Favorite Quote: "Off! Off! Off! Get OFF! Your villains suck, and that's a direct reflection on you!" -- Johnny to Spidey, as they're getting swarmed by octobots
Summary
At Horizon Labs, JJJ, Jr. is on hand to surprise his son John, who's stationed aboard the Apogee 1 Space Station, via video conference. John apologizes for missing Marla's funeral (due to, you know, him being in space), and JJJ, Jr. tells him not to worry about it, saying that he only cares about him making it home in one piece. John tells JJJ, Jr. everything is going smoothly, only to suddenly scream, "Wait! What on Earth is that--" before the feed ends suddenly. JJJ, Jr. exhorts the Horizon Labs team to identify and resolve the problem. When it becomes clear the station is suffering a major malfunction, Pete bolts to the Baxter Building to enlist the aid of the Fantastic Four, only to find Johnny Storm in his underwear watching several months' worth of television that happened while he was dead. Johnny tells Spidey he's not gong anywhere because he has 700 hours of TV to watch, and Spidey spoils the endings of "Dancing with the Stars," the World Series, the Super Bowl, and (according to the Interwebs) "The Walking Dead." Johnny (noting, "This is why everybody hates you") agrees to help Spidey, saying it's like a "road mission" or "rescue trip," and the two head into space. Meanwhile, at Horizon Labs, Max's attempt to comfort JJJ, Jr. backfires when he informs him that he now believes that Horizon Labs is dangerous not just to New York, but to the world. In space, Spidey and Johnny arrive at the Apogee 1, where they see John's tether...but no John. Entering the station, they discover that the artificial-gravity systems have failed, in addition to the communications system. The duo notice that the crew is missing, and are then attacked by octobots, revealing Dr. Octopus' role in the events. Johnny and Spidey fight the 'bots, but Spidey can't use his webbing (because of the lack of gravity) and Johnny can't use his flame (because it'll burn up the oxygen, and they don't know if the life-support systems have also failed). Powerless, they're in the process of getting swarmed by the 'bots when John Jameson appears with a blast gun, dispersing the 'bots and telling the duo to come with him. At the Sinister Six's underwater base, Mysterio informs Doc Ock that some of the 'bots have gone off-line; however, before Ock can respond, Mysterio notes that they've returned on-line. Disturbed, Ock orders him to take no chances and finish their mission, then commence the destruction of the space station in 20 minutes. Back on the station, John fits Johnny and Spidey with propellant belts and explains the events that happened on the ship before the feed was lost: the crew was conducting experiments while he was on his space walk, then everything went haywire. (Spidey exposits in his thought box that the crew were working on sensory-depirvation and suspended-animation experiments in preparation for a potential mission to Mars.) Before John can explain further, Johnny and Spidey see the problem first-hand: the octobots have taken over the crew, turning them into octobot-zombies, who proceed to attack the three of them.
The Review
This issue is yet another fun, standard Spidey story. OK, space isn't his typical milieu, but Slott and Yost adapt the situation to fit Spidey's skills, turning it into a buddy comedy with Johnny Storm. It comes on the heels of the Vulture and time-travel stories, which were also well done and extremely well done, respectively, stories that stuck to Spidey's strengths and used his support cast (Carlie and Grady, respectively) to great results. After reading so many issues of so many series lately that seemed to have decided that "outside-the-box" automatically meant "interesting plot device" (I'm looking at you, "Venom in Hell"), it's just refreshing to read a story that puts a character in a different setting but feels like an organic development. Slott accomplished this feat to great effect with "Spider-Island," and we're seeing him continuing do so on a small scale. Seriously, given my overall event fatigue coming from "Fear Itself" and my generalized reboot anxiety connected to "The New 52!" I just like reading well done stories at this point. Is it the best Spidey/Torch banter ever written? No. Is it the best Spidey/Torch story ever written? No. Did I enjoy it? Yes. At this point, it's funny how most other authors forget that part. As such, Slott and Yost get a three, for not forgetting it.
The Good
1) OK, so, obviously, the best part of this issue is the unexpected appearance of Johnny Storm. I'm genuinely surprised Marvel's marketing people didn't have it plastered over every website having anything to do with comics, particularly given the significant exposure this "Spidey in Space" arc has gotten. I was annoyed a few months ago when Slott more or less forced the FF into "Amazing Spider-Man," because it felt like a pretty shameless plug on Marvel's part for Spidey joining the FF. But, here, Johnny's participation in this storyline makes total sense. Of course Pete would head straight to FF HQ if he needed to get into space. Where else would he go?
The Review
This issue is yet another fun, standard Spidey story. OK, space isn't his typical milieu, but Slott and Yost adapt the situation to fit Spidey's skills, turning it into a buddy comedy with Johnny Storm. It comes on the heels of the Vulture and time-travel stories, which were also well done and extremely well done, respectively, stories that stuck to Spidey's strengths and used his support cast (Carlie and Grady, respectively) to great results. After reading so many issues of so many series lately that seemed to have decided that "outside-the-box" automatically meant "interesting plot device" (I'm looking at you, "Venom in Hell"), it's just refreshing to read a story that puts a character in a different setting but feels like an organic development. Slott accomplished this feat to great effect with "Spider-Island," and we're seeing him continuing do so on a small scale. Seriously, given my overall event fatigue coming from "Fear Itself" and my generalized reboot anxiety connected to "The New 52!" I just like reading well done stories at this point. Is it the best Spidey/Torch banter ever written? No. Is it the best Spidey/Torch story ever written? No. Did I enjoy it? Yes. At this point, it's funny how most other authors forget that part. As such, Slott and Yost get a three, for not forgetting it.
