Fear has a new name, folks! Could the name “Centidemon” finally become cannon? Will our mystery villain reveal his face? Will we get more solid clues to help us figure out the true identity of the bandaged figure that has haunted this whole run since issue #1? Will Mysterio finally find the fulfillment he longs for? Well, stop sitting around asking questions! READ THIS COMIC – then, of course, web your way back to this review and add your comments!
We’ve been waiting for this one – a full issue devoted to the mysterious Centidemon! I expected this issue to be what we were going to get in the landmark issue #25!
Credit Where Credit Is Due
Story Title: One-on-One
Writer: Nick Spencer
Penciler: Ryan Ottley
Inkers: Cliff Rathburn and Mark Morales
Colorist: Nathan Fairbairn
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramanga
Cover Artists: Ryan Ottley and Nathan Fairbairn
Asst. Editor: Kathleen Wisneki
Editor: Nick Lowe
Published: June 26, 2019
Remedial ASM 101
A mysterious bandaged figure has been meddling in the background of Spider-Man’s story for a while now. His control of centipedes seems the least of his powers and he strikes fear into many of Spider-Man’s foes, including the Kingpin. Spider-Man doesn’t know this villain…or does he?
The Story – Pay Attention, This Will Be on the Test
Spider-Man and Mary Jane spend the evening together romantically; however, a guard runs them off. Peter has been off ever since Kraven’s final hunt and Mary Jane is concerned about him. Mysterio is in Ravencroft, Marvel’s Arkham, being treated by Dr. Winhorst. Winhorst, however, has disappeared and Mysterio’s new doctor does not believe his story of a creature from hell. The doctor convinces Mysterio that he had duped himself with the whole death story, until a scary voice interrupts them followed by a shower of rats and centipedes.
The doctor takes off and Mysterio faces his demon, who brutally kills him (with some very nice onomatopoeias!) to send a message to Spider-Man, who is seeing the whole thing in his head.
Oh, and there is a back up story that features a Carnage-pigeon.
What Passed
The suspense – I love reading. I teach books for a living! Rarely do I actually get moved by a story anymore, though. Not so with this one. I was on edge reading this. I think it helped that I was reading it online in this case so I was going panel by panel.
OOTI (Onomatopoeia of the Issue)
On a scale of 1 (POW) to 10 (BLRKBQRKPQRBLNB), SLITCH SLATCH rates an 8.5. It pairs so well with Ottley’s love of bodily fluids.
What Failed
Not a fail, really, but I am not a fan of seeing Mysterio’s face through his helmet.
Analysis
Poor Mysterio – The unnamed doctor at Ravencroft is a device to get Mysterio talking about his past. I do love that the doctor allows Mysterio to remain in costume! Again Spencer shows off his understanding of continuity by referencing the highlights of his career – ASM #67 where Spider-Man believes he has shrunk while a giant Mysterio hunts him down in a fairground and Webspinners #1-3 where he makes JJJ believe he is in hell. The doctor wants to focus on the events of Daredevil #7 where Mysterio died. There are some questions and comments to make about the Ravencroft scene. One, Ottley takes great pains to keep the face of the unnamed psychiatrist’s face hidden at first, so much so that I thought for a while that the psychiatrist may be a character that we knew about. Alas, that wasn’t the case. We do get a little tidbit that might end up being more. The unnamed doctor mentions Mysterio’s previous doctor, a Dr. Winhorst, who doesn’t have a previous appearance anywhere in the Marvel Universe. It seems this man has disappeared. There doesn’t seem to be any reason to include this unless it is going to play a part later down the road. A third point of interest is the Dracula similarities here. As Dracula comes into England, he makes himself known in dreams and uses an inmate in an insane asylum named Renfield. Like Mysterio, Renfield tells people of this villain, but no one believes him and finally Dracula comes, after using Renfield for what he needs, and snaps Renfield’s neck. I really want to know if Spencer has Dr. Seward in mind for our nameless doctor that cuts and runs when it turns out Mysterio’s nightmares are true. I might be reading too much into that, but thought I would share it all the same.
