Face front, True Believers! We have legions of losers, surpluses of sixes, heaps of has-beens (and never-wases), and copious amounts of Kindred lackeys! In other words – MY KIND OF ISSUE! The only thing missing was a Hostess fruit pie! The SINISTER WAR has begun! Let’s tackle this together and see if these extra issues are required reading or just suggested book lists.
Credit Where Credit Is Due
Story Title: Sinister War (really Spencer? We couldn’t do a “How Sinister Is My Six!” or something like that?)
Writer: Nick Spencer
Penciller: Mark Bagley
Inker: Andrew Hennessy, John Dell, and Andy Owen
Colorist: Brian Reber
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramanga
Cover Artist: Brian Hitch and Paul Mounts
Asst. Editor: Lindsey Cohick
Editor: Nick Lowe
Published: July 14, 2021
Remedial ASM 101
Well, the recap page did a great job with this, so:
The Story – Pay Attention, This Will Be on the Test
The story opens and closes with Dr. Strange confronting Mephisto, which I guess means Dr. Strange has been standing in Mephisto’s office since Sin-Eater story? You know what, doesn’t matter. Dr. Strange is threatening to kick Mephisto’s patootie if he doesn’t come clean with what he did to Peter. Meanwhile, Peter and MJ are at the premier of her movie. Peter tells us he’s going to propose at the end of the movie (which is a BAD idea – never propose in public as these cases will show you). Vulture’s Savage Six comes in to break up the premier in a case of pettiness, followed by Ock’s Sinister Six breaking in to grab Mysterio! After MJ gets kidnapped by Ock, Spidey has to face the combined might of the Savage Six and Sinister four (assuming Mystrio and Ock are dealing with MJ) and potentially dies or gets his butt kicked or just knocked out before landing in Kindred’s Hall of Mirrors where he gets teased by Kindred before having seventeen more villains burst in (yes, 17, not 18, which would be a really nice multiple of 6 to keep with our Sinister Six theme, but I am assuming that either Boomerang’s group is still one short or that Black Ant is so awesome that he counts for 2). The story ends with the Strange/Mephisto bookend where Mephisto magically gets a haircut between panels and then offers to bet Peter’s soul on a spin of the roulette wheel.
What Passed and Failed
PASS – Villains! – Great Scott! There are so many villains here and with the exception of the last splash page, they all have a part to play and fit into the story! Nicely done, Spencer!
FAIL – Bagley Art – Look, I know some of you adore him, but his MJ face is inconsistent and best, and cringey at worst. It doesn’t help that I’m reading it in panel mode on a big screen. It showcases every offset eye and Ditko villain nose. His Spider-Man and villain costumes are great, but this issue is more about Peter and MJ than Spidey and bad guys, so we need someone who can draw faces.
Lost her, Pete? Probably more because she keeps changing her face each panel….
PASS – Constant reminders that Mephisto’s deal will be handled in due time (though that time is running out)
I mean, we literally have Mephisto starting and ending the book and Spencer STILL teases that Mephisto will be dealt with in the middle!
FAIL – Potential for Flashback Storytelling – hopefully this will not be like the Sin-Eater story where we just kept cycling through the same timeline, but there is a gap between MJ’s kidnapping and Spidey showing up at Kindred’s crib.
OOTI (Onomatopoeia of the Issue)
On a scale of 1 (POW) to 10 (BLRKBQRKPQRBLNB), SLAM gets a 1. Were there others to pick from? But this is a sound for the double hit of Rhino AND Stegron. If there was ever a case for a FWOOCKA-THOOM!, this is it! Plus, there isn’t even an exclamation point. So sad.
GLOTI (Grammar Lesson of the Issue)
Poor Mysterio. He fell for a classic subjective/nominative case blunder. You see that preposition “with”? That means in this sentence “I” is the object of the preposition, in which case you should use the objective case “me” rather than the subjective case “I”. The name “Mysterio” is just an appositive and has no real bearing on the grammatical breakdown of this sentence.
Analysis
Did Spidey die? – After MJ is MJ-napped, Spider-Man gets hit by Doc Ock’s tentacle. Then he wakes up in Kindred’s place. So what happened here? My first reading was that the whole fight to keep him from stopping them from taking MJ happened off panel (and will presumably be in the next ASM issue as some sort of flashback device). The other reading is that since he was already pretty rattled, that hit on the jaw knocked him out and then… everyone just left? Or Kindred spirited him away. The other reading is that they killed Spider-Man (which better be in the next ASM issue) and he is brought back by Kindred.
