To misquote a literary genius, “The time has come, the time is now, Benjamin J. Rabin, will you please go now!” Yes, dear reader, we have been teased of this moment for months, promised this moment for a year, and had weeks of this moment spoiled for us. The hype was strong with this one. Will it stick the landing or be like an all Swedish hockey team*? What say we tackle this one together?
Credit Where Credit Is Due
Story Title: One Shall Fall (no really – they have a title this time!)
Writer: Zeb Wells
Pencils: John Romita, Jr
Inker: Scott Hanna
Colorists: Marco Menyz and Eric Arciniega
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramanga
Cover Artists: John Romita, Jr, Scott Hanna, and Marco Menyz
Asst. Editor: Kaeden McGahey
Editor: Nick Lowe
Remedial ASM 101
About a year ago, Peter and MJ were taken through a portal to be killed for the Mayan god Wayep by some guy named Rabin. MJ forces Peter through a portal to save his life and in a desperate attempt to get back to her, Peter sacrificed his reputation and his friendships and even worked with Norman to get back to MJ in time, only to find that despite his efforts, MJ was now the adoptive mother of two kids and in a relationship with a guy named Paul. It’s been six more months our time and Rabin is back…
OK – now that you are ready, maybe we need a little background music to read the review by.
The Story – Pay Attention, This Will Be on the Test
Spider-Man and MJ stand before The Emissary of Wayep (Rabin), but not alone. They are assisted by the Gold Goblin (none other than Norman Osborn himself), Ms. Marvel, and the Fantastic Four. While Norman and the FF tackle some symbol dragon (who is later defeated by Reed Richards completely figuring out the whole symbology magic in ten seconds), Spider-Man, MJ, and Ms. Marvel decide to face off against Rabin, who reveals Paul’s origins and solves our whole problem with the kids by eliminating them altogether. Peter takes on Rabin solo after MJ’s powers prove to be unreliable and Ms. Marvel is tasked with keeping MJ safe. Peter is taking on Rabin just fine, but the guy is able to teleport, so eventually he gets free. After Ms. Marvel realizes that Rabin can pop up anywhere, she has the great idea to split up. Rabin pops up again and stabs MJ. Peter is distraught and then we realize that MJ was really Ms. Marvel who had transformed herself into looking like MJ. Rabin, having failed his god, is destroyed. End scene with tearful eyes all around.
What Passed and Failed
FAIL – Paul being a Rabin from another dimension – What purpose does that serve? Maybe a moment of us going “What??”, but as Peter and MJ already knew this, it was quickly done away with and there was no other indication that Paul’s mysterious origin might be problematic for the kids or MJ’s safety. This might have been something good teased at about ten issues ago, but as a throw away two-pager, it fell flat to me. Maybe it was because the dramatic irony was reversed – the characters knew things we did not. That can work, but it can also be a crutch to bad writing.
PASS – The danger presented for some characters – All of the characters on the cover that actually appeared in the book were in some danger. Rabin is after MJ, Ms. Marvel is close in proximity to MJ, Norman and the Torch are facing a dragon who has symbol breath that can change you on the quantum level (whatever that means), Paul, well, no so much.
FAIL – The Spoilers – The Marvel office blew it and it takes away from all the danger mentioned above. I don’t even begin to pretend to understand all the aspects of marketing and why they would send out anything that could be spoiled, but they spent a year on this What Did Peter Do mystery and then months in the Someone Will Die only to have it ruined by someone leaking the death page.
PASS – MJ’s reaction to the kids death – Just what you would expect from May Day’s mother!
FAIL – The art (at least in this one case) – Why does MJ look like someone just called her Polaner All Fruit jelly?
PASS – Ms. Marvel being Ms. Marvel – And yes, I know we are overlooking the fact that she is no longer in her first series phase and has since then grown into a strong confident leader of the Champions, but I like this version of Kamala, so I will take the time to enjoy her awkwardness in all its glory.
FAIL – Ms. Marvel’s plan – This had at best, a 50/50 chance of working. The old D&D joke of “let’s split up!” was ringing in my ears here. I get that she is worried about the guy opening a portal wherever they were, but he is tracking them somehow and it could easily have been that he was tracking MJ directly, so the split up would have failed. She’s inexperienced (at least compared to other heroes), so maybe we can chalk this up to bad judgment. She is going up against someone with god powers, so maybe that rattled her.
PASS – The Fantastic Four acting like friends – Look, friends have disputes and sometimes it takes a while , but in the end, friends have each others back. We do not have the behind the scenes that is takes to show the FF coming around, but eventually they decide that Peter had a good reason to do what he did and would not have treated them that way without cause, so all is forgiven – but not without a bit of snark from the Thing to show that actions still hurt.
