Wow! I mean… this issue, WOW! Guys, there is no way I can break down this issue in a 50 word blurb, but WOW! I mean, nothing happens, BUT SO MUCH HAPPENS. OK, enough of this. Just read the issue and then IMMEDIATELY come here to read my analysis and discuss it with me! I’M WAITING!
Credit Where Credit Is Due
Story Title: Sins Rising Part Four
Writer: Nick Spencer
Penciler: Marcelo Ferreira
Inker: Roberto Poggi
Colorist: David Curiel
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramanga
Cover Artist: Mark Bagley, John Dell, and Jason Keith
Asst. Editor: Kathleen Wisneki
Editor: Nick Lowe
Published: Sept. 9, 2020
Remedial ASM 101
Kindred has resurrected Sin-Eater who is now shooting criminals, stealing their powers, and killing them, but they come back to life cleansed of their sins and powerless. He just gave Spidey a butt whoopin’ that would make George cry during Friday Night Fights. He and all of his new followers are now after Norman Osborn.
The Story – Pay Attention, This Will Be on the Test
Spidey fights Sin-Eater followers with Miles Morales. Miles says, “Let Norman eat Sin-Eater’s shotgun.” Spidey says, “Nope.” Spidey talks to Ghost Spider about Gwen. Ghosty says, “You know I’m not her, right?” Spidey talks to Madame Webb who says, “There is a great disturbance in the web of life!” OK, not really, but that’s what she usually says. Now she just points out that it wouldn’t be so bad if Spidey just Norman eat Sin-Eater’s Shotgun. But Spidey decides to swing in a help out Norman anyway. The new Spider-Squad (or Amazing Friends or Spectacular Six or whatever you want to call them) consisting of all the spider-heroes decide to stop Spider-Man.
OK, I’m skipping my usual line up and jumping straight into –
Analysis
OK, this is a setup issue. I’ll give you that. And some readers will not get past that. I get it. Spencer has been tantalizing us with these plot threads for much too long. We should have been getting this around issue 30 or before. OK. But when Spencer delivers, he delivers and this setup issue is HOW YOU DO IT. There is so much to unpack in what is going on here and if you read it too fast looking for action or something more eye-catching, you missed a bunch.
Spencer’s Commentary on Current Politics – I stay out of the politics on a regular basis. I don’t care which side you vote for and I don’t see why I would need to ram my side down your throat. So let’s get this one out of the way. Go back and read the first few panels again. I’m willing to bet that everyone who read them and picked up on his political sentiment felt that he was talking about the side opposite your stance. I’m here to tell you that he was talking about YOUR stance. Yep. Read it again. Your political side falls into that category too. We are not so different from each other as we would like to think (and those in power from both sides of the aisle would have us believe).
Sin Eater’s Followers – They’ve been given power, but we didn’t see how that manifests itself, exactly. I’m ok with the cult of Sin-Eater since that goes right along with Spencer’s flipping the character (before he was primarily Stan, now he’s primarily Sin-Eater; he had no real powers, now he has all the powers; he killed other, now they live; he was a loner, now he has a posse).
Now, I can believe a man can get bit by a spider and gain spider powers. I can believe that Sin-Eater can steal powers by shooting people with a demonic shotgun. I draw the line on my suspension of disbelief, however, when it comes to all of these cultists being able to find enough green Sin-Eater masks! I looked. You can’t find them in green, at least without the mouth hole. I found this and this, but neither are really Sin-Eater Green. However, what is even more disturbing to me than all these people getting green masks so easily is this squirrel mask I found:
I’m sure Neil will look at this say, “Oh! That’s such and such fandom! I watch it all the time!” because he’s just weird and disturbing like that. If you just have to have that mask, you can go here and get some squirrel stickers to boot.
Harry Osborn – Just one thin panel, but this panel COULD MEAN EVERYTHING. The panel is from Spectacular Spider-Man #200 and depicts the death of Harry in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.
The reason this one panel is much more than it seems is that Harry’s death was undone after One More Day. Peter’s life resets and Harry is alive with no explanation of his previous death. So, why is Spencer now referencing Harry’s death? If this were other writers, I might would entertain that they just don’t have a firm grasp on continuity, but Spencer’s understanding and refusal to ignore what has happened previously is a hallmark of his. And, of course, this reminder that Harry did die – even in this altered world – is yet another brick in the foundation of Harry is Kindred. I said it way before the big clues were dropped and I’ve seen scant to really dissuade me. I think the idea that it is Harry is less the mystery and the bigger reveal is WHY is it Harry and HOW is it Harry and WHAT does he want. The ONLY other possible explanation is that this panel is a red herring in an effort to lead us away from Kindred being Norman (the idea that Norman stayed dead while the Green Goblin persona came back). However, I don’t think the dialogue completely matches up to that, so I’m sticking with my Harry theory.
