Chameleon Conspiracy Coming to Amazing Spider-Man

18 Comments

1. @Tayo –

   I also like that 3-part Webspinners story, although it really reads like the Chameleon is supposed to die here and never return.

   All I meant about him not being a physical threat is that he doesn’t have any powers that would negate the Spider-Sense. Even his impersonation skills cannot fool it.

   Yes, Peter was used to Jonah verbally attacking him/Spidey. But even in that story, Peter realized that there was something different/off about the way “Jonah” was going after Spidey through the Bugle.

2. @hornacek
   I see you point on the spidey sense but I still like the 3 part story and it does ave good thing on make up for that little bit of bad. Chameleon does not need to be a physical threat to be dangerous. It is a shame that some writers make him ook weak when it should be the opposite.
   And Peter was used to Jonah verbally attacking him.

3. @Michael – The Spider-Sense has never been definitively defined. Even in Stan’s issues it would do different things in different issues that had nothing to do with alerting Spidey to danger.

   Basically each writer defines what it is and how it works. I remember that Mackie once said that it is instinctual, like putting your hand on a hot stove and you immediately pull it away – you don’t control that action. DeFalco disagreed, saying that it was something that could be ignored (or it was the other way around).

   It is usually consistent that it doesn’t go off if Spidey is just around a villain who isn’t actively doing something to harm Peter/Spidey. So if Spidey is just talking to the Chameleon and CHA isn’t planning on attacking Peter, the SS won’t go off.

   So how does this explain the SS going off when Peter is at the Bugle and CHA is impersonating Jonah? Well, even though CHA isn’t planning on attacking Peter, in these scenes, his impersonation of Jonah is an attack on Spidey – by impersonating Jonah and taking control of the Bugle, he’s using the paper to attack Spidey in the press.

   Yeah, that’s all I got to explain that.

4. Writers do seem to have Peter’s Spider-Sense kick in late around Chameleon because otherwise his disguise power would be useless. One of the worst examples is Amazing Spider-Man 340, where Peter’s Spider-Sense only kicks in AFTER Chameleon turns on the trap, which defeats the point of a Spider-Sense,

5. Yes, the 3rd issue of that Webspinners story is when they have the conversation on the bridge that I mentioned – Chameleon tells Peter that he loves him, and jumps off the bridge. In that conversation he is not a threat to Peter, as they’re just talking. But that’s not “fooling his Spider-Sense” – it’s just not being a threat. It’s nothing unique to Chameleon, and other villains have done this.

   “In the 3 part story from ASM I mentioned he got the jump of Peter before his sense could kick in.” Not sure what story this is, but Spidey’s Spider-Sense should be able to warn him before *anyone* can “get the jump on him”. If Chameleon was able to hit him here because his Spider-Sense didn’t warn him in time, that’s just bad writing.

   As for the Jonah impersonation, Chameleon *is* the master of disguise so it’s no surprise that he would be able to fool everyone into thinking that he was Jonah.

   Chameleon *is* a formidable threat, just not a physical one, as MJ and Aunt May have proven. He definitely can’t get past the Spider-Sense. Before Micheline gave him a power upgrade in the 1980s, he had no powers – he was just a normal guy with masks. Even after that upgrade he didn’t really have powers – he could just change what he looked like instantly with technology.

6. @hornacek

   It was in two issues of Webspinners. Chameleon was disguised as a clown and surprised Peter but he knew Peter’s spider sense would detect a threat so he did not threaten him. He played the role of the clown and Peter was none the wiser. In the 3 part story from ASM I mentioned he got the jump of Peter before his sense could kick in. And the fact that he fooled Peter completely when he was disguised as JJJ showed how great his acting is he studied JJ and played him so well that even Peter was fooled. The point is that Chameleon is an effective threat when written well.

7. @Tayo

   When has Chameleon been able to fool Spidey’s Spider sense? It’s always been set off around him when he’s a threat. In the 1980s arc when he took over Jameson’s life, Peter’s spider-sense went off all the time when he was around “Jonah” at the Bugle but he ignored it because he thought it was the real Jonah just being his usual anti-Spidey self.

   His Spider-Sense doesn’t go off *every* time he’s around Chameleon, only when he’s a threat. For example, the Perchance to Dream story in Tangled Webs (or Webspinners?) where he tells Peter that he loves him and then jumps off the bridge – his spider-sense doesn’t go off when he’s talking to him then. But I’ve never heard that Chameleon is able to fool it.

8. Am I the only one excited for Chameleon conspiracy? You guys should read some chameleon stories from the 80s and 90s. He is one of Peter’s most dangerous opponents, able to fool his Spider sense and torment him Psychologically. Despite his look Dimitri can be a very scary villain when written right but sadly most writers do not treat Dimitri well. The last writer to treat Dimitri like a huge threat was Fred Van Lente in a 3 part story in ASM 602 to 604. That is a great story and I highly recommend it.

   While I do not care Teresa I am excited to see Chameleon return in a huge story. Hopefully this Story will give Dimitri the respect he deserves.

9. Ten bucks says his sister is an android like the robot parents, created by the Chameleon.

10. Yay… Another storyline that will finish in a giant size… I agree with AC that crap is gonna be a nightmare in a few year!

    @aqu@ tell me about it! I recently tried to put all my Spidey comics in order and tried to grab a timeline to order everything… As soon as we hit the late 80s the nightmare begins! 4 ongoing, miniseries, team ups, guest appearance… And then the relaunch… God it was a pain

11. @hornacek — Spencer made people care about Carlie Cooper (until she “left town,” I guess). Could he do the same for Teresa?

12. MESSAGE COMING IN FROM THE GIANT-SIZE ROW OF HEADS

    Hey, MJ is absent from that cover…and Otto is front and center…please be a sign of Spencer utilising him soon.

13. Oh yay, Teresa Parker is back … said no one ever.

14. CARLOS GOMEZ FOR THE WIN!!

15. @ac:
    “why can’t the stories that happen in the Amazing Spider-Man title, stay in the Spider-Man title? ”

    Well, that has been a problem at least since the ’90s (or maybe even before that).
    I remember looking at the list of Amazing Spider-Man issues on Wikipedia for collection purposes, and I was really ticked off for how many issues were part X of N of a story continued elsewhere.

16. I see Hoboglin’s head on that wall of masks; could he be involved too?

17. Oh, and why can’t the stories that happen in the Amazing Spider-Man title, stay in the Spider-Man title? Some day someone is going to go buy a run of Amazing Spider-Man volume whatever it is and wonder why half the stories are missing half the stories…

18. I may be in the minority, but I find the chameleon sort of boring. And I don’t think I’m in the minority when I say I find the “sister” boring as well. Big yawn for me on this story. Does this mean Kindred is going to remain a kindricicle until issue 90 or so, with a big 10 issue over bloated story to get to 100? There is such a thing as too much teasing.