FAIL – the Hype – more on this later
Analysis
We had several things set up to make this a great run:
Rabin – absolutely uninteresting villain, which is exactly what we needed. We needed a villain that would not spark our interest too much and have enough power to be a threat. Rabin and Wayep fit those two qualifiers. Rabin doesn’t steal the show away from the fact that this is Peter and MJ’s story. If this were the Green Goblin, Carnage, Doc Ock, we would have our attention diverted and want to know their story as well. With them having been established earlier, we did not need to spend time going into their backstory. And, with the power of a god (even a Mayan one), this is a power threat that is above Spidey’s range. People could die from this threat.
MJ has kids – There are few things that could cause a reaction than this! How? Why? What purpose do these kids serve?
Spider-Man is not overshadowed by his cast – He needs help, but he does not need to be saved. When Rabin gets away from him, it is not because Spidey wasn’t holding his own. The stakes are high and Spidey rises to the occasion.
The someone is going to die threat – The tease with the cover lets us know that a death is going to happen, which, while used incorrectly often in comics, does amp up the stakes quite a bit.
High stakes – not just a death, but Peter’s relationship with the FF, Mary Jane, Norman Osborn, Black Cat, Captain America, Randy – They were all on the line in this arc. These are things that could have lasting impact even after a new writer comes along.
Complex characterization – Characters are acting in ways that are different from the typical characterization, but in ways that are reasonable considering the surrounding circumstances.
Hype – the Spidey office was behind this story 100% and pumped it for all it was worth. Just check out the parallel between our two issues here:
That’s pretty cool!
However, the execution did not live up to the hype, which makes this story a failure despite the above ingredients. So what went wrong?
The Pacing – OK, we have Peter acting out of character, MJ with kids and a new boyfriend, the FF mad at Peter, Aunt May and Randy disappointed with Peter, and MJ with powers. These things should have us guessing and all a buzz. Evan should be talking me into making charts to list out all the clues. But this drug on and on and the clues we got were not just few and far in between, but they were shallow with no real ability for us to build on. Then we had crossovers and tie-ins. Months go by. Issue after issue with no movement on this. Those of us willing to give it a chance found ourselves no longer wanting to find out what happened; we just wanted this to end so we could move on to something new.
This pacing also ruined the complex characterization going on since without the reason given for why they were acting oddly, we had to go on faith. That’s fine to a point since it gives us a chance to try and figure it out on our own, but a year of not knowing why our characters are acting the way they are makes it hard to stay invested in the characters that we love.
The execution – Spidey is not overshadowed by his supporting cast, but we don’t have good reason for why they are there. Peter working for Norman is a great dynamic, but one that we were not given a reason for other than Norman-was-there-when-others-weren’t. Kamala is working there as well? Cool! But what was done with Peter and Kamala? What bonds were formed? Did we see Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel bumping into each other from time to time or the classic scenes where both are trying to find a way to slip into their alter-ego identities without the other knowing? Nope. With a year to build this up, that could have been a cool thing. MJ’s kids being used as chains is an awesome idea, ut why not show a panel here and there revealing that Rabin is using them to track her? That would put us in a spot where we now know something that MJ does not and we worry about her. It seems that too much capital was spent on the fact that we would be shocked at the character’s actions and that would keep us engaged. Mad, possibly, but engaged. But the price for that was us being engaged in the story. Consider the Kindred mystery. It went on way too long. WAY TOO LONG. However, I stayed invested because the clues and the mystery was revealed in pieces along the way. It only failed when the ending flew in the face of all that was built up to us. That was most likely an editorial issue. Speaking of –
The hype – Editorial failed us here. The What Did Peter Do hype line was awesome, but we already talked about how the pacing ruining that one. Let’s talk about the most recent hype – the death cover. Lowe promises us that it is the most shocking Spider-Man story in the last 50 years. So we are talking Gwen Stacy-level shock here. Well, first of all, that ship has past. There is no way to have that sort of shock anymore. But we can come close. There are a few people who should not be on that cover. White Rabbit and her henchman? Really? Who cares. Beetle and Tombstone? Not really Gwen Stacy level. Captain America, Torch, Ms. Marvel – in a Spider-Man book? Robbie and Randy – maybe – and some people have posited some good reasons for why they could bite the dust, but that was all reader based and not really built up in the story. Aunt May and Norman – OK, now were are talking, but both of them have died before in the last 50 years, so no the MOST shocking. That leaves us with JJJ – possible since he no longer is a MENACE! character, Black Cat – no Gwen, but close enough maybe, MJ – the fear of many fans and the only one who fits the billing (especially with all the statements of avoiding conventions and fans will be furious). I know they were wanting us to think that. Now, don’t get me wrong, I didn’t want MJ to die (and if she had, I had no doubt that she would be back somehow) However, the reveal was much less than the hype. MUCH LESS than the hype. Ms. Marvel dying in a Peter Parker Spider-Man book is asinine**. Now, a Miles Morales book? Sure. A Champions book? I can see that. Her own book? Absolutely! But little has been done to develop her in Peter’s book, so it is rather insulting to the character.
