Marvel Mythos and Media #7 - The Other
by Shawn Lampron | Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Mythos:
New to Marvel Mythos and Media? Please check out my previous columns!
Welcome back! This week, we’re going to focusing upon a single storyline in a single article. That is a first for this column, where it seems like I’m becoming quite longwinded. In another first, we’re going to be dealing with my favorite character, Marvel’s golden egg himself, Peter Parker, the amazing Spider-Man.
It’s not original, I know, but he’ll always be my favorite.
As Marvel emerged from its bankruptcy woes of the 90s, they managed to convince a large name to take on Spider-Man. J. Michael Straczynski, a television writer whose credits include Babylon 5 and the much underrated Jeremiah, was landed to helm the title. During his run, he was known for inciting controversy amongst the fans. We won’t be rehashing that here, but if you’re curious, you can certainly look for other fanboy rants online about Gwen Stacy and her phantom pregnancy.
Like him or not, this man shook up Spidey’s universe.
Before the newest Spider-Man storyline that ticked every off, the dissolution of his marriage, Straczynski crafted a tale entitled “The Other” with the aid of some other writers, including noted scribe, Peter David. This is a tale that when examined, makes it look like Spidey was headed for a bold new direction that never reached a culmination. While the writing during this story arc is goofy and a bit juvenile in many places, it begins with a creepy and out of place sex scene.
Sex is goofy and awkward enough without it being superhero sex.
This storyline begins innocently enough, featuring a new villain who I don’t believe has been used since this arc. In another peculiar move, this villain is introduced in this major storyline despite being exceedingly underwritten, possessing a goofy look, and having powers that are eye-roll worthy. Declaring himself the god of machines, he can control all machinery. Looking at him, it’s a wonder he survives even a page without being torn apart by even the weakest of superheroes.
To make things even worse, he always has a cocky, smarmy look to him.
Spider-Man has a tough time taking down this chump, and he is only able to survive by remembering some new-age martial arts techniques given to him by a very blandly-written Captain America.
Peter is making a classic “What the *%() is this guy talking about?” face.
How the hell did Spidey barely survive an encounter with Tracer? The answers are forthcoming after he receives some tests from an underground superhero nurse. Notice the art on this next shot? “The Other” storyline was also used as a way to hype their new Spidey title, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, and to continue pumping up their Marvel Knights line of comics. This next shot shows the manga feel that was being given to the Marvel Knights title.
Peter reveals to Mary Jane that he’s dying…but why?
Predictably, Peter is less than happy to learn of his death sentence. Earlier in the Straczynski run, it had been established that Peter was tied into some larger supernatural spider powers phenomenon. At the heart of this, they placed an extremely powerful and mysterious being by the name of Morlun. At this low point, Morlun makes a reappearance.
Forget the manga-esque art; this is a great example of how to make a villain look imposing.
While Morlun’s reappearance and gloating over Peter’s situation is of interest, the fact that he’s running on limited time is of more concern. All his super-smart superhero pals are unable to help him. Mr. Fantastic and Henry Pym are both stumped as to the cause or the solution. However, they both realize that there’s one man on the planet who knows more about radiation infection, the origin of Spidey’s powers, than anybody else. There’s just a slight problem: that man has the tendency to turn into the Hulk.
The Hulk proves to be “reluctant” to help them.
Unfortunately, after forcing the Hulk to revert to his level-headed self, Bruce Banner has no answers. He surmises that he could find a solution, but he would need time, and Peter’s time is running out. Why they would entrust a man who hasn’t been able to solve his own green problem is never addressed. Running out of options, Peter journeys to Wakanda to visit the Black Panther, who gives him some “special” leafy greens that he must imbibe. Insert obvious drug joke here.
Did they really think this would work?
After the super-salad attempt is dashed, Peter tries Dr. Strange. Dr. Strange gives a two page equivalent to a shoulder shrug before telling Peter that he needs to get ready to die. Ouch. Time to work on that bedside manner. At this point, the shark is totally jumped. Tony Stark lends May and Mary Jane some Iron Man armor so they can break into Dr. Doom’s castle and use his time machine to show them a scene of Peter’s parents from the past. What?! The Avengers and Fantastic Four can’t defeat this guy, but a weakened Spider-man with Mary Jane and Aunt May in cruddy armor can mow their way through the castle?
Horrible.
