Tag: Dan Slott

Dan Slott’s excitement, focus return in Amazing Spider-Man #18 with Doctor Octopus in limelight

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living-brain-peter-parker

The Amazing Spider-Man #18 is an issue that has been building since the end of Spider-Verse in February 2015, so it stands to reason that writer Dan Slott would put extra care into the product. Still, it seems undeniable that this Doctor Octopus-centric tale possesses the most energy the creator has brought to the title in months. Fans of The Superior Spider-Man will be thrilled with the flashbacks and the loose ends that are tied up, while others will be left wondering, “Why can’t the book have this much life on a regular basis?”

Here is what you need to know about ASM #18:

  • Doctor Octopus explains how he was able to transfer his consciousness into the gauntlet of his Superior Spider-Man costume during Spider-Verse. The technology became a “fully functional octobot” and then downloaded his consciousness into Living Brain.
  • Readers are informed how Otto dispatched with Ann Maria Marconi’s new boyfriend, Blain, after he was unable to download his consciousness into the man’s brain. In short, Otto was able to get headhunters in Australia to offer him a job “too good to pass up.” (Blain decided to not even talk to Peter Parker about the situation, apparently…)
  • Doc Ock, still secretly inside Living Brain, demands Anna “explain” when she says she would not date Otto if he were standing before her. She mentions the fact that he tried to kill six billion people. “I could never love someone like that. Ever,” she says while kissing the robot on its cheek.
  • Peter contacts Anna on his way to New York and tells her to “double” her efforts on figuring out the cloning process used by New U Technologies.
  • Otto devises a plan to have Anna fly back to New York because he believes Anna wants Ott’s mind in Peter’s body. When they land in New York she tells Peter that Living Brain has “been acting up a lot lately.”
  • Peter decides to work on Living Brain, aka Doc Ock, who demands Peter “explain” how Otto’s mind was erased from the real Spider-Man’s brain. Peter explains how Otto killed himself so that Peter could save Anna from the Green Goblin, at which point the downloaded consciousness of Otto from Spider-Verse goes ballistic. “Lies! Lies! Lies!” he says while smashing equipment.
  • Living Brain destroys himself as Spider-Man tries to shut him down, but not before Otto’s consciousness again returns to gauntlet from Spider-Verse. Peter and Anna both act as if they only faced a “Doc Ock revenge program from beyond the grave,” as opposed to the real deal (for some inexplicable reason).

Does that sound like a mouthful? If so, that’s because it is — there was a lot going on in ASM #18. To Mr. Slott’s credit, he organized his thoughts about as well as could be expected with the plot threads at hand.

living-brain-doc-ock

 

As was said earlier, fans of SSM will enjoy this issue. There really isn’t too much to ding it on aside from the fact that once again people must act like morons to move the plot forward.

“Please, he won’t hurt me. He never would. Don’t ask me how I know. I just do. Trust me!” Anna says while trying to convince Peter to get closer to a rampaging Living Brain — but it might as well have been Dan Slott speaking to the readers.

Translation: “Don’t ask too many questions. I don’t. Trust me!”

And Dan is right: If you just want a “wacky” adventure and don’t have a desire to think too hard, then this issue is a fun read. Don’t ask why Anna and Peter give the equivalent of, “Huh. That was weird,” after Living Brain’s meltdown. Don’t ask questions about the nature of life and if humans have a soul, and don’t ask how Otto literally had Peter’s entire life beamed into his mind and didn’t change one bit.

“But Doug!” you say, “Didn’t Otto die to save Anna in Superior Spider-Man #30? Doesn’t that count?”

Answer: No, because readers were given no reason to believe Otto had changed in the previous 29 issues. It just happened.

anna-living-brain

Regardless, as already mentioned, ASM #18 is worth buying for anyone who has been eager to see the series once again focus on Doctor Octopus. It is rather intriguing to think about a man who cannot have the woman he loves because he is trapped inside an “inferior” body, and the villain’s plans to resurrect himself are a good tie-in to Dead No More.

asm18-anna-peter

If you plan on buying Dead No More, then ASM #18 is worth picking up this weekend. If not, then you still might want to give it a read. The author seldom is capable of packing pathos, organized thought, enthusiasm, and action into a single issue of ASM, and it might be months before such a feat is witnessed again.

Related:

Dan Slott’s Spider-Verse Epilogue: Wrap-up oddly more exciting than main story

Dan Slott, Mr. ‘politicize the f**k’ out of gun death ‘the second after news hits,’ bashes Trump for calling NYC bomb … a bomb

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dan-slott-cbr

One of the most fascinating things about Marvel writer Dan Slott’s decision to turn his Twitter feed into a giant political soapbox is that readers get to see his never-ending stream of hypocrisy. When shootings or terror-related issues capture national headlines, he is always there to show fans of The Amazing Spider-Man that crafting strong stories comes secondary to political hackery.

