ASM 91 & Devil's Reign: Spider-Man Review and Spoilers

[Pav]

Waiting for Pav reviews

I'm glad you enjoy walking through the Beyond arc together!

Pav is usually a glass-half-full guy, but I think even he will have a difficult time concealing his disappointment.

Y'know, I don't really think it's about optimism or pessimism. Believe me, I share many of the same concerns about Ben's treatment -- past, present, and future. I guess I just allow myself to enjoy the ride. Say what you will about any particular issue; I try to enjoy the experience of reading it. Once this arc is done, I'll likely go back and read it from start to finish, and at that point you'll probably see posts where I'm more critical -- it's what happened with both Ben and Kaine's Scarlet Spider solos: enjoy the ride, then go back and really take a look at it critically.

*shrugs*

Anyway.

LET'S ENJOY SOME BEN REILLY COMIC BOOKS!!!

First, Amazing Spider-Man 91

1) Nothing special about the cover, other than its focus on the dread that is Door Z! What do we think "Z" stands for, hmm?

2) We start the issue back with Peter and Ben, who is narrating -- and things are not good. He's having trouble keeping track of his thoughts. Peter expresses how badly he needs Ben's help -- after all, there's like a Squid-Guy and Flower Fart People and some Monster Kitties and all other manner of weird enemies attacking!!! Together they're able to web up a lot of the baddies, and we get some fun back and forth between the two, which is always something I've enjoyed.

3) Peter's ready to listen to Ben's plan, but, umm... well, all of a sudden Ben sees the Scary Nothing Face of Beyond on Peter's mask. Ben pulls off his mask to throw up, and Pete spots a little Monster Kitten who got loose -- and then many, many more.

4) Meanwhile, Maxine Danger is monitoring the situation from her office. She tells her lackey to ready both the recovery team and the wet-works team, and yes, she is of course the one who set loose all the weird creatures that Ben and Peter had to deal with. Her last comment? If they open Door Z, it's going to change everything.

5) Back to Peter (being attacked) and Ben (freaking out). Lamenting what's happening to his mind, Ben decides that he cannot allow himself to be a victim of Beyond's scheming. He's going to fix everything -- starting with helping Peter with the Monster Kitties.

6) "Thanks. You okay?" -- "Not really."

7) The next lines really indicate that Peter doesn't really grasp what is happening to Ben's mind, which is kinda sad. Also, with Ben and Peter swinging side-by-side, I'm reminded that Ben always has the cooler costume!

8) Peter and Ben are ready to go on the offensive, but Ben once again sees the Beyond Loss, this time in his hands -- and now he's falling!

9) Luckily, Peter is there to web him up.

10) Luckily, Colleen Wing and Misty Knight burst through the ceiling! They're here to help -- ostensibly for Beyond, but they want to know what's really going on. But they're immediately admonished by both Ben and Peter, who would've preferred there not be an easy route of escape via the new whole in the ceiling for all the crazy monster things!

11) Pretty much every problem in this issue is solved by webbing it up. Go back and check for yourself!

12) WEIRD MONSTER FIGHT MONTAGE!

13) And, oh hey! It's Janine. She's in a random motel in NJ, waiting for Ben to text -- but she's done waiting. And here, we get the line that makes me think she's safe from being killed off: "I'm no damn damsel." Hopefully, Janine is being put into a position to help Ben when the time comes.

14) Back on Staten Island, Ben has slipped away and hacked into a Beyond computer. Before he can find what he needs, Maxine's hologram appears, telling Ben it's not too late for him to work things out. Ben, of course, balks! She's a villain! And as such, she threatens to open Door Z.

15) But INSTEAD, BEN OPENS DOOR Z AND TELLS MAXINE HE'S COMING FOR HER.

16) "You ever have that feeling... like you just made a choice that's gonna define you forever? It's a very specific kind of feeling. It all feels familiar somehow... but in a way I no longer understand." Uh-oh. It sure seems like they're setting up a new "Uncle Ben" moment for Mr. Reilly, as many have speculated. Maybe Janine isn't so safe? But if not her, who else could it be? What would have the same kind of effect as Peter losing Uncle Ben?

