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The Amazing Spider-Man (1963-1998) #434-435
The Amazing Spider-Man: Identity Crisis
Collects Sensational Spider-Man (1996) #27-28, Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #434-435, Spider-Man (1990) #91-92 and Spectacular Spider-Man (1976) #257-258. Meet the Marvel Universe's newest The coldly efficient Prodigy. The shadowy avenger known as Dusk. The hyper-kinetic, free-wheeling Ricochet. The high-flying wonder called Hornet. They're here, they're hot, and they're wildly popular. There's just one For these four heroes to live, Spider-Man must die!
199 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 1998
5 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
About the author
Todd Dezago
530 books16 followersTodd Dezago is an American comic book writer. He is best known for his collaborations with penciller Mike Wieringo on The Sensational Spider-Man (1996) and their creator-owned fantasy series Tellos, which premiered in 1999, as well as for co-creating Young Justice with artist Todd Nauck in the 1998 oneshot Young Justice: The Secret. His other Young Justice work includes the 1998 miniseries JLA: World Without Grown-ups. From 1999 to 2002 Dezago also wrote Impulse #50-89. In 2005 he co-created The Perhapanauts with artist Craig Rousseau.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 24, 2021
A fun story, inbetween some very very dark story arcs!
And the last Spidey arc that was published, unfortunately unfinished, for 7+ years in Greece. Spidey came back for Civil War.
And the last Spidey arc that was published, unfortunately unfinished, for 7+ years in Greece. Spidey came back for Civil War.
July 20, 2018
I'm giving this 2 stars because of how anticlimactic its ending was after it had built up some kind of grand finale worthy of this supposed crisis. To start, I feel that the importance of the Identity Crisis storyline shouldn't be undermined. If you think about it, seeing Spider-Man having to change identities out of fear for his safety and reputation is pretty significant. How many times has he been in a life-threatening battle where his spider logo served as an easy target for would-be killers? How often has he been framed for the crimes he works so diligently to prevent because of the mask he wears? All things considered, having him assume new vigilante identities is a major milestone in his life because it shows just how high the stakes were this time around.
However, even though I think this was a big moment for Spider-Man on paper, the execution fell flat and we were ultimately left with several issues of mediocre stories, topped off with an unsatisfying ending. We jump from character-to-character as we journey with Spidey to try and clear his name of a murder he didn't commit. Along the way, he gets caught up in several other (boring, fruitless) endeavors as Dusk, Ricochet, Prodigy, and Hornet. These side stories leave much to be desired and hardly showcase the diversity of these four new heroes. These side plots mostly just serve as something for Spider-Man to deal with when he isn't trying to exonerate himself (translation: it's all filler).
As for the main plot, I can't really say much positive. This was a story written after Norman Osborn came back to life (much to my chagrin) so it is already tainted to some degree in my eyes. Apart from wishing he would have been kept dead, I can't help but question everything Spider-Man does while Norman once again skulks about in the realm of the living. He knows Norman is guilty of countless crimes – past and current – yet he basically lets him get away with it all through his headache-inducing inaction. I think he forgot that he was Spider-Man and had the ability to do something –ANYTHING – to make Norman pay for the crimes he has committed throughout the years! Instead, we get a lot of cringe-worthy scenes where Osborn, in essence, gives Peter Parker the middle finger by pretending they are close friends on good standing with one another just to piss him off, knowing Peter won't do anything about it in public. And we just sit back and tolerate it because we know Norman Osborn is going to get what he deserves at the end, right?...Right?
Wrong.
Without explicitly stating what happens at the end, I can assure you it was unworthy of this whole endeavor. Basically, we go back to square one with little to no progress made in the effort to bring Osborn to justice. As you could probably guess, Spidey is exonerated and is able to resume web-slinging once more, but the means by which this was accomplished disappointed me greatly, for it all seemed to be a major cop-out that was executed for the sole purpose of putting Peter Parker back into his old costume (gee, sales must not have been that great for The Amazing Ricochet #1, huh?). Why write Identity Crisis – and Spider-Hunt before it – if it was all going to end so terribly? To me, it all felt like none of it mattered in the long run. At the end of the day, Dusk, Ricochet, Prodigy, and Hornet were interesting detours for the average Spider-Man comic, but they didn't add much depth to his character; they didn't lead to some groundbreaking epiphany on his part; they certainly didn't dole out any justice to the one guy most deserving of it.
I think the concept was cool, and if it were handled in a more mature manner – and without the burden of Osborn's unwelcome presence – it had the potential to be one of Spider-Man's greatest outings. The premise was great; the potential immense; but the execution was pitiful.