Then there is the death of Mysterio. There will be some that see this as a senseless death of a Ditko era villain in order to make a bad guy seem tough. However, I’m not sure I believe he is dead for three main reasons:
- Spencer seems to be respectful of past continuity. I do not believe he would throw away a major bad villain without more of an umph. Stromm and Iguana are one thing, but Mysterio is entirely something else.
- There is a new movie coming out with Mysterio in top billing. There is NO WAY the editor would let him kill off Mysterio right now.
- Centidemon’s whole introduction was centered around bringing Mysterio back from the dead. In that first issue, he stated he brought Mysterio back for a purpose. It is very doubtful that this purpose was to kill him in Peter’s dream. I’m positive we’ll be seeing Mysterio again sometime soon.
Peter’s Relationship with Mary Jane – The scene with the two of them having a romantic date night was a nice touch. It is valuable panel time, but I believe well used. We need to see that Peter and MJ enjoy each other’s company. They can be romantic and they can joke. This gives us something to fear losing for our characters. I also, not having ever been to New York, have never seen the Stairway to Nowhere, which is where they are hanging out (literally). This architectural feature costs $150 million to build and houses 2,500 steps. I also cannot say enough about how glad I am that Spencer is writing MJ as someone who isn’t getting upset over Peter’s distant behavior. She’s there for him. Likewise, I’m glad Peter’s not giving her the worn out speech of her being in danger just being in his life.
OK, so this is the last time I can use the name Centidemon since Spencer practically said it was a stupid nickname.
So from this point on, I’m on board with calling our mysterious bandaged villain:
We really get a lot of clues in this issue of who this might be.
- Male – first time we get a reference that it is a male gender in the actual comic, though marketing has been referring to Kindred as “he” for a while now.
- Kindred is a “prisoner of hell” who climbed the ranks. So it is now for sure someone already dead. This would have to be someone who died before Mysterio in 1999. Knowing that he is a demon of sorts, this explains all his magical powers.
- Kindred’s insistence that Mysterio say his name reinforces what has been set up before – we know this person. The person’s name is important. The bandages are there probably to prevent us from seeing who this person is.
- “I know what’s it’s like to have a secret” suggests someone who may have had a prior secret identity, or someone who knew of Peter’s secret and couldn’t tell anyone. The secret had a devastating effect on him.
- Wants Peter to face the truth of what he did.
- Says, “Just me and you like it should have been all along.” This means it HAS to be someone very important to Peter’s life, not just Spider-Man’s life.
- The name kindred tells us that this is someone who is either family, or someone like family. The word means both.
So who is either family, or considered family to Peter/Spider-Man?
- Uncle Ben – doubtful that Spencer is going to tank his near perfect run by turning this icon into a villain. Dramatic? Satisfying? Not at all. Crawlspace Odds – 50%
- Richard Parker – certainly kept a secret, but there is no real reason for him to hate Peter. Crawlspace Odds – 20%
- Will Fitzpatrick – Peter’s grandfather. Too obscure and no reason to hate his grandson. Crawlspace Odds – 0.001%
- JJJ Sr. – Not dead long enough Crawlspace Odds – 5%
- JJJ Jr. – Not dead Crawlspace Odds – 1%
- Ben Reilly – well, dead many times, but doesn’t fit this theme. Crawlspace Odds – 10%
- Another clone – certainly could fit the connection to Peter, but it would have to be a until not unmentioned clone. Spencer is building this up way too much for it to be some person we have not seen before. Crawlspace Odds – 30%
- Spidercide – fits the timeline and the obsession with Peter, but one would have to ask why would anyone bring him back? Crawlspace Odds – 35%
- Peter Parker from alternate universe – possibly, but it feels like this is someone from our own universe that we should know. Crawlspace Odds – 50%
- Flash Thompson – not dead long enough Crawlspace Odds – 5%
- Fantastic Four – not dead Crawlspace Odds – 0.00000000000001%
- Ned Leeds – I wouldn’t say that their relationship warrants the “Kindred” name. Crawlspace Odds – 1.5%
There is only one other “family” member that I can remotely think of that would fit here. I’ve said it before on the podcast, but here is the official reveal:
CRAWLSPACE EXCLUSIVE!
