It’s time for us to cross the streams, true believers.

There’s a lot of talk about comics here on NRW, and rightly so. Joey has his own awesome strand of articles wherein he sheds light on the old and exposes us to the retro-new, and we love it, because Joey is to the medium of comics what I am to sitting on my ass in front of a CRT monitor with a controller in my hand: he’s a passionate expert on the subject. It’s worth diving into; when done well, the comic book or graphic novel is an art form capable of deftly transporting the reader to new worlds – some like our own, and some realities away from it.

What can’t be overlooked is how the comic book multiverse has been thrust into the colored-light beams and binary rows of the VG grinder time and time again in the plodding quest to juice franchises for more revenue. Here’s the dolorous stroke, folks: We’re going to take a look at how they’ve done this with one of Marvel’s undisputed icons, their bread-and-butter household name… Spider-Man. Peter Parker, the world’s most beloved wise-cracking web slinger, has been dipped in silicon and code frequently throughout video gaming’s history, with results that I will be kind and describe as “varied.”

I mean, he’s an icon. Some comics fans think he’s a pussy. Honestly, I do too. I’m more of a Punisher guy. No one can deny, however, that Peter Parker is one of the most luminous stars in comic book history. (Artwork by Michael Golden)

Everyone’s pretty familiar with Spidey’s origins and powers. He got bit by a radioactive spider, got some powers, lost his uncle to crime, and got serious about cleaning up the Big Apple (and sometimes beyond). The wall-crawler has made tons of friends and enemies since his appearance in the 60s, from goblins to murderous hunters to symbiotic aliens that abandoned him and sought out his unstable and disgruntled colleagues for revenge (Venom is the man!) Pete’s powers, coupled with his nifty web-shooting devices, make for the possibility of great dynamic gameplay if translated creatively into digital form. Right?

Ah, shit, kids… let’s just do this. I’m not gonna look at every game, but we’ll examine the prominent titles that most of us may have seen or played.

Spider-Man (1982)

Platform: Atari 2600

Culprits: Parker Brothers/Atari

Eh. It’s not great, but everything looked like this in 1982. At least we can tell which one’s Spider-Man.

You’ll probably expect me to be cruel here, because I do lean on the side of bastardry when it comes to the 2600. I mean… eh. Let’s stay in context… this isn’t bad for a 2600 game. Considering the limits of the system graphics- and sound-wise, you get a good representation of the key elements. Gameplay consists of getting up on top of the building and kicking Green Goblin’s ass, which to be fair, ate up a lot of Peter’s logged superhero hours in the 70s/80s either together or as separate activities. Using your web shooters is a little tedious, but once you’ve got the hang of how to do it in a rhythm and pull yourself up, it’s pretty fun. I suppose my only knock on this one is that it’s not enough to do. But then, not every 2600 game can be Burgertime and crush your soul with raw chaos.

The Amazing Spider-Man (1990)

Platforms: Amiga, Atari ST, PC Compatibles

Culprits: Oxford Digital/Paragon Software

Let me start off with something nice before I put my hands under the table and fucking lift. The Amiga has always stood out for its time as a system capable of audiovisual richness, and this game really turns her out. The ST and PC versions are decent in that regard too, although the audio quality varies.

“Shut down all the garbage mashers on the detention level!”  I’m sorry. I couldn’t help myself.

Now, let’s talk about HOW they chose to turn her out. The controls are pretty fucking far from intuitive; while I expect translating Spider-Man’s iconic means of locomotion to be a challenge for a game developer, this shit is just abyss you’ll keep falling into until you start being meticulously careful… which isn’t prudent in 90% of the situations you’ll be navigating. Move fast? Move really carefully? The answer to both is usually no. Again, I can’t knock the graphics, but there’s something inherently wrong about this image, seen during the intro. Something that reminds me of “non-Euclidean shapes,” “lightless gulfs across time and space,” and “red-haired woman being forcibly abducted by a fishbowl-headed mannequin.” Poor Mary Jane.

somebodys_fetish.jpg

Almost as bizarre is the choice to represent your life bar as a picture of Spider-Man that turns skeletal from the feet upward as you move closer to death.

He looks a little embarrassed. I don’t blame him.

Last gripe: the game is, at least to me, unreasonably goddamn long considering the tedium it is to play. You can watch a longplay here, and be sure to listen to the entire intro music, or at least sit through it for as long as you can before reaching for that little red track-bar to skip through it and save your sanity.

