Superior Foes of Spider-Man #17 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Honestly, I'm not sure I totally get where we are in the end.

Some of the problem comes from a (accidental or intentional) lack of clarity.  Was Fred's girlfriend always the Black Cat?  If so, and she took on that identity to steal the portrait of Doom, how did she know that Fred had it in the first place?  Moreover, are we supposed to believe that everything that happened over the course of this series was just meant to get Fred on that mound?  If so, couldn't he have just gotten his hands on the Chameleon's serum and switched places with the pitcher without, you know, the rest?  Some of the problem possibly comes from not following the subtlety of the art or dialogue.  For example, I didn't recognize the guy in the Boomerang costume as Abner last issue; I confused him for the pitcher that Fred had kidnapped.  It left me naturally confused when he suddenly appears here, particularly when he morphs from Boomerang to Mach-VII.  (I have to admit here that it's a stretch that the Chameleon's serum also morphs inorganic material, changing Abner's costume from the Mach-VII one to Boomerang's.  But, I'll let it pass.)  Some of the problems come from a lack of memory.  When did Iron Fist break Speed Demon's ankle exactly?

But, I'm not entirely sure that any of it matters.  Spencer has always portrayed Fred as an unreliable narrator, so it's not like we should really expect total clarity.  In fact, the confusing nature of Fred's plans, even when they all in theory stand revealed here, say something pretty deep about the chaos that surrounds Fred's life.  Spencer manages to toe the line without falling on one side or the other when it comes to whether he thinks that Fred is a criminal mastermind or if Fred just thinks that he is.  Was Fred brilliant in putting into effect all these plans?  Even if they were overly elaborate (in other words, even if they were only meant to get him on the mound), did they get him what he wanted?  Spencer doesn't say, because it's pretty clear that Fred himself doesn't know what he wants.  I didn't believe Fred when he told his girlfriend that he wanted to change for her, so I wasn't upset when the Cat wound up duping him.  This series doesn't produce any concrete conclusions about Fred's life because it doesn't lend itself to such a tidy summary; as Fred would say, it's complicated.

Marvel took a chance with this series, and I have to applaud them for it.  I think a lot of the awkwardness that I mention here would be resolved in reading the issues all in a row, allowing you to absorb the impact of the nuanced story that Spencer and Lieber have told.  (I look forward to doing that on a quiet Saturday in the not-too-distant future.)  Although this series was often compared to "Hawkeye," the difference is that Spencer and Lieber did their work, getting out issues more or less monthly, and keeping us connected to the characters.  In that way, I think the student has become the master.

*** (three of five stars)

Superior Foes of Spider-Man #16 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Spencer continues the theme of the last few issues, showing that evil, no matter how hilarious, turns on itself.

After burying the Shocker alive, the remaining members of the Sinister Five turn on each other.  Each brings a surprise patron to the meeting of the Maggia where the "team" had intended to crown itself head(s) of the Underworld.  Although it seems far-fetched that the team would actually have been able to control the Underworld for more than a few minutes, Spencer makes it clear that none of their patrons thought that they could manage it either.

At this stage, though, I'm still a little unsure what Boomerang's plan is.  Everyone else's plan was pretty clear, like the Beetle using her dad as the muscle she needed to take over the Maggia on her own or Overdrive paying off his debt to Mr. Negative by delivering him the head of Silvermane.  Surprisingly, though, Fred doesn't seem to have set up a double-cross at the meeting; instead, it seems to have been his cover for stealing the identity of a Mets pitcher.  But, it's unclear why he would've needed said meeting as cover (if it was, in fact, cover); he probably could've just kidnapped the guy.

It's really just Fred's ultimate plan left outstanding as we approach the final issue.  The other team members are likely to go their own way after the double-crossing, so Spencer just needs to wrap up Fred's story to call it a pretty effective day.  We'll probably learn that manipulating his way onto Citifield was Fred's plan all along (or, at least, he'll claim it was), but he'll screw it up somehow.  That would be a fitting ending to this series.

