*First of all, I have to give props to Mark Waid in that he does present Electro’s new role as a “populist hero” rather well. Granted it’s a little bit heavy-handed with regards to the political aspects of the current state of the economy, but what’s good about it is that, even though we understand that Electro is still the bad guy, you can’t help but think that he’s pretty much in the right, which are usually recipes for some of the better superhero stories, I believe. Sure, the idea of a city newspaper being the only one to receive federal bailout money does seem a bit of stretch, although there certainly IS in fact legislation currently being proposed in Congress to actually provide such a bailout to struggling newspapers, and no doubt if such a thing were to actually happen, the reaction would be just as harsh by the public. Also, Electro’s new status serves a nice contrast to Spider-Man in terms of how the public views him. Just as Spidey is the hero and yet is hated and feared by the general public, Electro is a villain who is receives support and adulation from that same public who feel angry and betrayed by Wall Street, the Government, and the banks, while their jobs and 401K’s go up in smoke. It’s additionally ironic in that now the public, who thanks to a newspaper distrusted Spider-Man, now concludes he works for that same paper and thus deserves their wrath. It’s an interesting and fascinating premise.
*The one thing about Electro’s revamp, however, which doesn’t seem all that necessary is the idea that his powers are now evolving so that it’s becomes difficult for him to control, or to touch liquid, or enjoy a woman‘s company. Sure, it made sense for Electro in Ultimate Spider-Man, but it just seems unnecessarily tacked on here. Likewise, the costume change in which he now longer wears a mask and goes around bald with the mask “scarred” into his face. It’s not exactly explained why he went for this new look in the story, so again it feels superfluous. Although, maybe Waid will find good enough use for this--especially if, as I believe, it’s going to lead to Electro eventually destroying the DB.
*Another development that feels completely unnecessary is the revelation that Peter only had one glass of champagne at Aunt May’s wedding, and that, thanks to Michele, he actually got “drunk” off of ginger ale. Granted, the whole idea of Peter having a drunken hook-up with Michele was certainly a plot development I didn’t particularly like, but the scene in which Michele explains what really happened just comes across like an obvious attempt at damage control that really takes you out of the overall story (especially once you read the very lengthy defense Steve Wacker makes in the letters page). What’s more, it ends up making Michele’s behavior even worse. If she knew Peter only had one drink, was acting drunk because of “nerves” or a “cold,” and took advantage of the situation in order to have sex with him, then she comes across just shy of being a “date-rapist.” Marvel should have left this well enough alone instead of compounding matters, or least not even bother with the whole “drunken hook-up” subplot in the first place.
*I will say, though, that the art for this issue, while certainly a bit sketchy, was still fairly good. Paul Azaceta is a style, with it’s heavy shadows and minimalist forms that convey everything you need to know without cluttering up the details, that works rather well for this story, I thought. Can’t say the same about Niimura’s work in the back-up feature, though. It’s seems overly and inappropriately childish.
*Speaking of that back-up feature, there really wasn’t much to it. Mostly, it was Joe Kelly reiterating what he established in his two-part Black Cat story--that Spidey is only in this “friends with benefits” arrangement with Felicia to escape from his current problems with women (especially with Mary Jane) and is now having second thoughts. Although, Kelly did show at least why Peter would be attracted to Felicia other than just sex given how she helped the woman from the muggers. Also, I have to wonder whether or not she did actually re-learn Peter was Spider-Man and is secretly not telling him, given how her “bad luck” powers just happened to sabotage Peter and MJ having a potential get-together, how Spidey observes she “protests to much” when he tries to tell her how he met an old girlfriend, or that she just so coincidentally winds up working in the mayor’s office. As to that last one, it’s clear she’s up to no good and makes me think she’s acting as a spy for whomever her “mysterious employer” as Kelly’s revealed in the two-parter (which I‘m guessing is Mr. Negative).
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