The “Sinful Spider-Man” saga is over. Gang War is on the horizon. But first we have the return of 2023’s breakout character that you(1) demanded: REK-RAP!
(What a nice cover … that has nothing to do with the story inside. I guess there are demons so the gargoyle wings are a nice touch.)
CREDITS
Writer: Zeb Wells
Penciler: Ed McGuinness
Inker: Mark Farmer
Colorists: Marcio Menyz
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Variant Cover Artists: OOH, ARTHUR ADAMS, THAT’S NICE. JOHN ROMITA SR? NO WAY!
PREVIOUSLY IN AMAZING SPIDER-MAN …
The Sinful Spider-Man is no more. Norman Osborn and “Kraven” teamed up to remove the sins from him and put them back into the spear, which “Kraven” said he would bury and we would never have to deal with those sins ever again. Peter apologized to MJ for trying to kill Paul and being mean to her. Somehow all the destruction Spidey caused on the highway didn’t result in any deaths, so no causalities for him to mope over. And Norman said everyone would blame everything on one of the Brocks. So all’s well that ends well! “Heh.”(2)
SUMMARY
Our story begins two nights ago at a house in Queens.
 |
 |
(This is not the update of The Exorcist I wanted.)
A large figure in a hat and trench-coat knocks on the door and tells the occupant that he needs to look in his attic. Somehow the Occupant (he isn’t given a name so I’m just going to call him that) sees through this disguise so the figure reveals himself as Rek-Rap!
(I didn’t notice it at first but the tiny notepad and pencil in Rek-Rap’s hand did make me laugh. Also the “4” on the door was knocked loose by Rek-Rap’s knocking.)
The Occupant calls Rek-Rap a Spider-Man imitator that’s been destroying properties across the city. Rek-Rap explains that destruction was caused by his rogues gallery attacking him, but thanks to his disguise they won’t find him now. He is immediately attacked by the Grave Goblin (who sadly has his own page on the Marvel Wiki).
Cut to current day, in the Limbo Embassy. Madelyne Pryor is explaining to Mayor Luke Cage(3) that Rek-Rap is convinced New York needs him, and that the Insidious Six are trying to stop him. Cage is upset that Rek-Rap and the Six are making a mess in NY, but also that his chair is so small, which Pryor explains is to make him feel unimportant.
(If you want to make someone feel unimportant in your office you don’t need a small chair, just one that’s low to the floor so they have to look up at you.)(4)
Spider-Man is also here, and asks Madelyne to do something about Rek-Rap. She says that she has already sent an agent to bring home all of the wayward demons left behind after Chasm’s invasion, and advises Cage and Spidey to stay out of their way.
Spidey and Cage leave. Spidey tells Cage that he’ll try to find Rek-Rap. They leave the building separately, because according to Fisk’s Law(5) Cage doesn’t want to be seen with an “illegal super hero”. Spidey asks him to change that law but Cage said that Fisk entangled the law with infrastructure funding. Cage says that he’s been working with Randy Robertson, who has been trying to get Spidey involved in solving this type of problem. Spidey says that he doesn’t want to get involved in politics, but Cage asks him if he’s doing enough.
Meanwhile we see Silvermane’s head berating Hammerhead, making him keep his head lower than his, which means Hammerhead has to bow since Silvermane is just a head on a pedestal. Silvermane reveals that he wants to reform the Maggia to take over all crime in New York, and he is building a new cyborg body.
(Is it a cyborg body or a robot body? Semantics.)
Madelyne is in Limbo. She digs up a small plant which transforms into some sort of creature. She says that “the rowdy children of Limbo need to be collected”, calls him her Repossesser, and tells him to put his face on first.
(Is this supposed to be a plant? A tree? Definitely not a giving tree.)
Spidey shows up at the house in Queens from the start of the issue and asks the Occupant what happened here. He says that Rek-Rap asked to see the attic, but the guy he rented the house from told him that no one could come up there. Spidey wonders if Rek-Rap found what he was looking for.
Meanwhile Rek-Rap is in the East Village. The papers that he found in the Occupant’s attic led him here, so he climbs up the building, and because he’s Rek-Rap, of course he licks the wall.