Spider-Man: Return of the Sinister Six (1992)

Platforms: NES, Game Gear, Master System

Culprits: LJN (OF COURSE), Flying Edge, Bits Studios

This game is mercifully short, but still feels like being hurled into a black hole and somehow kept alive to slowly lose one’s mind via time dilation. Spider-Man, despite being fully human height, has the same general proportions as Wee Man from Jackass. His ability to leap through the air is admirable, and the controls aren’t too bad… until you try to do any of the shit Spider-Man is known for doing in terms of movement. The graphics are candy-colored palettes of pure hell wherein men are depicted universally as shoeless mongoloids and no light seems to penetrate anything (despite the garish coloration of everything).

It’s like Willy Wonka took a massive shit all over everything, and really wasn’t feeling well when he did. I bumble forth, capable of great feats of agility but barely able to keep my goose neck from dropping my pumpkin head onto my barrel chest. As Spider-Man, I am the monster, and I belong here.

A small handful of farty, tooty pieces of music cycle as you penetrate deeper into the Sinister Six’s criminal kingdom, presenting a strange yet totally-LJN mix of jazzy swing and “I ate so many tabs I can’t even tell what genre this is.” The drums punch at the listener’s mind, almost as if they are intended to pummel you into accepting the rest of this musical affront as tolerable. It’s like a rave in a Civil War graveyard, and someone invited Dizzy Gillespie. Actually, fuck that… that’d rule. This doesn’t.

Again, I can’t flush this game completely; it’s a decent effort overall, but LJN had a tendency (with a scant few exceptions) to attach its name to something and then pile drive it into the floor until no amount of reconstructive surgery could fix it.

Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage (1994)

Platforms: Genesis. SNES

Culprits: LJN, Acclaim, Software Creations

We’re ending on a positive note. We have to. We owe it to ourselves.

I really liked the Maximum Carnage story arc in the comics. It’s held high by some and shit on by others, but there’s something about a villain so terrifying that two bitter enemies (not to mention a wild cross section of Marvel’s 90s line-up) combined forces to defeat him as he rampaged across New York with his own wrecking crew. I love big events, and I LOVE villains. And Carnage… well, he’s one burning hell of a villain.

Really, if anyone deserves this shit, it’s JJ. 

This effort did decent justice to the source material. I’ll keep this simple and just tick off some pros and cons.

PROS

-Venom is a playable character

-Morbius shows up, along with Deathlok, Black Cat, Iron Fist, and a few other underrated Marvel good guys

-it’s a beat-em-up, and not a bad one, either

-comic book style cut scenes, and they’re not done poorly

–pretty damn good music

-LJN didn’t set this one on fire and stand back playing pocket pool while it burned to slag

Really cool audio-visual presentation all around. It keeps true to the comic feel without burning that candle at both ends with a welding torch.

CONS

-The music did not sound as good in the Genesis version

-This game is also long; why the hell does Spider-Man mean “long fucking game” almost uniformly to game designers

-It’s incredibly unfair to put bad-ass characters like Black Cat, Iron Fist and Morbius in here and not have them as full-on playables

-I feel like a lot of the villains get undersold in terms of their powers and badass-ness

-Still, to make an understatement, a bit fucking cumbersome to do the web slinging thing, although it must be acknowledged that it’s better in this than in any predecessor

Overall, Maximum Carnage is fun as hell. I owned the Genesis cart as a kid and got a lot of replay value out of it. It’s a net win due to presentation and the choice of formatting it as a beat-em-up, which makes it approachable on a level far beyond its ancestors in Spidey’s video game library.

That brings us to 1994, folks, so I guess I’ll put the brakes on it here. Thanks for reading, and before I go, I suppose I owe you some number ratings on these hunks of pop media history.

Atari 2600: 6/10

Amiga: 5/10

NES: 3/10

Genesis/SNES: 7/10

See you at the end of the month, RetroFans! Excelsior!!!

We last left the strangest teens of all in the wake of a crash in Jamaica Bay that kind-of-sort-of-but-not-really-because-comic-books claimed the life of Jean Grey before she emerged as Phoenix, life incarnate. This is a Big Deal. Seriously, this one event winds up being more influential to its series and the Marvel Universe as a whole than Gwen Stacy’s death. In one page, X-Men architect Chris Claremont sets into motion events that affect entire story arcs for decades to come. Most comic books stories have to go through an entire company-wide crossover event to make that happen. Granted, there is more to the story of Phoenix, and it is likely that the conclusion of the Dark Phoenix Saga has just as much of a ripple throughout the continuity, but it all traces back to the end of Marvel Girl.

Naturally then, our uncanny heroes spend the next few issues taking a bit of a detour from the major story arc that Claremont is slowly and famously piecing together. This is the late 70’s – we weren’t sectioning arcs off into neatly sliced 6-issue paperbacks. This retrospective covers Uncanny X-Men #101 – 108 and the first three issues only feature Jean Grey / Phoenix on the peripheral if at all, and have our core group of new X-Men off in Ireland visiting Banshee’s family castle, picking up a blink-and-you-miss-it plot point a few issues ago where a panicked man sent Banshee a letter. These three issues aren’t bad by any stretch, but they have some uninspiring villains in Black Tom Cassidy and Juggernaut, and the team is saved in #103 by leprechauns. It’s goofy and I’m not going to write anything else about it.

