Nice, isn't it? Marcos Martin, you are a wonder. I especially like the middle panel, with Mysterio (minus his costume, obviously) and his exasperated look, saying 'I hate you.' That's actually where this post comes from. Reading that panel, my mind flashed to Daffy Duck, because it's the sort of reaction he'd have right before he was hit by a rock or a blast from Elmer's shotgun. Not the Huge Eyes of Terror look, but the one of resignation that follows it, when he quietly accepts the Pain Train's coming. Combine it with the fact his big strike against our hero (the surface-to-air* missile) is deftly turned around on him by our hero, and it starts to feel a bit like Looney Tunes. How often did one of Wile E. Coyote's (or Sylvester's, Daffy's, Sam's, etc.) masterstrokes come back on them, with little effort from our hero? That's right, every time**.
Then you have all the Maggia guys that appear to be dying from gunshots or getting punched, but they're really OK. It's not precisely the same, since the toons really do get shot, it just doesn't hurt them, while these lackeys are faking, but it's sort of similar. You think they died, but nope, they're OK. Mr. Negative's inner demons fit even moreso, since they really can't die. No matter what you do, they'll be OK***. As Spidey noted the next issue, he can hit them as hard as they like, and it doesn't matter, they'll bounce back.
There was the part just before the missile bit, where Mysterio believes he's escaped, but nope, there's Spider-Man climbing onto the boat, to Mysterio's consternation. It's not precisely the same, but I could see a little similarity to those Droopy cartoons (not Looney Tunes, I know, but roll with it, please). The evil wolf believes he's escaped, then turns, and there's Droopy, waiting patiently for him****. No matter how far that wolf runs, Droopy's always there. It falls apart at that point, since Mysterio actually did wind up escaping, but I imagine Spider-Man will catch him at some point. Hopefully.
Add Mysterio's overacting to the mix. I don't have a scan for it, but if you get a chance, check out Mysterio's gyrations when he controls his Silvermane robot and starts acting as though its power source is overloading. It reminds me of those old Westerns where the guy on the balcony is shot, clutches his stomach, groans, staggers, groans some more, then pitches himself screaming over the railing. Only moreso. If "Silvermane" was acting out of these movements, I'm surprised Mr. Negative didn't rush over and cradle him, sobbing 'Pwease, Pwease don't die Mr. Wabbit, I mean, Cyborg!'
I feel like I'm being mean. That's not my intention. I don't think this is the reaction Slott and Martin were going for. I have the impression we're supposed to feel the same sense of unease and unreality Spidey was feeling, as he couldn't determine what was real and what wasn't. It's just that 'I hate you' triggered all this, and I found it amusing, and here we are. Until tomorrow.
* Mysterio calls it a surface-to-air missile, but he's aiming it at the police stationed on the dock. Which makes it a surface-to-surface missile, doesn't it? Sure, he can probably fire it at flying targets if necessary, but that's not how he's planning to use it.
** Excluding that episode where Elmer took over animator duties for a Bugs Bunny cartoon.
*** I wonder how true that is. If the Silver Surfer atomized them with a blast of the Power Cosmic, would they somehow reform? Negative told them to cut off whatever was broken or trapped under rubble, from which I infer they regenerate, but what's the upper limit on that trick?
**** Droopy was sadistic, wasn't it? His preferred method was to hound the bad guy until he finally loses his mind and runs screaming to any authority figure that would protect him. I know they were always bad guys, but jeez. Was Droopy supposed to be the manifestation of their guilt over their actions, and that's why they couldn't escape?
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