(Seriously – what are we doing here? Sigh – just keep telling yourself “They’ll be a gang war issue to review soon.”)
Spidey is here, revealing that this is his apartment building. Rek-Rap wonders why the papers he found led him to Spidey’s apartment, but they are interrupted by the arrival of Doctor Octoball!(6)
(Did we already make the Beholder joke when this guy appeared in the Dark Web issues? Probably.)
Spidey and Rek-Rap fight Doctor Octoball but are interrupted by the Repossessor, now in the form of a pale-skinned man in a business suit.
(See his hat? Remember that for later.)
Doctor Octoball is scared of the Repossessor and says that he doesn’t want to go back. The Repossessor says that the Queen has sent him to collect Octoball, and transforms into a blob of goo with an Audrey II looking mouth with the Repossessor’s face still on it.
The Repossessor swallows Doctor Octoball whole.(7) Spidey tells Rek-Rap that Octoball was a bad guy, so the Repossessor won’t do that to him. The Repossessor immediately tells Rek-Rap that he’s going to do the same thing to him. Rek-Rap tells Spidey that he’s trying to crack a case and begs Spidey for his help. Despite his better judgement (and the readers’ wishes) Spidey stops the Repossessor from eating Rek-Rap, saying that he will bring him to Madelyne himself.
The Repossessor sniffs Spider-Man and says that he knows him(8). Before Spidey can follow up on this, Rek-Rap punts the Repossessor off the roof and swings away, telling Spidey to come with him. Spidey reluctantly follows Rek-Rap.
On the ground, the Repossessor says “Parker”.
(Topher Grace did this line better.)
TO BE CONTINUED!
INITIAL RESPONSE
I really enjoyed the last arc (Sinful Spider-Man). I suspected that feeling wouldn’t last.
Sigh. I was right.
WHAT I LIKED
Hmm, what I liked, what I liked …
The art is nice.
I liked Spidey and Luke Cage working together, even if it was just for one meeting. We had Spidey interacting with another hero and not be treated like a chump for a change. And I liked Cage telling Spidey that he might need to get more involved.
I actually liked the mystery of the house’s owner, the papers found in the attic, and who or what the Repossessor is. If it wasn’t tied up with all the Rek-Rap and demons stuff, this would interest me.
Ok, the timing of Spidey telling Rek-Rap “Octoball is a bad guy, I don’t think the Repossessor is going to do that to you.” followed immediately by the Repossessor saying “I’m going to do that to you, Rek-Rap.” made me laugh.
And Cage sitting in tiny squeaking chair, with Madelyne admitting that it’s to make him feel unimportant, made me chuckle. There *were* some humorous moments in this issue.
At first I was going to have the return of Silvermane as Hammerhead’s boss in the WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE section, as I was enjoying Hammerhead’s recent attacks and him acting like a boss. But Silvermane’s appearance here makes it look like it was all his doing and Hammerhead is just a flunky. But the look on Hammerhead’s face as he’s bowing to Silvermane gives me hope that he is just pretending to be subservient to him, and already has plans to get rid of Silvermane, so I am willing to see what happens with the two of them (of course, if I’m wrong, then I will be very disappointed).
(This is not the face of a man who is content to be someone’s lieutenant. This is a man who already has a plan to climb to the top.)
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
Oh boy, where do I start.
(Why is his tongue flailing out of his mouth like that? Stop trying to make Rek-Rap into Venom, McGuinness!)
Why? Why do we have to have Rek-Rap return? This joke of a character should never have been created, but if he had to be then he should have been in one issue, killed off, and never appeared again. I mildly chuckled at the mentions in the recent letters pages about how McGuinness loves this character and how Zells would bring him back only to make McGuinness happy, but then I realized he was being serious. And he’s not just returning, but he’s the focus of a multi(?)-issue story. Seriously, besides McGuinness, who is this for? Who wanted this?
I liked some of the recent Doc Ock story. I really liked the Sinful Spider-Man story. But this – who wanted more of demons, Limbo, Madelyne Pryor, and Rek-Rap – all the stuff we hated from Dark Web?