The Good
1) OK, so, obviously, the best part of this issue is the unexpected appearance of Johnny Storm. I'm genuinely surprised Marvel's marketing people didn't have it plastered over every website having anything to do with comics, particularly given the significant exposure this "Spidey in Space" arc has gotten. I was annoyed a few months ago when Slott more or less forced the FF into "Amazing Spider-Man," because it felt like a pretty shameless plug on Marvel's part for Spidey joining the FF. But, here, Johnny's participation in this storyline makes total sense. Of course Pete would head straight to FF HQ if he needed to get into space. Where else would he go?
Plus, Slott and Yost excel in depicting the two of them. I loved how Slott had Johnny watching a year or so of television, because OF COURSE he would be watching a year or so of television after his return from the dead. It would be totally bogus if he were, I don't know, volunteering at a soup kitchen or tutoring a bunch of needy children. But, Slott keeps a handle on the more serious Johnny who emerged from the Negative Zone, and we watch him switch to his more focused self when he and Spidey realize the station is indeed in trouble. On top of the excellent characterization, Yost has a great ear for Johnny and Spidey's dialogue, and it was hard choosing just one favorite quote. Moreover, Yost employs their banter in the best possible way, using it to bring out aspects of the characters and the plot and not make it feel obligatory. (I'm looking at you, Bendis.) It's through their banter that we see the affection that Johnny and Spidey have for one another, particularly when Yost has Spidey ribbing Johnny about telling him "I love you, bro" in his farewell message. You can feel Pete's relief to have Johnny back, and Johnny's joy at being back.
It's just nice to have the band back together.
2) I thought JJJ, Jr.'s conversation with Max was fascinating, because, honestly, a lot of stuff that's happened at Horizon Labs hasn't been Spidey's fault. The Hobgoblin stealing the reverbium in issue #650, Morbius attacking Max last issue, Dr. Octopous taking over the space station in this issue: Spidey might have been on the scene because of Peter's job at Horizon, but these events didn't happen because he was on the scene. (OK, the Scorpion did initially attack the rocket taking John Jameson to the space station in issue #652 because Spidey might appear, but it was only to distract Spider-Man so the Spider-Slayer could attack JJJ, Jr. and his loved ones. Again, Spidey was involved, but the reason for the attack laid on somewhere else's shoulders.) I mean, I'm not saying that the good that Horizon does doesn't outweigh the bad, but it's interesting to see someone else serve as the object of JJJ, Jr.'s ire, particularly given that Max got so high on his...um...high horse last issue when it came to denying the danger that Morbius posed to everyone. It's an interesting twist, and I'm intrigued to see where Slott goes with it.
3) Another interesting twist is Slott's decision to neutralize Johnny and Pete's powers on the space station. It really ups the tension, since their essentially just left with their fists to fight off the octobot-zombies. Clever, clever, clever.
The Bad
1) OK, so, I'm not the hugest fan of Camuncoli, mostly because I find his faces to be...odd. Peter and Glory's eyes look like they're going to pop from their sockets on page 3. It's becoming as distracting as Land's maniacal grins in "Uncanny X-Men." But, outside the face problem, he's mostly OK. However, in this issue, I had some troubles following his panel structure. The first two pages were particularly odd; I had to read them several times to figure out the order in which I should've read them.
2) Speaking of the first two pages, does Horizon Labs really have a fully operational Mission Control? I mean, I get that it's science Mecca, but it seems a bit of a stretch to believe that it operates a space station from its South Street Seaport HQ. Also, I know he's a genius, but does Pete really know enough about running a space-station mission to be working in Mission Control? No one else can do it?
3) Another interesting twist is Slott's decision to neutralize Johnny and Pete's powers on the space station. It really ups the tension, since their essentially just left with their fists to fight off the octobot-zombies. Clever, clever, clever.
The Bad
1) OK, so, I'm not the hugest fan of Camuncoli, mostly because I find his faces to be...odd. Peter and Glory's eyes look like they're going to pop from their sockets on page 3. It's becoming as distracting as Land's maniacal grins in "Uncanny X-Men." But, outside the face problem, he's mostly OK. However, in this issue, I had some troubles following his panel structure. The first two pages were particularly odd; I had to read them several times to figure out the order in which I should've read them.
2) Speaking of the first two pages, does Horizon Labs really have a fully operational Mission Control? I mean, I get that it's science Mecca, but it seems a bit of a stretch to believe that it operates a space station from its South Street Seaport HQ. Also, I know he's a genius, but does Pete really know enough about running a space-station mission to be working in Mission Control? No one else can do it?
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