I know that is a common phrase to mean someone woke up or regained consciousness, but with Kindred saying it, it could very well be literal.
Fight Club – I would have really liked to see more of this fight, but understand that Spencer is packing a lot in. In fact, I figured the Sinister War series would basically be just these fights. Let’s look at the match up here:
Doc Ock vs Vulture – Vulture’s main schtick is coming from above, but Ock’s tentacles evens that playing field. Probable win – Doc Ock
Electro vs. Scorpion – Normally I would think Electro’s ability to strike long range would be the deciding factor here, but Electro isn’t the brightest bulb and I believe Scorpion may be able to close the gap here. If he can just use the tail instead of trying to punch him, he’s got it. Probable win – Scorpion
Kraven87 vs Tarantula – Sure, it is not the real Kraven, but I don’t see Tarantula’s fighting skills to be anywhere close to what Kraven can handle. Probable win followed by an eating of the heart – Kraven
Lizard vs. Stegron – If there is anything about Todd McFarlane’s run on Adjectiveless Spider-Man taught me it is that the Lizard likes to die. Repeatedly. Despite both of them having an almost unbeatable tail, no contest. Win – Stegron
Sandman vs. King Cobra & Rhino – The guy is made of sand. You can’t hurt him. Despite the unfair odds, Sandman has the advantage. Just look at it – Rhino went right through him causing no damage and it didn’t even affect his grip on King Cobra’s throat. Win – Sandman
Mysterio does a Heel-Face Turn – I do think that Mysterio has a huge role to play. He was there in the beginning to introduce us to Kindred and I think his time with MJ is going to be vitally important to this plot. Best guess, Mysterio will turn on Kindred to save MJ (or at least try to save her). I do think there is an equally probable outcome that he will be in a position to save her, but his cowardice will win out and while he had the ability to make a character-building moment, it will fizzle out. The biggest clue is that he was about to spill the beans on Kindred right before Spider-Man does this stupid move:
I know this is partly because of the plot. Peter can’t know yet. But, this remains in character for Peter to do the stupid move and put important people on the back burner. If I were Spidey, I sure wouldn’t leave MJ just because villains were fighting each other. Especially since there are no innocent by-standers to save. Her kidnapping falls on his shoulders. He should have been there to save her.
The Proposal – Will Peter propose by the end of Spencer’s run? Hard to say. Chi-Town thinks so and I do mostly. I think Spencer is going to set up all the reasons that he shouldn’t – he couldn’t save her from being kidnapped, Kindred is going to get into his head about his failures, she lied to him about Mysterio, etc. – but then switch and have Peter overcome that and grow past the angst that so many writers get stuck at. So far, Peter has been able to avoid most of those CW show traps. My initial thought was that he was going to be near death saving MJ, propose, then immediately fall into a coma and that would mean the next writer would have to pick it up from there, but I have heard that some of the solicits for Beyond indicate that Peter is not incapacitated. So who knows?
MJ – Where is she going? Chi-Town had a good thought (even a blind squirrel can find an acorn once in a while, you know) that she might get put in the same cell that Harry and Carlie are in. If so, I hope Carlie pissed off at MJ for not coming sooner. Speaking of, why is Overdrive and Boomerang bursting through the mirror with the rest of the villains? I figured they would be out looking for Carlie. Unless Overdrive’s idea on how to find her kidnapper is to “join” Kindred’s gang, but once in, break off to find Carlie. This would also give Boomerang a chance to be good for real.
Required Reading or Suggested Book List?
I cannot see how this issue (and presumably the issues to follow) are not required reading. I thought that the Sinister War titles would be focusing on the villains, with little to no Spidey, but that is just not the case. I don’t see how the poor schmuck who didn’t get this issue since Comixology doesn’t count this as an Amazing Spider-Man comic is going to follow what happened between ASM issues. Luckily, they have Chi-Town to fill in those gaps, I guess.
Extra Credit
What villain match-ups do you want to see? Doesn’t even have to be villains listed in this issue (though bonus points for potential in-arc match ups).
Final Grade
This issue made me happy. THIS is what I want. The only think keeping it from being an A+ is Bagley’s MJ faces.
A
Your Turn
What grade do YOU give it?