And just in case you thought my dislikes were only Dark Web related, I actually have a dislike that has nothing to do with any of that. There is no reference to events of the Sinful Spider-Man story. None. Apparently Peter is all better now, when he should be severely traumatized over what he did to “Kraven”, Tombstone, MJ and Paul (yes, even Paul). As far as this issue is concerned, that story never happened. I was hoping after the last issue that Spidey would still be traumatized this issue but working with Rek-Rap would help to get him out of his funk (like JMD did with having Spidey team up with Frog Man after The Child Within story). But no, Peter is back to his normal self at the start of this issue, which I should have expected given the quality of the entire run, but is still very disappointing.
WHAT THIS ISSUE MEANT OVERALL
Well, I didn’t really like the first issue of the recent Doc Ock story, and I ended up liking most of the rest of that story. Same with the Sinful Spider-Man story. So it’s possible I could like the rest of the issues in this Rek-Rap story. It’s possible, right? Someone, please tell me it’s possible.
The other thing I wanted to mention is the Repossessor. I read on the Discord that this may be Gus, the Debt Collector that was trying to get hospital bills money from Peter (not sure if this was just a theory or if it’s been confirmed). As you all remember, Gus’ soul was consumed by Madelyne, so did she transform him into this creature that she sends out to hunt down wayward demons? Remember earlier when I told you to remember his hat? Well, he is wearing the same hat that Gus wore (according to the picture I found on LeagueOfComicGeeks.com):
(The face doesn’t look the same, but look at that hat! No two characters would wear the same hat like this!)
GRADE
C-
I was really tempted to give this a D, but it’s not outright awful like the Dark Web issues were. It’s just … there. I don’t care about Rek-Rap, Limbo, demons – this is not what I want in my Spider-Man stories. Plus I need to give myself some room to go down if this story gets worse (please prove me wrong, Zells!).
NEXT TIME, IN AN ALL-NEW ISSUE OF AMAZING SPIDER-MAN …
Oh good, more Rek-Rap! Please let this be a two-parter! Gang War, you can’t arrive soon enough!
FOOTNOTES
(1) By “you” I actually mean “Ed McGuinness”.
(2) But you don’t need to remember any of this, because nothing from the previous story matters in this issue.
(3) This was news to me. Last I heard Fisk was the mayor. Can’t Marvel’s New York just have a mayor that’s not a hero or a villain – just a normal person?
(4) For example:
(Oh, Mr. Potter – you may have been a warped frustrated old man, but you had a nice office.)
(5) This was also news to me. Would it kill them to include an Editor’s Note box explaining these things that happened in other books that most ASM readers won’t know about?
(6) Not to be confused with “Doctor Octo-Ball” who appeared in a Peter Porker back-up story in Marvel Tales #209:
(This image will haunt my dreams tonight.)
(7) Good riddance. Hopefully we never see him or Grave Goblin again.
(8) What is it with people identifying Spider-Man by smelling him? Wolverine, Morlun, the Repossessor, anyone else? Now that I think about it, Daredevil can probably identify him by his smell. Poor Matt.
Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts
Spotify
Pandora
Amazon Music
iHeartRadio
Podbean
Amazon Alexa
Player.fm
Listen Notes
Stitcher
@Michael
Yeah, and those are books where the Limbo embassy would be expected to appear because its existence is connected to the book’s overall plot. But in theory every (?) other book that takes place in New York – whether it’s connected to X-Men or not – should be referencing this giant status quo change to everyday life in New York. There are now demons living in New York City! And they have an embassy there. It’s illogical for another book set in New York City to not at least mention that this has happened, let alone have demons show up or be in the background.
@Hornacek- The Limbo Embassy has been seen in the Dark X-Men series (where Ben is currently appearing), the last issue of the Hallow’s Eve series and the Hallow’s Eve Special that came out last week. All of those are offshoots of Dark Web, though.
@Hermit9O
I agree that there is stuff Zells introduces or has happen in a previous story that should have huge ramifications but is barely mentioned again (or not at all). I mentioned in my review about Spidey being evil/possessed in the previous arc not being followed up upon here – it’s not even mentioned like Spidey thinking “I’m still getting over having Norman’s sins” – you wouldn’t even know that happened if you read this issue in a vacuum.