The little value that it had was that we were expecting it to be someone important to Peter, but GOTCHA! That fails with the spoilers. All this build up for nothing. This should have been a WOW panel, but now it is ruined.
Now, the literature teacher in me does appreciate being able to see the set up for Torch, Norman, MJ, and Kamala’s death with a bit of detachment, but I’m willing to bet I’m in the minority on that.
One possibility for the future – Norman feeling betrayed that Kamala was there to spy on him may help push him in the direction that he will feel like no matter how hard he tries to be the good guy, he will never be accepted, thus making it easier to become the villain again later.
Another possibility for the future – Now that the kids are gone, so is the reason for MJ to be with Paul, but now that Peter is with Black Cat, we could still have the romantic angst.
Final Grade
The elements were there. I could see a good story in here and you guys know that I do my hardest to judge an issue solely on the issue’s merit. But I cannot detach myself from the hype that was used to build this issue’s worth up and the subsequent failure of that hype and the spoilers.
D
Was It Worth More Than Actual Crap?
I’ve used this comparison before, but I believe it holds water here. I would rather have spent my money (however much it cost me to read this crap) on sending Chi-Town actual crap in the mail. In fact, it might still be worth it. Extra Credit: What animal’s crap should I send to Chi-Town?
What’s Next?
Grief looms over Peter after last issue’s shocking death! Spider-Man’s villains are more than happy to keep him distracted… Your eyes don’t deceive you, DOCTOR OCTOPUS IS BACK!
Who’s Next?
The Crawlspace has a new ASM reviewer to tackle these issues with me. This new reviewer will be revealed soon – maybe next issue! Maybe the one after that! Maybe the one after the one after that! You get the idea. Just keep coming back to find out WHO our new MYSTERY writer will be! I guarantee you this reveal will be worth the hype!
* No Finnish (finish)
** Peter Norbot, that means absolutely ridiculous in a stupid way
‘Nuff Said!
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MJ has raised these kids for 4 (?) years. In every way they are *her* children. She loves them. The fact that they have suddenly vanished and been *un-created* should be DEVASTATING to her. She should be an emotional wreck needing months (years?) of therapy.
But of course, this is comics where emotional trauma means nothing and everything is fine by the next issue.
Okay, I needed to take a step back, because boy, I did not enjoy this comic.
Rabin is still a villain that I have no interest in. And if he’s going to be a major part of Spider-Man lore going forward, as the reason Pete and MJ aren’t together, he really should be.
So, Paul is Paul Jeremiah Rabin. You could do some interesting things with that. But the reveal, here, was totally uninteresting. It doesn’t matter to the plot at all, and since both Benjamin Rabin and Paul Rabin have had such little character development, there is no reason to care. Since this is reveal is in the past too, it also is something the characters have come to terms with already, so it doesn’t matter to them either. Sure, Peter and Paul don’t like each other, but Peter already has reasons to dislike Paul. This reveal doesn’t do anything.
The kids are unmade by Rabin. So, what does that mean? Let’s be clear, the kids are clearly sentient beings and they’re actually MJ and Paul’s kids, since they were created from their essence. I’ve seen comparisons online to Billy and Tommy Maximoff, and that fits, so these kids are real people. The implication here are that they’re dead. Rabin unmaking them as if they weren’t real is just a sanitized version of him murdering them. It leaves open the possibility that they could still be brought back somehow, which is problematic if the idea was to get rid of the kids. What is also problematic in a Spider-Man comic? Murdering MJ’s two children.
Paul and MJ have a sad moment together later on, but I get the impression that we’re meant to go on and forget about the kids. That because magic was involved, that their deaths somehow don’t matter?
I think, the main problem I have with the issue is that it is very clever, but it fails to consider the messaging behind what it does. The way readers are meant to feel and what they’re meant to take away from this.
The death of Ms. Marvel, the bait and switch is a clever idea, but it fails to take into consideration that you’re fridging a character a lot of young girls identify with. It doesn’t matter if you have a clever idea to bring the character back, and I’m sure they do, you need to consider the message you’re sending to the people who are reading the comic.
And I’m not saying you can’t kill Ms. Marvel, although I certainly wouldn’t want to do it, but her involvement in this series has barely been more than a cameo. Maybe if we’d seen her investigating Osborn, unravelling the clues which revealed what happened to MJ, and getting her actually involved in the Wayep plot, then her death here would be earned. She could’ve been a good POV character, discovering things about this mystery as the readers did. But that wasn’t done. She got a job at Oscorp to keep an eye on Norman Osborn, found out pretty much nothing, and then randomly turned up at the battle which she knew very little about, and sacrificed herself.
