Thursday, May 21, 2009

Amazing Spider-Man #586 - Character Assassination Interlude

Credits
  • Writer: Marc Guggenheim
  • Pencils: Barry Kitson
  • Inks: Karl Kesel
  • Colors: Andres Mossa

    This picks up where Harry Osborn accidentally learns the true identity of Menace -- Lily Hollister.

    Summary
    Menace is giving Spider-Man the hell of a beating, knocking him unconscious. Although she could easily have at that point, she needed him alive, to be "paraded around like a trophy" and making his father, Bill Hollister the mayor of New York.

    She dumps Spider-Man aside to be picked up by the police and flies straight back to the Hollister's Campaign HQ. There, Harry Osborn sees Lily in Menace's costume.

    Harry takes a momemnt to process everything, but Lily tries to say what she thinks is in Harry's mind: that she dated him only because he was the Green Goblin, and that he's afraid that she doesn't love him. Harry couldn't take it and slaps across the face; Lily strikes back with backhand of her own.

    She reveals that she knows about the family secret and explains how she learned the truth: months ago, worried about his late nights, she thought that he was relapsing to his drug addiction. Lily searched his room for any clues. In his closet she finds his diary which basically revealed everything.

    She learns that by moving the book "The Rise of the Norman Empire" on the shelf, the entrance to the secret room will open. She enters the room and finds the mother-lode of all motherlodes -- there's enough evidence in that room to place Harry's dad, Norman Osborn, in jail for the rest of his life. While looking around, she knocks over what turns out to be a new goblin formula that made her stronger and can transform herself to her 'Menace" form at will.

    On a sidenote, she also reveals that she kissed Peter Parker who nearly discovers that secret room -- back in ASM #573.

    Harry insists that she's crazy because as Menace, she keeps attacking her own father. Lily rationalizes the method to her madness: sympathy is a valuable political tool; polls for his father jumped everytime she attacked him.

    She then shows that she's wearing the engagement ring: yep, she says yes to becoming Mrs. Harry Osborn. She then leaves as she doesn't want to miss Spider-Man's arrest.

    In closing, on election day, Harry goes to the secret room, takes a vial and a gun, dons a pair of gloves and is about to ride the glider.
  • Monday, May 11, 2009

    Wolverine #67: Old Man Logan Part 2

    Credits:
  • Writer: Mark Millar

  • Penciler: Steve McNiven

  • Inker: Dexter Vines

  • Colorist: Morry Hollowell

  • Summary
    Hawkeye/Clint Barton and Logan drive their way to New Babylon in the east coast. It's already dark when they reached what used to be San Francisco. Clint explains to Logan that San Francisco is now sunk by Moloids, creatures living underground who thrive in the dark and are easily blinded by any light. As long as they have their lights handy, they should be safe.

    They wandered about the remains of the city to look for survivors in order to trade for supplies, when they instead met a punk group of Ghost Riders riding their mystic motorcycles and burning wheels. Logan was knocked down and refused to fight them. After Logan has taken a beating, Hawkeye shoots a hail of arrows killing the Riders. Not bad for a blind guy, although the Riders are probably making a lot of noise making them easy targets even for a blind marksman such as Hawkeye. Anyway, Hawkeye expresses his disappointment on Logan for not even defending himself. Logan gets a flashback of him fighting off a horde of supervillains. He simply said that they broke him. And that's the only reason he's alive.

    Next day, they reached Las Vegas which is now renamed Hammer Falls. It is also the number one tourist attraction in Amerika, where people can buy superhero memorabilia. The Kingpin -- the new ruler of these parts -- doesn't mind that about the superhero stuff being sold here as long as money is to be made. Hawkeye further explains that this is the place where fifty years before the Absorbing Man and Magneto finished off their last great white hope -- Thor. This is where people pray to the fallen hammer of Thor -- thus the name -- for the return of the superheroes...

    Here, they had a chance encounter with Ultron Eight, a servant of Tonya, Hawkeye's third ex-wife, who turns out to be the youngest daughter of Peter Parker aka Spider-Man. They made their way to Tonya's garage who explains to them that their daughter, Ashley, has formed a super team to fight the new Kingpin.