On the plus side, we get some great depth added to Storm. Up until now, Ororo Munroe has been largely the most powerful and capable mutant out of the new batch. Honestly, Storm is the best. To have such a prominent, powerful, and unique black female at this time is impressive. Ororo doesn’t get reduced to stereotypes, and her backstory being fleshed out more with attention given to her recurring claustrophobia is a really strong storytelling beat. We also see that the dastardly Eric the Red from a few issues earlier has been not only orchestrating these events, but also working for a greater evil. He also reveals to the reader that there is another, more deadly foe waiting for them. AND HIS NAME IS JOHN CENA!

Just kidding, it’s Magneto. In non-X-Men comics, the master of magnetism was turned into a baby before Eric the Red aged him back up to adulthood. In #104, he engages our mutant heroes in the first of a series of conflicts where the metal-boned Wolverine and metal-skinned Colossus inexplicably throw themselves into a fight with a man whose entire deal is that he controls metal things. But hey, it’s going to make for some gruesome stuff about a decade down the line. This conflict also continues the trend of the new X-Men being absolutely stomped by their opponent and being compared to the original five. Also, Chris Claremont does his usual plant-a-seed-that-takes-forever-to-grow plotting when he reveals a glowing door labeled “Mutant X”. This won’t pay off until literally YEARS later. The frequency and effectiveness with which he makes this feel like an incredibly serialized epic is astounding. This issue also introduces the space pirate Corsair and his ragtag crew of Starjammers.

Enter, a legend… 

#105 is a pretty big deal. It gives closure to the strange, cosmic visions that Professor Xavier has been having and introduces an interesting and unusual character in the humanoid-but-kind-of-bird-like-alien Lilandra. She explains her plight as the wayward empress of the Shi’Ar Empire, which has fullen under the rule of the Mad Emperor D’Ken. D’Ken has disguised a lacky as Eric the Red and has been tormenting the X-Men for the past several months. Most recently, he has tricked Firelord, a former Herald of Galactus, to attack the heroes. Jean Grey, as Phoenix, wipes the floor with him. To clarify and add context: he is bestowed with a portion of Galactus’ godlike cosmic power and loses to Jean Grey. He is far and away the most powerful foe that the X-Men have faced up to this point, and one of them manages to defeat him alone. Also, Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum have a funny and self-referential cameo.

The story takes a bit of a detour before the next major step. Instead of progressing to the space drama of the Shi’Ar Empire, #106 is largely a flashback to a time that Xavier subconsciously attacked the new X-Men with psychic incarnations of the old X-Men. It’s largely forgettable and inconsequential, but it is one of the first times that Charles Xavier as a force of ultimate good is questioned. There is a dark side to the man, and that is something that the series will explore more than once, and with varying degrees of success. Where were we? Right, the M’Kraan Crystal. So the M’Kraan Crystal is a mysterious source of limitless power at the nexus of the universe. Also, Chris Claremont thinks apostrophes make something alien. The X-Men, who are still pretty new to the super hero game sans Cyclops and Banshee, are outmatched against D’Ken’s warriors. The Starjammers, led by Corsair, who is actually and secretly Cyclops’ father, arrive and turn the tide. X-Men is really at its best when it’s a soap opera. For the final issue of the saga, the heroes are taken inside the M’Kraan Crystal, where Jean uses her awesome and tremendous powers, with the aid of her comrades’ life forces, to prevent it the crystal from destroying and rewriting the universe. This issue is particularly notable for having some beautiful and surreal art courtesy of John Byrne. One interesting way that Claremont really builds up the stakes of the issue is by showing other heroes from the Marvel Universe noticing how something major is going on and its on a cosmic scale.

That’s more or less the Phoenix Saga in a nutshell. It isn’t the end of Phoenix by a long shot, and we still have a largely overlooked arc in the space between these issues and the monumentally famous Dark Phoenix Saga. It’s a wild ride, and definitely one worth picking up a subscription to Marvel Unlimited for. Over the course of the next decade, things just get better. 

