Happy 50th: Spider-Man's Best Stories

      I don’t think it is humanly possible to have a great superhero with no great stories, and Spiderman proves this. Not only does he have great stories, but he has countless amounts of them even from the very beginning. There are hundreds of legendary Spidey stories but, just as I did in my previous articles, have only chosen a select few; stories that were critically acclaimed at their time and stories that are just particular favorites of mine. So here they are, 5 renowned stories spanning the Webhead’s 50 years of publication.

Spider-Island

      If everyone is a “Spiderman”, then no one is, including the original. The Jackal, catalyst of the unforgettable clone saga arc, returns to cause even more mischief and mayhem for out friendly neighborhood hero. This time around, the Jackal has somehow created thousands of radioactive spiders, very similar to the one that gave Peter his spider-powers some 50 years earlier. The spiders spread across Manhattan like a deadly virus, infecting every civilian in their path turning everyday men and women into spidermen and spiderwomen creating the phrase: “if everyone is a Spiderman, then no one is.” This distinctively unique story spanned across the entire Marvel Universe affecting almost every hero in New York. An idea that everyone had superpowers was something that had rarely been explored in comics and worked particularly well in Spiderman’s world. Spider-Island may be one of the most recent of the story arcs, but for me, it became an instant classic, an arc that, 20 years down the road, I’m going to remember as a truly great Spiderman story.

The Clone Saga Epic/ The Ben Reilly Epic

     What began as “The Original Clone Saga” with the recreations of the late Gwen Stacy and Peter Parker clone turned into arguably the most confusing, controversial Spiderman stories of all time, but it was just so damn cool. What may have been frustrating for others were wonders for me. Was Peter Parker a clone? For the past 5 years, after seeing him drop his purposively dead “clone’s” body into that smoke stack, had we been viewing the life of a mere clone? Marvel really confused Spidey fans for one of the first times in the characters history. People really didn’t know the truth between Ben Reilly and Peter Parker and neither did they and frantically people didn’t think the writers were too sure of it either. This series did include a diverse group of talented writers and artists, introduced us to a now legendary character in the Scarlet Spider and made sure this was a Spiderman story that no one in their right mind would ever forget… And it probably doesn’t help that I seem to bring it up in every other Spiderman article.

Spider-Man: What We Want From "Amazing 2"

      It appears that The Amazing Spiderman didn’t do as well as some of us hoped it would at the box office. Some people may have just assumed it was going to be bad just because it was a reboot, which led to a negative attitude when they saw the film, resulting in a poor review given by that person, etc. I for one thought the film was really well done, and after looking past all the controversy, the doubts, the dislikes, and the haters it really is a good film. Dark and edgy with some light-hearted, funny moments, but I’m more concerned with where this franchise will go. Considering the majority of the public found more bad things with the movie then good, its up to the writers of the sequel to really step it up and prove the public wrong. I will explore some of the key elements of Spiderman’s rich history that should be introduced in the sequel as well as what I would personally like to see: (some minor spoilers follow)

-       Once we found out that Gwen Stacy would be the love interest of the film instead of Mary Jane we all just assumed we would see her meet her demise atop a familiar bridge at the hands of a familiar foe on a flying glider, but once the movie ended we realized we were mistaken, but that doesn’t mean it wont happen eventually. The film has already established that Norman Osborn will potentially play a substantial role either in the second or third film, which is why I believe that introducing Mary Jane in number 2, will pave way for Gwen’s end, either at the end of 2, or some time in 3. As much as we Spidey fans love us some “love triangles”, we do remember that Spiderman 3 didn’t do a great job with it, which is why if one is attempted in this franchise, maybe they take a different approach at it.

 

-       I couldn’t help but notice that there was no mention of the Daily Bugle. Hell, Jolly Jonah Jameson is almost as recognizable a character as Peter himself. I definitely missed seeing his rude comments and hilarious work environment in the original trilogy so I’m hoping they can somehow work the Daily Bugle into the story of the sequel.

-       One thing that did annoy me a bit about the film was the lack of “untold story” I saw, and how much “told story” I did see. They gave us a sneak peek at the life and disappearance of his parents, but I feel that they may no have given us enough. One thing I will say about this topic is that we need to see a heck of a lot more of the mysteries of his parents come May 2014.

