stillanerd
Sidekick
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2005
- Messages
- 3,852
- Reaction score
- 42
- Points
- 33
Well, I guess I'll start this thread off with what I thought about issue #622:
So, this was a pretty good story by Weisman, but its too bad we had to go through the absolute crap-fest that was Van Lentes to get to it. I would have been perfectly fine to have just the Flash Thompson story by itself rather than the Morbius, especially since it technically was about as short as a back-up tale despite being in the front of the issue. And certainly the Morbius story didnt have much to do with the Gauntlet anyway, either.
*For the Morbius story, I didnt particularly care about Joe Quinones art style. Its not terrible, but given that the story is supposed to be about vampires and what not, it doesnt seem to carry the right sense of atmosphere one would associate with those kinds of stories. Didnt really impress me all that much.
*Fred Van Lentes script is also very sub par. First of all, his premise is already shot to hell right from the beginning (and Im not talking about the bizarre image of seeing Spidey and Black Cat in bed together wearing nothing but their masks, or her comment about him being uptight about his bodily fluids). Are we supposed to conclude that Black Cat pulled some kind of switcheroo on him when it came to his blood sample? Because it certainly appeared she gave it back to him last issue and theres no indication she pulled a switch on him in this issue. But even if this is intended to be the case, it still doesnt excuse Felicia for doing something as callous as her conveniently selling the blood sample to vampire-wannabees. Granted, The Black Cat is a thief and tends to look out for herself, and its obviously Van Lentes way of giving Peter a reason to regret his friends with benefits arrangement with the Black Cat and thus push him closer to pursue a possible relationship with Carlie, but its incredibly forced writing and smacks of character derailment.
*But thats just the first sign of Spidey acting like a complete tool since for the entire story he also is manipulated right by Morbius wife, Martine, in order to advance the plot. Oh, but its only when he hesitates in staking Martine and Morbius pushes her against it does Spidey feel like he was forced by him, going on about We could have captured her--we could have found another way speech. And for a guy who's no dummy and familiar with horror movies, hes certainly either hasnt been paying much attention to them, much less know basic Catholicism even if he isnt one apparently, if he cant recognize communion wafers when he sees them. And shouldnt his spider-sense have gone off BEFORE tripping the alarm, much less warned him about the strange woman at the club? Even the scene with Peter dressed as a Goth and surrounded by Twilight cosplayers fails to be as humorous as its trying to be.
*Ironically, Morbius himself saying that his world and Spideys dont mix is actually whats off about this story to begin with. Whats more, its basically a promo for Van Lentes other work, Marvel Zombies, considering the reference to Jack Russell. Oh, and since Spidey goes ahead and give Morbius his blood anyway after Morbius destroys the sample realizing he should have asked Spideys permission, then the whole thing feels like a waste of time.
*As for the second story, what a difference in contrasts. Any one who has watched the Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon (and if you havent--shame on you!) knows that Greg Weisman just gets the character of Flash Thompson. Similar to how, in that series, Weisman had Flash struggling to cope with his football injury, here he has him trying to come to terms with being an amputee. Not to mention that, given the fact that the Marvel Universe is a world in which regeneration and advanced robotics in common, it would make more than enough sense that someone like Flash would be researching various heroes and villains in the hopes of a cure. Plus, its a nice touch how Weisman also ties this into Flashs desire to be a hero, something hes always strived to be and doesnt think hes quite achieved even though he actually is one in Peters eyes. And I also enjoyed the friendly but sarcastic banter that Peter and Flash have with one another, showing how even though they are still friends, they still act like rivals, which makes for a great dynamic between the two.
*Speaking of Peter, this was a prime example how, even when hes not fighting against super-villains, Peter is still willing to go out of his way to help others in need. And not even the news of Harry telling Peter how hes now living with Mary Jane will distract him from his desire to help Flash (And its apparent Peter, given how terse his response to Harry and his repeating of how hes fine with it, is in denial himself about how hes moved on from MJ and just wants to change the subject. Plus, anyone else think it was MJ that was returning his call given how Peter responds with It means a lot to--To Flash. Right. Exactly what I was going to say?). The only part which seemed rather off was when Spidey goes to see Doctor Connors for help, which even he is dumbfounded by Spidey even asking such a request given how the regeneration formula was responsible for making him the Lizard.
*And as for the ending at Flashs birthday party--that was just a terrific scene, as it unties not only the classic supporting cast members, but cast members from Untold Tales of Spider-Man, Flashs family--with a nice moment between him and his estranged father who, because of him, decided to join A.A.--to what was a total surprise, Sha Shan, who is now a physical therapist. Its also a nice nod to past continuity given the cold reception she and Betty give one another and her reminding Flash how they broke up, as well. I suspect there might be a possible love triangle brewing between these three in later issues, hopefully.
