Alford Notes: ASM #20/821

We have a potential of a Black Ant and Spider-Man Team Up!  Plus, an antsy Kraven clone! Double Plus Bob’s back!  That’s all I need to open this issue!  What are you waiting for?  Let’s jump on in!

 

Credit Where Credit Is Due

Story Title: Hunted part 4

Writer: Nick Spencer

Penciler: Humberto Ramos

Inker: Victor Olazaba

Colorists: Edgar Delgado and Erick Arciniega

Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramanga

Cover Artist:  Humberto Ramos and Edgar Delgado

Designer: Anthony Gambino

Asst. Editor: Kathleen Wisneki

Editor: Nick Lowe

Published: April 24, 2019

 

Remedial ASM 101

Kraven had Arcade build a dome over Central Park using Hydra technology.  Taskmaster and Black ant rounded up most animal-themed villains and dumped them into the park so that rich big game hunters can pick them off safely with virtually controlled Kraven bots.  Spidey is in the park too thanks to Kraven 87 (Kraven’s clone son) and Black Cat and Lizard Clone Boy are also trapped.  Black Ant was betrayed by Taskmaster and now finds himself stuck as well and the Lizard has gotten himself caught on purpose in an attempt to find his son.  Yeah, that should get you caught up to speed.  Oh, and we’ve learned that Mary Jane should probably wash her hair more often.  Maybe with Raid.

The Story – Pay Attention, This Will Be on the Test

Black Ant explains the danger of killing a Kraven bot to Spidey, who is terribly suspicious of his good nature and desire to help.  Kraven87 continues to get impatience (violently so) and has lost faith in his father’s ability to live up to the Kravinof name.  Kraven stands there and takes 87’s verbal abuse stoically, or so it seems.  We do get a good shot his hands bleeding where he has gripped them so hard.  Black Cat is hindered by trying to keep Lizard Clone Boy safe, but either her good side or her maternal instincts are keeping her from ditching him and getting out of there.  This puts her on the wrong end of our friend Bob who isn’t satisfied with just killing the Iguana and she is really no match for the armored Kraven Bots.  However, when Bob realizes that Lizard Clone Boy is just that – a boy, he refuses to continue the hunt.  He did not sign up for killing kids.  However, much to his dismay, he cannot seem to get the virtual googles off.  Lizard realizes that he is too late to save his boy just as Kraven87 enters and beats the living snot out of him.  Realizing that the Lizard cannot fight back, Kraven87 decides he will just kill Lizard Clone Boy in front of him.   Vulture and his Unimpressive Friends come in for the kill and Bob realizes that he can now feel everything that happens to the bot.  Black Ant reveals all of this to Spidey as it is happening and before Spidey can intervene, he finds himself surrounded by a mischief^* of cloned Vermin.

What Passed

Villain Love – So far we have had nothing to make us care for the rich hunters, but Bob, the same one who killed poor Iguana because he could not get a date in high school, shows us that he is human too.  Spencer does a great job making his villains at least partially relatable and this scene is no exception.  Sure these guys are willingly committing murder, but they have some scruples, or at least Bob does.  I have to say, I’m rooting for Bob to make it out of here alive!

The Fight Scene – We knew that the Lizard would be unable to fight back and I was thinking that Kraven87, when he found out about the chip, would break it so that they could probably settle matters, but man, this beat down is brutal and Kraven87’s reaction to the chip is even more so!  Plus, I’ll take a couple of panels showing a good fight scene any day!

 

 

OOTI (Onomatopoeia of the Issue)

On a scale of 1 (POW) to 10 (BLRKBQRKPQRBLNB), KRASH rates a 2.  I gave it an bonus point for spelling it krazy.  This is it.  The only onomatopoeia in the issue.  I think it is clear to see that we can do better….

 

What Failed

Lack of Spidey – I enjoyed watching Bob and Black Cat fight.  I enjoyed Kraven87 trying to get past his patience issues.  I would have rather seen Spidey doing something while he and Black Ant were talking rather than just seeing them there on the branch talking.  What is more of an disappointment is that Black Ant is wasted on just exposition.

The Black Suit – OK, I don’t know if this belongs in the ‘What Failed’ category, but some of the panels that showed Spidey in the black  suit felt off.  Some of the proportions were reminiscent of Mary Jane’s embiggened ostrich dance a few issues ago.  Plus, the black suit is wrinkly.

Which makes some sense, I guess, since it is not his suit, really.  Just something Kraven87 dressed him in (still creeped out about that) and who knows where he got it (could it be the one that Kraven wore in the Last Hunt – hopefully washed, but I’m going out on a limb and saying that washing the suit was probably not high on Kraven’s to do list).

Analysis

Kraven’s Motivation – We finally get a bit more of Kraven’s overall plan here.  As Black Ant tells us, Kraven wants to show the hunters “what being an apex predator really means.”  What is most interesting about this plan is that Black Ant knows this, but Kraven87 is not privy to that information.  That tells us that there is still more yet to this whole deal.  Why bring in his clone, if it is just going to play out in this way?  Why involve Spider-Man?  So this is just part of the plan.  Kraven87 losing it here also seems part of what Kraven wants, obviously to spur him into action, but what he wants from 87 is still yet to be seen.  If he wanted 87 to kill Spider-Man, he would just say to go and do that.  In fact, if he wanted 87 to do anything, it seems all he needs to do is to just tell him.  It is this holding back that is sending junior off the deep end, one that lands hard on the Lizard.

 

Speaking of, last post I floated out the idea that the Vulture was in on this whole thing and that the helmet he was holding was a plant.  While I was wary of the lack of cooperation Kraven and Vulture has had in the past, it did seem that Vulture’s move to take control of the villains was part of the bigger picture.  I also thought Black Ant was stopping Spidey because he knew Spidey would not want to kill a person.  So I’m sure BD will be opening a Crawlspace store soon where you can order a Mark Was Right shirt.  I took the liberty of making up a mock one just to let you see how cool you would look wearing it.

 

Extra Credit

Throw out your theories on how this ends.  What is Kraven’s ultimate end goal?  How does Spidey get out of a dome that is ungetoutable?^**

Final Grade

Despite the drawbacks and the lack of Spidey action, I am really enjoying this story.  I want to know what happens to Bob.  I want to know how Kraven and Kraven87 work things out (or fight it out).  I want to see what Black Ant does next.  Any story that makes me want more like this deserves an

A

Your Turn

What grade do YOU give it?

 

What’s Next?

What’s left of the animal villains are united under THE VULTURE! While that animal army are going up against the Hunter-Bots, Spidey is too tied up with Kraven to do anything. Things have spiraled FAR out of Spider-Man’s control as the most harrowing story of 2019 races to its conclusion!

 

Nick Lowe has asked people to let the Spider office know how they are doing by sending an email to spideyoffice@marvel.com and to make sure you mark it “OK to print”.  If you get published, make sure to draw our attention to it!

 

*A group of rats is called a mischief of rats, so we can use it for a group of cloned Vermin, I would think.

**It’s a word!  Trust me, I’m an English teacher!

 

 

 

 

‘Nuff Said!