I’m not going to rant or rage. I’m not going to curse Sony or blame Disney. I’m not going to squeeze an entire article out of this. Because the matter is very simple. Spider-Man is my favorite hero. I only love Marvel as much as I do because of Spider-Man, he’s the reason I became a fan. And in the 17 years I’ve loved the character, since seeing that first movie in 2002, I’ve never been happier than when I saw him flip into that airport and web Captain America’s shield. I don’t care about companies, I don’t care about money, I care about Spider-Man being where he belongs in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So I’ve said before, I’ll say it again, and I’ll keep saying it to the end of time; never forget, Sony, Disney, all of you: With great power, there must also come great responsibility.
So the last time I paid $8.00 for a comic book, it was December of 2012, and Spider-Man died! Trepidatious is probably an understatement on my state of mind when picking up Amazing Spider-Man #25, the first milestone comic in Spencer’s run, and slapped with a $8.00 price tag. “60 pages of Spider-Mania!!!” the front cover touts (and yes, with three exclamation points). I picked it up, I read it cover to cover, and here are my thoughts.
This was very unexpected. Usually with these milestone
issues, Marvel goes big. So I was thinking there was going to be an all out battle
with Kindred, he makes some big move, some grand entrance, establish why he’s a
threat, who he is, and how he’s going to give Spidey a hard time. None of that.
In fact, Kindred had a rather small role in this issue, which is actually a tad
frustrating because I want to know more about him. But I did read an interview
with Nick Lowe in a recent Previews issue, and he suggested that while #24 and
#25 are important, Kindred is going to be a whole thing, so I guess we’ll have wait
longer.
Mysterio was still alive, which was nice, but come on. Did
we really think they were off Beck with Far
From Home out this year? The more interesting part is the script Kindred
gave him, that Beck himself apparently wrote. And the fact that it stars May
Jane. I’m actually quite excited for that story.
On the topic of MJ, we know she’s got a comic coming, The Amazing Mary Jane. The Previews also suggested that this would be a set up issue, so I think MJ’s story here was more to that end. But if the Mary Jane comic is anything like this little adventure, then sign me all the way up. MJ and Carlie Cooper vs. the female Electro, saving an old acting rival of hers? It was so much fun, and I loved every second of it. This Syndicate story seems intriguing as well. I’m a classic Sinister Six guy myself, but we’ll see where this goes.
Next is Spider-Man. Why am I 5 paragraphs in and just now
getting to Spider-Man? Maybe because his story was more of an action-packed pep
talk to get Curt Connors back on his feet. I don’t know why, but I always get
the feeling Lizard is going to die whenever he shows up, which I really don’t want
to happen. But even in the Slott era, they always made it seem like Curt Connors’s
next transformation will be his last. They keep putting the poor guy through
the wringer, and I really hope he can just find some peace with his family, because
I do love the Lizard, and I do love a happy ending!
So, paragraph 5 ended up being more about the Lizard.
Paragraph 6: Spider-Man! Gee, nothing really happened with Pete! I mean, he
decided to go back to school, and he fought those weird color-alien-robot
things with Jameson, but… Wow. This Amazing Spider-Man comic had very little
Spider-Man in it. I don’t know how I feel about that.
I will say, however, that my absolute favorite part was the
tease of Miguel O’Hara falling from the sky and smashing into our time! And
back in his blue suit no less! I read Spider-Man 2099 when it relaunched off Superior
Spider-Man, and it was my favorite comic of the time. I unfortunately didn’t
finish the run (I stopped around the Civil War II tie-in), but that’s a Marvel Unlimited
binge for another day. Especially now that O’Hara is back!
Other than that, there was a little funny story about having
a bot write a Spider-Man comic. The issue was pretty good, though if I had to
complain about something, I’d say that it was a lot of setup and very little
payoff. I guess I’m used to the milestone issues being the payoff issues, but
if anything #24 had more plot reveals and master planning than this one
(including the Chameleon!) But hey, at least Spider-Man didn’t die this time! Amazing
Spider-Man #25 put a lot of pieces into place, and I for one can’t wait to see
how they play out!
You know that awkward moment when Marvel’s been around so long that some of their “What If?” stories start making it into the canon?
Let’s take, for instance, what if Captain America had been elected President of the United States? You mean, like in the Ultimate Comics United We Stand arc?
How about this one: What if Hulk had become a barbarian? Can someone say Skaar, son of Hulk!? Because I sure can!
Ooh, I got one: What if Spider-Man’s clone lived! No, but Ben Reilly got hit by the Goblin’s glider and turned to dust! There’s no way he can come back from that! You know, unless Miles Warren gathers the dust and revives and kills Ben repeatedly until he breaks free and becomes the new Jackal.