*Now, Im sure some people might think Luke Ross art may be a little generic here, but since this is more or less a light-dramatic story about Flash going backwards through the stages of grief, I think it was rather appropriate, given that there were no actions scenes in the story at all. Its strictly a character piece showing the friendship between two former high school rivals, and Ross soft pencils and fine detail are suitable for this kind of tale.
*Fred Van Lentes script is also very sub par. First of all, his premise is already shot to hell right from the beginning (and Im not talking about the bizarre image of seeing Spidey and Black Cat in bed together wearing nothing but their masks, or her comment about him being uptight about his bodily fluids). Are we supposed to conclude that Black Cat pulled some kind of switcheroo on him when it came to his blood sample? Because it certainly appeared she gave it back to him last issue and theres no indication she pulled a switch on him in this issue. But even if this is intended to be the case, it still doesnt excuse Felicia for doing something as callous as her conveniently selling the blood sample to vampire-wannabees. Granted, The Black Cat is a thief and tends to look out for herself, and its obviously Van Lentes way of giving Peter a reason to regret his friends with benefits arrangement with the Black Cat and thus push him closer to pursue a possible relationship with Carlie, but its incredibly forced writing and smacks of character derailment.
*But thats just the first sign of Spidey acting like a complete tool since for the entire story he also is manipulated right by Morbius wife, Martine, in order to advance the plot. Oh, but its only when he hesitates in staking Martine and Morbius pushes her against it does Spidey feel like he was forced by him, going on about We could have captured her--we could have found another way speech. And for a guy who's no dummy and familiar with horror movies, hes certainly either hasnt been paying much attention to them, much less know basic Catholicism even if he isnt one apparently, if he cant recognize communion wafers when he sees them. And shouldnt his spider-sense have gone off BEFORE tripping the alarm, much less warned him about the strange woman at the club? Even the scene with Peter dressed as a Goth and surrounded by Twilight cosplayers fails to be as humorous as its trying to be.
*Ironically, Morbius himself saying that his world and Spideys dont mix is actually whats off about this story to begin with. Whats more, its basically a promo for Van Lentes other work, Marvel Zombies, considering the reference to Jack Russell. Oh, and since Spidey goes ahead and give Morbius his blood anyway after Morbius destroys the sample realizing he should have asked Spideys permission, then the whole thing feels like a waste of time.
*As for the second story, what a difference in contrasts. Any one who has watched the Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon (and if you havent--shame on you!) knows that Greg Weisman just gets the character of Flash Thompson. Similar to how, in that series, Weisman had Flash struggling to cope with his football injury, here he has him trying to come to terms with being an amputee. Not to mention that, given the fact that the Marvel Universe is a world in which regeneration and advanced robotics in common, it would make more than enough sense that someone like Flash would be researching various heroes and villains in the hopes of a cure. Plus, its a nice touch how Weisman also ties this into Flashs desire to be a hero, something hes always strived to be and doesnt think hes quite achieved even though he actually is one in Peters eyes. And I also enjoyed the friendly but sarcastic banter that Peter and Flash have with one another, showing how even though they are still friends, they still act like rivals, which makes for a great dynamic between the two.
*Speaking of Peter, this was a prime example how, even when hes not fighting against super-villains, Peter is still willing to go out of his way to help others in need. And not even the news of Harry telling Peter how hes now living with Mary Jane will distract him from his desire to help Flash (And its apparent Peter, given how terse his response to Harry and his repeating of how hes fine with it, is in denial himself about how hes moved on from MJ and just wants to change the subject. Plus, anyone else think it was MJ that was returning his call given how Peter responds with It means a lot to--To Flash. Right. Exactly what I was going to say?). The only part which seemed rather off was when Spidey goes to see Doctor Connors for help, which even he is dumbfounded by Spidey even asking such a request given how the regeneration formula was responsible for making him the Lizard.
*And as for the ending at Flashs birthday party--that was just a terrific scene, as it unties not only the classic supporting cast members, but cast members from Untold Tales of Spider-Man, Flashs family--with a nice moment between him and his estranged father who, because of him, decided to join A.A.--to what was a total surprise, Sha Shan, who is now a physical therapist. Its also a nice nod to past continuity given the cold reception she and Betty give one another and her reminding Flash how they broke up, as well. I suspect there might be a possible love triangle brewing between these three in later issues, hopefully.
*Now, Im sure some people might think Luke Ross art may be a little generic here, but since this is more or less a light-dramatic story about Flash going backwards through the stages of grief, I think it was rather appropriate, given that there were no actions scenes in the story at all. Its strictly a character piece showing the friendship between two former high school rivals, and Ross soft pencils and fine detail are suitable for this kind of tale.
So, this was a pretty good story by Weisman, but its too bad we had to go through the absolute crap-fest that was Van Lentes to get to it. I would have been perfectly fine to have just the Flash Thompson story by itself rather than the Morbius, especially since it technically was about as short as a back-up tale despite being in the front of the issue. And certainly the Morbius story didnt have much to do with the Gauntlet anyway, either.
