The Amazing Spider-Man v.2 - Part 2

[Mary Jane Watson]

Fat nose, long face, short hair on the back of the neck, he was the first person that jumped in my head....it could be anybody but it definitely ain't [BLACKOUT]Pete[/BLACKOUT].

Mhmm okay..then why would Norman says that? It just doesn't make any sense at all. Well... I guess that we will see about that soon.

 

[runawayboulder]

Mhmm okay..then why would Norman says that? It just doesn't make any sense at all. Well... I guess that we will see about that soon.

Norman's a scumbag, he's looking for any angle to f with Spidey. He gave Venom that shot to make him look more like Spider-Man during Dark Avengers. It could also be Phil saying that to Norah or X saying that to Y. Whoever it is, [BLACKOUT]Peter[/BLACKOUT] wasn't the first person that popped in my head. That's my point. It could even be [BLACKOUT]Ben Reilly[/BLACKOUT].

 

[Godzilla2014]

Norman's a scumbag, he's looking for any angle to f with Spidey. He gave Venom that shot to make him look more like Spider-Man during Dark Avengers. It could also be Phil saying that to Norah or X saying that to Y. Whoever it is, [BLACKOUT]Peter[/BLACKOUT] wasn't the first person that popped in my head. That's my point. It could even be [BLACKOUT]Ben Reilly[/BLACKOUT].

Speaking of the Gargan posing as Spider-Man thing, why would he need a shot to look like Spider-Man? Changing form to imitate other clothing and such has always been an ability of the symbiote.

 

[runawayboulder]

It gave the symbiote a less monstrous appearance on a daily basis. Occasionally, Gargan was able to control it or revert to the appearance we are used to when he got angry, much like what happens with Flash in the current solo title.

 

[Godzilla2014]

It gave the symbiote a less monstrous appearance on a daily basis. Occasionally, Gargan was able to control it or revert to the appearance we are used to when he got angry, much like what happens with Flash in the current solo title.

But the symbiote should be able to do that naturally. Eddie Brock didn't need help changing his appearance when he was Venom.

 

[Will Nolte]

I'm with Slott and MOTB on this (even though MOTB and I don't see eye to eye...it was an argument with him recently that got me my first warning here). I sat here and watched people freak out over stillanerd's recent prediction about MJ dying even though a few people said it was a speculation and not fact. Slott has a right to protect his work when people are saying things that are completely untrue about it.

That being said, Slott, please don't attack me over my predictions about Spidercide as of late. I did say that you are the only person in my opinion who could write him right and give him a fair chance. Ahem moving on from my shameless plug there...

I don't get that solicit about the Venom symbiote engulfing Anti-Venom...I thought Eddie's new symbiote was like acid to the original, to the point that it was too painful for it to even touch the new one...

 

[runawayboulder]

He could change clothes to disguise himself as a cop or lab technician. Later he was able to evolve to make the suit camouflage to blend into water or a rock wall. He was never able to make the suit look like a dead ringer for Spidey. He was always more muscular.

 

[Godzilla2014]

He could change clothes to disguise himself as a cop or lab technician. Later he was able to evolve to make the suit camouflage to blend into water or a rock wall. He was never able to make the suit look like a dead ringer for Spidey. He was always more muscular.

Oh, so it was just to make Gargan smaller?

 

[Themanofbat]

I'm with Slott and MOTB on this (even though MOTB and I don't see eye to eye...it was an argument with him recently that got me my first warning here).

If it makes you feel any better, I got an infraction for that as well...

 

[runawayboulder]

Oh, so it was just to make Gargan smaller?

Yeah, so to the public he would pass for the real Spider-Man for the Dark Avenger team.

 

[Vile]

Eddie has used the suit to change into clothes, change his hair and even alter the cleft in his chin at one point. I think the difference is Eddie had full control of the symbiote and Gargan never had...well, any.

I always figure the injection was to 'drug up' the symbiote and allow Gargan complete control.

