“Oh! My! Gosh!…I’m in a Spider-Man Team-Up!”
So, after six months, we’re back to having The Amazing Spider-Man come out twice-a-month again, which I guess also means we get two stories to get off the occasion. One in which Spidey meets the new Ms. Marvel while fighting another “Ms. Marvel.” And another where we’re introduced to a Spidey who is travels through time and space…who’s also British. Only he doesn’t have a blue 1960’s police box.
“Ms. Marvel Team-Up”
PLOT: Dan Slott
SCRIPT: Christos Gage
PENCILS: Giuseppe Camuncoli
INKS: Cam Smith
COLORS: Edgar Delgado
LETTERS: Chris Eliopoulos
“Edge of Spider-Verse: Web of Fear”
WRITER: Dan Slott
PENCILS: Giuseppe Camuncoli
INKS: Cam Smith
COLORS: Edgar Delgado
LETTERS: Chris Eliopoulos
COVER: Camuncoli/Smith/Fabela
ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Ellie Pyle
EDITOR: Nick Lowe
STORY #1: At Peter and Anna Maria’s apartment, Cindy Moon is attempting to search for her parents online, when she asks Peter for help. Soon, Peter and Cindy are giving into their passion and Anna Maria has to douse them with bottled water several times within the hour, pointing out that if they’re going to “act like dogs in heat, she’s going to treat them as such.” Cindy realizes that Anna Maria is right, and thus, after turning into Silk, decides to leave, telling Peter not to worry as she’ll find a place to live with one of her fellow interns at the Fact Channel. Afterwards, Anna Maria shows Peter one of Doc Ock’s spiderbots hooked up to a police band, explaining to him that because he’s now the CEO of his own company, he has a duty to his employees and thus cannot respond to every single emergency as Spider-Man. She adds that Peter should do what Doc Ock did when he was Spidey by letting the authorities handle the “small stuff.” Peter points out that the Green Goblin almost taking over the city happened in spite of Doc Ock’s methods, but admits that he does see the need to prioritize. At that moment, the spiderbot alerts them to a kidnapping in progress, and thus Peter takes off as Spider-Man.
The kidnappers are Dr. Minerva, dressed in Carol Danver’s original Ms. Marvel costume, along with a group of masked henchmen. Having learned of the crime earlier via a live tweet from the “Princess Sparklefist” message boards (a social network of Carol Danvers fans), the new Ms. Marvel, Kamala Khan, arrives just as Minerva and her crew are escaping and see that the person they abducted is in a Terrigen cocoon—which is what happens to Inhumans, like Kamala, before they manifest their powers. Spidey arrives just as Minerva punches Kamala, and Kamala is estatic to be in a “Spider-Man Team-Up.” Minvera orders her henchmen to head to rendezvous point while she distracts the superheroes, while one of the henchmen cryptically says that he and Spidey have a “history.” Before Spidey and Kamala engage Minvera, the Kree scientist explains that her race has reached a “developmental dead end,” and she’s plans to graft the genes from Inhumans in their larval stage to create “Kree Super Soldiers.” Furthermore, she’s already done this to herself, and thus transforms before Spidey and Kamala into giant winged monster.
STORY #2: In the Otherworld, the newest recruit to the Captain Britain Corps, Billy Braddock, aka Spider-UK, is watching a series of “inter-dimensional disturbances,” his spider-senses having told him something was wrong in the Omniverse. One one Earth, he first sees Morlun finishing off killing Spider-Man, Iceman, and Firestar. On another, Morlun’s twin siblings, Brix and Bora, kill a “Spider-Cat.” And finally, he sees Morlun elder brother, Daemos, killing Spider-Man Unlimited and various Beastials. Joining him is another sibling named Jennix, who reminds Daemos that their father told them to only go after Spider-totems. A device Jennix carries alters him to the presence of another Spider and, using some sort of sextant, is able to see Spider-UK watching them. Spider-UK quickly shuts off the transmission and heads to the Starlight Citadel to warn his fellow Corpsmen. However, the Corp is dealing with the crisis of the Incursions and collapse of the multiverse, as seen in Avengers and New Avengers. Thus, when Spider-UK tells them about the Inheritors, Majestrix Saturnyne dismisses his concern as trivial compared to the possible end of the multiverse. However, Lady Roma is more sympathetic, suggesting that the Inheritors hunting Spiders and the Incursions may be linked. She gives Spider-UK a spider-shaped talisman which will allow him to travel between dimensions, and gives him the task of protecting the other Spiders and stopping the Inheritors.
