Question: What has romance, action, more gangster than you can shake a stick at, and actual onomatopoeias?
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Answer: The Amazing Spider-Man #63, that’s what! Why are wasting time in this opening section? Let’s jump right in!
Credit Where Credit Is Due
Story Title: King’s Ransom part 1
Writer: Nick Spencer
Artist: Federico Vincentini
Colorist: Alex Sinclair
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramanga
Cover Artist: Mark Bagley, Edgar Delgado, and John Dell
Asst. Editor: Lindsey Cohick
Editor: Nick Lowe
Published: April 7, 2021
Remedial ASM 101
Randy and Janice (the Beetle, not this one) are an item; Spidey has a new suit that live streams his exploits for Threats and Menaces; Boomerang is a good guy, sort of, with a Tablet sense; Kingpin wants all the Tablets; Every gangster in New York are trying to get Boomerang’s Tablet pieces. Oh, and Kindred is still in the dark force cube.
The Story – Pay Attention, This Will Be on the Test
Norman waxes nostalgic with Harry unaware that Big Kingpin is watching. Kingpin is also recruiting Baron Mordo to help him out with his Kindred situation. Boomerang and Spider-Man are fighting both Hammerhead and the Owl for the penultimate* piece of the Tablet, of which they get, thanks to Hammerhead and Owl’s in-fighting, and then Spidey poses for some of his adoring fans. Meanwhile, Robbie is being less than the perfect father, but at least a tad bit better then Tombstone is, when it comes to handling the star-crossed lovers of Randy and Janice. Randy and Janice each talk to their friends about the relationship and get back together only to find out that this is doomed to failure. That’s when the dynamic duo of Crime Master and Madame Masque arrive. Things get worse when Fred and Peter show up and the apartment explodes, evidently killing all involved.
What Passed and Failed
PASS – The Transitions – Go back and look again at the way Spencer moves from one scene to the next! Brilliant! I especially like this little blend of juxtaposition and finish quotes here:
PASS – Bang for the Buck – This comic seemed longer than most. I think it was 36 pages, but I’m not sure and for the life of me, I couldn’t tell you what a comic book normally runs. I could easily figure it out, but this will give someone a chance to call me out for being a lazy reviewer in comments section.
FAIL – Odd Narration – Spider-Man is narrating most of what is going on, including the scenes of Robbie Robertson and Tombstone finding their children together. Maybe this is a complete fail, but it was distracting and gave the comic a weird “tell” instead of “show” aspect.
PASS – Gadget Boots! – Even better when one of goons comments on how he forgets about those gadget boots!
PASS – Sound! – We have a slew of onomatopoeias! We have a plethora of onomatopoeias! There were 46 onomatopoeis** in this issue to choose from! Which brings us to…
OOTI (Onomatopoeia of the Issue)
I almost went with THWUUP for the web muck, but instead, I went with…
On a scale of 1 (POW) to 10 (BLRKBQRKPQRBLNB), THWANG rates a solid 7. I have a boomerang and it doesn’t make a sound like that. For that matter, it really doesn’t make much of a sound at all. But then, I guess I am just not as good as Fred it at throwing it. I need to try harder!
Analysis
Norman and Harry – I like how when we show the Ravencroft scenes, the camera is slanted a la ‘60s Batman villain lairs. Norman having a break down is run of the mill compared to what we have been getting, but there may be two important points here. The first one is when Norman show Harry the photo.
Norman believes that Harry isn’t reacting, but, and it may just be the whim of the artist rather than the nuance in art-story telling, this panel isn’t slanted, but Kindred’s head is. With the brighter red eyes, it looks, to me at least, like Kindred is seeing it and it is affecting him in some manner. Like I said, it may be, and probably is, nothing but we know that despite Harry’s big talk, Norman can get under his skin in a heartbeat.
The other thing that we have here is Norman saying, “I didn’t know!”*** Didn’t know what? That he was losing what was really important to him – his family? Or didn’t know something else that might be bigger later.
Kingpin – Willy has Ravencroft wired and is on to Norman. I assume that will play a factor later. The more immediate issue is that Fisk reveals that, despite his all-in effort to retrieve the Tablets, he is not wanting to rely on those. With good reason too – the Tablet doesn’t have a great track record for delivering what is expected. Kingpin wants Baron Mordo to help him get Kindred to cave. Now, some might say that Kingpin’s plans are getting needlessly complicated, but I like it. Kingpin is like the Mandalorian here – he wants one thing, but to get it, he has to keep going along these side quests. Come to think of it, who here wouldn’t want to watch a movie about The Kingpin, on his way to trying to get the pieces of the Tablet, finds himself paired up with Baby Gog. The two of them bond and Kingpin learns that the real treasure was the relationship formed along the way.
