ASM17 Spoilers and Review: the Demon Bugle

[Pav]

Hello, Ben Friends! It's that time again: the Dark Web storyline continues, and I'm here to tell you:

This issue is f*@#ing weird.

1) We start the issue with some demons who are essentially roleplaying as Daily Bugle employees. One of the demons is having fun, but the other -- not so much, but all it takes is one punch from Peter to stop the meaner demon from doing any damage. The other demon? Apparently falls in love with "Parker Pete-Man."

2) Inside the Bugle, JJJ is being harassed by his demon employees, who want him to be better at play-acting his role as himself, J. Johnnie John-Man. This running gag about the demons being unable to say people's names correctly is certainly a choice that Zeb Wells has made. Once again, it's the arrival of Peter that prevents any violence, and because he's "been told" what'll happen if they don't, Peter suggests they "get to work" doing whatever fake demon newspeople do at a fake Daily Bugle in Limbo. It's at this point in the story that the demons make Johnman request "tasty pics of Spider-Man, and probably feeling much the same way the reader does, Peter swears that Ben's gonna pay for this.

3) We cut to Ben waiting for Peter, who is (I guess?) walking to his Limbo home. And I gotta say, I don't like the Chasm suit as much when the mask looks more like it has laser-whiskers than when the eyes have more of an emo-y, haphazard dripping kind of look. Anyway, Ben tells Peter this can end -- all Peter has to do is eat the glowy Limbo fruit. Peter isn't stupid even if this issue very much is and isn't going to voluntarily eat the Limbo fruit. He's not going to give up, which Ben would know if he hadn't "lost his mind." Oof. Tough choice of words there, Petey.

4) Elsewhere, some demons are turning themselves into demonic versions of Spidey's worst enemies while Maddie Pryor and Chasm watch from above. Maddie is mostly uninterested in Ben's plans, but she warns him not to forget that her demons are merely on loan.

5) "When have I forgotten anything?" I'll admit: I chuckled.

6) Anyway, Chasm introduces his Insidious Six to Maddie -- the Grave Goblin is the probably the coolest -- and then, all of a sudden, that little demon guy from earlier returns, wearing a Spidey t-shirt and tighty-whities, claiming to be "Parker-Man!" and punching one of the Six. Maddie says what the reader is thinking -- "This... is not a great use of my time," and skedaddles from this issue and over into the X-Men tie-ins, which actually take this Dark Web story pretty seriously and has, y'know, actual emotional depth in its characterization. It's a legitimate shame that Ben isn't allowed the same level of seriousness.

7) Anyway, Ben tells the little demon guy that he's got it backwards: they need villains, not heroes. But the demon escapes, saying that "Parker-Man lives to fight another day!"

8) We then go back to Jonah, who is being sexually harassed by his demonic grooming kit and bed because of course he is. Luckily, Peter arrives to tell Jonah his plan to get them out of Limbo.

9) Back to the little demon guy, who wants to be a hero, and is kicking rocks down the street. His big demon brother notices and agrees to help him / maybe kill him by taking the Spidey t-shirt and mixing it with a little of the Venom symbiote that he got in Venom #13 (apparently). With a little Limbo magic, the now-alive Spidey costume eats/covers the little demon guy.

10) At the Bugle, Jay Jayman puts Peter's plan into action by telling all the Bugle demons how much fun the demons on Earth are having. The demons run off to have Earth fun, and JJJ, Robbie, and Peter-as-Spidey follow them -- until the Insidious Six show up, asking Peter if he's brave enough to face them?

11) *sigh* Sure. Me too, Pete. Me too.

12) Peter gets his butt handed to him quickly. Luckily, he's saved by the appearance of Rek-Rap, the little demon guy who is now a big, buff Spidery-Man Guy! F*@#ing. Weird.

So yeah. In this storyline about the rift between Peter and Ben, we get to the inevitable issue about demons roleplaying as Bugle employees and a hard shift of focus onto an unnamed demon who wants to be a Spider-Man. Personally, I'd have preferred the focus stay on Ben Reilly; y'know, the clone who wants to be a Spider-Man and whose turn towards villain is the whole reason for this event.

I suppose any casual fan might enjoy this issue, but I was left feeling very underwhelmed with the focus of its plot and the even greater shift towards absurdity (widening the tonal gap between the Spidey issues and the X-Men issues).

I chuckled a couple of times. But I need a little more than that, especially when it comes to Ben. His plan here is just... silly.

-Pav, who gives the issue 3.5 out of 10 thwips...

[Webhead]

...that is the actual plot? It sounds like it wouldn't have made the cut for a bad "Web of..." issue.

[Sr. Bungle]

How was ASM 14 a prelude to THIS? I get the attempts to do "Gremlins-esque" humour, but it falls totally flat on its face.

I feel kinda insulted that the destruction of Ben Reilly was just to make him a goofy idiot, more akin to Dastardly than to give him at least some depth.

Baffling.