Miles Morales – I defaulted to Crawlspace Miles Morales expert Grant “Carnage Swarm” Alford for if Miles was written properly here. Grant’s response – “Can we get Spencer to write the Miles book as well?” Spencer does two things well here besides nailing each’s characterization – he gives Miles good moral points to make. Why should Peter risk his life to save Norman who is, to his core, a rotten person? We know from reading Spider-Man all this time that Peter is not going to do it, but it is refreshing that there is someone bringing up a good point. When is it OK for the hero to say, “I’ve responsibilities to my family, myself, other people in need so it will be OK for me to sit this ONE out”?
The other good thing done here was Peter’s response to Miles. He treats him like an equal. We’ve had enough of the “You’re a kid, I can’t let you endanger yourself!” Peter recognizes Miles as a legitimate hero. He gives Miles the boost and credit that he would have liked to have had. He’s being a good role model here. This is so much better than a Peter fighting a Tony so that they can get the attention of a teenager (as seen previously in these pages). Miles’ response is classic!
Gwen – This is the clunky part. It didn’t have to be. If Gwen swung in, gave her, “Looks like you’ve seen a ghost line,” and then lets us know that she’s here because Miles texted her, then OK. Even with Peter wanting to ask her a Gwen question – still creepy – but, hey, she’s there and he’s stressed and it came out. OK. Works. However, even though Spencer does give us the Miles texted me line, he also gives us the line that Peter texted Gwen and asked her to come talk to him. In the education career world, that’s how you get fired. I will forgive this awkwardness by acknowledging that Kindred has been manipulating Peter’s dreams. Gwen’s death is high on his mind. He’s dealing with Sin-Eater going after Norman, so it is even higher on his mind. So I will allow it. Also, I love her entrance, which brings us to…
OOTI (Onomatopoeia of the Issue)
On a scale of 1 (POW) to 10 (BLRKBQRKPQRBLNB), SNAP rates a 10. OK, it doesn’t follow my usual guidelines for a ten, but the placement, the reference, and the sheer UMPH factor raises this mediocre sound to something worthy of Mjollnir. Even Thanos couldn’t have made that sound better.
I also like the angle that Peter is wrestling with allowing Norman to die, or to kill Norman himself, even, because of the promise he made back in #121 and #122.
The only nagging issue I have with this is that he’s come to terms with this before. Several times. Even recently in Clone Conspiracy. I guess some wounds never truly heal, though, and again, Kindred is manipulating things here.
Did you notice Gwen echoing things that have been stated time and time again on the Crawlspace?
Madame Web – yeah. Madame Web. Well, she is not as annoying as she usually is. The only storyline she really seemed like she would fit in would be the Spider-Verse since it dealt with that Web of Life she keeps rambling on about and she was unconscious the whole time! So, I guess she is deciding to make up for lost time by showing up here and putting her two cents worth in. The thing is, she seems to be pushing for Peter to allow Norman to be “cured” before going after Sin-Eater. That doesn’t sound like her to me. That and the fact that she seems to be the one pulling the other spider heroes together after we saw those same spider heroes in the Kindred dream makes me think that she is being manipulated by Kindred. Whether willingly or not remains to be seen. Sin-Eater is the smoke screen here to deal with Peter’s big mistake (in Kindred’s viewpoint), which I think is going to multi-faceted, but centered around allowing Gwen to die (or Gwen dying because of Peter allowing her into his life).
Whatever the case, she’s now got the League of Spiders together.
The Moral Dilemma – So, is it better to let Norman be cured? Would Sin-Eater’s action really be a cure, or is there a trap involved? And really what is happening with all of these characters that Sin-Eater kill-cures? The assumption from reading comics practically forever is that normalcy will return, but I think there is another step involved. I don’t think it will just be Sin-Eater dies and all returns to as it was.
The Marriage – And finally, we have a few nods to the marriage and the importance of Mary Jane. Gwen references a deal with the devil (not a coincidence) and we get this scene that shows what finally urges Peter to act.