This can’t be! How many more? Is Marvel really making comics out of “What If” stories? Okay, here’s one they could never have done! What if… stay with me now… what if somehow Jane Foster became Thor! Yeah, because that could never happen.
I’m out True Believers. I’ll see you in the Multiverse. Unbelievable…
Hey there True Believers! Here’s a brand new comic for based on the brand new trailer from Spider-Man: Far From Home! Just thought I’d have a little fun with the little emojis I got from the Spider-Man: Homecoming app years ago. You’ve seen I’ve made a bunch of little memes with them, but I wanted to go a step further and make a full(ish) comic! Hope you had fun!
Y’all reading that new Miles Morales? Yeah, so TL;DR, Miles’s girlfriend’s cousin got roped into a ‘mind controlled kids’ operation that also happened to rope in Rhino’s niece. So Rhino and Miles teamed up to stop it only to find out that Tombstone was behind it! When they couldn’t figure out how to work together properly, Tombstone got away, but none other than… Captain America… showed up to help save the day…
So I was able to get past Rhino and Spider-Man teaming up. Rhino’s a Spidey villain, and though I found him going a little too soft on Miles, I respected his motivation and I think that a Miles/Rhino duo is a fun situation! And then Tombstone is back in the mix, he’s always underutilized, so why not? But… Captain America shows up out of nowhere to help? Yeah, y’all lost me. But hey, I’ll keep reading! What do you guys think?
Okay, so this theory actually came from my brother, which is odd because he doesn’t comic book, like at all. I won’t say that, he’s a DC fan that straddles the line between casual and hardcore, he knows his stuff, but if you go too deep, you’ll lose him.
Anyhow, I noted that the only color in the flashbacks of the decimated Avengers that you could see was red. Then he said that maybe it was because the Reality Stone is red and that they all were transported to a different reality when they blew into dust.
I was stunned, it’s actually a pretty good guess! I mean, matter can’t be created or destroyed, only transported. So that’s completely plausible! Although poor Vision didn’t get decimated, he just got the Mind Stone pulled right out of his head. So… he might be gone gone. Poor Vision.
Hey there True Believers! Now I know what you’re all wondering: Why has the greatest Marvel blog on the internet been quiet these past few weeks? Well, there’s a good reason for that! Sort of… Let me explain.
So as you can probably imagine, while running Face Front is an honor beyond words, it doesn’t exactly pay the bills. So I got a new job, the downside is, it’s very demanding in terms of free time. I’ve also been playing Marvel’s Spider-Man on PS4… but it’s mostly the job. Since it’s fairly new, I’ve still got to find that work-life balance, but I’m working on it!
So in the meantime, I just wanted to give you guys an update as to what’s coming soon on the Face Front Blog:
Spider-Man PS4 Pro Unboxing
Top 10 Moments from Iron Fist Season 2
Oscorp Conspiracy Part 4
Face Front Podcast Episode 9: Captain Marvel
Marvel Problems
I also wanted to mention some things I’m working on:
Sam Says Episode 3
Face Front Music Video
Marvel Corner (Working Title)
New YouTube Series
Exclusive Face Front User Benefit (Trust me, you’ll love this!)
Amazing Fantasy: A Face Front Fan Fiction
And don’t forget that there’s still plenty you can do on the blog! Check out our Videos section, read my review on the prequel book to the Spider-Man game, listen to the latest podcast episode, play Oscorp Conspiracy Part 3! There’s never a dull moment on the Face Front Blog! Either way, thank you all for being patient with me as I adjust to this new job, and I promise, more great Marvel content is coming! Face Front True Believers, I’ll see you in the Multiverse!
So technically, technically, Spider-Man had the date first. Well, at least they announced it first. Still though, it’s really not a good situation. Both cater to Marvel fans and both demand many hours of our precious time. I mean, what do we do? Stop playing what will probably be the best Spider-Man game ever to watch Iron Fist or vice versa? I don’t think so! And we have to watch Iron Fist because people drop spoilers online! I don’t know, but hey, at least we have something to do while Spider-Man installs…
Part 2 of the Oscorp Conspiracy ends tomorrow! This is your LAST CHANCE to identify the remaining targets on Norman Osborn’s list before he wins!
This is also your last chance to claim the Part 2 Prizes and get on the leaderboard for the Oscorp Conspiracy Mystery Grand Prize! We are the only ones who can stop Oscorp! CLICK HERE to contribute to Part 2 now! People’s lives are at stake!
