The return of Tombstone! The return of Janice! The return of Spidey pretending he’s working with Tombstone to get under his (near-invulnerable) skin! The return of the Daily Bugle! The return of Peter in a limo with Tombstone! The return of Tombstone attacking Peter(1) in an enclosed space! And the return of … the legal system???(2)
(Hey, this cover actually happens in this issue! For this run, that’s new.)
CREDITS
Writer: Zeb Wells
Penciler: John Romita Jr.
Inker: Scott Hanna
Colorist: Marcio Menyz
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
PREVIOUSLY IN AMAZING SPIDER-MAN …
Peter went on a date with Shaye.(3)
SUMMARY
Picture it. Mozambique. A long time ago.(4)
(A-weema-weh, a-weema-weh, a-weema-weh, a-weema-weh …)
Kingpin is on a safari with Tombstone, who is Fisk’s bodyguard at the time. Fisk points out a lion that has taken over a pride and killed a cub sired by his predecessor. Fisk admits that he would kill any kid – even his own – to stay on top. Tombstone watches as the Kingpin kills the lion (in case you can’t tell, this will be important later).
A long time from then (meaning in the present day) in the West Village, Randy is back home with Peter. He is still on crutches and says he’ll be in therapy for 6-8 weeks. Randy rushes Peter out the door so he won’t see that Janice Lincoln (aka the Beetle) was hiding in the bedroom.
(I was always rooting for these crazy kids to make it work.)
Spidey is swinging through the city, thinking about the Green Goblin’s recent return, and “loose ends”.
In Harlem, White Rabbit and Kareem are selling guns to some thugs. Suddenly Spider-Man shows up, pretending that he’s working with WR (White Rabbit) and Kareem to steal the thugs’ money and take back the guns – as if that was Tombstone’s plan all along. Spidey thinks of how he’s been doing this lately to make other criminals think he and Tombstone are working together, wondering if this is a smart idea or if he’s just creating another loose end?
At the edge restaurant(5), Tombstone is told about Spider-Man’s actions while looking at pictures of Peter Parker.
(Actual printed photographs instead of a slideshow on a tablet? Tombstone is old-school.)
Robbie greets Peter at the Daily Bugle and mentions that Peter must be looking for a job after leaving Oscorp. Peter mentions a severance package(6) and assumes Robbie is offering him a job, but Robbie says that he invited Peter here to tell him that Janice is back and hanging out with Randy.
Later that evening, Janice is out buying some flowers when Spider-Man appears.
(If we saw the panel after this it would be Janice screaming in surprise and throwing the flowers at Spidey.)
At Tombstone’s apartment, Kareem and WR are worried that the low-level peons of Tombstone’s organization have demanded to meet with him, as if they have the right to summon the boss like this. Tombstone tells them that he’s going kill Spider-Man in front of all of them tonight. WR wonders how he’s going to do this.
In Alphabet City, Randy confronts Peter on a street, saying that Spider-Man has “taken” Janice, assuming she’s been arrested. Before Peter can say anything further, Tombstone pulls up in his limo, telling Peter to get in. Before getting into the limo, Peter gives Randy a card and tells him to let his “friend” know where he is.
(Kids, never get into a car with a stranger. Or an albino gangster with superpowers.)
Tombstone says that he assumes that the card Peter gave to Randy contained Spider-Man’s number. Peter mentions that the two of them had a conversation in this limo before (way back in Zells’ first issue, right?). Tombstone mentions that Spider-Man has been making criminals think the two of them have been working together, so he’s going to fix that by killing Spider-Man publicly, and the way to do that is to get Spider-Man to come after him with “his blood up, in no condition to outsmart anyone”, and the way to do that is to kill Spidey’s friend, Peter Parker.
(Not a splash page, but still a pretty nice panel. At first I didn’t know what that black thing right above Peter’s head was, but it’s his hat.)
