This year marks Your Friendly Neighborhood's Spider-Man's 50th birthday. 50 year o' webslinging, he looks good for his age.
So this month the metaplot begins called "Ends of the Earth", the infamous legendary and rotund Dr. Octopus is about to die* and he wants to go out with a bang, so he carries out his Master Plan(TM)
Stop global warming! He's gonna save the Earth.
*Let's pretend itsa real death, its no fun if we dont.
So in order for Doc Ock's death to be epic it has to have some long term effects, but Marvel is notorious for ruthlessly imposing the status quo.
Does anyone think that marvel can give a fitting farwell to one of Spider-Man's maybe even Marvel's greatest villains? Or is that status quo so great its even a match for the genius for Dr. Octopus?
Of course this assume I am not the only Spider-Man fan here.
After the whole demon deal thing, I stopped following. There's a point for retcon and then there's too much retconning. I actually liked the concepts behind Spider-Girl, and frankly she should've become mainstream with the teenage angst being focused on her if they wanted a "soft reboot."
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I recently finished the main story arc of EotE, and here are my thoughts:
The story wasn't bad, but it just didn't feel like a Spider-Man story to me.
First, making new armor and relying on his various gadgets felt like an Iron Man or even old Batman plot. I mean, it fits Peter's personality somewhat, but I don't know... I guess I'd rather see Spidey win through web slinging, acrobatics, and quick in-battle thinking. Speaking of which, I don't even remember him doing any web swinging. They were flying around in that invisible jet the whole time (which was a terrible idea, by the way).
Then, some of the issues seemed a bit repetitive - find missile base, fight bad guy, repeat. Maybe I'm misremembering, but that sequence felt like it lasted 3 issues, which is 2 issues too long.
Also, the scope was too grand for me. I think Spider-Man is at his best when he's fighting specifically to save a person he cares about. Saving the world? I'd rather leave those plots to the Avengers, who made an appearance, but seemed fairly worthless. Yeah, I guess he was fighting for Mary Jane, but she was on like 2 pages out of 6 issues. As an aside, I hope they don't get back together.
I liked the team-up with Silver Sable, so I certainly didn't like her "death" at the end. I haven't read the follow-up Avenging Spider-Man issue, though. Since that issue features Sable on the cover, I suspect she's not really dead.
Speaking of the end, was it just me or was that anti-climatic? Spider-Man is stuck in Doc Oc's arms, and he's not strong enough to break out. Then all of a sudden without explanation, he IS strong enough to break out. This is where he should have used his wits and web shooters, rather than brute strength.
Heh. After typing all that, I guess I disliked a lot about that story. It had lots of entertaining action throughout, so it never really felt boring, except at the repetitive parts, but it was definitely not the best Spidey event I've read.
By the way, I did expect Doc to die. I thought he might upload his intelligence in the satellite array or something, but I did think his body would finally fail.
Oh, and I really disagree about One More Day/Brand New Day. The retcon itself might have been done in a fairly stupid way, but the stories that followed after have been fantastic for the most part. "Ends of the Earth" may be a low point for me, but the series is still going strong thanks in part to what that retcon has allowed.
I mostly liked it although I don't recall when The Rhino became a monologuing nihilist. It was really nice to see Doc Ock use his demented mind to achieve some success. Although it would be nice to read a Spider-Man comic in which he doesn't get sent a guilt trip. Is it impossible to feel a sense of responsibility without feeling guilty whenever someone half-way around the world stubs their toe?
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So this month the metaplot begins called "Ends of the Earth", the infamous legendary and rotund Dr. Octopus is about to die* and he wants to go out with a bang, so he carries out his Master Plan(TM)
*Let's pretend itsa real death, its no fun if we dont.
So in order for Doc Ock's death to be epic it has to have some long term effects, but Marvel is notorious for ruthlessly imposing the status quo.
Does anyone think that marvel can give a fitting farwell to one of Spider-Man's maybe even Marvel's greatest villains? Or is that status quo so great its even a match for the genius for Dr. Octopus?
Of course this assume I am not the only Spider-Man fan here.
Control is the ultimate expression of power.
Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.
Individualities may form communities, but it is institutions alone that can create a nation.
Nothing succeeds like the appearance of success.
Here is my principle: Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle.
The story wasn't bad, but it just didn't feel like a Spider-Man story to me.
First, making new armor and relying on his various gadgets felt like an Iron Man or even old Batman plot. I mean, it fits Peter's personality somewhat, but I don't know... I guess I'd rather see Spidey win through web slinging, acrobatics, and quick in-battle thinking. Speaking of which, I don't even remember him doing any web swinging. They were flying around in that invisible jet the whole time (which was a terrible idea, by the way).
Then, some of the issues seemed a bit repetitive - find missile base, fight bad guy, repeat. Maybe I'm misremembering, but that sequence felt like it lasted 3 issues, which is 2 issues too long.
Also, the scope was too grand for me. I think Spider-Man is at his best when he's fighting specifically to save a person he cares about. Saving the world? I'd rather leave those plots to the Avengers, who made an appearance, but seemed fairly worthless. Yeah, I guess he was fighting for Mary Jane, but she was on like 2 pages out of 6 issues. As an aside, I hope they don't get back together.
I liked the team-up with Silver Sable, so I certainly didn't like her "death" at the end. I haven't read the follow-up Avenging Spider-Man issue, though. Since that issue features Sable on the cover, I suspect she's not really dead.
Speaking of the end, was it just me or was that anti-climatic? Spider-Man is stuck in Doc Oc's arms, and he's not strong enough to break out. Then all of a sudden without explanation, he IS strong enough to break out. This is where he should have used his wits and web shooters, rather than brute strength.
Heh. After typing all that, I guess I disliked a lot about that story. It had lots of entertaining action throughout, so it never really felt boring, except at the repetitive parts, but it was definitely not the best Spidey event I've read.
By the way, I did expect Doc to die. I thought he might upload his intelligence in the satellite array or something, but I did think his body would finally fail.
Oh, and I really disagree about One More Day/Brand New Day. The retcon itself might have been done in a fairly stupid way, but the stories that followed after have been fantastic for the most part. "Ends of the Earth" may be a low point for me, but the series is still going strong thanks in part to what that retcon has allowed.
How did you end up liking it, Irmis?
Control is the ultimate expression of power.