With this issue, we are 10 issues away from #700! I’m VERY excited about that, but first, we need to stay focused. In this storyline, which is no doubt a push for the ongoing battle between Spidey and the Lizard that got the silver screen treatment this summer, it’s a strange twist involving the Wall Crawler, Lizard, and Morbius?! Interesting indeed! Let’s go ahead and sink our teeth (I really do enjoy this play on words) into the latest in Amazing Spider-Man #690!
A recap of the first two issues of the arc: At first it seems like Spider-Man is just beating the snot out of the Lizard, but all is not as it seems. Dr. Micheal Morbius has actually (through digging up Dr. Connor’s dead son Billy. Ew!) found a way to regress the lizard gene in Curt. With an ensuing battle in the sewers, Morbius and Spidey are able to bring Lizard back to his human form. All may seem right, but in actuality, the Lizard still controls Dr. Connors. As they take Connors back to the surface into Horizon Labs, the Lizard, through some swift thinking, is able to distract everyone from him by focusing on Morbius. Blood is misted into the air, and it in turn sends the Living Vampire into a “moment of weakness”. Spidey doesn’t like that so the chase is on, for them at least. Meanwhile, back at the lab, Connors (controlled by the Lizard, remember?) is able to inject Dr. Modell with a lizard serum thereby turning him into a blast from the Jurassic past! Still with me? Good! Onward we go!
And now, the story for this issue: The Lizard just can’t get a break. Thanks to Morbius, he’s trapped in Connor’s human body. After turning Modell into a Lizard, the Lizard himself still can’t undo what Morbius did. Every avenue he tries still leaves him a pathetic meat-sack (his words). He must have more tests done on more subjects. Thankfully he has an entire lab full of people just waiting to help Dr. Connors. Meanwhile, Spider-Man and Morbius are going at it like two dogs over a steak, that is until Madame Web shows up. Am I the only one here that remembers her as an older lady? Where did I miss her transferring her essence into this new person? Ah well, tell me how much of a loser I am in the comments section. Where was I? Oh yeah, Madame Web. So, she’s distracting Spidey from cleaning the clock of the Living Vampire with visions of dread and doom for the ol’ Wall Crawler. It’s nothing new to him, nor does he really want to hear it as he’s got more pressing matters in whooping Dr. Morbius. Madame Web insists though, and after pummeling Morbius, Spidey is on his way.
For the middle part of the story, Dan Slott is doing a very good job of keeping your attention. It’s not as impressive as he work on Ends of the Earth, but it’s still good in it’s own right. The previous issue didn’t hold my attention near as much as this one did. It has some really great action, Spidey actually being kind of a jerk (I’m noticing this more and more), and a nice cameo by Kingpin and Hobgoblin! That definitely adds motion for future issues, but for now we only get a taste of things to come. Slott’s writing is good here, but the overall story itself feels more like a filler than anything else. I get that it’s helping to gear attention for the movie that’s out now (still haven’t seen it), but it feels weak. Yes it’s a great middle part of the arc, but overall I was wanting just a bit more than I was given. Here’s hoping that it ends with a bang.
Giuseppe Camuncoli’s artwork is great, though a bit too sketchy for my tastes. Spider-Man is done very well and you get a great sense of emotion, even though he has the mask on. That’s a real challenge for artists to do and Giuseppe is able to make it work. His background art is suprisingly good and his foreground work, especially on Dr. Morbius is impressive to look at. I wasn’t a real fan of how he drew Dr. Connors though, but that may just be nit-picking on my part. Overall, his artwork holds my attention and gives some great visuals that hold true when the story lacks.
I find it a real problem that Marvel isn’t pushing for some better storytelling on it’s flagship title. Mark Waid is nailing it issue after issue with Daredevil, and Scott Snyder is doing the same with Batman over at DC. Why can’t Slott bring on a truly epic story for Spider-Man? Maybe we’ll see that as we inch closer to that 700 mark. I really hope it doesn’t fall flat and that it’s a very memorable story, but what if it’s not? If it’s lackluster like this, then we’re in for a rough ride. That’s not to say that this story is bad, not at all, it’s just not as good a story as Spider-Man has to offer. I would have wanted something a little more deep in the mind of the Lizard than “Meat-sack this!” and “Hairy ape-form that!” Ugh.
If you’re not into Spidey yet, start! We’re counting the issues down to #700, and here’s as good a place as any to start. We’re only two issues into the new storyline, so you can still pick them up at your local comic shop. It’s good overall, but don’t hold your breath for the best. We’ve still got 10 issues to go.
Art: 6/10
Script: 6/10
Parental Ccncern: Lot’s of chopping off of the arm. No blood though. Weird.
