Sep 9, 2011

Spider-Mannotations: Spider-Island: Avengers #1, Spider-Island: I Love New York City #1

Spider-Island rolls on, and so do the Spider-Mannotations!  Let's get it on.

Spider-Island: Avengers #1

"For the last time, Hawkeye, I don't know 'Rainbow Connection'."
(art by Leinil Francis Yu)


Creative Team: Chris Yost (writer), Mike McKone (art)

Capsulized Review: I was kinda worried about this one, given Yost's tendencies towards Furmanesque mass character deaths, but I was pleasantly surprised.  This is a fun, goofy book - a nice snack compared with some of the heavier Spider-Island tie-ins.

Page 1: ULTIMATUM (Underground Liberated Totally Integrated Mobile Army To Unite Mankind, which is stated in the book itself, but man, it's a great acronym, isn't it?) is an anti-nationalist terrorist group led by the Flag-Smasher; as you can imagine, they fight Captain America a lot.  This is the second Flag-Smasher, Guy Therriault, who first appeared in Civil War: Young Avengers and Runaways #1; the original Flag-Smasher, Karl Morgenthau, was assassinated by Domino in Cable and Deadpool #28.

Flag-Smasher has a robot arm here because Flash Thompson, in his first outing as Venom, bit it off in Amazing Spider-Man #654.1.

Page 2: The Avengers battled Dr. Octopus' giant robot octopuses in ASM #646, and were "turned into Venoms" by Kristoff Vernard's symbiote virus in Mighty Avengers #8.

Avenomgers, Avemble!
(Mighty Avengers #8, written by Brian Michael Bendis, art by Mark Bagley and Danny Miki)
Page 4: Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel did in fact date once in her late, lamented solo series.  They eventually decided they didn't have much in common.  Jessica Jones, meanwhile, was one of Peter's classmates at Midtown High; in ASM #601, a background character in Stan Lee and Steve Ditko's ASM #4 was retroactively identified as her.

I think I found something he's worse at than pillow talk.
(Ms. Marvel #47, written by Brian Reed, art by Mike McKone)
Page 6: Danielle Cage is the daughter of Luke Cage and Jessica Jones; in New Avengers #7, Squirrel Girl was hired as her nanny.

Page 7: Eugene Patilio is the son of Vincent Patilio, the crappy Daredevil villain known as Leap Frog, whose superpower was...uh, a frog suit with springs on the boots with which, much like Wonderella, he could jump hella high.  Eugene, who debuted in 1982's Marvel Team-Up #121, decided to do some good with his father's old gear, so he became the fabulous Frog-Man!  He means well, but he's not very good at...well, anything, really.  But he tries.  He's popped up a number of places since his debut - trying (and failing) to join the Defenders, sorta-teaming with Captain America against the Yellow Claw, joining with the Toad and Spider-Kid (but sadly not Glenn Danzig) to form the Misfits...

"...you suck!"
(Marvel Team Up #121, written by JM Dematteis, art by Kerry Gammill and Mike Esposito)
Page 9: ...and most recently, in Avengers: The Initiative, as part of Kentucky's Initiative team, the Action Pack, except for when he was replaced by a Skrull.  Like I said, he's not very good at this.

Page 14: This may be a reference to The Mutant Misadventures of Cloak and Dagger, one of C&D's short-lived ongoing series.

Page 15: Moondragon is an ex-Avenger.  Think "superheroic Persis Khambetta" and you won't be far off.

Page 16: Spider-Man's adhesion power can in fact be used offensively like this - most notably, insane Spider-clone Kaine's disfiguring "Mark of Kaine" was basically him burning his handprint into people's faces.  Spider-Man himself could do this as well, but he doesn't.  Well, not much.


GIVE ME YOUR FACE
(Amazing Spider-Man #637, written by Joe Kelly, art by  Michael Lark and Stefano  Gaudiano)
Spider-Island: I Love New York #1

Do not punish while light is flashing.
(art by Mike Del Mundo)  
Creative Team: Greg Rucka, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Joe Caramagna, Skottie Young (writers), Max Fiumara, Chuck BB, Dave Guertin, Greg Baldwin (art)

Capsulized Review: Hard to go wrong with an anthology book, especially one with this much talent behind it. This one has a little something for everyone - adorable cats, small children, and even the Punisher!

This is not exactly a continuity-heavy book.  Nothing to Spider-Mannotate, even.  So let's leave things here, and join me next week for Amazing Spider-Man #669, Herc #7, and Spider-Island: Amazing Spider-Girl #2!

1 comment:

  1. Jessica Jones' schoolgirl crush on Peter Parker was actually established in Alias #22, six years before the Amazing Spider-Man backup you credit. In Jessica's origin story, she's just about to ask Peter out (though he's never noticed her) when he's bit by the spider.

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