Harry Osborn – Peter’s friend who is as close as a brother. Knows what it is like to live with a secret. Knows firsthand what Peter’s double life can do to a person. Knows what it is like to live in someone else’s shadow. Died before 1999. Has a reason to not want to see MJ harmed. Has a reason to have a bit of disrespect for lesser villains. OK, I know that Harry is still alive, but is he? He magically returns after One More Day because Mysterio had actually faked his death. Or did he? Is this the use Kindred had for Mysterio? The Harry we’ve seen since then is Kindred biding his time.
Plus, Mysterio tells us! As you can see with a little imaging enhancement (the same type used on cop shows to enhance pixelated surveillance video.
Crawlspace Odds – 99%
Don’t hold back for telling me how stupid I must be to float this theory out there (you sure didn’t when I defended MCU Spidey) or marvel at my astute detective skills.
Extra Credit
Did I miss any family member or someone that would be considered Peter’s family to you? Also, if you want to convince me that I should be more excited by carnage-pigeon, then please convince me!
Final Grade
I so completely loved this comic. Spencer gives out clues at a good pace, the suspense had me on the edge of my seat, and my only negative is that I am worried the reveal will not live up to this hype.
A+
Your Turn
What grade do YOU give it?
What’s Next?
Year two of Nick Spencer, Ryan Ottley and Humberto Ramos’ run on ASM begins here!
- In the giant-sized main story, Spider-Man and Mary Jane find themselves in an INCREDIBLY tough situation, thanks to Electro. Can Spidey save MJ? CAN MJ SAVE SPIDEY?
- What is Mysterio cooking, and what does it have to do with the bandaged villain who has been on the periphery since #1?!
- All this, plus a story by Dan Hipp (TEEN TITANS GO! Art Director), internet sensation Keaton Patti and MORE!
So I assume this is a flashback issue or we are going to see Mysterio back from the dead sooner than we thought. Guest writers… Let’s hope this isn’t a $10 issue because Brad doesn’t pay extra for reviews of more expensive comics.
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!
‘Nuff Said!
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@Benjamin James Boyko – It’s never too late to join the party! I’m not feeling the Aunt May guess, but with comics, you never know! Just for Nik, I’ll give you Crawlspace odds on Aunt May at 7.1%.
I am wondering if any of this will be tied into May’s sickness. Do you think she will survive this or is this a nod to the old Aunt May that was always in poor health?
@Nik – I still don’t think it is Ned Leeds, but you make some great points. I’m betting that he just brought back the Ned Leeds clone to kill him start off the Hunted arc, but you might be right, so I’ll officially raise the Crawlspace odds on him to, say, 7%. 🙂 If you are correct, though, I will sing your praises on my review post!
Little late to the party, but I’ve got a nasty theory. It probably doesn’t add up…but I’m thinking maybe Aunt May. Spencer hasn’t been shying away from OMD, and other satellite titles have flirted with Mephisto stuff as well. What if instead of reviving May, Mephisto let her die and replaced her with a copy?
Love your breakdown… except for your extreme underestimation of Ned Leeds. But since Uncle Ben is your 50% I’m going to assume that this list is intended to be flipped.
Ned’s been getting some big name recognition in the MCU (even though he’s really just Ganke), and he even had a “why is that even in here” moment back when his clone died on the Rhino issues. For the most part Spencer’s run has been a course correction from Slott’s run, so it’s extremely suspect to me that he would include this moment from what is arguably the least entertaining story from Slott’s run, out of everyone it could have been. Spencer’s doing what good writers do, and he’s seeding it out.
