Superior Spider-Man #6 Review

Hello everybody & welcome to my review of Superior Spider-Man #6. I figured I might as well start with this issue since it utilizes material from Avenging Spider-Man, which I've been reviewing regularly. I will be posting video reviews of issues 1-3 and 4-5 in a few days (hopefully), but for now. Please enjoy this review :).

Synopsis:

Mayor J. Jonah Jameson is holding a press conference, stating that he is closing down supervillian prison, the Raft, and issuing a mandatory 10-year sentence for using a super-power to commit a crime, which annoys a present Phil Urich. All of a sudden, Jameson and his guards are besieged by Screwball & Jester. The two prank Jameson, Jester throwing a pie in his face whilst Screwball pulls his pants down and films the whole thing using her helmet. They then make their escape, leaving behind a furious Jameson and a bunch of reporters in stiches.

The footage is viewed live by people all over New York, including Doc SpOck, who creeps out "his" co-workers at Horizon Labs with his laughter. He then receives a message for Spider-Man, which turns out to be a summons to the mayors office. Jameson wants "Spider-Man" to apprehend Jester & Screwball for humiliating him. SpOck initially refuses, but changes his mind aftr Jameson inadvertently reminds him of the pranks he and Jameson have suffered at the hands of Spider-Man. SpOck remotely programs his network of Spider-Bots to locate the two criminals, then leaves with Jameson's blessing.

In Avengers Tower, Captain America is discussing Spider-Man's change in behaviour with Wolverine, Thor, Black Widow & Spider-Woman, noting that Spider-Man recently killed the criminal Massacre. Thor mentions his recent encounter with SpOck (referencing Avenging #18), how he was erratic and arrogant and that one needs steadfast allies on the field of battle. Wolverine disagrees however, saying they all have blood on their hands and they shouldn't desert Spidey when he needs them most. He askes that they wait and see where this goes next.

Elsewhere, Doc SpOck arrives ahead of schedule for his meeting with his physics tutor, Anna Maria Marconi. As she arrives, a pair of guys make fun of her, which angers SpOck. This stirs a memory of him being bullied as a child, which is also viewed by Peter Parker, who is snooping around trying to find a way of regaining control of his body. After a conversation with Anna about the bullies, she tells "Peter" that the real reason she called him was to give him a second chance to make a first impression with the  Dr. Don "The Schnoz" Lemaze (who Otto resents due to them being classmates together).

Meanwhile, Screwball & Jester land on a rooftop. Screwball tells Jester that the Jameson video is their best yet. Hundreds of people are linking to Screwball.com, completely unaware that Screwball's programs are grabbing all their credit card info and passwords. The pair don't notice that a Spider-Bot has caught sight of them. The little robot transmits it's info back to Otto, who instantly leaves, once again infuriating Dr Lemaze. As he changes into his costume, Otto notices the two boys who teased Anna earlier. He decides that he has time for one more thing.

SpOck arrives to attack Screwball & Jester, who are just at that moment deciding who to pull their last "Jest" of the day on. Screwball activates her helmet-mounted camera, broadcasting the fight live. SpOck behaves aggressively during the fight, punching Screwball in the chest. When he becomes flustered and attempts to apologise, Jester takes the opportunity to slingshot a projectile at SpOck, hitting him in the groin. Screwball then pelts Otto with paintballs, obscuring his vision and forcing him to rip off his eyepieces.

As all this is going on, Anna is trying to call Peter, wondering where the hell he's got to. She then notices a crowd around the car of one of the boys that teased her earlier. It's completely totaled! Anna realises the boys are in the boot of the car. She frantically calls 911, wondering who would do something like this? (I think we all have an inkling who did it.)

Filled with rage at the humiliation, SpOck viciously attacks Screwball & Jester, which is witnessed by everyone watching the video, which includes Jonah, MJ & the Avengers. Wolverine agrees with Cap, they need to bring Spider-Man in. All this causes Peter to surface from Ock's memories, manifesting in "ghost" form. He is greeted by a horrifying sight. Jester & Screwball lying bloodied on the floor, with a bloodstained SpOck standing over them. Peter cries in anguish at Otto's actions. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?

