Amazing Spider-Man #800: This issue is great. Really. The story is actually 80 pages, which makes it feel less like the money grab it still obviously is. (Seriously, Marvel, stop with the $9.99 issues.)
I wasn't sure how Slott was going to pull off an 80-page story, but he really nails it. The story doesn't drag, and the resolution feels hard won. Each step that brought us closer and closer to the resolution felt well supported by the steps preceding it. Slott accomplishes this feat (rare for him lately) by keeping everything grounded in characterization: Flash sacrifices himself to allow Peter to keep the powers he needs to take on Norman, Peter uses his brains and not brawn to defeat Norman, Norman's ego undoes him, etc. We even have Aunt May implying she knows Peter is Spider-Man and telling him she's proud of "Spider-Man" for saving so many people, herself included, over the years. Peter’s speeches to Flash and Jonah carry the weight of almost 60 years, and Slott made us feel that weight in a good way.
I’m not saying it’s a perfect issue. After all, JJJ, Jr.’s decision to shoot Norman feels like an afterthought, when it's really a huge deal. First, Immonen (unusually for him) screwed up the positioning, as Peter takes the shot to his shoulder well above Norman’s head. Given JJJ, Jr.s was firing nowhere near Norman's body, it actually reads more like he was firing a warning shot. But, we can tell from the narrative he wasn't, and Slott really never addresses the idea JJJ, Jr. is willing to murder Norman. Compounding matters, Peter just categorically forgives JJJ, Jr., an example of moral relativism that we don’t often see from a guy committed to making sure no one dies. Sure, he let Clash off the hook for stealing, but it was because he was playing Robin Hood; attempted murder is something else entirely. I get where Slott was going with the idea of Peter forgiving Jonah, as it's part of Peter pledging to Flash he'll stop engaging in his own form of bullying. But, I still don't understand what Peter meant by that. His wisecracks? It's a pretty big leap to go from taking responsibility for making fun of criminals to condoning attempted murder. Moreover, Slott is writing a check here he’s not going to cash; I’m not sure I understand how a more serious Peter (if a non-joking Peter is what Slott is setting up here) will play.
As I've said previously, I loved Dan Slott at the start of his run. "Big Time," "Spider-Island," and "Ends of the Earth" were great Spider-Man stories: they were ambitious, fun, and innovative. They showcased the best and worst of Peter Parker, from the extended supporting cast that makes him who he is to the nagging self-doubt that threatens constantly to undermine him. Then, "Superior Spider-Man" happened. At this point, the wheels went off the bus. Slott and his editor, Stephen Wacker, presaged the Trump era by dismissing anyone expressing confusion or disappointment with the poorly structured story as an enemy. Slott's then seemingly lost his ability to tell large-scale stories as both "Spider-Verse" and "Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy" were complicated, sprawling, and tedious. Then, Peter essentially became Tony Stark; it's no irony Slott is going to write him next. You could've replaced Iron Man for Spider-Man for the entirety of "Amazing Spider-Man" volume 4 and likely not have noticed a difference. At this point, it was increasingly clear it was time for Slott to go.
Slott wraps up his time next issue, and we'll see how that goes. At this point, I'm glad "Go Down Swinging" brought back some of that magic "Big Time" had. We could all use a little magic right now.
Daredevil #603: I’ll admit this story is starting to feel too long, as if Soule is going to drag out this night for several years of stories. I mean, Henderson’s art is great here, so I’m not exactly complaining. But, the Hand’s ninjas retreating from the streets of New York so the Beast could unleash a toxic cloud on the city felt like an excessive escalation of the assault. Wasn't a plague of ninjas enough? Moreover, Matt seems completely incapable of doing anything believable in terms of fighting off the Hand’s superior force; releasing Black Cat, Diamondback, Hammerhead, and Owl doesn’t do much to stop a toxic cloud. You’d figure Murdoch would’ve put someone (Dr. Strange?) in charge of finding a way to stop the Beast. Moreover, it’s hard to believe this assault is just because Blindspot refused to kill Muse as part of his deal with the Beast. It seems completely disproportionate. It makes more sense for the Beast to get revenge on Matt by making him mayor and thus making him responsible as the Hand destroys his beloved city around him. If the Beast is willing to destroy New York because of a teenager's broken promise, it makes you wonder why he hasn't already done so. Someone somewhere had to disappoint him previously. It’s all serves as a distraction from the great story about the Kingpin’s reign as mayor, making you wonder if Soule wouldn’t have been better off sequencing the stories rather than telling them overlappingly. I know that’s how "real" life happens; “Batman” arcs are always at their best when he’s juggling multiple enemies a the same time. But, again, it feels like Matt is going up against nuclear weapons with flint knives here.
