Been so long since we saw this era. Crazy. Tom DeFalco, Steve Skroce, Bud La Rosa, Bob Sharen on board. Gee, who could this villain be? Well, page one is is Doc Ock crawling out of his grave as a skeleton in Doc’s trademark bowl cut and shades, taunting Peter Parker about it. Then Peter wakes up from a nightmare. Peter dreaming this right before Ock really does come back from the dead is pretty hokey. They try to say he’s dreaming it because of the news that someone dug up Ock’s grave, which sort of works, I guess.
Ock was, of course, jobbed out to Kaine is a horrific bit of character assassination way back in TAC 221, which was covered more than 3 years ago. Time flies when you’re reading thousands of comics very slowly. And the person trashing that bar Daredevil-style trying to learn who stole his body is Carolyn Trainer, aka the new Doctor Octopus, last seen in that instant non-classic, Spectacular Scarlet Spider 2. She gets a lead on her mentor, and then we go to the business.
The Hand is always bringing people back from the dead. It’s kind of a get out of jail free card if you’re from the Daredevil comic. But now they’re hangin’ out in Spider-Land. Elsewhere, the woman was was Stunner (Via that holographic technology or whatever) is working in a video store when she’s approached by Trainer, telling her it’s time for Stunner to live again. Ok. Meanwhile, Peter Parker’s doing Kids in the Hall bits.
Ah, yes, no one’s favorite character, Paul Stacy. Why must we continue to see him? I feel like once a character in a superhero comic is revealed to be part of a racist hate group, he should be summarily brought to justice. As opposed to real life, when they can instead run for public office. In her secret lab somewheres, Trainer has plugged Angelina Branca back into the Stunner machine, and her avatar appears. And Spider-Man swings through the city, thinking about how so many people in his world have died only to turns out to be less dead than advertised. What’s funny about this is Doc really is dead. Unlike so many other characters, who just appeared to die (Or were later retconned that way), Ock really is about to come back from the dead. It’s a little different from just saying Norman Osborn’s been in Europe for 20 years. This book continues to wildly jump from scene to scene with no warning or transition or so much as a “meanwhile” like it did the last time we visited this period. Really glad this is Skroce’s last storyline. We hop to Trainer fishing up the persona of her Master Programmer AI, possibly revealing for the first time that it’s based on Ock’s brainwaves? I can’t even remember. Then jarringly cut, without warning, to MJ at her therapist, already in progress.
The very next page:
It’s the lady who made off with Baby May, due to Bob Harras’s mindbogglingly stupid edict that MJ’s baby be revealed to be alive, “to give readers hope,” but that she never be referenced again. But now it appears Alison just has a cat. What happened to May? The insane, insane answer is on its way. Smash cut to Stunner and Trainer sneaking into The Hand’s resurrection operation, which is, of course, waiting for them, and a gang of ninjas and Delilah descend on them. Much snappy patter is exchanged as the brawl begins, and then you-know-who shows up.
That Rose dialogue is bonkers. He suggests they all team up against Spidey, who’s busy mopping the floor with ninjas, doing Jackie Chan bits. Which I appreciate, it’s in the spirit of Ditko. I also love this ad:
This feels like a threat. “We dare you to try to keep up with our comics output! Don’t worry, all these books except Deadpool will be canceled soon!” The idea of Marvel, collapsing into bankruptcy, and just blitzing the comics racks with junk no one wants like KA-ZAR is insane.
Spidey keeps on fightin’ ninjas until he realizes none of the named villains are doing anything, and then…
A weird cliffhanger for Spider-Man to find himself in somewhat frequently. Like back in ASM 163, when he was gonna do this bit for Richard Fisk. And other times I maybe can’t recall right now. I’m sure he won’t make it.