Peter is able to dodge the first blow and lets Tombstone connect with the next ones (to not give away his secret identity). It’s a brutal battle that shakes the car (which is still driving through all of this). At one point Peter tries to exit the limo but Tombstone pulls him back in, slamming his face against the window. Eventually Peter does the “Before you kill me, let me tell you one thing” trick and tells Tombstone that the card he gave Randy didn’t have Spider-Man’s number on it …
… and suddenly the limo crashes, with Tombstone being pulled out of it by … OH MY GOD IT’S JOHN CENA LUKE CAGE AND SHE-HULK!
(Coming this fall to NBC … Law & Order MCU. Also, this limo driver is thinking “Why couldn’t I have gotten tomorrow’s shift?”)
Peter reveals that the card contained She-Hulk’s number – his lawyer. She-Hulk and Luke tell Tombstone he’s under arrest.(7) Tombstone tries to fight back, but She-Hulk, Luke and Spider-Man (who shows up, with no one wondering where Peter Parker went) easily knock him out, just as the cops show up to arrest him.
Later, in the Criminal Courts Building, “Mr. Lincoln” pleads not guilty.
(Is this former potential love interest Michele? She said she was Tombstone’s lawyer – was she a criminal defense lawyer or in some other legal field?)
The prosecutor reveals to the court that the state’s witness would like to make themselves known to the accused. Tombstone turns around, looking at Peter, whom he assumes is the witness. Then he sees Randy and assumes it him. But then Randy opens the door and reveals that the witness is … Janice Lincoln!
(Admit it – you’re hearing those words and their accompanying music right now in your head.)
Peter explains (to the reader) that he convinced Janice that turning state’s evidence and testifying against her father – who betrayed her at the end of the Gang War – is the best way to get revenge against him. Tombstone looks shocked, but then, Peter thinks that he looks like … a lion!(8) I told you to remember that Mozambique flashback!
TO BE CONTINUED!
Oh right, there are other stories in this issue! The last time they did this (issue #50) I included the backups’ summaries after the other sections because they were all unrelated to the main story. But this time one of these stories is directly related to the main story, so it makes sense to discuss it now before I get into what I liked and didn’t like about this issue. So once again, here are a bunch of … mini-reviews!
Proxy
Writer: Zeb Wells
Art: Andres Genolet
Color Art: Rachelle Rosenberg
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Synopsis: Rhino is on a date (after Screwball helped setup his online profile last issue) that is going well when they spot Spider-Man and She-Hulk defeating Bulldozer outside. Spidey asks She-Hulk for the name of a prosecutor to help with Tombstone but she tells him to get a proxy to talk to her about this. She-Hulk leaves to go to court to get all charges against Ned Leeds dismissed (“Not Guilty By Reason of TWD Brainwashing”). Peter shows up, and Betty is happy to see him, but not Ned because … he’s Ned Leeds and has always been a jerk to Peter? Peter tells She-Hulk he’s Spidey’s proxy, and she gives him the name of a prosecutor, and her business card so he can call her in case of emergency.
Review: This was a pleasant surprise. It filled in some of the holes in the main story about how Spidey set up his legal attacks against Tombstone, and how he had She-Hulk’s card to call her for backup. This felt like when I watch Survivor and a blindside happens and you immediately get a flashback to explain what happened earlier. I liked it. Except I have no idea why Ned is so angry at Peter – weren’t they buddy-buddy the last time they talked?
Grade: A-
Responsibilities
Writer: Zeb Wells
Art: Ramon Rosanas
Color Art: Rachelle Rosenberg
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Synopsis: Peter has dinner with MJ and Paul, and they all act like this is a normal thing they do. The next day Paul goes to visit Cale Naughton, who did some math work with Benjamin Rabin years ago (but he doesn’t know that Paul is Rabin’s son) and is having trouble finding work because of his association with Rabin. Paul remembers a time in another dimension when he was working on a project with that universe’s Cale that resulted in Rabin killing Cale. 616 Cale is sick (it’s never stated with what) and Paul has paid for the procedure he needs to live and tells him to call him if he needs any help.