-       Fan reactions weren’t too positive when the look of the costume was released. Now I’m very nostalgic and I’m crazy about the original threads, but even I was able to see some attractiveness to the new suit. Perhaps a little too “retro” for most fan’s taste, which is why I’ve come up with a brilliant solution. Come 2014, Peter will have been Spiderman for quite a while, and maybe in that time he has altered his original designs, perfected them (when I say “perfected” I mean that he could adjust it to look more like the original from back in the day… oohhh).

Happy 50th: Spider-Man's Best Characters

     Peter Parker wouldn’t be the same person he is today if it weren’t for his friends and family and the impact they’ve made on his life. Supporting characters are key when it comes to superheroes and Spiderman has one of the best casts of characters.

“Circle Of Friends”

      In the early issues Peter didn’t have what we would consider “friends”, just witty banters between Flash Thompson. Flash was the bully, the arch-nemesis of Peter Parker but ironically Spiderman’s biggest fan. Liz Allen was the coolest girl in school; completely unattainable by nerds like Peter, yet she was the first girl to fall for him, unfortunately at that point Peter only had eyes for Ms. Brant. Harry Osborn was introduced after Peter graduated high school, but quickly became Flash’s friend before Peter’s. Peter and Harry eventually became roommates, for a little while anyway, with all the expenses paid by Norman Osborn. Gwen Stacy was also introduced in his college days and soon had to compete for Peter’s affections with Mary Jane Watson. Peter and Gwen dated for a while, and just when everyone thought she would become the future Mrs. Parker, she was killed. Long after that, MJ became his new girlfriend, becoming the first member of Peter’s “circle of friends” to discover his secret identity. MJ and Harry, and even Flash are still present in the comics today and Peter has a new girl in his life, Carlie, who recently obtained some new spider-powers thanks to the Spider-Island story arc.

Happy 50th: Spider-Man's Best Villains

       The geniuses of the comic book world (writers, artists, producers and more) have stated that there are two heroes who have the largest and greatest rogue’s galleries: Batman and Spiderman. In his 50 years in the superhero biz, Spiderman has come across a large array of strange, creepy, unique and ultimately timeless villains; villains who have become just about as well-known or recognizable as Spiderman himself. I’ve chosen a select number of rogues based on their popularity, individuality, how much I personally like them and how large their impact were on our hero’s life.

Otto Octavious a.k.a Dr. Octopus

      Doc Ock first appeared in issue #3. He quickly became a fan favorite and soon appeared again, becoming the first villain to make a second appearance. His character is one of the more unusual of the rogues. A bright, scientific mind in control of four, unbreakable mechanical arms, capable of matching all of Spiderman’s acrobatic abilities. Counting all these factors and a lot more I didn’t mention, Doc Ock is definitely one of the best villains, not only in Spiderman’s comics, but in all comics.

Eddie Brock & Cletus Cassidy a.k.a Venom & Carnage

      Venom is the black suit bonded to Eddie Brock making him, what the majority of fans call, their favorite villain. Mainly because of his similarities to Spidey (same powers, similar design etc). Venom is one of the deadliest of foes and always seems to make an appearance in important story arcs. The black symbiote eventually had a red and black offspring that bonded to serial killer Cletus Cassidy, creating Carnage. An even more deadly and ruthless opponent then its “father”, it takes the combined force of Spiderman and Venom to defeat him. The Carnage symbiote even appeared in the “Ben Reilly Saga” after bonding with Reilly to create Spider-Carnage. Venom and Carnage certainly are “the world’s favorite symbiotes.”

Happy 50th: Spider-Man's Best Costumes

      The month of August marks the 50th birthday of the Amazing Spiderman, as you know, one of the coolest superheroes ever created. Here at Doomsday & Beyond, I’ve decided to dedicate August to the Webbed Wonder by stylizing a new website header, changing the background, and most importantly, writing articles focusing on Spidey’s best stories, villains and much more over his 50 years of publication. To start this month off I’ve chosen to examine 5 of Spiderman’s coolest costumes (coolest, my personal favorites or costumes that played intrical parts in Peter Parker’s life). Okay, without further adieu, Spiderman’s best costumes…

“The Old Red And Blues” (The Original Suit)

      No one can argue that Peter Parker had a good taste of fashion. When most try to think of his finest costumes, many overlook the very first one. Classic red and blues, and a web pattern making him the best character to draw. This costume has seen minimal changes throughout the years such as webbing under his arms, a slight change to his spider-logo or his eyes being shaped differently. Most of these changes occurred purely because of different artists drawing the character. But just the fact that Spidey’s original costume has more or less stood the test of time is proof of how ‘amazing’ it is, and apparently still is.

