MJ’s in danger? Spidey is on his way, even if he has no help from his friends. And when he finds her… Well, read on, dear friends, and let’s untangle this thing together!
Credit Where Credit Is Due
Story Title: All in the Family
Writer: Zeb Wells
Pencils: John Romita, Jr
Inker: Scott Hanna
Colorist: Marco Menyz
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
MJ’s trapped in a world where minutes here are weeks there. Peter, having caused some sort of massive explosion by returning to 616, is desperate to get back to help her. The problem? FF and Captain America won’t help because currently Spidey is wanted for questioning in the aforementioned massive explosion. So Peter turns to the one person who doesn’t care about collateral damage, but does want to help Peter – Norman Osborn.
By the way, it is a good thing MJ clipped that dimension jumper onto Peter. If she had popped out in the sky like he did, she would have died on impact.
The Story – Pay Attention, This Will Be on the Test
Peter breaks into the FF building to get a mini fusion reactor. They do not handle it well. Together with the other parts stolen from Tony Stark and from Moon Girl, Peter and Norman build a Spidey suit capable of getting back to Wayep’s dimension. He gets there just in time to save MJ from Rabin and to distract Rabin long enough for Paul(?) to stab Rabin in the back. There is no joyful reunion, though, as MJ avoids Peter’s kiss and lets him know that too much time has passed and now there is her new family to think of.
What Passed and Failed
PASS – Peter having his way with the FF. I love that initial story of Spider-Man fighting the FF> I loved it even more when I found that there was a version of it from the FF point of view. So while this doesn’t give me all of that, it gives me enough.
FAIL – This image of MJ. Doesn’t look like her or Peter here to me.
PASS – This facial expression on MJ. You can see the terror she just survived and the disbelief that Peter is finally back.
FAIL – Who stabs Rabin? My first read was that it was Paul, but it could have easily been MJ. It could also easily have been the result of Peter tackling him. It is really unclear here.
PASS – Ms. Marvel – For here to see Norman operating here and seeing Peter walking in to the warehouse gives us a much clearer reason for why she is working at Norman’s company. It would be interesting to see what she thinks of Peter.
PASS – This image – It feels like something out of a ’70s comic. I like it.
OOTI (Onomatopoeia of the Issue)
On a scale of 1 (POW) to 10 (BLRKBQRKPQRBLNB), CRSPLASSH rates a 9. Look at how with just one syllable, we get the breaking sound AND the liquid splash sound. Nice.
Analysis
There are quite a few things to digest here:
Why doesn’t Peter build his own suit? We know Peter has the ability to create suits. This suit, however, is not just an Iron-Spider type suit. Even if it was, it would take time. Peter doesn’t have access to suit building tools and materials right now. Remember, he just got out of the hospital at this point. No, this suit is more of a vehicle to get into this dimension. Norman has a basic suit already. He can work on that while Peter gets the quantum bands and mini fusion thingee. This is about time constraints, not about Peter being dumbed down for plot purposes.
Plus, this isn’t just dimension hopping. Wayep’s domain is time sensitive. He can only travel out of it once a year for a small window of time. Norman and Peter are trying to accomplish something that has never been done, even by a god. So yeah, Peter needs help.
Why doesn’t he just talk to the FF? I know this is a sticking point for many of you. This goes back to what I said before – this is a time constraint issue. Add to that, MJ’s life is in danger. I do not blame him one bit for being pissed off with Torch and Thing for wanting to stall him and make sure he is who he says he is. Even in this issue, Reed hesitates to entrust Peter with the min-fusion thingee. Captain America made it clear that they had to clear up the explosion mess first, so yeah, I don’t blame Peter for that. PETER DOESN’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS BALDERDASH! Even if you don’t agree with me on this, I think anyone can see that when this much is at stake, anyone will be impetuous and rash in their actions.
Which leads me to the explosion. They said this was on par with a nuclear blast. How many people died or were injured by this? This must have been massive to have Captain America feel like dealing with it takes priority over everything else. Something that massive and potentially causing damage with Peter just leaving the scene with him then stealing from Stark, FF, and Moon Girl would certainly put him on the outs with the other heroes.