Review: Ugh. The scene of Peter, MJ and Paul socializing like they’re all fine with each other is bad enough, but then we get a Paul story? Supposedly he’s got a list of people’s he’s wronged in the other universe so he’s going around helping their 616 counterparts? Who asked for this? Who is this for?
Grade: D- F
I had a rare last minute update here. I originally gave this a D-, but minutes before I posted this review I remembered this in the non-letters page:
The hubris, the gall, the outright gaslighting by Nick Lowe to try to convince us that Paul is a beloved character and that the readers have been CLAMORING to have a Paul story that delves into his character … this infuriated me, and turned my opinion of this story from contempt to outright hate. The nerve of this story. Hence the updated grade.
Stark Kraven Mad
By: Lee Gatlin
Synopsis: Kraven (the original or the clone? we don’t know) is in a park reading a Where’s Waldo book(9) but is unable to find Waldo. Spidey appears and offers his help, which Kraven refuses, but after being unsuccessful in finding Waldo, he accepts Spidey’s help.
Review: Well, at least this was only one page, unlike the last Lee Gatlin backup we had in issue #50. I still don’t like Gatlin’s art, but it doesn’t seem as bad as it was in the last Gatlin backup. And the idea of Kraven the Hunter being unable to find (or hunt down) Waldo made me … well, not laugh, but chuckle.
Grade: C
9.5 pages of covers
Not a backup story, but we had 9.5 pages of ASM covers (including the Superior Spider-Man covers, ugh). So when you’re looking at how much you paid for this extra-sized issue, remember that you literally paid for 9.5 pages of covers so small you can barely make them out. This makes the single THE END page that you paid for in the previous issue seems like nothing. Plus all of these covers are displayable online in full size.
The Proxy story is really the one worthwhile story in here, as it fills in some of the gaps from the main story. The rest can be skipped and you’re not missing anything. In fact, I’d recommend deliberately skipping the Paul story.
INITIAL RESPONSE
Maybe it was because I hated the final issue of the Easy Being Green story, and the previous issue feeling so disposable, but I really liked this issue.
Here’s my big takeaway from the Zells run (I reserve the right to amend this after Zells is gone). The best issues (not stories, or arcs) of this run have been the Tombstone ones (with the first Sinful Spider-Man story being the exception). Not every issue of those arcs have been great, but those arcs have a higher overall higher average rating than pretty much every other arc (except Sinful SM).
So a Tombstone story makes me optimistic. Will it have a disappointing end? Probably. But let’s see how far we get before the wheels fall off.
WHAT I LIKED
Old school Tombstone in the flashback. I have never liked his redesign with the shaved head. Too many times his head does not have the proper size and shape (more on that later). But this flashback was the Tombstone I remember.
(If this run ends with Tombstone deciding to grow his hair back to this look then I will give that issue an A+.)
We got more of Peter Parker in this issue just being Peter Parker. Yes, the previous issue was all Peter Parker, but that issue feels like an aberration, almost like it was a fill-in issue by another writer. We actually got some of Peter interacting with his supporting cast.
I liked the continuation of Spidey pretending to be working with Tombstone to turn low-level criminals against Tombstone. This was a good idea at the end of Gang War and it’s nice to see it back. If Spidey wants to hit Tombstone where it hurts, this is a good way to do it.
It was nice to see Peter back at the Bugle, but also kind of sad to realize that Robbie is probably the only person there that he knows (or knows him) – does Betty still work there, or is she a fulltime mom now?
The return of Janice Lincoln. I did like Tombstone wrecking her new black Beetle suit in Gang War, but then she just disappeared and no one knew where she went. So it was nice for her to be back, and back together with Randy. Just have these two get married already!
I did like the symmetry of another “Peter and Tombstone conversation in a limo” to end this run, just like how it started:
(Peter and Tombstone in a limo: check. Raining: check. Peter wearing a baseball hat and carrying a bag: check.)