Thoughts:

So far, this is the strongest issue of Superior with regards to the writing. Dan Slott handles the scene with the Avengers well, wisely tying things together with Chris Yost's work on Avenging, which I was really hoping he'd do given how consistently strong that series has been. I'm actually okay with Wolverine sticking up for "Spidey" (despite their brawl in Avenging #16), it showcases how he really has respect for Peter deep down, though he rarely shows it.  The biggest flaw is "Spider-Man" himself. Otto isn't as interesting here as he is in Avenging Spider-Man, which is spectacularly ironic given this is the main Spider-Man title. Instead, he's a villian pretending to be hero, rather than one who is trying to be a hero, and that's quite disapointing. 

Screwball & Jester add a lot of humour to this issue, making it feel more like an issue of Amazing (and that's definitely a good thing). What made their fight with SpOck so interesting to me was how Otto handled it. The last time I saw Screwball (during "Who Was Ben Reilly?"), Peter defeated her instantly. Otto actually prolongs the fight with his over-aggressive attitude, which I felt to be a nice touch, as it actually shows that Otto isn't as Superior a Spider-Man as he thinks. Peter certainly wouldn't have been hit in the balls by Jester, though I'm by no means complaining about that.

Unfortunately, it's Humberto Ramos's turn to provide the artwork. Now I'm not saying that Ramos is a bad artist, not at all. He paces the action well and the angles look great, there are some shots that actually look really good. I just don't think Ramos is the right pick for a Spider-Man title. His style is hyperkinetic and borders on cartoony (again, that's not entirely a bad thing). I still think he'd be better suited to Deadpool.

While my opinions over this are mixed, I enjoyed this issue more than the others. Hopefully Slott can deliver next issue. I'm certainly interested to see what happens when SpOck is confronted by the Avengers...

 Score: 3.5/5.0

Avenging Spider-Man #18 Review

Hello everybody and welcome to my review of Avenging Spider-Man #18. This issue features a team-up between Doc SpOck & the Mighty Thor. Both of these heroes have huge egos, but will they be able to put them aside in order to combat the return of Electro? I guess we'll find out.

Synopsis:

The Superior Spider-Man observes a small crater in Queens. He determines due to the energy signature that it was caused by Electro. He then correctly figures out that Electro desires revenge against Thor after the thunder god blasted him into space during Ends of the Earth. Meanwhile Electro talks to members of A.I.M via video link. They tell him that they can help him kill Thor.

At Avengers Tower, SpOck warns Thor of Electro's return. But Thor laughs at this, saying he has nothing to fear from Electro, which leaves Otto infuriated. Back at Peter Parker's apartment, SpOck stews over Thor's arrogance,. He taps into various weather satellites in order to track Electro's energy signature. Upon discovering his current location (an unknown A.I.M laboratory in New York), he curses the villain.

Meanwhile, several A.I.M scientists run Elector through the procedure, which will hook him up to a quantum field generator, converting his electrons to protons. They warn him that he could kill himself as well as Thor, to which Electro that he doesn't care as long as he takes Thor with him. As they start the procedure, Doc SpOck arrives, effortlessly defeating the A.I.M soldiers. By the time he reaches Electro however, it's too late. Electro has been successfully converted to anti-matter. He leaves to find Thor.

However, SpOck gets there first. Thor once again shrugs off SpOck's attempts to warn him, only to receive a massive shock from Electro. He prepares to attack Electro with lightening, but SpOck prevents him, saying that if Electro were to take a direct hit of electricity in his current state, the protons and electrons could possibly collide, causing, as Thor put it, "annihilation", wiping out New York.

