 |
 |
 |
|
|
Option38.com > Comics > Modern : You Is HERE
Amazing Spider-Man #583
Although, who knows, maybe some "noob" was impressed by their local comic shop's selection of tentacle porn, overpriced statues and crappy X-men figures? But for the comic itself...well, it's all about Betty Brant and Peter Parker. The whole thing is told from Betty's point-of-view and about how her old pal Peter is unreliable, always disappearing at weird times. Despite the unreliability, he still manages to come through at times. In this case, Betty is expecting Peter to "surprise" her with a birthday party including all of their friends. Betty, apparently has no real "friends" of her own. Since all of the "friends" cited include Peter's geriatric Aunt May, old Daily Bugle geezer Robbie Robertson and the lumpy-haired Harry Osborn. Betty also takes Peter on a Speed-Dating event, then gets sloshed at a bar while splitting ONE pitcher of margaritas with a friend. In the end, it turns out Betty has pissed off Aunt May, Robbie and even Harry with her various "investigative journalist" stories. So nobody shows up for her birthday party. Instead of a party, Peter and Betty eat take-out and watch a DVD. I'm not a big fan of "human interest spotlight" stories, but this wasn't too awful. Betty was a member of the initial Spider-Man cast, so it's okay to spend an issue on her; although they were a few panels showing the unreliabale Peter duking it out with various thugs and supervillains. Heck, last time I recall Betty Brant in a Spider-Man story was probably around 1990 when she was sent to an asylum over in "Web of Spider-Man". Next to Gwen Stacy, Betty's probably had the toughest treatment of any former Spider-flame. Except in the movies; where the big-screen version of Betty Brant was definitely the most bangable, above Mary Jane Waston and Gwen Stacy. Oh, this issue also included a tacked-on six page back-up story about Spidey and President-Elect Barack Obama. That goes like this: Peter goes to DC to cover the inauguration for Ben Urich's "Frontline". But TWO Obamas show up, backstage. Spidey jumps in and asks the two Obamas about basketball. One can't answer, so Spidey clocks him and, turns out, it was the Chameleon. Spidey and Obama shake hands. Spidey swings off, saying something how "it looks like Washington is in capabale hands!" The story was about as creative as the title ("Spidey Meets the President").
Read like one of those goofy "Marvel Adventures" titles.
The variant cover (with its ensuing 4 different printings) even features Obama giving a wacky-looking
thumbs up, making him appear like the "Buddy Christ" from Kevin Smith's "Dogma
Aside from being Downright Goofy, this litle story could send fanboys into a tizzy. With Marvel's recent SuperHero Registration Act and the government's crackdown on all heroes, one might wonder WHY Spidey's still considered an outlaw. Couldn't the Pres issue a pardon, since Spidey's on his okay list? Important, since the Registration Act is now headed up by no less than Tommy Lee Jones...errr, Norman Osborn, aka the Green Goblin, Spider-Man's arch enemy. Well, THOSE questions, along with another Obama appearance, are currently being handled over in the "Thunderbolts" title, starting with issue 128. Osborn's staging an attack on Obama and Air Force One with a fake "Green Goblin". Nevermind that Obama takes a much more active role in that story than he does in "Amazing Spider-Man", or that Marvel has had exactly ZERO publicity about that story. If you want a forgettable one-time novelty, pick up Amazing Spider-Man #583. But if you want a somewhat interesting story that features a more serious role for Obama that doesn't make him look lke Scottie Pippen, then pick up Thunderbolts #128. Obviously, this isn't the first time a US President has appeared in a comic book. Off-hand, I can recall Ronald Reagan being abducted by the Plant-Man in "Avengers", circa issue 230 in 1983. Or George W. Bush meeting Captain America in 2002's "The Ultimates". I also vaguely remember Bill Clinton appearing in an issue of "Avengers:West Coast", circa issue 101. Not to mention the countless times "The President" has appeared in numerous comics, with his face conveinently hidden. This also keeps with Spidey's long-running hook of being such an accessible "team-up" candidate. I babbled about this in the old Transformers review, but his day job as a photographer is such a wide-open hook that it makes it easy to write him into any situation. Remember, he once teamed up with the Not Ready for Prime Time Players (or, for you young'uns: "the cast of Saturday Night Live"). Marvel supposedly got the inspiration after reading a British article that mentioned Obama was a fan of Spider-Man. So, basically, this is a total sales gimmick trying to leech off of Barack Obama's "rockstar popularity". Yet in the grand scheme of things, I don't suppose a comic book is any worse than a bobblehead.
Summary: Peter and Betty hang out. Plus Spidey meets Obama. If you can eBay this comic for 10 bucks or more, go for it!
|
|||
| contact | |||
a.k.a: the "Spider-Man Meets Barack Obama Comic". Here's the funny part, Marvel decided to do this thing, last minute. Retailers ordered their books 3 months in advance and had no idea a special "varian edition" was coming (or so they say). So all the "noobs" who flocked to a comic book store for the first time ever, just to pick up this book, were shut out. As a result, they're pissed off and will never return. Giving comic book shops a bad name, once again.
a" film.
I did a double-take when he made his first in-panel appearance, though. I thought: "huh...
why's Scottie Pippen stepping out of a limo?!" The panels also made it tough, visually, for me
to determine that TWO Obamas were present. I didn't catch the doppelganger situation until the dialogue
mentioned it. For a medium that relies heavily on visuals, that's a bit of a hiccup.
