We are in countdown mode to the two big issues – #850 followed by #50, and it feels like we are being stalked by an angry turtle. To be fair, we do get a bit of substance here and one heck of a butt whooping delivered to our favorite webhead. Find out what happens as we slowly get to issue numbers that matter as we review Sins Rising part 3!
Credit Where Credit Is Due
Story Title: Sins Rising: part 3
Writer: Nick Spencer
Penciler: Marcelo Ferreira
Inkers: Roberto Poggi
Colorist: David Curiel
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramanga
Cover Artist: Casanovas
Asst. Editor: Kathleen Wisneki
Editor: Nick Lowe
Published: August 26, 2020
Remedial ASM 101
Sin Eater has been resurrected by Kindred and is back with the ability to shoot someone’s sins right out of their body and have them reborn clean. He also steals their powers. So far he’s taken over Overdrive and the Lethal Legion’s power sets. Who’s next?
The Story – Pay Attention, This Will Be on the Test
It was a dark and stormy night at Ravencroft and Count Nefaria sparks a mild riot among the inmates shouting, “He’s coming!”. Meanwhile, Nora (who is we learn did NOT get shot, but rather was the shooter herself (well played, Spencer, well played)) is preleasing a video manifesto for Sin-Eater. JJJ thinks that is a bit too far for media to go since Sin-Eater is advocating violence, but he’s not exactly calling the shots. People listen. People want to gain the powers he promises. Carlie Cooper reveals that Overdrive did indeed wake up all healthy-like, but got the living bejesus knocked out of him by a few police officers who didn’t take kindly to his participation in the murder of their friends. Spider-Man crashes a Sin-Eater rally and gets trounced by a souped up Sin-Eater running off of the Lethal Legion’s powers. I mean, Spidey gets on kick in, but that was a sucker punch of a kick. After that it is all Sin-Eater.
Spider-Man only survives because Sin-Eater chooses not to kill him in honor of Kindred. Meanwhile, Ravencroft is off the chain with Count Nefaria screaming to Norman Osborn that “He comes for you!”
What Passed and Failed
PASSED – Nora Twist – I did NOT see that coming. I had just assumed that Nora was killed so that he could use whatever he needed from her. Good job Spencer!
FAILED – The Title – Marvel set the standard high for awesome titles with the likes of, “Jackal, Jackal…Who’s Got the Jackal?”, “Bring Back My Goblin to Me!”, “Madness Means… the Mindworm!”, “Who the Heck Is Hammerhead”, “Even If I Live, I Die!”, “My Uncle…My Enemy?”, “My Killer, the Car!”, “The Goblin’s Always Greener…!”, “The Jigsaw Is Up!”, “Now You See Me! Now You Die!”, and of course, the unforgettable, “Arm-in-Arm-in-Arm-in-Arm-in-Arm-in-Arm with Doctor Octopus”. In fact, George even had a whole category on it in a Spider-Jeopardy podcast. In this great tradition Spencer brings up… “Sins Rising part 3”. Cue sad trombone.
FAILED – Where’s Peter Parker? – I don’t need every issue to be focused on Peter and Spider-Man, but I am getting too many issue with too little Peter and Spider-Man. It’s not so much this issue that bothers me, it is just an overall trend of not getting enough Parker. I want more Spidey- and Peter-centric stories in between these stories.
PASSED – Sin-Eater’s New Power Set – First time around, Sin-Eater was special because he was basically a well-trained guy with a shotgun, but no real powers. Now he is the opposite. This Sin-Eater could go toe-to-toe with the Hulk. I like how Spencer flips the story. And Sinny’s using them too! He’s whirling around Spidey, zapping him, punching him, whooshing out bullets!
OOTI (Onomatopoeia of the Issue)
Yes, baby! We can HEAR this comic! And a nice mixture of normal and crazy sounds making this issue music to my ears! I bet even JR enjoyed these onomatopobeadiboos.
On a scale of 1 (POW) to 10 (BLRKBQRKPQRBLNB), ZZZZLANT rates a 9.
Misleading Covers
I’m having to revive Grant Alford’s Misleading Covers segment here because what the heck is going on? Casanovas evidently did NOT have a copy of the story to read before making the cover because not once does Spidey land a hit and NOWHERE ARE THERE DEMONIC REINDEER! I thought this was going to be another evil Santa story (I didn’t dare hope for a Kingpin Santa story), but alas, no. We didn’t even get a Scratcher the Reindeer (and you know you’re old if you know who I’m talking about without clicking that link). Nothing.
Analysis
Ravencroft – This whole opening scene with Count Nefaria at Ravencroft is very reminiscent of Renfield from Dracula. Renfield is an asylum occupant suffering from a zoophagous disorder where he believes that consuming animals alive gives him power. He is excited about the coming of Dracula and goes crazy (well, crazier) as Dracula approaches. I think Spencer wants us to draw some parallels between Sin-Eater and Dracula. Sin-Eater is now some sort of power vampire as well as a sin vampire. Both have the ability to lead people along and I feel that Sin-Eater will be just as willing to use his followers to meet his end goals. It goes further than that, too. Judging by how Spencer juxtaposed* Sin-Eater’s message to Spidey with Nefaria’s message to Osborn, the “He” in “He comes for you, Norman Osborn” is Kindred. There is more here, but I’m betting I’m losing you so let’s move on!