17) Ben leaves Peter and the Daughters of the Dragon to deal with Door Z while he attempts to go after Maxine Danger.

18) And what was behind Door Z? A very, very, very monstrous Lizard!!! TO BE CONTINUED.

Wow. I can't help but wonder whether or not Ben will be healed by the end of this story. I can't help but think that this new Lizard is Marcus. Oh, and the wet works team? Will that be the Slingers? Will we see them at all in this story? Will all of the subplots be addressed? Or will the Many-Headed Writing Team fail to provide a cohesive conclusion?

I dunno! Let's re-read Devil's Reign: Spider-Man.

1) Glad this was a one-shot instead of a miniseries. It's harmless fun, but I think it'd have been pretty boring if stretched across three issues.

2) Cover -- Ben's costume looks cool. The Rose's costume looks dumb because it always looks dumb.

3) We start with Marcus looking for Ben at a police precinct, but Ben's no longer there: he was rescued by the Human Torch and the Thing! What pals!

4) But hey! Ben gets caught again! Immediately! Oh, and we get some very traditional villain narration boxes in which the Rose says, "You can't detain the spider. You must kill it like the pest it is!" The Rose is very high on himself and his abilities.

5) The Rose's "exceptional foresight" demands that Marcus be kidnapped after leaving the police.

6) Back with Ben, who's riding in the back of a van at gunpoint. Luckily, the dude holding the very big gun talks too much and reveals he's not with the police! He's a criminal! And so, he gets his teeth kicked in while Ben escapes from the van!

7) Ben's hands are tied and there's an inhibitor collar negating his powers. Luckily, he does have a very big gun!

8) At Beyond HQ, Janine hasn't yet decided that Beyond is an evil corporation, so she's watching the news and is concerned for Ben. At that moment, he appears and asks to be buzzed in.

9) Back to the Rose, who is monologuing like a madman. Unfortunately, his plan to kill Spidey is thwarted when he's informed Ben got away. The Rose shoots at his henchmen and purposefully misses(?), telling them to get lost.

10) And back to Ben again, who is being patched up by a Beyond doctor, who agrees with Janine that Ben should get some rest. Maxine Danger, on the other hand, wants Ben to suit up! And then the Daughters of the Dragon show up to help, informing Ben of Marcus' disappearance.

11) Marcus, meanwhile, is being held captive by the Rose, who is doing a very poor job of getting information out of him. And so, trying to think outside of the box, the Rose calls in a tip to the police about Spider-Man's whereabouts.

12) Ben's going to save Marcus! But: "Why every Spider-Man insists on web-swinging with broken ribs all the time is beyond me."

13) A bunch of the Rose's goons have a heavier-set Spider-Man held at gunpoint! Ben arrives and does some truly impressive Spider-Manning only to find that the silenced Fake Spidey is Marcus! And just in the nick of time, Ben pulls Marcus out of the way of the Big Laser Gun Thing!

14) "Technically, I don't think we've been formally introduced...'

15) The Rose successfully takes down Ben by electrocuting him and Marcus. Then he successfully monologues about his goals, giving Marcus time to attack the Rose!!!

16) We end the issue with Ben and Marcus cementing their friendship, and the police happy to re-capture Spider-Man... only to realize it's their Mayor's son, The Rose. THE END.

A fun rump, if a little uneventful. But I thought the story was saved by Ben looking awesome in his fight scenes and the focus on Ben and Marcus' relationship at the end. The Rose was pretty lame, I thought. So full of hot air as to be ridiculous. But hey! Not every villain can be a Vampire-Lizard Giant Monster!

As always, I look forward to your comments on this week's issues!

-Pav, who had quite a busy day yesterday...

[HypnoHustler]

Nice write-up as always. Saying you're glass-half-full isn't a putdown, by the way. I think seeing the bright side of things is an admirable quality (one which I could probably use more of). You should give letter or number grades in your reviews though!

[Kanos]

I really like your reviews, thanks.
I didn't like the ASM 91, but I lowered my expectations and was not disappointed. I advise you to do the same before the release of ASM 92, but I think it will be better, ASM 93 should also be better. I loved the beginning of Ben and Marcus friendship in Devil Reign, I love it when Ben makes friends.