*** (three of five stars)

Superior Foes of Spider-Man #15 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

I have to say, it's a little difficult to find everyone in this series as charming as Spencer wants me to find them when they're burying the poor Shocker alive.  It's not like I expected them to be angels or anything.  As I've said previously, Boomerang did kill Jackplot's husband in front of her in the "Amazing Spider-Man Presents:  Jackpot" mini-series.  But, in the first few issues of this series, the crimes that the team were committing weren't so awful that you couldn't look past them to appreciate the humor.  However, the gap between the tongue-in-cheek vibe that Spencer has used throughout this series and the increasing seriousness of the team's crimes is starting to get too obvious to ignore.  Can betrayal and murder really be funny?  It was one thing when the gang was just trying to steal the Dr. Doom painting or Silvio Silvermane's head, but it's starting to feel like another thing when they're burying people (particularly their own teammate) alive.  Can burying someone alive be funny?  I'm not sure.

** (two of five stars)

Superior Foes of Spider-Man #14 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Throughout this series, Spencer has done a great job of making the team a bunch of lovable idiots, despite the obvious challenge of the fact that they're mostly violent criminals.  Everything doesn't go their way, but they're out there with their delusions, trying to figure out the next score.  Since they're mostly acting against other criminals, it hasn't been too hard to root for them, since it's not like you're going to root for Chameleon or the Owl instead.  In this issue, though, Spencer lowers the boom a little, and we see them through a less rosy filter.

Spencer's hardest challenge has probably been Boomerang, since his villainy is pretty well documented.  However, the fact that Boomerang's characterization has always been all over the map allows him to decide on which side of the scale he's going to put his finger.  In my review of "American Spider-Man Presents:  Jackpot," I noted that Fred went from encouraging the Shocker to show some civic pride and vote in "Amazing Spider-Man" #584 to a would-be rapist and definite murderer in that mini-series.  He's been a little less evil in this series, again, mostly because he's acting against other criminals.  But, in this issue, Spencer makes him a lot less likable as well.  Shocker overhears him making fun on his death -- a death that he himself arranged -- and it understandably pushes Shocker over the edge.  But, unlike the other stories in this series, I find myself hoping that Fred doesn't manage to charm his way out of trouble, because he really deserves to get his ass handed to him.

But, Spencer drops the sympathetic filter a bit for Overdrive and Speed Demon as well.  Overdrive reveals that he accepted the deal with Mister Negative to give him powers in the hope that he could one day become a superhero, an assertion that makes a certain amount of sense in the Thunderbolts era but feels more naive than calculating.  Moreover, Speed Demon finally returns the dog to the girl from whom he swiped it, but we're left wondering if he did it because he knew that it was the right thing to do or for the $100 reward (or because it had fleas).  The fact that he also loaded up the girl with the dog's food, leash, and medicine certainly implies the former, but Spencer sort of lets the latter hang out there a bit.

In other words, I ended this issue reminded that these folks are criminals.  It seems clear that Spencer wanted me to feel that way, but it was uncomfortable all the same.  I'm just glad the puppy is OK.

*** (three of five stars)

Superior Foes of Spider-Man #13 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Honestly, I think that I've lost the plot here.

Why did Fred call the cops on the Sinister Sixteen?  I'm assuming that he wanted to eliminate the competition?  But, why exactly did calling the cops enrage the Owl?  Is it because it meant that he didn't get the portrait of Dr. Doom?  In theory, wouldn't the Owl still have faith that Boomerang would still deliver the painting to him if he, himself, wasn't arrested?  Did the Owl just assume that it was Fred who called the cops?  Also, when did we learn that the painting of Dr. Doom isn't the real painting?  Moreover, if it's not the real painting, then does a real painting exist?  If it doesn't exist, then how in the world will selling the painting make Fred any money?  He presumably thinks that it will, since he didn't just return it to the Owl.  But, how?  Finally, where does Speed Demon keep going?