An improvised explosive device — a pressure cooker bomb — went off Thursday night in New York City and injured 29 people. A secondary device that failed to detonate was found blocks away. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told an audience of the explosion as news broke, and for that Mr. Slott called it a “new low.”

Anyone who is familiar with Mr. Slott’s online behavior over the years knows that the two men have more in common than he would like to admit. What makes this moment even richer is that his “new low” remark came moments after retweeting the following by another user: “Reminder: Donald Trump is actively rooting for the explosion in NYC to turn out to be a terrorist attack. Let that sick reality sink in.”

Dan Slott’s self awareness knows no bounds. It is indeed a “new low” to accuse a New Yorker of “actively rooting” for terrorism in New York.

Here is a”reminder” for everyone: Dan Slott is the same person who once said he wanted people to “politicize the f**k” out of his death if he were ever shot…“the second after news hits.”

dan-slott-nyc-explosion-tweets

Here is what Mr. Trump said:

“Just before I got off the plane, a bomb went off in New York and nobody knows exactly what’s going on, but, boy we are really in a time. We better get very tough, folks. It’s a terrible thing that’s going on in our world and in our country and we are going to get tough and smart and vigilant. We’ll see what it is.”

Question: Is it more deplorable for a presidential candidate to factually state that a bomb has gone off and that an investigation is underway, or for a writer to say that political opponents “actively root” for terrorism in their home town?

The answer is self-evident.

dan-slott-politicize-the-f

Even if Mr. Slott were correct and Mr. Trump was politicizing the bombing, what would give the writer the moral authority to lecture anyone on such behavior?

When a man tells tens-of-thousands of supporters to “please politicize” his own murder “the second after news hits,” he cannot harangue others for picking up the partisan baton and running with it.

Dan Slott’s Twitter feed is a free resource for anyone who ever wanted to learn about projection. His habitual need to blast “new lows” comes from the knowledge deep within his soul that it is he who engages in loathsome behavior.

Some of Mr. Slott’s many “new lows” have been chronicled here, since mainstream comic book websites fail to demand a modicum of professional behavior from the industry’s artists and writers:

The next time Mr. Slott starts bashing Donald Trump, I suggest reminding him that his online antics have mirrored the New York billionaire for many years. My guess is that the writer with impulse-control problems will block you, but that is to be expected as long as he continues to live in denial.

Update: 

Dan Slott, who blocked me on Twitter, once again shows the world that he still can’t help but read this blog. As usual, his tweets are filled with red herrings and utter falsities, which is why he won’t send people to check out with their own eyes what I have said.

dan-slott-stalking-douglasernstblog

I watched Trump’s speech as it was happening, and my Twitter feed had plenty of stories saying an explosion occurred inside a dumpster and that many people were hurt. I’m assuming that the New Yorker with Secret Service protection and national security briefings was also up-to-date well before the rest of us.

Readers who go to Dan Slott’s Twitter feed will note that he surreptitiously erased a re-tweet that said Donald Trump was “actively rooting for the explosion in NYC to turn out to be a terrorist attack.” Telling. Very telling.

Note to Dan Slott: I do not work for a “birther” conspiracy website. Nice try. That is your new go-to distraction because you don’t know how to respond to my blog posts and you are terrified to come here (there are no slavish moderators to shield you from intelligent scrutiny).

I have worked for years for the same newspaper, with only a brief leave of absence that I won’t get into for personal reasons. I wrote stories for another website for eight months, which has contracts with literally dozens of op-ed writers. Go online and try and find one birther story by me. You can’t find them because they do not exist.

In Dan Slott’s world, I am apparently responsible for what random op-ed writers say and do. Perhaps Dan should check with President Obama’s original literary agent, who boasted that he was “born in Kenya and raised in Indonesia and Hawaii.” Hmmm. Where would anyone get the idea that Obama was born in Kenya? Weird. I suppose the Daily Caller and every other media outlet that reported on this issue are also “birthers.”

Update II: You can’t make this up. Dan Slott deleted the tweets shown above. Classic! This is why he will not come to this blog and debate me. He knows that he cannot throw his stupid and impulsive comments down an Orwellian Memory Hole.

dan-slott-kobayashi-maru

What situation could possibly be Dan Slott’s “Kobayashi Maru”? Heh. Why don’t you join the comments section and tell us about it, Dan? Or not, because you can’t delete posts when you say foolish things.