However, even though I think this was a big moment for Spider-Man on paper, the execution fell flat and we were ultimately left with several issues of mediocre stories, topped off with an unsatisfying ending. We jump from character-to-character as we journey with Spidey to try and clear his name of a murder he didn't commit. Along the way, he gets caught up in several other (boring, fruitless) endeavors as Dusk, Ricochet, Prodigy, and Hornet. These side stories leave much to be desired and hardly showcase the diversity of these four new heroes. These side plots mostly just serve as something for Spider-Man to deal with when he isn't trying to exonerate himself (translation: it's all filler).
As for the main plot, I can't really say much positive. This was a story written after Norman Osborn came back to life (much to my chagrin) so it is already tainted to some degree in my eyes. Apart from wishing he would have been kept dead, I can't help but question everything Spider-Man does while Norman once again skulks about in the realm of the living. He knows Norman is guilty of countless crimes – past and current – yet he basically lets him get away with it all through his headache-inducing inaction. I think he forgot that he was Spider-Man and had the ability to do something –ANYTHING – to make Norman pay for the crimes he has committed throughout the years! Instead, we get a lot of cringe-worthy scenes where Osborn, in essence, gives Peter Parker the middle finger by pretending they are close friends on good standing with one another just to piss him off, knowing Peter won't do anything about it in public. And we just sit back and tolerate it because we know Norman Osborn is going to get what he deserves at the end, right?...Right?
Wrong.
Without explicitly stating what happens at the end, I can assure you it was unworthy of this whole endeavor. Basically, we go back to square one with little to no progress made in the effort to bring Osborn to justice. As you could probably guess, Spidey is exonerated and is able to resume web-slinging once more, but the means by which this was accomplished disappointed me greatly, for it all seemed to be a major cop-out that was executed for the sole purpose of putting Peter Parker back into his old costume (gee, sales must not have been that great for The Amazing Ricochet #1, huh?). Why write Identity Crisis – and Spider-Hunt before it – if it was all going to end so terribly? To me, it all felt like none of it mattered in the long run. At the end of the day, Dusk, Ricochet, Prodigy, and Hornet were interesting detours for the average Spider-Man comic, but they didn't add much depth to his character; they didn't lead to some groundbreaking epiphany on his part; they certainly didn't dole out any justice to the one guy most deserving of it.
I think the concept was cool, and if it were handled in a more mature manner – and without the burden of Osborn's unwelcome presence – it had the potential to be one of Spider-Man's greatest outings. The premise was great; the potential immense; but the execution was pitiful.
March 16, 2014
Perhaps you had to be there. Well, even then, these probably are not good stories.
Like why does Norman Osborn skulk about? He just seems to . . . you know . . . hang out?
Or why are these D-list villains taking center stage?
Or why is everyone fooled when these superheroes have to have the same voice as Spider-Man?
Or why have that fake nose subplot with Prodigy when (1) in most drawings he has no nose and (2) there's no real conclusion to it?
All sorts of things.
But if you picked this book on purpose, you got exactly what you wanted which was a reprint of all these stories.
And the way Marvel Comics used to be in the late 90's. Like a lot more crazy speech bubbles! And alternate covers (before they came back again, I guess). And 4 monthly spider-titles . . . . somehow taking place at the same time in different locations.
The one thing that these books seem to be missing to me are the advertisements. I don't know why everyone can't agree to have them put in: x-ray specs or Hostess fruit pies or Doritos. I think a lot of folks with money underestimate how their advertisements grow in favor after going away for a while.
Like why does Norman Osborn skulk about? He just seems to . . . you know . . . hang out?
Or why are these D-list villains taking center stage?
Or why is everyone fooled when these superheroes have to have the same voice as Spider-Man?
Or why have that fake nose subplot with Prodigy when (1) in most drawings he has no nose and (2) there's no real conclusion to it?
All sorts of things.
But if you picked this book on purpose, you got exactly what you wanted which was a reprint of all these stories.
And the way Marvel Comics used to be in the late 90's. Like a lot more crazy speech bubbles! And alternate covers (before they came back again, I guess). And 4 monthly spider-titles . . . . somehow taking place at the same time in different locations.
The one thing that these books seem to be missing to me are the advertisements. I don't know why everyone can't agree to have them put in: x-ray specs or Hostess fruit pies or Doritos. I think a lot of folks with money underestimate how their advertisements grow in favor after going away for a while.
December 31, 2013
I read the first issues of this when it came out, but it was too gimmicky for me so I never read the rest of the story. Now finally picking them up again (10+ years later), it wasn't a bad concept or execution. Though I don't know why he didn't incorporate the Dusk costume more.