MJ’s Family – I am nigh certain that these are not MJ and Paul’s kids. My bet is that these kids were found in this world. Maybe they entered when Peter and half of Wayep left. It doesn’t matter, but I’m certain that they were found and MJ and Paul banded together to keep them safe. For one, it makes more sense for Marvel. I know many of you believe that Marvel is intentionally trying to screw the fans over and I get your frustration, but MJ makes way too much money. She sells comics. Byrne knew that killing her off in the plan explosion way long ago was not going to fly, which is why he showed us the plane door jettisoned before the BOOM. Giving her two children forever changes this character and takes her completely out of Peter’s life. Marvel doesn’t want that. Marvel want readers to keep wanting the two to get together. Marvel wants readers buying the comic to see if they get together or buying the comic to make sure they didn’t do something horrific to the character. Once you take that away, you take away sales. No. That’s not what is happening here. Look at how these kids are introduced here:
When Peter asks who they are, MJ doesn’t reply, “They’re my kids,” which is the more obvious response. She uses the term “family” instead. Of course that could mean they are her biological children, but it is much more likely that they are a family in that they have grouped together.
Does this mean she doesn’t have feelings for Paul? Not at all. I’m sure she does. They have been through a lot together and caring for these kids have probably brought them closer. Does it mean he is her soul-mate? Not at all, but as long as the kids need to be cared for, MJ would feel obligated to not abandon them.
That’s a rather mean look she gives Peter and my feeling is that she is a bit angry/frustrated/perturbed. She doesn’t understand why Peter was gone for so long. His failure to return to get her, a fact she was counting on when she sent him away, has led to her being stuck in this world for potentially years feeling abandoned. She had her connection to him broken and had to build new ones elsewhere.
Messy Execution – The biggest problem with this book is not the story they are telling – it’s the timing. The story is really not too bad (and that’s coming from a guy who hates totem crap). However, Lowe and Wells are counting on the “What did Peter do?” angle to really ramp people up. That failed. Why?
- Fans are not happy about how the Spencer run ended – That run, which really promised some answers and some closure was so clunky in it’s presentation that fans feel cheated of something they were promised. Surprise can be good. If you think you are getting a gag gift and it turns out to be a car – GREAT! If you think you are getting a car and it turns out to be a gag gift – NOT SO MUCH SO. We got a dud ending.
- Beyond – I get it, Marvel wanted some space between Spencer leaving and moving to the next big MJ and Peter story, but to replace Peter for Ben, and to then screw up Ben was not the answer to that problem.
- The mystery six months – As a third strike, we get the mystery and then are left hanging way too long before getting the payoff. By the time we got this, the enthusiasm is gone and we are left with some dread about what is going to happen here and without showing us why Peter and MJ were acting the way they were, many fans felt the story was out of character or unearned.
That’s a hard three things to recover from. I’m not faulting any fan (except one) for feeling disenfranchised here and left unable to enjoy the story. I think it is unfortunate and perhaps a better editor could have set this up better.
I realize that I am not a highly paid expert in the field, but I feel that fans would have appreciated either a quicker explanation of the missing six months or just a straight forward story. If we had this story in the beginning of the arc, we would be just as interested in who those kids are and what would happen when Peter returned. It just feels like a misstep that affects the enjoyment of the story.
Extra Credit
To all of you FF fans, is the Thing really affected by fire? I wouldn’t think so, unless it is super hot. I would think that this little bit would garner his attention, but not his panic. Bonus points to anyone who can let me know.
Final Grade
Most of what this issue suffers from is previous issues and presentation. The actual issue is pretty good in my view. Spidey takes on FF and decidedly comes out the victor. His return is what defeats Rabin (for the short term, at least). The mystery is being unraveled as promised. Wording and actions are vague enough to leave us room to think about and interpret what might happen.
B
I have a feeling other grades will be either around mine or an F with little in between.
Your Turn
What grade would YOU give it?
What’s Next?
The past and the present collide in this oversized and monumental 25th issue! Your heart isn’t ready for this one.
And who will be bringing it? Me. In fact here’s a picture of BD checking in on the ASM review staff right now.
OK, to be fair, Pain Bot Read is also in this with me, but to acknowledge that would be to diminish the joke and we can’t have that. Plus, to my knowledge, he’s not planning on moving to written reviews anytime soon, so it’s just me for the foreseeable future.
But guys, I don’t want Chi-Town to feel bad about completely abandoning me here. I’m just not the kind of person to hold a grudge or anything. I’m OK.
‘Nuff Said!
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After reading the review (story aside, to keep as spoiler-free as possible), I wanted to read the comments before commenting, but… Life has been so busy (and stressful!) that it’s been more than a week between my reading the review and the comments, so I don’t even remember what I wanted to say!
