So yeah, lots of Teen Titans stuff on
the blog lately, si? How about we shake things up a bit? Yeah, I
like that. I think it's time to add some Marvel to this blog, back
when they understood their fanbase. Yes, it's time to head into the
wayback machine and go back to 1993... Ah yes... 1993... Superman
was dead and the Reign of Supermen had begun over in DC, while
Marvel? Marvel gave us the 14 part Maximum Carnage event... And
that's what I'll be taking a look at here. Here's a quick FYI before
we get underway... This event is only the second storyline to
include Carnage, so he was pretty new still. In his debut story,
Spidey and Venom were forced to put aside their longstanding hatred
for each other to defeat Carnage. So right off the bat Carnage was
established as a huge threat that Spidey was unable to defeat on his
own. With that backstory stuff out of the way, I think it's time to
get this party started!
Maximum Carnage part 1: Spider-Man
Unlimited #1
Summary: This issue gets underway with
Carnage revealing to the doctors at the Ravencroft institution that
he was able to produce his symbiote from his blood, meaning when the
doctors go to draw blood, Carnage is reborn.
That is SO not a good sign...
Why the hell is Spidey announcing his actions like this is a sporting event?
Once again, this? NOT a good sign...
Thoughts: Good stuff, good stuff. This
comic was very fast paced and didn't really drag at any point.
Carnage gets his symbiote back, gains two nutjobs to team with, and
goes to see Jameson. As for Spidey, he meets up with Shriek and
Doppelganger and is injured, which is a great way keep Spidey
vulnerable in the coming issues as he faces Carnage and his crew.
There were some weird moments, like MJ randomly smoking(I don't
remember her going through that phase...),
Spidey's got some balls for chiding MJ on her smoking when he's nearly getting killed nightly!
Okay, I need a little clarification.... WHY are Peter's parents around?! And should Doppelganger not be there? And WHY IS MJ SMOKING?!
ReplyDeleteYep, that's exactly why I told you to feel free to ask questions, 'cause there was some strange shit going on at this time! First up, and the most difficult to figure out, Peter's parents... Ugh... So for Spidey's 30th anniversary, his parents showed up at his door and were all, "Hey yo, Pete! We've been in a Soviet jail 'cause we were spies or somethin' for like the past 15-20 years! How you doin'?" I don't remember why Peter and Aunt May accepted this(it's been a long time since I was reading this era), but they did, and Peter's folks were living with Aunt May(I think). And then the REALLY dumb shit went down... It turns out the Chameleon created(I think, again, it's been a while) Peter's folks because the dead Harry Osborn had told him to do that in order to get at Peter... Or something like that. Like I said, it's been ages since I read those books, but that feels pretty close. Also, the Chameleon was mourning Kraven and was crazy at the time... Or something similar...
DeleteAs for Doppel, during the Infinity War event, the Magus created twisted counterparts of Earth's heroes and sent them loose to make mischief. I honestly don't remember why he bothered doing that, but he did. Like ALL of the doppelgangers died and/or vanished except for Spidey's Doppelganger. I have no clue why, and I honestly don't recall any of the other duplicates being around past Infinity War.
As for MJ? Clearly she's in the midst of a heel turn. :P
OMG, I had blocked out this entire era. The smoking! (So edgy!) The parents! I remember it the way you do, X. I think Harry's involvement was the big reveal of the "Spectacular Spider-Man" issue where he "died" a few months later. Also, if I remember correctly, Peter goes on a rampage to get the Chameleon. ("Pursuit," maybe?) This period is hazy in my memory not only because the issues were bad, but they were routinely -- for, like, two or three years -- forcing you to buy all four Spider-Man titles, and my teenage self didn't have money for that. I was basically only getting 25% or maybe 50% of the story at any given time. Also, if I remember correctly, Shriek somehow gets connected to Judas Traveler, but they drop her with him, right?
ReplyDeleteI think the Harry reveal actually came postmortem, JW. I kinda/sorta remember Peter thrashing Chameleon(who was still mourning Kraven, I think?), and then finding a computer file with Harry basically laughing at him from beyond the grave... Maybe? It's been a LOOOOONG time since I read those books. It seems I'm like you during that period. My allowance could only stretch so far, and I'd usually try to get Amazing and Spectacular, as well as whichever X-books I could afford.
DeleteAs for Shriek, I know she had a story where she reunites with Carrion post Max. Carnage. As for Traveler? My local comic shop closed down around the time he started popping up, which ended my comic reading for like 10 years, so I'm not sure... That's my really big Spidey blind spot, from like 1995 through 2006. To this day I'm still working towards filling in the holes.
OMG, that's right! It's like they popped in a CD-ROM of Harry laughing! I forgot how melodramatic that entire period was. If you ever have *way* too much free time, I'd recommend reading the "Life of Reilly," a blog that details the behind-the-scenes drama of the Clone Saga. I think you and I might've stopped reading at the same time; I remember buying the concluding cross-over arc and being totally confused. But, "Life of Reilly" really makes it clear how much it was all driven by money and the creators had to frantically keep extending the story. Everything makes sense in retrospect.
ReplyDelete