Aside from that, if there’s anyone that would have motivation to seek revenge on Spider-Man, I would say that a guy who was tortured and killed after being made the patsy for one of Spider-Man’s greatest enemies at the time is a pretty convincing motivation. And his relationship to Kingpin is there vis a vis the Hobgoblin’s interactions with him. There’s definitely enough in those issues to suggest that Leeds may have been working with Hobgoblin for a time (Hobgoblin selling Rose’s identity for information that helped Leeds’ story), and I’m sure Spencer’s picked up on that. Heck, Kingpin was even the man who broke the news to Spider-Man that Leeds had been killed! There’s plenty of potential for Leeds to have gotten information that threatened Fisk, causing him to retaliate and participate in the cover up.
Is he close enough to be earn the title “kindred?” Sure. He was well within both Peter and Spider-Man’s sphere of influence, and even married Pete’s first girlfriend. He’s been out of the picture long enough for him to have built up a mythology in retrospect, and, I can’t stress this enough, Ned Leeds is currently a character that has massive name recognition thanks in no small pat to the recent films, in which he has definitely earned the status of “kindred” in the minds of millions of viewers.
I’m not only following the breadcrumbs, I’m following the zeitgeist, and they’re leading me to one conclusion: The Kindred is….
Neeeedddddd Leeeeedddssss
I rest my case!
@ EVERYONE – I guess it could have just been a dream, but I think we saw too much of Mysterio’s interview before the entrance of Kindred to be just what Peter saw. As far as “Kindred” meaning “similar in kind” or “kindred spirits”, that’s what I mean by “like” family. Torch and Spider-Man are kindred spirits. They are “like” brothers. I just didn’t do a good job expressing that. I don’t think Bart has that closeness with Peter to pull this off (could be wrong and frequently am). Danny, you win the contrarian award! I’m proud of you for sticking to your guns. Adam, the bowing to Kingpin throws me for a loop too. I imagine that ANY demon that rose through the ranks of hell with centipedes that act like Doc Ock arms would get Kingpin’s attention, so I’m betting that it might just be that. However, I’m not satisfied with that assumption. That’s the clue that has been dogging me from the get go. Alex, thanks for being such a supporter! I like the way you tied in Spencer’s love for JMD to add extra umph to the argument. I’m more solidly into the Harry camp now than ever. Sure, we have to do some stretching to explain that he is still around and as far as his redemption arc goes, I’m willing to believe it was not enough of a death bed confession to escape his punishment in hell. Once there, he gets bitter over how he is suffering untold torments while Pete gets to live a full life. As far as Judas Traveller, I just don’t have enough knowledge of him. I need to do some research there.
@Jack Brooks
I actually think the idea the Harry we’ve known since OMD started not being the real one makes too much sense. He’s not behaved much like the real Harry would after all. Some ways to explain it. (1) He is a clone, plain and simple, but one with imperfect memories. (2) He’s a shapeshifter who simply THINKS he’s Harry. Remember this sort of already happened. Back in Mackie and Byrne’s run they revealed Green Goblin V initially as Harry but it was actually a random shapeshifter. (3) An advanced LMD. Not only have those appeared in recent Marvel history going back to at least Original Sin but we also had a pair running around in the 1990s pretending to be Peter’s parents. And who was behind that? The Chameleon of course…but secretly working for…Harry! When was this all revealed? In a story written by J.M. DeMatteis. Who is a huge DeMatteis fan? Nick Spencer, who did a whole arc dedicated to his most famous story then at the end unveiled…the Chameleon! Whilst Harry and Kingpin have never crossed paths directly, Kingpin did threaten Gwen, whom Harry loved and tried to get Norman Osborn assassinated. Kindred can seemingly observe Peter’s life and other people’s too without being detected, so if he was Harry he might’ve been watching or else found this stuff out after the fact. You could also imagine if it’s Harry and he genuinely cares for Aunt May and MJ as he did in DeMatteis’ run then knowing Kingpin tried to have them killed, succeeding in shooting May, might’ve been motivation for him to humiliate Fisk. I dunno if I’d even WANT Kindred to be Harry but he is a great candidate.