This series is fun, but, honestly, I'm going to start needing more elaborate introduction pages, because we've drifted dangerously into writing-for-the-trade territory here.

** (two of five stars)

Superior Foes of Spider-Man #12 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

First, let's get to the important question:  what happened to Speed Demon's dog?

Moving onto the rest of the story, I love how Spencer has Boomerang completely incapable of selling his story (that Chameleon stole his identity) to Beetle and Overdrive.  I mean, he manages to get through the initial telling of it, with the Owl even backing up his version of events.  But, he totally forgets about it when they're plotting to swipe back the portrait of Dr. Doom, saying that this time the double-cross at the end will at least include Beetle and Overdrive.  It's just a great reminder of why everything doesn't quite go to plan when it comes to Fred, since he just doesn't have the attention span to really sell his various stories.  Of course, he does have the skill (or luck) to avoid his eventual comeuppance (other than the occasional prison sentence); after all, despite his assurances to the Beetle and Overdrive to the contrary, he once again manages to manipulate events here to end the issue in a room alone in a room with a safe...

But, seriously, what happened to Speed Demon's dog?

*** (three of five stars)

Superior Foes of Spider-Man #11 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

I wasn't sure where we were going with this issue, but I have to say that it really worked.  Grizzly and the Looter give us a criminal's-eye view of the more violent version of Spider-Man, something that I expected us to see more during this series.  So far, we've only seen Spidey's allies (theoretically) voice their concern over his more violent behavior; we haven't really seen the impact of it on the criminals except for "Superior Spider-Man" Annual #1.  It's a welcome addition to Otto's story.  Moreover, I'd be happy if we actually got to see more of Spideys' villains than just the Sinister Six.  I know that I just complained that last issue's focus on the Beetle, Overdrive, and Speed Demon interrupted the Boomerang story, but I can't deny that it would be fun to see characters like Grizzly and the Looter appear on occasion, particularly interacting with the team members (as Hydro-Man did with Shocker in issue #9).  In other words, it was good stuff all around.

*** (three of five stars)

Superior Foes of Spider-Man #10 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

James Asmus takes charge for a filler issue here, as the three remaining members of the Sinister Six have a few drinks while they wait for the timer on a bar's safe to re-set.  (At least, I think that they're waiting for it to re-set.  I wasn't 100 percent clear why the safe is on a timer.  Does it open every hour?  That would be weird, right?)  Anyway, to entertain themselves, they tell the story of the biggest superhero that they've ever faced.  Hilarity ensues, obviously.

The Beetle and Speed Demon stories are suitably entertaining, but I have to say that I still don't have a great bead on Overdrive.  I feel like his personality changes with each author.  When he was first introduced (as, if I recall correctly, Spidey's first new villain of "Brand New Day"), he was essentially a superhero fan-boy.  However, Asmus has him so afraid of Hercules that he pees himself.  At any rate, it's an entertaining enough issue, though I'm anxious to see how Fred manages to extricate himself from the world of hurt that Beetle and Overdrive seemed poised to deliver to him last issue.

(Also, I have to note, not only do we get a great example of pet peeve #2 here, since it's Hercules, not Spider-Man, that serves as the nemesis of two of the Sinister Three, despite the cover, but the descriptions that come with each issue increasingly have nothing to do with the actual contents of the issue.)

