*** (three of five stars)
Favorite Quote: "Do me a favor, Mr. P. I don't mean to jinx you, but...don't screw this one up." "Yeah. Thanks, Coach." -- MJ and Pete, after Doc Ock's "demonstration"
Summary
Equinox, the villain with "all the powers of Iceman and the Human Torch," is torching places for protection money and attacks firemen attempting to stop the blaze. Spidey arrives on a new "Spider-Glider" and hurls exploding balls of "thermoreactive foam" at Equinox, extinguishes his fire-side and melting his ice-side. In the aftermath, one of the fireman loses half his leg after his colleagues try to pry him from the ice that Equinox has used to encase his legs. The medics put his foot in a cooler and Spidey uses his glider to clear a path to the hospital. There, Spidey learns that the "cooler" is his Cyro Cube 3000, and the doctor tells him that they've used it to save any number of limbs and organs. Later, walking to work, Peter ponders how amazing it is that his inventions have made the world a better place (except maybe for the noise-canceling headphones) and hopes that Uncle Ben can see it from wherever he is and is proud of him. He reveals that he's been working on some new inventions to take down the Sinister Six, but his reverie is interrupted by the arrival of JJJ, Jr. at Horizon. JJJ, Jr. wants to shut down Horizon due to his belief that Max Modell is a menace. Citing Modell's failure to turn over the Spider-Jammers, the mishap involving Grady's time-machine, and the presence of Morbius on staff, JJJ, Jr. says that it was the near-death of his son that, in particular, drove him to seek to close Horizon. Max's lawyer fends off JJJ, Jr., who leaves, pledging to stop Horizon anyway that he can.
Meanwhile, at the Sinister Six's underwater headquarters (dun-dun-DUN), Dr. Octopus reveals that it's time to put his final plan into action because the Defenders, Fantastic Four, and X-Men are off-world. When Chameleon asks about the Avengers, Ock exposits that he has ways to defeat the Avengers. He then launches his Octahedral and activates his network of octobots in space. The octobots are revealed to have "Octavian Lenses," which Doc Ock uses to increase the temperature of the side of facing the sun: ice melts, birds die, crops wither, people stagger. Ock takes to the TV, with MJ and Pete watching (and suffering) from Times Square, to announce that he's behind the event. He declares that he has used his Lenses to speed up the effects of global warming, stressing that everyone facing the sun just experienced the legacy that the current generation is leaving future generations. However, he announces that he can use the Lenses to reverse global warming, saying that it would be a gift from a man who has done terrible things but who wants to be remembered as the man who "preserved the Earth for all time." He sends copies of the schematics to the world's greatest scientists and then ends the transmission.
Pete bolts to Horizon and, on the way, overhears people talking about how amazing Ock's proposal is. (One guy on the subway notes that Ock successfully automated New York, making all the trains run on time, but Spider-Man ruined it.) Arriving at Horizon, Pete packs all his Sinister Six equipment onto a cart and rolls it outside the Labs. He's stopped by Max, who notes that he's taking a lot of Horizon equipment with him and asks if it's for Spidey. Pete abides by his promise not to keep secrets from Max and confirms that he's taking it to Spidey. Max wishes Spidey the best of luck though notes that he won't need it with Pete "backing him up." Pete brings everything home and begins putting on a new costume. Meanwhile, at Avengers Mansion, the Avengers are assembled (heh) and discussing Ock, with Iron Man suggesting that Otto may have actually solved global warming and Hawkeye, Rulk, and Thor having none of it. Spidey interrupts the discussion, wearing his new suit, and announces, "Avengers assemble!"
The Review
This issue reads almost like a Point One issue, though it would definitely be one of the better ones that I've read. Slott spends some time reviewing Spidey's past, both distant (with Pete hoping that Uncle Ben is proud of him for having a job that uses his brain) and recent (with Pete reflecting on the impact that his recent villain-inspired inventions have had on society). Although it gets a little exposition heavy at times, it seems clear that Slott intends this arc to read almost like "Big Time!" did, a way to introduce new readers to the new Spider-Man.
The Good
1) The Spider-Glider was pretty freaking awesome. "I don't care how this looks. 'Cause when lives are in danger...I'll do whatever it takes to get the job done!"