If I had to guess, I’d say Zeb Wells kept her appearances minimal so that her death here would be unexpected. He didn’t want to tip his hand regarding his clever twist, and that is the risk with foreshadowing. But you get a conclusion here which feels entirely empty and unearned. And it sends a terrible message to all the people Ms. Marvel has empowered, especially since the character is now in the mainstream consciousness because of her Disney+ series and the fact that The Marvels will arrive later this year.
And there is an element of the idea that deaths don’t really matter in comics, so why not plunge a knife through this young girl’s chest? But bringing a character back doesn’t erase what you’ve already written.
I love what was done with Carol Danvers after Avengers #200. How Chris Claremont brought the character back to confront the Avengers for their actions. But that in no way makes Avengers #200 a good or worthwhile comic book. The way the first Ms. Marvel was treated in that comic was awful. I’m kinda shocked that Marvel would fridge another character with the Ms. Marvel name. And they were obviously aware that they were killing her in a way that could be considered fridging, because the cover and marketing were making reference to The Night Gwen Stacy Died. And yet it was still handled poorly.
Fridging has become a problematic trope since The Night Gwen Stacy Died. In the case of Gwen Stacy, she was a supporting character and her death preceded that trope. Ms. Marvel is not a supporting character, she is her own hero, who has very little connection to Spider-Man. And that trope has been used much too often now. I’m not saying never kill another female character, but you should consider how to do it, and whether killing that character is appropriate. You need to lay the groundwork carefully. And if you’re going to kill a hero like Ms. Marvel, don’t do it in another character’s book.
Sure, Ms. Marvel is given a little agency here, it is her idea to turn into MJ. But she’s told the stakes second-hand by Spider-Man. She comes out of nowhere to help. Her agency here is absolutely minimal.
I think, a big problem behind this whole arc was that Zeb Wells thought he had to answer the question “How do I break Peter and MJ up? And keep them broken up?” and this whole arc is a very clever and thought out way of doing that. But breaking up Peter and MJ is an empty editorial mandate. Which is why the separation of Peter and MJ feels so cold and empty when you read it on the page. It’s the wrong question.
The right question would be “Why are Peter and MJ not meant to be together?” and I know many fans would disagree with that narrative question too, but if Marvel don’t want Spidey and MJ together, as a storyteller you need to take that onboard and address it. Spider-Man does belong to Marvel, he’s their character, and as a writer you’re hired to write what they want.
But a story exploring why Peter and MJ perhaps might not belong together anymore would at least make you feel something. It would provide an emotional resolution to their relationship and allow both them, and the readers to move on.
What does this story arc tell me and everyone else reading? It basically says that MJ is still in love with Peter, and would be with him if not for feeling obligated to her family. It basically tells the audience that they’re right, Pete and MJ do belong together, we know it, you know it, but we’re going to artificially separate them because we can’t think of a solution which would justify them breaking up.
Like the death of Ms. Marvel, it’s a clever idea, but the messaging behind the story is all wrong.
I don’t want to bash Zeb Wells or Nick Lowe. They’re both talented gents. Clearly, they thought this was a good idea. It’s a story which is well written, that gives them and Marvel the outcome that they want. And in hindsight, it’s much easier to pick a story apart, than it is to come up with something when you’re on a monthly writing schedule. And everyone has bad ideas. But at some point, someone at Marvel should’ve taken a hard look at this story, and realized that it was the wrong story to tell.
Everything here is completely wrong-headed and poorly thought out. The messaging is truly awful. I don’t want the creative team to feel bad or get harassed (if you’re a fan, please don’t do that), but they surely need to take a step back, take onboard the criticism which has been levelled at them, and consider where they went wrong.
Slightly off topic, but the hashtag #ComicsBrokeMe is currently trending on Twitter. It’s worth a read. I’ve even tweeted about my own experience with the industry.
@Aqu@ – Better late than never! You are welcome to comment on any post, any time around here!
Sometimes after the issue is read, the review is written, and I’ve had time to think on it, my opinion will change. But not this one. If there hype had been that Ms. Marvel was in danger and they had been giving her more time in this book, then I could probably see this, but as it is, well….
As for Chi-Town, he is whining that I give him enough crap as it is. I don’t understand the guy. I’ve never been anything but nice to him. 🙂
Yeah, I know I’m late to the party (hell of a week) and that I won’t read this issue for another 3 months, but still…
I cannot agree more with your analysis, Mark.
Beyond the self-made spoiler, I’m still perplexed they killed a character like Ms. Marvel in a Spider-man book where she rarely appeared. What could make less sense than that?
As for the type of crap: a quick search on the internet seems to confirm there’s no consensus, so I’d say any kind of fresh crap is the best one.