SpOck asks Thor to buy him some time whilst he rigs a field version of A.I.M's Q-Field generator, complaining to himself yet again about Thor. As he works on the generator however, he observes Thor taking more punishment from Electro, noting to himself that Thor's willingness to die if it means saving lives. Minutes later, SpOck finishes the machine, telling Thor to blast Electro now, which he does. At the point of annihilation, the generator redirects the energy, seemingly killing Electro. SpOck helps Thor to his feet, telling him this. Thor acknowledges that he should have heeded "Spider-Man's" warnings, but he also notes Spider-Man's disrespectful attitude towards Electro.

Later, at Doc Ock's underwater lab, he muses on how far he is willing to go to get what he wants. We then see that Electro is indeed alive, SpOck has imprisoned him in his lab alongside Sandman...

Thoughts:

This is the best issue of Avenging to feature the Superior Spider-Man so far. The dynamic between Thor & SpOck is surprisingly entertaining. Christopher Yost captures Thor's voice perfectly, . It's also good to see SpOck gain a form of respect for Thor, given how the last two issues featured characters on which his opinions did not waver. As with #15.1, it's not enough to make him grow substantially as a character, but he definitely comes away from the issue a little contemplative, even while he continues with this mysterious scheme of his.

The fact that Thor notes Spider-Man's change in personality also impresses me, I'm really hoping this will tie into the Fired storyline as Thor also features in the teaser image. This is the first issue to feature a prominent Spider-Man foe, Electro is a sensible choice given past events and I enjoyed his battle against Thor. Marco Checchetto takes the reigns as artist this issue. His artwork is just fabulous. I really like the way he draws the Spider-Man suit.

So far it seems as though Ock is gathering his former Sinister Six teammates for some kind of plan. I'm very curious as to his motives with this, and I also wonder how this involves the Jackal?
Right now though, it definitely looks as though Avenging Spider-Man is the "Superior" title. It's actually making Otto bearable as Spider-Man, and given how irritating the character can be, that's a big acheivement...

 Score: 5.0/5.0

Iron Man #7 Review

Hello everybody and welcome to my review of Iron Man #7. Part Two of the Godkiller arc.

Synopsis:

Tony Stark sits languishing in his prison cell, pondering his current situation. At that very moment, someone enters the chamber. It appears to be a floating tray holding Tony's "birthday drink". However, it then shapeshifts into an android, who introduces itself to Tony as Recorder 451 of the Rigellian Recorders, The Recorders are probes sent out to gather data, being mindwiped upon their return. Since 451 had a bug, he wasn't wiped and has since come to a realisation, Eventually, it's not enough to watch, you have to act. He says that although he contacted Stark's "friends", they won't reach him before the Voldi laws have had their way with him. When Tony asks what his plan is, 451 replies that he has acquired an extensive knowledge of judicial systems across the known universe, which causes Tony to groan and say "you're a lawyer."

Two hours later, Tony is brought before the Supreme Justicar to answer for the death of the Pheonix Force. Tony attempts to explain that it was in self-defence, that the Pheonix attacked Earth, but the Supreme Justicar rebukes such claims, calling them madness. She is about to sentence him when Tony suddenly claims his right to "Shay-Tah-Run", an ancient Voldi rite which amounts to trial by combat. It turns out this is meant to be a distraction so that 451 can retrieve Tony's armour for him.

Tony proves to be a competent fighter against the Voldi warriors, defeating them in quick succession. The Supreme Justicar grows frustrated, saying the Voldi are romantics, and will eventually call for Stark to be released if they do not end this now. Her aide says they have just the person, though they will have to pay him substantially. Meanwhile 451 kills a guard when he fails to manipulate him to move aside. He enters the room the guard was protecting, which doesn't contain the Iron Man armour, but the Heart of the Voldi. He repeats what he said earlier, "it's not enough to watch, you have to act."

Back in the arena, The Supreme Justicar tells Tony that they find him innocent of "grievous theological harm". The next charge is "conspiracy of decide". Tony's next opponent towers over hi. He tells him that he will make this quick, but that he shouldn't worry because "Death's Head is a professional, yes?"

