Sensational Spider-Man #33 (November, 1998)
"The Gathering of Five, Part Five: Gifts"
Writer - Todd DeZago
Pencils - Joe Bennett
Inks - Al Milgrom
Colors - Tom Smith
Letters - Richard Starkings & Comicraft's Liz Agraphiotis
Edits - Ralph Macchio
Chief - Bob Harras
Cover Price: $1.99
Even though nobody's following along anymore, we're still working our way toward the Byrne/Mackie Reboot... and today, we wrap up the lead-in story arc, The Gathering of Five. Be ready for one heck of a satisfying conclusion. Would I lie to ya? Hrmm...
If you wanna/needta catch up, here are the first four chapters. Just click'a the cov'uh, and you will be delivered:
Now, onto the senses-shattering conclusion! Tomorrow, we begin The Final Chapter... which, uh, is the next story line.
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We open with Override... yeah, him again... it's several weeks ago and he's sat at the bedside of his wife in the hospital. It'd been near a quarter-century since I last read any of this, so I assumed she was just "ill"... and not all tore up from their last outing together as supervillains. Anyhoo, she's been comatose for awhile, and our man decides he's just going to put her out of her misery... until, that is, she wakes up!
Back to the present, and Peter Parker is trying to repair his leaky roof. While in the attic, he comes across some old photos... and, like most of us do when in the same sort of situation, he starts to reminisce. He is soon joined by Mary Jane, who hems and haws about maybe getting back into the modeling game... even though she's clearly already made up her mind. We get a panel with some of Emjay's photos, which... if taken out of context, would be pretty gross. Splott, indeed.
MJ continues to hint that she's doneski with school... and starts harping on how expensive her textbooks are. $300 for a psychology book! Hmm. I've been a student of Psychology for a decade now (at undergrad, masters, and post-masters levels), and haven't had a book quite that expensive in any'a my syllabuses. She must be taking some advanced stuff! Peter tells her not to sweat it.
Back at the hospital, Greg (Override) tells Annie about the Gathering of Five ritual. Oh yeah, that li'l thing... almost forgot about it! It's not like it's front-and-center in the story named after it, is it? We learn a bit more about the extent of Annie's injuries... it doesn't sound great.
Greg heads out... almost ashamed of himself for not being completely upfront with Annie about what the Gathering of Five might actually result in. He realizes she's pretty hopeless at the moment, and he didn't want to pile on anything else for her to worry about.
We shift scenes, and... hey, it's Spider-Man! After nearly killing himself by swingin' in the rain... he pitches a tent around a homeless man, and follows the police to an armored car that had just been robbed. Ya see, he's hopeful to snap a few Spidey-action-pics to sell to Jonah... and use those monies to buy MJ her books!
Little does he know, however, that at that very moment... Mary Jane is withdrawing from all of her classes!
Back at the hospital, Annie Override has another visitor... it's Norman! He promises her that, should the Gathering of Five go sideways for Greg... that he himself will return to "bring her peace". Welp, that got kinda dark.
Back with Spidey... he notices, say it with me, Override running away from the armored car holding a briefcase. The next four pages have Spider-Man chasing the baddie... into a building, and up to its roof. Along the way Spidey sings a bit of Fastball's "The Way", which really helps ta get ya into the gestalt of 1998, eh?
Spidey knocks Override off the roof, but catches him before he falls all that far. He delivers the baddie to a pair of police officers, who appear not to give half a damn. Whattayagonnado?
What's important here is that Peter got his pictures... and the Bugle ran one of 'em! Look at the angle on this thing. Where exactly would "Peter Parker" be to snap this picture? Does Jonah ever stop to think about that? I mean, Pete would have to be hovering in a low-flying helicopter or something, no? Silly.
Back in the hospital, we learn that Greg managed to give the officers the slip... not that they cared all that much in the first place. He's now got "all the money" they could ever need... and soon, after the Ritual, their lives will be perfect. You almost feel for the guy, right?
Speakin' of guys we feel for... we jump to the next day, where Peter is putting the finishing touches on his roof repair. Mary Jane joins him... and he gleefully presents her with a gift. It's her Psych books! She looks at them the same way a kid might look at a gift of socks on Christmas morning. Or, perhaps how one might look at a mess the dog left on the new carpet.