@Evan
“At least BD didn’t reveal it on a Ms. Marvel site.” LOL
@hornacek
You know, I bet there are even people who watch the podcast live but are unaware of this website. Go figure!
@Mark — I was sort of embarrassed to say that the podcasts were recorded way past my bedtime, but I guess I didn’t need to be. That is very much a consideration for me. 🙂
You know, I guess it’s possible that the Chi-Town Departure of 2023 could be undone somehow (and then later retconned), but I’m afraid none of us has the ability to bring about the one thing that could possibly make that happen. [sotto voce: Chi-Town, are you still writing letters to Marvel, or are you limiting your letters to the books themselves?]
By the way, a coworker sent this to me, and, even though it’s pretty old, I hadn’t seen it before, so maybe the rest of the Crawlspacers will appreciate it. I, for one, whole-heartedly agree with this kid:
https://www.theonion.com/child-who-was-saved-from-train-tracks-by-angel-kind-of-1848799716
@Evan – “I guess the most appropriate kind would be your copy of Amazing Spider-man 26.”
Ha! I’ll save my money and just send him screenshots repeatedly. I listen to the podcasts, but I don’t watch them live. I’m old. That would make me stay up past my bed time. I’m trying Discord, but I prefer these discussions on the front page.
Of course this whole reveal thing could just be misdirection and we promise someone like Hornacek, but instead will just give you more Chi-Town. This may create a band of rage-readers who connect with the Crawlspace more! It’s working for Marvel, right?
@hornacek – Maybe those people don’t exist in Canada, but they certainly do here in America. Don’t worry, hornacek — Any country that can produce a Michael J. Fox will always have my deepest respect. 🙂
I’ve watched a few podcasts, but it’s been a long time — but I did really enjoy them. (Gosh, I think that was back when Mike McNulty wrote reviews.) I should probably get involved with Discord, as well, since I’ve been following this site long enough. Something about the name “Discord” is associated in my mind with arguments and strife, so it just doesn’t sound very pleasant to me.
@Mark – I forgot to suggest the kind of crap you could send Chi-Town. I guess the most appropriate kind would be your copy of Amazing Spider-man 26.
I hope Paul doesn’t start dating Felicia now, too.
@Evan – Wait a minute … someone is visiting this site and reading reviews that *doesn’t* watch the video podcasts when they are recorded? These people exist?
@Mark — For what it’s worth, I wasn’t aware that BD spoiled the reveal in the podcast. I was just making an educated guess based upon hornacek’s comment right below mine. So if you didn’t listen to the podcast (as I didn’t), then technically hornacek himself spoiled it. (Sorry, hornacek!)
Besides, we can’t call BD a bad fan like Dan Slott did on Twitter, so we just have to own it and hope, like Tom Breevort, that the hype upon the first review is not significantly undercut by the early reveal.
At least BD didn’t reveal it on a Ms. Marvel site.
@Mark – As a Canadian I will happily stick with our own national health care rather than accept anything that Crawl Space Inc. – an American company – can offer (shots fired).
@Hornacek
Sadly your mystery was more well crafted than that arc …
@Geiseric, @John, @Joshua Nelson, and @Hornacek and Evan
Geiseric – That’s pretty cool! I thought about the Black Cat absence, along with the absences of all the characters on the cover that were supposed to be possible SHOCKING DEATHS, but I figured Black Cat would become a distracting character from the story at hand about saving MJ. Though, if we really want to show that Peter is choosing Black Cat over MJ, it seems there was room for a little indicator in this issue possibly.
John – That’s a good observation about the Peter/Paul punch and the clothing/colors. It could mean something and I would like to run with that, but it could also mean that there is no oversight to ensure continuity. We had that with Kindred – different colors in the outfit – and I think it was oversight until the last issue and it was turned into a plot point. We won’t be sure until someone finally gives an interview about it, but if that is true, it may be the case here as well. In any case, I think you might be right and there is more to Paul than meets the eye. I am sure we will have Peter and Black Cat go on several adventures before that gets resolved.
Joshua – You make a fair point. I do like villains, especially the loser villains, and I have absolutely no interest in Rabin (which is quite telling since I am a huge mythology buff and if a mythology-themed villain can’t get me going, someone dropped the ball). I was very glad that he is gone. My only concern is that with Paul being a Rabin, we’re not through with that story. I guess I am willing to forgive such an awful, ineffective villain is that my focus was entirely on Peter and MJ, which I still hold to was the reason for the limp lettuce we were given. I will concede to you, however, that a more skilled writer could have at least given something to care about with the guy. I never worried that he might succeed. We never got to know the kids, so when he revealed he was the one who created them, I had to create MJ’s fear myself rather than feel their loss. He did one thing right – he was a non-issue for the story at hand. I will say that with a year to build this, we could have seen more of both him and Ms. Marvel to salvage this arc.
