill and Peter takes her home. Aunt May dies as Peter holds her hand. The Scarlet Spider is on the roof as it happens.

After the wake Peter is arrested by Salt Lake Police for murder. Ben Reilly confronts MJ as she prepares to go down to the station to be with Peter.


Part 2

Good Guy: Spider-Man/Ben Reilly

Synopsis

“The Parker Legacy: Part One”

Writer: J.M.DeMatteis
Penciler: John Romita Jr

Spider-Man is kneeling in an alley. It is Peter Parker’s clone. He is coming to terms with the fact that his memories are not his own.

He goes back to Peter’s apartment to get some old clothes and money and leaves.

Part 3

Good Guy: Spider-Man
Bad Guy: The Burgler

Cameos: Aunt May, Ben Parker

Synopsis

Writers: J.M.DeMatteis & Stan Lee
Penciler: Tom Grummett

“The Morning After”

We go through the morning after Uncle Ben was shot.


Rating: 8/10

Great reading. The cameo by the Jackal in his jail cell is priceless. The interaction between Peter and Ben Reilly is good reading and it was very sad to see Aunt May passing.

Part 2 has the best John Romita Jr artwork I’ve seen, I feel he took great care in this piece of work.

Throwing JMD and Stan Lee’s take on the morning after is a nice way to finish this three parter.


Favorite Panel:

Surprisingly a JRJr shot of Spidey, I am not normally a fan but his work in this was great.

Defenders #121

(MARVEL)
July 1983



Good Guys: The Defenders ( Gargoyle, Hellcat, Valkyrie, Beast, Overmind, Son of Satan)
Bad Guy: Miracle Man possessed by the darksoul of the Son of Satan


Synopsis

Scripter: J.M.DeMatteis
Penciler: Don Perlin

“Savior”

The Defenders, flying a borrowed Avengers Quinjet, search for teammate the Son of Satan. They come across a huge skyscraper statue in the Massachusets woods. As soon as they dodge the first one a second, and then a third appears. They crash.

A snow monster appears and they eventually destroy it. They find a monastery and enter. Within is the Miracle Man who has turned Daimon Hellstrom, the Son of Satan, into stone. With a snap of his fingers he releases him.

The Miracle Man then transports them to the island of Java in Indonesia where he converts a poverished village into a paradise. Daimon points out that he now has his mark of the Devil on his chest and the Miracle Man says he can control the dark soul that resides within him much better than the Son of Satan.

Miracle Man begins healing the sick, when a blind man refuses his help he becomes enraged and the darksoul’s influence begins to corrupt him. He downs all the Defender’s bar one… the Son of Satan. Daimon calls out to the darksoul corrupting Miracle Man to return to him.

He entices the darksoul out by offering himself to it and saying he will sit at his father’s side. As the darksoul leaves Miracle Man and prepares to enter Daiman, Hellcat and Overmind bombard the soul with mental force and push it into a snake.

The resultant blast reverts Miracle Man’s miracles and they all end up back at the Monastery.


Rating: 9/10

Being a big fan of Marvel’s Son of Satan I really enjoyed this issue. Great tale about the Son of Satan and his battle against his own darksoul, an omnipotent being, and the Defenders.

Favorite Panel:

I like this panel of the Son of Satan.