After a few more bucket list items crossed off, Peter is set upon by Morlun while cruising around as Spider-Man. Declaring that it’s time, Morlun makes it pretty obvious that he is going to kill Peter once and for all. Making good on his promise, Morlun proceeds to beat the tar out of him in one of the most violent mainstream Marvel fights I’ve seen.
Morlun rips out Spidey’s eyeball and eats it. No joke.
The beating leaves Spidey in awful shape, hovering near death. When unmasked by the paramedics, there are no worries about his being recognized, because his face is a sloppy mess.
Will this give you nightmares?
After having his mangled body carted away to the hospital, Mary Jane and his friends from the Avengers begin a tense bedside vigil, but the prognosis is not good. Oddly, the heroes leave the room unguarded with Mary Jane and Peter. Predictably, Morlun shows up, stating that he’s going to consume Spider-Man’s powers. At this point, Spider-Man is awakened, turning into some type of half-spider half-man before eating Morlun…starting with his head.
Despite some flaws, the story has a few great moments of which this is one. I love the “Aw, &*()&!” look in Morlun’s eyes in that panel.
His body torn from the stress of this strange possession, Peter Parker, Spider-Man, dies. As the heroes and Mary-Jane prepare for life without him, his body is seemingly attacked while being interred in Avengers Tower.
Wrinkly.
Any reader can surmise that Spider-Man is not going to stay dead and that this looks like the obvious first step to bringing him back. This is confirmed by a shot of school children by the riverfront, one of whom notices a peculiar cocoon.
It looks like a really big booger.
In a dream-like state, Peter is confronted by a bizarre pair of creatures, telling him that he must embrace the spider part of himself. Without this evolution, this force states that he will die. Ultimately, Peter takes the advice, experiencing a rebirth.
Evolve or die. Nice tusks.
This leads to the teary reunion and such, but the storyline itself isn’t nearly as important as the set-up to something bigger for Spider-Man. That’s what we’ll be examining in Media today.
Media:
I’ve alluded to the supernatural aspect during the Mythos portion of this column. Any regular reader of this column should notice that I’m trying to show the connections between the graphic medium and American culture at that point in time. In my previous columns, I’ve dealt with characters from the seventies, an era that was heavily into the supernatural. The eighties were marked by gritty realism as the world was affected by the business boom, the further evolution of corporations, rampant crime, the last gasps of the Cold War etc. However, in the last few years, the desire for supernatural storylines and the fantastic has returned.
Some flaws…but it helped bring horror movies back.
The profitability of the supernatural is at an all-time high as well. Horror movies are relatively cheap to produce and can easily be staffed with inexpensive actors. However, there’s always an audience. Also, the import of Japanese movies like The Ring and The Grudge helped to reinvigorate the genre. Even my favorite, zombie movies, made a comeback thanks to Zack Snyder’s remake of Dawn of the Dead. Even television has produced some minor successes utilizing this renewal in interest in the darker side.
I know they’re pretty boys, but this is the best show you’re not watching if you’re a horror movie buff.
Perhaps it seems like I’ve wandered off-topic, but bear with me. Despite the renewal of interest in the supernatural, Straczynski’s ideas were shelved due to his leaving the book and Marvel’s conflicting plans. Firstly, there was a Civil War coming, something that was foreshadowed in the last page of this story arc. Tony Stark is shown constructing new armor for Spider-Man, a derivative of his own design. This would become a symbol of Peter’s conflict when the war between heroes began.
Spider-Man always gets the coolest costumes. Every one is solid. Original, black, or Stark.
Now, there was still a chance that this supernatural aspect of Spider-Man’s powers would be revisited after the war, but Joe Quesada, the editor-in-chief of Marvel, decided that he had to resolve something that had been bugging him. Thus, the marriage was annihilated and fans were left confused. In this new and altered Spidey world, did “The Other” even happen?
I had a chance to hear him speak a half-year before the Spidey marriage event unfolded. This man DESPISES the idea of a married Spidey. Don’t hold your breath on a Mary Jane-Peter renewal under his tenure.
In this new, more “real” Spidey world, it appears there isn’t room for a more supernatural “spider” connection that he found during “The Other.” While I have to admit that I’ve really been digging the comics the last few months, I can’t help but wonder what might have been. Until next time…watch for the monsters in the mirrors!
*All images used are from Marvel Comics.
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