Writer: J. Michael Straczynski; Pencils: John Romita Jr.; Inks: Scott Hanna
Rating 2.5 out of 5 stars
Amazing Spider-Man #36 is an issue that looks at the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center that took place on September 11th. I have no doubt that all those involved had nothing but the best of intentions when they worked to produce this issue. However, I am sad to say that the end result fails on several levels. In fact, it seems quite inappropriate at times. Having read this issue, I honestly feel that it would have been best if Marvel had made the decision to not address September 11th in any of their ongoing series.
The major problem with this story is that it takes place in Spider-Man's monthly series, and has appearances by numerous other Marvel characters. What this inadvertently, but all too clearly, does is point out just how absolutely ludicrous the majority of superhero books are. Marvel continuity (along with DC Comics') requires certain suspensions of disbelief. A major aspect of that revolves around superhero battles. Fights between superhumans, an inordinate number of which take place in Manhattan, involve the regular destruction of billions of dollars of real estate. But, because a real world status quo needs to be maintained, by the time the next storyline has begun, everything is rebuilt, seemingly overnight. We, the readers suspend our disbelief and just assume that on Marvel Earth there are unlimited resources to rebuild Manhattan over and over, without any inconvenience. It's pretty much the same thing as the Godzilla movies do. No matter how badly Tokyo is stomped flat by four hundred foot tall radioactive monsters duking it out, by the time the next picture rolls around the buildings will all be back up.
Unfortunately, by outright addressing the destruction of the World Trade Center by terrorists, by explicitly stating that this event took place in the Marvel universe, suspension of belief is completely shattered. In previous Marvel stories, the Chrysler Building has been toppled by Sentinels, the Statue of Liberty trashed by the Wrecking Crew, and the United Nations bombed by Hydra, but on each and every occasion those buildings were rebuilt, the destruction shrugged off. But a handful of completely human terrorists fly everyday airplanes into the Twin Towers, and suddenly the Manhattan of Marvel Earth cannot rebuild, cannot just get the World Trade Center back up in a week or two? Basically, this reveals just how utterly unrealistic the events of Marvel Earth are.
Now, I understand the argument can be made that all this is just unnecessary critical supposition on my part. The problem is, Straczynski himself blows the door wide open for an inevitable comparison with reality only four pages into Amazing Spider-Man #36. A horrified Spider-Man, web-swinging over the site of the fallen Twin Towers, lands on the street. As people run past him away from Ground Zero, a shell-shocked couple stop and angrily demand of Spider-Man "Where were you? How could you let it happen?"
My first reaction upon reading this page was to sigh in exasperation. Spider-Man could not stop the World Trade Center from being destroyed because, to put it as simply as possible, he is a fictional character. He is not real. When Spider-Man beats a supervillain, when he helps thwart an alien invasion, hell, when he catches a simple bank robber, it is because the writer has put pen to paper and created a controlled, fictional series of events where the hero is allowed to succeed. But the destruction of the World Trade Center was a real event! By having characters ask Spider-Man why he did not stop the terrorists shatters the "fourth wall" completely and states clearly and unequivocally that superheroes are fictional, that they cannot in any way alter the real world.
In comic books, readers are not supposed to ask questions like the above. We are not supposed to ask things like "Why didn't Superman just stop World War II by going to Germany and capturing Hitler?" or "Why is Reed Richards able to create spaceships and dimensional gateways, but has yet to invent a pollution-free car?" or "Why doesn't Captain America run for President of the United States?" Instead, we are supposed to suspend disbelief and shrug off these glaring inconsistencies and lapses in logic. Unfortunately, Amazing Spider-Man #36 goes right ahead and does exactly that: it posits a question that unerringly points out just how nonsensical superhero comic books really are.
Next I have to address what is certainly the most ill-judged scene in the entire issue. On page nine, there are several supervillains gathered in front of the fallen skyscrapers, looking on mournfully, one with tears in his eyes. Why are they there? As Straczynski writes, it is "Because even the worst of us, however scarred, are still human. Still feel. Still mourn the random deaths of innocents." These are nice sentiments. But they fall completely flat due to the characters they refer to, specifically Doctor Doom, the Juggernaut, Doctor Octopus, the Kingpin, and Magneto. All of these characters are inappropriate choices for Straczynski to use as examples of common human decency. If each is considered in turn, that becomes readily apparent:
It is glaringly obvious that the above characters were poor choices on Straczynski's part. Especially the inclusion of Magneto. In this respect, that segment of Amazing Spider-Man #36 is insulting, if not downright offensive. Real human beings are dead, and fictional tyrants are depicted mourning their deaths. It is an inappropriate scene.