THOUGHTS: For a comic which has the title of The Amazing Spider-Man, the seventh issue of the relaunched series didn’t feel like an issue of The Amazing Spider-Man. Rather, it was essentially two very condensed and very desperate comics which happened to be Spider-Man related crammed into one, the first being, as the title indicates, a Marvel Team-Up, with the second being a promotional event tie-in which could have just as easily been a one-shot like the other Edge of Spider-Verse tie-ins. And the result is that both stories were lacking, yet one does succeed more so than the other.
Just like in classic issues of Marvel Team-Up, the adventure itself isn’t connected to what’s taking place at present in Amazing Spider-Man, since the goal of the team-up is to use Marvel’s flagship character to promote something else, in this case, the new Ms. Marvel comic. The exception, of course, is Peter’s relationships with his supporting cast, of which there appears to be some minimal development. Silk deciding to find her own place due to her constantly losing control of her libido when she’s around Peter not only comes across as trying to set-up her own, no pun intended, spin-off title, but it also feels like an admission that the gag of her and Peter always wanting to have sex at the most inopportune times has already worn out its welcome after a mere four issues. Not that this will be the last of Silk, or their whole hormonal-induced romance, by any means.
This then brings up the other continuing subplot of Peter being in charge of his own company, and how his responsibilities as Spider-Man are hampering his duties as CEO, and in protecting the welfare of his employees and the interests of his stockholders. It’s evident that Dan Slott and Christos Gage are siding with Anna Maria, that Peter needs to adopt Otto Octavious’ methods, and that not doing so makes him just as much of an egotistical jerk as Peter accuses him of. Except that with Peter pointing out the drawback to Otto’s compartmentalizing potential threats is what led to “Goblin Nation,” we already know that Peter will fail. After all, this is someone who became a costumed crime-fighter because he ignored something that seemed beneath his attention which ended up costing the life of his uncle. This is someone who, as Slott has repeatedly drilled into the readers’ heads, vowed that “no one will die on my watch,” and thus feels compelled to respond to every crisis because he doesn’t want to suffer any further loss or guilt, much less see someone else get hurt because he failed to act. As a result, Peter and Anna Maria’s talk about how he needs to prioritize his Spider-Man activities is just one more nail in the eventual coffin that is Parker Industries, and how someone like Peter is incapable of being in charge of their own business.
And speaking of Anna Maria, even though this issue seems to place her in the right, this is actually the least sympathetic she’s been up to this point. The way she interfered with Peter and Cindy attempts at getting it on came off petty and childish, and her telling Peter that he should learn from Doc Ock’s example reads like a condescending lecture. However, given how she almost refers to Otto as “my Peter,” her behavior may be a sign that, contrary to what she claims, she hasn’t gotten over Doc Ock’s supposed death, or that Peter isn’t at all like the person she thought he was and fell in love with. Along with her secretly working on Doc Ock’s nanotech project without Peter’s knowledge, Anna Maria appears to be developing from a confidant into well-meaning but misguided antagonist.
The only other important element to take away from the main story is whoever Dr. Minvera’s goon is who had prior dealings with Spider-Man in the past. The most obvious person it could be, given the past five months Slott spent on “Learning to Crawl” is Clayton Cole, aka Clash. If this turns out to be the case, it also wouldn’t surprise me that we’ll eventually learn that Clayton for “the past decade” has secretly been a minion to various super-villains to gain experience, and then use that collected knowledge to get revenge on Spider-Man. I also suspect that if this is Clash that he’ll offer his services to the Black Cat by the end of this story.
Yet it’s the back-up story which has the most pertinent developments, of course, given that it further sets the stage for the upcoming Spider-Verse. Not to mention Slott officially killing off Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends will likely anger some Spidey fans as it is no doubt designed to do; I imagine, however, there will be few tears shed over the death of Spider-Man Unlimited—that is unless that cartoon series is indeed the official sequel to Spider-Man: The Animated Series from the 1990s. Having a Spider-Man who is also a Captain Britain is a nifty little concept, one that makes sense given how Spider-Verse is a story involving characters from various Earths and time-lines. It also establishes two different camps of Spider-Men, one being Spider-UK’s and the other the Superior Spider-Man’s, and thus further underscores the inevitable ideological divide between the two groups of Spiders in dealing with the Inheritors. Finally, there is a contest between the Inheritors over whom can kill the most Spiders, and that there’s a possible connection between this and the events in Jonathan Hickman’s Avengers comics provide additional motives for Morlun and his family beyond just hunting and killing totems merely for food.