 

[spideyboy_1111]

moraldeficiency,
I am NOT against people making predictions. I TOO think it's fun.
Mike "stillanerd" McNulty making predictions is fun TOO-- even tho he NEVER gets it right.
What's EXTREMELY SILLY to me-- is ANYONE-- ANYONE OUT THERE AT ALL-- who still takes stillanerd's predictions SERIOUSLY-- or WORSE-- treats them as if they WERE the things we were going to do *cough* spideyboy_1111 *cough*. Because that is just plain asinine.
Mike NEVER gets this stuff right. EVER. His track record is HORRIBLE when it comes to ANY time he's gone out on a limb for a big guess. And yet people KEEP acting like he's preaching the gospel.
Mike IS that guy on the street carrying "The End is Nigh" sign, yet everyone acts like he's somehow found advanced copies of the actual scripts. It's SILLY!

EXACTLY! Thank you.


Oh I know HOW they work. I just don't understand how certain posters could be so frickin' blind to how they worked LAST month, the month before, and so on... And yet STILL make the same mistakes the NEXT month. It's crazy.

yes... because i'm the only one who made a big deal out of the thought that MJ could be killed off please get over yourself.

 

[spideyboy_1111]

I'm with Slott and MOTB on this (even though MOTB and I don't see eye to eye...it was an argument with him recently that got me my first warning here). I sat here and watched people freak out over stillanerd's recent prediction about MJ dying even though a few people said it was a speculation and not fact. Slott has a right to protect his work when people are saying things that are completely untrue about it.

That being said, Slott, please don't attack me over my predictions about Spidercide as of late. I did say that you are the only person in my opinion who could write him right and give him a fair chance. Ahem moving on from my shameless plug there...

I don't get that solicit about the Venom symbiote engulfing Anti-Venom...I thought Eddie's new symbiote was like acid to the original, to the point that it was too painful for it to even touch the new one...

the point is he shouldn't be attacking ANYONE for there predictions. If they want to predict, and others want to comment there feelings on the idea. Let them. it hurts no one.

 

[Will Nolte]

It was a joke...sheesh the thin skin of people around here...

 

[spideyboy_1111]

It was a joke...sheesh the thin skin of people around here...

lol, im aware that it's a joke. But it was a valid point about him singling people out just because they don't think everything he touches is golden.

 

[Themanofbat]

the point is he shouldn't be attacking ANYONE for there predictions. If they want to predict, and others want to comment there feelings on the idea. Let them. it hurts no one.

Read his current posts again sweet cheeks... he's mad at the hate... not the predictions.

 

[spideyboy_1111]

Read his current posts again sweet cheeks... he's mad at the hate... not the predictions.

he's mad at the hate OF those specific predictions.

but either way, he needs to learn to cope with peoples dislike better, he comes off extremely unprofessional.

during the whole "what if MJ died prediction/scenerio" i never once attacked slott, and there was nothing to take personal. Infact... the closest thing I said about any of the writers, is that it's incredibly anti-climatic, cheap, and poor writing to kill off a character, just for the sake of impact or drama. It's lazy, and poor writing due to the fact marvel does it CONSTANTLY as of late, and i had several others agree with me. That was the gist of my ENTIRE side of the discussion.

he then went on to say i was a "pre-hater" when i wasn't judging anything else going on currently in the book. And i poked fun and said i was a "post-hater" too. But that was becoming a completely different topic, and had nothing to do with the main one, nor did it last long. Slott made it about him vs me... which was completely off topic, and was something HE started.

 

[Dread]

Repost of my review of ASM #669, with spoilers:

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #669: The easy sex-related joke in regards to the issue's numbering can come elsewhere. While it probably isn't the greatest issue of the series written by Dan Slott, it still has a lot of things going for it which make it eke out the top spot of the pile. It has some great artwork by Humberto Ramos, alongside Edgar Delgado's colors and Carlos Cuevas' inks.

Spoiler

It brings back a triplet of forgotten Spider-Man D-List villains in Chance, White Rabbit and Scorcher. It features Peter Parker doing kung-fu, a six-armed Shocker and, SPOILERS (for those who haven't seen Marvel's cover for issue #670 that's been online and in Previews for weeks), mayor J. Jonah Jameson gaining spider-powers. Most of all, this arc - SPIDER-ISLAND - manages to do several key things well. It manages to provide the sort of epic action and over-the-top storyline that one expects of a crossover event without neglecting characters, a sense of humor, and above all, long term subplots that began before. It may not be Eisner Award brilliance and there have probably been better AMAZING SPIDER-MAN comics sold to the public, but it's better than FEAR ITSELF and has upped the ante for Spider-Events in the present and future.

