Spidey-Review
Jul. 18th, 2009 12:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lydamorehouseBecause I believe in freaking out early and often, I spent Friday reading Spider-Man instead of writing.
Just to review I read the graphic novel collection “Coming Home,” which seems to chronicle the first time Michael J. Straczynski takes the helm of the AMAZING SPIDER-MAN title; random single issues 492/51 “Digger” and 493/52 “Dig This”; and finally the collected issues 515 – 518 “Skin Deep.”
What’s amusing about this experience is that I’ve been reading around these issues scatter-shot for several months now. Thus the big reveal at the end of “Coming Home” where Aunt May finds Peter’s bruised and battered body on the couch next to his shredded Spidey-suit not as big a “ta-dah!” moment as it might have been if I were reading these in order. Still, it was nice to see how he got there.
And, there was the cool bit about totem animals.
Straczynski suggests that maybe, just maybe, Peter *is* SPIDER, as in the archetype that has been causing our collective unconscious skin to crawl since time immortal. This theory is postulated via a mysterious stranger who just happens to have similar powers to Spider-Man, though he may have gotten them thanks to a funky Aztec(?) ritual involving blood and spider symbols (that part is implied in pictures. Mysterious stranger is vague about his origin story.) Anyway, Straczynski builds a case that costumes attract like, so Captain America is PATRIOTISM and so the villains he fights reflect that totemic energy. Which nicely explains why Spider-Man is always fighting guys (and gals) who have animalistic powers ala Dr. Octopus (note to Mr. Straczynski and/or editors at SPIDER-MAN, while “octopi” is correct “octopuses” is the preferred plural), Rhino, Kraven Hunter, Vulture, Lizard Man, Black Cat... etc.
I’m not sure I buy it entirely, but I liked the way Peter fought off the totem-vampire dude. That worked for me.
One of the things I loved about Straczynski’s work on Babylon 5 was the remembering. If something got brought up in an episode – even something seemingly insignificant, Straczynski would pick it up later and make something of it. So I noticed later in “Skin Deep” the single panel in one of the flashback scenes where a spider just happens to be lurking by Peter’s leg. Coincidence? After “Coming Home,” I don’t think so. The spiders _wanted_ to pass on their super powers to Peter, the radiation was just a bonus.
51 and 52, pick up after Peter and MJ are back together after their seperation, and follow a mini-arc about a gamma irradiated mess of dead bodies (long story) that have a grudge against a mafia boss who ends up kind of hiring Spider-Man to be his body guard. My favorite moment in this arc was in 52 when Spidey gets a ticket for car surfing. I loved everything about those two panels, actually. I loved that Peter wouldn’t get in the car with the mafia thug; I loved that he bet the cop there wasn’t an ordinance to cover a situation where someone was riding on the hood of a car (and that there was); and I especially loved the ticket written out to “Spider-Man” and the mafia hood yelling from inside, “For Chrissake get in the goddamned car!”
A great moment, honesty: very Spider-Man, very New York.
Interestingly, “Skin Deep” is more a Peter Parker story than it is Spider-Man’s. It follows the exploits of a fellow nerd, Charlie Weiderman and his descent into super-villainry. It’s told both in the present time, when Peter and Charlie are adults, and in Peter’s pre-irradiated spider bite past (complete with a living, speaking, PUNCHING Uncle Ben!)
My favorite part involves Peter going gah-gah over MJ’s sexy costume for some stage production or other. He gets completely derailed, even though he’s come to warn her about Weiderman’s evil turn. Cute.
“Skin Deep” runs right up to Straczynski’s New Avengers SPIDER-MAN, which is one of my favorites that I’ve read over and over.
I suppose I’d best go get some real work done now.
Just to review I read the graphic novel collection “Coming Home,” which seems to chronicle the first time Michael J. Straczynski takes the helm of the AMAZING SPIDER-MAN title; random single issues 492/51 “Digger” and 493/52 “Dig This”; and finally the collected issues 515 – 518 “Skin Deep.”
What’s amusing about this experience is that I’ve been reading around these issues scatter-shot for several months now. Thus the big reveal at the end of “Coming Home” where Aunt May finds Peter’s bruised and battered body on the couch next to his shredded Spidey-suit not as big a “ta-dah!” moment as it might have been if I were reading these in order. Still, it was nice to see how he got there.
And, there was the cool bit about totem animals.
Straczynski suggests that maybe, just maybe, Peter *is* SPIDER, as in the archetype that has been causing our collective unconscious skin to crawl since time immortal. This theory is postulated via a mysterious stranger who just happens to have similar powers to Spider-Man, though he may have gotten them thanks to a funky Aztec(?) ritual involving blood and spider symbols (that part is implied in pictures. Mysterious stranger is vague about his origin story.) Anyway, Straczynski builds a case that costumes attract like, so Captain America is PATRIOTISM and so the villains he fights reflect that totemic energy. Which nicely explains why Spider-Man is always fighting guys (and gals) who have animalistic powers ala Dr. Octopus (note to Mr. Straczynski and/or editors at SPIDER-MAN, while “octopi” is correct “octopuses” is the preferred plural), Rhino, Kraven Hunter, Vulture, Lizard Man, Black Cat... etc.
