There is a reason that Spider-fans everywhere got excited when Slott was named as the writer ten years ago. That reason shines through in this issue. But don’t just trust me, folks – read the review and then grade it yourself in our interactive grading system! Because YOU demanded it!
The Devil in the Details
Story Title: Go Down Swinging part 1: The Loose Thread
Writer: Dan Slott
Penciler: Stuart Immonen
Inker: Wade von Grawbadger
Colorist: Marte Gracia
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramanga
Cover Artist: Alex Ross
Editor: Nick Lowe
Published: March 7, 2018
Remedial ASM 101
Peter was a big CEO, now he’s not. He was dating Mockingbird, now he’s not. Norman Osborn used to be sane and symbiote-free, now he’s not.
The Story – Pay Attention, This Will Be on the Test
Norman has someone hostage, but we cannot see who it is. Whoever the poor character is, he/she is being grilled by Norman to reveal who Spider-Man is. They are interrupted by the Goblin King who is trying to steal goblin paraphernalia. Norman rips his heart out. Then we go four hours earlier. Mary Jane comes on to Peter Parker only to douse the rekindling of the romance based on nothing other than he has his costume on under his shirt. Peter is late for work and feels bad for Ben Urich. Liz Allan toys with her power over her company, her brother Raxton, her ex-boyfriend Flash, and her ex-husband Harry Osborn Lyman. JJJ grills Peter for information on why the Goblin King wasn’t captured. Finally, we go back to the present and find that the person held captive lets it slip that Gwen Stacy was Spidey’s girl. That slip up leads Osborn to figuring it out that Spider-Man is none other than Peter Parker. Who is the captive? It is not MJ. Not Aunt May. Not Harry Osborn. Not Peter Parker. It is…
What Passed:
The jokes are spot on.
Liz Allan comes across as a cold calculating threat more than she ever has before.
The scenes with Norman and his mystery guest was well done. Normally I hate that jumping back and forth in time to tell a story, but here it works. All possible hostages are showcased in a quick vignette to keep the reader guessing.
Pretty much everything felt natural and unforced, even the reminder that Emma, Stanley and Normie’s nanny, is a part of something more nefarious than she seems.
Even the onomatopoeia of the issue is a winner!
OOTI
On a scale of 1 (POW) to 10 (BLRKBQRKPQRBLNB), this rates a 10. It’s hard to pronounce and I love the way it looks like you can see right through the body. Sheer awesomeness. This is artist, letterer, and colorist working together in onomatopoeia bliss.
What Failed:
One thing. Just one thing. I said almost everything felt like it flowed naturally. There was one thing that was forced and it clashes as violently to the rest of the comic as Princess Leia’s zombie-space walk did in The Last Jedi.
Mary Jane.
I’ve already hashed this over in the last review, so I won’t do anything more here than to say I don’t care if they don’t put them together. Just stop fighting the fans. If MJ and Peter didn’t work, you wouldn’t have to shove it down the reader’s throat. The writing would show it.
Analysis:
I’m pretty psyched for this story now. If Slott can continue to write Norman like this, then we have the potential of seeing a story, even though it is a short arc, that rivals the way Slott writes Otto. Norman doesn’t have Spider-Man’s identity given to him – he deduces it. He appears both in control and insane simultaneously. He quickly dispatches the Goblin King in a manner that is as quick and insulting to the character as Phil Urich’s Slott introduction was when he effortlessly decapitates the Hobgoblin. All the time Norman talks to his mystery victim, I was trying to figure out who it was. Despite the juxtaposition hint by showing MJ immediately after revealing that Norman has someone who knows Spider-Man well, I was more than certain that she was not the individual that Norman was eating rats to impress. I was sold on it being Harry Osborn mainly because I wasn’t sold on the fact that the mystery victim knew Spidey’s identity until near the end. The JJJ reveal was not disappointing. Damn the symbiotes – full speed ahead! I’m interested in this arc now!
Of course, hanging over it all is the specter of a weak finish as we’ve seen with other great build ups like Spider-Verse.
We also have a few more things to add to our checklist as Slott takes care of business on his way out.
- One more screw you to the MJ fans – check!
- Get rid of his Phil Urich goblin creation before anyone else can – check!
Extra Credit:
Extra credit goes to all of you who check out the Cobwebs post THIS FRIDAY and vote in the first ever Crawlspace March Madness bracket. Thirty-two Spider-Man suits worn by the 616 Peter Parker will enter the big dance, only one will be voted as the site favorite. My vote’s going to Amazing Bag Man, but don’t let that influence YOUR vote! See you there in three days!
Final Grade:
This is the most difficult to grade comic that has come my way since BD put me on this title. On the one hand, this is very well written. I would give most of this comic an A+. I am intrigued. On the other hand, the F of the MJ snub is too big to ignore. It’s like I have this perfect delicious steak on my plate, but there is a cockroach perched on one end. I mourn the loss of the steak, but I can’t enjoy it. So how do you average that together? Does it deserve an A? No. Is it an F? No.