‘Civil War II: Amazing Spider-Man #4’: Dan Slott’s ASM #17 haunts Christos Gage’s latest effort

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cwii-asm4-spiderman-clash

It’s hard not to feel sorry for Christos Gage. The guy was asked to write a Spider-Man story that stood on its own while also supporting Brian Michael Bendis’ Civil War II and Dan Slott’s run on The Amazing Spider-Man.

Question: How does the hero who a.) asked The Prowler to resort to corporate espionage on behalf of Parker Industries, and b.) teams up with Carol “Minority Report” Danvers have the moral authority to lecture a confused man like Clayton Cole?

Answer: He doesn’t.

Civil War II: Amazing Spider-Man #4 is a book that actually reads better the less one knows about the current Marvel universe. For people who just want to roll around a few philosophical questions about redemption and free will like marbles, Mr. Gage’s work satisfies. For people who love the character Peter Parker, however, the issue is just one more reminder of just how intellectually discombobulated he has become thanks (in large part) to writer Dan Slott.

stromm

Here is what you need to know for CWII: ASM #4:

  • Spider-Man tries to talk Clayton Cole off a psychological ledge during the one-on-one battle predicted by Ulysses. Peter wants the scientist to give up his “Clash” technology and start a new life.
  • Robot Master reconstitutes himself and attacks the two men just as Peter seems as though he might have a breakthrough.
  • Clayton leaves Spider-Man to deal with the villain on his own, saying that he needs to go his own way.
  • Spider-Man defeats Robot Master, who vows to take Parker Industries to court for Cole’s attack.
  • Peter Parker and Ulysses discuss the Inhuman’s powers, whether they are appropriate to use, and how to channel them to save lives. Peter now says it would be wrong for Ulysses to work for Parker Industries because the company will be stronger by learning from its own from failures.
  • Spider-Man agrees to work with Carol Danvers to profile potential future criminals. He will fight for the cause if necessary, but says he will act like her personal Jiminy Cricket (It worked out so well with Doctor Octopus, right Pete?)
  • Clash steals a massive amount of off-the-books cash from Roxxon and announces that he will no longer work for other men. The villain begins to recruit for a criminal empire.

Fact: Clayton Cole wanted to “redefine” himself as a hero using Clash technology.

  • What then, we must ask, gave Spider-Man the moral authority to say that Clayton Cole should not do that, but Hobie Brown as the Prowler can?
  • Why is Dan Slott’s Peter Parker a stand-up guy for asking Mr. Brown to break into a business and steal technology for his own selfish reasons, but Mr. Cole is “ruining” his life for trying to turn over a new leaf as Clash — the superhero?
  • How can Peter Parker, a man who has been falsely convicted in the court of public opinion multiple times, endorse Captain “secret detention” Marvel?

In short, CWII: ASM #4 is filled with creative contradictions, which are not treated as such. As was stated in previous reviews, it is tough to discern how culpable Mr. Gage is for the story’s flaws when a strong argument can be made that he is doing the best he can with messes made by other men.

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If you have read the previous three issues of Civil War II: The Amazing Spider-Man, then you may as well buy the conclusion. If you have held off this long, then skip it and take note: The modern Spider-Man is like a boat without an anchor in a storm that shows no sign of breaking.

Again, I feel bad for Mr. Gage — but even more so for the writer who eventually replaces Mr. Slott. Where does a man begin with so much rubble to clear? I guess we’ll find out.

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Related:

‘Civil War II: Amazing Spider-Man #1’: Gage offers reprieve from Slott fare

‘Civil War II: Amazing Spider-Man #2’: Gage explores ‘self-fulfilling prophecy,’ recidivism, and redemption

‘Civil War II: Amazing Spider-Man #3’: Peter Parker turned into hypocritical jerk to keep story going

 

Dan Slott’s Spider-Man: ‘White Privilege’ is having Peter Parker resort to corporate espionage, getting Hobie Brown to die for his sins

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Hobie Brown death

Your friendly neighborhood blogger said less than one month ago that Marvel writer Dan Slott’s setup for “Dead No More” was worth buying, but that all the warning signs were there “for another round of character assassination.” In lightening-fast speed that would make Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt blush, Mr. Slott managed to stab Peter Parker in the back and twist the knife in 21 days.

Years from now, The Amazing Spider-Man #17 will hopefully be used in a documentary titled The People vs. Dan Slott. The issue includes the moment in time when Peter Parker — the guy who took on corporate saboteur Ghost on multiple occasions — became the very same kind of criminal. Worse, he guilted a good friend with a criminal past into doing the dirty work for him — and the result was deadly. 

For all those social-justice activists out there, let me put it to you in a way that you can understand: “White Privilege” is having Peter Parker resort to corporate espionage and convincing a black friend to die for his sins. Thanks, Dan Slott!