** (two of five stars)

Superior Foes of Spider-Man #9 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

As usual, Spencer and Lieber paint a pretty grim picture of our gang.  Boomerang plays all tough when it comes to his "rivalry" with Bullseye, except that he seemingly offers Bullseye his new girlfriend's life in exchange for his own.  Shocker is honestly befuddled over the prospects that lay before him as a result of possessing the Head of Silvermane, and I don't really want to know why Hydro-Man is worried about returning to a life where he was in the back of a truck in an alleyway being asked to dance in front of a camera.  But, once again, Fred proves how resourceful he is, using his camera-rang to set up Chameleon to make it seem like he impersonated Fred to seal the Dr. Doom painting.  As a result, Owl transfer the hit (and, presumably, his LMD Bullseye) from Fred to Chameleon, and Fred is free to do...well, whatever it is Fred does.  But, he has to get through a pretty pissed Beetle and Overdrive to do it.  Once again, frying pan, fire.

*** (three of five stars)

Superior Foes of Spider-Man #8 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Somehow, despite having a "serious bad guy thing going on these days," I'm thinking that Boomerang is in some serious trouble if Bullseye is after him, don't you?

*** (three of five stars)

Superior Foes of Spider-Man #7 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

This issue is another one that sort of defies recapping, as we get a tour of Janice's life-long journey to become a super-villain.  Unfortunately, Spencer takes the usual shtick a little too far at times; for example, I found Janice's complaint about the glass ceiling in the drug trade to be excessively casual.  I know that we're supposed to see the humor in Janice viewing herself as the Hillary Clinton of vice, but it actually just stoked my sense that most of these characters are going to face some sort of comeuppance for the nonchalant way that they approach crime.  After all, Janice might not be so blasé about crime if she gets killed by the Punisher or spends 20 years in prison.  Also, the Baron Zemo/Fixer dispute smacked of deus ex machina-ness, despite its hilarity.  It was just a little  convenient that they just happened to come to Janice's law firm over a dispute that required the creation of a new super-villain to settle.  It's still an enjoyable issue, but it felt like Spencer was trying too hard to be clever, when this series is as excellent as it is because he usually makes the cleverness look so effortless.  (Now, I'm waiting for Tombstone to come wale on me for saying something slightly negative about Janice.)

*** (three of five stars)

Superior Foes of Spider-Man #6 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

I totally, totally gasped at the revelation on the last page that Tombstone is the Beetle's dad.  Amazeballs.

I'm finding that this series almost defies reviewing, since it's all so perfect and tight that you sort of just have to read it to get a sense of it.  I mean, how do you describe the brilliance of the story of the "The True Face of Victor Von Doom?"  How do you explain the visual gags, like Fred pulling a poster of "The Ugly Truth" over "The True Face of Victor Von Doom" or Dr. Doom standing in his boxers contemplating his vulnerability.  You can't.  You just can't.  You have to experience it yourself.

As result, I really only have two specific comments.  First, Spencer and Lieber still do an amazing job of conveying the emotions of the Superior Foes without words.  It fits, of course, that super-villains aren't exactly comfortable discussing their emotions, either to one another or to themselves (via first-person narration), so the visual cues are our only real insight into their inner truths.  For example, the splash page of Fred envisioning his future with the waitress went beyond Fred simply saying that he was in love with her; similarly, Speed Demon thinking about his dog when the Owl said that he was going to kill him was remarkably touching (even if he stole that dog off a little girl).  Although the tone of this series is light, I will say that I feel like Spencer is letting us know that the other shoe may drop one day and not everyone is going to get to the other side of that OK.  He and Lieber are slowly making us care about these characters, by using visuals to go past their bluster.  Second, in the aforementioned splash page, Fred and the waitress' child seems to be the son of the guy with a flame for a head, not Fred's, leading me to wonder why Fred, in his own dreams, appears to see himself cuckolded?  That's a little screwy, right?  Then again, Fred's pretty screwy, so maybe it makes sense.

In other words, it's all still amazing.

**** (four of five stars)

Superior Foes of Spider-Man #5 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

This series is just a joy to read, every issue, from start to finish.  'Nuff said.  (I so didn't see that ending coming!)