Well, apart from “good review, Mark!”
@Evan
Marvel did have continuity experts on staff, but they’re all dead now.
As for the dreadful death of next issue… It’s a character we all love: PAUL!
LOL Jokes aside, maybe it’s the children (or one of them). That would be shocking. And it’s not like Wells didn’t do something like that before…
I still have to read all of this, obviously, but I think MJ lost two years at most, more probably only one. She was, after all, one year younger than Peter, if I recall correctly. No big deal, that way.
@Joshua, @Michael, @John Joseph, @Evan, and @Jon
Joshua – The only defense I have for the bad villains is that you don’t want the villain taking spotlight in this story, much like the approach in the first Suicide Squad movie. The villain just needs to be a threat. The real story here is what happened to MJ and Peter. By putting a good villain in there, it will take away panel time that we need to establish Peter and MJ’s story. I also get your frustration with Paul. I think it would have been great to show him a this wonderful likable guy, that way you want to hate him, but you know he is so good for MJ. As it is, we didn’t much of anything from him.
Michael and John Joseph – I really need to read those solicits more. OK, well, I guess it will be a death and it is not MJ – unless they bring her back to life quickly. Aunt May dying doesn’t seem right as she’s been so little a part of the story. It would have been much smarter to have the cancer story be a big deal. Also, there is no way it can be better or more shocking than ASM 400. So… I don’t know. Most likely editorial is talking bigger than they can deliver, I guess.
Evan – I feel like I am sometimes working too hard to make this work in my mind. I’m never sure if I am creating a story I would rather read or if I am right in reading between the lines. Either way, reading between the lines is the most fun part of literature for me, so even if Wells isn’t crafting these possibilities, it helps me to enjoy it more!
Jon – Hey, thanks for the kind words! One of the best things about writing reviews here is that while we sometimes disagree, I feel that we are pretty much accepting of what others like. I am often against the grain of many of the other Crawlspacer reviewers and podcasters, but nobody tries to convince me I am wrong when I like something. When I am down on an issue, I like hearing from those who liked it because it helps me to see it in a better light. At the end of the day, I would much rather enjoy a read than hate it. Glad you are enjoying it!
I’ve been mostly enjoying this run, even trying to ignore the possible editorial agenda behind it. And think your reviews are really solid. Keep up the good work!
@Mark — I forgot to say that I appreciate your ability to explain alternative ways to view a particular scene or event so as to make them make sense. Inconsistency tends to confuse me a lot, so if it’s attributable to a potential misreading on my part, then I’m happy to consider other (and better) readings.
It’s a real gift, too, in cases in which an inconsistency is just an oversight on the part of the writers. I also know that at times that are some inconsistencies that just can’t be explained no matter how you view them. Therein lies the value of the no-prize.
I’m not sure how this would be consistent with Mary Jane’s appearance in future issues, and it’s sort of an unusual idea, but I was thinking maybe Marvel’s solution to the age gap between Peter and Mary Jane would be for her to die. Then, when she inevitably returns, she can come back in a younger form — for example, as if the time displacement never occurred. Whether or not she’ll have memories of it will remain to be seen.
Given the strong possibility that they’re not her children at all, as Mark said — and given the unlikelihood that not much time has passed in that case (Marvel gives us the ratio of time between the two dimensions in the opening page, after all) — it may be that Marvel feels it unnecessary to address what they view as a trivial difference in ages. So if they did kill Mary Jane off and bring her back (quickly, since she makes money!), maybe it’s a convoluted, weird, roundabout way to make Peter single again. If they can use a big “death” issue to sell more copies, then it’s a double win for them.
I’m usually not so cynical — but, hey, the Crawlspace has taught me to consider other motivations behind storytelling than just — you know, telling stories.
Well note that on the Hellfire Gala cover for Amazing Spider-Man #29 in July we have Felicia Hardy and a very-much-alive Mary Watson. Which does seem to in conflict of Marvel’s teasing Mary Jane Watson death in May…
My guess, Aunt May , to keep in step with the MCU or it’s JJ
@Mark- the solicits for Amazing 27 reads “Grief looms over Peter after last issue’s shocking death! Spider-Man’s villains are more than happy to keep him distracted” So clearly someone is going to die in issue 26.
Can we talk about how terrible these villains have been? Zeb Wells dug up a pair of (rightfully) forgotten baddies that he created 15 years ago to be the antagonists of his big, building story arc and they have absolutely sucked so far. After all of the buildup regarding just how dangerous and powerful Wayep is supposed to be, he is easily beaten and killed in a single issue by Mary Jane of all people (who is a great character, but still) after beating Spider-Man to a pulp.