Hornacek and Evan – What? Brad spoiled my mystery reveal? Well, crap! This is how Marvel must have felt when Ms. Marvel’s death was leaked. Curse you, BD!!!!! Well, hopefully Crawlspacers the world over aren’t looking at the Hornacek reveal like they looked at the Ms. Marvel reveal…
Hopefully all will work out, folks. I know that currently Hornacek and BD are in negotiations about the Crawlspace beach house usage rights and Hornacek’s health care package, and things are getting pretty heated. I have hopes, though, that cooler heads will reach a mutually beneficial arrangement.
@Evan Berry
Whatever do you mean? It’s all lies, I tells ya – lies!
Oh wait, Brad already said it on the last video podcast. Never mind.
The new reviewer is hornacek, isn’t it?
A new mystery reviewer? I wonder who it could be! I can’t wait to find out!
*unacceptable
I know I’ve been harping on this, but it’s relevant. After reading through this entire arc, I have to say that Benjamin Rabin is the single most useless, ineffective villain I have read about in years. Seriously, he failed at absolutely everything he set out to do, got trounced in every single fight he was in no matter who it was against and was either outsmarted or outmaneuvered by everybody at every turn. Even Ms. Marvel’s death by his blade was a complete accident and it ended up killing him immediately afterwards, so I can’t even grant him that.
Everybody is rightfully complaining about the moronic Mary Jane Watson and Paul (we finally know his last name…yay) subplot, but I’m surprised more people aren’t pointing out what a thoroughly awful villain Rabin was. At least losers like The Big Wheel, The Grizzly, The Kangaroo, The Hypno-Hustler or The Gibbon are at least fun to laugh at; Rabin was just boring and completely uninteresting.
And yes, Mark, I’m aware that Rabin wasn’t the main focus of the story, the deterioration of Peter and Mary Jane’s relationship was (which was also handled terribly, but that’s another discussion). Regardless of whether he was the focus or not, there was absolutely no excuse for giving us an antagonist this piss-poor. He was set up as the catalyst for everything that had recently gone wrong in Peter’s life, yet he ended up being one of the most forgettable, ineffectual villains in Spider-Man history. As somebody who thinks the villains are every bit as important as the heroes for a good story, this is unnacceptable.
@Mark Alford
I do understand where you’re coming from. To the reader the kids mean nothing but to her it musy be awful (she also lost Mayday and the child in OMD).
Yes, I think something is suspicious about Paul. This is due to something extremely odd going on in flashbacks which I am assuming is intentional. First, in the issue 7 flashback Paul is punching Peter but in the issue 25 flashback Peter is punching Paul in the exact same way with clothes swapped and positions swapped.
Now in 26 the flashback says that Peter punched Paul before to explain this, but when the page turns and Paul punches Peter the color of Paul’s shirt, Peter’s jacket and Mary Janes jacket and shirt change to contrasting colours and the 180 degree rule is broken. The color change is surreal and one might think it is because of a mistake because it makes no sense otherwise, but it could be a plot point to show that something is not right.
It’s possible Paul is manipulating their memories or something.
@Mark Alford
My handle is the name of chieftain of the German tribe who migrated from Germany to Spain then to North Africa. In the mid 5th Century AD
Also I should also say that it’s weird how little importance Black Cat is to this story, like her dating Peter is just a placeholder until this drama is over
@Kelly and @Steve
Kelly – Thought you might enjoy that May day shout out! You know, I try to find the good in these stories as much as possible because I want to enjoy them. Many times I can do it. This, however, is everything you just said. Wow! How often is it that we agree? I guess that is something that this writing team has achieved that, at least. 🙂
Steve – You cannot buy newly released books on Marvel Unlimited (I guess there is a limit after all). I use a Comixology account to read newly released comic online.
@John, @Michael, @Sthenurus
John – I do think his role is not yet done. Would be an interesting twist if it were revealed that he was manipulating the situation for his own benefit.
Michael – WOW! Thanks for sharing that quote! You move to the head of the class! (if I could insert an image, it would be Ralphie’s teaching writing A+++++++++++++ allover the board and walls). That confusing about the kids does lead me to think that they threw them in as shock factor and figured out their use later. It certainly reeks a lot of “I’ve got this cool idea!” yet no ability to deliver on the cool idea. Regarding Paul, I don’t care anymore where he came from! He served his purpose in irritating Chi-Town. I’m ready for him to go. The man is three-day-old fish as far as I am concerned (Paul, that is, not Chi-Town). I’m with you – I have no problem with MJ using lethal force here. This guy just killed her children and bragged about it to her. And we are on the same wave-length for Kamala’s death. So much could have been done with the two together. We had a whole stinking year to make a connection with her. A year! Nothing. We could even have had the classic frustration with Peter in the lab while also having her running into Spider-Man from time to time and completely fan-girling over him. So much that could have been done here. Wells does carry blame here, but I also feel like this is where a good editor would have course-corrected.