C+
Your Turn:
What grade do YOU give it?
Feel free to elaborate in the comments section below.
What’s Next?
GO DOWN SWINGING Part 2
- Dan Slott’s final SPIDER-MAN story continues!
- The GREEN GOBLIN HAS RETURNED – and he’s exacting his ultimate revenge not only on SPIDER-MAN, but on everyone the wall-crawler loves!
- Norman Osborn’s offering NO QUARTER, an ultimatum that threatens to finish PETER PARKER once and for all!
‘Nuff Said!
Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts
Spotify
Pandora
Amazon Music
iHeartRadio
Podbean
Amazon Alexa
Player.fm
Listen Notes
Stitcher
I’m just going to point out you can apparently vote multiple times. I’m wondering if those A grades belong to a NYC IP address….
@ Joshua Nelson – “I actually agree with your grade on this one.” ACTUALLY? 🙂
@ Mohammed – “So Mark, as always your reviews are top notch.” You’re check’s in the mail!
@ Chi-Town Spidey – I agree. It made it all the more frustrating that Slott shows that he could write a normal relationship between the two.
@ Chase the Blues Away – I laughed at the bad joke! Valid points – all of them. A lot of forced scenes because plot demands it. I didn’t feel it was as offensive this issue as in others.
@ Evan – SKRUTCH! Let me ask you this – do you now read the comic with an eye for which onomatopoeia will be showcased?
@ Enigma_2099 – I think he showed he does with the Superior Foes of Spider-Man. Spidey might not have been a major player in it, but the feel of the universe was good. I think there is still a resentment in the industry against Peter David for not “earning” his spot the way the others did. I love me a good Peter David Spidey story. I think they finally have his run on PPTSSM on Marvel Unlimited, so pull those bad boys up and enjoy some good comics!
@ Michael – I am hoping he keeps this up! I am also excited for the new guy. Give it a shot! Sounds like you and I had the same take on this issue.
@ Know-it-All Vic – the art compared to last issue was certainly a huge plus. That last issue! Ugh! I’m giving Norman a pass on his normal characterization because of the symbiote. I thought Slott did a good job trying to merge the two distinct personalities into one.
@
So I did a little math (but keep in mind, I am an English teacher, so no promises) and the average of all of our grades as of Saturday morning is B+. So I’m putting that in as the official Crawlspace Reader grade! Thanks for voting, guys!
Judging by all the comments here, it seems that the majority of you liked the comic, with the exception of the MJ scenes. So it was all just a matter of how much did those scene bother you. The 15 A votes say that most of you were able to get past that better than I was, which I am glad of. We read comics to enjoy them and have fun!
A couple of you mentioned the end of Slott’s run and a fear/excitement for the new run. I’m excited to get some fresh takes on Spider-Man. I think Slott has his good moments and his bad moments. Spencer will certainly have a similar mix. One thing that I don’t consider much in my reviews is the art, mainly because I am NOT an artist, so I don’t know much about critiquing it, but Immomen has done a fabulous job and the new guy, if I’m not mistaken, is the guy who draws Invincible. I like Invincible, so I’m curious to see how that plays out in a Spider-Man book. Of course he may just change his style of art to suit the character, so who knows? It’s like a present we can’t open yet!
Now that the MJ snub is out of the way, maybe the rest of these issues will be like the rest of this one. Wouldn’t that be a blast!
I agree with Mark’s C+ grade, but probably not for the same reasons.
.
I thought the art team really stood out in this issue (I don’t know if I’m viewing it in relation to the previous 2, though that could be a factor), with Immonen rendering some great clothing (seriously, look at Jameson’s entire outfit on the two pages he appears. It looks so natural!) and even the characters are given an extra level o detail here.
.
But aside from that, I hated MJ’s pages. As pointed out here in the comments, it contradicts the previuos issue and her own character. I also disliked Norman’s monologue/dialogue with Jameson. He’s not prone to cracking jokes like that, he’s a cold, calculating bastard. I could give it a pass because of the Carnage symbiot, but their interactions in the previous issues also contradict this.
.
Anyway, I’m glad Ryan Ottley is coming on board, but I’m really sad Immonen /vonGrawbadger/Gracia will be gone. Guess I’ll re-read their runs on Star Wars (albeit with Ponsor replacing Gracia), X-Men and Sam Wilson’s Cap title until their next gig is announced.
Actually, I loved the story. Slott is going out with a bang! MJ was handled badly, but it was the only bad thing in the entire story. IMO.
Will give Spencer a try but am leaning toward dropping the book after Slott leaves. Not a huge fan of Spectacular…
I mean doesn’t Peter David want a crack at this book again? And I actually trust him to try and fix things… and if he didn’t, we’d know it was because of Marvel, not him.
I know, I’m not even talking about Dan Slott. It’s almost like I don’t give a d*** about him.