The downside, however, is that it’s a story which relies far too heavily on Marvel continuity Spider-Man fans may not be all that familiar with; furthermore, the way the various Spider-Men get killed seem to reinforce the notion that Spider-Verse is just an excuse for Slott and Marvel to get rid of the “least relevant” incarnations of Spider-Man in the most shocking way possible. That and seeing one scene after another of Morlun and his ilk killing off various Spider-People in this issue was becoming needless, repetitive, and cheap. At least during Spider-Verse, we’re more likely to see actual battles between the Spideys and the Inheritors like what happened in Superior Spider-Man #32 and #33, but continuing to have the less prominent and obscure incarnations of Spider-Man being treated like cannon fodder is going to get really old, really quickly.
As usual, Guiseppe Camuncoli pencils look decent, although not up to typical par as they have otherwise been in previous issues, particularly in the main story. It’s one thing for Kamala to have elongated, over-sized, and disproportionate limbs since she’s supposed to be a shape-shifter, but there are moments where those abilities appear to have rubbed off on Spidey as well, particularly with his legs. There are also some panels which, in spite of being inked and colored, still look unfinished and lifeless. The exception, however, is whenever there are scenes of Kamala displaying her powers, proving for some very exciting and dynamic looking perspective angles. Another scene which is very effective in conveying the sense of both horror and sadness is the aftermath of Morlun killing the Amazing Friends, with Ms. Lion whimpering over their loss making it a genuine punch-to-the-gut for those with fond memories of the cartoon. But overall, Camuncoli’s work in this issue is serviceable, but nothing too outstanding, a description which could apply to Amazing Spider-Man (2014) #7 as a whole.
If the goal of the issue was to increase interest in the upcoming Spider-Verse, then Amazing Spider-Man (2014) #7 does succeed on a basic, rudimentary level. As for getting an entertaining Spider-Man comic on the other hand, then that depends on how well one appreciates light filler material prior to the big event. Still, nothing wrong with having a little calm before the storm.
C+
NERDY NITPICKS:
- Again, when Cindy “puts on” her Silk “costume,” does her webbing somehow dissolve the clothes she was also wearing? Then again, given how she’s supposed to be getting a new, more traditional-looking costume very soon, this strange phenomena may no longer matter. What is mysterious, however, is how her hair seemed to suddenly grow several more inches after changing into Silk.
- “Committing a crime in the original Ms. Marvel costume? That’s like burning the American Flag!” Look, I know that bystander is supposed to be a fan of Carol Danvers, and that Carol in the Marvel Universe is one the more well-renowned superheroes but…seriously?! Equating a criminal wearing the costume of a superhero to flag-burning? And if the concern is that the press will mistake Dr. Minvera for the real Ms. Marvel, well that’s not likely to happen considering how she clearly has blue skin as observed by the fan herself, and Carol is now better known in the MU as Captain Marvel. And I thought we comic book fans were hyperbolic and irrational.
- You know, Pete? Considering everything Doc Ock has pulled over the course of his long career—including switching minds with you and leaving you for dead in his own decrepit body—calling him a jerk is the understatement of all understatements. You seem to have conveniently forgotten that the guy who took your place as Spider-Man was a super-villain, not to mention one of your most notorious archenemies. Even though, yes, he was indeed a jerk.
- So Anna Maria says that Peter should let the authorities handle the small crimes and thus only tackle the major crimes. Seems to me that hearing about a super-villain kidnapping someone falls into the category of something the authorities may not be equipped to handle. So why would that constitute as a “backfiring” of Anna Maria’s advice if Peter’s only doing what she suggested he’d do? Did she just presume that every report over the police scanner was going to be either a false alarm or some minor incident?
- “Yes, there was a date. Let’s leave it there, okay? That’s what she did…” And, if the Spider-Man/Carol Danvers shippers didn’t get the message yet, this is Marvel explicitly telling you that only Brian Reed was a fan of that pairing, and even then it went absolutely nowhere.
- Oh, I get it. Because Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends was a cartoon for kids and thus they couldn’t show acts of excessive violence on screen, that’s why Earth-1983 was supposedly “kinder and gentler than most” and thus they didn’t have the “vocabulary” to describe Morlun slaughtering the Spider-Friends. Not like today’s more “mature” and “gritter” superhero comics and cartoons which are so much “serious” than that “silly kids stuff” back in the 1980s, right? Then again, even in this universe, the burglar killed Uncle Ben as according to the episode “Along Came a Spider,” and it was also an episode where Aunt May nearly died as well. And then there’s Firestar, who looked rather shapely in her costume for a kids show, so it’s not as if things were that innocent.
