Whatever a Spider Can’s Amazing Spider-Man: Learning to Crawl #1.3 recap

The front cover of Amazing Spider-Man: Learning to Crawl #1.3 boasts a scared looking Aunt May cowering away from Spider-Man which means we can expect Spider-Man to do something to alienate himself from Aunt May. However it’s been strongly hinted that Peter Parker’s arrogance in dealing with Clayton Cole aka Clash is going to strongly result in Spider-Man’s hubris leading to his downfall. So what happens in Amazing Spider-Man: Learning to Crawl #1.3?

The issue starts with Clayton Cole aka Clash mulling over his first paid-for confrontation with Spider-Man, in which a distracted Peter Parker humiliated him. Clash inwardly rages about the fact that his was his video that launched Spider-Man. However when he tries to do the same thing for himself he realises that none of the footage from the staged fight is usable. We then get the typical and iconic origin moment that every villain gets when they declare their never-ending hatred for Spider-Man.

We then move on to the typically sweet scene where Aunt May, having gone into Peter’s room sees all of the equipment he uses to make web-fluid and assumes that all of the changes in behaviour are due to Peter having developed a drug problem. There’s also the case of the money Clash paid Spider-Man to pretend to fight him. Peter covers for himself with a white-lie about anonymous donations and says that the chemicals are experiments for the science fair competition.

We then cut to Peter’s new science club buddies and we see that they treat Clash the same as everyone in the school treats them – like an outcast. However Polly points out the hypocrisy of her friends rejecting Clayton as weird and reaches out and talks to him. She’s impressed by his guitar playing skills and ‘science rock’. Clayton tells her to check out his booth at the Science Fair promising to unveil Clash.

Meanwhile Spider-Man is trying to come up with a big idea for the science fair that isn’t his web-fluid. Whilst doing so he overhears a group of people talking about taking pictures of the Vulture, they give him the idea that he can make a load of money from taking decent pictures of the Vulture. Consequently he gets a camera off of Aunt May and sets off as Spider-Man.

Spider-Man tries to stop the Vulture whilst taking photos but ends up getting severely beaten by Adrian Toomes. However he successfully managed to get some decent snaps from the Vulture and he even manages to build a machine that should successfully counteract the Vulture’s magnetism based flight system. We then see J.Jonah Jameson praising the photos and paying Peter a lot of money. Peter proudly tells Aunt May that everything will be okay now.

We then head to the science fair and see that Peter is presenting his anti-Vulture magnetism device. Peter’s friends tell him his lack of showmanship is why his project didn’t go down well with the judges. Peter then introduces his friends to Aunt May and we see another typical embarrassing Aunt moment when Peter introduces her to Polly and Aunt May reacts like she’s Peter’s girlfriend. Clash overhears the conversation and becomes jealous that Polly is talking to Peter and steps out to return as Clash.

Peter, seeing that the guy he fought earlier is back, quickly changes into Spider-Man and confronts him with a bit of a cheap-shot. Clash retaliates with an incredible burst of his sound-based powers that sends Spidey flying. The pair then fight some more and the vibrations from Clash start bringing the building down around them. Aunt May and Mr. Flannigan end up in danger and Spider-Man rushes to save them by holding up falling debris. Aunt May reacts by calling Clash, and more importantly, Spider-Man a monster, much to his dismay.

Peter then uses his magnetic device to delete Clash’s sound files on his hard-drive rendering him powerless, however he can’t chase after Clash because he’s still holding the debris up. Spider-Man makes sure Aunt May is safe and then retreats. He returns as Peter Parker having changed. We learn that the science fair winner is on-hold and that the police are involved.

These two things make Clayton even angrier as he was going to unveil himself as Clash but can’t anymore because the police are getting involved and he was also planning on winning the science fair but that got ruined as well. The issue ends with Aunt May telling Peter that J.Jonah Jameson was right about Spider-Man and that he is a menace.

Check out Whatever a Spider Can’s other Spidey comic book recaps and reviews
Amazing Spider-Man #1 recap, and review
Amazing Spider-Man #2 recap, and review
Amazing Spider-Man: Learning to Crawl #1.1 recap, and review
Amazing Spider-Man: Learning to Crawl #1.2 recap, and review

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