Now, she finally comes clean... school, a degree... she don't want none'a that. What she wants is "adventure"... and "excitement"... and for her, that comes with modeling.
Peter says, if that's what is most important to her... than she should do it. Emjay corrects him, and while holding up a picture from their wedding day, says this is what's most important to her... but, she's still gonna get back to modeling anyway. And with that... The Gathering of Five story arc... and this volume of Sensational Spider-Man come to an end.
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Boy, I hope y'all didn't get too burned out on the hot-n-heavy Gathering of Five stuff in this issue! Hoo-boy, and how about that conclusion! Wow, I never expected the Gathering of Five to end... without the Gathering of the friggin' Five! Yeesh... I know a running gag in the bullpen and letters pages is to give "Ralf" a hard time about how bad a job he does, but... c'mon man... who paced this event? Five-parts... only two-and-a-half of which had anything to do with the actual thing it's named after!
Alright, let's put that aside for now... and talk about what we actually did get. This was Override's story... who, for getting such a focus here, feels like a character we should still be talking about today, no? Heck, it's been a long while since I read any "current year" Spidey... so, for all I know, he's looming larger than ever.
His story is pretty tragic... made even more so by the fact that his wife's current bodily state is his own fault. You almost feel for the guy... and perhaps, under other circumstances, I would. I gotta say though, every time he was on panel here... all I wanted to do was flip forward. I'm expecting some Norman stuff here... and all I'm getting is Dr. Greg Whatshisface. Not a fault of the story, the issue, nor Todd DeZago... but, more an "it is what it is" sort of thing.
Speaking of DeZago... I really like the way he writes Peter/Spidey. The banter is not forced like it is under Byrne, and it doesn't feel like he just found a book of Henny Youngman one-liners to recite from like so many other Spidey writers. While on the creative team, I really gotta hand it to Joe Bennett. His art has been one of the bright-spots of revisiting this story/era. His Dr. Greg might look a bit too much like Peter at times, but, for the most part... his work is really great!
Let's talk Mary Jane. As much as she got on my nerves for making excuses and hemming and hawing, I'd be lying if I said I myself have never had those thoughts and conversations. School as an adult... sucks. While everyone you know is focused on their careers and gets to plan to spend their free time however they see fit, the adult student has... schoolwork, research, and classes after their day job. It's not easy. I mean, it's not impossible... but, it's not preferable, ya know?
I've had those hemming and hawing conversations with the wife... where I make excuses about anything from "expenses" (like MJ did), and having a more accommodating schedule... questioning the "value" of an advanced degree, asking if it would make that much of a difference in the long-run. It's definitely something that can burrow into your brain pan. Especially when it's a Psych degree. I tell ya, a Bachelor of Science in Psychology... is worthless (I've had one for years!) Well, worthless if you actually want a career in Psychology, or Research, or Behavioral Health that pays more than minimum wage.
So yeah, didn't love Emjay's take... but, can't suggest that it didn't feel right or real. I still can't shake the feeling that we're supposed to feel somewhat betrayed by her quitting school. Even with her holding up the photo from their wedding... it still doesn't feel like they're "on the same page". We'll be exploring this further as we move through the Byrne/Mackie reboot.
Overall. This was a fine issue... but a lousy chapter (much less the concluding chapter) of The Gathering of Five. We get very little (if any) closure. It feels like something out of nu-skool "Marvel Events 101"... where final chapters don't actually conclude anything... all they do is lead into the next in a string of endless events. Imagine buying a The Gathering of Five trade paperback collection... and it only included these five issues? You'd feel like you were robbed... and you wouldn't be wrong!
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Sensational Spider-Man #32 (October, 1998)
"The Gathering of Five, Part One: Acquisitions"
Writer - Todd DeZago
Pencils - Joe Bennett
Inks - Ralph Cabrera
Colors - Tom Smith
Letters - Richard Starkings & Comicraft's Liz Agraphiotis
Edits - Ralph Macchio
Chief - Bob Harras
Cover Price: $1.99
Okay... we're going to dip back into the old blogging bag o' tricks. What do we do when we're stuck? What do we do when our focus is shaken? What do we do when we don't know what to do?
Well... we start a project.
I don't know if we'll see this one all the way through... I hope we will, but I can't make any promises. This is a comics topic I would file under "unfinished business"... as it was something I would threaten Reggie with regularity while we were working on the show(s).