SPIDER-ISLAND is nearing it's mid-point by this stage; while the story itself may be eight chapters including prologue and epilogue, they will be released over six months due to the rate of ASM's release. And as proper for the second act of a story, things are chugging along at a quick pace. Thousands of New Yorkers, including supporting cast members like Carlie Cooper (Peter's lover), villains (like Kingpin and those mentioned above) and superheroes (like Herc, Shang-Chi, Spider-Girl, and Hawkeye) have been infected with a virus via genetically altered bed-bugs which gave them Spider-Man like powers. Mayor Jameson, the Avengers, and Mr. Fantastic have all joined forces (sort of) to quarantine the virus on Manhattan Island and figure out a cure. While Mr. Fantastic has a vaccine for uninfected humans, and mutants and other superhumans seem to be safe, the virus has mutated and is now airborne. The villain at the core of the infestation is the Jackal, of CLONE SAGA fame, whose flash-mob of criminal Spidey impostors were either distraction or amusement. As revealed later in the issue, empowering thousands of New Yorkers was just phase one of the infestation, and Jackal's true purpose, and master, stands revealed. The character in question was an easy guess for many hardcore ASM fans, but that doesn't make it less interesting - in fact, many stories could stand to follow more logical and predictable conclusions rather than going for chaotic surprises. The character in question is relatively new - created in 2004 with only six issues to her credit by Paul Jenkins and Michael Ryan in what was then the second volume of SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN. However, if Brian Bendis can amplify another new villain, the Hood, in endless Avengers comics, why shouldn't Slott have his own go? It also makes VENOM #6 make more sense; as an FYI, VENOM seems to be the only SPIDER-ISLAND tie-in that is of critical importance to the general arc. The rest may be fun or feature obscure characters, but are more skippable for those who just want the key bits.

More importantly, every issue seems to address some criticisms or nit-picks that could have been mentioned from prior ones. Why didn't Peter Parker simply rebuild his "spider-sense destroyer" gadget from the second arc of BIG TIME? Because Reed and the Horizon Lab techs he works with have reconfigured it for him. Why is Peter Parker looking like a rookie at a time when his experience should be critical? He looks like less of one here. More importantly, Peter is FINALLY addressing the angle of letting Carlie in on his secret, since she is very close to knowing anyway. All that bars her from that knowledge is literally a magic spell which protects it via Dr. Strange and former editor-in-chief Joe Quesada (via last year's ONE MOMENT IN TIME story). While having a magic spell prevent anyone from learning Spidey's identity unwillingly regardless of who or how is a major handcuff to suspense, it wasn't something Slott created, but is something he is at least working with, and around, as a character dilemma for Peter. While it might seem that Spidey is hesitant to let Carlie fully into "his world" out of a need to protect her, one wonders if it isn't simply his own hang-ups. In a prior issue, MJ claimed that if Peter wasn't willing to share that secret, he didn't really love Carlie, and that could be true. Carlie Cooper herself remains a figure mired in controversy among fans, as she's Peter's first major love interest since the marriage to MJ was "annulled". Some feel she's a hodgepodge of attributes from Gwen Stacy tweaked for modern times. Others feel she's a "Mary Sue" editorial pet character being shoved at fans like a runaway freight train. Others - present writer included - feel she is written as such a "perfect girlfriend" that she seems boring. While Peter shows off more of his skills and expertise here, Carlie naturally has her moments to shine, at least with her deductive reasoning or her status as an NYPD officer with a badge to flash. And while it is great to see Spidey tag-teaming with a strong heroine, it does get hard to take her seriously as a CSI when she's wearing low-rider jeans which must need spider-clinging powers to stay on her at all times. How low are those jeans? The Spider-Tattoo which is supposed to be just an inch or so north of "home base" is visible over the belt. Having female characters be both super-genius and super-model is typical in fiction, but is her "exposed belly power" a bridge too far? At the very least, the subplot of MJ feeling envious that she's been left out of the Spider-Power tango is cute. While some could argue letting Carlie in on Spidey's secret would make her MORE of a "Mary Sue", I do think it would allow their relationship to progress as a crime-fighting couple for however long as editor Stephan Wacker is willing to pretend Spidey will be allowed to commit long term. Everyone knows Marvel would rather go bankrupt again than marry the web-slinger off a second time; at least let some of his aimless relationships be fresh, and an angle where he has a lover he can fight crime with who isn't a reformed burglar (Black Cat, circa the 80's) is at least something he couldn't do with MJ. Anti-Venom cures more people by stabbing them with tendrils, while Madam Web finally faints so she can stop mumbling exposition; goodness all around.

