Amazing Bought/Thought for 12/26/12

[Phaedrus45]

Surprised nobody started this yet. I've only read one book, but thought I'd post my thoughts about it, especially if anyone is interested in knowing how the last issue of Amazing Spider-Man ended. Need I say it: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Amazing Spider-Man #700: More often than not, Slott told some pretty interesting stories each month; but, I found this one of the best. Peter gets back with Mary Jane ... but, not quite the way you wanted him to. (You have to figure Dan is having a ton of fun with this. All the "We want MJ and Peter back together" fans must have vomited a bit in their mouth.) You see, somehow Doctor Octopus was able to switch bodies with Peter Parker, and now Peter's mind is in Ock's dying body. Well, this is the comics, so Peter must get back to his own body before issue's end. Right?

Right???

Nope! Peter's mind is still in Ock's body as Ock's body dies; and, the big ending is that Doctor Octopus now has all of Peter's memories and will be taking over as the Superior Spider-Man! (It's kind of like in Exiles, where Morph's body was taken over by Proteus; except, Proteus doesn't realize he's Morph, and Doctor Octopus does realize he's Spider-Man.)

SO, I guess MJ and Peter are back together. (As I sit here laughing to myself. Slott can really be a cruel bastard at times.) It's definitely not a storyline I'll ever forget (I loved one of the previous issues, where Peter say Ock's memory of Aunt May sleeping with Doc Ock before they got married). Will this stick? Come on! Certainly not. But, we're in for a ride when Superior Spider-Man starts up.

BTW, the back-up material is just so-so. I read it quickly, and didn't care much for it. This issue is all about the Slott story.

(Double BTW, there is some great discussion on this issue and new direction in the Amazing Spider-Man thread, naturally.)

 

[JewishHobbit]

Well that sounds all kinds of horrible, but I guess some good character plots could come out of it. I'd be interested in Superior if not for two reasons. First, the crappy move of putting Spidey and MJ together when it isn't Peter. Why not Betty Brant? Or the Gwen Stacy Clone? Or that one chick Ben dated during his Spidey days? Why the one person who already has salt in the wound of some readers? And the second reason: Doc Ock's always been one of my least favorite villains. Seriously, of all the villains he's likely the one I'm LEAST interested in reading about.

Best of luck to Dan and the Spidey fans though. Hopefully something good comes out of it.

Shoulda been Spidey 2099. At least that had me interested.

 

[runawayboulder]

I'm calling it now: Ock gets MJ knocked up while in Peter's body. When Pete returns he's gonna have to raise Ock's bastard child.

Spoiler

 

[Themanofbat]

I just read the comic a few hours ago... yesterday was a public holiday in Canada... and somehow managed to read it spoiler-free... except for the GoogleNews title that stated "Peter Parker dies in ASM #700" yesterday... though I knew there was a scene of Peter with Uncle Ben, so it didn't really spoil anything....

I loved the issue... I also loved getting the Ditko variant (I love my wife), as well as the Copiel variant, the Quesada variant, both Martin variants and the Ramos variant... but more importantly, the issue read like an old school comic...you really thought Peter was going to pull it through against all odds at the end... and he was basically a metal plate away from winning...

I could go into details... but it was a solid centennial issue for Amazing... I'll make the call that's it's my 2nd favourite ASM centennial issue behind ASM #200, followed by #400, #100, #600, #300 & #500...

I loved the cover gallery... I think the first 350 are etched into my mind...

And I love the little plot twist... Carlie might possibly know that Otto is in Peter's body... and if she hooks up with MJ, who was on the bad end of Spidey's dialogue... I think they might play heavily when things return to the status quo... which I guess would depend on sales...

 

[Thwip!]

I'm calling it now: Ock gets MJ knocked up while in Peter's body. When Pete returns he's gonna have to raise Ock's bastard child.

