TF Views

Well yeah, he looks more like a normal dude now, I get that. The part that throws me off is that Kaine has a much thicker, more muscular, 'heroic' build than Peter Parker. So seeing that beefy build in what's more or less a Spider-Man costume is kind of odd, since like you, I'm used to the lithe, acrobatic proportions pioneered by MacFarlane and the 90's. I mean, I get that this is what Kaine's *supposed* to look like, he's not Spider-Man, but it still looks strange, I guess.

This is way harder to explain than it seems like it should be.

So someone please tell me there’s a Marvel Universe figure of Superior Spider-Douche in the pipeline.

It would be a pretty easy custom though, right?

I am not buying in on this one. It is a flash in the pan event that is not going to matter inside of 2 years.



This week, due to a shortage of time and money (my hours at work having been cut), I had to leave some comics behind at the store. ("Action Comics" #16 and "Legends of the Dark Knight" #3 are sitting in my pull file. Hopefully, I will get them in the next few weeks.)

Iron Man #005:
The first "NOW!" arc wraps the up this issue. Tony more or less gets rid of last era's dominant McGuffin, the Extremis tech. And, in typical Marvel soft reboot fashion, it still counts except for being wholly irrelevant and such a bad idea that one has to wonder why Tony considered using it in the first place during the Ellis run on the book. To be fair, the current writer is doing the best he can. And, the high concept is good. But, the execution is harmed by Marvel's editorial policies. On another note, the numbering convention for this book (and likely other "NOW!" books) sends a mixed message. The two zeroes appear on the cover. On the one hand, they emphasize the low number (and accessibiilty) of the title. On the other, they draw attention to the fact that the book has been renumbered and (if one thinks about it) raise the question of how likely it is that the book will every break even 100 without some kind of gimmicked legacy numbers.
Grade: C


Earth 2 #8:
This issue focuses almost entirely on Steppenwolf and introduces the New 52 Fury. Fury looks more like pre-"Flash Point" Donna Troy and the character model skews more towards "slutty Starfire" than I would have expected of this book based on previous issue. It is not *quite* there. But, it is close enough to note. Fury is introduced as Steppenwolf's enforcer, but it is a good bet that she will switch sides in the next few issues. "Earth 2" is, to put it simply a "ride" book, where the primary motivation for reading it is to see what happens next. Hopefully, Fury's arc will play out less predictably than I am guessing it will.
Grade: C


Dom
-was almost tempted by "Superior Spider-Man".

Dominic wrote:

So someone please tell me there’s a Marvel Universe figure of Superior Spider-Douche in the pipeline.

It would be a pretty easy custom though, right?

Maybe for you. The eyes would need to be remolded, as would the feet (and hands if they were in anything but fists), and the arrangement of the red/webbing parts along the arms is different, so if you were using a Spidey that had those patterns molded, that would need to be fixed somehow.

I’m kind of hoping they’ll at least make a Marvel Select of him. If they put one out for friggin’ Anti-Venom, they have to do one for Spider-Asshole, right?

I am not buying in on this one. It is a flash in the pan event that is not going to matter inside of 2 years.

Well, yeah. I’m not buying this because I expect it to be some defining run with wide-reaching ramifications on all the related titles, I’m buying it because it’s a hilariously stupid story based on one of the most ridiculously horrible ideas I’ve heard in a long, long time. There is naught but train-wreck value that I’m here for.

Dominic wrote:Tony more or less gets rid of last era's dominant McGuffin, the Extremis tech.

I thought they got rid of Extremis after "Secret Invasion", in part because the Skrulls had infected it with a virus, and to prevent Norman Osborn from getting access to Stark's mind...?

Fury looks more like pre-"Flash Point" Donna Troy and the character model skews more towards "slutty Starfire" than I would have expected of this book based on previous issue. It is not *quite* there. But, it is close enough to note.

You think she skews towards "slutty Starfire"? Her Apocalyptian costume might show a bit of skin, but it's no where close to "slutty Starfire". Starfire's costume is essentially a string bikini, while Fury's is more of a Amazon warrior meets Apocalypse female fury garb...

BWprowl wrote:Maybe for you. The eyes would need to be remolded, as would the feet (and hands if they were in anything but fists), and the arrangement of the red/webbing parts along the arms is different, so if you were using a Spidey that had those patterns molded, that would need to be fixed somehow.

Speaking of which... Do they explain why Doc Ock decides to add claws to the gloves and boots? I mean, what's the point when he can already stick to walls? Wouldn't those actually get in the way of his natural spider powers? I suppose they might make for effective weapons (as Spider-Man 2099 used his claws for sometimes) but I can't see them really being used that way very often...

At any rate, I wouldn't be surprised if they make a Superior Spider-Man figure sooner or later.

Sparky Prime wrote:You think she skews towards "slutty Starfire"? Her Apocalyptian costume might show a bit of skin, but it's no where close to "slutty Starfire". Starfire's costume is essentially a string bikini, while Fury's is more of a Amazon warrior meets Apocalypse female fury garb...

Dom's the guy who thought Helix from the GI Joe movie was the most lewd design they could have made a figure of, seeming genuinely shocked at her apparently scandalous appearance. It's best not to question these things.

BWprowl wrote:Speaking of which... Do they explain why Doc Ock decides to add claws to the gloves and boots? I mean, what's the point when he can already stick to walls? Wouldn't those actually get in the way of his natural spider powers? I suppose they might make for effective weapons (as Spider-Man 2099 used his claws for sometimes) but I can't see them really being used that way very often...

