Monday, January 28, 2013

Amazing Spider-Man #699.1 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Since this issue had pretty much nothing to do with Peter Parker or Spider-Man, I'm going to forgo the usual format and just give it a normal review.

I've never really gotten Morbius.  Blah blah blah, tragedy tragedy tragedy.  I mean, I get it, but the mere existence of his character requires a suspension of disbelief that I find almost impossible to provide.  It's also why I don't really read the "Fantastic Four," because, at the end of the day, I just don't believe that Reed Richards can't find a cure for the Thing.  He can figure out a way to erase the memory of every person on Earth that Peter Parker was Spider-Man, but he can't help Ben Grimm regain his human form.  I actually feel like someone needs to do for Ben Grimm the same thing that Dan Slott did for Peter by shaking up his status quo and letting him evolve.  Would it really undermine Ben's character if he could control his transformations?  Isn't he a strong enough character that he doesn't need the tragic flaw to draw in the reader?

Morbius is a tougher case, obviously, since I can't imagine why he'd ever want to revert to his "living vampire" form, as opposed to Ben, who would simply "Rock on!" whenever he need to do so, without any real consequences (like killing your best friend in a moment of blood lust).  But, the central dilemma, for me, remains that I don't believe that he and the greatest minds that the Marvel Universe has to offer couldn't cure his condition.  After all, he did actually develop one, so it stands to reason that he could do so again.  Sure, he wouldn't have the full resources of Horizon Labs, but, given enough time, it seems like he could do it.  As such, it seems clear that his title is going to be dedicated to finding new and creative ways to make sure that he doesn't accomplish his goal and, frankly, I'm just not really all that interested in that sort of story.  Onto issue #700!

2 comments:

  1. That's a great point regarding Morbius... Why HASN'T somebody(I'm looking at you, Peter Parker!) cured his particular strand of vampirism? That's a head scratcher... I see no reason why(besides for storyline purposes) it can't be done...

    As for Thing, I swear I remember reading somewhere two reasons as to why Reed can't help Ben. The first was that he subconsciously wanted to stay the Thing because that's who Alicia Masters fell in love with. So basically it's a mental block Ben has. Whenever Reed would cure him, he'd simply switch back. The other explanation I (vaguely) recall reading was that the cosmic radiation in Ben's body would have to go somewhere because it's not curable. So any other member of the Four could swap powers with Ben, but they'd be the Thing and Ben would get their powers. Needless to say, Ben wouldn't allow that switch to take place. But realistically, if you put Hank Pym, Reed Richards and Hank McCoy in a room, you'd HAVE to think they'd be able to puzzle something out! That's why I figure it's a mental thing and deep down Ben WANTS to remain the Thing. Actually, I'm also remembering there was a time when Ben COULD control his transformations(I think in Battleworld after Secret Wars ended)... I'm a bit foggy on that, but I recall him being able to switch back and forth there, which would give more credence to the mental block thing. I guess he's not tragic enough if he could switch? Still, it would be cool if Ben could switch back and forth, just to shake up the status quo a bit...

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  2. The mental-block part definitely makes the most sense, since, like you said, it explains why the super-scientists can't figure out a cure. I remember that, too. I'm pretty sure that he stayed on Battleword specifically because he could control his transformations. I definitely get the Alicia Marsters part, but aren't we past that relationship now? Maybe he's been the Thing so long he doesn't want to be human again? Something along the lines of the Hulk hating "frail" Banner? Still, at some point, I'd love for someone to address it and realize that it'd make Ben more interesting and not less interesting.

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