Spider-Man – Page 4

COMIC REVIEW – Avengers #502 (Disassembled – Part 3)

I’ve been a bit late on these reviews as of late, so before posting my thoughts on the final issue of this arc, we should probably cover Part 3.

In our previous issue, a bunch of reserve Avengers show in time for a massive alien spaceship to start dropping alien troops to fight off every Avengers. The whole issue is nothing but one big action setpiece with some highlights here and there. There’s even room for a couple Spider-Man quips here and there.

But then the big heroic sacrifice happens and while I roll my eyes at the tease of another major character death – these things almost NEVER last long with VERY few exceptions – the way this death is treated is done rather well. We know it’s coming, we know it’s teased, and unlike some of the other deaths featured in this arc so far, this death feels dignified and worthwhile… whether it sticks is another story.

And then there’s the Dr. Strange cameo that teases the potential identity of who is truly behind all this gruesome demise. As soon as as there was mention of the [REDACTED] being abused and the reaction to that statement followed… well, I’d be lying if I said that I was surprised because whoever it is has had turns in the dark side in the past, but it kinda, sorta makes sense and I’m amazed that they’re actually going in this direction.

I was a bit iffy on Disassembled at first, but now, headed towards its final issue, I’m actually looking forward to seeing how it ends.

COMIC REVIEW – Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #5

Well, this has been an interesting ride.

Since the start of Spider-Man’s Marvel Knights run, we’ve seen Ben Parker’s tombstone defiled, Aunt May kidnapped, Spidey get beat up, Spidey get beat up some more, and a guy who knows that Spidey is really Peter Parker, which makes one of a select few who has managed to acquire this information through some unknown means… or maybe he saw Spider-Man 2 too. Oh yeah, ol’ webhead was lying in a hospital bed without his mask and some jabronie manages to take a quick picture of our unconscious hero and sell it to good ol’ Jonah Jameson, the Daily Bugle editor.

Riveting stuff, isn’t it?

So now, we open up Issue 5 (the first chapter of the series’ second story-arc) with good ol’ Parker waking up and finding out that his face is plastered on the front page of the Daily Bugle, with good ol’ Jonah issuing a reward to anyone who can identify the battered face despite it being half covered in the mask. Of course, no one bothered to explain why said picture wasn’t taken when he didn’t have the mask on, but that’s another story in itself.

(Now, see, if Jonah were to have issued that bounty in the Spider-Man 2 movie, chances are a train full of people would have been rich by now, but that’s besides the point.)

So, for the first part of this arc featuring Venom as the main bad guy (not again), it’s seemingly a rehash of a classic plot device, but so was the kidnapping of Aunt May… and stories with no basis other than Spider-Man getting a big time @$$-kicking from the villain of the month is also nothing new. But I’m not complaining, because I’m actually enjoying this run. It seems a little darker than the other Spider-man titles, although not by much. The accompanying art is amazing; great detail, great choice of colors and tones, and panel layout is alright too. It doesn’t look as cartoony as the other Spider books and that’s probably a good thing considering the feel of this book, which is grimmer than the others. On the other hand, it is somewhat humorless, which is something that has been a key factor of Spider-Man. Maybe Spidey’s wit got transplanted into Superman for Action Comics.

In any case, Spider-Man’s venture into the Marvel Knights brand is a good contrast to the Amazing (which reveals Gwen Stacy was pregnant – sorry if I spoiled it for you) and the Spectacular (which has Spidey turning into a mutant spider – and also features a Klingon wedding). This issue is no exception. While it’s too early to tell if the second arc is any good, if it’s as good as the first, then it’s worth sticking around for the rest of the ride.

COMIC REVIEW – Avengers #500 (Disassembled – Part 1)

Avengers hit its 500th issue – or rather, it’s the 85th issue of the third volume, but we’re reverting to the old numbering because all of a sudden we care about our issue numbers until we eventually don’t – so how do we celebrate this milestone? How about we blow up Avengers Mansion and kill off a couple staple characters for good measure?

The first of four issues comprising the Avengers Dissambled storyarc that is supposed to bring the current Avengers run to a close in order to make way for a new Avengers series by BENDIS’ own hand. Unfortunately, the story starts off in such gruesome fashion that it seems like an excuse for Bendis to kill off a few name characters just to tickle his fancy… and the sad thing is that it isn’t going to end here because this is less about putting together a compelling Avengers story that might please older fans and possibly new fans to jump in… and more about shock value. Kill the Ant Man. Have She-Hulk go berserk and rip Vision apart! Why don’t we kill Cap off while we’re at it?

I’ll admit that I liked some of Bendis’ stuff; his Daredevil run was solid and ballsy, his work on Ultimate Spider-Man is pretty top-notch, and on occasion, he’s managed some stroke of brilliance in the oddball title or two. David Finch does some great artwork that manages to compliment the chaos depicted in the written word, with a talent to make abject horroric scenes seem even more so with some fine detail.

A rather underwhelming start to the final chapter of this Avengers era to make way for the new one, I’m holding out hope that things will look up… unfortunately, I have a feeling that it’s a false hope at best.

DTM BLOG Classics #02 – SD, Euro 2004, Spider-Man 2

What a piece of crap yesterday’s Smackdown was. WWE champion Bradshaw doesn’t make it any better. Now I’m not going to sit here and discuss how that move is so wrong in many different ways because it just isn’t worth it.

Looks like it’ll be Portugal and Greece this coming Sunday in the finals of the Euro 2004 tourney. The opener is also the finals. You have to give props to both teams, as expectations were against them and they’ve surpassed all other teams to make it to the top spot and compete for the championship.

Spider-Man 2 is out for some time now. Haven’t heard much about it, but from what I’ve read, it’s better than the first… so it can only be a superb-er-er flick.

Later…

Spider-Man Unlimited… meh.

So I liked the Spider-Man cartoon that’s on Fox. I think it does a good enough job of adapting some of the more popular comic stories onto the small screen with its own little continuity and it has a pretty catchy theme song. Almost as catchy as that classic Spidey tune from the old cartoon from the 60s or something.

The show ended on a cliffhanger, with Spider-Man and that Webb lady looking for Mary Jane in some other dimension or something… but rather than continue that angle, we got another Spider-Man cartoon… called Spider-Man Unlimited.

This Spider-Man featured Spider-Man going to another dimension – a Counter-Earth, if you will – and now he has to help some rebels fend off against some other villains while also having to deal with mutated versions of Venom and Carnage. Spidey also sports a new suit with a bunch of gadgets and… I’m not a fan. Spidey has had costume changes before, but this looks god-awful.

Spider-Man Unlimited is a good show on its own… good original storylines, decent animation, but it’s not the Spider-Man I know from reading the comics. While there are some familiar faces, they don’t always show their face, leaving our poor webhead to make friends with some new faces, who vaguely resemble some characters from the comics.

I’m not going to bash this cartoon because it doesn’t follow the roots of which it came from. It’s a good show, but it would have been a better show if Spidey ditched the hi-tech crap and stuck with his basic web shooters and proportionate spider strength.

Or at least came up with a better suit.