Reflections #7 - Amazing Spider-Man #530 and a DC themed dream

Weird. I had a dream last night. In it, I had all sorts of deep and profound thoughts about the comics I've bought recently, which I planned to share with you. When I woke up, all I could remember was the end, where Batman and Robin defeated, someone (with Robin pushing a boulder on him, during the daytime), and as I walk down the street someone had spray-painted messages on the surroundings (and the boulder), telling me about how I'd just witnessed something truly great, not like if it had been written by Geoff Johns, who would have cluttered it with 'his $176 or $187 words' (direct quote). The last one said he would have ended it with the day being saved by 'magical-sand using loser Sand' (direct quote, or as close as I can remember).

So first off, I'm sorry Kalinara, I have no idea why my brain said that. I like Sand. He sounds interesting. Secondly, why would that have to follow all my profound thoughts, simultaneously destroying them? Fortunately, I was thinking about Amazing Spider-Man #530 and whether or not I'd judged it too harshly even before sleepytime.

Yesterday, I downgraded it because it tied Peter into the political machinations of Civil War. As I said, I'm not real big on Peter getting into that stuff, but I realized that maybe it's better to just let it ride. Marvel has decided to have this "event" and that Spidey is going to play a prominent role. If they can write some good stories for Spider-Man in the midst of all that, shouldn't that be enough? Or is that a form of enabling?

Still, we hardly had any mention of Mystical Spidey, besides a brief quip about being legally dead, and of course, the organic web-shooters. Instead, we got to see Peter be himself, as he put it 'the kid from the neighborhood' who is sorely out of his depth dealing with politicians, but when it comes to defending his employer/friend/big brother/manipulator, there's no hesitation to do so. Noble, honest, not a big-picture kind of guy, that seems like our friendly neighborhood Spier-Man.

About Titanium Man: Who's calling the shots on him? I suppose the obvious answer would be the Commission for Regulation of Super-Human Activities. They want to start a superhero brawl on Capitol Hill and make the heroes look bad because these fights endanger innocent civilians. Get their cause some public support. Except he was going to snipe Stark earlier, so maybe the Commission figures Stark is the most eloquent defender of the superhero sect, and if they get him out of the way it'll be easier. Plus, Tony's loaded, and money speaks loudest in politics, so taking the potential for bribes out of the picture could be useful. And yes, I believe Tony Stark would do that. Chris, as resident Iron Man expert, what are your thoughts?

Peter said the guy sounds Russian, but the voice balloon (balloon! Whee! Sorry) has that "digital" look to it, so that could easily be voice modification. Maybe the other Illuminati are behind it, the ones that don't agree with Tony. T'Challa can be a cold guy, though I doubt Namor would send someone else, when he could just pummel Stark his bare-chested self. Thoughts?

I did want to talk briefly about the costume. I swore I wouldn't rip on it, but these "waldoes" are just a bad addition. Think about it, they respond to Peter's thoughts, like they're his arms. Which is fine, if he can concentrate, then Peter can probably use them effectively. But in battle, Spidey is all about immediate reaction. His spider-sense works with his body autonomously, enabling him to dodge attacks without even thinking about it. In fact, it requires conscious effort to not leap out of harm's way. Captain America has even chided Peter about his lack planning and overrealiance on the sheer kinetic frenzy of instinctive movments (I think that's going to be the new description for this blog) he normally displays in battle. Is he really going to stop in the middle of all this to think "Pincer Arm Number 3, yeah you, the one over the top of my head! Take a picture of that lead mobster's face! You know, the one ordering his 40 goons to fire their automatic weapons at me."

I'm not saying they aren't a cool invention, just that they don't really fit with Spidey. It seems as though they'll just get in the way, which is why a simple costume works for him. Too many moving parts, means too many things too interfere. Hopefully after the fourth or fifth time it gets destroyed, Peter and Tony will realize the futility of this, and we can have a return to normalcy. Still, upon further reflection, I'm upgrading this book to a 4 out of 5.