Homework
If you haven’t, go back and read Mary Jane’s series to see what happened with MJ, Mysterio, and the Savage Six.
What’s Next?
I’ll be back August 4 (or thereabouts – I’ll be on vacation that week) for Sinister War #2
Spidey’s classic problem has been multiplied by two and you don’t even know the HALF of it. Twelve of Spidey’s greatest villains are out for blood: Spider-Man’s and each other’s! Ock and Vulture make their big plays this issue that are going to shake up NYC in ways you didn’t think were possible!
But before that, on July 28, Chi-Town will take you through ASM #71
SINISTER WAR CONTINUES! Two of the most deadly villain teams are fighting both Spidey and each other, but what is Kindred’s role in all this?
Hmmm. Rather weak copy there, but that cover is intriguing enough!
And, as always, Ryan’s a work horse and will most likely guide you through both of them just to make us look bad for alternating! (But not bad enough to make us crazy enough to do three a month!)
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 (assuming there is a letters page in the next few issues), make sure to draw our attention to it!
‘Nuff Said!
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@Aqu
Thanks. Do we know how Mysterio may be privy to this information?
@Jason
Yeah, it sure seems so. At least he knows something on Mephisto’s involvement.
@hornacek
Nope, that’s Superior (Ock). It refers to how Doc Ock came back as himself in Superior Spider-Man, something Peter doesn’t know (note the thought caption).
A comment Mysterio made led me to believe he knows about the deal with Mephisto. Did anyone else think that or am I just reading it wrong?
Better late than never, Hornacek! I don’t recall seeing a Spider-Ben, but then, I want really looking, so I might have overlooked. Is what you saw just a problem with the at, you think? Or something showing what is going to happen in the near future?
On the page after the Sinister Six splash page, the flashback panel of Spidey and Mephisto – is that Spider-Ben? The costume is definitely the Ben Reilly Spider-Man costume. And are those the articulated metal arms from the Tony Stark Civil War costume?
Late reading this issue – I only get to my LSC every other week.
Is it just me or was one of the Mephisto panels scattered through the issue show Spider-Ben? Spidey in that panel was wearing the Ben Reilly Spider-Man outfit.
Late reading this issue – I only get to the LCS every other week.
Was it just me or did one of the Mephisto panels scattered throughout the issue show Spider-Ben and not Spider-Peter? It was definitely the chest-spider design from the Ben Reilly Spider-Man costume.
@Aqu@ – I still have nightmares about those Amazing Grace issues. They were the first ones that BD asked me to review. Yeesh! In all seriousness, to stay with us, try Comixology. I get my ASM through them because my local comic book shop is not very local (next county over) and I do not have much other reason to drive in that direction. I started using Comixology so my reviews could be on time and have gotten to where I really like the digital format.
@Mark
LOL If only it was a request. Unfortunately it is not.
Here’s hoping I’ll find a way, not because I like reading ASM and even more reading the Crawlspace’s reviews after that; not even because of those OMD issues, (it’s been a while since I read them, so a revise would do me good). No, the real scare here is Amazing Grace…. Please, anything but that!
@Aqu@ – Your request to stop commenting on ASM reviews has been processed and reviewed by the Crawlspace Committee for Continuing Commenters (CCCC). We regret to inform you that your request has been denied and you will need to continue to post comments on current title reviews at a rate of 1 per issue or 3 per month minimum. Failure to do so will result in a penalty as low as required reading of ten consecutive OMD issues or as high as reading the entirety of the Amazing Grace arc, including, but not limited to, the issue where Spidey says, “Drop that chicken.” We look forward to your continued patronage in your new plane of existence. 🙂
Good issue, makes me wanting for more.
Bagley’s art didn’t bother me much, except for one panel with a close-up of Peter’s face, where it seemed really distorted, like melting toward the panel border…
Considering the precedents, proposing in public could be a way to force an answer from MJ and not allowing her to flee again. But I really think Spencer wouldn’t write Peter like that, would he?
I don’t think Peter died, he has just been knocked out. Anyway, we’ll see.
Even I know that the use of “I” in that sentence is wrong, and english isn’t even my first language. However I thought Mysterio used it in a sort of grand, archaic way to put emphasis on his name. Good to know that’s not the case.
On a side note, I’m sadly not sure I will be able to continue reading (and so commenting) ASM issues starting August, since I will be travelling to another plane of exist-erm, place.