And then Rabin, who has had even more buildup than his master, is unceremoniously killed in this issue before we even see him do anything? Yes, I know he is alive and causing trouble in the present, but this flashback story is supposed to build anticipation and excitement for the cliffhanger we were left on in the present. As is, Wells has failed miserably at properly establishing these obscure villains as credible threats. Maybe things will improve when we finally return to the present, but forgive me if I’m not exactly confident on that front.
As for the Mary Jane/Paul crap, Chi-Town isn’t writing this review, so I can be serious. Who wanted this? The only reason this is being done is to upset fans. Paul is still a nothing character and we have yet to see any development whatsoever in his relationship with Mary Jane, so nothing about this feels organic or earned. Zeb Wells has promised that issue #26 is really going to upset fans, but I think a lot of us are past the point of caring at this juncture. The only reason this nonsense seems to exist is to anger fans and that does not make for a good story.
I initially gave this comic a D-, but I’m considering going down to a F because rage-bait stories are some of my least favorite in all of entertainment…especially when they fail to make you angry and just leave you cold and empty instead.
@Evan, @RobinMB, @xonathan, and @Franck
Evan – No taking up for Chi-Town in my comments section! As for her angry explanation, I found it a bit odd too, but I read it more like she doesn’t understand why it took him so long to return. He was just gone for a day or two, but who knows how long it was for her. And maybe she doesn’t like having to be responsible for these children. She may love them, but she may feel it is a bit unfair that she has to care for them. And whose fault would it be? The guy you were counting on to come back and save you, preferably with the Avengers in tow. But maybe I’m working harder to explain it in my head than Wells did writing it. Yeah, Michael’s memory is much better than mine. I feel like I know quite a bit about continuity, but I always have to go and look things up for details and issue numbers and such.
RobinMB – Is that your guess or has he mentioned it somewhere online or in an interview? Cool either way, I’m just curious.
Xonathan – Yeah, I guess you’re right. Actually, I feel you are right on all accounts. I hate that you have stopped reading, but I get it. I think if I wasn’t reviewing, I would stop paying for it and read it when it comes out on Marvel Unlimited instead. And I am very glad that you haven’t stopped checking in with us.
Franck – I am glad you brought up the age thing. I meant to and, well, it takes too long to write these things and sometimes you forget some of the points you want to make. If the kids are hers, then she has been down there at least seven years. Maybe longer. If they are not, then it could be considerably shorter, though still long enough for her to look shocked. Now, my guess is that she has been there for only a year or two. Though “only” a year or two stuck there trying to survive is a whole lot of time! As far as the Norman thing and others, I have a feeling that re-reading this straight through knowing what we know now, while that should be a oh cool! thing, I feel like it will be more of a thing that just still won’t make sense. I am all for defending plots and making them work when I see ways it could work, but I do agree that some of the writing here is lacking structure. That is where a good editor should come in and provide the structure.
@Stenurus, @Michael, and @Chi-Town
Sthenurus – Yeah, the art was disappointing, especially since they took the last two issues off to make this the big event. Maybe the focused on the next two which is where the meat of this arc is supposed to be. I also agree about the surprise aspect. I feel that we could have had it just as good, if not better, by getting right to it or by maybe only having us wait a short time rather than as long as we did. I’ve liked much of what Zdarsky has done in other titles, but wasn’t he the one the focused on Peter’s sister in Spec?
Michael – I get what you are saying about the intensity of the explosion and the inconsistency of the writers. I am going to have to disagree that it doesn’t matter is the kids are biologically hers or not. If we find out that their parents are still alive in 616 (or other family members), then the responsible thing would be to return the kids to them. Sure, she’ll be heart broken, but she will be able to move along in time. Maybe good writers will continue to show that she is a part of their lives and all, but she will move on. If they are hers, then she is a mother, something editorial did not want since it would make the character no longer relatable yadda yadda yadda. It ties her to Paul, if he’s the father, in ways that will always be present. Even if future writers ignore it, fans will not be able to remove that from who she is. As far as Felicia, maybe he just didn’t tell her the details. He needed help and she responded no questions asked. I think she might would do that for him. Who is getting killed? Well, it might not be a death. We were told it was the most shocking issue in the last 50 years and that, plus the style of the cover suggests that it would be another Gwen Stacy-esque death, but that may be just a little smoke and mirrors going on. If it is a death, I’m betting on Aunt May. Nobody seems to know what to do with her. That would potentially pave a way to reconsider the whole deal with Mephisto potentially, though I have my doubts that after screwing over Spencer they will go back to that well. Bonus points for the FF explanation! A+ for you!