We last left the strangest teens of all in the wake of a crash in Jamaica Bay that kind-of-sort-of-but-not-really-because-comic-books claimed the life of Jean Grey before she emerged as Phoenix, life incarnate. This is a Big Deal. Seriously, this one event winds up being more influential to its series and the Marvel Universe as a whole than Gwen Stacy’s death. In one page, X-Men architect Chris Claremont sets into motion events that affect entire story arcs for decades to come. Most comic books stories have to go through an entire company-wide crossover event to make that happen. Granted, there is more to the story of Phoenix, and it is likely that the conclusion of the Dark Phoenix Saga has just as much of a ripple throughout the continuity, but it all traces back to the end of Marvel Girl.

Naturally then, our uncanny heroes spend the next few issues taking a bit of a detour from the major story arc that Claremont is slowly and famously piecing together. This is the late 70’s – we weren’t sectioning arcs off into neatly sliced 6-issue paperbacks. This retrospective covers Uncanny X-Men #101 – 108 and the first three issues only feature Jean Grey / Phoenix on the peripheral if at all, and have our core group of new X-Men off in Ireland visiting Banshee’s family castle, picking up a blink-and-you-miss-it plot point a few issues ago where a panicked man sent Banshee a letter. These three issues aren’t bad by any stretch, but they have some uninspiring villains in Black Tom Cassidy and Juggernaut, and the team is saved in #103 by leprechauns. It’s goofy and I’m not going to write anything else about it.

On the plus side, we get some great depth added to Storm. Up until now, Ororo Munroe has been largely the most powerful and capable mutant out of the new batch. Honestly, Storm is the best. To have such a prominent, powerful, and unique black female at this time is impressive. Ororo doesn’t get reduced to stereotypes, and her backstory being fleshed out more with attention given to her recurring claustrophobia is a really strong storytelling beat. We also see that the dastardly Eric the Red from a few issues earlier has been not only orchestrating these events, but also working for a greater evil. He also reveals to the reader that there is another, more deadly foe waiting for them. AND HIS NAME IS JOHN CENA!

Just kidding, it’s Magneto. In non-X-Men comics, the master of magnetism was turned into a baby before Eric the Red aged him back up to adulthood. In #104, he engages our mutant heroes in the first of a series of conflicts where the metal-boned Wolverine and metal-skinned Colossus inexplicably throw themselves into a fight with a man whose entire deal is that he controls metal things. But hey, it’s going to make for some gruesome stuff about a decade down the line. This conflict also continues the trend of the new X-Men being absolutely stomped by their opponent and being compared to the original five. Also, Chris Claremont does his usual plant-a-seed-that-takes-forever-to-grow plotting when he reveals a glowing door labeled “Mutant X”. This won’t pay off until literally YEARS later. The frequency and effectiveness with which he makes this feel like an incredibly serialized epic is astounding. This issue also introduces the space pirate Corsair and his ragtag crew of Starjammers.

Enter, a legend… 

#105 is a pretty big deal. It gives closure to the strange, cosmic visions that Professor Xavier has been having and introduces an interesting and unusual character in the humanoid-but-kind-of-bird-like-alien Lilandra. She explains her plight as the wayward empress of the Shi’Ar Empire, which has fullen under the rule of the Mad Emperor D’Ken. D’Ken has disguised a lacky as Eric the Red and has been tormenting the X-Men for the past several months. Most recently, he has tricked Firelord, a former Herald of Galactus, to attack the heroes. Jean Grey, as Phoenix, wipes the floor with him. To clarify and add context: he is bestowed with a portion of Galactus’ godlike cosmic power and loses to Jean Grey. He is far and away the most powerful foe that the X-Men have faced up to this point, and one of them manages to defeat him alone. Also, Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum have a funny and self-referential cameo.

The story takes a bit of a detour before the next major step. Instead of progressing to the space drama of the Shi’Ar Empire, #106 is largely a flashback to a time that Xavier subconsciously attacked the new X-Men with psychic incarnations of the old X-Men. It’s largely forgettable and inconsequential, but it is one of the first times that Charles Xavier as a force of ultimate good is questioned. There is a dark side to the man, and that is something that the series will explore more than once, and with varying degrees of success. Where were we? Right, the M’Kraan Crystal. So the M’Kraan Crystal is a mysterious source of limitless power at the nexus of the universe. Also, Chris Claremont thinks apostrophes make something alien. The X-Men, who are still pretty new to the super hero game sans Cyclops and Banshee, are outmatched against D’Ken’s warriors. The Starjammers, led by Corsair, who is actually and secretly Cyclops’ father, arrive and turn the tide. X-Men is really at its best when it’s a soap opera. For the final issue of the saga, the heroes are taken inside the M’Kraan Crystal, where Jean uses her awesome and tremendous powers, with the aid of her comrades’ life forces, to prevent it the crystal from destroying and rewriting the universe. This issue is particularly notable for having some beautiful and surreal art courtesy of John Byrne. One interesting way that Claremont really builds up the stakes of the issue is by showing other heroes from the Marvel Universe noticing how something major is going on and its on a cosmic scale.