Spoiler

Octuplets

And I love the little plot twist... Carlie might possibly know that Otto is in Peter's body... and if she hooks up with MJ, who was on the bad end of Spidey's dialogue... I think they might play heavily when things return to the status quo... which I guess would depend on sales...

ahoy ahoy :P

I loved the issue tbh, thankfully got to read it spoiler free and nabbed myself a few variants as well as winning some. I like how this is going as Ock is my favourite Spidey villain, I've always seen him as how Peter could've turned out had Uncle Ben not died

 

[JewishHobbit]

I don't get the variant thing. A waste of money I tells ya'!

Anyhow, I was questioning whether to go to the shop this week but I opted to go ahead and make the trip. I'm glad I did because the final issue of Uncanny X-Force that the shop was shorted last week shipped quick enough to come out this week. So I got that in addition to the two I was expecting.

Uncanny X-Force #35 - Okay, even after reading some light spoilers I STILL didn't expect what happened in this issue. I'm not sure what to think of how things ended regarding Fantomex. I think I'll have to see some aftermath for that, which I'm hoping will take place in the new Uncanny X-Force since Cluster and Psylocke are both in it. We knew that Fantomex had more than one brain... he had 3. During an attempt to resurrect him, three of him were resurrected, each brain now it's own entity. There's the good Fantomex, the bad Fantomex, and Fantomsexy (aka... Cluster from the upcoming Uncanny X-Force book). Hmm... I love Fantomex so I'm game.

That aside I felt that this issue was a fantastic close to the series. Everybody had some great moments that showed their character growth... and for the first time in a long time, Deadpool made me laugh quite heartily. I hate that Remender's letting him go, as he wrote the best Deadpool in a decade or two.

All in all this series is wrapping up as one of my favorite titles ever. Remender just wowed me with this book. I wish he were able to do everything he wanted, such as the Descendants arc from Secret Avengers, which was originally an UXF story, and the Apocalypse Twins story that's coming in Uncanny Avengers (starting with issue 5 or 6), but I still like what's gone on here. Fantastic issue, fantastic series.

Justice League #15 & Aquaman #15 - I don't know why but I've been a little excited for this story. The Throne of Atlantis begins here and it starts with a bang. Reis begins his tenure as the new regular artist of Justice League and Peter Pelletier takes on Aquaman and he does a fantastic job. The story is strong and has completely sucked me into it, making me eager to see how it all plays out. Aquaman gets a lot of attention, as expected, but Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Cyborg are also fairly large roles so that it still feels like a team story. Aquaman's brother is interesting and I completely see his side of things. I like that, with Metropolis and Gotham getting flooded, some of Superman and Batman's supporting characters guest star, namely Lois, Jimmy, Gordon, and Bullock.

Man, I honestly just want to talk this story up. It's a shame that it's going to be overshadowed by Spider-Man, as it was such a fantastic read without the hype or gimmicks. I also got both issues at the same cost of ASM

Something that surprised me was how into Aquaman I was. The character, his world, and specifically issue comic (both this one and last issue, which was a prequel to this story). I saw the first six issues of his book at Half Priced Books last week. I might have to make another trip out there to pick those up. Johns is doing a wonderful job with the book based on what little I've read.

 

[Themanofbat]

I don't get the variant thing. A waste of money I tells ya'!

I wanted the Ditko variant...

Never in my lifetime will I ever have the opportunity to buy a comic with Ditko/Spider-Man art... and today, I satisfied a dream.

Steve Ditko IS the creator of Spider-Man... moreso than Stan Lee... yes, they get co-credit, but the reason we all love Spider-Man is what Steve Ditko put into those early issues... and I will always be eternally grateful for Steve Ditko's efforts into his creation.

And because the Ditko variant was the hardest one to get, my shop threw in the others as well...

 

[ImWithTeamConan]

Didn't pick up anything that came out today but I did swing by the comic shop to get the first six issues of Hawkeye and the first TPB of Saga.

Wow. Good friggin comics.

 

[Dread]

I don't do this too often, but since I only did one review and I usually always copy/paste plus do additional reviews for SHH, this time I may as well be lazy.