**** (four of five stars)

Superior Foes of Spider-Man #4 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

The first twist that I thought was clever was the revelation that Fred sicked Iron Fist and Luke Cage on the Sinister Six so that he could later free them, using the incident to justify his leadership of the team.  It showed how clever Fred is, how he's capable of thinking a few moves down the game.  But, the best twist is where Fred pushes a car into the river with a tied-up Shocker in the trunk.  This one, this one is Fred.  Sure, you have to ask yourself if he really means to kill him, since, if he did, he probably could've just shot him.  But, it shows that Fred is also scared.  He panics, he makes bad decisions, he worries.  He probably could've kept the Shocker on the team, probably could've used him.  It just would've required some leadership to keep him in line.  But, he panics after the Shocker reveals that he knows the Punisher was actually the Chameleon.  Again, the Shocker probably would've believed Fred's lie that he had paid the Chameleon to appear as the Punisher just to improve his cred with the team, making it clear how he escaped an encounter with the Punisher.  Instead of realizing how lucky he is that the Shocker didn't discover that the Chameleon is really pulling their strings, he takes out the Shocker.  I had actually sort of believed him at the end, believed that Fred had realized that if he just ran the team efficiently, they'd do better and make more money.  But, leadership is hard and Fred takes the easy way.  But, I guess, in the end, it's Fred.  He can play a game of chess, so long as no one makes an unexpected move and forces him to knock the board off the table in panic.

Superior Foes of Spider-Man #3 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Superior Foes of Spider-Man #3:  It's actually hard to review this issue, on some level.  In the plus column, the narrative is spectacularly well done.  I'm hard pressed to think of another issue that I've read where the author managed to deliver so much narrative without breaking character or slipping into excessive exposition.  I could not only hear Boomerang saying every line, but Spencer was also using it to show us the story, not just exposit it at us.  Boomerang behaves exactly as you expect him to behave, selling out his crew because they didn't include him.  It's the distinct voice that Spencer gives Boomerang -- clever, but immature and petulant in a way that we don't normally see in superheroes -- that makes this series and this issue is a great example of how compelling it is.  However, in the minus column, I will say that it was a slog at certain points.  Even if Spencer managed not to make it an exposition-a-thon, long narrative stretches can be tiring to reader, particularly in the comic-book medium where you're waiting for some sort of action to happen eventually.  Even the introduction of other characters during the Super-Villains Anonymous meeting (hilarious, by the way) resulted in another soliloquy, just by a different character.  I want Spencer to keep up Boomerang's narration, because he does provide the aforementioned distinct voice, but, now that we understand him better, I think it's time to introduce either more dialogue or more action to mix it up a bit.

New Comics! (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

By last count, I'm 30 issues in the hole; I'm also expecting another two shipments full of issues this week.  As such, I'm going to do some old-school reviews for a while so I can be a little less untimely than I currently am.

All-New X-Men #15:  I actually love what Bendis does here.  When I first saw the cover, I rolled my eyes.  After all, who wasn't in love with Jean, at this point?  But, Bendis really sells it.  Jean's response to her accidental discovery that Hank was in love with her was to realize that a path was open to her that she previously hadn't considered.  Based on her response to their kiss, she seems to like where it leads.  Bendis turns the entire history of the X-Men on its head here, imaging a future where Scott and Jean never married, where Cable and Rachel were never born, where any number of aspects of our current reality wouldn't look the way that they do.  It's the best type of time-travel story and I applaud Bendis for pulling off something that, quite honestly, he's failed to do in other titles.  Turning to the art, I wouldn't want Lopez to be on this title full-time, but his cartoonish pencils really worked for this issue, playing up the teen angst at the heart of it.  (Speaking of said angst, I loved Bobby being thrilled to discover that he finally gets some and disturbed to learn that it's with his professor.)