Here is what you need to know about ASM #17:

  • Peter Parker tells Hobie Brown that he needs him to break into New U and steal their intellectual property. He wants to use the company’s nascent technology on Jay Jameson, but requires access to its private data. (Yes Dan Slott, “taking pictures” of a company’s private research after breaking and entering is stealing.)
  • Hobie Brown tells Peter he can’t do that because “industrial espionage” is out of bounds. “I don’t do that anymore,” he says, which is met with a guilt trip about “FAMILY.”
  • Hobie reluctantly agrees and puts on his Prowler uniform. The once-reformed criminal, thanks to Dan Slott’s Peter Parker, becomes a recidivist offender. (The whole scene is more disgusting, given Spider-Man’s lecture to Clayton Cash in Civil War II: Amazing Spider-Man #3.)
  • Miles Warren, aka The Jackal, tries to give Electro his powers back but the process does not work. Francine (the woman he killed with a kiss before she was resurrected) is nearby, which causes her “genetic mix” to attract Max Dillion’s latent powers. She kisses him to absorb his energy and ironically kills him.
  • Hobie gives up his position to stop Francine. He tries to flee after it is obvious that Dillion is dead, but the new Electro tracks him down and chars him to a crisp. “Told Parker I wasn’t cut out for this. I work best in the shadows…and I stay out…of the light,” he thinks before death overcomes him.
  • The Jackal revives Hobie and shows him secrets that prove his team consists of the real “good guys.” Hobie agrees. When Peter calls from Oklahoma to say New U scientists are going to perform a procedure on Jerry Salteres, he gives no indication that anything is wrong.
  • Miles Warren shows Hobie a pill and says he needs to take it on a daily basis.

Yes, you read that right, Peter Parker asked Hobie Brown to break the law, and then before his partner in crime got back to him with a full report he admits that he was going to approve New U’s procedure anyway (i.e., Thank for dying for nothing, sucker. Mr. Salteres is the perfect guinea pig to see if the surgery would be right for Jay Jameson).

Prowler

If you’re wondering how on earth Spider-Man fans got to the point where their hero is no better than the goons who tried to steal Tony Stark’s technology over the years, then look no further than the flashback scene Dan Slott writes on the first page of the issue.

“Bad guys are just like the good guys…except they don’t hold back. They don’t follow any rules,” Francine says before kissing Electro.

This is the kind of moral relativism that has been on display since The Superior Spider-Man. Doctor Octopus is a megalomanic who nearly succeeded in exterminating 6 billion people, but to Dan Slott the two men are not all that different. (Heck, the writer even said that Doc Ock was better than Peter at appreciating those who are “truly beautiful”…)

Mr. Slott told Newsarama on April 5, 2013:

Slott: [Otto is] trying his best to be a hero, but he’s doing it in a very Doc Ock way. And Doc Ock’s an egotistical, annoying sh*t. It makes him an interesting character. At his core, he’s someone we don’t really think of heroic. But is he any more annoying than [former villain] Hawkeye used to be? …

Also, when you look at Doc Ock, he was so much like Peter Parker. Peter Parker, if he didn’t know the lessons of power and responsibility, that teenage nerd would have grown up to be an Otto Octavius nerd, with the same kind of, “I’m going to make them pay.” This is the flip of that. …

Do you see Punisher as a hero? Do you see Wolverine as a hero? If these guys can be heroes, why can’t Doc Ock?

Dan Slott admits that he thinks Peter Parker is, for all intents and purposes, one step away from becoming Doctor Octopus.

That is why his Peter is so obsessed with death.

That is why his Peter is willing to exploit the trust of a reformed criminal for his own selfish purposes.

That is why his Peter’s moral compass aimlessly spins in circles — and that is why readers can expect more embarrassing behavior from their “hero” in the months to come.

Hobie Electro

ASM #17 is officially the issue where Hobie Brown died, but many Spider-Man fans should consider it the issue where Dan Slott assassinated Peter Parker.

Prowler Hobie Brown death

Related:

Amazing Spider-Man #16: Dan Slott sets the stage for ‘Dead No More’

Amazing Spider-Man #15: Dan Slott’s Regent took down a god, then falls to … Mary Jane

Spider-Man movies called ‘white-boy fantasy’: The Root writer says Zendaya casting not ‘progress’

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Jason Johnson

The Root bills itself as an “opinion and culture site for African-American influencers,” which works out nicely because I was recently looking to see what such self-proclaimed individuals were saying about Zendaya’s role as MJ in Spider-Man: Homecoming. It turns out that Spider-Man is a “white-boy fantasy” and nothing you ever do is good enough for “influencers” like Jason Johnson.