I think Kindred is upset about two things – Gwen’s death and Peter throwing away MJ’s love – an act that shows he doesn’t value the love that has been present in his life. If that’s the case, Kindred wouldn’t be wrong. Uncle Ben – dead because Peter failed to act; Aunt May – often neglected because Peter is too busy as Spider-Man; Gwen – dead because she was in Peter’s life; MJ – abandoned by Peter; Harry – neglected when he needed his friend most. Well, as Obi Wan would say, these things are all true, from a certain point of view.
Norman Osborn – Well, I’ve got to leave something for Chi-Town and Neil to talk about. And really, I want to hear JR’s take on Norman in this issue. I’ll just share with you something I found on Reddit:
Plus I, didn’t even get into WHAT’S BEHIND THE DOOR?!?!?!?! (I really want to know!) Or the fact that the cover, again, had little to do with the actual story.
Extra Credit
I’m naming the team of spider heroes the Legion of Spiders. You come up with a better one in the comments section!
Final Grade
Nothing happened, but man I loved this comic! If you are enjoying this, I’m so sorry, because I am loving every panel!
A
Your Turn
What grade do YOU give it?
What’s Next?
Norman Osborn Returns as the Insidious Green Goblin in ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ #850
Nick Spencer, Ryan Ottley, and a veritable Hall of Fame of Spider-Creators celebrate a web-swinging landmark this September!
Spider-Man will have his hands full with the Sin-Eater’s reign of terror in the upcoming “Sins Rising” epic – but things will be getting much, much worse. As revealed on Comicbook.com, Spider-Man’s greatest foe, Norman Osborn, returns as the Green Goblin in the over-sized AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #850! Writer Nick Spencer and artists Ryan Ottley, Humberto Ramos, and Mark Bagley will be joined by a veritable Hall of Fame of Spider-Creators to chronicle this climactic chapter in the wall crawler’s years-long conflict with the Goblin-masked madman. And as if that wasn’t enough, the issue will also boast a collection of prestige short stories by Tradd Moore, Kurt Busiek, Chris Bachalo, Aaron Kuder, and Saladin Ahmed!
You know, I’m not wanting to pay $9.99 for this one, but I’m much less rankled by it than I was the last time. That’s not because I’ve been conditioned in to believing that it is OK to charge that much (I’m just as cheap as ever), it’s just that I really want to see what is in this issue! Plus, with me getting this comic digitally rather than actually forking over the money, it makes the pill a bit easier to swallow.
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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@PeterParkerFan – Et tu, PeterParkerFan?
🙂
@Dark Mark
As someone who’s read 100+ issues of Ultimate Spider-Man drawn by Mark Bagley, it’s easy for me to recognize his art. Besides, Marcelo, who drew the last two issues, has a different art style.
@Chi-Town – Calm down! Don’t bite off more than you can chew, bunky! Also, you might want to try some BioFlex to handle those noisy knuckles.
@Mark *rolls up sleeves* So it’s a whipping you been wanting! Class is in session *cracks knuckles*
@PeterParkerFan – I will readily admit that I am not an artist follower. If the credit page tells me it was Jack Kirby drawing from the dead, I’d believe it. I just want my characters recognizable so that it doesn’t impede the story. Thanks for the correction, though! Did you know from looking at it, or from seeing it somewhere else?
@Chi-Town – Oh, that was Bagley? I didn’t realize since there wasn’t a panel of Mary Jane looking like Ox from the Enforcers….
@PeterParkerFan: Over at The Chi-Town Breakdown I wrote about that. “* Uh-Oh! Something wrong here. Any true Spidey fan or art fan for that matter would know that this issue was not drawn by Marcelo Ferreira. It was drawn by Mark Bagley. ”
*looks at Mark’s review* Awkward…
“Penciler – Marcelo Ferreira”
Uh, that’s not true. The entire issue was drawn by Mark Bagley. The credits page made a mistake.
@Michael – I like that theory! If Peter hasn’t covered it up, so many bad things would not have happened (potentially) as a result. That has real potential!
I still say that what Spencer is going for is that Kindred is driven by Peter’s covering up for Norman way back in Amazing Spider-Man 40. If that’s the case, then yes, Kindred’s own choices led him to Hell, but he’s got a point in that it’s unfair that he was punished with Hell for his crimes while Peter never really took responsibility for lying to the authorities about Norman.
@Jack Brooks – I’m really hoping that while Kindred might have some basis for his hated of Peter, in reality, it is really Kindred’s own flaws that bright about his misery and Peter was just there during it, maybe not making it better, but not the true source of it.
I like how Spencer depicts Peter as having personality flaws (like being too emotional, or unrealistically idealistic), but he is still an admirable, heroic, and capable person. The previous writer would have written this with Peter as an arrested adolescent, Kindred would be Peter’s fault somehow, and Peter would need to be saved from Kindred by others.