Spider-Man’s faith in humanity will be restored. Sure, some kooks are out there who are following Sin-Eater, but let’s look at the world in general. There are plenty of people who take up an extremist cause. We lose sight of what is really going on when we choose to focus on the extremists. Unfortunately, in today’s political and social media climate, people are all too willing to focus on what extremists of the opposite political party are doing. This causes up to believe that everyone on the other side of the political spectrum is like that and it can be super demoralizing. Spider-Man has strong belief that people are better than what they are appearing to be here, but Spencer is going to lead us and Peter down a road that is going to look like people are a lost cause. However, I am positive that in the end, Peter’s outlook that not all people are extreme and quite horrendous will prevail and that will somehow lead to Spider-Man’s victory. That will be a lesson to us all before we assume that all Democrats or all Republicans or all blacks or all whites or all these people or all those people are the same and fit that extreme mold.
Why Overdrive? What is it about Overdrive’s power that Sin-Eater needed? He went out of his way to track down Overdrive, so what exactly is the point? Is it for the powers? Is it because Spencer just wanted to use a Superior Foe? Is it so he could work in a police-on-black violence story?
Speaking of the police violence plot point, at least we now know why Carlie was crying and is even there in Overdrive’s room. I criticized Spencer last review for that, but now it is clearer and I stand corrected. I am properly ashamed.
Final Grade
I thought it was a good issue, but I want more actual story. So much developing from Spencer.
B
Your Turn
What grade do YOU give it?
What’s Next?
SINS RISING, PART FOUR
Spider-Man has been pushed harder than he has in a very long time and in ways he has never been before. How far can he be pushed before he breaks? Who he has to face this issue is going to answer that very clearly as we are one issue from AMAZING SPIDER-MAN LGY #850!
Nick Lowe has asked people to let the Spider office know how they are doing by sending an email to spideyoffice@marvel.com and to make sure you mark it “OK to print”. If you get published, make sure to draw our attention to it!
*Norbot, juxtaposed means putting literary plot points side-by-side for comparison purposes.
‘Nuff Said!
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Once the reveal is made (hopefully sooner than later), some people will be happy with the reveal and some won’t, but the thing is, we have had a lot of fun trying to figure it out.
@ Jack Brooks – Yeah, that dialogue between Kindred and Carnage/Norman leaves little possibility that it has to be either a form of Harry or a form of Norman. Possibly a form of Peter. Nobody else should have that tight of a connection to make it work, in my opinion. That’s why I can’t get behind those who say it is Ock, Carlie Cooper, Ned Leeds, or George Stacy. None of those, to me at least, make sense with that conversation.
Of course, I was wrong once in college. It may happen again.
Vs. Ned Leeds, I can’t imagine why Norman would be proud of Ned.
@Jack Brooks – The Kingpin thing has thrown me for a loop. I’ve thought about it a lot and I think Kingpin’s involvement is mostly to give Kindred credibility and to show how much power he has. Maybe Kindred, plot-wise, used the Kingpin since he had resources to exploit. Helped give him a boat in power so that he could enact his plans. What those plans are and why he needs Kingpin and Mysterio for them, I still can’t figure out. It most certainly is some sort of truth reckoning, but I think it will end in Peter’s death – if Kindred is able to pull it off.
I imagine it’ll turn out to be Harry in *some* form or another. But I don’t recall the Osborns having anything to do with Kingpin, and in a very early appearance of Kindred, he said the Kingpin used to call him on the phone. I can imagine a top investigative reporter like Leeds either getting calls from Fisk, or Fisk calling the Bugle to complain about their “unfair coverage of an honest businessman!” Enh, I’ll probably be wrong. I’m still curious why Clone Ned before he died was so terrified to beg Spider-Man to protect Betty from — someone. Betty was threatened by a zombie Ned at one long-ago story. Has Kindred said he intends to kill Peter? It seems like it’s mostly some kind of horrible confront-with-the-truth mission.
@Jack Brooks – That’s a good connection and is the best argument for Ned Leeds I’ve heard so far. I don’t remember the Goblin killing anyone who would be particularly tied to Ned or Betty. I still think that Kindred’s connection to Norman Osborn is too personal to be Ned Leeds. I think it has to be an Osborn and particular Harry or a split version of Norman (while the Green Goblin soul lives on). We’ll see soon enough (I hope). If it’s Ned, I’ll have to give you a shout out in the reviews!
Did Norman ever kill someone from the Betty Brant/Ned Leeds era, someone who would have been friends with Peter? I agree that Harry is a good suspect, but Ned got dragged unwillingly into that whole Goblin world (brainwashed into thinking himself the Hobgoblin), and then was murdered. If Kindred is Ned, then he may see a chain of connections starting from Peter not turning Norman over to the cops at the start, to his (Ned’s) own death. He might be “Kindred”, not because he’s tied to Peter, but because he’s tied to the Goblins.
@Michael – A+ to you! Wow! I saw that line and I remember thinking I needed to go back and analyze it a bit more, but then I got interrupted and never went back to it. I believe you are certainly right! That would also fit very nicely into Kindred being Harry or even a Norman Osborn soul split from the Green Goblin soul running around in the MU right now. I’m adding it to the chart!
I think that there’s one hint that Alford missed. Sin-Eater tells Spider-Man that he will “see what your sins have done” and then the scene cuts to Norman. And in issue 37, Kindred talks about “the lie that unravels everything that you are”. What lie did Peter tell regarding Norman? Way back in issue 40, he lied to the authorities and told them that Norman wasn’t the Green Goblin. That’s the WHY that Spencer said was so important.