Tombstone’s idea make sense – he wants to kill Spider-Man in front of everyone, so he needs to make Spider-Man come after him, and have him be angry and careless. And the best way to do that is to kill his best friend, Peter Parker. Wait, what does the public think is the connection between Peter and Spider-Man now? It used to be that Peter was his photographer and they had a deal about taking his pictures for the Bugle, but Peter hasn’t worked for the Bugle in years. Was Spidey the official bodyguard of Peter when he owned Parker Industries, like Tony Stark and Iron Man? Marvel seems to want to ignore that Parker Industries ever happened, so I’m curious what current civilians think is their connection now.
I liked the Tombstone/Peter fight. Peter had to use his powers to keep from dying, but make it look like Tombstone was winning so he wouldn’t figure out Peter had powers. And he wasn’t trying to defeat Tombstone, just play for time until She-Hulk (and Luke Cage) showed up.
At first I didn’t like that She-Hulk and Luke Cage showed up. More of “Spider-Man isn’t allowed to win his own battles anymore, he needs other heroes to show up to defeat foes he defeated on his own years ago”, etc. But this is where the Proxy backup comes into play. Spidey doesn’t want to just defeat Tombstone, he wants to prove him guilty and get him sent to prison. So his plan to convince Janice to turn states evidence, arrange for Randy to call in the calvary (She-Hulk and Luke) with the police coming to arrest Tombstone, all without letting on that Peter Parker is Spider-Man … I liked this. It was smart. We could have just had a Spider-Man/Tombstone fight where they hit each other until only one was left standing. But this was more of the competent Spider-Man who makes a plan to defeat an enemy with strategy instead of just beating them up. I must admit that I did not expect that this issue would end with Tombstone on trial and in prison already.
Janice turning against her father – it’s about time. Especially after the end of Gang War. I’m fine with some scenes where she’s sad because he’s her father, but enough is enough. I hope she goes full steam ahead with this and doesn’t change her mind.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
The art. Particularly some of the faces:
What the hell is going on here? It’s not just Tombstone – on the same page as this panel we have Janice with a giant square-shaped face:
It appears as if Peter’s spider-sense doesn’t go off until Tombstone literally states that he’s going to kill Peter. But the spider-sense should have been going off as soon as Tombstone’s limo pulled up, and during that entire conversation. It’s not like Tombstone was not planning on killing Peter, and then in that final panel he suddenly changed his mind and only then would the spider-sense have detected a danger. I understand from a visual perspective it makes sense for the spider-sense to go off when Tombstone says he’s going to kill Peter, but that’s not how the spider-sense works.
WHAT THIS ISSUE MEANT OVERALL
It’s the start of another Tombstone-centric arc, which as I mentioned above, have been the best arcs in this run. So I fully expect some pretty good issues in this arc, until I am inevitably disappointed with the ending.
GRADE
A-
This was a pretty good issue which surprised me. I liked Peter’s plan and where it led. I’m cautiously optimistic (but also a realist).
NEXT TIME, IN AN ALL-NEW ISSUE OF AMAZING SPIDER-MAN …
(I need one of the prison guards to yell “No touching! during this scene.)
The trial of Tombstone continues. Will he break out of prison? Cause shenanigans from behind bars? Is Janice safe? Only time (and the next issues) will tell!
FOOTNOTES
(1) Technically the last time Tombstone was fighting Spider-Man, but close enough.
(2) I didn’t mean to do this “The return of …” thing here but …
(3) Seriously, that’s all the happened in that issue. And if you did miss it then it doesn’t matter because that’s not mentioned in this issue at all.
(4) The best flashback device ever:
(5) This is an actual restaurant in Harlem.
(6) It makes sense that Peter would get a severance package from Oscorp, but I assume this is mentioned here so Zells – and the next writer(s) – doesn’t have to explain how Peter is paying his bills without having gotten a new job yet.
(7) Is the mayor of New York allowed to arrest criminals? And She-Hulk is a private citizen and a lawyer. Luke says the warrant is on the way, so I guess they’re just detaining him until the actual cops show up that can legally arrest him?
(8) “He looks like a lion” is not a thing anyone actually says.
(9) Are these books still a thing? Do teenagers know who Waldo is nowadays?
Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts
Spotify
Pandora
Amazon Music
iHeartRadio
Podbean
Amazon Alexa
Player.fm
Listen Notes
Stitcher
@Paul Penna:
“I mean, do understand that when I say we need more about Paul’s background, I’m talking as a writer, rather than a reader.” It should be as both. A good writer should know that the readers are going to want characters to have a backstory and character development and that we should care about them. Zells failed on all of this with Paul.
One of the problems with Paul is not unique to him – it’s true of pretty much every supporting character in this run. He appears in an issue/story and is important, and then he disappears and we don’t see him again for many issues. I remember ASM in the 1980s and the 1990s where we would get supporting characters consistently in most of the issues. We knew what was going on with them because they kept appearing in issue after issue after issue. Paul appeared for an issue or two, then we didn’t see him for many issues, then he appeared again and we were like “Oh yeah, it’s Paul – what was he doing the last time we saw him?”
“And I disagree. Paul is the main reason that Peter and MJ can’t be together. Get rid of him, and that goes away.” This depends on how they got rid of Paul. If he dies heroically saving her or innocents then Marvel will likely have her mourn him, unable to move onto any new romance.
“Marvel wants Paul to continue to keep Peter and MJ apart. I think Paul will be sticking around in the Spider-Man comics for a very long time.” I will admit if I’m wrong, but I predict when Zells’ run ends, Paul will either die or leave. And if he stays he’ll just be around in the background or just mentioned. For any future ASM writer he won’t matter as a character.
I’ve always said that a good writer can turn a bad/uninteresting character into a good character. None of use cared about Boomerang or any of the Superior Foes before that series, but Spencer made us care about them. It can be done. But with Paul? His introduction was so toxic I’m not sure that kind of redemption is possible – not without fundamentally changing his character so much that he does not resemble who he is right now.
I mean, do understand that when I say we need more about Paul’s background, I’m talking as a writer, rather than a reader.
He is woefully underdeveloped. I see this as a good first step. But it’s very late to be giving Paul character development now. This should’ve been done way earlier.
And honestly, I’d rather Paul was interesting, than likable. Yeah, he has to be somewhat of a good guy for MJ to be interested in him, but by all means, fans should be allowed to hate him.
But as a writer, I don’t think this character should be a blank slate. Which means featuring him more.
And I disagree. Paul is the main reason that Peter and MJ can’t be together. Get rid of him, and that goes away. Marvel wants Paul to continue to keep Peter and MJ apart. I think Paul will be sticking around in the Spider-Man comics for a very long time. And while he’s in the comics, I’d prefer that he’s actually developed well, and it should be the job of any future Spidey writers to develop Paul into a character which matters. It’ll be a challenge, but that should certainly be the goal.
But yeah, purely from a fan perspective, I’d get why this would be an unpopular opinion. However, I truly believe that there are no bad characters (at least, for the most part, unless something is genuinely gross or offensive), just badly written characters. Some interesting things could still be done with the character of Paul. It only requires the right writer.
@Geiseric:
“Paul and MJ aren’t married, they are just dating. They accidentally put that in an early issue but issued a retraction an issue later”
How bad of an editor are you that you let something like that slip by you?
@Paul Penna:
I would love if this Ned was revealed to be a Chameleon. As I said earlier, I never liked the idea of bringing Ned back from the dead. So to have him not be Ned would be great. But this anger towards Peter comes out of nowhere.
“The character is obviously sticking around.” I don’t believe that. I think after Zells is gone, depending on what happens with Paul in these last issues, it wouldn’t surprise me if we never see Paul again. Or he just fades into the background and is only seen very briefly, without adding anything to any story he appears in.
And even if they are to “develop the character into something more interesting”, it’s too late for this.
We already know that Paul is responsible for the people Rabin/Wayep killed. Or at least he knew about it and let it happen. Saying now that he feels guilty and is trying to make up for it. Too little way too late.
“We needed more background and character development regarding Paul” No we didn’t.
“But the character who is Mary Jane’s husband can not remain as undeveloped as he is.” Well, he has been since he appeared.
