I mentioned last post that I didn’t buy these at the time. Why would I? I wasn’t a fan of Carnage or the art, that’s 2 strikes. And I knew, as I began trying to collect all of ASM, that I would not enjoy this stupid story even without having read it. But now it was a gap, and I was trying to close all gaps. But, see, comic collectors are stupid, and they get really excited about stupid things, and one of those things is “first appearances.” Remember Spider-Man #25, where he briefly sort-of-not-really gained the powers of The Phoenix? Well, in collector circles, that’s called “The First Appearance of Spider-Phoenix,” and they try to convince you it’s important. Any stupid thing they can call the first appearance of something is likely to cost a lot. Like, say, the first appearance of Silver Carnage. Now, you might be thinking he was on the last page of last issue, so this isn’t his first appearance. Sssshhhhh. You may be thinking he’ll certainly be free of the symbiote by the end of these 22 pages and never touch it again. Ssssssshhh. There’s money to be made. Compounding the problem, in these days, as Marvel was navigating bankruptcy and for some years after, print runs went down dramatically. So books from this period are significantly harder to lay hands on than in previous years, or post-2010 or so. So a storm of factors resulted in me, clueless, having a nasty shock as I tried to acquire this comic only to learn people were asking hundreds of dollars for it. This sure-to-be-terrible comic I didn’t even want to read, but which was rapidly becoming the only post-1960s issue I didn’t have besides The Punisher’s first appearance. I couldn’t spend that kinda money on trash just because collectors are idiots. But that gap was haunting me. So I watched eBay like a hawk. And eventually, it happened, as it so often seemed to during the Great ebay Hysteria of 2018: a low price auction went up that somehow flew under the radar. Not to the extent that some of my other stunning finds did. For one thing, this one’s not in great shape. For another, I still spent more than I wanted. But instead of $400, I gritted my teeth and spent somewhere in the teens (I actually don’t remember now) to own this comic I am sure to not enjoy. What a hobby. What a smart person I am. Let’s see it. The Surfer is reacting to his situation on the splash.
I can understand why, because it’s pretty confusing, but they’ve actually put text over his face. Crazy. Spidey recaps what’s going on and tries to go at this problem hard and fast, before the bond can complete, but is routed quickly by cosmic powered tendrils. The Surfer is still fighting his condition internally (A far cry from what the end of last issue suggested), says he must handle this alone, and zooms off. In the process, he accidentally blasts the corner off a building, and Spidey has to save some folks, which lets him recap how he’s wanted right now. Then it’s subplot time, quickly doing the rounds to see MJ shaken by the situation, Robbie and Martha arguing about his job (Her being attacked in the elevator sure didn’t help!). Martha delivers a “it’s your job or me” ultimatum, and Joe is stunned, as if this hasn’t been where every chat they’ve had for like 10 issues was going.
Meanwhile, The Surfer is tearing through space, recalling a time in the distant past when he came upon a world where the entire dominant species had been possessed by symbiotes, so he summoned Galactus to destroy it. An unusually reasonable use of Galactus. We’re told this event was “burned into the genetic memory of every survivor.” How many is that, really? Galactus doesn’t leave much left, it seems like. Well, now he’s struggling to free himself of Carnage.
Back with the Robertsons, Joe is starting to realize Martha is right. Could he mean it? Back at the hospital, Spider-Man, now listening through the window since he was chased out, learns Cletus Kasady has advanced stomach cancer. The only think keeping him alive was the symbiote. That’s about as good a hook as you could come up with for trying to make Spider-Man think reuniting him with it is the right thing to do, but as I said repeatedly and at length before, there’s no world in which keeping Kasady alive is a good or moral choice, so it still doesn’t fly for me. But he can’t worry about any of that until the Surfer is saved, so he swings off looking for help elsewhere.
Sigh.
And now this old chestnut. Tired. On the next page, The Surfer fights for his soul, and on the very next page, 2 entire pages after giving up, Peter Parker sees a flash in the sky and knows The Surfer is back, and switches to Spider-Man to try to help. What a joke. The Surfer zooms toward Kasady’s hospital room, but is intercepted by Spidey.
That’s a bit much for MJ. As Spidey and The Surfer continue to fight and also argue, I learn this comic has food in it. Looks like some pieces of a granola bar, maybe. Gross! As he begins to succumb to the symbiote, Surfer asks Spider-Man if he can really condemn Kasady to death, and of course, he can’t.
Seriously, dude? “I could never take his life, but I can trap him in a statue until he dies of old age!” What’s the difference? I mean, I guess that’s a better punishment, really, but A) The Surfer clearly doesn’t mean it to be a punishment, and B) We know he’ll break loose. But, he’s stopped and things are back to normal, so it’s all good for now. Right?
And so, Robbie quits The Bugle. He’s threatened to do so many times. I bet he’s not gone long, but I actually don’t remember.