@David Blyth – Maybe I should’ve rephrased and said I wish that Marvel had never taken away their marriages to begin with. I’ve never liked that Peter David killed off Betty Ross-Banner or the Grant Morrison New X-Men run where Emma fell for Scott and Jean was killed off by not-Magneto Xorn. Sure, we have Scott and Jean acting like they’re married and Betty back on good terms with Hulk for now (didn’t she recently “kill” Immortal Hulk and tear out/eat his heart as Red Harpy?), but it’s not the same.
Going back on topic, I’m curious to see what roles the Sinister teams and other villain teams have to play during “Sinister War”. I’m curious to see what Spencer does with characters like Electro, Sandman, Hydro-Man, Shocker, Doctor Octopus, Mysterio and Mary Jane.
BD and Mark: I saw that on the Marvel App too. Giant Size Kings Ransom is in the Amazing Folder, but Gian Size Chameleon Conspiracy and Sinister War have there separate folders. I don’t like that, want them all together, better order to read the particular arc/story line.
Stuart Green: Erm, Scott and Jean are together, and treat each other as husband and wife, and Betty has been sleeping with Hulk again lately.
@mark I have a hard time figuring out why every .hu, .lr, Giant sized and even amazing MJ weren’t part of regular ASM! It would have brought the run close to 99 issues to boot, making Spencer’s last 900!
Mark –
Until Spencer, art was no problem on ASM. Slott had one great artist after another and each era of his run allowed one or two artists to really own their run on the book and leave a lasting mark on ASM. One of the hallmarks of BND was its stellar round of artists. Even if every single artists wasn’t to one’s own taste, you couldn’t say editorial wasn’t swinging for the fences with their picks. And the JMS era was never wanting for solid art. What happened with Spencer’s run is a mystery. Things started off great with Ottley but sadly it never felt like Ottley was ever used to his full potential on ASM. Same thing with Gleason, who I think will fare much better in the Beyond era. The rest of the art on Spencer’s run has been marked by old stand-bys like Bagley and Ramos – who did their usual fine job but yet are so identified with previous runs that their precense only kept this run from developing its own visual identity – and newer artists who typically ranged from just barely serviceable to poor. And sometimes these guys would be given whole arcs! *Sigh* I don’t know. For me, it’s a total head scratcher. For now I’ve just got my fingers crossed that the art on Beyond will raise the bar for ASM again.
@BD, @Michael, @Evan, @Professor Warren
BD – I was trying to figure out why this was a separate book as well. This picks up right where the last ASM leaves off and I am sure the next ASM will pick up where this left off. Why make it a different book? I assume that this book put the people where they need to be and from now on, Sinister War will focus on the villains and their objectives and ASM will focus on Peter, Kindred, Norman, and MJ, but who knows.
Michael – Ah! OK, I thought that Harry may have been mentioned or was just not seen at all in any book. That is interesting. Maybe he needs the Chameleon formula to regain his look. Maybe Kindred is trying to be Harry Osborn and trying to lead the life of father and husband while also getting his revenge on Peter and Norman. He has Harry Lyman in captivity while he is doing this so that Lyman will not interfere. This could also be why he is focused on the dumaflache that split and rejoined Peter and split the Lizard. Maybe he is looking for a way to either split Kindred from himself or rejoin with Lyman.
Evan – OK, so I’ll maybe put it on my list. I love Lord of the Rings, but you are right about the pacing. When you sit down to read Tolkien, you have to WANT to sit down to read Tolkien. And of course, being better than Tess of the D’Urbervilles is my standard for deciding if I should read it or not. Oh, those names are canon. They didn’t print my letter (well, there hasn’t been a letters page since then), but those are the names of those centipedes! A box of doughnuts is way better than that box of…. well, you remember what can actually be sent from one of my Slott issue reviews. 🙂
Professor Warren – It baffles me that a major selling book like ASM cannot keep a top notch artistic team. I say that not really knowing all that goes on behind the scenes with deadlines and such, but to me, you know this book is going to be coming out on these days. You set up a revolving team of good artists and keep them busy cranking out top quality art. Maybe BD will one day interview an editor and we can see what all goes on in the decision making process and why there seems to be a scramble for inking and pencils at times. I remember Slott saying that they had teams of people working arcs and he would be writing and arc that comes out several months from then, proofing the art from a different arc, and scripting the dialogue for the about to be published arc. So there we constant teams working at all times to get the books out. I agree that if he sticks this landing (and like you, I don’t think it needs to be a restoration of the marriage), he will be remembered as an all time great in Spidey history, but always with the caveat that it took so long for it to get done. I would be very happy with Peter and MJ moving forward from this point. Maybe engaged for a long time, maybe dating and resetting. It is possible that they are hoping that Ben will be successful and maybe they can have a book where Ben is the swinging bachelor Spidey and another book where Peter is the married Spidey. Trying to give the best of both worlds to the fans.