- “Honestly, you devoured this world’s spider-totem ages ago.” Um, not really, because Spider-Man Unlimited looks as if he were just recently killed along with the rest of the Beastials. Unless for Jennix, ages is synonymous with minutes.
- So if the other Captain Britains can fly, then why does Spider-UK have to web-swing? Or perhaps he can and just chooses not to? But then how can he effectively swing from place to place anyway given how the Starlight Citadel appears to be a series of floating towers which can only be reached by flying to them? I guess webbing attaching to phantom anchor points is universal in every reality.
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@#42 I could see Anna Maria becoming corrupted somehow and turning into a Lady Octopus, but I think it would require Dr. Octopus’s return first, don’t you think? In any case, I don’t think it’s as much of a stretch as you think. Her lecturing Peter about priorities was so preachy and Peter’s dismissal of Otto as a “jerk” were both so out of place in terms of their characters (even Anna Maria’s, though it’s true that hers is not so well established) that I don’t think any villainous designs Slott has for her are a complete impossibility. It’s probably not a good comparison, but look what he did with Black Cat — I don’t think anyone saw that one coming. And not because it was a clever twist, but because it was just…dumb and wrong. Anna Maria as Lady Octopus, at least, would be interesting.
I think it’s a little late for theories, but what if Anna Maria, in one of Slott’s classic and wacky character assassinations (You know it’s sarcasm just by the words I’m putting up) became so involved with Otto’s work that she takes up his research and becomes the new Lady Ock? It’s a bit of a stretch, but with the taunting Anna puts up with about her height, and the fact that Peter is not the one she knew, she seeks him out and decides to revive good ol’ Ock once more…. Yeah, not as grandiose as a late post should be.
Slott continually demonstrates that he is an utter fail at understanding the number commandment of storytelling: SHOW, don’t tell.
It doesn’t matter if we’re told Doc Ock has changed; what matters is what we see in the story.
And on the page, he was still a sociopath who thought nothing of murdering other people to get his way. He executes Massacre without due process. I don’t care how “justified” that execution might be, it’s still murder and violates basic human rights. The Spiderbots are a severe violation of people’s privacy, also immoral and unethical (and illegal). He severely beats up Prankster and Screwball, again immoral and unlawful – and all those happen while Peter is still actively in Otto’s mind.
Then there’s the murder of Alistair Smythe (sidenote: New York State hasn’t sought the death penalty since 1963. And Jonah calling for superheroes to ensure the death penalty happens is…icky and problematic. Plus, it only underlines the senseless fridging of Marla Jameson). Yes, Smythe had due process and was sentenced to death, but the sentence isn’t Spider-Man’s to carry out. So that’s the second unlawful murder for SpOck.
Then he punches Felicia – who is not super-powered – so yay, violence against women. At every turn, Otto acts like a selfish, self-righteous jackbooted thug. “Responsibility” does not taking away others’ freedom, rights and privacy.
It’s insulting, both to Peter Parker and to the reader, to insist that Otto wasn’t really bad, just drawn that way. But that’s Slott for you. His “stories” are all empty bluster, no consequences. And utterly devoid of consistent characterization.
When Cindy is looking for Netscape on the computer, Peter tells her that Facebook was just starting when she started hiding. Which means according to Slott (and Marvel), Facebook was around during the Lee/Ditko stories.
That was my point in #36. Slott claimed that Otto got force-fed Peter’s moral sentiments and viewpoint so as to change him, but then didn’t Slott depict that as being true. Throughout SSM, Otto was motivated by an overriding desire to out-do Peter Parker, which is a purely narcissistic motive. So his core motive hadn’t changed; in Slott’s version, he was the same old sociopathic Otto, just doing new things. Otto later then tried to murder Peter Parker a second time, in the mindscape battle. So, when Slott complained later against critics on this point, he hadn’t justified his complaints.
Gage at least -tried- to show Otto functioning like a multiple-personality-disordered person, which was a characterization that not only made sense, it was what the series had pitched — a semi-changed Otto trying to fill Spider-Man’s shoes. Otto had Peter’s memories, and more importantly Peter’s interpretation of the meaning of those memories, forcibly printed onto his mind. In Slott’s stories, that experience only ended up providing Otto with a useful internal archive (“accessing memories…”). In Gage’s stories, Otto’s actual personality had obviously been altered, and it allowed him to feel and see new things that very much unsettled him, and caused him to make different decisions than before.