Review of ASM #700 for Examiner.com: http://www.examiner.com/review/pick...2-a-series-finale-at-least-until-the-next-one

We can naturally discuss it here.

 

[Themanofbat]

Nice review Dread... though I would have preferred to read it here...

 

[Phaedrus45]

I read Justice League #15 and Aquaman #15. Thankfully, I remembered Justice League was next in order for reading; otherwise, Aquaman would have given away a huge spoiler the minute I started reading. It's a decent mini-event; but, hugely reminiscent of the Ultimate event from around 5 years ago, where Manhattan was destroyed by Magneto with a flood, killing most everybody in the city. (Actually, I thought Marvel did it better both visually and in their storytelling. I still remember some of those scenes; and, they didn't gloss it over too quickly to get back to the story.) An event like this should have emotional impact; and, Marvel did that with the death of many characters. For DC, it's more like just a city full of Red Shirts died. Do we really care? It's like driving by a car accident, saying "Oh those poor people," and then going about with our day, simply because it doesn't effect us in the least. By the time Aquaman #15 is over, we're onto brother versus brother.

For what it is, it's an okay story. You won't become invested in the characters, because Justice League really doesn't care if you like the main heroes or not. (And, frankly, Superman and Wonder Woman's romance is about as interesting to see as watching flowers grow. There is no basis for it. DC doesn't want to tease us with a lead up. Instead, they are going for the immediate pay-off.) It's more for Aquaman fans, of which I have been enjoying.

Deathmatch #1

Paul Jenkins does a great job introducing the concept and characters to this new book from Boom. (And, it's only a dollar!) It's difficult for me to gage a book from a first issue. Too often, I don't get a sense of how the book is going to read. Many times, I either like a first issue (like Phantom Stranger), only to be disappointed with future issues; or, I am extremely bored with the set-up (like Fury Max), only to really get into the comic when the storyline has been set up. For this, I have a good feeling I'll still be liking it. Jenkins is a good storyteller; and, while this has a Hunger Games/Avengers Arena feel to it, he does it in a way that makes it his own. (Plus, unlike Avengers Arena, the characters in this book will stay dead.) Huge recommendation. You can't go wrong with Jenkins ... or a buck.

 

[Shazam]

Count me out of this......just as with Norman Osborn boning Gwen Stacy, I just cant get with this theme of "evil" winning all the time. I come to my comics for a little something different.

Call me when this is over.......I figure Peter will be back somehow for Amazing Spiderman 2 next year.

 

[hippie_hunter]

If anything, it was good that triumphed with Doc Ock vowing to honor Peter's legacy.

 

[JewishHobbit]

I read Justice League #15 and Aquaman #15. Thankfully, I remembered Justice League was next in order for reading; otherwise, Aquaman would have given away a huge spoiler the minute I started reading. It's a decent mini-event; but, hugely reminiscent of the Ultimate event from around 5 years ago, where Manhattan was destroyed by Magneto with a flood, killing most everybody in the city. (Actually, I thought Marvel did it better both visually and in their storytelling. I still remember some of those scenes; and, they didn't gloss it over too quickly to get back to the story.) An event like this should have emotional impact; and, Marvel did that with the death of many characters. For DC, it's more like just a city full of Red Shirts died. Do we really care? It's like driving by a car accident, saying "Oh those poor people," and then going about with our day, simply because it doesn't effect us in the least. By the time Aquaman #15 is over, we're onto brother versus brother.

For what it is, it's an okay story. You won't become invested in the characters, because Justice League really doesn't care if you like the main heroes or not. (And, frankly, Superman and Wonder Woman's romance is about as interesting to see as watching flowers grow. There is no basis for it. DC doesn't want to tease us with a lead up. Instead, they are going for the immediate pay-off.) It's more for Aquaman fans, of which I have been enjoying.

