Spider-Man: Mysterio Manifesto #3 synopsis

the plot: As Peter comes to grips with the loss of Mary Jane, a Spider-Man duplicate attacks Daredevil and Jack O'Lantern kidnaps J. Jonah Jameson. When the real Spidey meets up with Daredevil later, the duo are attacked by mechanical bats and Spidey is swallowed alive, only to wake up in his old penthouse suite with Mary Jane, Aunt May and his daughter all there.

the review: It's nice to see more fallout from Mary Jane's passing affecting Peter, something we don't get enough of in the regular books. More importantly we get a lead in to closure regarding Mysterio's death in Daredevil and unexplainable resurrection in Amazing Spider-Man. While the cause of the return may have been miscommunication on the parts of the editors of either book, it's nice to see some resolution to the supposed mix-up.

Tom DeFalco, formerly the writer of a rather uneventful, though involving, story arc over in Amazing Spider-Man a few years ago, turns in a really great script, on par with his great work on Spider-Girl. And tying in the unfinished thread of the new Jack O'Lantern, now officially called Mad Jack was nice as well. Though it would have been nice to have J.M DeMatteis write this, considering he set up Mad Jack and wrote the Mysterio arc in "Webspinners" referenced in this book, Tom DeFalco does a bang-up job otherwise. (For more on this see my review of Webspinners: Tales of Spider-Man #1)

Lee Weeks, who did the Death and Destiny mini-series earlier this year, turns in excellent artwork that's both classic Spider-Man for older fans and still flashy enough for new readers. The fight scene between the impostor Spidey looks particularly good.

Finally, the last page surprise where Peter wakes up in his old penthouse apartment, with MJ, little baby May and Aunt May there, and that the last year of stories was a dream is a shock on par with the Bobby Ewing shower surprise.

This was a nice book, with a great set-up and great artwork. It gets ***1/2 out of *****.

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