The subject of Spider-Man would come up during our recordings, and I'd say, "One day we will get around to... (imagine thunder and lightning sounds here) the Byrne/Mackie Reboot!" And so, starting today, that's exactly what we're gonna do. I figured we'd start with The Gathering of Five storyline that leads into the big wrap-up of the Spidey Volume Ones. I probably could've gone back further... or, heck, just started with the first issues of the Volume Twos... but, I think this is probably the best place to begin to give us just enough context.
A little housekeeping before we hop over the hyphens... I'm still going to be sharing audio offerings here with regularity, but I haven't decided if those will just be "Spidey-skip-days", or if... heck, maybe I'll just have two posts on those days. One thing I'm coming to learn (and accept) is that there ain't no such thing as rules here anymore. Somehow, still haven't missed a day though.
And now... let's get ready to reboot.
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We open at the Aleister Building, where inside Norman Osborn is trying to cut a deal with one Hamilton Cromwell, a... ahem, fifth-degree maegis of the Elite Dark Chamber. Woof. Turns out there are a fivesome of MacGuffins, which when put together hold the potential of doling out some "great power". Guess who already has one of these tchotchkes? Norman shows Cromwell a piece that resembles a spindle. The other four pieces, by the way, look like quarters of a circle... so, when assembled, they... ya know, actually assemble. Cromwell, by the way, has one of those "quarters".
Here's the thing, though... he isn't keen on the idea of performing the "Gathering" ritual... or, the "Rites of the Five". After showing Norman exactly where he keeps his piece... he kicks him out. Something tells me that Norman isn't going to give up... well, actually, Norman himself tells us that he's not going to give up.
We shift scenes and, hey look, it's Spider-Man... and he stops swinging through the skies of New York to deal with a mugging. All he has to do is disarm the baddie... because the fella he was holding up is, well, built like a house.
Next stop, Peter and MJ's house (Aunt May's house, actually, but she's dead at the moment), where the latter is studying for some "difficult" Psychology classes she signed up for over the Summer. Her Aunt Anna enters the room to inform her that she's got a phone call... it's her old modeling agent! He's got a gig for her, if she's interested. She stops to think it over, even noticing a Parenting magazine on the table next to her... which, starting a family was one of the reasons she left the "biz"... buuuuut, decides she's back in the game!
Back to Spidey as he's clung to the side of... I wanna say Grand Central Station... or something that looks like it. He's waiting for his "usual" bus to head back home to Queens. Before he can, however, he notices one of Osborn's armored goons causing havoc in the streets... this is Override!
Spidey gives chase, tracking Override all the way to that Aleister Building from the beginning. The baddie busts his way in, and even kills a pair of Security Guards... then, makes his way down to that super-secret sub-basement where Cromwell keeps his MacGuffin sliver... only, it looks like a full-on round chocolate chip cookie here.
At this point, Spidey confronts Override... and, well, they fight for a few pages. The baddie manages to give Spidey the slip for a second... but, before long our man's back on the trail. They somehow wind up in "The Menagerie" of the Building... which is to say, a room full of horror-containing canisters. Override is stopped by, uh... balaclava-wearing security? Okay.
Once Spider-Man arrives, the horrors are let out. So, we get a page of Spidey battling some generic beasties... while Override beats a hasty retreat.
Spider-Man is eventually able to overcome... but, it's too late. He knows Norman's likely already got that weird cookie Override stole out of the basement. Speaking of which, that's pretty much exactly what's going down on the other side of the city! Override hands over the MacGuffin... which, again... does not look like it did at the beginning of the issue.
Here, Override reveals that he only took this job because his wife is very ill. He knows a thing or two (literally, just a thing or two) about this Gathering of Five Ritual... as in, it might bestow "great power". Also, that it requires five people as well as the five trinkets. He asks Norman if he himself might get a seat at the proverbial "table" for the Rites... hopeful that whatever "great power" he might receive will help him cure his wife. Norman gives the big ol' thumbs up. See? He's not such a bad guy!
We begin our wrap up with the revelation that Norman's in cahoots with... aw hell... the Scriers. How did I forget about that? Good grief. You ever wanna tune me out of a Spidey story... toss a Scrier in it! He learns that Kaine and a woman named Mongrain (who he had hired during Mary Jane's pregnancy to swipe the Spider-Fetus) are now on the table as pawns in all this.