I love how Peter is torn. He wants approval for his discussion. He should have gone to MJ for advice instead of Ghost Spider. Great review Mark!
@Jack Brooks – Yeah, at this point, I don’t think he’s after Norman’s powers. I don’t think Sin-Eater will take away Norman or Peter’s powers. I’m sure he is going after Norman on Kindred’s commands to get Peter and Norman together. Maybe he needed all the other powers to handle what’s behind the vault door? He’s already dead, so I think they will have to find other ways to kill or defeat him than traditional methods.
Add to sitting in Mephisto’s realm the fact that the guy you died to protect isn’t checking in on your wife or kid and threw away his relationship with the ex you’re still hung up on like it was nothing. Probably would have to consider it a bad move to go back into that burning building.
@Evan Berry – You got it! I’ll be bringing back the “Was It Better Than…” segment!
I’m not sure what power Sin-Eater gets, by blasting Norman. Super-strength? SE already has that, I think. Is SE targeting Norman by Kindred’s command? I thought Kindred wanted some sort of confrontation of his own with Norman. Is Kindred testing Peter, to see if Peter would try to rescue Norman — which Kindred would then see, not as a noble act, but as inexcusably stupid? I.e., embodying a quality in Peter about which Kindred is already bitter. Is SE unkillable? I guess he is, since Norah shot him point-blank and he didn’t die. I’m going to guess that the Harry who came back in BND was some sort of doppelganger, and the real Harry was stranded in Mephisto’s domain (being left behind by the OMD deal would make me mad, too).
@Mark — Haha, thanks, Mark! I’m hoping the analysis is just as excellent next issue; specifically, I’m expecting an exhaustive list of other ways of spending the cost of the comic. Ten dollars is a lot of leeway!
@ Everyone – Note Evan Berry’s use of words here: “your excellent analysis” That’s a skilled commenter right there and a model for us all.
@ Evan Berry – mmmmm….. baklava! Would be interesting to have some guy running around in the background wearing one of those because he too got them confused! Where’s the old What The? comics when you need them?
@Mark — I have nothing to add to your excellent analysis, other than it is incredibly refreshing and validating that Nick Spencer is not only referencing but making indispensable events from Spider-man’s history that — in typical comic book fashion — were undone and henceforth ignored because the characters were written into a corner. This speaks volumes for his own character and especially his skills as a writer.
That, and sometimes I get “balaclava” confused with “baklava.”
OK, I’m going to make a guess on who is behind the vault door. It’s going to open up and the Green Goblin will be behind it. I’m not exactly sure how they will work that. Maybe the big one from Ultimate. Maybe Norman can split his personality. Who knows? But that’s my guess and I’m sticking to it! At least until I get another idea….
@William Sinclair – Yes! We KNEW he was going to go save Norman, but the process to getting there still felt genuine. That cannot be an easy task. We can even feel that those he’s talking to understand that he’s going to do it. Peter knows he’s going to do it. But the process still felt right. It’s so much better than the usual – I’ve got to go risk my life because that’s what heroes do! Or the Aunt May needs me, but this minor robbery happened, so I’m off there instead! I also don’t mind Norman being the center because if Norman is written correctly, he can handle the overexposure. Spencer has set the bar for the next issue very high and marketing has raised it up another few notches by making the issue $10, but if anyone can pull it off, I’m betting Spencer can. I hope so, at least. Spider-Friends is MUCH better than Order of the Web. Here’s hoping it’s as good as we think it is going to be!
I loved the issue too, I really enjoyed seeing Peter work through his dilemma, even though I knew him choosing to save Norman was inevitable, and his interactions with the others is probably the most I’ve ever actually enjoyed the Spider-Friends (or ‘Order of the Web’, I guess). I’m really hyped for next issue now, Spencer has managed to make a whole lot of set-up compelling, now I want to see how well he can handle the payoff. I loved the conclusion to Hunted, his last big event, so I’m really optimistic. I’ve seen people bemoan that Norman is once again at the centre of a milestone issue after ASM #800, but frankly, the plot here is far more in-depth than ‘Osborn becomes Carnage’, and I’m a million times more interested in seeing how things play out, I also can’t imagine Peter’s conflict being nearly as compelling if he were being forced to choose whether to save any other villain.
Order of Web? Geez! So many better options!
The solicits for The Sins of Norman Osborn refer to the Spiders as the Order of the Web.