That’s more or less the Phoenix Saga in a nutshell. It isn’t the end of Phoenix by a long shot, and we still have a largely overlooked arc in the space between these issues and the monumentally famous Dark Phoenix Saga. It’s a wild ride, and definitely one worth picking up a subscription to Marvel Unlimited for. Over the course of the next decade, things just get better. 

All of these films make sense as starting points for their own reasons, but the truth is Marvel got started on film a little more than 50 years before Blade. That’s right: there was a serial film called Captain America released in 1944 (and you’d better believe you can watch it on YouTube). It’s kind of fascinating, though a 1944 film predates what we’d typically refer to as “retro” by about 30 years. 

Fortunately, there’s a sweet spot in between the very first Captain America film and the modern frenzy of superhero films. Many don’t realize that there were actually four Marvel movies made from 1986 to 1994. Here’s a look back at each one. 

Howard The Duck (1986)

Howard the Duck is among the most ridiculous Marvel comic characters ever created, and that’s saying something. He’s essentially a large duck with human-level intelligence, super strength, and expertise in “quack-fu” who’s known as a grumpy and satirical character. And strangely enough, he may actually have a place in the MCU. Howard the Duck appeared in the end credits scene after Guardians Of The Galaxy, and he was even involved in the Civil War comics that Marvel’s adapting into Captain America: Civil War this May. 

But the 1986 film was just about Howard. Co-produced by Universal Studios and George Lucas (yes, the George Lucas), the film was about a citizen of “Duckworld” (like Earth, but with Ducks) being accidentally transported to Earth, where he quickly becomes a kind of ornery guardian to a woman named Beverly. That’s about all there is to it (other than the fact that Tim Robbins had a supporting role), and the film was pretty much a disaster. In fact, according to an old LA Times article, there was even a rumor that two studio executives came to blows over finger-pointing about who green-lit the project, which earned only $1 million more than its $35 million production budget. 

The Punisher (1989)

The Punisher may just be the hottest character in Marvel right now following Jon Bernthal’s portrayal of the character in the recently released second season of Netflix’s Daredevil show. Reviewing the season, Gizmodo claimed it was finally the adaptation that the character deserved, implying that a number of previous efforts fell short. 

1989’s The Punisher, produced by Live Entertainment, was the first of those efforts, and one that went straight-to-VHS in the U.S. It had a few fun things going for it: namely, the casting of Dolph Lundgren as Frank Castle (aka Punisher), and an endless stream of high-octane action sequences. To an extent, that’s what fans of this character want. The Punisher is an uncompromising and morally questionable vigilante, and in this film we basically got to see him take down as many mobsters as he could find in 79 minutes. The issue for critics was that it was a little too barebones. Light on plot and lacking even The Punisher’s signature skull logo (Lundgren pretty much wears plain dark clothes), it did feel a little lazy—but not without its fun moments.

Captain America (1990)

Needless to say, Captain America has become one of the central characters of the modern Marvel universe. And while it looks like more of an ensemble project, this spring’s Captain America: Civil War will technically be part of the character’s current, ongoing series. What’s interesting about that series is that it’s done a pretty good job of displaying most of the classic Captain America visuals and storylines we’ve seen for nearly a century’s worth of comics now, as well as in previous films. 

The 1990 film played a role in establishing that flavor, so to speak, for a Captain America film, which isn’t to say it was any good. In fact, this movie probably got more criticism than any other project on this list. Still, fans of the modern movies who go back and watch this one might be surprised at the basic core of the story (Steve Rogers becomes a super soldier during World War II, battles Red Skull, and end up frozen in ice), as well as the general image of the character, and how much both resemble today’s Captain America. Another fun fact about this one: the lead actor who played Rogers, Matt Salinger, is the son of famous author J.D. Salinger (who wrote The Catcher in the Rye).

The Fantastic Four (1994)

The most interesting thing about the 1994 version of The Fantastic Four, which was produced by Constantin Film Production but ultimately went unreleased, may actually be the characters’ uniforms. Modern Marvel has gone with a darker take on the costuming, with the 2005’s film black-and-blue version serving as the new standard. Gala Bingo features a Fantastic Four casino game that still shows off this uniform from the 2005 film despite the fact there’s since been another reboot. Indeed, as a slot reel rather than action video game, the focus is almost entirely on the image of characters, furthering the black-and-blue approach. 

Meanwhile, the 2015 reboot went with a nearly all-black approach. However, in 1994 we got a delightfully campy blue-and-white version that does have a place in some of the old Fantastic Four comics. The suits lend a comedic factor to a movie that really needed one to survive. Saying it survived may be a stretch, but there are some good things to be said about this film. For a B-movie operating with a virtually non-existent budget, it took itself lightly and told a faithful story of the superheroes’ first battle with Dr. Doom.