Mr. Johnson wrote on Aug. 23 for The Root’s “No, Zendaya in Spider-Man: Homecoming Is Not the Progress We’re Looking For”:

Consequently, the announcement that she’s been cast as Peter Parker/Spider-Man’s long-term love interest, Mary Jane, in Spider-Man: Homecoming next year has given many people all sorts of excitement and feels. I am not one of them. Casting Zendaya as Mary Jane is another example of Hollywood expecting black dollars at the box office, but disrespecting black consumers and fans on the big screen. …

Zendaya’s casting is yet another sign that makers of Hollywood sci-fi fantasy action films will “racebend” a character (change a character’s race from what it was in a book, film or cartoon), slap themselves on the back for being progressive and expect black fans to be satisfied, while pretty much maintaining the status quo. Racebending is fine so long as it’s for girlfriends and sidekicks, but the movies are still white-boy fantasy adventures in which the lead remains a straight white male no matter what. And that unfortunate fact can’t be separated from the choice to cast Zendaya as Mary Jane.

There was never a doubt or even a conversation about casting anyone other than a white man as Iron Man, Thor, Captain America or the Incredible Hulk. Even though Iron Man was black in the early 1980s, the first Captain America was a black man, and Thor as a Norse God could be anybody.

Are you a young comic book fan who is on the ideological fence? If so, then consider the psychology on display with Zendaya’s casting:

  • If you think movie producers should try to adhere as closely as possible to the source material, then liberal guys like Dan Slott will imply that you are a racist.
  • If you think movie producers should try to adhere as closely as possible to the source material, then liberal guys like director James Gunn will say that you have “too good of a life.”
  • If you think movie producers should try to adhere as closely as possible to the source material, then liberal guys like Devin Faraci of the website Birth. Movies. Death. will call you a “racist fanboy.”
  • Conservative guys like me will shrug their shoulders and say, “Yeah, but Zendaya may still be pretty good. As long as she tints her hair red then we should just give the girl a chance.”
  • Meanwhile, liberals like Jason Johnson will mock you for your “white-boy fantasy” even if you do give Zendaya’s casting three cheers for diversity. You are damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Welcome to a life of Kobayashi Maru-type scenarios if you board the USS Social Justice.

As your friendly neighborhood blogger has said on numerous occasions, social-justice obsessives are never satisfied. Any attempt to placate them will only result in additional admonitions that require an apology, new demands to meet without question, and more rules that undoubtedly conflict with a sub-group of professional victims someplace else.

Between now and the July release of Spider-Man: Homecoming, I implore anyone who is still trying to define their ideological identity to conduct a test: Come to this blog and disagree with me just to see how I react. Then, do the same with liberal writers like Dan Slott or Nick Spencer. By the time your favorite wall-crawler returns to theaters, I am confident that you will no longer be on the fence.

Dan Slott plays ‘Captain White Privilege’ after Zendaya-MJ casting reported

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The announcement on Aug. 18 that Zendaya will play Mary Jane in next summer’s Spider-Man: Homecoming spread like wildfire across the internet. It wasn’t long before the usual suspects were attacking anyone who questioned the decision with charges of racism. Dan Slott, the man who once said that Peter Parker’s love for Mary Jane is “anti-Marvel,” joined in the fray to play “Captain White Privilege” (yes, he went there) in his twitter feed.

Since Marvel’s scribe for The Amazing Spider-Man has a habit of sliming long-time Marvel fans with attacks on their integrity, it seemed as if it were time to make a YouTube video on issue. Since Mr. Slott never is a magnet for controversy, I fully expect future installments to follow in the months and years ahead.

Check out the video and let me know what you think in the comments section below.

Amazing Spider-Man #16: Dan Slott sets the stage for ‘Dead No More’

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ASM 16 SpiderMan lift

Marvel has big plans for The Amazing Spider-Man in the months ahead, and it appears as though the executive decision was made to make its 16th issue — Before Dead No More — a must-read. Writer Dan Slott packs the issue with important plot points and, in general, does a decent job organizing it all on the page.

As has been established many times before, Mr. Slott is a good stage-setter. Whether he can follow it through over the course of “Dead No More,” the obligatory After Dead No More, and Dead No More — No More remains to be seen.

