stillanerd
Sidekick
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- Dec 12, 2005
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Well, the last issue of Amazing Spider-Man for the year is here, and heres what I thought:
So all in all, while this still was a pretty good issue, I wasnt nearly as enthusiastic about it as I was the last one, and a result, we just end up with a merely okay Spider-Man vs. Sandman story. At least we didnt get [BLACKOUT]an obligatory Sasha or Ana Kravinoff recruitment scene like in the Waids Electro three-parter, but it also felt like it really wasnt all that connected to the Gauntlet either.[/BLACKOUT] So two stories into this event and its just coming across as business as usual, which I dont think is something the brain trust/webheads can afford to do.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
*First of all, Im glad I was wrong about how I thought the murder mystery would turn out, as I assumed that the Sandman wasnt actually guilty and that Keemia wasnt actually his real daughter but a sand construct. I also thought it was a clever touch to reveal that the missing weapons were actually pieces of the Sandman left behind which then ended up getting dissolved (although that begs the question why the Sandman would create weapons that could be left behind at the scene of the crime to begin with). I like it when I usually dont guess things right because predictability is certainly not something you should have in your comics, so Fred Van Lente did a pretty decent job on that score.
*The highlight of the issue for me was Javier Puldios artwork, as this time he seemed to pull out all the stops in the Sandman chasing Spidey as he tried to escape with Keemia. From the scenes in which Spidey is attempting to escape from being literally inside the Sandman, to the various depictions of the Sandman doppelgangers, to the climatic battle inside the service tower, Pulidos art never let up on depicting the action.
*I also like the twist in that Keemia didnt actually want to leave, that she wanted to stay with the Sandman because she, unlike at home, was a princess in her own fairy kingdom. Likewise, that even though the Flint Marko is apparently not her biological father for obvious reasons, the fact that he still felt a paternal duty towards her nevertheless does show a sympathetic side to him, although, yes, that still doesnt give him the right to be a criminal, and now a murderer, and it does admittedly borrow too much from Spider-Man 3.
*However, for some reason, there were three big disappointments I had with this issue. In the first place, while the solution to the mystery is clever, in that some of Flint Markos Sandman doppelgangers were acting independently based on his subconscious desires, it seems rather repetitive in light of Doctor Octopus mechanical octobots also acting on his subconscious desires in issue #600. Not to mention, as Im sure others will have pointed out, this depiction of Sandman is now basically another take on what Peter David did with Jamie Madrox a.k.a. the Multiple Man over in X-Factor. Also, as I pointed out last time, its an extension of what Zeb Wells did with the Sandman in Peter Parker: Spider-Man vol. 2, and coincidentally enough, Wells IS one of the brain trust/webheads.
*Second, while the end was showing that Spideys heroic actions do not always result in happy endings, as Keemia is now shuffled off into foster care, I couldnt help but feel it was a tad bit forced. Im not familiar with New Yorks child protection laws, but I find it a bit implausible that Child Services would take away Keemia from her grandmother on just ONE instance in which she left Keemia outside to play while she was watching T.V. I mean, there were other kids playing with Keemia unsupervised and yet you dont hear anything about THOSE kids being taken away from their parents and guardians for being unfit do you?
*And finally, there was the scene at the Coffee Bean with Peter and Carlie Cooper. Its apparent that the writers are pushing her as a future love interest for Peter here (and technically, they have been pushing her somewhat ever since the start of Brand New Day), but for all intends and purposes, there is just no spark between these two. Make no mistake, Carlie is a nice character and I like the angle of her being a forensic pathologist, but after two years, I just do not find her all that interesting. Ive often said that I believe shes just a surrogate for Gwen Stacy, and this scene pretty much underscored it. I would bet that if Joe Quesada got his way and Gwen Stacy was still alive and that she was in Carlies place, then this scene--especially Carlies statements regarding what her cop father once told her--would have played out the exact same way. To me, that is not a good sign if your characters can be that derivative.
*The highlight of the issue for me was Javier Puldios artwork, as this time he seemed to pull out all the stops in the Sandman chasing Spidey as he tried to escape with Keemia. From the scenes in which Spidey is attempting to escape from being literally inside the Sandman, to the various depictions of the Sandman doppelgangers, to the climatic battle inside the service tower, Pulidos art never let up on depicting the action.
*I also like the twist in that Keemia didnt actually want to leave, that she wanted to stay with the Sandman because she, unlike at home, was a princess in her own fairy kingdom. Likewise, that even though the Flint Marko is apparently not her biological father for obvious reasons, the fact that he still felt a paternal duty towards her nevertheless does show a sympathetic side to him, although, yes, that still doesnt give him the right to be a criminal, and now a murderer, and it does admittedly borrow too much from Spider-Man 3.
*However, for some reason, there were three big disappointments I had with this issue. In the first place, while the solution to the mystery is clever, in that some of Flint Markos Sandman doppelgangers were acting independently based on his subconscious desires, it seems rather repetitive in light of Doctor Octopus mechanical octobots also acting on his subconscious desires in issue #600. Not to mention, as Im sure others will have pointed out, this depiction of Sandman is now basically another take on what Peter David did with Jamie Madrox a.k.a. the Multiple Man over in X-Factor. Also, as I pointed out last time, its an extension of what Zeb Wells did with the Sandman in Peter Parker: Spider-Man vol. 2, and coincidentally enough, Wells IS one of the brain trust/webheads.
*Second, while the end was showing that Spideys heroic actions do not always result in happy endings, as Keemia is now shuffled off into foster care, I couldnt help but feel it was a tad bit forced. Im not familiar with New Yorks child protection laws, but I find it a bit implausible that Child Services would take away Keemia from her grandmother on just ONE instance in which she left Keemia outside to play while she was watching T.V. I mean, there were other kids playing with Keemia unsupervised and yet you dont hear anything about THOSE kids being taken away from their parents and guardians for being unfit do you?
*And finally, there was the scene at the Coffee Bean with Peter and Carlie Cooper. Its apparent that the writers are pushing her as a future love interest for Peter here (and technically, they have been pushing her somewhat ever since the start of Brand New Day), but for all intends and purposes, there is just no spark between these two. Make no mistake, Carlie is a nice character and I like the angle of her being a forensic pathologist, but after two years, I just do not find her all that interesting. Ive often said that I believe shes just a surrogate for Gwen Stacy, and this scene pretty much underscored it. I would bet that if Joe Quesada got his way and Gwen Stacy was still alive and that she was in Carlies place, then this scene--especially Carlies statements regarding what her cop father once told her--would have played out the exact same way. To me, that is not a good sign if your characters can be that derivative.
So all in all, while this still was a pretty good issue, I wasnt nearly as enthusiastic about it as I was the last one, and a result, we just end up with a merely okay Spider-Man vs. Sandman story. At least we didnt get [BLACKOUT]an obligatory Sasha or Ana Kravinoff recruitment scene like in the Waids Electro three-parter, but it also felt like it really wasnt all that connected to the Gauntlet either.[/BLACKOUT] So two stories into this event and its just coming across as business as usual, which I dont think is something the brain trust/webheads can afford to do.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
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