Thoughts:

So far, this arc has been quite fun. Kieron Gillen is no doubt taking Iron Man to more lighthearted places when compared to Matt Fraction's run, providing a Tony Stark more in line with Robert Downey Jr.'s portrayal of the character, fully embracing the character's sense of humour, but pulling him back at the right moments so we take him seriously. Not content with referencing Star Trek, Gillen also throws in amusing nods to Star Wars & John Carter, both of which I found very funny.

I also like that we don't have a massive debate over whether or not Tony was directly responsible for the death of the Pheonix Force. The character of 451 is very intriuging as well as morally ambiguous, I look forward to seeing his plan unveiled. I didn't care for Death's Head in Avenging Spider-Man and I don't care for him here. This isn't a criticism of Gillen's writing, I just find the character too silly.

Greg Land unfortunately tends to be slightly repetitive in his facial design as all the unmasked characters have similar faces, even the aliens. This is made a little worse by the fact that Tony spends the whole issue separated from his Iron Man armour, as drawing armoured/masked characters, particularly Iron Man, is definitely Land's strong point. I do like that Tony's prison cell looks similar to his arc reactor.

Despite clearly being the middle issue, there's definitely enough progression in the plot to make this feel necessary to the overall story. I'm enjoying this arc a lot despite some of the more negative reviews I've read. Kieron Gillen is beginning to find his footing with the series, I look forward to the third & final part of this storyline.

Score: 4.0/5.0

An Introduction about Random Reviews

Hello everybody. So I've just released a new video on Youtube which I've titled as a Random Review. I just thought I'd quickly explain the title of this series away, so here goes. Basically I review random, unrelated movies. It can be a theatrical release or direct to DVD/Blu-Ray, animated or live action, it doesn't matter as long as it's random.

I was initially going to begin this series with the Fright Night remake, but switched to Dredd after watching it on Blu-Ray (as by the time I finally got around to watching it, it was too late to do a normal review of it). I had quite a few things to say about it, and that pushed it to the front of my list.
I hope you all enjoy the video. here's the link :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TfEMcIT4kQ&feature=youtu.be

Avenging Spider-Man #17 Review

Hello everybody & welcome to my review of Avenging Spider-Man #17, which sees Otto Octavius tackle one of the toughest jobs in the world...babysitting.

Synopsis:

A faceless employee of the Time Variance Authority bursts into a room to tell his "superior" (see what I did there ;) ) Mr Oborus, that there's been an "incident". Oborus takes a look at the employees papers, authorising the target to be eliminated from the timestream, just as he realises the location of the fraction.

We then cut over to SpOck approaching the Baxter Building, where he comes face to face with Ant Man, She-Hulk, Medusa & Ms Thing. Ant Man tells him that they've received a distress call from the Microverse, which they are about to intercept. Otto arrogantly assumes that they want him to lead the expedition, but Ant Man corrects him. He tells SpOck that they want him to babysit the child members of the Future Foundation.

SpOck checks up on the children one-by-one, constantly irritated at the fact that, well, their children (he has no help from Dragon Man, who is apparently a pacifist). He then comes to Bentley's room, where the young clone is working on blueprints for a chronal engine. He rudely dismisses SpOck, who then forcibly views his blueprints. they are interrupted by Dragon Man & Alex Power, who ask SpOck if he wants to work on a project or give a lecture. SpOck agrees and asks for them to gather everyone and begin brainstorming a way to eliminate crime.

However, it turns out be a distraction to get them out of the way so he can reach the Baxter Building Vault, just as he's about to open it, "his" Spider-Sense tingles, warning him in advance of Death's Head (a bounty hunter from the future) materialising in front of him. Members of the T.V.A materialise throughout the building attempting to erase the children. They are quickly subdued however thanks to the unique security systems Reed Richards put into effect. Mr Oborus materialises with additional members, effortlessly neutralising the security system. He states that the Future Foundation must be eliminated for their future crimes against the timestream. He notices "Spider-Man" and (after flipping through his notes on the timeline) realises that he is really Otto Octavius, though SpOck webs his face before he has a chance to say, which resumes the fighting.

