Amazing Spider-Man#9 Discussion and Spoilers

[Rosebunse]

I like the idea of a support group like this, but did anyone else feel like Carlie was sort of, well, rude to suggest it like that?

[Miles To Go]

I like the idea of a support group like this, but did anyone else feel like Carlie was sort of, well, rude to suggest it like that?

Carlie has a permanently fused "rude" switch. Large part of what made her so unlikable. It's dialled back considerably compared to how it was before.

[Daniel22]

Super fun issue! I like Spencer introducing a new villain. As much as I've liked his deep cuts I'm excited to see him create some stuff of his own.

I loved the support group stuff. Anyone else who likes the idea should check out "The Loners" if you haven't already. It has Phil Urich in a similar setting.

I'm a big Black Cat fan so seeing her was great. I liked the Queenpin stuff but I'm ok if they are going away from that. I like her and Peter as friends a lot more than enemies so I'll trade the crimelord stuff for that.

I think he missed a chance with the MJ scene. I would have liked her to define herself and her support apart from Peter. I feel she lacks agency of her own mostly and this would was a chance to create some, or at least explore parts of her that exist outside of Peter's direct influence. If he totally defines so much of her character, she stops feeling like a character to me and starts feeling like a device for Peter to influence and react to.

Carlie being back is a plus for me. She has a lot of potential. Her scene didn't strike me as rude. I think she was coming from a place of empathy and genuine concern. Even if it was rough or impolite, I'd be ok with that. People aren't always tactful in real life and having her be a bit abrasive makes her feel more like an actual person. If she always said and did the right thing people wouldn't like that either and she'd be called too perfect. I'll take a layered portrayal any day. Most people do the right thing in the less than ideal way sometimes, things don't come out exactly as we meant them, etc. Seeing this from her (if that's how you interpret the scene) is a plus in my eyes.

Nine issues in and I'm still as excited for the next issue as I was at the start. Spencer is killing it and I hope he stays on for a long while.

[CrimsonEchidna]

Wild speculation: Someone hacks/infiltrates Lookups and gets the names of the various participants, but not the associated heroes (that is, they know Ganke knows someone, but not who). Kind of a mix of Heroes in Crisis and Identity Crisis (loved ones of heroes in danger, don't know who the villain is).

One theory I can throw in there is Carlie could be a mole in the group and still secretly under the effects of the Goblin serum.

[xpyred]

One theory I can throw in there is Carlie could be a mole in the group and still secretly under the effects of the Goblin serum.

What's the endgame then? Carlie already knows Peter's ID so there are plenty of other ways to mess with a spider-man than going after Ganke and MJ.

[Snoop Dogg]

I remember people being prickled by the heroes disliking Peter in #1 before the book was out, and saw people upset at Felicia striking Peter because of Venom Inc.'s ending before this issue was out. Spencer is a supreme continuity cop. There is no reason to doubt him with these things.

Also, the monsters took Tippy-Toe. There's hell to pay.

[Inversed]

One thing I think we could be pretty safe in saying is that the Ragdemon probably won't have anything to do with the Lookouts, since he already knows everything about Peter and doesn't seem to care about the other characters, only him.

I may be overthinking this, but I wonder what Carlie meant when she was talking about everything MJ "lost", she's obviously been though some stuff due to her relationship, but I can't think of anything of worth that she would have lost because of it (at least anything that the either of them would remember)

[nx74205]

What if Carlie is the mystery villian that has been popping up throughout Spencer's run. Its obvious that the villain has a personal dislike of Peter and its not to much of a stretch for that villian to be Carlie all goblin'd up

[Hypestyle]

Wild speculation: Someone hacks/infiltrates Lookups and gets the names of the various participants, but not the associated heroes (that is, they know Ganke knows someone, but not who). Kind of a mix of Heroes in Crisis and Identity Crisis (loved ones of heroes in danger, don't know who the villain is).

... I wonder who is going to die as a result of this. bad news. Especially if Jameson finds out about it.

[Miles To Go]

What if Carlie is the mystery villian that has been popping up throughout Spencer's run. Its obvious that the villain has a personal dislike of Peter and its not to much of a stretch for that villian to be Carlie all goblin'd up

I think it's possible every BND character Spencer reintroduces could be a potential suspect for that demon. It's be incredibly meta to blame everything going wrong on that end as being the fault of someone from that era. There's already been subtle digs at BND dating back to the first issue of Spencer's run when Peter confessed to MJ things had been very "wrong" since their split.