Here is what you need to know for ASM #16:

  • Jay Jameson is surrounded in the hospital by friends and family with a mysterious illness when Dr. Clarkson from New U Technologies offers him a chance to take part in a “cutting edge” procedure. Peter Parker asks the doctor for details after Jonah flies of the handle.
  • An explosion takes place in Edmond, Oklahoma, at a Parker Industries chemical plant. Peter diverts his private jet, which was heading to San Francisco, back to Oklahoma.
  • Spider-Man (now with thermal imaging in his eye pieces) arrives on a spider-cycle and saves five of six people trapped inside in one fell swoop. He then rescues the sixth, Jerry Salteres, but the man is hospitalized after breathing in toxic fumes.
  • Peter Parker tells his suit to go into “Stealth Mode One” (Any guesses on how many stealth modes it’s capable of entering?), and contacts Dr. Clarkson. He requests New U come to Oklahoma and perform a life-saving procedure on Mr. Salteres.
  •  Miles Warren, aka The Jackal, privately says the explosion at Parker Industries wasn’t part of his plans but tells the doctor to give Peter “a taste of how the magic works.”
  • Peter’s spider-sense goes off after Mr. Salteres’ life is saved the New U operation.
  • Living Brain, aka Doctor Octopus, catches wind of how New U’s ability to grow healthy organs from a patient’s DNA and calls the technology “very promising.”
  • Electro agrees to Warren’s procedure after “Francine” is brought back from the dead.
  • Jonah secretly meets with New U and asks about its technology. His deceased wife Marla then walks through a doorway.

In short, ASM #16 is stuffed like a Thanksgiving turkey, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

ASM16 stealth

Before Dead No More is probably the best issue of ASM in many months because its function only requires Dan Slott to whet the reader’s appetite. Any one of the plot threads are likely to intrigue potential customers, which is great for Marvel, but Mr. Slott’s track record in terms of delivering a fully fleshed-out story is much more problematic.

Miles Warren

Take, for instance, the way Mr. Slott portrays Peter Parker. Years ago the hero was weirdly obsessed with the idea that “no one dies.” That mantra led him to behave in strange and irrational ways when he had to balance immediate threats to his front with global crises.

In this issue, Peter again seems monomaniacally focused on death — so much so that he embraces an experimental procedure that he knows will come with a heavy “price.” Dr. Clarkson even told him “some find the cost can be…too high.”

Does Peter Parker even ask Dr. Clarkson what that non-monetary “price” is before approving the operation on his employee? Answer: No. He just screams, “We have to move NOW!”

ASM16 Spider Sense

Long-time readers can debate whether or not Peter would dive right in to a dangerous and nascent technology over an accident at one of his power plants, but this blogger thinks his behavior is unstable and rash — the kind of thing Doctor Octopus would do as the Superior Spider-Man.

The good news is that ASM#16 is worth its $3.99 cover price. The bad news is that there are warning signs that Dan Slott is already setting up Peter Parker for another round of character assassination.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know what you think in the comments section below. I’d love to hear what you have to say.

Editor’s Note: Anime Hunter mentioned to me earlier today that editor Nick Lowe took part in a “secret meeting” on Spider-Man, as referenced in the Letters to the Editor section of the book. That might be another tidbit worth discussing. 

‘Civil War II: Amazing Spider-Man #2’: Gage explores ‘self-fulfilling prophecy,’ recidivism, and redemption

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CWII ASMII cover

Marvel’s Civil War II has been a mixed bag of good ideas and poor execution, but writer Christos Gage’s work on the project has generally been a notch above his peers. Civil War II: Amazing Spider-Man #2, like the issue before it, highlights just how much potential he has as a writer, even if some elements of the book are rough around the edges.

Here is what you need to know for CWII: ASM 2:

  • Spider-Man, tipped off by Ulysses, defeats a “quintronic man.” (The aftermath features a nice nod to Amazing Fantasy #15.)
  • Clayton Cole (aka, Clash) runs into an old henchman he knows, but rebuffs an offer to talk about working with the Owl.
  • Clayton eats a meal with his parents, who are seemingly rotten people. They tell their son Peter Parker is exploiting his genius, liken Clayton’s beard to a something a homeless man would sport, and say his girlfriend Donna (a single mother who works at Parker Industries as an administrative assistant), is only interested in him for his future earnings.
  • Donna breaks up with Clayton just before he asks her to marry him. She is worried about what will happen when her son learns about his criminal past.
  • Clayton explodes on a coworker and later becomes paranoid (with good reason) when Ulysses and Spider-Man act like gossipy high-school kids around him.
  • Spider-Man catches Clayton using an experimental device that can retroactively track and record sound waves. The two have an argument and Clayton storms off.
  • Mendel Stromm (aka, Robot Master), pitches a heist of Parker Industries to Clayton in a bar for henchmen. The plan is to frame Harry Osborn Lyman.
  • Peter tells Harry in a private meeting that he wants to make amends with Clayton, never realizing that the Tinkerer has been given a request to upgrade Mr. Cole’s “Clash” costume.