We close with the revelation that Alison Mongrain is hiding out in Paris... and has just been located by ol' Robbie Robertson!
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Ya know, I feel like when people stop and think about infamous eras in the Spider-Books, their minds immediately go to The Clone Saga, or Sins Past, or One More Day... and, trust me, if I were discussing any of those, I'm sure this piece would get far more engagement than it actually will. The Byrne/Mackie Reboot, in hindsight, trumped all of those stories... again, that's with near a quarter-century of hindsight.
Now, after reading this first part of the lead-up... ya know, this wasn't as bad as I remembered. Again, this is only one issue... and, for this project, we'll be looking at over fifty... so, it isn't saying all that much. But for a start, I was okay with it. I remember not being so on-board back in 1998... and let's talk about why that might've been...
The main complaint I remember hearing about The Gathering of Five (as well as elements of a lot of Spider-Man stories of the mid-late 90's), was that it didn't feel like a Spider-Man story. It wasn't "street-level" enough... it had to do with weird mumbo-jumbo, mysticism, and other very un-Spidey stuff.
I wonder if the, in my opinion, very un-Spidey stuff we got from the Spider-Man "brain trust" in the 22 years since has kind of desensitized me to the inherent "badness" of this storyline? Just think about everything that happened to Spider-Man after the turn of the century...
- Spider-Totems
- Unmaskings
- The Osborn/Stacy Twins
- Deals With the Devil
- Body-Swaps
- Becoming a wealthy tech wizard
- Having like a dozen other Spider-Heroes running around
... to name a few.
Very... to me, un-Spidey stuff. Almost makes the odd trappings of The Gathering of Five seem like "just another day" in Peter Parker's life, dunnit? I guess if "exceptions" are around long enough, they eventually become "the rule"?
Anyhoo, let's actually look at this issue instead of kvetching about much of what came after (though, no promises)...
For the most part, I enjoyed this well enough. There was plenty of action (though, it was pretty shoehorned in), blended with soapiness, angst, and greed... everyone's motivations are pretty clear, and we have a kind of "direction". I tell ya one thing, I think we got more out of this Part One than we ever would in a Part One from "current year".
Override... pretty lame villain, though was fleshed out decently enough here. They gave him an altruistic reason for wrapping himself up in Osborn's business. That's fair enough. We'll learn more about the Rites of the Five as we move along... so, I won't go into the risks/rewards of participation just yet. I do like, however, that he's purely motivated out of desperation and far-flung hope. We get the impression that, outside of his wife, he's really got nothing to lose here.
Mary Jane. Hmm. Almost feels like they're trying to turn the reader against her, dunnit? Nah, probably all in my head, right? She and Peter were in full-on "settling down" mode not too long before this. Ben Reilly was Spider-Man, MJ was pregnant... and with Aunt May's passing and nothing keeping them there, she and Peter were goneski from New York City. She'd lose the baby, and Peter would pop under the webs again, of course... but, it seemed (at the time) like they were going to continue pursuing a semblance of a "normal family".
That kind of goes out the window here, doesn't it? Mary Jane does take pause when offered the modeling gig... to consider the life-altering decision she's about to make... but, ultimately appears to forgo becoming a mother for now. Were we readers supposed to see that as a sort of betrayal? A sign that maybe she and Peter aren't ready to be grown-ups just yet? There's a lot we can read into from that scene... especially with everything that has happened since.
Then there's Norman. He hasn't been back on the table all that long at this point (relatively speaking)... but he's definitely aiming quite a bit higher than he did in his prior life. He's not dressing up like a cartoon goblin, for one. For another, he's exploring some pretty dicey hoo-doo in order to procure some nebulous "great power". Feels like he's being "leveled up" a bit with this story. They're showing us more of a cerebral Norman... he's really the "straw that stirs the drink", and retroactively, he always has been. Not a bad look for him as the "big bad", though I could certainly do without the Scriers.
Overall... yeah, not bad. I'm actually surprised! It's been... err, twenty-two years since I last cracked the cover on this... so, maybe it's just faulty memory... maybe I'm softening in my old age... or maybe, this is a comparable "breath of fresh air" from what would come later... but, yeah... not bad.