Chi-Town – While I have a feeling the next two issues are going to down grade fast for me, I am still doing my best to take this one issue at a time. I do hate that you hate this run so much. I feel like I made it through Dan Slott, so I can make it through Wells and will do my best to stay with it. Though, I am still rather angry with you for abandoning me like this. You know, you being my best friend and all, but I will respect your decision to wimp out and step back. 🙂 And it better be more than just time to time. You are contracted to comment on every one of my reviews until Wells leaves the book. That was the deal.
Lots of interesting comments in the main posts and this section. A couple of extra comments
– I have seen Interstellar so from the first issue of this story I understood what would happen. It’s very lazy writing imho. It also implies that now MJ is many years older that Peter. Will be retconned eventually
– why working with Norman was not ok then but seems to be fine in the issues before Dark Web? Where is the coherence ? This is also why the shock value is totally lost… lazy writing and editing
– what is the purpose of this book, this volume ? Even when Dan Slott’s purpose was to make Peter the butt of every joke in his own book, it somewhat made sense. I would be surprised to see MJ die next ish and I still fail to see a global design.
– finally when are we going to see Peter be the hero of his own book and not the loser. Typical Parker’s luck has become something that no longer make any sense. When was the last time that Pete had a clear win (except the end of Spencer’s run?)
Bad, bad stuff – clearly meant to annoy fans.
The time jump was needed because Wells wanted to write a single Spidey. He didn’t want to write about the repercussions of the breakup. So either you start with this story, then say 6 months later and continue with the rest of the stories now with aa single Spidey, or do it like they did it. Start with the time jump, single Spidey, flashback, back to the present.
I think they gave decent explanations on why they broke up and why the heroes are mad at Spidey. Given what happened characterization is not that way off. I don’t see Spidey as being the type to go back apologize and give explanations. They REAL problem is what they did and what they keep doing; fans don’t like this agenda of keeping them apart. I don’t. So no matter the story it will be full of plot-holes for us. If you don’t like it, just stop reading. I did.
@Sthenurus
Because he doesn’t want to deal with the insane editorial interference. Not his exact words but the same sentiment
@Mark — Given that Mary Jane talks about the kids being her family, later when I saw “FF” I had to remind myself that it didn’t stand for Fast and Furious. Incidentally, and I think maybe this is part of what Chi-Town is saying below about Peter and MJ acting out of character, it seems odd to me that MJ would say “They’re my family” frustratedly — I should think she’d have some idea for how it might appear to Peter and say something like, “I know how it looks, but…” and explain it that way. I guess this was done for cliff-hanger purposes, but it still reads oddly to me.
With a story title like All in the Family and given the events in this other dimension, well…it seems like there’s a “Bunker” joke in there somewhere.
This is another one of those issues where I just enjoy getting lost in the review’s comments rather than try very hard to understand what’s going on. I have much respect for Crawlspacer Michael who can pick up on timeline and character inconsistencies and such, but he has my sympathy, because if I were able to do that I think I’d go crazy. This might be a dumb question, but doesn’t Marvel have continuity experts on staff? I thought they did.
I’m quite content right here on the comment section, buddy. Yes, I can not take any more of this awful run. This hidden (not so hidden) agenda by Marvel Editorial is just ridiculous. You said it yourself, the 6 month thing was the third strike and I will not give money to a “editorial preference” or “their version” of what Spider-Man should be. Peter and Mary Jane are not acting like themselves and I’m sure you have found the “justification reason” as to WHY, but if we are being honest, the real reason is to the editorial agenda to move the story along. You know it, I know it, we ALL know it.
This IS OMD 2.0 and there will be backlash, like you stated. We already got a glimpse with the first 20 issues of BND 2.0 where Marvel said “Oh, we’ll do it THIS way this time..” This issue for me is a big fat F. Even Wells knows this arc will make fans upset, but it pleases his bosses and their agenda. You giving this a high grade, I understand WHY if you are looking at the single issue, but there’s no way Peter should be acting the way he does. This entire arc/story is FORCED. There is no love for it, except the for Editorial Agenda love.