I mentioned in my first review that Mr. Gage added more intrigue to ASM in one issue than Dan Slott has in months. The good news is that Mr. Gage continues to creatively cross his ‘t’s’ and dot his ‘i’s’ in ways the head ASM scribe shows no interest in duplicating. The bad news is that as a reader it’s hard to witness Clayton’s behavior and not think, “Is Peter Parker the worst judge of character of all time?”

Consider this: Peter Parker’s ‘very close’ girlfriend tried to kill him, his inner circle lies to him and tries to work with corporate saboteurs, and his biggest investor (and secret santa) was the head of an international terrorist organization. He might want to have Doctor Strange check out that spider-sense one of these days, because it certainly doesn’t work during job interviews…

CWII ASMII

Overall, CWII: ASM #2 does a good job of getting readers to think about how hard it must be for an ex-convict to escape the long shadow of sins past. There is a nuance to Mr. Gage’s message about second chances and redemption that has always been absent from Mr. Slott’s work, and for that he should be commended.

At the end of the day, however, Mr. Cole largely comes across as an unsympathetic character due to his actions and the way artist Travel Foreman depicts his hair-trigger rage (an apology by the character afterwards does little to endear him to readers.)

Mendel Stromm

The best-case scenario for Mr. Cole is that he is using inside knowledge of Mendel Stromm’s attack to his advantage — as a hero. Perhaps he will set-up the villain to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt to Spider-Man and Ulysses that he is a good man. There will likely be confusion along the way  — a brief fight with Spider-Man, which technically will prove Ulysses was correct — but in the end Spider-Man and “Clash” will work together to take down Robot Master.

CWII ASMII SpiderMan

What did you think of CWII: ASM #2? Do you think “Clash” will be back to his villainous ways, or will he redeem himself by double-crossing Robot Master? Let me know in the comments section below.

Editor’s Note: Check out the YouTube page and subscribe if you’re into video reviews and podcasts. I plan on doing a lot more of that in the years ahead.

Amazing Spider-Man #15: Dan Slott’s Regent took down a god, then falls to … Mary Jane

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Mary Jane Iron Spider

It is a good bet that when Marvel writer Dan Slott was a kid that he was the one who always changed the rules of whatever game he was playing with friends. The Amazing Spider-Man #15 is a perfect example of a story crumbling into a schizophrenic mess because the writer altered established realities to get to a desired end.

Readers last left their beloved web-slinger knowing that he and Iron Man were defeated at the hands of Regent. The same villain who defeated a god — She-Thor — Vision, Wolverine, Captain America, Daredevil, Deadpool, Human Torch and countless other superheroes (and villains), also took down Peter Parker and Tony Stark.

Regent has been established as a force to be reckoned with, right? Keep that in mind as we move forward with this review.

Here is what you need to know for ASM #15:

  • The Avengers are defeated. Heroes everywhere are missing. Regent is on the brink of victory.
  • Mary Jane decides to suit up in Peter’s old “Iron Spider” costume because … she once wore an old Iron Man suit and temporarily had spider-powers. Her plan is to take on Regent by herself.
  • Harry Osborn Lyman, captured and contained in one of Regent’s holding tanks, uses new Webware technology that he “just had Clayton [install]” (how convenient) to escape. Sound waves from Harry’s glorified iWatch shatter glass that can hold She-Thor.
  • Peter, encased in a bubble, distracts Regent so Iron Spider-MJ can sucker punch him. The distraction bursts his psychic bubbles and the previously defeated and fatigued Spider-Man springs into action. The three have a déjà vu moment.
  • Spider-Man leaves to save Harry while M.J. and Iron Man continue to fight.
  • Miles Morales is freed and his instant-win venom blast takes out Dr. Stillwell.

Miles Morales ASM 15

  • An army of superheroes are released and Regent acknowledges defeat. He is then confined within his own prison.
  • MJ, Tony, and Jarvis have a private party with champagne (Tony, understandably, does not drink).
  • Peter, the billionaire CEO of Parker Industries, throws a party for his friends … at a coffee shop. Bobbi Morse is introduced to Aunt May and Jay Jameson collapses after coughing up blood.

ASM #15 fails because Dan Slott sets precedents and then disregards them when it suits his needs. He pens stories for an older-skewing audience, but then expects the average reader to accept deviations from established rules like a child.

Regent SheThor

To add insult to injury, fans of the marriage between Peter and Mary Jane are punched in the gut at least twice.

  1. Spider-Man tells Tony: “[Peter] only realized he’d lost MJ after she moved on. You better not make the same mistake.”
  2. Peter essentially introduces Mockingbird to Aunt May as his new girlfriend (Whatever happened to the girlfriend who tried to murder him?)

