A suitably nightmarish cover this month. USM 70 started a rare stretch of 3 months with only a single issue in this period, so I can refer to this issue as “this month,” like I’m used to. For a minute. We find Dr. Strange waking up because it’s raining on him through his smashed window, finding Wong and Spider-Man unconscious on his floor.
Wong looked a lot older in UMTU. He catches Strange up, confirms that the young wizard forgot to put up the proper defenses before they started meditating, and reminds him that this can allow for possession by forces outside our world. He thinks whatever had ahold of Stephen now has Spider-Man. So, Dr. Strange the Younger goes to find some books to look up how to fix this. Meanwhile, in our hero’s dreaming mind…
Why is Kraven there? Perpetual joke Kraven the Hunter alongside Carnage and Doc Ock? Spider-Man trapped in his nightmares is another situation where it’s a hoary old cliche, but also the first time we’ve seen it for this particular Spider-Man, so it’s kinda fun. He is forced off the roof of a tall building by Doc Ock, and chased by everyone who’s ever scared him (And Kraven) as he plummets to the ground. But when he hits, he’s back in the video of the Parkers and the Brocks he found. But then he sees the whole gang as corpses, except for…
Ouch.
There he is. Very “Dead Marshes from LOTR” imagery. Back in the real world, Strange & Wong are searching for something to save Peter. They find writing about an ancient nightmare demon, with a known encounter where it seemed to feed on the past horrors of a famous gladiator until it killed him, to amass enough energy to gain entry to the real world. Strange says if that’s this, he has no choice but to go in after it, and Peter has to wake up. So, next page, he does, except he’s still dreaming, and Elektra is there to assassinate him. Except she’s also MJ.
Man, this “dream coloring” is rough. I get the premise, but the execution isn’t going so well. Digital color was still in its awkward teenage phase, afterall. Well, Strange starts castin’ spells, as Nightmare, taking the forms of different people from Peter’s life in each panel, goes on and on about how this is his domain and Strange can’t hurt him here. Then, when Strange does, indeed, hurt him, Nightmare becomes his dad, briefly shocking him. But only briefly.
Uh-oh. That seems like bad news. Stories where your main character is largely along for the ride are never my favorite. “Something happened. I don’t know what happened, and also I didn’t resolve it, and now it’s over.” Not the best story structure. But it happens. Speaking of not-so-good, next issue begins a story that is, uh, not-so-good…