It has often been the case that when Marvel is selling an A-List "event" across their line, they will have a somewhat smaller B-List event that still has a few dozen installments but is smaller, yet better in quality. Usually that B-List event was a cosmic saga by writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. But in 2011, it's SPIDER-ISLAND, by Dan Slott. Even if being better than FEAR ITSELF isn't much of a measuring stick for a writer. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN fans along for the ride have much to be excited about so far.

Remender's such a tease

• Spoiler

  So we know how the Anti-Venom symbiote dies
• Spoiler

  Eddie sticks around
• Spoiler

  Seriously, as I TOLD YOU ALL, Eddie willl play a major role in Venom from this point on.
• Spoiler

  Flash will still stay Venom. Calm the &^(% down!

Interesting. While I didn't think the explanation for how Brock became Anti-Venom may have been a bit simplistic, I liked the result. Having him mentor Flash may be interesting, but reminds me a bit much of when Johnny Blaze did the same thing with Dan Ketch in the 90's.

Here's the latest Spider-Island teaser:

Spoiler

BTW, speaking of these Spider-Island teasers:

Spoiler

Teasing whether Peter reveals his identity to someone? Nice. I don't think he will, unless Carlie's time is coming to an end. I don't think Peter would be allowed to grow closer to her in regards to identity unless she was about to be killed off or end their relationship. I don't think it's Osborn, since he's been off the stage of ASM for months now. It could be someone else. Hey, isn't J.J. getting Spider-Powers? Who knows what the context will be.

MJ getting spider-powers in all this has been teased by previous solicits, so it's no surprise. It's been a subplot so far as well. Given that we've seen Peter tag-team with Carlie, it's only fair. Even if it likely will tease marriage fans.

 

[moraldeficiency]

moraldeficiency,
I am NOT against people making predictions. I TOO think it's fun.
Mike "stillanerd" McNulty making predictions is fun TOO-- even tho he NEVER gets it right.
What's EXTREMELY SILLY to me-- is ANYONE-- ANYONE OUT THERE AT ALL-- who still takes stillanerd's predictions SERIOUSLY-- or WORSE-- treats them as if they WERE the things we were going to do *cough* spideyboy_1111 *cough*. Because that is just plain asinine.
Mike NEVER gets this stuff right. EVER. His track record is HORRIBLE when it comes to ANY time he's gone out on a limb for a big guess. And yet people KEEP acting like he's preaching the gospel.
Mike IS that guy on the street carrying "The End is Nigh" sign, yet everyone acts like he's somehow found advanced copies of the actual scripts. It's SILLY!

Yes well you definitely seem to have thought it was fun just as long as he keeps those predictions to himself. He has gotten a few right, more wrong than correct but really wouldn't that be true for any well written fiction?

He's a smart guy, but he's guessing at fiction in a universe where the explanation may very well be something along the lines of super powers via radioactive spiderbite or marriage annulment via mystical devil bargins. So anything is kinda a valid guess until proven wrong isn't it?

Controlversial predictions of anything will always garner attention especially when someone can back them up with at least a semi reasonable argument. To say someone should only be thought about if they're always right on theories would drop any scientific research down to a crawl. We'd still be trying to figure out how things like electricity works right now if that approach was in any way valid. (ben franklin along with being a drunk and hemp smoker got thousands of theories wrong before hitting one right, it's the trying and not giving up that made him a good scientist, not his hit rate).

You would think as long as people are talking about your stories and interested that would be enough. If he's wrong don't get it so personally just tell him he's once again wrong cryptically and then have him read the story. I'm willing to bet as good a writer as you are you've probably had more stories and story ideas rejected then made into books. But by your reasoning if you don't get more wins then losses then you should have given up and you shouldn't be writing ASM right now.

Bottom line, if the man wants to say the world is ending, that's his right. What's more he is saying I THINK, not I know, which is a big difference from those fun sign carrying wackjobs. Or to put it another way and run with your little analogy if he's the sign carrying nut preaching on the street then you're the ten guys in the black gov. van that pull up and arrest him without cause (for the "public good"). All that does is make people think there's some nefarious reason you "needed" him silenced. From your perspective it would be much better to be the affable business man that walks by and gives him a dollar for a cup of coffee asking "that world ended yet, Mike?".