Infinity Countdown: Captain Marvel #1: This issue is fine in terms of scripting (if a little too rah-rah), but it makes no sense in terms of the plot: Carol’s consultations with the other Captain Marvels helps her learn how to defeat Blastaar in a less destructive way than she originally did, but she concludes her gut is a better guide (even though it, by definition, wasn’t). It's not terrible, but it definitely feels like a cross-over event tie-in issue.
Marvel 2-in-One #6: This issue somehow manages to wrap up this story quickly, without skimping on the emotions. A freed Johnny Storm uses the Power Cosmic to sate Galact-a-Doom’s hunger in time for Emma to transfer her mind into his body. Using a Trojan Horse code Reed wrote, she turns herself into a creator instead of a destroyer. (You have to wonder why Reed didn't turn him into a creator the first time he appeared at Earth, but it is what it is.) Johnny then uses the remaining part of his Power Cosmic to empower Norrin to follow Emma into the stars to recreate the Universe. But, the best moments are saved for the team, as our Johnny encourages our Victor to trust him (and not prevent Emma from taking over Galactus) because it's what made the Fantastic Four great. Then their Reed tells our Ben he knows his Reed and Sue are dead. Overall, it makes for an unusually sad issue (particularly when we learn Galen died of madness, knowing full well what he did as Galactus). Although Ben and Johnny might have helped recreate this world, as far as Ben knows, his universe doesn’t give him that same hope.
Spider-Gwen #32: Gwen wraps up some loose ends here before Captain DeWolff arrests her. She reunites with the Mary Janes, and Reed records their band practice as the source for a device whose sounds incapacitates Matt Murdoch. It allows Gwen to swipe the Web-Watch and leave Murdoch for the Hand, whose leadership has declared war on him for his incompetence. It’s hard to count out Murdoch, though; his pledge to get revenge on Gwen feels real. Meanwhile, Gwen assures the Mary Janes that she knows what she’s doing. Her father believed in honesty, but Gwen realized “honesty” was about emotions; George was trying to get the people of New York to see Spider-Gwen through his eyes, essentially asking them to trust him. To Gwen’s mind, the truth (not "honesty") allows the people of New York to draw their own conclusions about her. It’s a compelling case, though we’ll see if Gwen can live with the consequences. In another note, Gwen seems to tell Murdoch the device doesn’t hurt her because it’s the voices of the people she loves, implying she’s found a balance with the symbiote. (I'm not sure I'm buying that, but I think it's what Latour is arguing.) In fact, she implies Murdoch believed the symbiote feared sonics because he feared sonics. It’s a bit of a stretch but I get where Latour is going with it. It goes to the idea of Gwen as a fully integrated person, not just the sum of all her various personas. We'll see what happens next issue.
X-Men: Blue #28: It was always clear Alex was going to be cured, both body and soul, and Bunn takes care of that pretty effectively here, as Havok, Bastion, and Miss Sinister are defeated on several fronts.
I wasn't sure how Slott was going to pull off an 80-page story, but he really nails it. The story doesn't drag, and the resolution feels hard won. Each step that brought us closer and closer to the resolution felt well supported by the steps preceding it. Slott accomplishes this feat (rare for him lately) by keeping everything grounded in characterization: Flash sacrifices himself to allow Peter to keep the powers he needs to take on Norman, Peter uses his brains and not brawn to defeat Norman, Norman's ego undoes him, etc. We even have Aunt May implying she knows Peter is Spider-Man and telling him she's proud of "Spider-Man" for saving so many people, herself included, over the years. Peter’s speeches to Flash and Jonah carry the weight of almost 60 years, and Slott made us feel that weight in a good way.
