Yeah, that weekend trip with Alex was something. Large crowds of drunk people, me spending more money than I intended, threats of gun violence, talking one of his friends out of trying to walk 250 miles back home, at night, in sub-freezing temperatures, because he was in an extraordinarily bad headspace at the time.
Ben's fight against the Scorpion is related in flashback, as he tells Dr. Kafka about it. He didn't win the fight, and already seems to be questioning if returning to New York, becoming Spider-Man again, was a good idea. Those doubts aren't aided by the fact Mac Gargan apparently never left his cell. What's Gargan doing in Ravencroft, anyway? He strikes me as a guy who goes to regular prison, at least before he spent time with the symbiont.
After, Ben resolves to let go of the attachments to his old life as Peter, since he can't get that back. Sure, just that easy, but Ben decides it's time to make friends. He invites Kafka's assistant Edward Whelan (aka Vermin) to see a couple old sci-fi movies, and when he runs into a regular from the coffee shop, invites him to hang out. Although John seems a little odd. No time to reflect on that, the lady Doctor Octopus shows up to attack Edward! Meanwhile, someone's still taking people out on dates and disposing of them somehow.
Ben's being pretty cavalier with the secret identity. If Kafka already knew thanks to Peter, that's one thing, but Ben's known Edward for about five minutes, and he occasionally mutates into a cannibalistic rat-man. Could probably draw conclusions from that. Ben has nothing and no one to protect. No aunt or wife. If "Ben Reilly" is no longer a viable identity, he can just ditch it, come up with a new one and move on.
I feel like Baldeon zooms in on characters when there's some sort of connection forming between them and Ben. When Ben first visits Edward to apologize for things he said in the first issue, we view them from more of a middle distance, where both characters fit into the panel, and not just their faces, but part of their body as well. But once they hit the movies, and especially when Ben encourages John to come with them,the views seem to close in more. Really focus on faces and reactions.
But there's also more than a few panels like that during the Scorpion fight. But I figure that thread is connected to the disappearances, and the one responsible is trying to get a grasp on Ben. has already got some sort of mental link that let them know he's Spider-Man.
Dio and Natas descend into Mr. Chazee's dreams. Dio insists that since they know where they are, they can do things Chazee can't. Which doesn't keep them from being separated. While Natas uses the power of imagination to mimic early '90s Image comics, Dio figures out the Billy she meets isn't the real deal and banishes him. Unfortunately, she reveals the power in her in the process, marking herself as a descendant of the Grrl Scout line. Fortunately, this gets Chazee to exposit about the importance of all that. As Natas says, ultra-convenient and also informative. They also learn where Billy's ashes are, but wake up to find a bunch of people waiting for them, the leader immediately tearing Natas' head off.
This book has such a bizarre energy to it. I don't really know what Mahfood's going to pull out next, and I enjoy the heck out of it. Natas and his silly comments and excitement about basically everything are a great counterpoint to Dio, who simultaneously understands more of what's going on, but is less ready to handle it. I don't know what's going to happen from here. Will decapitation prove ineffective against Natas? Will Turtleneck Jones re-emerge, or will Dio's power save her? Or is she going to get captured? Gordi and the Amazonian lady are still on their way, a rescue could be their contribution. Especially if they have to confront The Teeth, who has Gordi's family.
I notice the good characters - Dio, Natas, Gordi - tend to be drawn with smoother lines and rounded features. Chazee, Tako, Kettlehead and all his goons are drawn with a lot more sharp edges. Pointed noises, sharp teeth, hair that sticks straight up. Things like that. Also, Mahfood busts out this purple hue for the first manifestation of Dio's power. I'm pretty sure that, among all the different colors he's used through four issues, that color has never come up before. He saved it for a big moment when it could really pop.
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