@Dark Mark:
Yeah, I assumed Luke and She-Hulk were just detaining Tombstone until the actual authorities showed up to arrest him. Luke should have said “You’re under arrest … once the police show up to actually arrest you. I’m just going to make sure you don’t leave until they do.”
A trope I hate is when, after many years of continuity and stories, a single issue/episode will say that characters X and Y have been doing an event every week for year and it was happening during all of the previous issues/episodes but this is the first time it’s ever been mentioned. It’s the worst type of retconning because usually, this new event is never mentioned again. Has Peter and Betty’s weekly movie night ever been mentioned again since that issue?
I have no idea which other heroes know Peter is Spider-Man. I preferred it when none of them did.
Yeah, I usually love me some JRJR art, but a lot of this issue was not great.
“I rather liked Rhino’s back up story!” It’s barely Rhino’s story – just 1 page showing that he got a date.
The less said about Paul’s story, the better.
Peter hanging out with Paul and MJ for dinner regularly is as believable as Peter and Betty getting together once a week, every week, for years to watch a movie.
@Aqu@:
“Yes, exactly. Lowe is trying to gaslight the readers into thinking that some of the readers like Paul and wants stories starring him.
Kind of you to agree with me, but that’s not what I said.”
Lowe’s intention with this is to try to convince people that there are those out there that like Paul and want stories like this about him. I don’t think he’s deliberately trying to infuriate the readers by saying this. I think his goal is to try to convince people that Paul has fans.
“My bad, I don’t read the footnotes.”
Insert crying emoji here.
“You got me, I’ve never been on a limo.”
Me either, but I’ve seen lots of limos in TV and movies.
“The point is not using mind control in court, the point is proving it was used on the defendant. If I recall correctly (I read the issue late last night), they don’t mention checking a log or something that could prove it was used on Ned, they just lean on the possibility that the machine can work like that.”
They don’t mention a log in this issue, but Peter has TWD at the end of Easy Being Green. I think it’s implied that he brought it to Betty, right?
@Geiseric:
“I disagree with the idea this is to get people to like Paul as all the details are mostly the same as we got in dead language. The only new info is that he did it for money which objectively makes him look worse.”
This story tells us that Paul feels guilty for the people he/his father killed in the alternate universe. So he’s working through a list of their 616 counterparts and trying to help them. This story is definitely meant to make us like Paul because of how he’s trying to help people.
Paul and MJ aren’t married, they are just dating. They accidentally put that in an early issue but issued a retraction an issue later
Zeb Wells, proving what ab excellent writer he is, when he’s telling the right story. Loved the main story, the legal twists and turns. I usually hate guests heroes saving Peter’s arse in his own book, but here She-Hulk and Luke Cage really fit.
And yeah, I’m kinda worried about Janice. Looking forward to seeing where this goes.
Enjoyed the backup which set this up. I have no problem with “Ned” acting erratic, given that I truly believe in my heart of heart that he’s a Chameleon. Ben Reilly dug up his corpse to clone him, his story of getting the real Goblin formula, only for it to kick in and bring him back after the Foreigner’s goons killed him has never rung true. Betty even got pregnant via the clone, no way that clone wasn’t genuine, he had to have been made from Ned’s corpse.
And you know what, I enjoyed the Paul backup. I mean, Peter hanging out with them, and it not being awkward, that I find hard to swallow. But seeing some of Paul’s backstory? We need that. The character is obviously sticking around. He needs to be developed into something more. If I were working on Spider-Man, I’d be trying to develop the character into something more interesting too. This is still very early days. We needed more background and character development regarding Paul way earlier than this. But at least they’re doing something with him.
I know most will disagree with me. And I understand why. But the character who is Mary Jane’s husband can not remain as undeveloped as he is. He needs to be a full fledged character. And maybe ultimately MJ will get a divorce, or Paul will get killed off, but at this point in time, Paul has been paired up with a character who has been around since 1965, he needs to be fully fleshed out.
I just hope they are able to do something to make Paul genuinely more interesting, or matter in some way. And for that to happen, we need more stories featuring Paul.