I’m not saying it’s a perfect issue. After all, JJJ, Jr.’s decision to shoot Norman feels like an afterthought, when it's really a huge deal. First, Immonen (unusually for him) screwed up the positioning, as Peter takes the shot to his shoulder well above Norman’s head. Given JJJ, Jr.s was firing nowhere near Norman's body, it actually reads more like he was firing a warning shot. But, we can tell from the narrative he wasn't, and Slott really never addresses the idea JJJ, Jr. is willing to murder Norman. Compounding matters, Peter just categorically forgives JJJ, Jr., an example of moral relativism that we don’t often see from a guy committed to making sure no one dies. Sure, he let Clash off the hook for stealing, but it was because he was playing Robin Hood; attempted murder is something else entirely. I get where Slott was going with the idea of Peter forgiving Jonah, as it's part of Peter pledging to Flash he'll stop engaging in his own form of bullying. But, I still don't understand what Peter meant by that. His wisecracks? It's a pretty big leap to go from taking responsibility for making fun of criminals to condoning attempted murder. Moreover, Slott is writing a check here he’s not going to cash; I’m not sure I understand how a more serious Peter (if a non-joking Peter is what Slott is setting up here) will play.
As I've said previously, I loved Dan Slott at the start of his run. "Big Time," "Spider-Island," and "Ends of the Earth" were great Spider-Man stories: they were ambitious, fun, and innovative. They showcased the best and worst of Peter Parker, from the extended supporting cast that makes him who he is to the nagging self-doubt that threatens constantly to undermine him. Then, "Superior Spider-Man" happened. At this point, the wheels went off the bus. Slott and his editor, Stephen Wacker, presaged the Trump era by dismissing anyone expressing confusion or disappointment with the poorly structured story as an enemy. Slott's then seemingly lost his ability to tell large-scale stories as both "Spider-Verse" and "Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy" were complicated, sprawling, and tedious. Then, Peter essentially became Tony Stark; it's no irony Slott is going to write him next. You could've replaced Iron Man for Spider-Man for the entirety of "Amazing Spider-Man" volume 4 and likely not have noticed a difference. At this point, it was increasingly clear it was time for Slott to go.
Slott wraps up his time next issue, and we'll see how that goes. At this point, I'm glad "Go Down Swinging" brought back some of that magic "Big Time" had. We could all use a little magic right now.
Daredevil #603: I’ll admit this story is starting to feel too long, as if Soule is going to drag out this night for several years of stories. I mean, Henderson’s art is great here, so I’m not exactly complaining. But, the Hand’s ninjas retreating from the streets of New York so the Beast could unleash a toxic cloud on the city felt like an excessive escalation of the assault. Wasn't a plague of ninjas enough? Moreover, Matt seems completely incapable of doing anything believable in terms of fighting off the Hand’s superior force; releasing Black Cat, Diamondback, Hammerhead, and Owl doesn’t do much to stop a toxic cloud. You’d figure Murdoch would’ve put someone (Dr. Strange?) in charge of finding a way to stop the Beast. Moreover, it’s hard to believe this assault is just because Blindspot refused to kill Muse as part of his deal with the Beast. It seems completely disproportionate. It makes more sense for the Beast to get revenge on Matt by making him mayor and thus making him responsible as the Hand destroys his beloved city around him. If the Beast is willing to destroy New York because of a teenager's broken promise, it makes you wonder why he hasn't already done so. Someone somewhere had to disappoint him previously. It’s all serves as a distraction from the great story about the Kingpin’s reign as mayor, making you wonder if Soule wouldn’t have been better off sequencing the stories rather than telling them overlappingly. I know that’s how "real" life happens; “Batman” arcs are always at their best when he’s juggling multiple enemies a the same time. But, again, it feels like Matt is going up against nuclear weapons with flint knives here.
Infinity Countdown: Captain Marvel #1: This issue is fine in terms of scripting (if a little too rah-rah), but it makes no sense in terms of the plot: Carol’s consultations with the other Captain Marvels helps her learn how to defeat Blastaar in a less destructive way than she originally did, but she concludes her gut is a better guide (even though it, by definition, wasn’t). It's not terrible, but it definitely feels like a cross-over event tie-in issue.
Marvel 2-in-One #6: This issue somehow manages to wrap up this story quickly, without skimping on the emotions. A freed Johnny Storm uses the Power Cosmic to sate Galact-a-Doom’s hunger in time for Emma to transfer her mind into his body. Using a Trojan Horse code Reed wrote, she turns herself into a creator instead of a destroyer. (You have to wonder why Reed didn't turn him into a creator the first time he appeared at Earth, but it is what it is.) Johnny then uses the remaining part of his Power Cosmic to empower Norrin to follow Emma into the stars to recreate the Universe. But, the best moments are saved for the team, as our Johnny encourages our Victor to trust him (and not prevent Emma from taking over Galactus) because it's what made the Fantastic Four great. Then their Reed tells our Ben he knows his Reed and Sue are dead. Overall, it makes for an unusually sad issue (particularly when we learn Galen died of madness, knowing full well what he did as Galactus). Although Ben and Johnny might have helped recreate this world, as far as Ben knows, his universe doesn’t give him that same hope.
