Amazing Spider-Man #24: This issue just doesn't make a lick of sense, and I say that as someone who read the original Clone Saga. Let's start at the top. First, Ben has become so over-the-top melodramatic that a Bond villain would tell him he's trying too hard. Seriously, he's a mustache and damsel short of being a 1920s silent-film villain. I get we're supposed to believe Warren repeatedly murdering him drove him insane, but why did his insanity just start manifesting itself now? What about the sensible guy we saw in the first two-thirds of this event who just wanted Peter to help him help other people? Where'd he go? My suspension of disbelief became even less willful when Otto steals the only perfect clone from Ben. Otto just so happened to invent only one perfect clone, all without Ben knowing? Ben -- with all his knowledge, as Peter, of Otto's deviousness -- never had Otto show him his plans? Although he had the upper hand with Otto given his control of the pills he had to take, Ben was never like, "Hey, Otto, you're a crafty guy, I'm going to make sure I can access all your research and audit it daily." I guess not. They just don't make geniuses like they used to make 'em. At any rate, Ben manages to get near a Webware device to access Peter's signal, forestalling his disintegration. He retreats to his safe house, an exact replica of Aunt May's house that he had the Miles clones build for him. (Who knew Warren was a brilliant geneticist and an expert carpenter?) Conveniently, it means the real Warren knew where he'd go, and he's there waiting for him. Seriously, I have no idea how it could be the "real" Warren, given how many times he's died in the past. But "Clone Conspiracy" #5 already established some clones survived the Carrion virus, so I guess it doesn't matter if this version of Warren is a clone or the original: suffice it to say, he's alive. That is, he's alive until he sets Ben's perfect little house on fire and then Ben collapses it on top of him. Ben escapes the police who converge on the house, dedicating himself to putting his past behind him. At this stage, even if you buy the completely ridiculous series of events that gets us to this point, it's hard to see how Marvel is going to treat Ben as anything other than a totally bat-shit crazy villain. They're also going to have to explain how he and all the other clones who survived haven't crumbled into dust, though I imagine they'll try to avoid that if they can. Honestly, as much as I love Ben Reilly, I just don't know if I can read his new series. The original sin of this awful event may just be too much.
Prowler #5: As launches to a series go, it's probably not a great idea to reveal in the fifth issue that the main character you've watched whine his way through the series so far was actually a clone of the main character, meaning you won't actually see the main character until issue #6. But, you know what? I won't be here to see it.
Spider-Gwen #17: OMG, this script could not have gotten more awkward if you added...well, if you added another teenager to the mix. I mean "awkward" in the best possible way, because Latour really ups the ante when he has Ms. Marvel stumble upon Miles getting all confessionally close to Gwen. Awesomesauce, as the kids would say. (I'm also pretty sure Miles was delayed in following Gwen and Kamala not because dogs smelled the egg salad on his pants but because he had to...wait...for things to...simmer down. Latour totally wanted us to think that, right?) In terms of the plot, I feel like it's either deceptively simple or I'm missing something significant. As I understand it, the S.I.L.K. agents, led by Earth-65 Jefferson, are trying to steal enough Earth-616 equipment and batteries to sell on their Earth to fund their own dimension-hopping watches. But, Gwen made it sound like they needed Earth-65 Reed to build said watches. Would he really build such a watch for S.I.L.K.? Or, he wouldn't, and S.I.L.K. is trying to build their own watch? But it's not going well because they don't have Reed? And that's why they can't control the watches? Maybe? Eh, who cares? More awkward adolescent adoration!
No comments:
Post a Comment