February 19, 2013
Nothing remarkable but nothing bad either. Just a general Spider-Man romp
May 5, 2025
Love the four new identities. Fond memories of them. Love this story
June 27, 2021
Underneath the masks\ Mistaken identities\ The true hero shines
The last trade paperback comic book that I read this month was "Spider-Man: Identity Crisis". The introduction explains that Spider-Man has been framed by Norman Osborn for murder, so Peter takes on four separate hero identities in order to find out which C-list villain is guilty and to clear the Spider-Man name.
Difficult to rate this tpb because it collects issues from four Spider-Man series (Spider-Man, Sensational, Amazing and Spectacular) with individual stories that are supposed to be happening at the same time, but because of a number different writers (J.M. DeMatteis, Mike Wieringo, Glenn Greenberg, Jeph York, Tom Defalco, Howard Mackie and Todd Dezago) they feel nearly unrelated. I thought that the art was great from pencilers Joe Bennett, John Romita Jr., Mike Wieringo and Luke Ross. Can be a fun read for true fans of the character, as these stories cast a light on what makes Peter Parker able to carry out the individual heroics of his identities--including the webbed red-and-blue. I am currently reading the classic Lee/Ditko ASM now from #1, after having read other events like Maximum Carnage and Venom.
#HAIKUPRAJNA - Spider-Man: Identity Crisis
https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2021...
The last trade paperback comic book that I read this month was "Spider-Man: Identity Crisis". The introduction explains that Spider-Man has been framed by Norman Osborn for murder, so Peter takes on four separate hero identities in order to find out which C-list villain is guilty and to clear the Spider-Man name.
Difficult to rate this tpb because it collects issues from four Spider-Man series (Spider-Man, Sensational, Amazing and Spectacular) with individual stories that are supposed to be happening at the same time, but because of a number different writers (J.M. DeMatteis, Mike Wieringo, Glenn Greenberg, Jeph York, Tom Defalco, Howard Mackie and Todd Dezago) they feel nearly unrelated. I thought that the art was great from pencilers Joe Bennett, John Romita Jr., Mike Wieringo and Luke Ross. Can be a fun read for true fans of the character, as these stories cast a light on what makes Peter Parker able to carry out the individual heroics of his identities--including the webbed red-and-blue. I am currently reading the classic Lee/Ditko ASM now from #1, after having read other events like Maximum Carnage and Venom.
#HAIKUPRAJNA - Spider-Man: Identity Crisis
https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2021...
January 12, 2020
The follow up to Spider-hunt finds Spider-man a wanted man unable to step outside with a $5 million price tag on his head, so therefore Peter assumes new secret identities...in fact, four of them.
This isn't bad, but it wasn't as good as Spider-Hunt. Don't get me wrong, there are some fun ideas in here. The idea of each of the existing Spider-men books having Peter in a different identity and each of those identities playing into his an aspect of his character is cool. And I love the one story where he worked out so all four identities appeared in the same fight. But man oh man, the realization of these characters were uneven. I think it was hurt by the fact that he only got 2 issues as each of these alternate characters. I think three issues would have made it better as the storylines would have had more room to breathe.
As it is, the book is okay with a few portions being really good, and a few being sub-part. It's a big hit and miss, but I'm glad I read it.
This isn't bad, but it wasn't as good as Spider-Hunt. Don't get me wrong, there are some fun ideas in here. The idea of each of the existing Spider-men books having Peter in a different identity and each of those identities playing into his an aspect of his character is cool. And I love the one story where he worked out so all four identities appeared in the same fight. But man oh man, the realization of these characters were uneven. I think it was hurt by the fact that he only got 2 issues as each of these alternate characters. I think three issues would have made it better as the storylines would have had more room to breathe.
As it is, the book is okay with a few portions being really good, and a few being sub-part. It's a big hit and miss, but I'm glad I read it.
May 31, 2018
Collects Sensational Spider-Man (1996) issues #27-28, Amazing Spider-Man (1963) issues #434-435, Spider-Man (1990) issues #91-92, and Spectacular Spider-Man (1976) issues #257-258
I wanted this to be better than it was, and in the end it was just middle-of-the-road. There is a 5 Million Dollar bounty on Spider-Man's head, so he can't show up in costume in public. Instead, he creates four new superhero identities to continue to fight crime while not being captured as Spidey. Those new identities are: Hornet, Dusk, Prodigy, and Ricochet.