Detective Comics #23:  I seriously appreciate that Layman hasn't reduced this Wrath arc to the clichéd mystery over his real identity.  Whenever a new villain appears, authors tend to push our willful suspension of disbelief to the brink, spending an inordinate amount of time trying to pretend that the new supporting character to appear in the main character's life isn't also the new super-villain.  (Paging Lincoln Marsh.)  Layman hasn't gone to that much effort to conceal that Caldwell is Wrath (and drops the ruse entirely here), wisely placing his focus on the more interesting question of why Caldwell became a cop-killer.  Initially, he seemed to be doing it to beef up the sales of his body armor, but, given that he turned said body armor against the cops in this issue, he seems to be playing a much deeper game.  Also, the revelation in the back-up story that Caldwell was responsible for weaponizing the Man-Bat serum was great.  Layman really does an amazing job making connections between plots and sub-plots, even if the events related to each plot didn't happen in his book.  It's what makes reading this title such a rich experience.

Earth 2 #15:  [Sigh.]  This series used to be so damn good, but Robinson is clearly just running out the clock here.  He jumps from group to group so quickly that you hardly have time to try to remember where the character was the last time you left him/her.  Moreover, when you do remember, you're confused.  For example, last we left Kendra, she was fighting Apokorats at Sam's grave site.  Suddenly, in this issue, she's in Morocco chasing down a casino owner, Darcy Twain.  Does he have some connection to Kanto, the "Assassin of Apokolips," who Batman told her to find in her last appearance?  Who knows?  (Also, I'm increasingly convinced that Batman is Sam, though why he needs Kendra to fight his fights for him is beyond me.)  I get that events can happen off-panel, but this revelation just feel random, like I missed an issue.  If the Kendra sub-plot was the only one that left me feeling that way, I could handle it.  But, given that the whole issue did, it also left me waiting for Robinson to leave, something I never thought I'd find myself saying.

Superior Foes of Spider-Man #2:  Spencer continues to display his amazing sense of dialogue here.  Beyond just the witty banter (the team's Sinister Six conversation was hilarious), he really manages to give everyone a distinct voice, something that comes from a firm grasp of their motivations.  Beetle is biding her time until she’s made enough of a name for herself that she can set up her own shop, Speed Demon just enjoys the super-villain life, Overdrive is still a bit overwhelmed, and, as we see here, Shocker is aloof after he discovers the secret behind the Superior Foes.  (Of course, Boomerang’s lawyer, Partridge, takes the cake in this category, with every word that he utters conveying his sleaziness.)  My only complaint, at this point, is that I have trouble believing that Boomerang would get paroled, particularly after violating his parole in the first place.  After all, as he acknowledges here, he is a murderer.  (At the very least, he killed Jackpot’s husband in “Amazing Spider-Man Presents:  Jackpot” #2, though a Google search implies that he might've been exonerated of that crime.)  It’s not like we’re supposed to believe that Partridge is that good of a lawyer that he could make the board forget about all that.  But, I feel like Spencer is doing here what Fraction is doing with Barney Barton in "Hawkeye," taking years of conflicting depictions of Boomerang and trying to present a more coherent portrait.  (Remember when he told Shocker that he had a responsibility to vote in “Amazing Spider-Man” #584?  Not exactly the type of guy who’d kill someone’s husband in cold blood, is it?)  As such, I’m willing to cut Spencer a break, particularly in these first few issues, as he sets about the process of establishing that portrait, particularly since it's such an enjoyable one.  Moreover, it’s a pretty small complaint, given how tightly scripted and generally fun this issue is.  After all, the fact that we're going on a "Goonies"-esque journey for the mythical head of Silvio Silvermane makes me almost giggle with glee.