Worth noting, this era of comics is probably on my absolute favorite paper stock. It's like a perfect blend of newsprint and gloss... and, hoo boy, the smell (while likely toxic) is amazing!
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Young Justice #22 (August, 2000)
"... the Best Intentions!"
"Father's Day"
"Stakeout"
"Other Interests"
Writers - Todd DeZago, Jay Faerber, Chuck Dixon, & Brian K. Vaughan
Pencillers - Todd Nauck, Coy Turnbull, Patrick Zircher, & Scott Kolins
Inkers - Bud LaRosa, Rodney Ramos, Norm Rapmund, & Dan Panosian
Letterers - Clem Robins, Ken Lopez, & Albert DeGuzman
Colorist - Jason Wright
Separations - Digital Chameleon
Assistant Editor - Maureen McTigue
Editor - Eddie Berganza
Cover Price: $2.50
Hey, there's a familiar cover... well, kinda familiar.
It's pretty reminiscent of New Teen Titans #8... "A Day in the Lives"... except here, we have a red robot instead of a red menace!
That Titans issue was a classic. Does Young Justice have any hopes of living up to it?
Read on...
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We open with the Red Tornado who is having a good hard think on whether or not he should consider himself a "father" to Traya. He's struggling with the fact that he feels so much like a father... but, technically, isn't. Just then, his attention is drawn to a playground where children are... well, playing. He sees a certain group, and they instantly remind him of... well, you know.
He then hears a girl crying. He approaches her to find out what's up... and she tells him that a boy just hit her. When Reddy confronts the boy... he explains that he saw that she was all by herself and was just inviting her to play "tag" with the rest of the kids.
We wrap up with a woman who was watching (but, for some reason didn't get involved when she saw a girl crying) tell Reddy that he's a "natural" when it comes to parenting.
Then... an interlude! Back at the temporary Young Justice HQ in the Poconos, Bart is trying to figure out a way for Superboy to get his powers back. Ya see, this is on the heels of the "Sins of Youth" event, in which all of the teen heroes swapped ages with the adult heroes... so, say... Superboy became Superman, and vice-versa. Anyhoo, when Superboy returned to his "real" age, he no longer had powers. And so, here we have Bart Allen rummaging through his issues of Secret Origins to try and concoct Kon's return to a super-powered state.
Our next vignette features Robin and Nightwing as they stakeout a fella named Billings in Bludhaven. Robin's having some trouble readjusting to being in his teen-age body after briefly becoming Batman. He's also struggling with the fact that... being Batman was hard. Who better to chat up than the original Robin... and short-tenured Batman himself, Dick Grayson?
They continue to chat, and the subject shifts to secret identities. Ya see, Tim hasn't shared his with his Young Justice teammates... because, with his comes (in theory) the whole Bat-Family. Dick points out how funny it is that Tim felt overwhelmed by the responsibility of being Batman... however, feels right at home leading an entire superhero team.
Just then, they see their ticket into Billings' house. Hungry Harry's Deli delivers! When Billings goes to answer the door, we find out exactly what kind of sandwich he ordered... a knuckle sandwich! (Yeah, that was pretty bad... I apologize).
Turns out he'd actually ordered cheesesteak fajitas... which, I feel like they were trying to establish as the "tourist food" of Bludhaven. As they tie the baddie up, Nightwing is convinced that everything will eventually work itself out.
Back to the interlude... Bart has read his comics and has a few ideas on how Kon-El might get his groove back. First he tops off his Soder Cola with some Super Soldier Serum Syrup... then places a non-radioactive spider atop his sushi rolls. It's a cute scene.
Our next story features Cassie as she finds out she'd scored the lead in her schools presentation of Our Town. She's not at all sure how she feels about this... after all, she only tried out so her gal-pal wouldn't have to do it alone. Said gal-pal then starts getting on her about planning her life. Wow, that escalated pretty quickly.
Later on, Cassie returns home... and unfortunately for her, it's report card day. Her mother is furious that her daughter got a B in history... and forbids her from meeting up with her Young Justice friends on school nights until she raises that grade.
She can, however, train with Artemis. The pair discuss some of Cassie's trepidation when it comes to heroing. After the age-swap of "Sins of Youth" Cassie knows that she most definitely does want to be a superhero when she grows up... but, what about now? Maybe she'd like to have a semi-normal teen-age experience... maybe even be in a school play. Welp, that's not what "Artie" wants to hear... and she dismisses her.