So there you have them! The four films that bridged the gap between 1944’s Captain America and 1999’s Blade. This is the retro chapter of Marvel, and while there’s not a success among these four films, there’s a lot of fun to be had in going back and checking them out for real Marvel fan—or for those who like to chuckle at old, campy projects.

The first three issues contained within Marvel’s Spider-Gwen: Most Wanted? are pure fun, and then it pivots to an interesting deconstruction of the entire idea of Spider-Man. You don’t need to have followed the backstory to this Earth-65’s incarnation of Gwen Stacy as provided in Edge of Spider-Verse to get the most out of what writer Jason Latour and artist Robbi Rodriguez have to offer. You are quickly (and somewhat thoroughly) filled in. Gwen Stacy was bitten by the radioactive spider instead of Peter Parker. Rather than making this a straight-up gender-flipped story in the vein of Adventure Time‘s Fiona and Cake episodes, Spider-Gwen looks at the ripples caused by that one change instead of simply rearranging pieces. Instead of Peter Parker dying at the hands of Norman Osborn, he becomes the Lizard of this continuity. The bullying he experiences becomes much more severe when Gwen Stacy intervenes, because God forbid a girl stands up for him. As a result, he does everything he can to “be special… like [Gwen Stacy]”, which leads to him becoming the Lizard because comic book science. When he dies, Gwen’s guilt is much more pronounced and nuanced than the original Peter Parker’s guilt over Gwen Stacy. It wasn’t that she failed to save him. She indirectly pushed him to use the chemicals that ultimately killed him while fighting Spider-Woman. There is a lot of rich internal conflict and guilt to be pulled from that situation, and the writing doesn’t disappoint. It is difficult for us as readers to stomach that the same Peter who becomes our beloved and quippy hero could devolve into one of his own rogues given a different set of circumstances. The goodness in our world is a lot more fragile than we would like to believe. Also, the Punisher is a gritty cop and Gwen is the drummer of a band called the Mary Janes, fronted by Em Jay herself. Aren’t alternate universes fun? 

Spider-Man’s whole deal has always been most famously expressed in Uncle Ben’s oft-quoted  “With great power comes great responsibility” line. The guiding principle of Spider-Man is one founded on choice in the face of an erratic world. Peter Parker never chooses to be bitten by a radioactive spider, but once he does he must choose to use the power he has been given and deal with the consequences of using that power. Both series of Spider-Man films detail this brilliantly. Spidey’s actions have consequences and he has to deal with those consequences. What makes Spider-Gwen so interesting is that the characters contained within this universe have just as much of a connection to actions and consequences, but the vast difference of Earth-65 to Earth-616 due to one changed in an event call into question just how much of our lives are dictated by the world around us. It’s a heavy topic, and I’m going to expand on it a little later.

The art and overall vibe of the comic is, while not specifically 1980’s, very similar to an 80’s aesthetic. Lush neon colors and glows permeate just about every page, with a special focus often on pinks and teals (just look at those shoes on that dope costume). Action sequences are a highlight here, far outshining the static moments. Gwen as a character is one of the most charming comic book characters I’ve ever read. She’s conflicted about her role and identity now that she’s been bestowed with such life-changing power. As Spider-Woman, she’s every bit as quippy as Peter Parker’s Spider-Man, and regardless of whether or not she wears the mask she winds up swearing like a PG-13-censored sailor. 

Spider-Gwen is not an Alan Moore comic, where sometimes the artistic intention can get in the way of the entertainment. There is not a issue in this comic where the primary intention of telling an interesting and engaging story gets buried by anything philosophical. The deep, head-hurty stuff is there if you want to pull it out and dissect it, but you don’t need to do so to enjoy it. Without getting too into the ridiculous discussion of highbrow art vs. lowbrow art, Spider-Gwen can be boiled down to the high-concept elevator pitch of “Gwen Stacy gets spider-bitten super-powers of Peter Parker”. That’s true, and for a lot of people that is good enough to sell them on the series, but Spider-Gwen is also story about how the arbitrary things outside of our control completely change our lives and the world around us. If something had happened differently in your life, how would that change you? If you had, for example, moved when you were 14 (or turn 14, who knows how old you are), how would your own life be different? How would the people around you have changed? Who would ultimately be worse off? To be morbid, who would that small change wind up utterly ruining. Everything is connected, and the chain of responsibility that brings can be overwhelming. This is the crux of the Spider-Person, and really any super hero. This is why super heroes focus on the one person they can’t save and not the hundreds of people who live because of them.