I’d go with around an A-/B+ for this one. Bagley still brings a dependable old school flavor and his storytelling chops are there but – understandably – he’s slipped a bit from his peak days. So much of the disappointment for me in Spencer’s run has come down to the art. Issues and arcs that could’ve been gems have often come off as forgettable or even barely readable thanks to the art letting down the script. At least with Bagley, though, you can count on a dependably decent looking issue, rather than an eye sore. Storywise this is a good start to this event and it promises to deliver a lot. If Spencer can stick the landing on this, it’s going to be great. And sticking the landing for me doesn’t necessarily mean restoring the wedding, it just means acknowledging the Mephisto deal and removing it. Peter and MJ don’t have to be married again – if they are, that’s fine too – but they should at least be able to acknowledge and remember they were married. At this point Spencer has to come through on this front. There’s zero wiggle room for him. This is what he’s been teasing for pretty much the last three years. If he comes up short, his run has been a colossal waste of time. I have a strong feeling he’s going to come through, though. If he can do it, I still think the feeling from most will be “Great, but why the hell did this have to take three years?” but hey, at least he’ll have done what he set out to do. Hope he gives an exit interview where he talks about his goals going into this run and what the discussions were like with editorial in touching that third rail of OMD.
@Mark — I’m currently reading Watership Down, and this after several tries in years past. (The last time I returned it to the library I accidentally left my Lord of the Rings bookmark in it, if that’s any indication of the time frame.) I decided to try it again, and I’m enjoying it far more — I tend to look up every word I don’t know and to take my time when I read, but in this book there are so many types of trees and flowers and vegetation, etc., whose names I don’t know that I just have to disengage a little and just pretend it’s someone telling me a story and to just enjoy the rhythm and cadence of the words without stopping to check the dictionary. It makes it a lot more fun and enjoyable. Every chapter has a title and an epigram quoted from another work, too, so it almost acts as a survey of world literature. It reminds me of Lord of the Rings with rabbits: there’s a frontispiece map and a Lapin language, as well. But just as Lord of the Rings would go faster if Frodo had a car and a gun, the same applies here. It’s beautifully written, but I imagine it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. Still, when I finish it I plan to read the sequel, so I’m glad I’m hitting my stride.
Also, it’s better than Tess of the D’Urbervilles.
By the way, if Kindred calls his centipedes Crazy Town and Banana Pants, I’ll find some way to send you a box of doughnuts or something.
@Mark- In Web of Venom: the Good Son- which is where we first see the Goblin stash- Harry is helping take care of Dylan. This takes place after Absolute Carnage.
And yes, I’m still convinced Harry’s not telling the whole truth to Carlie.
Great job as usual man. And I agree, this one was an A. I wish it was in Amazing, but still it was awesome.
On the vote poll, we have one F. I would love to hear what someone didn’t like about it. Perfectly legitimate to not like it and I would not try to convince them otherwise or question their judgement. I just want to know what they are seeing that I am not.
@Stuart, @Anthony, and @Sthenurus
Stuart – That’s fair. I expect Electro could hold his own against a majority of the Marvel Universe if he were smart enough. He could certainly take Vulture out of the sky no problem. I hate how he never uses his static electricity control over Spider-Man like he did in Peter David’s second Sin-Eater arc. Outside of that, though, he tends to not be smart about it. Of course, neither is Gargan, so I’m not willing to die defending that fight pick. 🙂
Anthony – There is a part of me that keeps expecting the fake out since they don’t mention the deal specifically. I don’t think it will be a fake out and I don’t know what else it could be, but as long as they don’t say it, that possibility is out there. But I suspect Spencer is just keeping it dangling for fun and not to end his run on a massive riot.
Sthenurus – That would make sense, though my money is on a lot happening between the hit from Doc Ock and the arrival at Kindred’s stinky hidey-hole.
Here’s hoping to the rest of this run being this good!