@#33- Yes, it is important that Otto be proven wrong. I think it’s kind of a failing for a book to continue to try and morally excuse the actions of a character that stole another character’s life for selfish reasons, and tried to “kill” the person they stole said life from twice.
By not morally condemning what Otto did, it’s essentially implying that he was “right” in what he did. That Peter SHOULD be more like Otto, SHOULD employ his tactics, SHOULD treat bad guys the same way he did. And that doesn’t celebrate what Peter is, that’s celebrating Otto. The villain of the piece.
With Magneto, it’s never about condoning his methods. The book acknowledges that he may have justification in his beliefs, but it never excuses his actions the way that Slott is doing with Otto. The X-Men never adopt his methodology with dealing with humanity, or conclude that his actions SHOULD be the actions they take.
This is not what is happening in the Spider-Man books. They still try to rationalize that Otto was right in what he did in a lot of ways, with only a small measure of protest from Peter, who quickly shuts up and actually acknowledges that the other person may have a point.
In regards to the “In-Universe” reason in ASM# 700, it’s hard to buy the “responsibility transfer” since it was basically ignored an issue later in SSM# 1. The series didn’t explore Otto being a hero because he wanted to be a hero. It explored him being a hero so he could show up the dead man he showed no respect for.
@36 Again, to be fair to them, ASM #700 did provide an in-story explanation for why the Superior Spider-Man version of Otto isn’t as much of a crazed supervillain as pre-700 Otto. He was explicitly planning to use Peter’s body for evilness before the responsibility transfer, after that he started trying to be a hero. The series didn’t “ignore it”, it spent a whole giant-sized issue explaining it.
The series ignored Otto’s many past murders, and his mania, to make him more somewhat more palatable to a buying audience. But Marvel wasn’t consistent with Otto’s personality metamorphosis. Christos Gage usually depicted him as conflicted in SSM:TU (to the point that he almost turned himself in to the Avengers), and Slott depicting him as still severely cracked, and homicidally villainous, in SSM (he was briefly planning how to murder Prof. LaMoze).
@34 But then, all his ideas as Superior Spidey were only formed after he absorbed Peter’s sense of responsibility in ASM #700, so he arguably wasn’t the same guy. And irrespective of that, I don’t think that kind of moral complexity is a bad thing. Not every villain has to be a one-dimensional bwa-ha-ha.
After spending a year on his character, it’s not that weird that he had some worthwhile thoughts in that entire time. He was meant to be a genius, after all – it surely flows logically that a genius who applies himself to the task of “Being Spider-Man” will reach some worthwhile conclusions? Irrespective of his personal ethics?
@33: Magneto’s ideology was forged in the fires of being the sole member of his family to survive the concentration camps of World War II.
By contrast, under SLOTT’S OWN PEN, Otto actually NAME-CHECKED Pol Pol, Stalin and HITLER as men whose genocides he ASPIRED to SURPASS.
Yes, it is ABSOLUTELY necessary that Otto be proven wrong.
This is the moral equivalent of having the Red Skull steal Steve Rogers’ identity, and then, when Steve returns, having the other Avengers say, “You know, the Skull had some good ideas …”
NO.
@32 Is it necessary for Otto to be proven wrong? Magneto’s been getting along fine in the X-Men books as a guy who has valid points, but is still ultimately a villain. I don’t think it’s a prerequisite of the Spidey books for Peter to be right about everything – in fact, him questioning himself is pretty much in character.
@#30- Stillanerd- The thing that really bugs me is that Slott never has any character actually call out and criticize these character for their criticism of Peter’s actions. Yes, you could say that he is setting things up to show why Peter’s methods are “better.” But this will likely amount to Peter just internally recognizing it, or someone else telling Peter he’s not wrong. None of the characters he uses- which are all his pet characters- will ever get criticized or called out for their statements. The result of which will simply imply that, yes, they ARE right to criticize Peter and his methods, and he SHOULD be doing more or being MORE like Otto in his methodology. It’s just that they are being “ignored.”
Damnit! Did Slott seriously killed off the unlimited Spidey and the Spider-Man from “SPIDER-MAN AND HIS AMAZING FRIENDS”? This is unessecary and ridiculous! Oh, my childhood….
@#28 RDMacQ — Very astute points, Mac. Because yes, since these are alternate versions of Spider-Man as opposed to the “real” Spider-Man (although, ever since One More Day, even that can be in dispute), then it’s not a devastating when those alternate versions do get killed off. However, if that’s the case, wouldn’t this only make those deaths seem all the more like meaningless shock value?