“Back In Black” (The Symbiote Suit)

       Its origin has changed over various forms of media, but the suit itself has remained the same. Originally bonding to Spidey on an alien planet during The Secret Wars Spidey brought this suit back home with him. After using the black suit as his primary costume for a very, very long time, he soon discovered it was a symbiote, alive and slowly taking over his mind. With the help of sonic vibrations Spiderman was able to rid himself of the suit. Soon after though, as we all know, Venom was created. Fans who enjoyed the black suit feared they’d never see it again after it bonded to Eddie Brock, but there were two more replicas made of the suit, not symbiotes, but almost identical in design. The first was designed by Black Cat when she and Spidey were working together and the second by Peter Parker in the storyline ‘Back In Black’. It was just such a good costume. Very simple in design, with a large new spider-logo stretched all around his chest and back at the fact it attempted to take over its host’s mind just makes it that much better.

Have You Read: Ultimate Spider-Man

     Back in the year 2000, Spiderman had been a character in comics for almost 40 years and people, including the hero’s writers, began to notice that the character was aging. He was still “the most relatable hero in comics” and yes, the children who read the comics back in the day have grown up with him, but writers wanted to attract the attention of kids and teenagers of today. One way to do this would be to reboot the character. Problem is, 40 years of the character has sparked a lot of fans and to suddenly change that character and revert him back to his teenage years would be almost insulting to the readers. So Marvel found a way to successfully reboot the superhero while still maintaining him at his current age: create a new universe, separate from the main Marvel world, titled the Ultimate Universe, thus creating “Ultimate Spiderman”.

     Ultimate took a fresh, modern take on the classic character, reverting him back to his origins and redefining other key characters such as MJ, Harry Osborn and many others. But while Spiderman remained the same wisecracking, pure-hearted superhero, most of the changes revolve around Spidey’s villains. Electro is now completely made of electricity, Green Goblin is transformed into a hulk/demon-like monster and Venom’s entire origin relates to Peter’s parents and is not from outer space. New villains and new characters allowed for fresh takes on classic storylines from throughout Spiderman’s history including famous story arcs like The Venom Saga, The Sinister Six and even The Clone Saga. This new universe opened many opportunities for artist Mark Bagley and writer Brian Michael Bendis. Ultimate Spiderman lasted 11 years, ending in June of last year and released 160 issues. Overall, if you are a fan of Spidey and haven’t read the Ultimate books, I recommend you start. It gives you a look back at his origins along with many new twists and turns that keep it different from anything we’ve seen from the character before. Check it out, it’s “Ultimate”.

The Dark Knight Rises- To Epic Proportions

      The Dark Knight Rises may very well be one of the greatest movies I’ve ever seen, but I’m getting ahead of myself. The story was gripping putting Gotham City in the hands of yet another madman, forcing Batman to save it from certain destruction. And the city is certainly in danger this time around and making Batman take to some unlikely allies in order to save it. The score, music and bass add to the intensity and give viewers an excessive amount of goosebumps (or was it just me?) A very big thanks to Hans Zimmer for the chilling sounds.

    Christian Bale’s great portrayal of an older, beaten Bruce Wayne, who must train to comeback to battle one of his greatest enemy Bane, is by far his best performance of the trilogy and only adds to the dramatic and intense moments of the film. On the other hand we have Tom Hardy who also played his role of the “unbeatable” Bane quite nicely, may not have been as intriguing as Ledger’s Joker, was still a great villain who should not be taken for granted mentally and especially physically. Bane’s character is explored deeply, as he was in his initial comic debut, which only added to his appeal on screen. Many believed that Anne Hathaway’s Selina Kyle would “ruin the feel of the film”. While she didn’t necessarily steal the show, her character was interesting, enjoyable to watch of course, and “anti-hero” you can cheer for and above all, a positive addition to the series. John Blake was a well-used addition to the film’s universe. While Bruce Wayne was off doing (well I cant say specifically what without ruining the plot but it was important no doubt) Blake remained in Gotham, dealing the problems closer to home. Blake acts as the “second hero” and the second protagonist that fans will soon enjoy watching and hope comes out victorious.