A Darker Spider-Man
April 15, 2007 | 2 Comments
I am certain that putting Spider-Man back in the black suit was primarily a marketing ply to bring him inline visually with the new Spider-Man 3 film coming out this summer. It can’t help but sell comics if the book on the newsstand looks just like the character on the big screen.
However, I have been pleasantly surprised by how they are playing out this change in the books. First of all, in the wake of Civil War, Aunt May was shot by a sniper hired by the Kingpin. All evidence indicates this bullet will be lethal, but for now she hangs on, in a coma, sustained by life support. He vows to avenge her by all necessary means. In fact, as you can see in the image on the left, he intends to find who is responsible and he “is going to kill them”.
Additionally, Peter Parker decides not to take the pardon offered by new director of S.H.I.E.L.D, Tony Stark/Iron Man. This leaves him as a criminal fugitive in defiance of the Superhero Registration Act. As part of this he remains a member of the New Avengers who are now made up entirely of heroes in a similar situation. Now led by Luke Cage, the New Avengers are made up of Wolverine (Logan), Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew), Iron Fist (Danny Rand), Ronin (unknown), Echo (Maya Lopez; formerly Ronin), and the surprise addition of Doctor Stephen Strange. This is a group who are known far more for street level crime fighting as opposed to global/galactic/cosmic level events. They start right out fighting Elektra and The Hand, but Spider-Man is here to fight the Kingpin’s crew.
This newly formed team is certainly darker, with a much more aggressive take on crime fighting. The US government considers all of them criminals and this combined with their plans, means they will be taking out their aggressions in potentially lethal ways. I would not want to be a street thug in the Marvel Universe with these guys out for vengeance. The image below shows that they are not implying this, but stating it outright.
Al of this leaves us with a Spider-Man who has turned to much darker tactics. His life has taken a dark turn. So… using the black costume as a symbol of his new stance both to fans reading the book and to criminals he will encounter in the Marvel Universe is a nice and accurate touch. Again, the marketing aspect of this change had me a bit hesitant about their decision to make this change, but I’m loving the story lines that are emerging.
Tags: "black suit", "Spider-Man 3", aunt may, avengers, danny rand, dark, doctor strange, echo, elektra, iron fist, iron man, jessica drew, lethal, logan, luke cage, marvel, marvel universe, maya lopez, new avengers, power man, Ronin, shield, spider-man, spider-woman, stephen strange, the hand, tony stark, vengeance, Wolverine
Marvel Tragedy in Wake of Civil War
March 10, 2007 | 6 Comments
Many people predicted either Iron Man (Tony Stark) or Captain America (Steve Rogers) would die in the final throws of Civil War. When the concluding issue #7 came and went with Cap’ surrendering and becoming imprisoned, I believed these two Marvel icons had both dodged death. Shockingly, it came in an epilogue issue of Civil War, Captain America #25 (volume 5). Captain America was assassinated.
Ed Brubaker delivers this tragic event in an equally stunning and touching manor that remains true to the character of Captain America. As Cap’ is being led into the courthouse to be arraigned for his crimes in violation of the Super-Hero Registration Act, he is shot in the back by a sniper. Amazingly, Cap’ spots the sniper before being shot and turns himself into the shot, seemingly protecting the guards escorting him. However, one bullet would not take down this super soldier.
As the crowd scatters, his friend and recent lover Sharon Carter steps from the crowd. She is there working secretly with Nick Fury and Winter Soldier in hopes of avoiding something like this. As she gets to Cap’ we see him shot three times to the stomach from close range. We are left unsure of the shooter at this point. Later we learn Dr. Faustus has manipulated through some sort of hypnotism, Sharon to have pulled the trigger and killed Captain America. When she learns this, Brubaker makes her pain palpable.
Interesting to note in this, is a brief moment of history relating to Captain America. As far as I know, he is one of the first major super heros who was clearly killed, then revived years later. He died in World War 2, but was found by the Avengers frozen in a block of ice. The modern character of Cap’ has repeatedly used this plot point of a man out of time. Since then, it’s almost become a cliche that you can’t really kill anyone for long. The list of characters who have died and been reborn is extensive: Jean Grey, Spider-Man, Hawkeye, Vision, Winter Soldier, Colossus, Elektra, Punisher, Professor X, Angel, Wonder Man, Thor, Human Torch, Captain Marvel, Green Goblin, need I go on? Usually Marvel will wait for a writer change, a major story line, or a big crossover before they come up with some low percentage explanation that allows the revival of a beloved character.
With this death, they haven’t even bothered to wait a week before laying the ground work to bring Steve Rogers back from the dead. In the Civil War: The Initiative one-shot, Brian Michael Bendis delivers a scene where Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew) and Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers) come into conflict. Spider-Woman is still unregistered and opposing the act. Ms. Marvel tries to convince Spider-Woman to take the pardon and come in. The hurt from Cap’s death is clearly still to near the surface for Jessica and she lays the blame square on the shoulders of Tony Stark. It is at the point that Ms. Marvel states that Steve Rogers is not dead. She says: “He’s tucked away safe on The Raft. No one knows. No one. They’re trying to save his life even as we speak.” When asked how this is possible she retorts: “What am I? A super-soldier serum expert? He’s not dead!” However, Marvel has issued this statement: “Comments from Ms. Marvel in this week’s Civil War: The Initiative, which seemed to indicate that Captain America is still alive, and being held prisoner by the Pro-Registration forces may not have been exactly what they seemed on the surface, and events related to those comments will play out in upcoming issues of New Avengers.” I still think this leaves a nice wide opening to resurrect Steve Rogers whenever it is necessary, my prediction, right before the 2009 Captain America movie hits theaters.
But “Captain America” is not in fact dead, Steve Rogers is. With the clear foreshadowing they did in Civil War #7 by having Frank Castle (The Punisher) take Captain America’s mask, most definitely this will be the guy to wear the red, white, and blues real soon. Throughout Civil War, it was shown repeatedly how much Frank respects and admires Steve Rogers. This is a story line with a lot of potential and is destined to stir interesting controversy in the Marvel Universe.
On a final note, I love when comic book events are large enough to gain attention of traditional media reporting, but it is annoying to find out about events like this before you read them. Sadly I had this story spoiled for me less than a day after it happened and my copy of the book had not yet arrived…
Tags: america, angel, captain america, Captain Marvel, carol danvers, civil war, civil war the initiative, colossus, comics, death of captain america, elektra, frank castle, Green Goblin, hawkeye, human torch, initiative, iron man, Jean Grey, jessica drew, Magneto, marvel, ms marvel, Professor X, punisher, spider-man, spider-woman, steve rogers, thor, tony stark, Vision, Winter Soldier, wonder man