And what you’re saying about how Slott showing Peter being unable to properly balance and prioritize his responsibilities as both Peter and Spider-Man wind up going against who is supposed to be as a character is not only well articulated, it also underscoring one of the points I made in the review: that because of who Peter is as a character, ignoring or letting someone else handle crimes that are “less important” is something he wouldn’t allow to happen or entertain because that’s what led to his Uncle Ben being killed in the first place.
@#29 K-Box in the Box — Well, in fairness, as a character, Anna Maria did love Doc Ock (even though it was a relationship based on Doc Ock pretending to be someone he actually wasn’t, which has disturbing implications on it’s own) and so is more than likely going to take the position that Peter needs to prioritize certain crimes and emergencies more so than others just like Doc Ock did. But yes, the scene does appear to hint that Peter is going fail as a CEO in part because he’s incapable doing just that.
And with regards to Silk, I agree that there is some definite unfortunate implications involving her characterization and the nature of her and Peter’s relationship to one another. Which is why I think, somewhat to this issue’s credit, it has her say that “for half [her] life, [she] didn’t have a choice about what to do,” and thus leaving to find her own place so won’t have to be around Peter all the time is an attempt to regain control. But even so, the damage has been done since her being the “spider-bride” and thus “fated” to be tied with Peter is part of who she is as a character, hence one of the reason why I definitely consider her to be a “Mary Sue” archtype.
I’m heartened to see others objecting to the fact that Dan Slott is using pretty much the only original character of his that anyone has ever liked to hammer home his authorial viewpoint, yet again, that Otto Octavius was both mentally and morally superior to Peter Parker.
My other problem with this is that the whole pheromone-attraction thing feels really rapey, in terms of the degree to which it removes both characters’ ability to consciously consent, and it’s super-misogynistic besides, in terms of how completely Slott is reducing Silk to a woman who literally spends all her time lounging around in her underwear, apparently just waiting to fall into Peter’s arms.
I really wouldn’t sweat the “deaths” in this issue. This is the multiverse. It’d be easy to just say a little later “Yeah, those were ALTERNATE alternate versions of Spider-Man’s characters. The ‘REAL’ ones are perfectly safe.”
That’s sort of the thing when you introduce the notion of alternate universes, where every change results in a new dimension. So even if the characters “died” in the universes shown, you can easily justify that there was a universe where they didn’t.
The issue I have with the whole “You need to follow Otto’s example” is that, really, Peter doesn’t fight back enough. Sure, he mentions the whole “Goblin Nation” thing, but it’s quickly swept under the rug and once again established that Peter is likely in the wrong, or- more likely- that he cannot balance his duties as Spider-Man with running his company.
The problem with this is that it once again goes back to the fact that, despite his claims otherwise, Slott does not have a good handling on Peter and his motivation, particularly the key phrase “With Great Power comes Great Responsibility.” He shouldn’t even ENTERTAIN the notion that he should leave “some things” to the cops. Spider-Man knows FIRST HAND that there is no such thing as a “minor crime.” This is similar to how Slott dropped the ball with his infamous “Peter’s GREATEST SIN” story, where he implied that Peter was WRONG to pursue the burglar the night Uncle Ben died, and should have instead stayed to comfort May. Because it makes sense for the fifteen year old child to comfort the adult, rather than the other way around. Not only that, but he also lets the criminal who attacked Betty go free to be with her, which once again goes against his key motivation. Or in the Peter Parker Paparazzi arc, where he has Peter use his powers for his own benefit, under the auspices of “Who could it harm?”
I get having a different interpretation of the character, but when these elements run contrary to the characters BASIC MOTIVATION and ORIGIN STORY it seems a little troubling. It’d be like if Batman reasoned that he should “get over” his obsession with being a dark crusader and “lighten up a bit.” Slott continually misses the boat with his characterization of Peter. When he keeps getting the character’s basic motivations wrong, it’s not just a one time lapse or just a single bad story. It’s a fundamental problem with how the interpretation a character that he says he knows so well.
@24 Raul — No need to apologize, good sir, because I don’t think you came off as rude in the slightest. As you said, it’s just your opinion, and perfectly reasonable and legitimate one at that. 🙂
And yeah, as you said, at least we can be thankful that the Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon, due belonging to Sony, won’t become a possible casualty in Spider-Verse.
Please, please, PLEASE tell me Spider-UK will run into Mad Jim Jaspers, one of the most powerful and yet strangely forgotten Marvel baddies ever.