I wanted this to be better than it was, and in the end it was just middle-of-the-road. There is a 5 Million Dollar bounty on Spider-Man's head, so he can't show up in costume in public. Instead, he creates four new superhero identities to continue to fight crime while not being captured as Spidey. Those new identities are: Hornet, Dusk, Prodigy, and Ricochet.
February 18, 2013
Kind of uneven, since it drew from four different Spider-Man series and had a number of different writers and artists involved. There are a bunch of subplot threads that never resolve or just don't seem to really go anywhere, but the core storyline is mostly solid. I enjoyed reading a storyline I was always curious about, but I'm also glad I spent less than $10 on it.
May 12, 2015
This storyline was akin to going to mall with your friend in the 90s. Your friend is going to try on some new outfits, but in the end your friend goes back to their regular style, but it was fun seeing them in new outfits. The day wasn't extraordinary, but it was still fun. This is what that story is.
February 11, 2021
Good simple fun. Easy to follow.
January 3, 2025
Gotta love these overly complicated stories from the mid-late 90s! I live for them!
Plus, the design of Ricochet is one of my fave deigns ever!
A ton of fun.
Overall - 4/5
Plus, the design of Ricochet is one of my fave deigns ever!
A ton of fun.
Overall - 4/5
November 28, 2015
Really a Rant About the Movie
10 May 2014
I'm really struggling to understand what people actually see in these graphic novels (though I should refer to them as comic books because graphic novels tend to have some sense of respectability about them – despite the fact that many people in society look down on people who read comic books as not having grown up, but then if growing up involves becoming some stuck-up snob that has no fun and has a twisted sense of 'responsibility' then honestly, I really do not want to grow up). Anyway, the only reason that I ended up borrowing this book from the Melbourne Library (and I will only ever borrow such books because I have much better things to spend my money on, such as Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance) was because I have just seen The Amazing Spider Man: The Rise of Electro and I wanted to make a few comments on the movie, as well as reading another Spiderman story (and I guess that is half the reason that they make these superhero movies: to try to get more people reading the comics, though it generally does not work on me because I end up reading one, or two, and discover that I really do not like them).
Anyway, the big issue that I have with this new movie is that it really confuses me. The reason that I say that is that the person who now plays Spiderman (Andrew Garfield) reminds me of the person who played Harry Osborn (James Franco) in the first Spiderman trilogy, and the guy that plays Spiderman in the original trilogy (Tobey Maguire) looks like the guy who plays Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan) in the reboot. Anyway, just to add some visualisation to this, here is Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spiderman):
and here is James Franco (Spiderman):
and here is Tobey Maquire (Spiderman):
and here is Dane DeHaan (The Amazing Spiderman):
Anyway, enough with that confusion because I should really start commenting on this particular story, which in itself is confusing because it seems to be a crossover between not two, or three, Spiderman comics, but four (and here I was thinking that the Spiderman comics were all set in different universes). Basically Norman Osborne (Harry's father – who I thought was dead, but that does not seem to be the case) has framed Spiderman and there is a $5 000 000 dollar bounty on his head, so while every two-bit crook is out to get him, Peter Parker (who is married to MJ) decides to take on four different personas so that he can continue being fighting supervillans but does not have to go out as Spiderman. The funny thing about the identity crisis is that this is a very comic book superhero thing because I was always under the impression that comic book superheroes had an identity crisis anyway - they are in one sense a normal person, and in another sense a superhero, and they cannot let those personalities cross for fear of their loved ones coming to harm.
However, as it turns out, from reading this graphic novel it appears that the Amazing Spiderman movies seem to be closer to the comics than the original Spiderman Movies (with Tobey Maguire). Also, it appears that the women in the comic books seem to be hugely overproportioned than they do in real life (and also in Hollywood movies). Take this character for instance:
Though there is also another question that seems to haunt me as well:
10 May 2014
I'm really struggling to understand what people actually see in these graphic novels (though I should refer to them as comic books because graphic novels tend to have some sense of respectability about them – despite the fact that many people in society look down on people who read comic books as not having grown up, but then if growing up involves becoming some stuck-up snob that has no fun and has a twisted sense of 'responsibility' then honestly, I really do not want to grow up). Anyway, the only reason that I ended up borrowing this book from the Melbourne Library (and I will only ever borrow such books because I have much better things to spend my money on, such as Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance) was because I have just seen The Amazing Spider Man: The Rise of Electro and I wanted to make a few comments on the movie, as well as reading another Spiderman story (and I guess that is half the reason that they make these superhero movies: to try to get more people reading the comics, though it generally does not work on me because I end up reading one, or two, and discover that I really do not like them).