… does Nick Spencer even CARE about Spider-Man?
Regarding Mary Jane’s characterization, I just keep thinking of the first issue of Peter’s return after Superior Spider-man, when he was wearing a web diaper, and Mary Jane slammed the laptop on which she was viewing the footage and said, “Idiot.” It was all done for a gag. And now this happened. It’s inconsistent and tears at my heart with a SKRUTCH! (Wow! Onomatopoeia to rival BLRKBQRKPQRBLNB!)
This issue exemplifies why Dan Slott is just a, well, terrible writer who doesn’t understand how story works. He thinks he does, but his work is nothing but plot. And plot isn’t story.
Dan has no idea what drives these characters or their world. Every scene on the page is calculated to drive forward Dan’s plot without any care as to whether the scene has internal logic or is true to the characters.
Take the Peter/MJ scene (please! Sorry, couldn’t resist the very old joke). The Peter/MJ interaction starts in the previous issue. They are seen together by Liz Allen, Flash Thompson, Peter’s co-worker, and all the background extras. MJ tells Peter’s co-worker she will get Peter home. In other words, the entire tech community, the media, and presumably not a few superhero types doing covert surveillance of Alchemax’s demonstration saw Peter and MJ acting friendly.
Cut to PETER, in CIVILIAN CLOTHES, arriving at MJ’s apartment. MJ says no one saw him, but c’mon MJ, are we supposed to believe you are surveilling all the residents of your building plus the street?! There’s no way MJ knows this. No, the only reason why Peter arrives in civilian clothes is so Slott can get his troll on by plagiarizing his own scene in SS #2, when MJ sees the Spider-Man costume under SpOck’s civilian clothes.
MJ then proceeds to give reason #46750872975368 why she can’t be with Peter, a reason that is not rooted in a) her character or b) her work with Stark, and bears no resemblance to any other reason Slott previously put into his action figure MJ’s mouth. Not to mention, Peter’s sense of responsibility was quite often cited as one of the reasons why MJ loved him so much, back in the non-hellish continuity.
MJ then asks Peter to leave as SPIDER-MAN, claiming it would make her life less complicated – even though everyone at Alchemax saw them together, she just told Peter’s co-worker in the directly preceding issue that she and Peter needed to catch up, and anyone who saw Peter Parker entering MJ’s apartment and Spider-Man leaving would easily be able to put two and two together. And indeed, that’s what CarNorman does, because, no, MJ, it DOESN’T make sense for Spider-Man to leave your apartment through a window in plain sight, regardless of your work for Stark.
The whole scene is contrived and whoilly absent of anything resembling story logic. It’s so creaky, you can hear the gears in Dan Slott’s head grind ever so slowly as he struggled to come up with it. It’s only there to a) echo the scene in Superior – you know, the one followed by SpOck breaking up with MJ for good, something Peter Parker admired because he was just too weak to do it – and b) transparently troll the audience into thinking CarNorman is holding MJ when, SURPRISE! it’s JJJ! Gotcha!, even though the audience gave Slott the benefit of doubting he would be THAT obvious and didn’t fall for it.
Then there’s Peter’s conversation with the purse snatcher, which is plagiarized from Spider-Gwen and her relationship with the Bodega Bandit, but that’s another issue. CarNorman is Insane Cacking Villain Stereotype 101, and would JJJ REALLY be that stupid? (and speaking of Gwen: hey, Norman, you have other children out there. Just sayin’).
Anyway, as bad as Slott’s writing is, this review is excellent. And I appreciate the ability to assign our own grade!
I like this grading scale, Mark! Nice review!
It was an average issue and the Peter/MJ felt forced, but the one page of them kissing and showing how things SHOULD be did make me smile and I like that Peter was thinking about her even when doing his hero-thing. I don’t like how MJ actions counter act her other actions in the past. Character is all wrong.
I do agree with your grade Mark, it’s definitely average. but I can’t shake the feeling that there’s something more behind the last panel of Mary Jane.
Could it be I just might be seeing something that not there, possibly . but what got me what her facial expression the eyes and the tone of the dialogue it felt sad, plus she called him “Tiger” which I believe has been a while since she’s done that.
So if you’ll allow me to wildly speculate here, I would like to think that she does want to be with him, but something else is keeping her from doing so, I would like to think that it has something to do with the Mephisto deal and that she actually does remember it and everything she’s done, to separate from him, has been in order to keep him happy and Aunt May safe, even though she knows she would be happy with him and him with her. and if they did get back together it would negate the deal.
So as I said, wildly speculate.
So Mark, as always your reviews are top notch.
I actually agree with your grade on this one. But to be honest, I have other gripes with this comic besides the Mary Jane scene (though that’s definitely the biggest one).
I feel like Dan Slott is trying too hard to make Norman Osborn sound crazy because his dialogue comes off as very cartoon-ish (especially the opening scene with him talking about the gag). And unfortunately, every scene that didn’t involve Norman was pretty dull to me.