Back to the issue at hand, I found Baron Mordo’s comment that he didn’t know of Kindred to possibly be suspicious. I get it, there are tons of demons running around, but it is possible that that is more to Kindred, or maybe less to Kindred as the case may be, than meets the eye. Not willing to go all in on that, just musing.
Just a thought – who do we root for if it comes down to a fight between Kindred and Mordo?
Glory Grant – I was a little surprised that the conversation on the podcast was that Glory seemed to know what was in those pictures. I thought I had read it as she had not looked at them. It seems in this issue to confirm that she, indeed, does NOT know what those photos contained.
Spidey and Jonah – We only get a small bit here, but in the scene where Spidey is told to smile and he says that they can’t see it through his mask reminded me of an interview with Kenny Baker (R2D2) and he said that in A New Hope, he was operating the droid and Lucas kept making them do it again until finally he said, “Do it happier!” Kenny said he had no idea what that meant, so he just did it the exact same way, but this time he operated the droid while smiling and Lucas liked the shot. I also was saddened that Spidey made fun of Jonah for not know what an A.M.A. was, and I had to look that up. I know Neil is disappointed in me for not knowing that, but not surprised either.
Robbie and Janice – We get quite a lot here and it was actually rather enjoyable to read. I especially liked how Spencer juxtaposed to the two friends conversations together. And while we may be spending a bit too much time on them and not enough time on Spidey, it was still a fun read. Plus, Robbie used the term “necking” which I haven’t heard since watching Happy Days****
He’s mostly a Dr. Strange villain, so we can expect to see him clash up against Strange as the battle with Mephisto heightens. His real name is Karl Amadeus Mordo and he comes from Transylvania, so the evil here is just over the top. He studied un the Ancient One, but eventually left to find Darth Plagueis the Wise Dormammu so that he could learn the stories the Jedi wouldn’t tell become more powerful than the Ancient One. The dude is pretty hard core and sacrificed his own mother and granddaddy to Dormammu. He and Strange pretty much battle it out for the fate of the world on a regular basis. He died of cancer, even after he had joined with Mephisto to enact a cure.
But he got better. Or actually, due to Spidey and Strange time travelling, they created a better, stronger, faster Baron Mordo. Well, younger and more evil than before, at least. It was quite by accident. He’s died more times since then, but always manages to come back.
Extra Credit
If we were to get that A.M.A.***** scene Jonah referenced, what question would you like to see someone ask Spidey?
Final Grade
I liked it. It was no Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man #74 (Boy, was THAT a masterpiece in romance in comics!), but that’s a high standard to live up to. It was fun. The passive voice feel from Spidey narrating everything like it had already happened dampened the mood a bit for me, but the way Spencer moves from one scene to the next was just outstanding.
B+
Your Turn
What grade do YOU give it?
What’s Next?
- Tombstone and Robbie are at each other’s throats and much of Spider-Man’s life is collateral damage.
• Does this have anything to do with Mayor Kingpin’s moves of late?
• Short answer – yes.
Look at that! I like the cut of Kingpin’s jib! If this cover is misleading and there’s no ascot in it, I’m failing the issue! See you guys again on the 21st******
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!
* Chi-Town, ‘penultimate’ means second to last
** So did I count them all, or did I just make up a number?
*** If this were in Old English, Norman would have said, “Ic nat!”
**** Neil, you are too young to remember, but there was this really cool show long ago with the Fonz in it and it was called Happy Days.
***** It means ‘Ask Me Anything’ – I just wanted to prove to Neil that I did indeed know something.
****** OK, doubtful on the 21st, but 22nd at least!
‘Nuff Said!
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Finally read it!
Don’t worry, Mark, I had to search for A.M.A. too!
I think the “I didn’t know” of Norman was just about how the Goblin ruined their life.
On a side note: ” you’re trying and that’s all I can ask for (at least, that’s what we teachers are being told right now in these ‘unprecedented times’ by the school boards across the nation)”
Am I right in picking up on a bit of complaints in that sentence? Sadly, it’s not only across your nation.