I liked these two issues (and the lead-in issue of Aquaman) so much that I went out to half priced books and picked up Aquaman 1-3, 5-6. I didn't mind that we don't know who died in the floods because, let's be honest, who would they kill off in Gotham or Metropolis that would make readers of Justice League care? Batman and Superman aren't going to be killed off. It'd be a horrible idea to kill off any of their supporting cast in a book where they've never appeared. Why kill off anyone when it doesn't improve the story really? I think they handled it very well.

And you're the first person that I've ever heard that's used Ultimatum as an example of "having done it better." I did read those first two issues with the tidal wave and enjoyed the "scary" aspect of the tale. The difference though is Ultimatum was about death while Throne of Atlantis is about Brother vs. Brother. To kill anyone this early in the story would simply be shock value and cheap... especially as it would be a 3rd tier character at best. Being Marvel readers, I think you and I are used to the obligated death in an event, but I give DC props for not going that route.

I'm actually liking the Superman/Wonder Woman story. The basis of their romance is that they're both "alien" to the world around them. Wonder Woman is more "alien" than Superman and Superman is teaching her how to cope. I think that's awesome actually.

 

[Shazam]

If anything, it was good that triumphed with Doc Ock vowing to honor Peter's legacy.

After killing him and stealing his body?? You cant be serious....

I dont think so.........

Good and evil is so topsy turvy in this morally relativistic society that we cant make clear delineations anymore.

They have lost me......

 

[WeeZiTe]

Super light week this week. I took the opportunity to check out The Manhattan Projects and Mind MGMT which are two AWESOME series that all of you should take a chance to look at.

Amazing Spider-Man #700- I'm surprised that this was how this story ended up. I figured it would follow the formulaic "bad guy one ups hero, hero goes down, hero comes back and wins" route but the bad guy essentially won here. If you told me the outline of this story before I read it, I'd think it was really dumb, but in execution, it's a pretty interesting development. I'm interested to see how Ock (Spock) handles being Peter/Spidey. From the previews of SSM, you can tell he's completely different just from the way he talks. But yeah, I feel that you need to go into this story knowing that this isn't a permanent development. Slott has already shown that he can plan out a story 100 issues (!!!!) ahead and execute it at a high level. I really think that he has an end game in mind. Plus, I think there's a fairly obvious way for him to bring Peter back... It looks like he's still kicking about in Spock's mind right now. I'm going to be looking for hints of Peter's personality shining through Spock in hopes that they're hints that Pete is still fighting to come back. But I like that this is going in a different direction than the norm. People are always complaining that nothing ever changes in comics and everything stays the same, but as soon as something drastic does change in comics those same people go nuts. Look at what happened to Batman and Captain America recently. Both of those characters died and came back within a couple of years and during the couple of years that they were gone, we got some really awesome Dick Grayson and Bucky Barnes stories with character development that wouldn't have happened otherwise. If you just tell yourself that this isn't permanent and just a new and interesting direction for the character to go in, you'll probably have a fun time with the series. Slott has done a great job with the character thus far, I can't wait to see what he does next. Plus, Stegman's art for SSM looks ****ing fantastic. In regards to the Spock/MJ rape dilemma, I definitely agree that it's an iffy situation. However, as far as I can remember without looking at the issues, there hasn't really been anything rapey yet. We saw a scene where Pete and MJ were obviously close in a living room, but it wasn't like they were ****ing or even kissing. And also, this happened before Spock's "be a good person" revelation at the end of #700. I'd consider the relationship to definitely be dishonest thus far, but not necessarily rapey just yet. I know that the cover for SSM #2 has Spock and MJ kissing, but covers aren't always a reflection of what happens inside of the issue. If these two characters do get close and **** goes down between them, it'll definitely get icky. But as of right now, especially with Slott saying wait until issue 2 before forming an opinion, I don't think it's gotten to icky territory yet.

Avenging Spider-Man #15.1- This was a fun little issue that basically piggy backed off of #700 and got me even more excited for SSM. It's basically about Ock reflecting on his past mistakes and vowing to be a better person/Spider-Man. In this issue, you see that Ock is still his usual narcissistic self, but he generally wants to do good. Very well written issue and it got me hyped for SSM.

