Web of Spider-Man annual #2Issue(s): Web of Spider-Man annual #2 Review/plot: When he wakes up the whole mansion, he's scolded by the New Mutants and told that he needs to experience real life, which Wolfsbane tells him is likely in Manhattan. It's all for a joke, but Magik makes the very real point that Warlock is really being neglected, and that's true both as a student at Xavier's school and as a character. He's generally played as comic relief but at the same time his powers are so vast that he's served as a deus ex machina for several stories, and that's a dangerous combination. This issue doesn't really do anything to address that but i thought it was interesting for Nocenti - Claremont's editor! - to drop that point here. Although i may be over-interpreting it. On a somewhat more serious note, in Manhattan, Spider-Man comes across a bevy of escaped lab animals... ...and he finds a bunch of idealistic young members of the Animal Liberation Front... ...although it's later confirmed that the animals really were being abused. Separately, Warlock arrives in Manhattan and, after some fun at a toy store where it seems Ann Nocenti shops... ...is befriended by a pair of scientists that want to use him to further their experiments. An experiment infuses Warlock with too much energy and so Warlock leaves, trying to find a way to launch himself above the city so that when he dies he doesn't hurt anyone else. But Spider-Man (who gets involved when Warlock turns himself into Godzilla and later King Kong while he's dealing with the infusion)... ...and the scientists fail to notice that Warlock is even on his way to sacrifice himself because they are too wrapped up in their own concerns (the scientists wanting to further their discoveries for personal gain and/or have fun with Warlock and Peter Parker wanting photographs). They all admonish themselves at the end after Warlock seemingly dies, but it turns out that after the explosion he's able to pull himself together. Maybe because it's a simple and self-contained story, but this is much better than Nocenti's previous work as a writer on Spider-Woman, Beauty and the Beast, and Longshot. She does manage to get in some interesting thoughts about animal rights and being self-centered (and maybe the meta-concern about Warlock) but they don't derail the story the way some of her past writings have. And of course this is a fun vehicle for Art Adams to draw Warlock in various forms... ...although he does lose the Sienkiewiczian Warlockness of him at times - his Godzilla form looks more like a pile of scrambled eggs. There is a scene in the story i'm not sure what to make of. I hope you'll forgive me for thinking the above characters that Warlock helps were the Tinkerer and Toy. Old man needing heavy equipment moved and assisted by a very large black guy? Granted Toy would have had to have grown a beard. But it doesn't seem to be them, or at least the MCP doesn't think so, and they don't play any further role in this story. Maybe they are real life characters one of the creators knew, like Nocenti appearing in the toy store? A back-up story with art by Mike Mignola is more the surreal stuff that i expect of Nocenti, but it's also pretty good with a nice insight. It's just a dream, and for your out of context panel of the day here's Aunt May seducing Kingpin (between him and Doctor Octopus, May clearly has something we can't see). But the story is really about all the lies that Peter tells everyone in order to maintain his Spider-Man identity... ...and it continues even after he wakes up. Quality Rating: B Chronological Placement Considerations: This issue is referenced in New Mutants #44; the MCP places it between New Mutants #42-43. For Spider-Man, i've placed it in the same gap as his appearance in Vision and the Scarlet Witch #11, which follows the MCP. References: N/A Crossover: N/A Continuity Insert? N My Reprint: N/A Inbound References (1): showCharacters Appearing: Aunt May, Cannonball, Cypher, J. Jonah Jameson, Magik, Magma, Mary Jane Watson, Mirage (Dani Moonstar), Spider-Man, Warlock, Wolfsbane CommentsInteresting story, but for some reason it really bothers me that Spider-Man looks a heck of a lot skinnier than buff Peter Parker in the last scanned panels there. Posted by: Paul Peterson | May 2, 2018 10:04 PM ...just read a bit closer and realized it appears to have been two different artists, thus the disparity of musculature in Spidey vs. Peter. Guess it’s time to get those glasses I’ve been dreading. Posted by: Paul Peterson | May 2, 2018 10:06 PM It's rather embarrassing to see science whiz Peter Parker claim that san antibiotic like penicillin has anything at all to do with the flu. Posted by: Omar Karindu | May 3, 2018 6:34 AM Yeah, there's no No-Prize that could save Nocenti from this disastrous attempt at Biology. "Well, y'see, I PRETENDED not to know that the flu is caused by a VIRUS, 'coz I don't want people to realize that Spider-Man is actually a total science whiz, OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT SUSPECT THAT I AM REALLY PETER PARKER!!" "So, Jonah, any leads on Spider-Man's real identity?" Posted by: The Transparent Fox | May 3, 2018 12:32 PM Comments are now closed. |
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