[Matt Rat]

I really like your reviews, thanks.
I didn't like the ASM 91, but I lowered my expectations and was not disappointed. I advise you to do the same before the release of ASM 92, but I think it will be better, ASM 93 should also be better. I loved the beginning of Ben and Marcus friendship in Devil Reign, I love it when Ben makes friends.

I've had my expectations considerably lowered since Beyond started and despite that I still found this issue a load of crap. Mileage varies.

[Kanos]

I've had my expectations considerably lowered since Beyond started and despite that I still found this issue a load of crap. Mileage varies.

I think so too, but I lowered my expectations even more because this issue was written by Kelly Thompson. She's a great writer, I love her comics, but she failed to write interesting Spider-Man comics in the Beyond era. I think if she had a solo Spider-Man story, she would do a lot better.

[Sr. Bungle]

16) "You ever have that feeling... like you just made a choice that's gonna define you forever? It's a very specific kind of feeling. It all feels familiar somehow... but in a way I no longer understand." Uh-oh. It sure seems like they're setting up a new "Uncle Ben" moment for Mr. Reilly, as many have speculated. Maybe Janine isn't so safe? But if not her, who else could it be? What would have the same kind of effect as Peter losing Uncle Ben?

It could be poor Marcus

[HypnoHustler]

It could be poor Marcus

I still don’t care for him. He still strikes me as a bit of a Beyond toady. Seems he’s Ben’s good friend after the Devil’s Reign one-shot though. Yeah, I agree that due to current year the odds are higher for him getting offed than Janine (‘fridging’ male supporting characters is still acceptable while ‘fridging’ females isn’t is just one more double-standard in comics nowadays).

[Sr. Bungle]

I still don’t care for him. He still strikes me as a bit of a Beyond toady. Seems he’s Ben’s good friend after the Devil’s Reign one-shot though. Yeah, I agree that due to current year the odds are higher for him getting offed than Janine (‘fridging’ male supporting characters is still acceptable while ‘fridging’ females isn’t is just one more double-standard in comics nowadays).

Current politics aside, if someone is going to die I'd rather it be Marcus than Janine

[Pav]

Nice write-up as always. Saying you're glass-half-full isn't a putdown, by the way. I think seeing the bright side of things is an admirable quality (one which I could probably use more of). You should give letter or number grades in your reviews though!

I don't even like having to give grades to my students, let alone the comics I read! hahaha

Just assume every comic in the future has been graded as "fun" until I read something so unfortunate that I can't enjoy myself

Current politics aside, if someone is going to die I'd rather it be Marcus than Janine

Same. No offense to Marcus -- I think he has the makings of a potentially rich character with depth, especially after seeing him toughen up a bit in DR: SM this week -- but I think most Ben fans have a stronger attachment to Janine and would hate to see her killed. That being said, I could see writers wanting Ben to be "free" of any "continuity baggage" so that they can create new romantic interests for Ben.

-Pav, who wouldn't be sad if Ben and Firestar got together...

[Sr. Bungle]

I don't even like having to give grades to my students, let alone the comics I read! hahaha

Just assume every comic in the future has been graded as "fun" until I read something so unfortunate that I can't enjoy myself





Same. No offense to Marcus -- I think he has the makings of a potentially rich character with depth, especially after seeing him toughen up a bit in DR: SM this week -- but I think most Ben fans have a stronger attachment to Janine and would hate to see her killed. That being said, I could see writers wanting Ben to be "free" of any "continuity baggage" so that they can create new romantic interests for Ben.

-Pav, who wouldn't be sad if Ben and Firestar got together...

Or, Janine could leave Ben seeing that he turned heel on Peter or something and that would serve both as a "Great power" moment and accomplsih the task of Ben being single again, if that's the route they're going for

[Matt Rat]

Same. No offense to Marcus -- I think he has the makings of a potentially rich character with depth, especially after seeing him toughen up a bit in DR: SM this week -- but I think most Ben fans have a stronger attachment to Janine and would hate to see her killed. That being said, I could see writers wanting Ben to be "free" of any "continuity baggage" so that they can create new romantic interests for Ben.

