Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #2 Spoiler Discussion

[Masked Guy]

And don't forget his Avengers run, where Peter does nothing but act creepy, and Spider-Man is a punching bag for heroes and villains alike. Ugh.

Again, I can't say since I didn't read Waid's Avengers run (though I've heard some criticisms about Spidey's portrayal in it).

[Timmyb52]

Ehh... Slott makes him act stupid at times so his plot can work, but it's nowhere near the depths that guys like Zdarsky, Bendis, and Waid have reached with the character.

Yes...I will give you that blackspidey. Slott makes the plot lead the characters and doesn't let the characters lead the plot.However, I still think he writes an immature and moronic Peter just as bad as everyone else does.

[Jekyll]

I think this is another case of the MCU destroying their comics and characters. This comic in particular was timed to be released with Spider-Man Homecoming and be a good jumping on point for fans. How was Peter portrayed in the movie? As a immature teenager......so that is what the movie goers expect to read in the comics. As great as the MCU movies are, and this is just my opinion, their comics are suffering either because of neglect, terrible writing, or trying to force the comic characters to come off as the movie characters.

I am more of a DC guy, obviously, but I love Daredevil and Spider-Man. I have more faithfully followed DD throughout the years as Spider-Man has been a lot harder to jump on with, so I was excited about this new title. But it has been pretty irritating so far.

[jackolover]

Seeing that no one has started this thread...

I'm not good with summaries, so bear with me:

-Issue opens where it left off in the last issue.
-Ironheart says how can Spidey say "she's under arrest"?
-They banter. Spidey wants her autograph.(kill me)
-They fight. They patch up. Peter gets her and Tony A.I. up to date with the Stark-Phone-Hacking situation.
-Then Johnny messages Spidey about Teresa. Spidey wants a lift, is given a lift. More unfunny banter on the ride.
-Peter gets to his apartment. Tells Johnny Teresa is her sister-not-sister CIA agent.
-Johnny meta jokes about Spider-Man being a relatable superhero.(these meta jokes need to stop)
-Teresa tells her story. She says she quit CIA and joined a independent from SHIELD agency named Something Blade.(great memory I have)
-But she find out that this agency isn't all good and is preparing a Project Twilight, to counter superheroes and supervillains.
-She steals the data, tells her friend at SHIELD, Something Blade covers it up, now she's a fugitive, and hence here. Tired and sleeps.
-Peter makes Johnny babysit her and goes for her date with that girl(Yay my memory)
-Unfunny and not charming conversation happens. More meta jokes. Did I say that Peter goes on the date with full Spidey gear and a coat? Spidey tells how his superheroics puts family members/girlfriends in dangers. The girl comments how her being with actual Spider-Man would be more dangerous. [sarcasm]HA HA![/sarcasm]
-Ironheart call Spidey. Tells she traced the area of the phone where they have been(I didn't really paid much attention to that). Bla Bla Bla! Kingpin has something to do with it.
-At the apartment, Teresa is looking at Peter's photo frames, then takes out the photo of Richard, Mary and baby Peter at hospital.
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This was bad. Even with low expectation after the first issue. Didn't like it at all.

You didn't say that Torch left Teresa with Karnak for security. Or, that Peter was collecting super hero autographs for Normie Osborn, (whose mother is Liz Osborn née Allen), and, Teresa picked up a picture of Pete and Liz Allen.

Maybe it's a little early that Teresa and Kingpin remember Spider-Man is Peter Parker, but I love this story on a number of levels, but mostly that Peter relates to an actual sibling at last. And Teresa has never met Aunt May yet! Well, that's all just hoping Teresa is Petes sister, because we haven't learnt the DNA testing results on that coffee cup in Family Business.

And another thing. I didn't know you could resign from the CIA. I thought they carried you out in a body back when you quit. Maybe the CIA have some interchange deal with SHIELD, where they transfer agents between the organisations?

[jackolover]

Personally, I liked Rebecca, she's kinda singular in comparison to Peter's other love interests. It's just the story for now that doesn't sound compeling at all. Family Business was a great story and I'm glad to see Teressa again, but I hope things get a little less about "funny" and more about "story".

Anyway, aren't Grey Blade that guys for who Black Widow "stole" info about the spider sense?

In a minor note, I kinda miss when Spidey knew kung fu (one of the good changes of Slott that wasn't carried to other writers).

I don't know why but I'm suspicious Rebecca is from the Grey Blade.

And yes, Widow did give that info on how to neutralise Spider sense warnings, so it was to kill Spider-Man. That's why Agent Mintz laughed about Widow coming for them, because they would be coming for her instead.

