Comics Amazing Spider-Man #608 preview (possible spoilers)

[stillanerd]

http://www.newsarama.com/php/multimedia/album.php?aid=31092

 

[moraldeficiency]

So Pete finally defeats screwball but then she dumps the money and makes Pete choose between catching her or getting the money back and he goes for the money. If only Spider-Man had something that could hold foes captured, stuck if you will, until he could get back to them. Maybe he could invent something, some device that would allow him to trap an opponent....hmmm how about a web, he could create some webbing device to catch foes just like a real spider does...see where I'm going with this?

 

[deathshead2]

So Pete finally defeats screwball but then she dumps the money and makes Pete choose between catching her or getting the money back and he goes for the money. If only Spider-Man had something that could hold foes captured, stuck if you will, until he could get back to them. Maybe he could invent something, some device that would allow him to trap an opponent....hmmm how about a web, he could create some webbing device to catch foes just like a real spider does...see where I'm going with this?

Webbing...now your just being silly.

 

[Spare-Flair]

So Pete finally defeats screwball but then she dumps the money and makes Pete choose between catching her or getting the money back and he goes for the money. If only Spider-Man had something that could hold foes captured, stuck if you will, until he could get back to them. Maybe he could invent something, some device that would allow him to trap an opponent....hmmm how about a web, he could create some webbing device to catch foes just like a real spider does...see where I'm going with this?

No, I don't follow. Peter is a science geek isn't he? Maybe he can build a containment system like the Ghostbusters have, but instead of ghosts, it can hold crooks? Webs? That's just silly and gross! Is it going to come out of his behind like a real spider?

 

[stillanerd]

Summary of the issue courtesy of a poster at Newsarama:

http://www.newsarama.com/common/forums/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=9686

 

[Themanofbat]

Good issue... the art wasn't the best, but it's nice to see Marvel finally acknowledging one of its toughest & contrversial stories in Spidey history...

 

[mre]

Wow, I thought 608 was a great issue! Probably my favourite post BND.
Amazing issue. Can't wait till 609.

 

[stillanerd]

Okay, here’s some of my extended thoughts about this week’s issue:

Spoiler

*First off, I do like the usage this issue made of having two artists. Unlike last issue in which the contrasting styles took you out of the story, here they are appropriately utilized to designate the difference between the present day and the flashbacks. However, the flashback sequences involving Ben Reilly and Damon Ryder have the disadvantage of having those two characters look almost identical that, save for their hair color, it’s almost impossible to tell them apart (there’s even one point where the word balloons correspond to the wrong person).
*Also, this is a well-structured story in terms of going back and forth between “now” and “then,” and Guggenheim tightly plots the story. It’s simple and direct and all the characters serve their part. Heck, even Michele Gonzales, whom Ryder appears to threaten towards the end of this issue, doesn’t come across annoying or psychotic as she has been wont to do of late (although I still can’t stand her). Not to mention there was a clever bit of exposition to remind the readers who Ben Reilly was that was used as Peter’s fantasy scenario of how he’s like to explain things. And the bit with Screwball at the beginning was quite an amusing intro before things became more serious with the main story. (Although, as some have pointed when the preview came up, wouldn’t have been easier for Spidey to use his web-shooters to both restrain Screwball AND recover the bearer bonds?)
*And of course, there’s the cliffhanger involving everybody’s favorite killer klone--KAINE! It’s been at least twelve to thirteen years and it should be interesting to how this “survivor” from the clone saga fits into the overall scheme of Spider-Man’s world.
*So what could possibly be the problem with this issue, you ask? Well, it all comes down to the villain. First of all, I realize that when Guggenheim created Damon Ryder, a.k.a. Velociraptor, that he was intentionally evoking comic book clichés from the 1990s. The trench coat, the permanent scowl, the tragic back-story, the cool moniker, the desire for revenge, the long hair, Liefeld eyes…you get the idea. But to reveal that he’s the product of injecting himself with recombinant DNA from dinosaurs? Hmm, who does that remind me of? Oh yeah! That other Lizard inspired villain, Stegron the Dinosaur Man. I know 1990s comic book characters were never all that original, but you would think Guggenheim could have come up with something a little better than redoing the origin one of Spidey’s lower-tier villains. Also, the theory that human beings actually evolved from dinosaurs? Methinks someone has been watching the Super Mario Brothers movie one too many times.
*But then of course, is the motivation behind Ryder, which drives the entire premise of the story--that he believes Ben Reilly may have murdered his family and, in a case of mistaken identity, thinks Peter Parker is actually Ben Reilly. Which is just one big plot hole. Now, I understand Ryder is blinded by grief and revenge, some obviously he’s not thinking rationally. Except for the fact that he is. After all, it’s obvious Ryder has done his homework, since he not only knows “Ben Reilly” is going under the name Peter Parker, knows where he lives, where he works, and who is friends and loved ones are. So you would think that he would have also uncovered things like collegiate transcripts, employment records, W2 forms, photographs Peter has taken--you know, conclusive evidence which proves Peter was in New York during the time Ben Reilly was with Ryder in Portland? Of course not, because the plot dictates that Peter be the victim of mistaken identity so that the villain can threaten those he cares about and make said people more suspicious of him and think Ryder’s story has some credibility. Never mind that it would be ridiculously easy to prove the villain wrong and without having to necessarily compromise Peter’s secret identity, which is already protected from the psychic blind spot anyway.
*Oh, and as for that little scene showing Aunt May and Jay Jameson on their honeymoon, where Jameson talks about how May should see the world and May wants to have an “interlude” in New York to catch up on Peter before they go off again? Well, Jay’s a dead man when they get back. Maybe not in this story arc, but soon, I’m sure of it (course I thought he was going to die in issue #600, but let’s just say they’re delaying the enviable).

So, I’d say this issue was an okay, average Spider-Man story. It’s only part one, after all, so we’ll see where it goes from here.

 

[ragingdemon155]

I'm just curious, does Screwball actually have any powers? I know it's a small nitpick, but Spider-man just punches her in the face and it's like nothing. I know Spider-man's powers are often times disregarded by writers in general, so this isn't some jab at the BND writing crew.

Anyway, it was an ok issue, that was saved by the final panel which was all kinds of badass.

 

[Venom160]

I'm sure Spidey was pulling his punches. Especially with a (supposedly) powerless villain like Screwball. Thats the last thing Spidey needs is to cut loose and put Screwball in a coma.