Written by The finale to Marvel’s Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy is now in stores — or is it? Yes, the event that began with Before Dead No More has technically ended, but there are so many questions left unanswered that readers will now be forced to buy Clone Conspiracy Omega #1 for some semblance of closure.
Months ago I jokingly predicted that Marvel would come up with After Dead No More and Dead No More — No More, and it looks like readers will essentially get just that because “Omega” sounds edgy and cool…but I digress.
Anyway, the one question that fans of The Amazing Spider-Man should ask themselves right now is this: Was it worth it?
Was DNM: CC worth turning ASM proper into supplementary reading material? Was it worth creatively monopolizing the tie-in books? Was it worth digging up the memories of the original Clone Saga? Was it worth the sheer amount of effort expended by Marvel to try and convince people to care about “reanimates” as much as the original characters?
I would definitively say the answer is “no.”
Check out my latest review, and then make sure to head on over to Whatever A Spider Can to read Mike McNulty’s take. He always does great work, and this time it provided me with a much needed assist for a YouTube review of DNM: CC #5.
As always, I look forward to your thoughts in the comments sections below.
Douglas Ernst Blog 
I have to say, I am astounded by Dan Slott’s ability to write a story more convoluted, nonsensical and pointless than the 90’s clone Saga in a significantly shorter length of time. Truly impressive.
Just a few thoughts:
1. Why can’t Gwen Stacy just be a tragic figure in Peter’s history? It is OK to have characters who die in horrible, tragic or even embarrassing ways. It’s OK to have a character who is a victim and never makes peace with that fact because they are dead and gone, but another character like Peter can avenge her and get justice. With Spider-Gwen, Gwenpool, Gwen’s identical goblin daughter and Gwen Clone #483B, I think we have enough symbolic representations of Gwen getting some sort of justice or closure for herself.
2. For the ending- while coming up with a technical and clever solution fits Peter, it still is just basically Spider-Man on a computer while the Jackal and Doc Ock have the actual epic battle.
3.. Spider-Man could have had a three-way battle between him, Jackal and Ock while suggesting the webware idea to Anna Marie and she did the hacking to broadcast the new signal. That way Spider-Man is in the fight, and comes up with a clever solution on his feet while Anna gets a moment to shine by doing the hacking and broadcasting the new signal. Doc Ock can still break the Jackal’s webwear thing so he can bring him down with him like the petty egomaniac he is.
4. We get it Slott, you really like Otto Octavius. That’s fine, but you are writing a book titled “Spider-Man”. When Ock gets to be the one driving the story, having the intense action scenes and coming off as more competent than the hero, then there is a problem. I’m sure if you ask Marvel really nicely they will give you a limited or monthly series for him.
5. Ock’s final line is “Melt with me!”? Why not “Join me in oblivion!”, or “We both die!”?
6. While for both good and bad, the original 90’s clone saga will be remembered. This story I think will be forgotten with the passage of time. It’s like a cake that had all the ingredients to be something really nice, but the recipe wasn’t followed, and it was baked over a camping grill. So the final product is a collapsed mess and the follow up issues like “Omega” are the expensive frosting to cover the entire thing up.
“1. Why can’t Gwen Stacy just be a tragic figure in Peter’s history?”
I wrote a few years ago that Dan Slott sort of sees himself as Scott Bakula in “Quantum Leap,” as he seeks to right wrongs across the internet. I think a little bit of this mentality sneaks into the work of modern comic book creators who feel the need to send the right message to their feminist Tumblr fans. Anna Marconi — perfect. Silk as written by Slott — Mary Sue. Riri Williams under Bendis — Perfect. The list goes on and on. They’re writing for the same type of people who would go nuts if Mario ever had to save the Princess in a future Nintendo game.
“For the ending- while coming up with a technical and clever solution fits Peter, it still is just basically Spider-Man on a computer while the Jackal and Doc Ock have the actual epic battle.”
Astute observation, Carnage707. I would expect nothing less from you at this point. Right now I’m imagining you on the old Marvel boards from maybe 2008 … getting banned for pointing this out. You would have a target on your back from the moderator just like I did. One of their moderators banned me and literally made up a story that I was swearing and talking about OMD, which was weird because a.) I do not swear in my posts, as anyone who has read this blog for seven years knows, and b.) I was at work when the alleged infraction occurred. My account was reactivated something like 6-8 months later.
“3. Spider-Man could have had a three-way battle between him, Jackal and Ock while suggesting the webware idea to Anna Marie and she did the hacking to broadcast the new signal. That way Spider-Man is in the fight, and comes up with a clever solution on his feet while Anna gets a moment to shine by doing the hacking and broadcasting the new signal. Doc Ock can still break the Jackal’s webwear thing so he can bring him down with him like the petty egomaniac he is.”