@Chi-Town, @Evan, @Comet, and @Michael
Chi-Town – She went with Mysterio, but only because Mysterio was acting on Doc Ock’s orders (probably to save her in the long run), so Doc Ock technically kidnaps her. Geez. All that writing I did and that’s the best insult you could come up with? I am an old dog, but I invented the day of review, whippersnapper.
Evan – I suppose that these issues will have the villains fighting each other and ASM focusing more on the Strange/Mephisto and Kindred/MJ/Peter/Norman. But it might just be whenever Spencer wishes to write them. I wonder if Dr. Strange dealing with Mephisto is known by Kindred. I wonder if that could disrupt his plans any? I doubt you’re in the minority with the GLOTI. I mean, who doesn’t like to learn grammar? I bet that pretty much everyone here has Grammar Girl on their podcast feed. And I am sad to say that I have never read _Watership Down_. Is it something I need to add to my stack?
Comet – Well, it is a Lizard not hampered by Connors in his brain. Just a big angry Lizard, so I’m guessing more brutal than normal.
Michael – I’ll have to go back and look at that timing thing. Was Harry in Absolute Carnage? The only ones I read were the ASM tie-in and he wasn’t in those (except as Kindred).
Oh. My. GOD!
It’s really happening. They are going to adress and resolve (one way or the other) OMD.
I’ve read the scene as ock knocking Peter out and kindred transporting his conciousness into his dimension.
Everything is coming together and I love it. If this run sticks the landing, it will be remembered as one of the best planned and executed run in history. A+ for me.
I give it a A. Would be an A+ if not for the way Bagley draws Spider-Man’s eyes now. Liked them more in the 90s and Ultimate when Bagley drew them big all the time. Now they go from small to decent sized, but never that big. Wish he would choose a lane because it’s incredibly distracting.
Loved the story! I do wish we got to hear Mephisto tell Doctor Strange what the deal was. Sure we know what it was, but it’s weird how the books have been addressing something for so long without mentioning it. All will be forgiven if t does get mentioned though.
Nice review! I love Mark Bagley’s art, he’s one of my favorite Spider-Man artists, so seeing him be inconsistent with Mary Jane’s face is surprising and disappointing to read. I take it everyone’s reactions to seeing Electro back from the dead (such as Spider-Man, Mysterio, Rhino, etc.) were not mentioned in this issue or will be at a later time. Even a throw-away line like “Electro? You’re supposed to be dead!” from one of his ex-teammates like Vulture or Rhino would have been tolerable. At least Spider-Man’s height/size isn’t in flux anymore, as I remember seeing some images where it looked like Mark Bagley was drawing the teen Ultimate Spider-Man with his classic foes. Also, I love that Mr. Bagley has brought back Shocker’s classic costume for “Sinister War”. I’ve missed the old Shocker suit, as I’ve never been a fan of the recent “Superior Foes” era uniform. Seeing this art makes me want Marvel and Upper Deck to make a new Spider-Man trading card set solely drawn by Bagley like the old Fleer 1994 Spider-Man card set and have every classic villain drawn in their classic costumes. The villains look great, even if the art is hit-and-miss.
I’m also curious what this means for Mysterio. Was Hydro-Man a fake out with the “Sinister War” #1 cover and Mysterio really is the sixth member? Or will it turn out Mysterio is playing along for now, will defect to help Mary Jane and get replaced with Hydro-Man in a later part of the story? I just don’t want Quentin Beck to die/get killed off, as the original Mysterio is in my Top 5 favorite foes and two of my other Top 5 favorite foes, Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus and Max Dillon/Electro, have already come back from the dead. Spider-Man’s foes are too popular to kill off and keep dead, so killing off Mysterio again would be “been there, done that” and he’ll be back in a new run on the “Amazing” series anyway.
I refuse to comment on the Mephisto/Doctor Strange and Peter proposing aspects until “The Amazing Spider-Man” #875 has been released. I still want Marvel to bring back the marriage (A milestone event/issue like “The Amazing Spider-Man” #900 would be a great way to celebrate that, Marvel — hint hint), but I doubt that will happen anytime soon. This is current Marvel, after all, where most of my favorite marriages (Peter/M.J., Bruce and Betty Ross-Banner and Scott and Jean Grey-Summers) no longer exist because — reasons. I want Marvel to stop the “One More Day” jabs, teases and false starts and just remarry Peter and Mary Jane A.S.A.P.