Anyway, the big issue that I have with this new movie is that it really confuses me. The reason that I say that is that the person who now plays Spiderman (Andrew Garfield) reminds me of the person who played Harry Osborn (James Franco) in the first Spiderman trilogy, and the guy that plays Spiderman in the original trilogy (Tobey Maguire) looks like the guy who plays Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan) in the reboot. Anyway, just to add some visualisation to this, here is Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spiderman):
and here is James Franco (Spiderman):
and here is Tobey Maquire (Spiderman):
and here is Dane DeHaan (The Amazing Spiderman):
Anyway, enough with that confusion because I should really start commenting on this particular story, which in itself is confusing because it seems to be a crossover between not two, or three, Spiderman comics, but four (and here I was thinking that the Spiderman comics were all set in different universes). Basically Norman Osborne (Harry's father – who I thought was dead, but that does not seem to be the case) has framed Spiderman and there is a $5 000 000 dollar bounty on his head, so while every two-bit crook is out to get him, Peter Parker (who is married to MJ) decides to take on four different personas so that he can continue being fighting supervillans but does not have to go out as Spiderman. The funny thing about the identity crisis is that this is a very comic book superhero thing because I was always under the impression that comic book superheroes had an identity crisis anyway - they are in one sense a normal person, and in another sense a superhero, and they cannot let those personalities cross for fear of their loved ones coming to harm.
However, as it turns out, from reading this graphic novel it appears that the Amazing Spiderman movies seem to be closer to the comics than the original Spiderman Movies (with Tobey Maguire). Also, it appears that the women in the comic books seem to be hugely overproportioned than they do in real life (and also in Hollywood movies). Take this character for instance:
Though there is also another question that seems to haunt me as well:
November 9, 2023
Picking up right where the Spider-Man: Spider-Hunt trade paperback ends, Identity Crisis finds Spider-Man adopting not one, but four new identities. Norman Osborn, the original Green Goblin, had hired the Trapster to frame Spider-Man by murdering a two-bit criminal. Osborn offers a five million dollar reward for anyone who can capture Spider-Man, essentially forcing him into hiding. Mary Jane convinces Peter Parker to adopt a new identity. Working with Hobie Brown, a/k/a The Prowler, helps him design the armored Hornet costume. Another new identity, Dusk, was a costume that Spider-Man brought back after his adventure to the Negative Zone where he fought Blastaar.
Ricochet is the weakest of the four new identities, coming off like an even lamer Speedball, if that is possible. Prodigy is lame, but at least it's intentional on Peter Parker's part. Things are decent with these identities with the exception of the fight with Roughouse and Bloodscream, where he finds time to change costumes repeatedly in order to confuse people so that they don't believe that they are the same guy...except that there is no one on the docks to witness this fight.
Osborn has not only made Spider-Man's life miserable, but that of the Trapster as well, taking out a contract on his life so as to not have any loose ends. Along the way we get treated to fights with the Shocker, the Vulture, and the climax featuring a new(?) Jack O'Lantern and a new villain by the name of Conundrum.
The artwork is a mixed bag. Of course John Romita, Jr. is tops. Mike Wieringo is what I call a “bridge” artist in that he blends then-contemporary and Manga influences into a more classical Marvel house style. Joe Bennett...I don't get it. Some of his panels look great, others look godawful. Same with people's faces. It's weird. Luke Ross...let's just say that he gets good later on in his career.
This book is entertaining and fun without being dark, moody, or taking itself too seriously. There is a fine line between that and the contempt for “capes” shown by some modern writers.
Ricochet is the weakest of the four new identities, coming off like an even lamer Speedball, if that is possible. Prodigy is lame, but at least it's intentional on Peter Parker's part. Things are decent with these identities with the exception of the fight with Roughouse and Bloodscream, where he finds time to change costumes repeatedly in order to confuse people so that they don't believe that they are the same guy...except that there is no one on the docks to witness this fight.
Osborn has not only made Spider-Man's life miserable, but that of the Trapster as well, taking out a contract on his life so as to not have any loose ends. Along the way we get treated to fights with the Shocker, the Vulture, and the climax featuring a new(?) Jack O'Lantern and a new villain by the name of Conundrum.
The artwork is a mixed bag. Of course John Romita, Jr. is tops. Mike Wieringo is what I call a “bridge” artist in that he blends then-contemporary and Manga influences into a more classical Marvel house style. Joe Bennett...I don't get it. Some of his panels look great, others look godawful. Same with people's faces. It's weird. Luke Ross...let's just say that he gets good later on in his career.
This book is entertaining and fun without being dark, moody, or taking itself too seriously. There is a fine line between that and the contempt for “capes” shown by some modern writers.
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