[Frontier]

I'm tired of Spider-Man needing to constantly get bailed out in his own comic. It gives me bad MSM cartoon/Slott/BND flashbacks.

[Kurolegacy]

Can someone explain to me how it is that in a story about Ben trying to consume Peter’s soul in order to become complete again has given us a character that looks like someone put Venom, Spidercide and a Battletoad into a blender with a Spider-Man suit and then poured in into a Venom mold? It’s like looking into the eyes of madness.

[jwatson]

I feel like this book was written for the artist and the artist showed out. Amazing art, did not move the needle point on the issue at all and definitely filler. On a meta level i guess hell for peter parker is ending up broke and back at the bugle again, a overplayed loop to be sure. I honestly just started busting out laughing on the last page "Rek-Rap" lol. This added nothing to an otherwise good event but there were fun moments.

[jwatson]

How was ASM 14 a prelude to THIS? I get the attempts to do "Gremlins-esque" humour, but it falls totally flat on its face.

I feel kinda insulted that the destruction of Ben Reilly was just to make him a goofy idiot, more akin to Dastardly than to give him at least some depth.

Baffling.

In ASM 14 we see Madelyne giving ben a skull to eat off a tree in limbo. Perhaps they looked like fruit to him or not but i assume they are saying that is what he is basically now trying to offer peter.

eatthefruit.jpg

[CaptainUniverse]

Are...are we viewing the story from Ben's perspective? Everything seems so warped, it almost feels like we are listening to a drunken, strung-out Chasm trying to recount the events surrounding Dark Web rather than actually telling what it was about.

[The Negative Zone]

hoo boy not even Pav had much nice stuff to say.

[jwatson]

Are...are we viewing the story from Ben's perspective? Everything seems so warped, it almost feels like we are listening to a drunken, strung-out Chasm trying to recount the events surrounding Dark Web rather than actually telling what it was about.

That's exactly what it feels like. lol

[Spidey_62]

I personally am glad this story is as weird and "light" as it is, because frankly Spider-Man comics way too often are darker and more dramatic self-serious than they need to be. Ben's whole motivation right now is dumb and the story is pretty much all about that fact in a surprisingly refreshing 'over this crap' 'paper-thin' take on revenge stories lol. Heaven forbid we get a little goofy, maybe instead people would prefer JJJ getting his leg eaten off by demons to give it more seriousness!!

[Huntsman Spider]

I personally am glad this story is as weird and "light" as it is, because frankly Spider-Man comics way too often are darker and more dramatic self-serious than they need to be. Ben's whole motivation right now is dumb and the story is pretty much all about that fact in a surprisingly refreshing 'over this crap' 'paper-thin' take on revenge stories lol. Heaven forbid we get a little goofy, maybe instead people would prefer JJJ getting his leg eaten off by demons to give it more seriousness!!

That would suck, too, and I do see your point there. It's just that playing Ben's mental and psychological disintegration that led to Chasm for comedy instead of tragedy or horror . . . is a bit distasteful for those of us who liked, loved, or at least respected him as a character, to say the least.

[Vegan]

I'm tired of Spider-Man needing to constantly get bailed out in his own comic. It gives me bad MSM cartoon/Slott/BND flashbacks.

Please. A return to a competent Spider-Man who actually saves the day more often than not would do a lot to restore my goodwill to any run. I genuinely don’t understand where the idea of “Spider-Man must lose almost every single fight and be saved constantly in his own book” came from, but I desperately wish it had died on the vine

[Alex_Of_X]

Y'know, one of the inspirations behind the OG Inferno event was a tiny indie flick called Ghostbusters. You even see dudes in proton packs gets wrecked on the page. Dark Web, especially in ASM, is very much drenched in that same vibe--and now we even got our own Slimer!

Rek-Rap. What a concept!

I liked the issue! A cooky break out of jail story, though the jail break is ongoing, so it feels more unfinished than #15&16. Loved Madelyn acting all done with Ben's schtick, while herself unleashing unspeakable torment on Cyke and Havok. (Please read the Dark Web: X-Men #2 lmao)

Also love what's thematically happening with the Insidious Six, Rek-Rap and the bugle demons. Ben's, let's say, corrupting influence tries to whittle down Peter: the Bugle, making carbon copies of his foes. But even then, Peter manages not only to wiggle out of the Bugle situation (with Jolly Jonah's help), but even inspire Rekkie to fanboy over to the side of the angels. Bet Ben's gonna HATE HATE HATE another spider-pretender popping up on his turf.

Also, hmm, what if Peter's example makes the other limbo demons think "Ock and Kraven aren't cool, spidey's cool!" and they'll switch sides and set up a cosplay\spidey fan club thing in Limbo. Would be dope, ngl!

[Matt Rat]

I just don't get how it is Ben has this philosophy people need more villains than heroes....like, not having all of Peter's memories is one thing, but would Peter be this much of a jerk if he didn't have Uncle Ben's love or teachings? Ben comes off as a petulant moody teenager and an even worse man-boy than Pete. At this point, I wouldn't root for either of them in Dark Web. Both are useless.