Okay, unleash the hate on me, I know it’s coming.
So I looked it up and no, the mayor does not have the ability to arrest someone, but in this case, I don’t think it matters. Luke may have said he was under arrest, but in reality, he just detained Tombstone by interrupting a violent altercation between Tombstone and (supposedly) a non-powered citizen until real police officers arrived with the warrant for arrest.
I have THE answer to the Ned Leeds question – you have to remember he was out of the picture for a long time, especially during issue #665 where it was revealed that Peter and Betty have been watching movies together every Friday night. Well, now that he is back, I am sure that has caught up on all of that and realized that it must have been going on even while they are together. See, it all makes sense if you just remember classic milestone issues like #665.
My question – does She-Hulk not know who Spider-Man is? I thought the Avengers all knew. It seemed to me like she was talking to Peter as if she didn’t realize that he is actually Spider-Man.
I did like the loose ends motif running through the story, but I was so distracted by the art. Holy cow! It was awful! And I don’t mean that I don’t like JRjr (personally he is not my favorite artist, but I want to like him due to my respect for his father) – I mean this is like he was rushed to get something done and just phoned it in. The first panel with Randy is all out of proportion and Janice doesn’t even look like Janice. I’m no artist, but my basic rule is I should be able to recognize a main and major supporting character without the dialogue cluing me in on who we are looking at.
Hornacek, you make a good point that Spider-Man could have beat down Tombstone, but this way was for a longer-term punishment, so it makes me feel better about how this went down. I suspect that the legal system will fail us and Spider-Man will still be needed for the beat down later. That said, I was happy to see the old trope brought back where the hero is being held in his civilian identity while the bad guy waits for the hero to show up.
I rather liked Rhino’s back up story! I liked it better than the main story! As for Paul, It’s a quick effort to establish that Paul is a good guy before Wells gets rid of him. Paul is one of Well’s major original contributions to the franchise. I don’t see him leaving him as a loose thread for the next guy to pick up. But I loved that back up story (but only because I know it drove Chi-Town bonkers and had him ranting about the editorial mandate – the story itself was trash. Who here believes that Peter regularly hangs out with MJ and Paul for dinner? I’d believe the stupid Friday night movie session with Betty before that.).
Overall, I would say this is a B-, but the art was so distracting, I’d give it a C-.
Yes, exactly. Lowe is trying to gaslight the readers into thinking that some of the readers like Paul and wants stories starring him.
Kind of you to agree with me, but that’s not what I said.
Like I said, I don’t think a mayor and a lawyer have the right to put someone under arrest. I think it was more a of a “citizen’s arrest” to detain Tombstone until the legal authorities showed that could actually arrest him.
My bad, I don’t read the footnotes.
There are some pretty big limos out there.
You got me, I’ve never been on a limo.
As far as Ned’s defense, it’s the Marvel universe. Mind control is known thing, so it being used in court would not be a new thing. Weren’t there records of TWD showing that it had been used on Ned? Like checking a log to see who had signed in to a building?
The point is not using mind control in court, the point is proving it was used on the defendant. If I recall correctly (I read the issue late last night), they don’t mention checking a log or something that could prove it was used on Ned, they just lean on the possibility that the machine can work like that.
I disagree with the idea this is to get people to like Paul as all the details are mostly the same as we got in dead language. The only new info is that he did it for money which objectively makes him look worse.
So I don’t believe this is just to get people to like him, they know that isn’t possible . Theee must be another reason
@Aqu@:
Yes, exactly. Lowe is trying to gaslight the readers into thinking that some of the readers like Paul and wants stories starring him.
Like I said, I don’t think a mayor and a lawyer have the right to put someone under arrest. I think it was more a of a “citizen’s arrest” to detain Tombstone until the legal authorities showed that could actually arrest him.
There are some pretty big limos out there.
As far as Ned’s defense, it’s the Marvel universe. Mind control is known thing, so it being used in court would not be a new thing. Weren’t there records of TWD showing that it had been used on Ned? Like checking a log to see who had signed in to a building?