Justice League #15- WOW, this issue was great and what I've been waiting for since this series started. Justice League has been a meh-to-bad series since the relaunch and it was frustrating since it had a great creative team with a great set of characters. My biggest complaints is that the whole team seemed like silly caricatures of themselves and that they weren't dealing with threats that were on a Justice League level. This issue completely turned it around. Characters were acting like their true selves and they are finally facing a threat that is truly worthy of them. Johns did an EXCELLENT job in this issue. He was able to jam pack awesome character moments, a huge, holy **** tidal wave moment, and kick off an awesome event all in one issue. Also, while it sucks losing Reis from Aquaman, I'm much happier to have him on this book. He absolutely killed it on this issue. The Shazam backup was good again as well. My only complaint about it is that it seems like it's been going on for too long now. When the **** is he actually going to join the team? But yeah, Black Adam has finally found Shazam and ****'s going down next issue, so that's going to be great as well. So **** yeah, this book has finally gotten a truly great issue. Hopefully it can keep it up now.

Aquaman #15- This was the second part of the Throne of Atlantis arc, continuing from Justice League #15, so I don't really have much to add to what I've said previous besides Aquaman has completely removed himself of his ***** status. He has been kicking ass all throughout his New 52 series, but he's kicked it up to another level in these couple of issues. If you told me prior to the New 52 that I'd love Aquaman this much, I'd have laughed at you. But I'm truly enjoying and respecting the character now. One thing to add was that this was Paul Pelletier's first issue in the series and he did a great job on the art. His work definitely softened the blow of Reis moving on. Great issue and I love where this is heading.

 

[Themanofbat]

Spock?

Is that what we're calling him now?

Cool...

 

[Spider-Gnome]

I wanted the Ditko variant...

Never in my lifetime will I ever have the opportunity to buy a comic with Ditko/Spider-Man art... and today, I satisfied a dream.


And because the Ditko variant was the hardest one to get, my shop threw in the others as well...

Congrats, dude! My comic shop had it for $500. A bit too steep for me.

Anyway, don't you have back issues with Ditko's art?

 

[Themanofbat]

Congrats, dude! My comic shop had it for $500. A bit too steep for me.

Anyway, don't you have back issues with Ditko's art?

Yes, I have ASM #1 up, but I bought all those Ditko books as back issues... Buying the variant offered me an opportunity of a lifetime (to buy Ditko Spider-Man art in a new book), it was an X-Mas gift, and my shop sold it to me for $200, which seemed more reasonable to me.

 

[WeeZiTe]

Spock?

Is that what we're calling him now?

Cool...

I feel weird calling him Peter and I think it's confusing when you call him Ock while he's in Peter's body, so I'm just going with SpOck, haha.

 

[JewishHobbit]

How about PeterPus

Pete-o-Pus!
Octo-Man!

 

[Spider-Gnome]

Yes, I have ASM #1 up, but I bought all those Ditko books as back issues... Buying the variant offered me an opportunity of a lifetime (to buy Ditko Spider-Man art in a new book), it was an X-Mas gift, and my shop sold it to me for $200, which seemed more reasonable to me.

Nice gift!

I get what you mean, although it is not new art, it's the first time it is officially released, and makes a nice bookend for the series!

I got the official cover, but may go back and get the Ramos variant as well. (Wanted to make sure the issue didn't piss me off first! )

 

[Spider-Gnome]

I feel weird calling him Peter and I think it's confusing when you call him Ock while he's in Peter's body, so I'm just going with SpOck, haha.

Ha! Now I get the Spock reference!

 

[WeeZiTe]

How about PeterPus

Pete-o-Pus!
Octo-Man!

I saw someone refer to him as NuPeter today and hated it, haha. I think I'll stick with Spock until someone comes up with something better or people get tired of me saying it, haha.

 

[Spider-Gnome]

Ha! SpOck!

This reminds me of notLocke or unLocke of Lost!