So the current living Harry Osborn was living a double life? He was secretly Kindred all this time? That seems hard to fit with Harry’s thoughts and actions going all the way back to “New Ways to Die”, his semi-reconciliation with Liz, his care for baby Stanley, etc. I don’t think those two lines were pixilated; they look like scribbles to me. And when or why would Wilson Fisk ever have telephoned Harry in their past? I’m casting a tentative vote for Judas Traveler.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judas_Traveller
Another element in support of Harry. Targeting Robot Master. His Dad’s old partner turned would-be-assassin, the guy who created the formula that ultimately killed him. Remember in the Clone Saga ‘Gaunt’, later revealed as Robot Master, was intended to be Harry Osborn too.
Alternate guesses for Kindred.
Some aspect of Aunt May. Kindred has only maliciously targeted villains, including making Kingpin bow to her. Of course Kingpin got her shot. Kindred seems to want to be with Peter as Aunt May would want to. In making the deal Peter not only sold out his values but also disobeyed May’s wishes to be allowed to die, that’s ‘something he did’. Kindred also seems to have a soft spot for MJ who was always May’s fav.
Judas Traveller. Another JMD character. Infamous so Spencer would know about him. Has a powerset which would enable him to do everything Kindred has done thus far. Was initially implied to have divine connections.
Pre-OMD Peter Parker warped by Hell.
Your Harry guess has a lot of merit to it. And here is another metatextual piece of evidence to help support it. We know Spencer loves DeMatteis’ work.
Even putting aside how Hunted is a love letter to the most famous JMD story ever, his run is lousy with either references to JMD’s work or involving tropes from them. His Gibbon issue references his partnership with the Grizzly from JMD’ second Spec run. His comedic and pseudo sympathetic handling of villains like Boomerang and the Superior Foes recalls JMD’s work too, most famously the Legion of Losers issue he did; JMD after all CREATED White Rabbit who will be appearing in upcoming issues. In fact Black Ant and Taskmaster are a comedic villain double act which is what Gibbon and Grizzly were too. His exploration of identity with the Lizard and Spider-Man is a very DeMatteis manoeuvre even if he does it a little differently.
This guy loves DeMatteis is what I’m saying and what is one of JMD’s most famous contributions to Spidey lore? Harry’s descent into darkness concluding with his tragic death, considered a classic from that point onwards.
Mark the Kindred name could also be implying a ‘Kindred spirit’. You could take that literally as in he is dead so a spirit. Or you could take it to mean he is someone like Spider-Man or feels he is like Spider-Man. Peter and Matt Murdock have been referred to as kindred spirits even though they aren’t related nor as close as family.
Also Mysterio’s psychiatrist in this issue bore a resemblance (from what we could see) to Ludwig Rinehart, a Mysterio alias that debuted back in the original ASM #24 by Lee and Ditko. It might be a reference and nothing else or it could be another important clue, possibly Mysterio didn’t create the alias wholecloth but rather Rinehart was a real person (this person) who’s identity Beck appropriated.
If i was forced to pick someone, i would have to agree with you on Harry Osborn, but there are three problems with Harry… Assuming he really died in spectacular 200 and the current Harry is an illusion or whatever… That Harry repented and saved Pete at the end, so would he really be in Hell? Is Harry the type to raise through the ranks of hell? And i feel like the bowing to the Kingpin is an important clue, like they might have a history, which doesn’t fit Harry either, as far as i know…but then, i can’t figure out anyone else who fits the clues so what do I know? As for Bart Hamilton, i don’t know if he had enough of a personal gripe with Peter specifically to fit.
I’m still gonna say it’s Gwen Stacy because I enjoy being bewilderingly contrarian.
Harry seems like a good guess. What about Bart Hamilton though?
Oddly, I read it as a dream the Kindred was showing Peter, hence Mysterio in costume. That way he’s not really dead, it’s a vision to get under Peter’s skin in his nightmare like the MJ visions. Could be mistaken, i only managed to read it quickly before travelling so I’ll revisit more carefully when I get home.
Good review, solid analysis.
With the name though, are you sure it has to be family? The other meaning is “something similar in kind” so it could be someone who would have a Kindred spirit with peter and is dead, which opens it up some. Of course I thought it was going to be Gwen so what do I know? 😉