[bob.schoonover]

... I wonder who is going to die as a result of this. bad news. Especially if Jameson finds out about it.

Carlie seems like a reasonable guess - she and Peter dated, so he'd feel pretty bad about her death, but she's not an indispensable part of the book. If you allow me to be a giant killjoy for a minute, MJ is also a possibility (I don't believe this, but it's worth mentioning): one could read Spencer's comment about how adding MJ into his plans really made a lot of things click as "wow, MJ's death as part of the Lookups storyline would be much more epic than Carlie!" Again, I don't really believe that's what'd happen (in my own hypothetical where there is a Lookups-get-infiltrated event).

I think it's possible every BND character Spencer reintroduces could be a potential suspect for that demon. It's be incredibly meta to blame everything going wrong on that end as being the fault of someone from that era. There's already been subtle digs at BND dating back to the first issue of Spencer's run when Peter confessed to MJ things had been very "wrong" since their split.

I like this idea. It's kind of like when Starlin wrote Infinity Abyss and spent a quarter of the book explaining away all of the (in his opinion) out of character Thanos appearances.

It occurs to me that one reason to bring Carlie back would be if the demon is Lily Hollister (a new Demogoblin?). This is more of a half-thought than something fully developed, but one could see her accidentally becoming a demon in the course of trying to un-Goblin herself permanently (or to help cure Carlie after her role in Goblin Nation) and blaming Peter (not really sure how/why she knows Peter's identity, but Goblin-Carlie could have revealed it or something??).

[Prof. Warren]

Another excellent issue. Love the idea of the Look-ups. Also glad to see Carlie back. Didn't see anything the least bit rude about her telling MJ about the Look-ups. Seemed like an empathetic suggestion from a friend.

Has anyone tried to identify all the members in attendance at the meeting? Foggy, Ganke, and Willie Lumpkin are easy but not quite sure about the others.

As others have said, it seems clear that something will eventually go wrong with the Look-ups but we'll have to wait a while to see how it will happen and how it will impact Peter and MJ.

Spencer continues to be on quite a roll with this book. Even coming out bi-weekly I feel like the wait from one issue to the next is too long!

[Kevinroc]

Has anyone tried to identify all the members in attendance at the meeting? Foggy, Ganke, and Willie Lumpkin are easy but not quite sure about the others.

I think I did.

Hey, Carlie's not dead. Imagine that.

The Lookups are...

1: Foggy Nelson
2: Not 100% sure. Wong, maybe?
3: Peggy Rae Burdick (Scott Lang's ex-wife and mother of Cassie Lang.)
4: Ganke Lee
5: Pepper Potts
6: Willie Lumpkin

A shame that Rick Jones is currently dead. He would be all over a group like this.

[Tien Long]

Just finished this issue. I have to say, the most interesting part for me was the Lookups group. I like how it's meant to serve the needs of a very special group within the Marvel universe and in a way answers back all of those complaints that people had against the Spider marriage. Mary Jane couldn't handle that stress, she goes through a lot. We have all seen this before. How could anyone deal with that? Well, the Lookups is one way of dealing with it. Indeed, I loved how this issue was solved in the most Marvel way possible. Anomity is afforded through a combination of Stark Tech and Dr. Strange spells. How cool is that? Plus it was cool to see the participants. I agree with other posters' sentiments, though I'm still wondering who was the sparkly one. Really, are we sure it's Wong?

Still, I share MJ's trepidation. I was skeptical at first hearing about this support group. Felt like the perfect villain set up, no? Seeing that Jarvis runs this, however, gave me a great sense of relief and confidence. Still, the skepticism is there. Even with all of these safeguards in place, there's always that possibility. A villain is bound to find out.

In any case, yeah, I like that MJ is finding out that she isn't the only one dealing with a superhero secret. She isn't alone and for those dealing with stressful, anxious, depressing situations, knowing you aren't alone makes a world of difference. Believe me.

Oh yeah, the Spider-Man/Black Cat Thieves Guide story is cool too, .

[Snoop Dogg]

Really, are we sure it's Wong?

Bald-looking head, formal speech, text applies to him and Stephen perfectly, repaired his friendship with Stephen in Damnation that Nick co-wrote recently, and appears as an apparition because he's not in New York. The end of Damnation left him running the Hotel Inferno casino in Vegas. Since Spencer is a continuity cop who co-wrote that story, he'd most likely remember that little detail and have Wong astral project.