Synopsis & Review by RachelGrey:
Synopsis: “My name is Peter Parker and I’ve been Spider-Man since I was fifteen years old.” Peter gives his famous announcement and wonders what happens next. The world responds the obvious way: by searching “Peter Parker” on Google…so much so the Internet crashes…including the porn sites.

Robbie Robertson checks up on J. Jonah Jameson. Jameson tells Robby he gave up cigars and now has nicotine gum and the patch. He then angrily tells Robby how Peter was like a son to him and how he thought Peter was the last honest guy in a world filled with lies. He furiously bets Parker was firmly laughing behind his back all these years. Robbie tries to calm him, but a livid J.J.J. won’t here of it. He declares The Bugle will have to make some kind of statement. He uses an old saying: your enemies can kill you, but only your friends can hurt you. Jameson declares Peter has hurt him…and he has hell to pay for it.

Tony congratulates Peter while Peter throws up. Tony tries to comfort Peter by telling him he knows what he’s going through but Peter quickly tells Tony he doesn’t because Tony’s never had a family. He then tells Tony that he has a family now and MJ and May better not get hurt because of this, or else Tony will have even more to worry about. Tony says he’ll nothing will happen and tells Peter he has a plane ready to take him back to New York so he can spend time with his family. Peter leaves and gets in a limo while an angry mob yells at the real Spider-Man. Peter calls MJ and May before getting a call himself from Reed Richards. Reed congratulates Peter when Sue gets on and asks how he’s feeling. The five then all try to talk at once, with Sue and Reed getting into an argument, before Peter just gives up.

Peter finally makes it home to New York when he is greeted by a lawyer from The Bugle. They want compensation for all of Peter’s pictures that will total to at least five million dollars. Peter eventually makes his way back to Stark Tower where the news broadcasts it worldwide. Flash Thompson watches and believes its Spider-Man trying to fool his enemies. His enemies have also seen the broadcast like the vulture, Doctor Octopus, and Edwin (Eddy) Brock, who is recovering in a hospital. Peter spends some time MJ when May tells them to watch the TV. Tony is making another announcement. He has the identities of 137 heroes. If they don’t come forth by tomorrow, will be hunted down and arrested, including Captain America. Tony announces he has a strike team of himself, Mr. Fantastic, Yellowjacket…and Spider-Man. Peter stares in astonishment. MJ asks if Peter knew about this, who says he didn’t. May asks if he’ll have to fight Captain America, as she’s a hero to her and her generation. Peter says he needs some air and MJ says she’ll go with him. The two try to sneak out the back but are bombarded by reporters. In the midst, a man in a Captain America shirt comes up, tells Peter he’s Cap’s number one fan and calls him a traitor to everything he stands for, and [pulls out a gun. Peter pulls MJ behind him and fires his webbing, managing to cover the gun before the man can fire and causing the gun to blow up in his hand. The man is subdued and calls out he’ll sue Peter.

Later, Spider-Man meets with Iron Man, who asks about the gun incident. Peter tells him he’s had a horrible day and it started and ended with Tony. Peter angrily asks why Tony didn’t consult him before throwing his name out in the interview. Tony explains there wasn’t any time and he thought Peter said he had his back no matter what. A livid Peter tells Tony he wants to be included in the process if he’s going to have to fight people he respects and trusts and not be blindsided by it. He then reminds Tony he calls him “Boss” because he knows Tony is irritated by it and doesn’t literally mean it. Tony agrees with his friend and apologizes. Iron Man then takes Peter into a building and introduces him to the rest of the Pro side: the three active members of the Fantastic Four, The New Thunderbolts, Doc Samson, She-Hulk, Warbird, Yellowjacket, and The Wasp. Tony says he wants to introduce Spider-Man to these people before the dying starts tomorrow.

Review: Straczynski pulls out another decent issue. This issue covers the obvious topic of everyone’s reaction to Civil War #2’s and Spider-Man’s big reveal. A lot of it is fairly obvious: people still hate Spider-Man, Flash is in disbelief, the villains are plotting, and the world is in hysteria. A big point here is that Eddie Brock is still alive. But first…heh…Edwin…I always thought it was Edward. Funny. Revealing him alive and in the hospital for his cancer (and NOT from slitting his wrists as some have said…that would have healed by now) is most certainly part of a bigger plan to bring back Venom to his former glory for Spider-Man 3. I also liked how Doctor Octopus was in the abandoned warehouse working out like he appears in Sensational Spider-Man #28. Jameson’s reactions have still been the best though. It’s exactly what you’d expect, but its still a joy to read. Filing suit against Peter was an obvious move. I would have liked to see Matt Murdock or Foggy Nelson as his attorney, but obviously that’s not happening anytime soon. Maybe it’ll appear in an issue of She-hulk? That would be cool. One thing I didn’t like was the long phone gag with Reed, Sue, MJ, and May. It took up about five pages when it only need about two. It ran way too long, but does show Reed and Sue are having difficulties. Tony shows his new jerk personality even more this issue by announcing Spider-Man as a hero hunter. Also, MJ’s question from last issue is answered. Tony most likely would have hunted down Spider-Man if he hadn’t signed on just like the other names Tony has. The best part of the issue comes when Spider-Man tells off Iron Man for all his jerkiness. However, I do think they’ve rushed Peter’s anger to Tony. All of a sudden he’s straight livid when he was just grateful for everything Tony had done for him and his family. Perhaps a little more moderation with Peter’s change of opinion of Tony and the Pro side would have worked better? Of course maybe Peter’s just realized Tony isn’t who he thought he was and its all hit him at once. The ending page of all the Pro-heroes is a nice touch. It seems Sue and Ben have chosen a side. One of the perks of having JMS draw both Amazing Spider-Man and Fantastic Four are the parallels between the books and how he can play off the content in each. The gunman also serves the obvious role that Peter’s family is not safe and neither is he. Peter is obviously realizing the consequences to his actions are not very good.

Garney’s art is the same as last issue. I didn’t his job of Doc Oct’s silhouette. The arms were too thin. I still don’t like MJ’s hair. I also think Garney didn’t do a great job with Reed and Sue. Their costumes during the phone gag. Reed’s hair color was way off, but that’s not Garney’s fault. Pretty much, this issue quickly glances at the first reactions. I’m sure they’ll be delved into at later times, but for now, its good enough. And that’s what this issue was. Good enough. Not great, but serves its purpose adequately. I’m not sure eight issues are necessary for this arc, but that really depends on what happens in Civil War so that remains to be seen. If Civil War keeps with all the twists and turns it’s had so far, then eight issues may well not be enough. Here’s to hoping Civil War stays on its great track!