Issue #4 is really where this becomes apparent.  Gwen spends some time with Aunt May, who doesn’t believe the media that portrays Spider-Woman as a villain (c’mon J. Jonah Jameson). Aunt May talks about Peter Parker’s mental state, and it really hits just how fragile everything is. Removing the powers Peter gets in the original continuity and examining the way that person changes in a world where he is normal and sees somebody else with the powers, it shows how the same desires can lead to some very dark places. The only real weak issue of the batch is Issue #5. While it is interesting to see Felicia Hardy of Earth-65, it ultimately distracts from more interesting plotlines. I’m excited to see where the series goes, with an extremely compelling protagonist in Gwen Stacy and frightening new rogue in the form of Matt Murdock.

Now don’t even get me started on the weird stuff beneath the surface of The Superior Spider-Man. 

I should be upfront about this. I am a casual fan of Star Wars. In the collective panic attack that was the lead up to Stat Wars: The Force Awakens, I found myself mildly excited. J. J. Abrams had done a good job on Star Trek. The movie would probably be good (which it was). And despite the fact that I easily clocked over 100 hours in “Galactic Conquest” mode in Star Wars Battlefront II, I simply thought the Minions-esque onslaught of Star Wars media and merchandise was tolerable.

This is all to say that I approached the expansive Vader Down Marvel crossover comic series with an open mind. The series itself was penned as a team effort by veteran comic book writers Jason Aaron and Kieron Gillen. Gillen is responsible for a number of original titles. In fact, two of my absolute favorite series from the past ten years are Gillen originals (The Wicked + The Divine and Phonogram, go read Phonogram now). While it’s unclear who was leading the writing duties when, Vader Down‘s writing does not feel as fresh and vibrant as Gillen’s earlier works.

It’s not that Vader Down is a particularly bad series. It’s ultimately just mildly forgettable. In the hype surrounding The Force Awakens, the continuity of the series has been exploding in several directions, for obvious financial reasons. Star Wars makes big money. The most glaring aspect of the series holding it back is the dialogue. This is inherently a difficulty in adapting characters from a previously established (let alone overwhelmingly loved) franchise. These characters have specific voices that the reader will undoubtedly hear in their head. Darth Vader is a perfect example of this. He has that voice. He will always have that voice in your head no matter who is writing him. The lines he says can sometimes come across as cheesy. Not campy. Cheesy. The other reason Vader stands out so much in a negative way is that he is carrying this story. Vader Down follows Vader in the time between the A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. Luke and Leia also suffer from less-than-exciting dialogue and strange character choices. Of the established characters, Han Solo (and fine, I guess Chewie too, but honestly how hard is it to write HHHRRRHHHH) is the best written. The essence of the character’s personality, and even of Harrison Ford’s iconic performance are captured in the lines.

Aphra and 0-0-0 are both the show stealers, and characters I would like to see more. Apart from the fact that they are fun and engaging, bouncing off the cast in interesting ways, they have some interesting unexplored narrative space. The stories of the main Star Wars cast has been told to death. You can’t do much with them in the time between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back because we know how they will act and what they will do once the comic is over. Aphra, a sort of morally grey Indiana Jones-esque rogue archeologist, and 0-0-0, a C-3PO-looking droid that specializes in “etiquette, customs, translation, and torture”, are not defined by any of the films in the series. They are free to breathe without the unbearable weight that the films have created on the extended universe.

Overall, if you are a Star Wars die hard, there is obvious interest for you here. You will enjoy it, and seeing Darth Vader as ace pilot, as well as an incredibly skilled and mobile melee fighter, will certainly leave you happy. If you are simply a casual fan of the franchise, and in particular if you have never read anything from the extended universe before, this is probably a pass. Something cooler will (hopefully) come out. Or not. Maybe the movies are enough for you. 

In film:

Xanadu was released. Interestingly enough, the soundtrack of the film performed much better commercially than the movie itself. Which is surprising considering it’s a film about a Greek muse taking human form and building a roller rink. The only premise nearly that good since then has been Rubber.

Births: Chris Pine, aka the James T. Kirk who isn’t Shatner. Macaulay Culkin, famous for being that blonde kid from every movie in the 90’s.

In music:

The first ever Monsters of Rock festival is held in England. Notable performers at the festival include Rainbow, April Wine, Scorpions, and Judas Priest.

The Heatwave festival was held at Bowmanville, Ontario. Out of every festival I’ve ever read about, including Woodstock, Heatwave is the one I most wish I could have attended. The list of bands was just insane: The Pretenders, the B-52’s, Talking Heads, and Elvis Costello. The Clash was scheduled to perform at the festival but cancelled at the last minute.

