Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #310 Spoiler Discussion

[SpiderClops]

This was AMAZING! The whole issue is one guy making a documentary about Spider-Man. So it's basically a bunch of people answering question of what they feel about Spidey. I won't spoil it anymore. But Zdarsky fired on all cylinders. It's as Spider-Man as you can get.

With the Sandman story, the annual and this one, I'm sad to see Zdarsky go.

EDIT: I guess it's kind of weird to not spoil stuff when I wrote 'spoiler' in title.

One lady has great opinions about Spidey, and we see why. Her kid got mixed up in a robbery for some money. Spidey made the cops arrest the others. But he saw that the kid made a mistake and let him go instead of throwing him to cops. Then he also helped him study from time to time. But when those other guys got out of of Jail, they killed the kid. That was just heartbreaking.

This is what the whole issue is about. In the end, Spidey is human and can't save everyone.

[Batman Begins 2005]

A mixed run of good and the bad...good mainly. This was in the former category. I'll think back to My Dinner With Jonah, No More and Finale.

[Miles To Go]

Zdarsky certainly went out on a good note, and he's left behind an impactful legacy, turning Jonah into a new confidante, I hope that status quo lasts a few years.

[Deonicles]

Zdarsky went out on a high note. Ever since issue 6, he's improved greatly.

[Noronha]

Amazing issue!

One of the best I´ve read in a loooong time, probably the best one since JMS´s run...just fantastic

[Bossace]

Came for the heroics left with the feels.... there must have been onions in my copy... odd seeing as it’s digital

[Prof. Warren]

D'Zarsky may not have had the lengthy run that Dan Slott's did but his last issue was very comparable to Dan's final ASM, just a note-perfect one-and-done love letter to Peter/Spidey.

And, like Dan's last issue, this one is enough to make a reader tear up. Very well done.

D'Zarsky's run was a bit bumpy but, on the whole, I think it was a short but admirable set of issues that contained some genuine highlights that occasionally gave ASM a run for its money, as Spec should always do.

I'll probably sit out the upcoming Spidergeddon tie-in issues (unless I hear they're really good). Can't wait to see who's going to be the creative team on the inevitable relaunch.

[Mister Mets]

This was pretty good. Reminded me of Jenkins's Peter Parker Spider-Man #26 (which included the cops who saw Gwen Stacy's death.)

The story that connected the anecdotes was a gut-punch.

[regg215]

Absolutely Fantastic issue. One of the best single issues of Spider-man that I can remember. Funny enough as much as I loved ASM 801 this was a better version of that issue, which I did not see coming. Captured everything great about Peter Parker in one issue. Zdarsky run was light and fun but with this issue and the my dinner with Jonah issue he delivered two of the most memorable spidey comics in years. Great job by all involved with this issue.

[Batman Begins 2005]

Loved this even more on the second go. That silent sequence, Damn. Story is already in my best ever Spidey list.

[Scott Taylor]

That scene with Peter breaking down on the rooftop, wow. Not since the Kid Who Collected Spider-Man, this issue was right there with that story imho.

[Hypestyle]

... and we're still left with Jonah knowing the secret. ah well...

[SplinteringHeart]

Issue 310 was beautiful! A love letter to Spidey indeed!

All said about Spidey in one issue.. fantastic!

Jon

[Celgress]

It was a good read.

I'm sorry to see Zdarsky go.

[Mister Mets]

Oliver Sava of the AV Club used a review of Zdarsky's last issue of Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man to consider the question "Why Do We Love Spider-Man So Much?

Spider-Man is the everyman hero, a regular person gifted with extraordinary power and forced to accept the responsibility that comes with it through personal tragedy. His suffering creates a deeper sense of empathy for others, and he uses his powers to prevent strangers from having to endure the pain he has to live with forever. But he doesn’t let that pain turn him into a brooding loner. He’s not just the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, he’s your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. If you happen to live in his stomping grounds, you might end up making his acquaintance.

He gets to a facet of Spider-Man that's become a bigger part of the character's perception: his role within the community.

While people like J. Jonah Jameson see Spider-Man’s mask as a way for him to distance himself from those around him, it actually does the opposite. The mask protects Peter’s identity so he can stop and make connections when he’s Spider-Man without fear that someone will come after him or the people he cares about in his civilian life. Spider-Man sticks around and talks to people. He talks to them for too long, and he’s actually pretty annoying. One of the flashbacks in this issue has Spider-Man monologuing about hot dogs to a street vendor who gives him free hot dogs for life after being saved during a supervillain attack. This leads to a great punchline from a different interview subject later, who says she knows Spider-Man doesn’t make a lot of money because she sees him eating free hot dogs everyday, which also presents Spider-Man as a part of citizens’ daily routines.

Like this issue, the new Spider-Man game for the PS4 illuminates the character by reinforcing how he interacts with the city, and not just its people, but also its architecture. He relies on the buildings around him to do his job, web-slinging off them to move quickly and using them to web up criminals and create giant web-nets to stop speeding cars and catch falling helicopters. There’s a randomness to how he travels because he’s still vulnerable to the laws of physics, which makes it more likely that people will have random encounters with him. The game cribs a lot from the Arkham franchise in terms of gameplay, but it’s more emotionally compelling because Spider-Man is established as this major presence within the community.