Spider-Girl's Spider-Signal

 

A little while back I wrote a post discussing Spider-Girl’s First Web-shooters and today I’d like to present a kind of addendum or supplemental post about one specific aspect of her web-shooters. Let us jump right in and discuss the implications.

 

Introduced in Spider-Girl #18 by Tom Defalco and Ron Frenz (who was filling-in for Pat Olliffe for the issue) is Mayday’s own version of the classic Spider-Signal, here used on The Buzz during a confrontation. Notably, the light is projected from Spider-Girl’s web-shooter unlike her father’s version which is built into his equipment belt.

 

On a side-note, the original release of Spider-Girl #18 depicts most of the eye outline projected by the Spider-Signal in a slightly different shaded red colour. This is also the case in the Spider-Girl Digest Volume 4 reprint and even the recent Spider-Girl: The Complete Collection Volume 2 reprint. This does not appear to be the case on digital editions of the issue, where the Spidey-eyes are black as they would be normally for Spider-Man’s Spider-Signal.

 

The design choice to have May’s version of the Spider-Signal built into her web-shooters is an interesting but also practical one. As Mayday does not appear to use an equipment belt, it seems logical to place the Spider-Signal on her web-shooter.

 

Additionally, as pointed out by arias-98105, the idea of a Spider-Signal-like light being projected from a web-shooter dates back to at least the original 1967 Spider-Man animated series, as seen in such episodes as ‘Captured by J Jonah Jameson’. We know artist and Spider-Girl co-creator Ron Frenz does like the show though this is apparently not a deliberate reference but instead a happy coincidence.

 

Yet another point of note is that since this issue follows immediately after Peter hands over the web-shooters as a sign of trust and a passing of the torch. May herself calls it her ‘new Spider-Signal’ in her internal monologue, so it might be an upgrade Peter installed for his daughter as a sign of support, or even potentially an entirely new pair of web-shooters.

 

 

While the Spider-Signal does not make a lot of appearances in the Spider-Girl series, it is worth noting it appears on the covers of The Buzz #1, Spider-Girl #46 and #74. I will give out a coveted No-Prize to anyone who can point out any other appearances!

 

Until I stop enjoying blinding potential criminals with intense red lights to strike fear into the superstitious, cowardly lot, I remain

 

frogoat

Doctor Octopus in the MC2

 

With Spider-Man: No Way Home on everyone’s mind, I figured now is a great time to cover some of the MC2 counterparts of the villains confirmed to appear in the film. Today, we are taking a look at Dr Otto Octavius aka Doc Ock aka Doctor Octopus in the MC2.

 

Doctor Octopus first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #3 but makes his MC2 debut behind the scenes in The Buzz #1. Well, technically he’s only alluded to in the first issue and really makes his debut in The Buzz #2 albeit partially obscured, with his identity finally revealed in The Buzz #3. Let me break it down.

 

In The Buzz #1 we learn from J Jonah Jameson that Spider-Man vanished right before Jameson needed him most, though we don’t get any further details. Jonah’s wife Marla, Dr Sonja Jade and Richie Robertson were key members working on Project: Human Fly, a superpowered suit designed to empower Buzz Bannon and intended to be keyed to his specific brainwaves. However, when Dr Jade reveals her true self and her intention to take the suit, Bannon is shot and dies before his encephalograms can be linked to the Human Fly suit, leaving JJ Jameson to be keyed with the suit and foil its theft, though not before Dr Jade makes off with the project's data and erases all remaining records. Evidently, Dr Jade is being well-paid by Doc Ock and the suits of the henchmen accompanying her distinctly resemble those seen way back in the classic Master Planner story from Amazing Spider-Man #31-33.

 

Doctor Octopus makes his partially obscured first MC2 appearance in The Buzz #2, receiving a report from Dr Jade regarding the henchmen’s failure to obtain the Fly suit, which he attributes to the decrease in quality since the Taskmaster retired. Otto provides Jade with a device that would allow him to remotely take control of the Fly suit. Teaming up with Richie Robertson to maintain the suit,  JJ (dubbing himself The Buzz) sought out Dr Jade with little success for several weeks until confronted by her in a prototype of the Human Fly suit. With the device attached, the unseen Octavius downloads himself into the suit’s operating system and attempts to remotely pilot The Buzz back to his hidden base only to be interrupted by Spider-Girl.

 

Otto forces The Buzz to target Marla Jameson, resulting in JJ’s grandfather J Jonah Jameson being taken hostage. In order to force Doc Ock to leave the suit, Richie hits the kill switch and leaves The Buzz plummeting to earth. With the threat of the suit being destroyed and with Jonah being rescued by Spider-Girl, Doctor Octopus abandons control and Richie wipes him from the suit’s system, allowing The Buzz to pull out of the drop just in time (The Buzz #2).