2) I really enjoyed the sequence where we saw Pete's inventions in use. From the Cryo Cube 3000 to the helmet adapted from his bulletproof costume to the noise-reduction headphones that came from his sonic suit, we really get to see the impact that regular ol' Peter Parker is having on the world.
3) That said, Slott doesn't let Pete rest on his laurels. In fact, just as Pete starts to get cocky that he's one step ahead of the villains, he realizes that Doc Ock has upped his game and that his inventions may not be as game-changing as he thought. It's a nice touch on Slott's part, because it, on some level, keeps Peter from essentially becoming Iron Man. I mean, I love the fact that Peter's finally using his intelligence to help him defeat villains. After all, in retrospect, I can't believe that no one before Slott had Peter upgrade up his costumes and tailor his gadgets to each villain. But, if Pete's villains also don't evolve, then we'd have a really boring series, with Pete just simply mopping the floor with them. We saw a good deal of metamorphosis on the part of the villains during the "Gauntlet," but, here, Slott makes it clear that the changes will keep on coming, ensuring that Pete is going to have his hands full for the foreseeable future. He's not going to be Iron Man, whose armor will eventually win the day, despite whatever mishap-of-the-issue hinders it from doing so for a few pages. Pete still has the same relationship with his villains; both sides are just better at what they do.
4) Man, Caselli and Frank Martin, Jr. hit the ball outta the park with the two-page spread depicting the effects of Ock's Octavian Lens.
5) Octahedral! I asked for it in issue #653, and I got it!
6) I thought that Doc Ock's alleged conversion to a good guy was a brilliant twist. Slott does a great job showing Pete's frustration at how Ock is accepted with open arms by the general public (and Horizon scientists). After all, he's still considered a menace when Ock suddenly gets forgiven his past sins. But, Slott also leaves open the possibility that Ock is sincere in his desire to save the world, something that also seemed true when he tried to automate New York City in issue #600. I mean, Ock does make his announcement surrounded by members of the Sinister Six, so I'm not sure that I totally by it. After all, if he really wants to save the world, why does he need help to do it? Why not just use the Lenses now? It's this ambiguity that really fuels the tension in the issue and will, I'm sure, make the rest of this arc fascinating.
7) OMG, I got chills on the last page. Slott and Caselli did just a great job setting up that moment.
The Bad
1) I don't really want to call it "Bad," because, again, I understand that Slott clearly intends this arc as an introduction to new readers. But, at times, his attempts to integrate exposition into the plot in a way that didn't feel like exposition didn't work so well. In some cases, he had to seriously dumb down a character to make the exposition work. For example, I thought using Jonah's tirade at Horizon Labs as a way to review its recent history -- from "Spider-Island" to "I Killed Tomorrow" to the Point One issue -- didn't work at all. JJJ, Jr. is way too smart to appear at Horizon labs with Glory, a guy in a suit, and one cop and think that he was going to successfully shut down the place. In other cases, Slott glossed over key facts in order to make a moment work. For example, last I checked, Max is pretty angry at Spider-Man. Just three issues ago (issue #679.1), he was in Spidey's face for exposing Morbius' identity as "Number Six," yet here he's all supportive of Pete's efforts to help Spidey. I mean, I think someone like Max could put aside some personal anger at Spidey and support his efforts to combat a crazed super-villain trying to fry the world, but I feel like Slott could've had Pete comment to himself how glad he was that Max wasn't still mad about the Morbius incident or take some other step to acknowledge the recent bad blood between them. Again, it was so recent that it felt jarring that Max would be over it so quickly, particularly given how animated he was about it at the time.
2) Pete seems to assume a lot here. I think it's perfectly reasonable for him to assume that Doc Ock doesn't have the Earth's best interests at heart. But, it seems a little odd that Pete also assumes the other members of the Sinister Six are involved I mean, it makes sense in a way, since they were involved in Otto's last attempt to "do good." But, the fact that Pete conveniently has worked up equipment to take down the Sinister Six and intuitively realizes that the other members are helping Otto was a bit much.
2) Pete seems to assume a lot here. I think it's perfectly reasonable for him to assume that Doc Ock doesn't have the Earth's best interests at heart. But, it seems a little odd that Pete also assumes the other members of the Sinister Six are involved I mean, it makes sense in a way, since they were involved in Otto's last attempt to "do good." But, the fact that Pete conveniently has worked up equipment to take down the Sinister Six and intuitively realizes that the other members are helping Otto was a bit much.
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