Good issue, I thought. Probably my favourite issue of the relauched ASM since the first couple. It didn’t blow me away, but it successfully kept me interested for Spider-Verse. Plus I really like the Kamala Khan Ms Marvel, so no complaints about that team-up. Enjoying Anna Maria complaining about Peter not being as good as Otto – I’m now basically expecting her to meet an alternate version of Superior Spidey during Spider-Verse, then either have a sad farewell moment with him or go back to his home dimension to live happily ever after.
Although if that does happen, I’ll miss her presence in the regular supporting cast. Either way, this issue, the Edge of Spider-Verse mini and the two “bonus” issues of Superior have successfully persuaded me it’s a story idea with potential. And it’s a sufficiently OTT concept for Slott’s gung-ho style to work well on.
@23 I didn’t mean to criticize your grade or anything I was just… you know giving an opinion. I apologize if my comment came off rude in anyway.
If unlimited and 90’s cartoon spider-man are one in the same then
there goes my childhood
@#1 Andrew Roebuck — Thanks, Andrew! 🙂
@#5 Raul — I wouldn’t have a problem with a B- grade, either. It’s just, in my humble opinion, this issue didn’t quite make it past a C+. And just to be clear, a C+ isn’t necessarily a bad grade. Rather, it’s a fair grade. As for potentially killing off the 90’s cartoon Spider-Man, as other commentators have been quick to point out, Slott apparently considers the 90s cartoon Spider-Man and Spider-Man Unlimited are one and the same.
@#7 AmFan15 — Great example, AmFan. I’ve seen Turtles Forever as well and it was a blast!
@#19 ryan3178 — Even though I’m familiar with Excalibur, I never really followed it compared to some of Claremont’s other X-Men work, so nice to know Slott was keeping things in character when it came to the Captain Britain Corp, so thanks Ryan. And yeah, the Reckoning War is beginning to be like Alan Moore’s Twilight of the Superheroes at this point.
@#20 Chase the Blues Away — My “Nerdy Nitpick” point exactly.
@17 – He’s killed off in the Spider-Verse section of this issue.
@16: Definitely.
#19: Slott only came up with plot for the Kamala portion – the script is courtesy of Christos Gage. Which explains a lot about the charm of that story.
However, I give Slott full credit for coming up with Anna Maria lecturing Peter, of all people, on responsibility, because Slott seems to forget from issue to issue what consistent characterization means. And for Peter calling Otto a “jerk,” because Slott so lurves his Otto that one must ignore the fact Otto was a career sociopath criminal who conspired to commit mass murder and actually did murder Peter, even if Peter “got better.”
I was able to see this issue at the shop this week even with not buying any books now. I have to say, Slott really got Kamala perfectly and the relationship with Peter. I love she was the fan girl and Peter even going: “Well, yeah, I’ve been around a while.” Then using a classic Ms. Marvel villain using current stories going on from Inhumans to the Incursions. I really did like UK Spidey and also hit everything with Roma and Satuyrn perfectly. Roma has always been: “The Multiverse is dying, forget crazy people hunting alternate versions of one person.” While Saturyn has always been: “All life from big to small is important.” How Chris Claremont created them, so this was pretty spot on. This was a much stronger issue than the previous 6 which is really sad. I think Slott has turn into the writer who is great with newer characters or big event stories. of course, he still can’t get Reckoning War to happen at any Marvel summits.
It could have been fun to have seen the different Spider-Men we knew interacting, each one acting like himself (including the Amazing Friends versions being kind of sweet and innocent). Instead, this sounds like a Spider-corpse version of Maxiumum Carnage.
When did he kill off Unlimited Spider-man? I think the intention was for Unlimited to be a continuation of TAS, at least it was how it was presented. It’s in the same ” animated universe” as TAs, X-MEn TAS, FF, Iron MAn TAS, Silver Surfer, and that Avengers show that lasted one season in the 90’s. Problem is they don;t explain how MJ and Carnage returned and they contradict the origin of Venom and his relationship with Carnage. It’s kinda like saying that Chapter One is official, but it contradicts a lot and it wasn’t popular, so it really doesn’t count.
Getting the feeling the Spider Verse concept could have been a cool story..if it wasn’t written by Slott.
Dan Slott seems to get some sort of enjoyment out of deliberately angering people, then accusing everyone he deliberately angered of being Internet stalkers and trolls who don’t love Spider-Man like he does.
Is it just me, or did Ms./Marvel break the fourth wall?! That’s Deadpool’s turf, not to mention Ultimate Spidey (from the cartoon) is already treading on it (if he dies in Spider-Verse, I won’t be very upset. On the contrary, I’ll be quite pleased).
