Friday, June 3, 2016

Not-Very-Deep Thoughts: The February 3 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Amazing Spider-Man #7:  Slott really needs a new shtick.  In the first arc, the villain, Hank Scorpio (or whatever we're calling him), invested in Parker Industries.  In this arc, Shen Quinghao invested in Parker Industries' green-fuel project, so Peter is going to give a humanitarian award to him.  However, we know from Mr. Negative that Quinghao (who I didn't remember at all from earlier issues) is a former trafficker.  Basically, if you're a new character and you invest in Parker Industries, we should all just assume that you're a bad guy.  (Also, why is Parker Industries giving out humanitarian awards?  It's not even the Uncle Ben Foundation -- it's very clearly Parker Industries.  Bizarre.)

Batgirl #48:  If Greg is the bad guy, I don't get why he had Barbara believe that she spent the night at Luke's place the night that she (allegedly) called the GCPD on the gang-banger.  It would be so easy to prove that "memory" false if she didn't actually spend the night there (as Fletcher and Stewart seem to imply).  A quick call to Luke would've exposed Greg as a liar.

Batman and Robin Eternal #18:  I totally didn't see the revelation that Cass killed Harper's mother coming.  It's a great twist, and it makes it clear that Snyder has been planning this story for ages, given how long ago it was that he introduced Harper.  Snyder and Tynion also make it clear that Bruce has to accept responsibility for the role that he played in her death, since it happened as part of the game that he was playing with Mother.  (Mother selected Harper to be Bruce's next Robin.)  It is indeed his greatest failure, as he originally said to Dick.  In fact, you could argue that leaving Harper and Cullen to be raised by their cowardly and crooked father was an even worse failure of judgment.  (Bruce himself would probably be on board with that assessment.)  Conversely, we're really hitting a new low on the art side of the house.  Everyone on pages 18-19 look deformed, like they had just been repeatedly beaten in the face.

Spider-Man #1:  This issue feels more like a Spider-Man book than anything that we've seen in "Amazing Spider-Man" lately.  It makes me realize why everyone loved Miles in the Ultimate Universe.  First, Pichelli is amazing.  She really has a sense of the epic, making you believe that Blackheart really could defeat the Avengers (even after multiple failed previous attempts)Moreover, Bendis just does an outstanding job of showing us the challenges that an inexperienced adolescent hero faces.  I loved Miles taking advice from the onlookers.  (He's helping to evacuate people from a bus that Blackheart threw at him and he caught, and one of the onlookers suggests that they can handle the evacuation but only he can go after Blackheart.)  Bendis really uses it to show Miles' inexperience, not just tell us about it.  After all, the average middle-aged onlooker on Prime Earth's New York has seen his share of fights.  Miles actually could learn something from  him!  Moreover, Bendis gives Miles such a distinct voice; after only one issue, I feel like I know him and how he would react to a given situation.  I really want to know more about him.  At first, I was interested in this series since it seemed the most likely place where Marvel would deal with the aftermath of "Secret Wars."  By the end of this issue, though, I'm really here for Miles.

Also Read:  Captain America:  Sam Wilson #6; Captain Marvel #2; Detective Comics #49; Midnighter #9; Spidey #3; Uncanny Avengers #5

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