I’m not sure I buy it entirely, but I liked the way Peter fought off the totem-vampire dude. That worked for me.
One of the things I loved about Straczynski’s work on Babylon 5 was the remembering. If something got brought up in an episode – even something seemingly insignificant, Straczynski would pick it up later and make something of it. So I noticed later in “Skin Deep” the single panel in one of the flashback scenes where a spider just happens to be lurking by Peter’s leg. Coincidence? After “Coming Home,” I don’t think so. The spiders _wanted_ to pass on their super powers to Peter, the radiation was just a bonus.
51 and 52, pick up after Peter and MJ are back together after their seperation, and follow a mini-arc about a gamma irradiated mess of dead bodies (long story) that have a grudge against a mafia boss who ends up kind of hiring Spider-Man to be his body guard. My favorite moment in this arc was in 52 when Spidey gets a ticket for car surfing. I loved everything about those two panels, actually. I loved that Peter wouldn’t get in the car with the mafia thug; I loved that he bet the cop there wasn’t an ordinance to cover a situation where someone was riding on the hood of a car (and that there was); and I especially loved the ticket written out to “Spider-Man” and the mafia hood yelling from inside, “For Chrissake get in the goddamned car!”
A great moment, honesty: very Spider-Man, very New York.
Interestingly, “Skin Deep” is more a Peter Parker story than it is Spider-Man’s. It follows the exploits of a fellow nerd, Charlie Weiderman and his descent into super-villainry. It’s told both in the present time, when Peter and Charlie are adults, and in Peter’s pre-irradiated spider bite past (complete with a living, speaking, PUNCHING Uncle Ben!)
My favorite part involves Peter going gah-gah over MJ’s sexy costume for some stage production or other. He gets completely derailed, even though he’s come to warn her about Weiderman’s evil turn. Cute.
“Skin Deep” runs right up to Straczynski’s New Avengers SPIDER-MAN, which is one of my favorites that I’ve read over and over.
I suppose I’d best go get some real work done now.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-07-18 09:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-20 02:38 pm (UTC)Please tell me more!
Oh, look. a pony!
Date: 2009-07-21 11:15 am (UTC)Wikipedia on "Brand New Day" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Man:_Brand_New_Day), but first...
...history. Joe Quesada, the EIC at Marvel, has long espoused a desire to be rid of Peter Parker's marriage to Mary Jane; in his opinion it ages Spider-Man and makes his life too cosy and all that. Now...keep in mind that this isn't the first time that there's been an attempt to dump the marriage (at one point Mary Jane was believed dead in a plane crash), and there's been retcons of an incomplete pregnancy (around the time of the Clone Saga) and an actual kid as far as I know (*poof!*) When Mary Jane returned from the dead -- having apparently never died -- she and Peter went through a separation. As you know, they got back together.
That reunion wa, incidentally, one of the linchpins to the start of JMS writing Spidey. It was one of his briefs. Which makes the end point of his runa bit ironic, as he was the one tasked with setting up the dissolution of the marriage (he bobbled this, as we'll see, thanks to ol' Joltin' Joe.)
Alright...following the end of the stories you;ve been reading, with all the Spider-Totem and Other stuff (which was made a big deal, and then never referenced again), Marvel went in to the Civil War event, which involved the Superhuman Registration Act as laid out by Tony "Iron Man" Stark. Tony brought Peter into the Avengers, made him a special "Iron Spider" suit, and got him on side with the SHRA, with the result that Peter, on TV, revealed his identity to the world.
Meanwhile, Aunt May, now living in Avengers Tower, was knocking boots with good old Jarvis (who turns out later to be a Skrull, but I'm getting ahead of myself here. It's easy to do.) Good for old Aunt May, I say. I really liked that JMS had her figure out that Peter was Spidey long, long ago; it was a nice touch. While it lasted, anyway.
So, back to Civil War. Peter's revealed himself, with assorted responses (including being sued by Jonah), immediately following which he falls out with Tony over some of the more draconian stuff being done by Tony and Reed Richards (both of them are represented as utter bastards in this series.) Peter and family leave Avengers Tower in a mighty hurry, and, on the run because Peter's now considered a rogue operative (even though he's registered!) go from motel to motel.
Whereupon the Kingpin dispatches an assassin to take a shot at Peter. The shot misses, and nails Aunt May. This leads into the "back In Black" arc, where Peter basically beats up a lot of people and does a lot of property damage while May lies comatose in a hospital, pretty much dead of bullet-assisted extreme old age. Peter runs around trying to find a fix, but ultimate;y finds none, even with the help of Dr. Strange -- who sums it up: "She's 8657 years old, and being shot through the left lung didn't help."