The fact of the matter is not that Mary Jane “moved on” — it’s that Marvel’s editors and Dan Slott are telling readers to move on.

The message is clear: “Stop spitting up Tom Brevoort’s medicine. Take it. The beatings will continue until morale improves!”

If you want to see some stunning cover art by Alex Ross, then make sure to buy ASM #15.

If you don’t require a writer to stick to his own set of rules as long as characters are punching each other and “zany” hijinks ensue, then buy ASM #15.

If, however, you expect writers to offer creative cohesion and linear logic, which can easily be traced to acceptable premises, then you might want to read Charles Soule’s Daredevil instead.

Dan Slott, confronted on weird behavior, lies about Douglas Ernst Blog — again

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DC Women tweet

Douglas Ernst Blog terrifies and irritates Marvel writer Dan Slott to no end. The man stalks this blog in the wee hours of the morning, keeps tabs on my professional life, and consistently tries to smear me every time someone cites my work.

Your friendly neighborhood blogger walked out of Steven Spielberg’s newest film, The BFG, this afternoon to see traffic spike for a post titled “Dan Slott trolls random woman on Twitter, then has the gall to bash GamerGate supporters.” I knew immediately that a really good Reddit conversation was going on somewhere or that Dan Slott was once again lying about me on Twitter. It turned out to be the latter.

Here is how Mr. Slott responded to the DC Women Kicking Ass blog when its creator called him out for his unprofessional Twitter antics.

Dan Slott dcwomenkicka tw1

Yes, Dan Slott is calling me a “Right Wing extremist” — because a Catholic guy who believes in free markets, a strong national defense and the rule of law somehow equates to extremism in his mind.

As usual, the writer attacks me from afar because the evidence is not in his favor.

Since Mr. Slott knows deep down that a quick internet search can easily prove him wrong, he then goes to his bag of logical fallacies — after “ad hominem” usually comes “poisoning the well.”

In today’s case we have Dan Slott referring to a previous employer I had (for eight months), that has dozens upon dozens of op-ed contributors from across the conservative spectrum — some I vehemently disagree with (e.g., Ann Coulter), and others (like economist Thomas Sowell) who are intellectual giants.

Dan Sott dcwomenkicka tw2

Regardless, I challenge anyone to go through my Twitter feed and find “extreme” work — it’s not there.

Like any writer who works for online magazines or newspapers, I am sometimes given assignments that I dislike, but I always try my best to stick to the principles espoused on this blog. Dan Slott’s insinuation that I’m a “birther” is pathetic, but at this point it is to be expected.

Finally, Dan’s tweet-screed shows that despite being exposed as Slottian misrepresentation at its finest (even CBR readers have called him out on his sad attempts to deflect criticism), he still insists on twisting my response to Peter Parker’s “No One Dies” mantra.

Dan Slott dcwomen3

Dan Slott dcwomenka tw response

Dan Slott says Douglas Ernst Blog “distorts” everything he does, which is weird because a.) I said he hit a “home run” with Renew Your Vows, and b.) his definition of distortion apparently is “quoting a man word for word and linking to the source material whenever available.”

A good example might be that time he said Peter Parker’s love for Mary Jane is “anti-Marvel.”

I quoted the man at length, linked to an hour-long YouTube video, instructed readers to view the entire thing, and he still accused me of taking him “out of context.”

That, dear reader, is “distortion” to Mr. Slott.

Note to Dan Slott: You obviously have learned nothing from the time you stalked The Main Event and then exploited his charity run for Twitter sponge bathes. The guy tore you to shreds, but yet you continue to act like an online buffoon.

Keep talking, Mr. Slott. I will continue to expose your lies. I might even have to do my own YouTube takedown soon. If I can deliver half as well as The Main Event, then I will be happy.

Update: Look who is stalking my blog again (despite blocking me on Twitter) — Dan Slott.

Dan Slott stalking tweet

The name of this website is Douglas Ernst Blog. There is nothing weird about referring to it by its proper name. Anyone who knows about branding understands that. How strange is it that Dan Slott mocks me for being a single person when it is glaringly obvious that my writing is constantly on his mind? What are you going to do, Dan Slott, when I continue to expand my social media presence in the years ahead?

Side Note: Here is a brief glimpse into the mind of Dan Slott’s most ardent supporters. This individual tried to say that Mr. Slott does not resort to ad hominem attacks. When I said that calling me a “Right Wing extremist” is, in fact, an attack on my character his response was that it was “probably” used as a pejorative. Classic.

It was a mere “slight.” That’s all, old chap! Academics and all, you know. Hurrrm.

Dan Slott ad hominem attack