Sthenurus – Yep – and this issue being the deciding factor to judge everything since Beyond Amazing is not just us making up metrics, the hype forces this take on it. I honestly can’t see any staff meeting where people would think that killing a character in someone else’s comic would make anyone happy. And it is not the kind of thing that would make people rage-read either. It’s just dumb. The fact that no one seemed to get this should be a wake up call to someone in authority that changes need to be made in the Spider-Office. Lowe might be a great guy and he might do well somewhere else. I thought when he took over during Slott’s run that he was saddled with something he had little power over with Slott already being firmly established. Then when he started allowing Spencer to flex his creative muscles, I thought, now he is going to show us what a good editor he can be. But then the ending to that run and every mis-step along the way is just mind-boggling. Man, I hope Paul is done by the year’s end, but I feel there may be more for him since his presence does cause rage-reading in some.
@Chi-Town, @John, @Sam, and @Geiseric
Chi-Town – I’m always here to help you out with your vocabulary needs, buddy! On a completely innocent note, I’m going to need your home mailing address….
John – Ah, Chi-Town would just rant about editorial “preference” and editorial “mandate” and blah, blah, blah. 🙂 I am going to disagree with you (ever so politely) – I feel that MJ would go all DIE if someone just killed her kids.
Sam – Was the first run also a Spider-Man comic or do you have another hero in mind?
Gieseric – Interesting handle – does it have a particular meaning? Your guess about MJ loving Paul is as good as mind. I think the idea is that their shared bond with the kids paired with their shared experience of survival bonded them together, but with MJ at the Hellfire Gala telling Peter she couldn’t be with him because of “responsibility”. That leads me to believe that now the kids are dead, there is nothing strong enough to keep them together. It is confusing because the earlier depictions were confusing and I don’t know if that was because they were throwing red herrings at us or that they didn’t know exactly where they were going with it.
Just jumping in without having read the issue, and I apologize for the subject change. The Marvel app I was using to purchase digital comics is done. Is it possible to purchase books like Sam 26 on the Marvel unlimited app? And if yes, how? I see no feature on the app at all to purchase newly released books.
Ouch on reminding me the Spider-verse-ness of it all w/ MJ giving her best MayDay impression.
ASM 26 just made me really debate if it’s time I stopped reading. You hit all the points on the head and maybe it’s because I identify with female characters – watching how they are utilized and treated by the creative team has me feeling pretty disrespected as reader. This just wasn’t a good issue and is a sad cherry on top of a disappointing run so far. I know editorial gets cagey and weirdly personally offended when we say we don’t think things are working — but they aren’t working. This isn’t the right voice or show for an Amazing Spider-Man story.
Well that was a dud.
The entire run hinged on this issue. We got the death of a completely unrelated character that barely ever factored in the story (also kamala fans must so rightfully PISSED for that). We got a SHOCKING TWIST about the kids that EVERYONE here saw coming 10 issues ago. We got bad art.
At this point, on my personal scale of runs, I think wells run (including beyond) is closer to slott’s (good beginning, great idea, horrible execution) than Spencer’s or JMS. Which is a shame really.
Now, do you think we have another 2-3 story arc coming and by the end of next year Paul (as well as the rest of this run) will be a done and over with?
Re: Kamala’s death- the problem was that she was hardly in this story before this issue. She briefly looked at Norman’s Gold Goblin costume in issue 22 and she saw Norman in New Jersey in issue 24. Honestly, killing anyone other than MJ, Paul or Norman would have felt artificial, because they were the only ones actually helping Peter against Wayeb and Rabin before this issue.
The other major issue is that Kamala’s death depends on her shape-shifting ability, which she hasn’t used in YEARS. ( Yes, I know a villain turned her into a worm during Dark Web but that was presented as something she couldn’t do on her own.) A reader who had been reading for only 2 years might not have known she could shape-shift. Apparently, her “I’m not healing” is a reference to early issues of her comic where it’s suggested that shape shifting interfere with her ability to heal. (Then again, it could be because she was stabbed with a magical blade.) Admittedly, Kamala says “Wasn’t sure I could still do that” but still. Again, this is a problem of Wells not setting things up properly. If Peter and Kamala went on an adventure together and Kamala told Peter ” I used to shape-shift but I don’t do that anymore. I think it might interfere with my body’s ability to heal, then this ending wouldn’t have come out of left-field.
My guess is that Paul and MJ will split up after this. I can see why a writer might think that a love triangle between Peter, Felicia and an MJ with powers might be a good idea but I can’t see why anyone thought this was a good way to get there.