Also the entire fallout from Dark Web – there are now demons in New York city, with their own embassy and everything! This should be huge in any comic set in New York, but apart from one story in the recent annual and this issue, it’s never (?) been mentioned.
At this point with this run, I’m pretty numb to it existing. But, I guess this issue represents a large problem found this entire time. Wells keeps doing stuff and not exploring it more nor tying it up. There’s a lot of loose ends with no consequence attached. What am I to do with that as a reader? Here is no different as it feels like the same situation again. I’m not going to discount the other parts to this story being good, but I’m not welcomed to seeing anything Dark Web related again since it didn’t do anything for the series.
@Michael
Yeah, it seems clear now that Gus is the Repossessor. But without the discussion on the Discord I would have never made this connection. Gus just wasn’t that memorable a character – I didn’t even remember he had been given a name. When he “died” it just felt like Zells had plans for this character and his interactions with Peter but had decided they weren’t working (or he didn’t know what to do with the character) and just killed him off. I never expected him to return.
Regarding Silvermane and Hammerhead, yes in the past HH has seemed like a loyal Maggia soldier. But his appearances in this run make him seem like he’s decided “Ok, no more following someone else’s orders – time for *me* to take charge.” And he’s been making moves. But for Silvermane to suddenly show up and have HH be just a loyal soldier to him seems very disappointing. Like I said, the look on HH’s face makes me hope that he’s still looking to be the boss himself and is just pretending to go along with Silvermane for now.
“This is a 3-part story, just to let you know.” Nooooooooo!!!!!
“To add to what Mark said, Kingpin’s current status quo is the White King of the Hellfire Club.” In my day, the kings and queens of the Hellfire Club was all mutants (except for Donald Pierce) – that was a pre-requisite.
Re: the evidence that it’s Gus- Maddie says that he wasn’t punished in Limbo but had his sins burned away to reveal his gifts. Gus was a debt collector and the Repossessor tells Octoball “She sent me to COLLECT you.” In issue 14, Maddie says she knows what Gus does in his attic. The Occupant says his landlord disappeared a couple of months ago and never allowed him to go in the attic. Presumably Gus was a serial killer and Maddie didn’t want to restore him to human form and have him prey on innocent people but she felt guilty about what she did to him so she thought making him Limbo’s demon collector would be a fair solution.
Re: Silvermane and Hammerhead- if you know the context to that scene it reads like there’s a hidden meaning to Hammerhead’s actions. Hammerhead has always respected the Maggia’s leadership. Madame Masque was the daughter of one of the Maggia’s great leaders. Silvermane says Hammerhead killed Madame Masque to prove his loyalty. If you look at the previews for Gang War: First Strike, we see Hammerhead with the woman from the wedding and they’re yelling at the other gangsters:
https://graphicpolicy.com/2023/10/21/exclusive-preview-amazing-spider-man-gang-war-first-strike-1/
Like I said before, I think the woman from the wedding is the real Madame Masque. When Silvermane asked Hammerhead to kill Madame Masque, he was disillusioned, considering who her father was. Then Hammerhead and Madame Masque came up with a scheme to trick Silvermane. Madame Masque had one of her goons impersonate her at the wedding. Then, Masque attended disguised as Hammerhead’s girlfriend. Then Hammerhead kills the fake Madame Masque and Silvermane thinks Hammerhead is loyal. So when Silvermane says the Maggia will control all crime in New York City and Hammerhead agrees, Hammerhead means that it will- under him and Madame Masque.
This is a 3-part story, just to let you know.
Add Puma and Sabretooth to the list of people who have tracked Spider-Man by smell.
To add to what Mark said, Kingpin’s current status quo is the White King of the Hellfire Club.
The anti-superhero law WAS mentioned briefly in issue 22. I agree, though, that Wells needs to do a better job of letting the readers know this information. Take the conversation between Silvermane and Hammerhead, for example- all it would have taken is one line of dialogue “It must have been difficult for you to kill Madame Masque since her father is a great leader in the Maggia.” to let the reader know something important like that.