Actually, they do! (I was surprised too, since I'm assuming like you, I figured they were added just to make the design look more 'edgy' with no further explanation) He slashes one of the Sinister Six guys with them in this issue (at least the way this guy's drawing it, the claws actually just *pop out* when he wants them to) so he can make a getaway. Later, he reveals that when he scratches guys with these claws, it imbeds 'micro-spider-tracers' in them that he can use to track their movements and listen in on them. Not bad, honestly.

Still not sure about the little toe-claws on the boots, but hey, you take what you can get.

At any rate, I wouldn't be surprised if they make a Superior Spider-Man figure sooner or later.

Yeah, FF Spidey, Big Time Spidey, and All-New Ultimate Spidey have all gotten Marvel Universe, Legends, or both, figures already, so I wouldn't be surprised if Superior Spidey wasn't far behind.

BWprowl wrote:Dom's the guy who thought Helix from the GI Joe movie was the most lewd design they could have made a figure of, seeming genuinely shocked at her apparently scandalous appearance. It's best not to question these things.

Really? He thought that was scandalous? I guess I can kinda see were that might be coming from, but it's a stretch to see it that way.

Actually, they do! (I was surprised too, since I'm assuming like you, I figured they were added just to make the design look more 'edgy' with no further explanation) He slashes one of the Sinister Six guys with them in this issue (at least the way this guy's drawing it, the claws actually just *pop out* when he wants them to) so he can make a getaway. Later, he reveals that when he scratches guys with these claws, it imbeds 'micro-spider-tracers' in them that he can use to track their movements and listen in on them. Not bad, honestly.

Micro-spider tracers...? Well that's a functional reason for the claws at least.

Still not sure about the little toe-claws on the boots, but hey, you take what you can get.

That's for the edgy factor.

Sparky Prime wrote:Micro-spider tracers...? Well that's a functional reason for the claws at least.

Hey, remember that Ock's a villainous mad scientist. Microscopic tracking devices are the sort of thing he invents on his way to work in the morning.

Still not sure about the little toe-claws on the boots, but hey, you take what you can get.

That's for the edgy factor.

I really can't express how much I love the Superior costume for all the wrong reasons. They could've gone way overboard and totally redesigned the thing, but instead they just tweaked the existing Spidey costume simply to increase edginess. It's like those kids on DevArt whose Sonic fan character is just Sonic in navy blue with Knuckles's gloves, sharp teeth, and pupil-less eyes, and named 'Blade Sonic' or somesuch.

The fact that the 'edgy' black replacing the blue ends up obliquely replicating the costume from the 50's (because nothing says 'edgy' like golden-age superheroes!) is just the icing on the cake.

Surprising probably no one, I rather liked ASM 700 and Superior #1. Of course, I've been a hundred percent behind Slott since his She-Hulk series, and he writes the kind of Spider-Man story I like, so that was almost a given.

Even if you leave aside my being predisposed to follow Slott down this rabbit hole, the idea of one of the world's most dangerous villains having to fill the shoes of his nemesis is a pretty legit concept. The only reason people are losing their minds about it is that Slott's using well-known and loved characters to do this story.

Anyway, I'm gonna file this right up there with FrankenCastle and Flash Thompson Venom. Things that seem ridiculous that Marvel's actually pulling off pretty well.

SCOURGE IN DA HOUSE!!

138 Scourge wrote:Even if you leave aside my being predisposed to follow Slott down this rabbit hole, the idea of one of the world's most dangerous villains having to fill the shoes of his nemesis is a pretty legit concept. The only reason people are losing their minds about it is that Slott's using well-known and loved characters to do this story.

Well honestly, the whole “What if we killed off Peter Parker and made Doctor Octopus the new Spider-Man?” concept is just so absurd. I agree that people getting mad because they don’t want anyone but Peter to be Spider-Man are going about it the wrong way, but that doesn’t mean the idea itself isn’t inherently ridiculous and worthy of being labeled as a bad idea. Because I still think that, oh lordy, is it a bad idea. A spectacular bad idea. A Superior bad idea.

Also, you have to admit that it’s a downright bizarre and somewhat backwards way to ‘celebrate’ 50 years and 700 issues of Spider-Man, to say nothing of its execution as a ‘finale’ for the character and comic series (regardless of how legitimate that finale will turn out to be).

Anyway, I'm gonna file this right up there with FrankenCastle and Flash Thompson Venom. Things that seem ridiculous that Marvel's actually pulling off pretty well.

Like I said, there are some interesting ideas in here, least of all the concept of how a super-villain can make for a pretty good super-hero, given the right circumstances. At least they’re selling it with the right tone; Peter in full Dr. Horrible gear calling everyone at work imbeciles and the like, setting up villainy traps for the Sinister Six to fall into, and pulling off all his evil speech poses while on the date with Mary Jane. I wouldn’t want this any other way.

Seriously though, good to see you, dude.

138 Scourge wrote:Surprising probably no one, I rather liked ASM 700 and Superior #1. Of course, I've been a hundred percent behind Slott since his She-Hulk series, and he writes the kind of Spider-Man story I like, so that was almost a given.

Even if you leave aside my being predisposed to follow Slott down this rabbit hole, the idea of one of the world's most dangerous villains having to fill the shoes of his nemesis is a pretty legit concept. The only reason people are losing their minds about it is that Slott's using well-known and loved characters to do this story.

Anyway, I'm gonna file this right up there with FrankenCastle and Flash Thompson Venom. Things that seem ridiculous that Marvel's actually pulling off pretty well.

HE'S ALIVE!! ALIVE!!!

Good to see you back man.

I have to admit that I am curious about this for the trainwreck that it sounds like. I just don't have the fundage at the moment.

I apparently do have fundage however for:
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic: I got in on issue 2 because my comic shop sold out of the first one. So far, it's playing out like an episode of the cartoon so if you like the show, chances are you'll like the comic.