Superior Spider-Man #15:  OK, Slott anticipated the complaint that we haven’t seen hide nor hair of Spidey’s supporting cast in the last few issues, given the tour of said cast that we got in this issue.  However, instead of remedying my concerns, he just made them worse.  It’s becoming obvious that Slott has written himself into the same corner that the “Clone Saga” writers did, struggling to find a way to maintain the involvement of Spidey’s strong supporting cast without stretching the readers’ willful suspension of disbelief by denying them the realization that something is amiss. Although those writers were able to keep Ben Reilly under wraps through an assumed identity and a dye job, Slott isn’t so lucky, since Peter is, in theory, still Peter.  He’s forced to insert an arbitrary distance between Spidey and his supporting cast, left only with the one character that he invented for this larger story (Anna Maria) to use to show Peter outside his costume.  Unfortunately, it also denies this title what makes Spider-Man special, namely, Peter Parker’s struggle to balance his private life with his greater responsibility.  (I’m in the process of reading issue #200-#300 of “Amazing Spider-Man” and those stories are all about Peter Parker, not Spider-Man.)  By ignoring that aspect of Peter’s life completely, Slott has turned this book into the worst aspects of “Batman.”  I’m not saying it’s not well written, but I am saying that, increasing, it’s a travesty to call it “Spider-Man.”  I guess Otto isn't so superior after all.

X-Factor #260:  Man, this issue is grim.  David keeps it light, mostly thanks to Lorna's pretty funny drunken banter.  But, when you take a moment, you realize that you're actually witnessing Lorna hitting rock bottom.  She has no idea where the other members of X-Factor are and she's indulging impulses best left to super-villains, like destroying private property and risking innocent lives.  The fact that it's Pietro, of all people, who tries to stop her from doing herself and other people harm shows just how far she's fallen.

Infinity #1:  Meh.  Under different circumstances, I could write paragraphs and paragraphs about this one.  But, at the end of the day, it was a slightly more coherent version of Hickman's usually boring and obscure stories.  Thanos gets a tribute from one planet that he previously destroyed, though we have yet to learn its significance, and wants something that Black Bolt currently possesses.  Hickman seems to be setting up some big revelation about the secret history of the Inhumans, but I can't say that I care all that much.

Superior Foes of Spider-Man #1 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

OK, I'll admit to initially having trouble following the plot, in part because I read this issue after maybe having a little bit too much to drink.  I'll also admit to being worried what Speed Demon did with the dog that he stole from the little girl.  (Hopefully, Inspector will meet Pizza Dog one day.)  But, suddenly, everything came together at the end and I realized that Boomerang's intricate plot to get the Superior Foes to spring him from prison was brilliant.  After all, we went from Shocker and Speed Demon delivering bird seed to Boomerang's apartment so that his neighbor could feed his birds while he was in prison to the bird seed being full of diamonds serving as a tribute to Hammerhead so that Boomerang and the Superior Foes could pull off a big score on his territory to Hammerhead actually being Chameleon and Boomerang revealing that said score didn't exist and that it was all a ruse to convince the Superior Foes to spring him.  I mean, I like Nick Spencer, but, man, he really punched above his weight on this one.

Although Spencer leaves it a little unclear why Chameleon would help Boomerang, other than Boomerang's seemingly vague promise to use the Superior Foes to commit crimes of which Chameleon would presumably get a cut, the reveal -- when you finally take a moment, review what happened, and realized where you are -- is one of the best moments in comics that I've read in a long time.

Moreover, along the way, you get some real insight into Boomerang.  I started off this issue liking him, as he complained that no one really wondered if he had any pets like they do Spider-Man.  But, then I wondered if it might just be an act.  Though, I then wondered if Boomerang didn't really wish that he was the type of guy to send his friends to feed his birds and is disappointed with himself because he's not actually that guy.  Then I wondered if maybe he was just fucking with us, trying to convince us that we wasn't all that bad of a guy just to dash our hopes when it's revealed that he is.  Then I wondered if maybe it's even more sinister than that.  But, at some point, you realize that Spencer has led us on an emotional roller-coaster ride that ends with you realizing what an asshole Boomerang really is, a realization made all the more profound by building up that temporary hope that he was really just a guy worried about his birds.  It's then when I realized that this series might be phenomenally better than the main Spider-Man titles and got very, very excited about where we're going from here.