The Week In Geek 7/22/15

Okay, so this week, it was announced that Spider-Man is getting another series which means Marvel is one more Spider-Man title away from getting a free footlong at Subway. This time around, it seems like they're rebooting the web-head's past...again. Spidey, will follow a teenage Peter Parker in his early years of maintaining his secret identity while balancing high school and home life, remaining in continuity with the current Amazing Spider-Man series. On one hand, I get that Marvel has to have some representation of a young Peter in the comics with Civil War less than a year away. I also understand that Young Peter Parker appeals to a super bankable demographic and that it's coinciding with ASM without actually replacing it (which is the upside in this), but come on, guys....we've seen this A LOT.

I agree that, at his core, Spider-Man has always been a modern day fable about a man in manchild's clothing, one of the archetypes for a younger superhero trying to make the Clark Kent dual identity thing work. And at his core, he'll ALWAYS be that, but I gotta be honest here....the past few years since the big Brand New Day reset, even when it was somewhat problematic for the character, have turned out to be an interesting character study of a man who has always turned away What He Could Be for the greater good finally making manhood work. Doing yet ANOTHER look at Teenage Spidey feels like a bunt when Marvel could be swinging for the fences. I mean, the allure of Spider-Man is that you feel like you know him. I get the need for Marvel to shoot for young audiences, but another great thing about comics (when it's done successfully) is when you get to grow up with a character. I know plenty of guys who juggle dozens of hats in the pursuit of happiness and making it work. Peter Parker holding down a job, maintaining a start-up, dealing with additions to his family like his step-uncle (who is Spidey's great enemy's father) and being an Avenger? That's good reading. In fact, I could see a "Hard Day's Night" style mini-series focused on Peter trying to get some rest while balancing his dozen jobs but having to deal with his personal shit (friends trying to set him up on dates, visiting Gwen's grave, trying to get in touch with Harry who we haven't seen in years). It would be not too much unlike Matt Fraction's Hawkeye except Peter isn't even CLOSE to the train wreck Clint Barton is. But these are lofty goals that dare not stand in the way of Marvel aligning the comics with the Cinematic Universe. And as I mentioned before, the teenage series isn't overriding the one about grown up Spidey so it's not that big of a deal. But as far as characters go, looking back AND forward at him, Peter Parker has come a long way....and that's worth mentioning.

My comic reviews for the week on Cyborg and Uncanny X-Men are available on Black Nerd Problems for your viewing pleasure. Feel free to like, comment, share...you know the drill.

Making the Case for Spider Verse....

It has come to my attention that some of you Spider-Man fans out there are not reading Spider Verse. I am encouraging those people to break themselves of this habit immediately. Now, I know SM fans (myself being one of them) tend to be divisive in their ideas of what makes a quality Spider-Man story, but I encourage you to give this one a shot no matter what side of the fence you're on.

1). Nostalgic Value: Every other beat calls back to the fun ridiculousness of the 90s animated series. As a matter of fact, the plot itself calls back to the final episodes of the series where Spider-Man had been chosen to lead an army of Spider-Men against (I shit you not) Spider-Carnage. Oh, it was delightfully silly. Basically, Peter was the only Spider-Man with enough compassion and caring for his fellow man to realize that all Spider-Carnage needed was to see Uncle Ben again and he would give up trying to destroy all of creation. I'm not kidding, by the way. Peter went and got Uncle Ben from another dimension and defeated Carnage with Love. Granted, Spider Verse deals with a far more vicious bad guy from the JMS era of Amazing Spider Man, but yeah, it's a lot of fun.

2). Dan Slott: He's quickly becoming the guy who takes a premise that should be really stupid and making it work because of the unique voice he brings to the project. Last year, I was at the head of the "Superior Spider Man Sucks" Chorus, going off about how it was a travesty and how Marvel was out of ideas blah blah blah, but the second half of the series (that dealt mainly with the war of the Goblins and Norman Osborn basically tearing down New York) really turned things around in showing that shit goes wrong when Peter Parker isn't Spider Man. If Slott can change MY mind, he can change anyone's mind.


3). The Art: Oliver Copiel is at the absolute top of his game here. Shut up and look at this gorgeous panels!

4). The Themes: The thing I personally find to be the most interesting that didn't happen in the animated series (see #1) is that instead of power and responsibility being the thing that makes 616 Peter so special, it's the thing that links all the Spiders together. It's their nature. It essentially MAKES them Spiders in the same way willpower and fearlessness makes Hal Jordan a Green Lantern. Their foes, the Inheritors basically have everything they have because they took it by force because they could. Even their name "Inheritors" implies that power is something they're supposed to have just because. "Might makes right" is their nature.

5). It's the best event Marvel's had in a while: I loved Infinity and ever since, Marvel's crossovers and tie-ins (except the Trial of Jean Grey) have been pretty questionable. X-Men's Battle of the Atom was awesome and so many things to love right up until you figured out it had absolutely no point. Original Sin is probably the WORST crossover event I've ever read. There were eight issues and at least three of them were a bunch of superheroes standing in a room either a). listening to a story or b). responding to the story they just heard. And Avengers/X-Men: Axis is a traveshmockery. My editor over at Black Nerd Problems, Will Evans and I split review duties on this book and every time it comes up on the assignment list, we both cringe like it's our turn to mow the lawn. Spider Verse takes place away from any other happenings in the Marvel Universe and so it doesn't suffer from too many shoehorned personalities that the story doesn't need unlike Axis and its Deadpool fetish.

Spider Verse isn't just another event. It's not even just The Best Event Marvel Has Right Now. So far, at least as far as the 21st century is concerned (showing much respect to the greats like Stan Lee, Steve Ditko and so forth in the 20th century), this book makes the case for Spider-Man. I can't speak for All Fans Everywhere, but that's why I think Spider Verse at least deserves a shot from anyone who fancies themselves a fan. Then again, I could be wrong.