In addition to that amazing festival, four albums that would be important to the emerging New Wave music scene were released. Siouxie and the Banshees released Kaleidoscope. The Cars released Panorama. The B-52’s  released Wild Planet. Finally, Killing Joke debuted with their self-titled album.

Births: Vanessa Carlton, anybody who says they don’t love “A Thousand Miles” is a liar.

Billboard #1 Song of August 1980: “Magic” by Olivia Newton-John

In comics:

Marvel – Former villain Mesmero decides to give up crime, instead focusing on his love of Broadway productions. He offers Spider-man a large sum of money to make appearances in his play, but Spidey declines. Mesmero ends up using his powers of hypnosis on a harsh critic who Peter Parker has to save, lest the tragedy that befell Gwen Stacy repeats itself.

DC – Dr. Alchemy attempts to use the Philosopher’s Stone to turn the Flash into a cloud. Yep. That’s the best use he can come up with.  Green Arrow decides to resign from the Justice League. Bummer. He does manage to save the day first, despite not using what is clearly the most logical arrow to use.

In television:

The soap opera Texas premiered. Though it only lasted two years, it managed to have over 600 episodes.

Deaths: Tex Avery, creator of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, dies at age 72.

In lieu of the July 1980 article, here are some quick facts about it:

1.     Bjorn Borg beat John McEnroe in tennis. Here’s a fun fact- Bjorn Borg was the basis of the character Richie Tenenbaum in Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums.

2.      Ronald Reagan received the nomination to be the Republican candidate for President. Due to a large amount of influence from Christian political groups, the Republican Party dropped its support of the Equal Rights Amendment. This marked the beginning of a general shift towards conservative policies in America.

3.     The Summer Olympics are held in Moscow, Russia.

4.     AC/DC release Back in Black, the second highest selling album of all time. Also, how did I not know until now that AC/DC is an Australian band?

5.     Caddyshack premiers in theaters.

The most immediately noticeable aspect of the Bronze Age is the proliferation of traditional superheroes introduced decades before. The recently revived X-Men were extremely popular, as were The Hulk, Green Lantern, and The Amazing Spider-Man (coming off of the extremely successful and famous arc of Gwen Stacy’s death). Other comic characters / heroes that were financially a failure in the past were revived to much greater success. In addition to the aforementioned X-Men, The New Teen Titans were a large success at the end of 1980.  A number of Bronze Age heroes began to suffer from serious real world emotional issues. Grief due to the loss of a loved one was most common, but suffering from abuse and drug addition became ailments of a few superheroes of the time.

As the Graphic Novel Editor of NewRetroWave, I’m going to be covering comics from a variety of countries and publishers. That being said, the trends of comics largely concerns Marvel and DC, the Fender and Gibson of the comic book world. The majority of the 1980’s  saw Marvel as the more successful of the two. Following the success of the Superman film franchise, DC began running more stories each month with more pages and a higher retail price. The results of that business move crippled DC comics and allowed Marvel to see the success that they did. In 1984, toward the end of the Bronze Age, Marvel released the immensely popular Secret Wars. This spawned a trend of epic events in comic book continuities that we still see today (Civil War, anyone?) In 1985, DC began reviving their brand with the extremely well received Crisis on Infinite Earths, which continued the trend started by Marvel and simplified the overly convoluted multiverse that DC had created. The twelve issue run helped bring DC back to the forefront of the comic book world.

The ending of the Bronze Age is amorphous and debatable, but several events are widely considered to be the catalyst for the shift to the Modern Age of Comic Books. 1986 saw the publication of Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. I don’t want to get into too much detail about that masterpiece, as it will definitely come up again in a more dedicated article. The grim tone of that miniseries has affected the depiction of Batman ever since, barring a few unspeakable exceptions. Alan Moore (arguably the most famous comic book writer) also delivered a 1-2 punch of comics at the end of the Bronze Age. The first was Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?, a story that recaps the life and tragedies of Superman, with an aesthetic reminiscent of the idealism held by the Silver Age. This is in direct contrast to the almost oppressively pessimistic and cynical Watchmen story that Moore would release the following year. You will also see both of these stories appear in future articles.

The face of modern comic books

Moore and Miller’s influence is the root of the Modern Age of Comic Books. Post-modern deconstructions of superhero tropes and playing with the medium became the new norm as modern superheroes had to contend with real world implications of their powers. The days of escapism are long gone. Fantasy elements in comics made a return with characters like John Constantine, Swamp Thing, and Neil Gaiman’s Sandman. Antiheroes became the standard of superhero as morally ambiguous characters flooded the market. This is something we still see in modern superhero films. How often does the word “gritty” pop up when describing a modern superhero movie?

I will be going over individual comics / graphic novels in detail soon, starting with Hellblazer. What are some comics you would be interested in reading about? Let us know in the comments!