Speaking of Spider-Verse, I think this entire event is MEANT to be supported by shock value. Just getting people ticked off so that they’ll buy the comic and see how much more stupid it gets. And if Dan Slott’s marketing revolves around that same plan for five more issues, then this is going to be a very long, very SLOW event.
#11 Wow, I never thought of that. Maybe it’s a power trip thing.
@11 – Damn is that actually what his twitter is like? It’s so strange that he seems to enjoy having a antagonistic relationship with the Spider-Man fandom.
#9: Oh, I never buy anything Slott says, especially anything he says about the Spider-Man universe. I’m very much looking forward to having his entire run eventually retconned. But in Slott’s mind, he DID kill off SM:TAS. He said that Unlimited starts in the SM:TAS universe and then jumps to Counter Earth.
Because apparently his primary goal in writing is to upset readers so he can a) shake his finger at those fell for the trolling and did indeed get upset and b) play the victim card and whine about the “attacks” from the readers he trolled.
I have a question. I have heard Dan Slott say time and again how much he loves Spider-man and his character. Can that be true if the stories — and the way Peter is portrayed, as well as (now) the easy and gratuitous dispensing with other renditions of Peter and friends — seem so clearly to indicate otherwise? I love the character, too, and it’s for that reason that I don’t want to read the stories anymore, and that makes me sad. I’m sorry if I’ve echoed something said previously. I’m glad to know I’m not alone in my sentiments.
@8 – Pretty sure Slott is wrong about Spider-Man Unlimited. Unlimited was originally supposed to be a animated adaptation of the Lee/Ditko era stories, even after the concept was changed I don’t think there has ever been any confirmation from the shows creators about a connection to Spider-Man: The Animated Series.
Slott has repeatedly said on Twitter that Spider-Man Unlimited is the same Spider-Man from the 1990s SM: TAS. So throw another one on the funeral pyre.
And I agree, the repeated scenes of various Spider-Men, broken and bleeding and contorted into disturbing images is really old, already. Especially since it is comics and the deaths – if writers want to use the characters – can be easily waved away as by happening to yet another alternative version. But then Slott won’t get his lulz by baiting people on Twitter, changing his name to “Dan Slaughterhouse” and saying he’ll need a Popemobile to protect him at NYCC because, yeah, Slott, you’re that important.
I was vaguely interested when I found out about Spider-verse. The idea of every version of the web-slinger appearing in the same book could have been epic and awesome. However, today’s Marvel seems to take a perverse joy in pissing off (and on) the fanbase. I’m very glad I decided not to buy into this crap.
If you want to see how a crossover of this sort SHOULD be done, look into the movie Turtles Forever. In it, the Turtles from the 2003 cartoon met and fought alongside the ’80s Turtles, as well as their original Eastman/Laird comic book versions. It was epic and awesome, and paid tribute to everything Turtles oriented. If you can find it, I highly recommend it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YixMJJzOCoA
@#4 – Most long time Spidey fans I know quit buying the book about 7 years ago, when OMD hit. I still consider myself a life-long fan of Spidey…which is why I stopped buying the book a long time ago…it saddens me to see what Marvel has done to the character.
It’s really kind of sad that Slott is trying to prove how edgy and shocking he is by killing The other Spider-Men, instead of actually giving them a greater part in the story. I would have loved to have seen the Amazing Friends and Unlimited (that suit was awesome) in action, even if they died later on in Spider-Verse.
The Ms. Marvel team up story was actually pretty fun, but it also felt like filler. I would have preferred the book to have focused solely on setting up Spider-Verse.
I actually enjoyed this Issue. I thought it was a nice break from the prior arc, I give this a B-. I was pretty bummed out spectacular spider-man wasn’t part of spider-verse, but after I saw what he did to amazing friends… maybe it’s a good thing he’s not part of it.
I’m probably the few people who are shedding tears for spider-man unlimited, I actually like that show. What makes me sad about unlimited’s death is that he never returned home… to MJ. I hope he doesn’t kill spider-man from 90’s cartoon.
Are they trying to make life long Spidey fans quite reading the book?
Spider-man and his Amazing Friends being killed off… ow, right in my childhood.
Well, my interest in Spider-Verse continues to sink with each unnescessary death.
Whoa waaaait the Spider-Totem planet was from Spider-Man unlimited?….Oh darn must change my review haha. Also great review, also I am so mad that he killed off Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends…I had so many emotions about it lol. Great review as always.