The last issue, where Boomerang reveals all his cards, what all his manipulation, backstabbing, stealing and scheming has been about: to impersonate the rookie sensation about to break his strikeout record via the Chameleon's appearance-altering serum. So that, really, he'll be breaking his own record. Or something.
Fred Myers is kind of a moron, even by the standards of boomerang-themed comic book villains.
But how can Boomerang be doing this, when he's simultaneously getting his ass kicked by, honestly, I forget which crime boss' goons these are. Chameleon's or the Owl's, probably. Well, Boomerang's been using the serum for a bit to set-up Mach-VIII. Planting a tracer on him while disguised as a cop, drugging his food while impersonating a waitress, asking him to meet, then slipping him the serum after he passes out so he'll assume Boomerang's appearance through skin contact. Quite how that changes his costume, I have no idea.
Boomerang calls the bartender he's been (mostly unsuccessfully) wooing through the series, to apologize for offering her as a victim to Bullseye to save his neck, and ask for a second chance. Also, he has this incredibly valuable painting of Doom's unmasked face, so in baseball parlance. . .trade affection for cash considerations?
Since we've been told Boomerang's crew has the painting, Boomerang explains how Mirage faked out everyone by stealing the painting and letting Chameleon catch one of his duplicates with a fake, while the real Mirage brings the real painting to Boomerang. Who then pushes him off a roof. But this is Boomerang telling the story, and he implies the bartender was actually the Black Cat, who takes the painting after Fred tells her about it, rather than just taking it herself whenever she wants, so it's all bullshit.
Fred's one strikeout from the record, when the Owl, sitting in the stands eating a rat on a bun, calls. He figured out Fred's plan, and has placed a large wager this pitcher won't break the record. If Fred goes along with it, ditching his own plan, all his debts to Owl are waived. Or he can insist on winning, and Owl will do the "lock a cage full of starving rats around your head," thing.
Boomerang, telling this story to someone with a shadowed face in a bar, tries leaving his choice ambiguous, but the guy doesn't think he can get away with a "Lost" ending. I think the fact Boomerang is alive to spin this yarn tells the tale.
The stranger wants to know what happened with the others, and Boomerang's nicer than I'd expect. Speed Demon wins a huge court settlement against Iron Fist, after Fist broke Speed Demon's foot in a fight (where Boomerang tipped off Fist and Luke Cage so the team would realize they needed him after all). Mach-VII gets saved from his beating by Iron Man (in that ugly black-and-gold armor from the Gillen run), receiving validation when Stark offers to have a team-up.
Beetle and Overdrive try to escape with the (fake) painting after their attempt to use the head of Silvermane to take over all the crime families fell apart when every member of the group made a backdoor deal with a different crime family. They run into Doom, who wants his painting back.
Meanwhile, the Punisher shows up in the middle of the gang war, demanding everyone form an orderly line so he can kill them. Frank's really lost his zest for the job, turning it into an (dis)assembly line. But someone objects. Could it be Tombstone (who is impervious to bullets anyway)? Mr. Negative? Hammerhead?
After 16 issues of being the punching bag, the Shocker roars in on his Shockermobile (Shocker-Buggy?) and blasts Frank Castle clear to Hoboken (location may not be accurate, GPS non-functional at this time) and is declared the new Don. Sure, why not?
Describing this ending as a "How I Met Your Mother" approach, Boomerang reflects the classic Sinister Sixes don't know what it's like to be someone with nothing but a dream, and have to fight and claw to make it a reality. And fight and claw all the harder for the backstabbing. Back in the bar, Boomerang admits he made up half of it, and finally asks the name of the guy he's talking to. It's "Peter", and Boomerang remarks they could be good - cue fade to black Sopranos ending, though Spencer would make Boomerang Peter Parker's roomie when he wrote Amazing Spider-Man.
Eh, still better than living with Johnny Storm.
{11th longbox, 36th comic. Superior Foes of Spider-Man #17, by Nick Spencer (writer), Steve Lieber (artist), Rachelle Rosenberg (color artist), Clayton Cowles (letterer)}
No comments:
Post a Comment