This leads to SpOck knocking Death's Head's head off. The T.V.A pull an earlier version of Death's Head through to battle "Spidey", but he is swiftly defeated. The Future Foundation plead with SpOck to talk this out, which he reluctantly complies with. Mr Oborus tells him that in two days, a device created by the Future Foundation will rip a hole in the space/time continuum, causing chronal devastation. Otto quickly realises that it is Bentley who will do this (having glimpsed the plans for it earlier) and convinces him to destroy the plans by whispering a threat in his ear. The T.V.A confirm that this has indeed altered the timeline and leave, but not before Mr Oborus warns SpOck they'll be watching him.

Later, Ant Man & co return to find SpOck and the kids safe and sound. When Ant Man asks what happened, SpOck brags that he saved the universe and warns them not to pawn their responsibilities off on him (like he'd know anything about the word). As he leaves the Baxter Building, a T.V.A employee tells Mr Oborus that Otto indeed saved the timeline and that they lost track of Death's Head (who is now stuck in the present day) when the timeline readjusted. The employee asks what the future holds for Spider-Man. Oborus hands him a document containing such information, to which the employee reacts with shock. He asks Mr Oborus why they can't interfere and save all the lives SpOck is about to destroy. Mr Oborus replies that it's out of their jurisdiction and that he can't back up the threat he made to SpOck.

Meanwhile, it's revealed that Otto got what he wanted from the Baxter Building. He takes it back to his underwater lair, where it is revealed that what he stole was Sandman, trapped in a glass jar...

Thoughts:

This is once again a very solid issue of Avenging. Its highly amusing to see Otto put in a situation he loathes. As far as I'm concerned it serves him right, the bespectacled git. The younger members of the Future Foundation are a little annoying, but that's kind of the point really. Seeing SpOck interact with them is the high point of the issue's comedy.

The Time Variance Authority are the just the kind of oddball antagonists to go along with a story involving Fantastic Four characters, and I found them quite intriguing, though I didn't find Death's Head all that funny. To be honest, I didn't find this issue to be as fun as the last, but that's probably down to the fact that I don't know much about the Future Foundation, nor am I really that interested in them.

I like that Christopher Yost is gently threading a loose narrative across the series, the twist at the end is "sinister", and I'm very interested to see what Ock is planning to do. Paco Medina's artwork continues to impress, though I still wish he wouldn't draw SpOck with a nose spike. It makes him look more like Owl-Man. This series is in no danger of losing it's charm in my opinion, and I'm especially looking forward to seeing SpOck interact with Thor next issue, we'll see if he feels Superior then...

Score: 3.5/5.0

Guardians of the Galaxy #0.1 Review

Hello everybody & welcome to my review of Guardians of the Galaxy #0.1.

Synopsis:

Thirty years ago, in Rocky Mountain High, Colorado, Meredith Quill argues with her mother over the phone about the fact she's recently left her boyfriend. She's suddenly interrupted when a damaged starfighter zooms over her house and crashes nearby. As Meredith watches, a figure appearing to be a human male emerges from the cockpit, clearly hurt. Meredith helps him out of the cockpit and asks if he's alright, only to have a blaster pointed in her face. The man speaks briefly in a language that's clearly not human before he passes out.

Later, inside Meredith's house, the man awakes in her bed to find Meredith sitting opposite him, shotgun in one hand, phone in the other, their roles somewhat reversed. She tells him she was going to call the authorities, but it would completely disrupt her desire to live a quiet life. The man begins speaking in English, asking Meredith where he is and telling her that "her" military would not be able to detect his ship. Meredith answers his question, then tells him to leave. The man asks if he was followed, he also asks Meredith her name. After she tells him, the man introduces himself as J'son of Spartax. Meredith quickly realises that J'son is actually an alien and that Spartax is another planet, which instantly changes her mind about him leaving.