@Chi-Town Spidey
Like I said, people on the Discord were talking Wed and Thur about the Repossessor being Gus. I just made the hat connection.
If Rek-Rap had just appeared in Dark Web and we never saw him again then I wouldn’t mind the character – he was just one demon in a story full of them. But to have in a non-DW story in ASM just boggles the mind.
At least with the 3 Stooges there are 3 of them – most people like at least 1-2 of them so you can just ignore the one(s) you don’t like. But there’s only one Rek-Rap!
Hornacek for the win on the Gus connection. I’ll buy that! Mark didn’t pick that up (cause he phones in EVERYTHING), but what can you expect from a guy that loves Rek-Rap. I WILL never understood the “love” of that stupidity of a character, but then I look at the 3 stooges and how everyone loves them, so it’s basically that mixed with Spider-Man I guess. Still, doesn’t belong in an ASM comic. It’s Mark and Neil’s fault that a character like Rek-Rap exists and continues to plague on. Place that guy in Spider-Ham or Spiderboy. Just get him out of ASM.
@Dark “I Cannot Tell a Lie” Mark
Ok, for my next review I will barely finish my first draft and just publish it right away, without even checking if the images are clickable.
Based on your love of Rek-Rap I would go back and change my grade … but I don’t want to.
I have no idea how many issues this story is – I haven’t seen an issue number for when Gang War starts. Knowing my luck this will be a 4-5 issue Rek-Rap story.
Thanks for the info about Fisk and Cage. You gave us the information that the editor should have given in this issue. If there is now a no super-heroing law in New York then you think that would come up a lot in a Spider-Man book, especially when a Spider-Man looking figure just caused massive destruction on a highway last issue.
Regarding Gus, I never would picked up on this (possible) connection if not for the discussion on the Discord. But on the LeagueOfComicGeeks.com page for Gus (yes, he has his own page there) under the Personas section it has a link to a page for Repossessor which basically has the same info as the page for Gus.
Thanks about the footnotes. I usually have to stop myself from including too many of them.
Good review! I wish you would hold back a bit. I got used to being able to phone it in and still look good when Chi-Town was the other reviewer.
As a rule, I do not like the Limbo stuff and Wells’s demon jokes in Dark Web fell flat on me much in the same way I did not like the oddity that was Beyond. However, I do love me some Rek-Rap and I thought this issue was great! A or A- from me (so you may want to go back and edit your low grade in the review). That said, I agree with you that this needs to be a two-parter and I guess if I paid more attention to the solicits, I would know if it was or not. I would not want too much of this.
Fisk went down as mayor in Daredevil and Luke Cage decided to run as mayor to try and remove the no super-heroing law. The law is bigger in some of the other books, like Fantastic Four and such, so it is surprising that there were no editor notes to combat confusion.
I did not pick up on the Gus connection. That makes sense enough to me.
Nice footnotes!
@Evan Berry
Mark keeps messaging me before each of my reviews telling me he loved the issue and would give it an A. I’m still thinking he’s hazing the new guy and trying to trick me into giving a good review to an issue he knows is terrible.
The last I knew Fisk was the mayor, suddenly it’s Luke Cage? I have no idea how or in what book this happened, but the least they could do is give us an Editor’s Box saying “Luke Cage became the mayor in …”
The fact that we have an embassy for Limbo in New York makes me think Marvel wants demons to be here to stay, and that they can show up in anyone’s book.
I enjoyed seeing Silvermane’s head, but kept wondering where his little car was.
Hey, at least Mark is happy, right, Hornacek? Right?
With all due respect, I was glad to see that you were confused about the mayoralty of New York and Fisk’s Law, because I didn’t know about those developments, either, and I thought I must be the only one.
Could all the demon-related antics be resolved in the next issue so that the supernatural stuff is behind us? I would love that, but I guess it’s unlikely, especially because everyone demanded Rek-Rap. A story called Gang War seems more gritty and real to me. Artificial bodies, either robotic or cybernetic, for free-standing fully-functioning heads I can understand, but not demons. Seeing Silvermane made me miss Boomerang.
I can tell Puddin’s not very interested in this issue. Maybe it smells bad.
Thanks for another great review!