[jackolover]

But Marvel has never isolated its heroes. Right from the start, it heavily played into its shared universe.

As for this current vol. of PP:TSSM, having Johnny in the book is welcome as far as I'm concerned. It's been too long since Peter and Johnny have had extended quality time together in a book. Johnny could become a regular cast member and I'd be ok with that. And having Ironheart appear in connection to a larger mystery seems like fair game. It's not like she's crowding anyone else out. And Rebecca gets a lot of space devoted to her in this issue so it's not like it's all about Spider-Man and his superhero chums. What I wanted most out of this book was to see a focus on Peter's supporting cast and his regular life. While it hasn't been that yet, I do feel like Rebecca is a positive move in that direction.

I also feel like this book is going to be treading water somewhat until SE finishes and Slott can start implementing his status quo changes in ASM. I might jump off and come back when Legacy begins.

Well I've never seen Spider-Man go out on a date with a comedien in his costume. That's diamonds already. I think if she isnt Grey Blade, that Rebecca will just be comic relief material in this book. I don't think you could get serious with a comedien as a partner. It may smarten up Spideys act!

[jackolover]

Haha, yeah that was actually a cool moment. Not sure how canon Spectacular is with the rest of the MU, but it does mean that Peter going back to the Bugle in ASM is now going to be even more boring and pointless though, if Jonah is of doing a blog. Then again, Zdarsky plays so fast and loose with continuity that ts blog may never be brought up again.

Spectacular is before Secret Empire as stated by the editor in the book. So Torch is in the Uncanny Avengers, and Karnak is still floating around Inhuman HQ after Ulysses. Also, Sam is still in his Cap uniform with the shield, so there are enough references about the pre-SE universe.

[jackolover]

Think we once had a mature and married Peter

This hurt my eyes

The Marvel icon acting like a fanboy around a nobody like Riri ,its a button of everything wrong with current Marvel

Wasn't Peter made into a bachelor in Brand New Day, having never married, and stayed a man-child his whole life waking up on his Aunts couch? That's what we have had to deal with since that debarkle.

[jackolover]

And cursed him into be a real BAD player. Before Rebecca, I can't remember the last time a girl got instantly smitten by him (or Spider-man, whatever).

She's a comedien. Pete was riffing with the jokes, and that is Rebecca's gig, so no wonder.

[jackolover]

This pretty much sums up why I have been down on not just Spidey but most of Marvel the last few years: where is the heroic stance and respect these characters should generate? I am pretty tired of Spidey being portrayed as little more than a court jester who needs help to defeat B-list villains; it seems like it has been forever that we have had a story that showcases Peter's heart and never-say-die spirit that used to be at the core of his character.

I can see writers reflecting the strong relationships that super heroes have formed in the ANAD and before, so Marvel had to continue the trend into Secret Empire so they could tear all those relationships to shreds later. But right now, they really had no choice but have Peter count on Johnny, Toni/Riri, Ant-Man, and Karnak. Super heroes were immersed in relationships by Secret Empire.

[jackolover]

I think it's fun, but a bit dopey.

The art is generally nice.

The storytelling is a bit flawed. When I read the first issue, I though the point of the scene in Chicago was that Peter tracked down someone who hacked his tech, and found a new supervillain who had been using the Iron Man armor, so the appearance of Ironheart in the second issue threw me a bit.

I didn't even recognise that that was an Iron Man armour. I thought it was someone like the Shocker updated. The second issue said it was Iron Heart so I looked back, but the art was far too vague.

I totally don't understand how to read this series! The tone - the tone! How can one writer manage to have so many exclamation marks on one page!

The exclamation marks really explain the entire series to me. It feels way too heightened to be realistic and it seems like a parody of Spider-Man - I actually find some of the lame humour quite funny, but it doesn't feel in any sense of form naturalistic. I mean, the problem was on the first page of issue #1 I read Johnny's voice to be deadpan, no emotions, and all the scripts actually benefit (at least for me) reading every character as flatly as possible as it seems to fit Zdarsky's style, which is way too on the nose. The comic would benefit from half of the jokes being removed as it makes Peter seem like a series of memes instead of a person.

Turn to any Silver Age comics. Every damn sentence ended in "!", so these days are less excitable.

[FrogMan]

You didn't laugh at the barista's response to Spider-Man saying he saved New York City "Same here, I used to be in the New Warriors"?

Am I the only one that read this panel and thought "Hey, is that Hindsight Lad?" Makes the joke even funnier if it is, and that guy does look like he could be Carlton.