The Chi-Town Breakdown: ASM 56

(Writer) Nick Spencer
(Artist) Mark Bagley
(Editor) Nick Lowe
(EIC) C.B. Cebulski
Date Released 1/6/2021
Issue Number #56
Price Tag: $3.99

Story Time:  Kindred in a box, anyone?  Kingpin uses his SPOT-Amplifier to remove the nasty stain that’s been bothering him and has encased Kindred like a Marvel Legendary Toy.  Mary Jane is not dead and was “acting” all along, shares a kiss with Peter and then helps the Order of the Web escape.  Norman plays Fisk like a fiddle and we realize that he’s still “cleansed” while trying to communicate with the now encaged Harry.    All the sins/powers that Sin-Eater stole have gone right back to their original hosts, except for Norman.  Martin Li makes a delivery to Aunt May and Overdrive wants to buy Carlie a cup of coffee.  Spider-Man busts through the window demanding to Norman that they need to talk.  

The Breakdown:

• THE ACT
• REMEMBER…
• NEGATIVE DELIVERY
• DRIVES A COOPER
• NITPICS
• GRADE

The Act:   It was alllll part of the plan.  So Spencer pulled a twist on us and it’s revealed that Norman is indeed still “cleansed” and is playing the part of “Sinful Norman” to fool Kingpin and still gain access and authority to Ravencroft and Harry.  Thanks to the Spot (and whatever device Fisk hooked him up in) and some magic spell that Ravencroft seems to know, Kindred is locked up in a tinted black box that he can’t escape from.  Communication is possible between Kindred and whomever wishes to speak to him, but for the moment Norman is doing all the talking and Kindred is just standing there.  “Cleansed” Norman acts out “Sinful Norman” in order to get Fisk’s trust and when everyone leaves the room, Norman begins to confess that it was all an act to Kindred in order to get to him, to talk.  There’s a few things to think about here…

1. “Cleansed” Norman is basically spilling the beans to Kindred.  Saying that he’s changed and that they can be a family again.  The thing is,, Kindred HATES Norman and wants him to suffer.  If Norman basically told him that it was all an act, then what is to prevent Kindred from telling this information to Kingpin?  You know Fisk is going to be upset and go after Norman once he finds out it’s a double cross.  I have a feeling that “Cleansed” Norman isn’t too bright.  His old self would have been a bit more careful.  Of course if Kindred did expose Norman to Fisk, Norman would have admitted it to Fisk saying “You have to play the part in order to get the info you need.”  
2. So all the sins and powers returned to their original hosts.  Overdrive is cruising once again, Juggernaut is unstoppable, and unfortunately Morlun is alive.  So everyone is back to their normal selves…however…Norman isn’t.  If the sins went back to their original hosts, where did Norman’s sins go?  More importantly, did Kindred have them go to someone else?  
3. Has Norman really changed?  Seems that’s the case.  This is “Non-Goblin” Norman right now and a very different and dare I say unique take on this legendary character.  Even JR is okay with it.  Very interesting to see what Spencer does with this kind of take on Norman.  He no longer crazy scheming, but more statically planning.  I like how Spencer is sticking to this and not passing it off as a one take thing.  

You gotta give it to the redhead, she KNOWS what she’s doing.  She played the part and was very believable. That pumpkin bomb explosion was just a flash grenade to make is seem that she was dead.  So refreshing to know that Spencer is still steering the Peter/MJ ship, with MJ understanding what Peter is doing and is 110% supportive of it.  Again, she may not like it from time to time, but she accepts it.  Proving she’s willing to go the distance to be with her true love.

Remember…:  That Mary Jane preferred Peter over Harry?  That Peter forgot to stock up the fridge?  OMD references abounds!  What is this BIG thing that Harry wants Peter to confess to?!  Still haven’t received an answer to this question yet, even when Peter bluntly asks Harry about it.  With the references to OMD I’m willing to bet that because of that deal with Mephisto, somehow it turned Harry into Kindred.  We did find out that Harry does blame Peter and Norman for becoming Kindred.  Harry did want both of them to remember this “big moment” when he put them through his trial.  Unfortunately it didn’t pan out for him.  I’m a little disappointed because with Kindred, we are given the sense that he knows what he’s doing to get his way, so I would have thought that Kindred would have expected an outcome like this.  However, maybe he did.  Norman’s sins haven’t come back to him and Harry is staying silent in that black box of his.  It’s possible that Kindred had hoped Plan A would have worked, now that it hasn’t, he’s moving onto Plan B and that’s were it gets a bit more interesting.  Now that Kingpin is thrown into the mix.

Negative Delivery:  Cut to Randy and Aunt May at the FEAST center stocking up an abundance of food and supplies that was generously donated by Janice Lincoln, aka The Beetle.  Expect the Syndicate to show up again in the future, Spencer has way too much fun writing these characters and as the reader, we have way too much fun reading it.  There’s another knock at the door and Martin Li has shown up and states “he is going to find me.”  Not sure who “HE” is, but with the solics of ASM 58 and 59 focusing on Mr. Negative, you can best believe we’ll find out who he’s trying to run from.  

Drives a Cooper:  Okay, help me out.  I need pet names for James and Carly, because he seems to want to “Drive a Cooper” these days. I am not a fan of Carly at all, we all know that and we all know why she’s exists in this title.  However, Spencer actually puts good, believable characterization in her.  She becomes “likable”.  I’ll actually get behind and ship Overdrive and Cooper.  A Cop dating a supervillain?  That can almost write itself.  

Nitpics:  

• The Art!  I know, now I’m starting to act like Dark Mark.  I grew up on Bagely’s art and I do like it, but I noticed a few things.  Carly gets into the care with James and they start talking.  Then she agrees for him to take her out for coffee.  So she’s in the car, then we see her out of the car, then back in again to finish her dialogue?  
  
• The last page.  The splash page.  Where is the rest of Spidey’s suit?  I don’t think shading or light exposer or lack there of can be used as an reason for this page.  The belt lines are there, yet torso part is missing.  I’m no artist and he can draw better than me and I am a fan of his artwork, but was it missed?  
  

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Grade:  A-  Spencer hasn’t lost his touch and by golly, we even got a twist that most people didn’t expect.  Especially in an issue where we thought all “twists” that are believable were already used up!  What I LOVED about this issue is that it had much more context and story.  I wanted more answers on that “Big Sin” that Harry is referring too, but at least we got some definite concrete context to Norman’s long game and what Kingpin plans are.  Give it up for Spencer on knocking it out on the ballpark when it comes to cliffhangers!  Yet another issue where I get excited to read the next issue.  Still wanted more answers to the OMD references but I feel this is the start to those key moments and it’s about time.  Love being back reviewing the main title.  The LR issues had their hits and misses, but give me the originals titles any day of the week!