You want Peter to be the star of the show in his own book? Blasphemy! Oh…wait…I forgot. They turns ASM into supplementary reading material for Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy. What was I thinking. 😉
“4. We get it Slott, you really like Otto Octavius. That’s fine, but you are writing a book titled “Spider-Man”. When Ock gets to be the one driving the story, having the intense action scenes and coming off as more competent than the hero, then there is a problem. I’m sure if you ask Marvel really nicely they will give you a limited or monthly series for him.”
Has Dan banned you on Twitter yet, or is he still doing investigative work to figure out what you use for your Twitter handle? Heh.
Can’t believe people pay to read Slott’s tripe. His writing continues to be so predictably bad and unhinged. I read CC#5 online and as usual the dialogue is terrible and the comic book science Slott uses is laughable. There’s no plausibility or emotional engagement to his stories. What a hack!
“There’s no plausibility or emotional engagement to his stories.”
One of the fascinating things about Dan’s writing is that he doesn’t do the leg work in terms of character development to make you actually care about his characters, but then he’ll write these melodramatic moments where you’re supposed to well up with emotion at a character’s loss. It’s the strangest thing. This issue has Clone Gwen catching the pumpkin bomb and Otto’s “Melt with me!” but it falls flat because the story was just a tangled mess.
“I wrote a few years ago that Dan Slott sort of sees himself as Scott Bakula in “Quantum Leap,” as he seeks to right wrongs across the internet.”
I like to view Slott as another Scott Bakula character; the main character of Disney’s I-Man. (He’s so forgettable I don’t even remember the character’s name). He may have talent and power to harness, but he stumbles every which way, lands in good fortune by luck, and is totally incompetent at utilizing his powers.
There’s a scene where Bakula walks in on a hold-up at a gas station and the gunman just shoots him without even trying. It’s a fair representation of a typical meeting of the Spider-fanbase and Slott.
Thanks for taking the time to read and comment, Neil. I appreciate it. You really went back in Bakula memory bank for I-Man. Impressive!
My general feeling on Slott is that he needs a strong editor to rein in his worst instincts. When he’s kept on a short leash, then he has the ability to impress. The problem these days is that Marvel’s editors seem asleep on the job. Or, perhaps more likely, they’re such good friends with Dan at this point that they let things slide that otherwise would be corrected.
“My general feeling on Slott is that he needs a strong editor to rein in his worst instincts. When he’s kept on a short leash, then he has the ability to impress.”
That’s, to be completely honest, a spot-on assessment. Back when Civil War I was dying down and the “Initiative” branding was in use, Slott was writing that Avengers: The Initiative title about Camp Hammond trainees. And it, surprisingly, wasn’t that bad looking back. Heck, he even came up with a smart way for Peter’s secret identity to be hidden again with the Scarlet Spiders rather than a deal with Satan.
It may be because they actually acknowledged their mistakes for a brief period between Civil War and Secret Invasion and buckled down on editorial, but Slott actually did good when he was writing that title.
“Heck, he even came up with a smart way for Peter’s secret identity to be hidden again with the Scarlet Spiders rather than a deal with Satan.”
Dan is definitely an “idea guy.” His love for comics and the medium’s history allows him to come up with some intriguing concepts, but often times he gets too far out in front of his skis and falls flat on his face. Spider-Verse was a great example, where a magical scroll (Deus ex Machina) literally gave the characters all they needed to end the threat. This whole Clone Conspiracy was a similar case of Dan’s ambitions exceeding his ability to deliver.
Putting Dan in a box actually makes him more creative, and it forces him to focus on the essentials.
Slott needs to be serving me a big Mac.
I’m almost (almost) ashamed to admit this, but I mostly bought Cline Conspiracy to have those beautiful Gabrielle Del’Otto covers.
There is no shame in that. They are pretty darn awesome. I almost mentioned that in my review.
Glad I’m not around to experience this. You’re a brave soul reading this book to inform others.
Also, speaking of flops, the Hellcat book got cancelled.
And if we’re going by the missing solicits in May, so has Silk, Thunderbolts, Gamora, Ghost Rider (though that’s been apparent for a while) and World of Wakanda.
What a time to be alive.
Did Silk get worse? Because the early issues seemed okay.
Kind of. The stuff up until Clone Conspiracy was pretty good, almost great in my opinion. But, as Civil War II and Clone Conspiracy proved to us, tie-ins always bring a title down. I feel genuinely sorry for Thompson for having to drag Cindy through the mud again just to tie her into Clone Conspiracy per Slott’s mandate.