As the story grinds on, there's a little red-headed girl hanging around. She finally confronts Peter and tells him she can fix things...which leads us to "One More Day."
Here's the summary of the story: Peter Parker makes a deal with the Devil to save his dying Aunt May. Not kidding even a little bit.
The redheaded little girl connects to Mephisto, who offers Peter a deal -- he'll fix things so that May was never shot. All he wants in return is Peter's marriage to Mary Jane; he has enough souls. He wants emotional torment (although Peter and MJ will forget they were married.) Yadda yadda yadda. Peter and MJ will have one day to decide -- and MJ is the one to push for it, even getting Mephisto to bury Peter's secret identity again (this time from everyone.)
Oh, also through this period of things, Norman Osborn has returned again -- and is now in charge of the Thunderbolts team. This is going to be sort of important.
Re: Oh, look. a pony! (part two)
Date: 2009-07-21 11:15 am (UTC)So. Anyway. Peter finally agrees to Mephisto's deal, at which point the little girl says, "Oh, yeah, by the way, I'm the daughter you were going to have, you selfish prick," and fades away.
Zip-bang, presto-change-o, it's 100 days later, and we're into the Quesada-written start of "Brand New Day." Peter is single, not operating as Spider-Man because of the SHRA, and is broke, jobless, and living at his Aunt's house (mysteriosuly rebuilt.) He no longer has the organic webshooters, and as far as the Spider Totem and The Other powers go? Gone.
We quickly find out about Peter being a slacker (he eventually finds work as a paparazzo), that Harry Osborn is just back from Europe (another one having suddenly gotten over a bad case of death), and no-one knows who Spider-Man is. Also, while Peter and MJ were together for some time, they never got married, and there was never an explanation (it's hinted that MJ remembers some of the old life though.)
As far as the writing on "One More Day" goes, JMS tried to have his name taken off the last part because he disagreed with a number of things being done in the arc. Quesada refused (but did agree to share the writing credit.)
According to Quesada, the only thing that changed was the marriage. Well, and the secret identity thing. Well, and Hary being alive. And...and...well, let's say Spidey got reverted back to 1975, essentially, and a lot of continuity across the line was invalidated (and Amazing Spider-Man seemed to occupy its own continuity until recently, when it was pretty much power-rammed into the Dark Reign event -- so Spidey could go up against Norman and lose miserably.)
So part of the plan was to tell old-fashioned Spidey stories and pull in a whole new set of readers. Except...the stories are pretty poor, and the sales have been sliding. The latest, "American Son," brings up the reveal that Norman knocked up Harry's supposed girlfriend (who's been running around as the latest Goblin variant, menace) as a highlight, harking back to the "Sins Past" arc. This doesn't even get into the sexual innuendo they have Peter throwing at Sue Richards.
Oh, and Norman? Well, things went from Civil War to World War Hulk (Hulk beats up everybody) to Secret Invasion, at the end of which Norman assassinates the queen of the invading Skrulls, and immediately gets elevated to national hero and handed the keys to the kingdom, along with SHIELD (renamed HAMMER.) Tony Stark becomes a fugitive, Norman takes over one iteration of the Avengers (essentially building the team from the Thunderbolts) and takes up residence in Avengers Tower, from where he can bedevil Harry.
MJ is still around. Apparently she'll be popping up in a big way soon. Aunt May is getting married to Jonah's father. Jonah is Mayor of New York, the Bugle was sold to a tabloid guy and renamed The DB, and...and...and...um.
So there we have it. "With great power comes great deals with the Devil!"
Re: Oh, look. a pony! (part two)
Date: 2009-07-21 04:15 pm (UTC)I'm actually mildly depressed at the turns of events in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN. (What kind of big geek does that make me, I wonder?)
As I was working out, I kept thinking: what, no MJ? Who *is* Spider-Man without MJ? I really liked their marriage, even its rough points... no, no ESPECIALLY its rougher points. I've been feeling out of sorts, like when you hear that a long time Hollywood couple you sort of liked just broke up.
I should say too that I read most of the Civil War titles, and really LOVED Straczynski's Spider-Man during that period precisely because we got to see the darker side of both Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic. It was complex, as these go, because you could understand why they felt they were doing the right thing....
In fact, I loved CIVIL WAR so much, it inspired me to attempt to catch up to the "now," but, alas, that was several months ago when Bendis brought on the Skrull Invasion and I gave up in frustration. I like being rewarded for being a long-time reader and fan, and game-changers tend to piss me off (or depress me, see above.)
I think I may live in the past until some new writer comes along and reverses this whole new trend.
no subject
Date: 2009-07-18 11:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-20 02:43 pm (UTC)