@Evan and @Chi-Town
Evan – I’ve never really gotten into Dr. Strange that much, so I’m looking forward to this arc showing me why. To me, the only really connective tissue between Strange and Spidey was that Ditko had a hand in both, but he also had a hand in Speedball, and that’s not enough for me to want to see them together either. But with so many people excited for it, and with Spencer at the helm, I’m looking forward in being stirred to pull up old Strange comics in MU and read them all.
Chi-Town – Well, didn’t use it quite right, but you’re trying and that’s all I can ask for (at least, that’s what we teachers are being told right now in these ‘unprecedented times’ by the school boards across the nation). 🙂 As far as your Mordo comment, when you said it like that it made me realize that we will probably at some point see Spidey have to defend Kindred from Mordo. That’s a typical Spidey trope.
I know what “penultimate” means. That’s how I describe you when it comes to our reviews.
Good review. My money is on Mordo. The key phrase he states is “I know what makes them bleed”, so he’s fully aware and experienced (in theory) to put Harry in his place. However…Strange may not want that so that could be very interesting.
I forgot to mention that I’m enjoying all the Dr. Strange elements here, as well. If I had to pick a second favorite Marvel character, I’m pretty sure it would be him, so you can imagine how much I’m looking forward to the next Spider-man film. The fact that the Dr. Strange movie had time travel themes in it was a wonderful surprise and made me love it all the more.
Another submission for Spider-man’s AMA:
I guess if I really had a chance to talk to Spider-man, and not just as a bystander on the street seeing him swing around from a distance, but as a reader privy to his thoughts and perspective, I would want to know by what measure he gauges what actually constitutes his responsibility. Self-blame can be motivating in small amounts but eminently debilitating in large ones, and I’d like to know, in his own words, where he finds that balance.
Either that, or how he feels when Mary Jane insists that he’s always said “That’s crazy town banana pants!”
@Evan and @Stenurus
Evan – You and I might be the only two obsessed with onomatopoeias, so I’m glad our paths crossed! Ned’s fall would be something worthy of BLRKBQRKPQRBLNB! I might have to watch that movie again soon. Hopefully the conversation will unfold – these “breather” issues tend to bring less comments than the Kindred issues.
@Sthenurus – what would be awesome is if they told the Mordo / Strange story in the Spider-Man comic only as Spidey sees it going down and they also told it in Strange’s comic the way Strange sees it going down. I remember way long ago they did something similar with Punisher/Daredevil.
Good questions to both of you, though I’m less interested in ANYTHING Theresa related!
As always, great review. I’m really liking this little arc. It’s a nice breather.
So after Strange we get Mordo… this is turning into marvel 2 in one featuring Spider-man and doctor strange!
A.M.A: How do you not freeze to death in winter wearing only spandex in the middle of a snowstorm? As a Quebecer I NEED to know your secret!
“Jefe, what is a plethora?” Gee, I wonder what the onomatopoeia would look like for the sound of Ned Nederlander falling from the piñata and crashing onto the table at El Guapo’s birthday party. Definitely a 10.
I remember the days when we were lucky to get a “KNOCK” sound in a Spencer comic.
I really enjoyed this review, as always. I love checking back periodically to see how the conversation below unfolds.
Extra Credit: “Spidey, c’mon, be honest. What do you really think of Teresa?”
@Michael & @George
Michael – I had assumed that Kingpin already knew that Kindred was Harry based on what Norman said about hurting him torture couldn’t and I thought Norman told the police, which would mean Kingpin could know it. I might be wrong, but if I am, I think you are right in that we should assume that he knows at this point. I know virtually nothing about Mordo other than the crash course I put in the review, so I’ll go with your assessment of why Mordo can’t be trusted with bringing back the dead.
George – I like that idea! It would certainly bring some spice to these supporting characters and it would be interesting to see if Janice would continue to walk that gray line of criminal activity! I know you are a big Dr. Strange fan, anything about Mordo that we should know before this arc continues?
My money is on Janice getting pregnant to really mess with Tombstone and Robbie. Also liked Mordo showing up.
One interesting thing, here- if Kingpin has access to the cameras, then he definitely knows that Kindred is Harry. So I guess that he just thinks Kindred doesn’t want Peter harmed because he’s an old friend of Harry’s.
I wonder if maybe the Kingpin could have just asked Mordo if knows another way to bring Vanessa back from the dead. Admittedly, Mordo died the first time because a spell he cast to give himself eternal youth wound up giving him cancer, so it’s possible that the Kingpin doesn’t trust Mordo to resurrect Vanessa without side effects.