This story left wondering just what sort of view Straczynski has of people like Osama Bin Laden and his followers. Straczynski writes "Only madmen could contain the thought, execute the act, fly the planes. The sane world will always be vulnerable to madmen, because we cannot go where they go to conceive of such things." What precisely does Straczynski mean by "madmen?" Is he trying to imply that madness, i.e. insanity, results in a moral deficiency? Certainly one can be forgiven from thinking that his comments imply mental instability is required to commit acts of terrorism. That's a flawed supposition, so it can't be what Straczynski means. In any case, society typically regards madness as an illness of the mind, as something that can be treated. "Madmen" often are not considered responsible for their actions in the same way that sane people are. I doubt that Straczynski regards the terrorists who destroyed the World Trade Center as not being responsible for their actions. So what exactly does he mean?
The sad fact is, anyone could do this. Anyone "could contain the thought, execute the act, fly the planes." Each and every one of us possesses free will, the ability to decide between right and wrong. We are all capable of doing good, as well as evil. I am at a loss to explain Straczynski's reasoning in Amazing Spider-Man #36. In his television show Babylon 5, one of the central themes of the entire series was that each individual has a moral responsibility to chose between right and wrong. In Babylon 5, Straczynski forcefully advanced the view that we are responsible for our own actions. We cannot blame our crimes on society, or on our upbringing, or that we were following our leaders' orders. No, it is the solemn duty of each of us as sentient beings to assume responsibility for our actions. This was a crucial tenet of the entire Babylon 5 story arc. Which is why Straczynski's writing in Amazing Spider-Man #36 makes no sense.
If we leave aside Amazing Spider-Man #36 being set in the Marvel universe, and ignore Straczynski's rhetoric regarding "madmen," then the rest of this issue is actually decent. It is definitely at its strongest when it focuses on everyday, real life people. Or, to quote Straczynski himself, "Ordinary men, ordinary women, made extraordinary by acts of compassion, and courage, and terrible sacrifice." About a third of the way through the issue, when Straczynski leaves behind the superhero trapping and foregoes an effort to reason out the thought process of the terrorists, the story does become quite moving.
The effectiveness of the issue is at least partially due to the art by John Romita Jr. and Scott Hanna. Romita Jr. is regarded as one of the finest, most talented artists currently working in mainstream comic books. I certainly agree with that assessment. Amazing Spider-Man #36 provides Romita Jr. with the opportunity to fully display his strengths as an illustrator. His depictions of "ordinary men, ordinary women" amidst a real-world tragedy capture the emotion of September 11th. His rendering of the terrible catastrophe are all-too accurate, searing themselves into the mind's eye.
Amazing Spider-Man #36 is at its best when Straczynski grounds his writing in reality, effectively collaborating with the Romita/Hanna artwork. There are moments, later in the issue, where the two work in sync, delivering a profound emotional impact.
One of the few Marvel-related elements that actually works in this issue is towards the end, when we see Captain America standing amidst the rubble, fists clenched in anger, sorrow etched on his face. This page works because Romita Jr. succeeds in rendering the character as a human being, rather than an icon or a symbol. The look on Cap's face is one of true sadness.
I believe this could have been a very well done story. The decision to include it in an issue of an ongoing series, with multiple references to a fictional universe, is where the majority of its failings lay. If this had been produced as a one-shot special that focused solely on reality, it would have been, for the most part, a strong and moving piece of work. Unfortunately, due to the seeming preoccupation with anchoring the real world tragedies of September 11th to a fictitious setting, the story is severely undermined at an early stage.
As I aid at the start, I do not doubt that Amazing Spider-Man #36 was produced with the best of intentions. But more careful consideration and forethought by Straczynski and Marvel editorial would almost certainly have resulted in a story that was more meaningful, appropriate, and relevant in addressing the September 11th tragedies.