The two work to repair J'son's starfighter, spending their spare time bonding. One night, things get rather intimate between them. Meredith awakens the next day to find J'son about to leave as his ship has in fact been fixed a few days ago. Meredith asks J'son to stay longer, J'son says

he cannot as there is a war going on and he is needed. When she asks him to take her with him, J'son replies that he has thought of nothing else, but it would be cruel and selfsh and he doesn't want to put her in a situation where she wouldn't be safe. He says however that he will try to come back. He asks that Meredith keep his blaster, as a romantic gesture, as it was made for him especially and there is no other like it. He then kisses her and leaves in his starfighter. Meredith turns to go back in, then suddenly grabs her stomach. She realises she is pregnant.

 

Ten years later, a young Peter Quill is reading a comic book when Meredith calls him in, saying that he hasn't finished his maths homework. As he turns to go in, she stops him, saying that he looks like his father all of a sudden. This upsets Peter, as according to him, he doesn't have a father. A few days later at school, Peter sees a bully picking on a girl. He gets involved telling the other kid to leave the girl alone. When the bully refuses to listen and tries to mock and intimidate Peter, he smacks the kid across the face, starting a fight that's quickly broken up by a teacher.

 

Peter returns home where his mother asks him about the incident. He says he got involved because no one was helping. As Meredith tells him to go in and wash up for dinner, she sees a bright light flash in front of the house. She assumes it to be J'son, but it is in fact a pair of Badoon soldiers who open fire on Meredith, killing her instantly. The Badoon enter the house searching for Peter, who spots both them and his mother's body from upstairs. Peter flees into his bedroom as the Badoon attempt to blast him, then he makes his way into his mother's bedroom from the outside of the house, before the Badoon break down his door. He makes for the closet, where he retrieves his mothers shotgun just in time to kill the aliens. He then notices J'son's blaster, which he flee with just as the Badoon ship destroys the house. The blast knocks Peter into the woods, where he blacks out.

Peter regains consciousness in hospital, where he's told by the nurse there that, even though he doesn't feel like it, he's a very lucky boy. She gives him his "space toy" back. We then transition to the present day, as an adult Peter Quill stands on the bridge of a starship in a new costume as Star Lord. He says that the Badoon wanted him dead so as to end the Spartax bloodline and his "ass of a father didn't do a damn thing about it". He says that while his dad can keep on fighting his never ending war and the Badoon can go on wreaking havoc all over the galaxy, he can make sure they never touch Earth again. At this point it is revealed that Peter was talking to Tony Stark/Iron Man, with Rocket Raccoon, Gamora, Groot & Drax present on the bridge as well. Tony replies that that was exactly what he wanted to hear. The pair toast one another and Tony asks Star-Lord "what now?" to which Star-Lord replies, "now we show them how it's done... 

Thoughts:

This is a fantastic start to the new series. By the end of this issue, Brian Michael Bendis has shown us exactly what kind of person Star-Lord is. Peter Quill is bold, kick-ass and completely sympathetic., there are a lot of comparisons to be drawn between Peter & Luke Skywalker of Star Wars (including their "daddy issues").  Bendis also rams home the tragedy of Meredith Quill's death by making her likable and in some instances comedic. The dialogue is polished to near perfection and the pace is breakneck, by the time this issue is finished, you'll be left wanting more.

 

Steve McNiven's artwork is simply stunning. It gives the series a grandiose, epic feel (and we don't even go into space until the final two pages). The characters exhibit a variety of emotions and the action is fast paced and dynamic. The character designs are also a treat, the amount of detail on Star-Lord's costume is just brilliant. I'm quickly becoming a big fan of the Guardians of the Galaxy and I'm really looking forward to seeing what Bendis & McNiven have in store for this oddball bunch of heroes...

 Score: 5.0/5.0