Comics ASM 612 preview

[iloveclones]

Blackout drunk on one glass of champagne??! I've long defended BND, but this might be the stupidest thing I've ever heard. I much preferred him just getting wasted and having a one-night stand than this poorly conceived retcon. Parents give their 10 year olds a glass of champagne at dinner parties. And Peter, with super enhanced metabolism, gets so drunk on ONE GLASS he has alcohol induced amnesia and regrettable sex? This is ludicrous. It takes away Peter's excuse for screwing Michelle that he was drunk and not thinking straight. Now he just comes off as a sober sexual deviant with poor judgement.

At first, I thought this was going the angle of Michelle having a laugh on him because he thought he was drunk when he didn't really drink anything.(In a way, it sort of reminds me of the joke on Doc Brown in Back to the Future III) But I think the opposite is true: that there's something unique to Pete's metabolism that makes him vulnerable to alcohol (Spidey's kryptonite is a wine spritzer ) If so, if this is set-up to it being taken advantage of in the future, it's interesting. If it's only to explain away "whoopsie" night, I don't see the point. Either way, I guess Pete and Logan won't be tiltin' any back, any time soon.

 

[C. Pumpkins]

Here are my thoughts on this issue:

Spoiler

They got rid of the Peter POV which I'm totally thrilled about. Waid is also referencing his earlier work which is appreciated.

Waid also knows dialogue rhythm and Spidy humor. Catching a falling puppy-dog from a window with the owner later yelling at Spidey is classic. However, what I don't get is the Parker fumbles around women. How the heck could Parker not know the difference between being drunk and sober? We get the same backtracking that the reader received when the Chameleon was only kissing Michelle on the kitchen floor. When the web-heads make a controversial move, they should stick with it; but oh-well, I'm sure they have their reasons.

In one panel, Waid shows how Wolverine seemingly defeats Electro so easily in an earlier New Avengers arc. That was fun. (Electro's powers weren't stable at the time)

Electro gets a power upgrade from the Thinker. Waid writes Max Dillon with a conscious, never wanting to hurt the average guy, because he relates to them, he feels downtrodden like them. Oh yeah, and Electro can burn through rubber, and webbing is no longer an insulator, it's a conductor. So no more boxing web-gloves for Spidey during Electro battles. Kinda new, but not really. I remember Electro getting power upgrades before.

The art is descent. I don't mind the contours and lack of lines, it lends more to the inks. This style reminds me of Batman: Year One which I'm fond of. And we all know the kickass preview with the hot honey getting electrocuted; man I love that panel!

I'd give this one a B-. Nu-Electro leading the masses isn't that convincing to me.

The Black Cat back-end story was ok. The art was a little too cutesy. Looks like Felicia Hardy has another alias besides BC: Ashley Moon. Whaa? I'm confused...

C

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Combustible Pumpkins

 

[Spider-Gnome]

I would like to weigh in on Marvel's current response to the whole drunken hook-up thing.

I would like to echo those that wish Marvel would listen to the Mephisto complaints, which even the BND supporters did not like.

That said, this issue makes things almost worse, because now Pete doesn't have the alcohol to blame with "hooking up" with someone he barely knows (or stands!).

I do give kudos to Marvel for actually printing a well written letter complaining about the situation. So I'm assuming this went beyond just a few of us here complaining. I would just like to comment on a few points in Marvel's response.

1. First they asked why we would assume they did not use protection. Well, considering we were told they were so drunk that they couldn't even remember, it didn't seem like they would be too conscientious about such things.

2. Marvel states this was something common among 20-somethings. I can't speak for 20-somethings since I haven't been a 20-something in, well, 20 years. But if sex has become so casual now that it doesn't matter who you "hook-up" with, that's a sad state of affairs.

But, that said, Pete has always been set up as being different to his peers. He has been set up as responsible. He has been set up to be a bit "square." Pete started out in the 60's, a time of drugs and sexual revolution, but it was clear he was not part of that. He's not a saint and does make mistakes, but he was always set up as a much serious teen and 20-something (aside from his wit, of course).

3. And finally, Marvel not expecting this kind of reaction from its longtime fan base about this, again shows they do not have a good grasp on the character.