As a Clone Saga reader growing up, I think Ben had a pretty solid love harem, Jessica the Burgler's daughter had a lot of potential to go somewhere, the concept was eventually adapted for Black Cat in the Spectacular Spider-Man animated series as well. There was also Delilah, Rose's assistant. She was chiefly a Spidey antagonist, but I wonder how that would have worked out.

[Malachi]

I'm glad you enjoy walking through the Beyond arc together!



Y'know, I don't really think it's about optimism or pessimism. Believe me, I share many of the same concerns about Ben's treatment -- past, present, and future. I guess I just allow myself to enjoy the ride. Say what you will about any particular issue; I try to enjoy the experience of reading it. Once this arc is done, I'll likely go back and read it from start to finish, and at that point you'll probably see posts where I'm more critical -- it's what happened with both Ben and Kaine's Scarlet Spider solos: enjoy the ride, then go back and really take a look at it critically.

I remenber your reviews about Bens solo used to aggravate me. Partly because I hated that direction and Marvels doubling down on Slotts car crash. Part because you where so positive. In text that can be hard to relate to. In a meeting it’s easier to gauge and adjust your reaction and understanding of it.

I always relate better to someone who sees some good and some bad. Few works I really like enough that I can’t find obvious faults with them. And vice versa.

On to ASM 91.

Janine looks to be in trouble, let’s hope it’s just a red herring. Though it makes sense to bring her back, build her up to sacrifice her. What gives me hope is that it would look bad and Marvel has hopefully understood that these days.
I like having Janine back. Ben works better with her. Witch makes me a bit scared when it comes to Marvel and their reasoning.

Door Z better be about more then just one creature. It seemed that opening it would unleash something beyond just an experiment. That it would be more of opening a gate to a dimension or some forbidden knowledge. Those types of situations. Marcus or no Marcus.

Daughters of the dragon feels some random. There are no clear reason for them to be here beyond their loose affiliation to begin with. At worst they just don’t distract they rob us of more meaningful scenes like Ben and Peter. Still it’s hard to be mad or feel much at all. I am very neutral to them as characters.

I wish they would have explored Ben being a hero more and not this damaged version. It feels very transitional and we don’t know where it leads.

Art was ok for me. Ben looked good in his suit and blonde hair. Damn your realize how much you have missed that dye job when reading these comics.

I really like KT. She is a good writer but her voice feels like it hasn’t gelled yet with these characters and more so with the style. Writing Spider-man is hard in many ways. For me you have to find the right sort of voice when it comes to the jokes. That is an important part of the package.

I say a 4/10. Very forgettable.

[Malachi]

As a Clone Saga reader growing up, I think Ben had a pretty solid love harem, Jessica the Burgler's daughter had a lot of potential to go somewhere, the concept was eventually adapted for Black Cat in the Spectacular Spider-Man animated series as well. There was also Delilah, Rose's assistant. She was chiefly a Spidey antagonist, but I wonder how that would have worked out.

Don’t forget Desiree! The blonde model. She was just becoming interesting right before they ended Bens run.

[Huntsman Spider]

Don’t forget Desiree! The blonde model. She was just becoming interesting right before they ended Bens run.

If we're gonna be talking about Ben's love life in the 90s, there's also Joystick, to be his Black Cat, since her major thing was being an amoral thrill-seeker and adrenaline chaser even worse than how Black Cat started out. That said, having read both issues, while Devil's Reign: Spider-Man was the stronger of the two by far, I still found things to enjoy about ASM 91, mainly the banter between Peter and Ben as they were finally on the same page for the first time in years --- and as allies and brothers instead of enemies, no less. Shame about Ben still kind of losing his mind, but that does seem to set the stage for the Beyond double-sized finale . . . which I am also hoping doesn't kill off Janine, though for all we know, it could very well be Marcus who ends up biting it, even more so if Maxine had him turned into that mutated Lizard-vampire hybrid and he dies in the course of fighting Peter, Misty, and Colleen. Would be rather tragic as well, given Devil's Reign: Spider-Man bringing Ben and Marcus closer together as possible actual friends.

[HypnoHustler]

Don’t forget Desiree! The blonde model. She was just becoming interesting right before they ended Bens run.

Ben also had a fling with Betty Brant of all people. You’d think Betty would catch on to how similar he was to Peter up close like that.