Oh you’ll do fine. I promised that I would chime in on your reviews and annoy you from time to time. More often than not.
Re: the Thing- In Fantastic Four Annual 4, the FF fight the android Human Torch, who’s being controlled by the Mad Thinker. Reed coats the Thing with a special solution to protect his skin from the Torch’s flame and notes it’s more effective on him than on a normal person since his skin is much stronger. So yes, Ben is a lot more fireproof than a normal person- a flamethrower wouldn’t affect him- but the android Human Torch could make it hot enough to hurt him and so could Johnny.(WHY Johnny thought it was a good idea to use his flame at such a high intensity against someone who was only stealing to save his girlfriend’s life is another question.)
On another note, I wonder who’s going to die in issue 26. It seemed like it would be MJ but she’s appearing on one of the Hellfire Gala variant covers. Felicia, Norman, Janice, and Randy have all appeared on covers or in solicits. There’s no way Wells got permission to kill off Captain America or any of the FF in a Spider-Man story. I doubt he would be able to get permission to kill off Kamala since she has a movie in November. It could be Aunt May but she’s done nothing this arc except tell Peter not to hit Norman. I mean- I suppose it’s possible that JJJ or Robbie, for example, show up on page 5 of issue 26 and get killed on page 6 but that would be very weird.
Re: the explosion- the explosion was supposedly nuclear-sized but we were never told anyone died. Writers can be lazy with these comparisons. Famously, in one Iron Man issue, there’s an explosion and Iron Man said it wasn’t far from nuclear strength but Mrs. Arbogast, Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan were all nearby and they were unharmed.
I think the problem that a lot of people had is that it’s lame that the other heroes considered this a major thing that Peter did wrong. Peter stole technology from other heroes and gave it to Norman Osborn to save two people from a mass murderer. He got there just in time to save MJ and found that two small children were in danger. Yet, in issue 1, Johnny is still angry at Peter for this months later, even though every superhero has probably done something similar at one point. If Johnny is this judgmental, I’m surprised he still has any friends:
“You stole from me.”
“Johnny, a kid was bleeding, so I took bandages from your house and bandaged her up.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“What did Peter do?” turned out to be “The same thing heroes do all the time, but this time everyone held a grudge for no reason.”
Re: the kids- I no longer think they’re Wayeb. Rabin talks like Wayeb is still dead. As long as they’re real, I don’t think it’s relevant whether the kids are biological or adopted. If MJ’s been raising them for a year or longer, then her character IS forever changed.
I’m not sure though that the kids are Paul’s and MJ’s biological children, though. I wonder if they might be PETER’s and MJ’s biological children, though. And maybe there’s some magical reason why that makes them important to Rabin? I’m not sure Marvel would go there though.
Re: Rabin getting stabbed- I think the idea is Paul stabbed Rabin. More importantly, though, I think the idea is Rabin WANTED to be stabbed. Rabin said that his ritual was flawed the first time around and that he needed to die. I think the idea is Rabin’s alternate self told him that he needed to die to complete the ritual- we know dying didn’t end Rabin’s threat, since he’s still around in the present.
How long has it been in the real world since MJ disappeared? Norman talks like it’s only been days and Reed and Sue are just returning from the mission they were on in issue 23, so it seems like it’s been a couple of days. But in Amazing 14 we see Ben talking in the “Summer” segment about how Peter’s gone to save MJ with Norman’s help. Keep in mind that Ben would need to recover from the incident at Beyond and it changes from “Spring” to “Summer” for Ben. And he meets the debt collector- it’s unlikely that a debt collector would be sent out just a couple of days after May said she couldn’t pay Peter’s bills. (And how did Ben know Peter was working with Norman to save MJ if the only people who knew at that point were Norman, Peter and Kamala?)
It’s noted that Felicia helped steal the tech to rescue MJ. Then why did she seem unaware that MJ had been gone for longer than six months. Even if Peter never told Felicia time passed quicker in the dimension MJ was trapped in, that’s something Felicia should have been able to work out for herself- after all she’s seen in her life, a dimension where time passes quicker shouldn’t be surprising.
Hi mark,
While I agree with you, I still give this story a D-. It’s not bad enough to warrant an F, but it’s definitely not a story worth waiting so long to get.
The art wasn’t great, the writing was ok at best, and the story itself feels forced.
Also… It’s no surprise. Everyone called it as soon as the story began. Heck, some called it alllll the way back after issue 1!
Why can’t we get chip zdarsky on the book? Sigh.