It might be funny if Wanda and Maddie show up to console MJ over her kids’ disappearance:
“You need to seek help over what happened to your kids. You don’t want to be turned into an evil dominatrix lusting after your brother-in-law like we were.”
“I don’t have a brother-in-law”.
“You’re missing the point,”
“The last time I saw a therapist, it turned out to be Mysterio.”
“Well be more careful this time>”
“Good idea. Here’s a Dr. Erio Myst. That sounds like a good one.”
I’m confused about the kids- Rabin says that the point of the kids was to tether him to MJ “across space and time” and that they’re no longer needed. What does that mean? Like, do they help him track MJ? It’s annoying, because in issue 25 he didn’t seem to have had any problem finding MJ before she adopted the kids. Like you said, it would have worked better if we had seen Rabin using the kids to track MJ. Like Ben and the demon invasion in Dark Web, Wells seems to have some idea what the point of it was but it wasn’t clear how it would help Ben/Rabin accomplish their goals. This is what editors are for.
Re: the leak-Bleeding Cool claims that the leak did *not* come from Marvel:
https://bleedingcool.com/comics/amazing-spider-man-26-leak-did-not-come-from-inside-the-house/
This is how Breevort describes what happened:
https://www.thepopverse.com/marvel-death-spoiler-ms-amazing-spider-man-26-kamala-khan
“In this instance, we had coverage all set with Entertainment Weekly that was slated to be dropped when the issue came out.The negotiation for that coverage guaranteed them the exclusive to the story. So when somebody took a few blurry photos with their phone and posted them publicly weeks ahead of time, we were put into a corner,” Brevoort wrote. “At that point, we really didn’t have much of a choice other than to go ahead and authorize EW to release their story immediately. We could have waited, but then by the time their piece dropped along with the book, it would have been old news and not gotten them the eyeballs and traffic it was intended to. So that choice was made by us, by Marvel publishing, in the service of not burning our partner in this announcement and thus making it impossible to get similar coverage in the future. Again, we don’t love having to do this —but given the situation, it was about the only honorable avenue left to us.””
Technically, Paul wasn’t a Rabin from another dimension- he was the SON of a Rabin from another dimension. There were plenty of clues in issue 22 and we said something about his story in that issue didn’t ring true. He knew too much about what happened in this dimension for someone that was supposedly banished there by “our” Rabin. When Peter went to fight Wayeb, Paul said “He already beat you”- presumably that happened in Paul’s world. His story raised the question of what happened to the Emissary of that dimension. The problem is the revelation seems inconsequential to the story.
I’m not sure how I feel about Peter stalking MJ in the early issues. Apparently, he was worried because of Paul’s involvement in his father’s crimes but I’m still not sure that excuses it (or Peter’s leaving Randy and Aunt May). It doesn’t help that we never get a neutral description of how Paul helped his father. Peter calls Paul a murder and a monster but Paul insists that he was just an innocent dupe. We really don’t know who is closer to the truth.
Some people had a problem with MJ trying to kill Rabin but Rabin was trying to kill her. She’s been willing to use lethal force in self defense since she shot at Styx and Stone in the Michelinie run.
By the way, I agree with Aqu- the blade of decay looks like a crowbar.
Wouldn’t be surprised if it was revealed that Paul is mind controlling MJ
This arc is so weird, like I see a lot of people saying MJ is being a dick and to be honest she kind of is, but I think Wells wants you to take her side even though she is 100% being unreasonable here.
Also Wells seems to be a bit schizo with Paul, does MJ actually love him or was she just there for the kids. Because we’ve seen both.
This is the second time i read a comic of my favorite character and i end up feeling hurt. Not for Kamala’s death, but for the whole run.
It was obviously the right call for Chitown to step away early, but part of me wonders what his reaction would be if he stayed until this issue.
Imo MJ is acting extremely OOC in this issue. Especially in the flashback when she compares Paul to Peter (also, did you notice the abrupt color changes on all their clothes when Paul punches Peter). The story relies on some problematic tropes for her to remain with Paul for that long. I also don’t think she would say “DIE” like that when shooting Rabin.
Mark: I know what asinine means, the word pops in my head every time I click on and read your review. Made that way too easy for me, you’re slipping. I didn’t read the issue, but read this and it’s just a solid F for me. The pacing, the story, the plot holes, the editorial agenda driven preference that even SOMEONE on the inside is upset that they spoiled it two weeks in advance. Make me chuckle that Marvel now still OWES an “exclusive” to EW, now that this issue surpise went down like a bad fart.
Mark, I receive crap from you on a daily basis..twice on the weekends, nothing you send will surprise me. I do wonder who your mystery reviewer will be. I was guessing who it could be in between your dozen of emails you sent to me with the subject line “Be The Mystery Reviewer!”. I can’t wait for that outcome, but in the meantime, just like everyone else. I will enjoy what you and Painbot have to offer.