You fell for the trap set by Lowe. That comment was put there precisely to infuriate fans the way it did to you. He was trolling.
I don’t know much about the U.S.A., aside from what I saw in movies and the like, but does the mayor of NYC really have the rights to declare someone’s arrest? Because for sure a lawyer can’t. So, in that scene, it seems a bit wrong that She-Hulk and Cage are putting Tombstone under arrest.
On a side note, that limo is very spacious.
P.S.: Oh, if I’m remembering right: about the famous Ned case, they’re setting a dangerous precedent here from a legal standpoint. He’s not guilty because they demonstrated that the machine is built to influence people’s mind… Which doesn’t demonstrate s*°t. They should have proven that the machine had been used on him, not what it does. Otherwise I could commit a crime and then plead innocence “because the machine made me do it”, no matter if I never came in contact with it because I was 10,000 miles away.
@Michael:
I think Peter is thinking that if he had dealt with Tombstone earlier (like back during the #1-#6 arc) then it never would have gotten to the point where Randy would have been shot. Yes, Hammerhead gave that order (did he? I’m forgetting so much of the Zells run) but that was because Hammerhead was making a power move against Tombstone who was in charge. If Spidey had taken out Tombstone earlier, Hammerhead likely wouldn’t have tried to have Randy shot. And wasn’t Hammerhead’s real target here Janice, and Randy dove in front of her to protect her?
I’m still hoping it’s revealed that this is not the real Ned and that he’s still dead. I was never a fan of bringing him back from the dead.
For me, the reason for the Paul story is to show he feels guilty for everyone that his father killed back in their home dimension, especially those that Paul put into a position where Rabin killed them (like Cale). He’s trying to make up for it by helping their 616 counterparts.
@Geiseric:
It seems to me that the point of the Paul story is to show us that he’s trying to help 616 versions of people that he (or his father) hurt or killed in his home dimension. He feels guilty that in his dimension he put Cale into a situation where his father killed him, so he’s trying to atone for it by helping the 616 version of Cale. The problem is that we don’t care about Cale and it’s much too late to try to give him any depth and show that he’s trying to atone for his past crimes.
Can someone explain to me why Peter is wondering if Randy would have been hurt if he had dealt with Tombstone earlier? Randy was shot because he was opposing an anti-super hero law that Hammerhead wanted kept in place and Hammerhead had him shot. It’s weird because in Gang War, Peter seemed to blame Madame Masque for Randy getting shot, and in this issue he seems to blame Tombstone, but at no point does he blame Hammerhead, who ACTUALLY ordered Randy to be shot.
“Except I have no idea why Ned is so angry at Peter – weren’t they buddy-buddy the last time they talked?”
I didn’t know what the point of Ned being angry at Peter was, either. Ned’s stated reason for being mad at Peter was that the Winkler Device wasn’t where Peter said it was, so Betty had to go into the warehouse alone to go look for it, where she was attacked by Kingsley’s goons. But the only reason why the Winkler Device wasn’t where Peter said it was was because Kafka moved it. And Betty went into the warehouse without telling Peter, and as far as Ned knows, as soon as Peter found out, he interrupted his date with Shay to get Spider-Man to help her. Ned just looks like an Ungrateful Bastard. I’m not sure what the point of starting a “Ned hates Peter” plot at this point is, since Wells only has four issues left.
The reason for the Paul story was that readers complained that Paul helped his father commit genocide. The point of the Paul story is that Paul thought his father was working on a project he could monetize but instead was planning to summon Wayep to destroy the world. So Paul had no idea what his father was planning but wonders if he would have seen the truth if he hadn’t been greedy. It’s basically an attempt to get readers to stop complaint about Paul.
I honestly don’t get the point of the Paul story. It makes him look worse and seems like it kind of contradicts the story told in dead language. As that story seems to insist that Paul was tricked while this story actively shows Paul understood who is father was.
Also it’s not going us any real new info. The other back up was relevant to the main story so I wonder if this is relevant to the last arc.