Also, as a side-note, I have to disagree with you and say Electro easily wins over Scorpion. Think about it. This is the Master of Electricity we’re talking about here. He’s the same guy who beat his Frightful Four teammates when trying to join them (including hurting Sandman and turning Sandy into glass), blacked out all of New York, broke several super-villains out of the Raft, and almost killed Spider-Man by using his powers more intelligently in Mark Millar’s “Marvel Knights: Spider-Man” run. Granted, Electro’s intelligence has also changed depending on the story, but when he wants to be, Electro can be smart. After all, Max Dillon DID lead his own Emissaries of Evil team. Scorpion may be stronger and faster than Spider-Man, but not even a mechanical tail is going to help him, especially once Electro affects the electrical impulses of his brain like he did to Spidey in the late-90s Tom DeFalco run. Heck, Electro could take out most of the villains there if he wanted to with his power, like Vulture, Tarantula and King Cobra. My vote goes to the original Electro beating Scorpion.
One interesting thing- Peter said this issue that he almost proposed to MJ last month- in issue 29, before Absolute Carnage. But Harry Lyman claimed that he’d been Kindred’s prisoner for months in issue 70. In other words, if Harry’s been Kindred’s prisoner for months, he would have been Kindred’s prisoner during Absolute Carnage, when Harry was helping Liz watch Dylan. I’m wondering if I’m overthinking this or Spencer was careless with the timeframe or if Kindred impersonated Harry Lyman or if there’s more to Harry Lyman’s story than he’s telling.
One disappointment- one of the variant covers featured a Hobgoblin but no Hobgoblin. Wonder if we’ll see him in later chapters.
P.S. — I forgot to mention that, even though I’m probably in the minority here, as well, I very much appreciate the GLOTI. I’m all about learning about proper grammar, since it seems so hard to find these days with short-hand texting and abbreviations and such. Once I went to a coffee shop, and the barista said, “Hey, Evan. Do you want a coff?” Thinking phonetically, I thought she meant something else, so I was confused how to answer, and I said, “No, just a coffee, please.” She responded, “Oh, you’re not a fan of the abbreves?”
I guess I’m willing to incur the annoyance and wrath of the other Crawlspacers by sounding so nerdy, but I’m okay with this. When I was in high school, I was that kid in math class who, when the teacher said, “Does anyone want to see a proof for this statement?” I was the only one raising his hand. I guess you can say I’m used to it. I’m just saying I’d rather learn than memorize.
I guess Lizard’s learned a few new tricks. From what I read before, Stegron wiped the floor with the Lizard.
@Mark — Goodness this review was posted quickly. I think I just refreshed the page, and there it was, at 3 o’ clock on a Wednesday.
You know, even though I’m pretty sure it was part of the solicit and it was pretty much inevitable, I was kind of hoping that all the villains would not fight each other and just coordinate their efforts. Otherwise, besides a huge melee free-for-all which I guess would be appealing for many, what’s the point of increasing the number of villains going after Spider-man? I guess if they’re fighting among separate villain teams it doesn’t count as fighting among themselves, but since that is how Spider-man always gets away, I would think perhaps they’ve grown beyond this by now. Especially Doctor Octopus would have figured this out.
It’s the Peter/MJ/Kindred/Mephisto/Dr. Strange stuff I want to see. I guess Teresa gave up? Maybe she’ll show up and rescue Carlie since Overdrive is busy. Or maybe she’s hanging out with Norah Winters right now. Man, that’s a lot of characters. There are more characters here than rabbits in Watership Down.
Why does Peter have to always do the stupid thing at the worst possible time? I mean, I can certainly identify with that, but still… (Also, I’m talking about Parker, Mark.)
Great review!
Technically it was Mysterio that MJ-napped MJ. I mean…you have the picture right there on the review buddy…pretty obvious not to confuse Doc Ock bowl haircut and glasses with Mysterio’s Fishbowl..
I agree on the grade. Still like Bagley’s art, even though he’s a hit and miss with MJ’s face. I didn’t like that Spidey swung off to avoid the building from coming down right when Mysterio was about to reveal the whole thing, but I understand the writing behind it. Still you gotta admit, “hold that thought bubble” is kinda clever.
Nice review and yes I’ll return on July 28th to review ASM 71. I’m just surprised you got this published on the day it came out, looks like you can teach an old dog new tricks.