Spider-Man: The Other - New Powers Revealed
February 14, 2006 | 9 Comments
In the first Spider-Man crossover since the dreadful clone era stuff of the late ’90s, came January’s conclusion of Spider-Man: The Other.
This 12-part series saw the death and rebirth of Peter Parker. Apparently this followed under some previously unknown ability for spiders to shed their skin once in a lifetime to be reborn anew. Initially the series starts with Peter coming to terms with certain death from an incurable illness. He visits all his major contacts in the Marvel Universe, finally coming up short.
After coming to terms with his assured demise, he finds himself in an amazing fight with Morlun. This ends with Spider-Man in critical condition, at which point Morlun leaves him to die, but not before ripping out his left eye and eating it.
Spider-Man is rushed to the hospital, but his injuries are too severe. A few altercations follow, but I’ll omit the details here… In short, he dies. The death is very well played out. The emotions Mary Jane, Aunt May, and the Avengers as a whole play out is touching. However, this is all happening in like issues 7 & 8 of a known 12-part series with the tag-line “Evolve or Die”. So, with that in mind I’m not sure how they think readers can actually feel as though we’ve lost Peter…
Anyway, he is reborn. All injuries are healed. He’s back to normal, the Peter we know and love. Though there is some lingering oddness, back-story, and twists sure to be played out over the next few years in the Spider-Man series.
The main piece that is sure have long lasting effects in the Spider-Man books, is the unlocking of latent new powers! Spider-Man’s set of powers have more or less gone untouched since his origin in 1962. Certainly nothing as drastic as these changes have occurred.
These are the powers he has discovered so far:
- See in the dark
- Stickiness all over (like he previously had only on his hands)
- “Hear” along his web
- Spikes in his wrists
Apparently in the next issue of Amazing Spider-Man we can expect a new suit revelation, though I’m certain it will not last. For more on the new costume from an article in Newsarama that quotes J. Michael Straczynski:
Between the physical changes to Peter that follow the aftermath of The Other, he gets a second power upgrade courtesy of the ‘Iron Spider’ suit from Stark. What he will discover is that with great power comes not just responsibility but one heck of a price tag. Peter will have to decide if he can pay that price in loyalty to Tony, when the loyalty may cost him things he holds dearest. He will find himself caught in the middle of the Civil War, seeing all sides of the argument, but will be eventually forced to make a decision that will change both his life and the whole Marvel Universes.
One thing is for sure, it’s an exciting time to be a Spider-Man fan!
Tags: avengers, comic, comic book, comic books, comics, costume, iron man, marvel, marvel comics, new avengers, new costume, other, peter parker, powers, spider, spider-man, spiderman, stark, super powers, the other, tony stark
Ultimate Iron Man
February 7, 2006 | 2 Comments
When I found out Orson Scott Card was writing Ultimate Iron Man, I had to check it out.
Card is without compare my favorite author. His portrayal of children as intelligent full characters captured me at a young age. Many other authors leave children as one-dimensional after thoughts. Used to build character of others, but with none of their own. In fact, his character development is fantastic all around.
Anyway, it was no surprise that Card decided to begin his Ultimate Iron Man series with Tony Stark as a child. Stark was always just a rich snob with a fancy suit to me. Card made him a gifted child with unique abilities. This portrayal of Iron Man made him have neural tissue distributed throughout his body, not just in his head, giving him the advantage of great intellect, but this was coupled with suffering. His entire body hurt constantly, like having second degree burns all over.
Card take Stark through to early adulthood when he gets his first taste of alcohol, setting the ground work for his alcoholism. Apparently, the distributed neural tissue greatly enhances the effects and adds some relief to the constant pain. I’m a bit uncomfortable with this justification of his alcoholism…
Anyway I look at it though, this is the first time Iron Man has ever been made interesting to me. This series gets two thumbs up from me.
Tags: alcohol, alcoholism, card, comic, comics, iron man, ironman, marvel, orson scott card, stark, tony stark, ultimate, ultimate iron man, ultimates
A New Spider-Man Costume
January 16, 2006 | 13 Comments
Marvel is showing a new Spider-Man costume on their site. This red and yellow suit looks far more like the Iron Man colors than the more common red and blue or even black that Peter has donned in the past.
Apparently coming out of the major events of The Other (not yet concluded), Spider-Man will be gaining new powers and Tony Stark (Iron Man) has designed him a new costume. Peter has been getting a lot of assistance from Stark over the last few months. His house was destroyed and May and Mary Jane are all living in the Avengers tower with Peter. He’s always been very independent, but this growing reliance on Stark is a major departure for him.
Some interesting tidbits from the Marvel article:
Peter recieves this new costume to help him adjust to his newest developments, as well as giving him some added muscle! [...]
Every “gift” has its cost, and this new look for Spidey will signal the beginnings of change, especially as it comes on the eve of the upcoming Civil War. [...] how much in debt is Peter’s loyalty to Tony Stark going to cost him in the long run?
I guess I’ll know more in February when Amazing Spider-Man #529 arrives and this new costume is revealed in it’s entirety. Between new powers which will be revealed this week and the new costume next month, I’m salivating for my comics to arrive. I partially hope Peter says no to this, or requests a redesign or something. Don’t get me wrong, I think it looks cool, but yellow?!?
Tags: amazing spider-man, blue and red, comic, comic book, comic books, comics, costume, iron man, marvel, new costume, parker, peter parker, spider-man, spiderman, stark, the other, tony stark, yellow, yellow and red