 

[Godzilla2014]

Eddie has used the suit to change into clothes, change his hair and even alter the cleft in his chin at one point. I think the difference is Eddie had full control of the symbiote and Gargan never had...well, any.

I always figure the injection was to 'drug up' the symbiote and allow Gargan complete control.

I don't think the symbiote can break the Law of conservation of mass.

Also, why the hell was Mac Gargan so strong as Venom? The way I interpreted it, Venom's strength was proportional to Spider-Man's, due to the symbiote granting him the same augmentations. I've heard that Gargan's Venom was Class 40 or even Class 100. Is this true? If so, why is that strong?

 

[Themanofbat]

The scorpion was stronger than Spider-Man, so it would stand to reason that he'd be stronger as Venom.

 

[Godzilla2014]

The scorpion was stronger than Spider-Man, so it would stand to reason that he'd be stronger as Venom.

Not really. The way I understand it, Eddie Brock has Peter's spider-powers because the symbiote replicates the structural alterations to Peter's body his powers derive from. In essence, his strength was increased by the same factor. But this wouldn't apply to Mac Gargan. Mac Gargan's body has already been transformed in such a way, so he wouldn't gain any strength.

 

[WolfCypher]

The symbiote has been written for years that it can enhance whatever strength its host has my multiple degrees. Eddie was a bodybuilder, so the symbiote amplified that strength, plus added to his Spider-Man's. Gargan already had super-human class strength, so the symbiote had even more strength to enhance with him. It didn't matter if said host came pre-packaged with super-strength, he's still getting that boost.

Eddie has used the suit to change into clothes, change his hair and even alter the cleft in his chin at one point. I think the difference is Eddie had full control of the symbiote and Gargan never had...well, any.

I always figure the injection was to 'drug up' the symbiote and allow Gargan complete control.

The serum Osborn administered didn't alter Gargan's body-shape, the artist just always drew Gargan, who was supposed to be 220 lbs, as a scrawny little fart inside of a giant black mass of slime. So Gargan as Spider-Man would have already looked as slim as the real Spider-Man.

See also Grim Hunt. Kaine's a big boy, yet for the sake of the story working (so he could pass himself off as Spider-Man) the artist drew bulky Kaine as slim as Peter.

 

[Godzilla2014]

The symbiote has been written for years that it can enhance whatever strength its host has my multiple degrees. Eddie was a bodybuilder, so the symbiote amplified that strength, plus added to his Spider-Man's. Gargan already had super-human class strength, so the symbiote had even more strength to enhance with him. It didn't matter if said host came pre-packaged with super-strength, he's still getting that boost.

No, it hasn't. In 616 continuity, it never enhanced Peter Parker's strength, that idea appeared in the Spider-Man: The Animated Series retelling of Venom's origin, The Alien Costume, Part I-III, and most retellings since run with it.
Eddie Brock's strength enhancement, according to the way I have understood it, comes from Peter Parker's body. Just as Peter Parker was a normal human prior to receiving his powers from the radioactive spider, so was Eddie Brock. When bonded with the symbiote as Venom, Brock's body is similarly enhanced by changing his body chemistry to be like Spider-Man's. In other words, Venom is about as strong as he would be if he had been bitten by the radioactive spider as Peter was.

Gargan wouldn't receive a boost, because he's already there.

The serum Osborn administered didn't alter Gargan's body-shape, the artist just always drew Gargan, who was supposed to be 220 lbs, as a scrawny little fart inside of a giant black mass of slime. So Gargan as Spider-Man would have already looked as slim as the real Spider-Man.

See also Grim Hunt. Kaine's a big boy, yet for the sake of the story working (so he could pass himself off as Spider-Man) the artist drew bulky Kaine as slim as Peter.

That's just weird.

 

[Dan_Slott]

Well it's not like I've gotten EVERYTHING wrong, Dan. I mean, I did correctly predict that Jonah was going to fire Peter during the Gauntlet. But then again, I had some "help" from a preview page of issue #625, so perhaps that doesn't really count.

Um... Yeah. Seriously, in the past 4 years, WHEN have you been right when there HASN'T been a preview page that's spoon fed you the answer? When've you ever gone out on a limb and ACTUALLY predicted something?