On the ride home, the Sandsmarks happen across a a woman who had just flipped her car and slammed into a pole. She made it out okay, however, her baby is still struggling in the inferno. Lucky for her, one of those Sandsmarks is Wonder Girl. Cassie saves the tot... realizes the kind of difference she can make as a superhero... and the following day, drops out of the play? Okay.
Our final "interlude" has Bart still trying all sorts of ways to give Kon some (any) powers. He starts by bathing him in a mixture of chemicals... which, I guess isn't the worst idea considering how several of the speedsters got their powers.
When Kon doesn't immediately exhibit super speed, Bart figures maybe he used the "Plastic Man chemicals" instead... and checks to see if Superboy's appendages have become all stretchy. No dice there either.
Superboy then pins Bart down and tells him to back off... then we close out with a look at all the rest of the goofy stuff Impulse had snagged in his attempt to make a hero out of Kon. How did Bart get a hold of a Green Lantern battery?! And 'Mazing Man's helmet?!
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Had more fun with this than I expected. Young Justice is one of those weird books... it was probably in my Top 3 books while it was coming out, but I have such a hard time revisiting it. Not sure if I just "outgrew" 'em... maybe it reminds me how none of "these" characters really exist anymore... or, maybe it just reminds me that this was half-a-life ago, and I start questioning all of the decisions I've made since then. Either way... ahem, had a good time with this.
Should we start with the framing/interlude sequence? These scenes were cute. Bart acting like you'd imagine Bart would in this sort of situation. I mean, he's being a complete pain in the ass... but, his heart is definitely in the right place. He's going to these lengths in order to help his buddy. Gotta remember that Kon is one of his very few "real" friends... and he probably doesn't wanna lose him as a "running buddy" on the team.
It's also always neat to see those "gallery" panels with oddities like, ya know, 'Mazing Man's helmet (which even makes it to the cover!). And all the Bart-takes on classic superhero origins was a lot of fun to see.
Let's talk about the Cassie arc first. I get what they're going for here... but, and I think we've talked about this before... when you bring the idea of superheroes being able to save "everybody", it all kinda starts to fall apart. Here we have Cassie, who just happened to be in the right place to save that baby from the burning car... which says to her that she needs to be a superhero from this point on... and walk away from her role in the school play.
But... heroes can't be everywhere, right? I mean, if Cassie had her way, she'd have been across country hanging out (and heroing) with Young Justice on this night... and that baby wouldn't have made it. So... which is it? You're never going to be everywhere at once... and if heroes could save everybody... then nothing bad would ever happen. Not sure what giving up a role in a school play would help. Again... I get what they're going for... I just think it's a pretty flimsy way to go about it.
Red Tornado's story was... ehh, a bit on the saccharine side. Another where I "get what they're going for", but still... feels a bit trite. I mean, for the entire thing to work, we have to allow for the fact that a grown-up woman ignored the cries of a young girl... who, as far as anyone knew, had just been slapped by one of the boys.
And, really... what exactly did Reddy do besides ask "What happened here?" Is that really being a "natural" father? I think that's just being an adult, no?
Unsurprisingly, (and ignoring it's non-ending) I felt like the Nightwing and Robin bit was likely the strongest of the issue. Tim struggling with how much he should let his teammates "in" has been an ongoing thread in Young Justice from the very start. I appreciate that they understand (and explain) just what a domino-effect giving out his secret identity has the potential to cause. It really could unravel the entire Bat-Family... which wouldn't be a good thing.
I dig that while Tim and Dick have so many similarities, they're also very different young men. I loved that Dick was quick to point out the differences between the Teen Titans and Young Justice. His dismissal of the "Junior Justice League" as perhaps a little "less stable" than his old team was pretty neat... and, also pretty true.
This was a "jam" issue of sorts, with several writers and artists... all of which flowed pretty nicely. The only artist who really stuck out here was Zircher, as he is far less cartoony than the rest of the team. Still, great work all around as far as art is concerned.
Overall, yeah... this is worth a peek. It's not quite on the level of a Scott Lobdell post-crossover X-Men issue, but if you ask me... few things are. The kids are starting to get their lives back to normal following "Sins of Youth", and it was a pretty good time. This issue is available digitally.
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