Spider-Gwen #32: Gwen wraps up some loose ends here before Captain DeWolff arrests her. She reunites with the Mary Janes, and Reed records their band practice as the source for a device whose sounds incapacitates Matt Murdoch. It allows Gwen to swipe the Web-Watch and leave Murdoch for the Hand, whose leadership has declared war on him for his incompetence. It’s hard to count out Murdoch, though; his pledge to get revenge on Gwen feels real. Meanwhile, Gwen assures the Mary Janes that she knows what she’s doing. Her father believed in honesty, but Gwen realized “honesty” was about emotions; George was trying to get the people of New York to see Spider-Gwen through his eyes, essentially asking them to trust him. To Gwen’s mind, the truth (not "honesty") allows the people of New York to draw their own conclusions about her. It’s a compelling case, though we’ll see if Gwen can live with the consequences. In another note, Gwen seems to tell Murdoch the device doesn’t hurt her because it’s the voices of the people she loves, implying she’s found a balance with the symbiote. (I'm not sure I'm buying that, but I think it's what Latour is arguing.) In fact, she implies Murdoch believed the symbiote feared sonics because he feared sonics. It’s a bit of a stretch but I get where Latour is going with it. It goes to the idea of Gwen as a fully integrated person, not just the sum of all her various personas. We'll see what happens next issue.
X-Men: Blue #28: It was always clear Alex was going to be cured, both body and soul, and Bunn takes care of that pretty effectively here, as Havok, Bastion, and Miss Sinister are defeated on several fronts.
First, Magneto calls Elixir and Exodus from the past (or future) to stop the spread of Mothervine: Exodus uses his powers to teleport them from infection site to infection site while Elixir cures everyone who didn’t actually have the mutant gene to start. Meanwhile, Emma is appalled as Miss Sinister tortures Jimmy and Bloodstorm, mostly because she doesn’t like the idea of mutants being manipulated. (Sinister also confirms the mutants of Jimmy’s world were manufactured, and he carried the code — Mothervine — in his DNA. I'm not sure if we knew that previously, but there you go.) Emma turns against her, taking control of Mach-2 and using her magnetism to free Jimmy so he can slice Miss Sinister into ribbons. With Emma’s control lifted and Sinister’s presence gone, Lorna, Daken, Gazing Nightshade, and Xorn are free. They join forces with Emma, Bloodstorm, and Jimmy to take down Havok and the remnants of his Brotherhood (Bastion, Toad, and that white-haired guy, as far as I can tell. Bastion tries to assert control, but Xorn releases his singularity, seemingly destroying himself and Bastion in the process.
All that’s left is for Alex to be saved. Bunn does his best here to make it clear why it was only now that the specific confluence of factors necessary to heal him were presented. Emma uses Lorna’s memories of Alex to punch through his defenses and invert him, lamenting the loss of his potential as a bad guy, and Elixir uses his powers to heal his face. Alex is shaken from the experience, feeling as if part of his soul has been ripped from him. If Bunn stumbles at all through this issue, it’s in Emma’s decision to become an unrestricted good guy. I get why she turns against Miss Sinister, but it’s less clear why she finally decides to heal Alex. Even if Lorna’s memories of (i.e., love for) Alex served as the necessary Trojan Horse to cure him, Bunn doesn’t tell us why Emma would actually turn the switch. As she herself says, he would've been a powerful ally. But, Bunn does a solid job with healing Alex’s scar. I never bought into the idea that Alex’s skin was somehow destroyed on a molecular level, as it really made no sense. (We can resurrect people from the dead, but we can't fix Alex's scar?) As such, Elixir healing him here felt like a logical fix to a problem that should’ve been solved a long time ago.
At any rate, I’m just glad to have Alex back. “AXIS” was a pretty terrible event, and it made little sense to sandbag such a great character — particularly given what Remender did with him in “Uncanny Avengers” before “AXIS” — with that legacy. (Plus, I’m not going to object to his handsome face returning.) Now, I’m just exited to see Emma and a furious Magneto go to war.
Also Read: Ms. Marvel #30; Pathfinder: Spiral of Bones #3; Star Wars: Lando - Double or Nothing #1; X-Men: Red Annual #1
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