 

JJ learns from his grandmother Marla the reason why Jonah blames himself for two murders following Buzz Bannon’s death. Marla explains that shortly after the original Spider-Man disappeared in battle with the Green Goblin, an old enemy attacked the Daily Bugle and murdered Jonah’s closest friend, Joe Robertson, Richie’s grandfather. It’s this inciting incident that led to the idea for Project: Human Fly (The Buzz #3). 

Using the control module device, Richie traces Dr Jade and her boss to their base and The Buzz and Spider-Girl follow this lead deep below the East River. The pair encounter Jade and Doctor Octopus is finally revealed as the mastermind who secretly aided in the development of the Human Fly suit, specifically the encephalo-gate which ties brain waves into the suit’s operating system (The Buzz #3). 

Otto also reveals he is dying from cancer and intended to use this method to transfer his consciousness. Unveiling his prototype Octopod, Otto uses the machine to battle The Buzz, but is left in a coma following an electrical backlash when the underwater base beings to flood. Confronted with the man who killed his grandfather, Richie insists The Buzz brings him in to face justice, but when given the choice between proving Dr Jade's involvement and saving Doc Ock, he was more than happy for The Buzz to leave Ock to die. Conflicted, The Buzz instead helps save Octavius and Dr Jade escapes (The Buzz #3).

 

It seems Doctor Otto Octavius never regains consciousness, and by the time Dr Jade re-emerges her partner Carolyn Trainer has assumed the mantle as the new Doctor Octopus in honour of her ‘recently deceased mentor’ (Spider-Girl #69). At least the name is in good hands.

 

Thus ends the life of Otto Octavius, at least in the MC2. Unless, of course, he managed to transfer his consciousness like he had planned and is still out there somewhere trapped inside his Octopod…

 

Until I stop the rampant rumour-mongering about versions of Doctor Octopus somehow surviving beneath the water, I remain

 

frogoat

 

The Smythe Family Tree

One of my favourite aspects of the MC2 universe is the multi-generational characters and legacies that crop up. It's one of the reasons I began this off-and-on-again series of MC2 Family Trees and today's post presents another fun example. The Smythe Family Tree will detail the family of genius creators responsible for the various Spider-Slayer robots!

To begin with, we have Spencer Smythe who first appeared in my all-time favourite Stan Lee/Steve Ditko issue, Amazing Spider-Man #25. In his first appearance, Spencer is only referred to as Smythe and his robot has not yet been dubbed a 'Spider-Slayer' (unless we accept the altered events of Mayday's time travel in Spider-Girl #10 and #11 where it is explicitly referred to as such...). It's also worth noting that poor Spencer was perfectly polite, respectable and in no way obsessed with catching and killing the wallcrawler at this point. No, here he's just a scientist trying to sell his product and he would remain interested in other endeavours when he next appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #28, before being assaulted and robbed by his former assistant, Mark Raxton moments before he becomes the Molten Man using Spencer's own newly created alloy.

After this, Spencer would make further attempts to capture Spider-Man using his newly-dubbed Spider-Slayers by convincing J Jonah Jameson to fund his efforts (Amazing Spider-Man #58). Growing more obsessed with exacting revenge on the web-head, Spencer abused his position as scientific advisor to enact a plot to use Jameson while destroying Spider-Man in the process (Amazing Spider-Man #105-#107). Foiled, Spencer turned his focus solely on killing Spider-Man, this time also building robotic replicas of other villains only to once again be defeated (Amazing Spider-Man #150).

Learning that he was dying as a result of exposure to the radioactive materials he used in his Spider-Slayers, Spencer set about enacting his revenge on both J Jonah Jameson and Spider-Man. Operating from the shadows and becoming increasingly unhinged, Smythe paid various villains to aid him in his master scheme, eventually orchestrating the apparent death of Jonah's son, John Jameson. With Jonah blaming Spider-Man, Smythe was once again approached by Jameson seeking a new Spider-Slayer. However, Spencer captured Jonah and following a battle with his latest Spider-Slayer, shackled Spider-Man and Jameson together with a bomb set to detonate in 24 hours. While Spider-Man and Jameson would eventually free themselves, Spencer would not live long enough to witness his final failure, dying beforehand (Amazing Spider-Man #186-#192).

In Amazing Spider-Man Annual #19 we meet Alistaire Alphonso Smythe, the son of Spencer Smythe. In his first appearance Alistaire is an overweight man who worked for the Kingpin until he is promptly fired. We also learn that Spencer Smythe left Alistaire and his mother, only visiting occasionally and ignoring Alistaire, in his obsession talking only of destroying Spider-Man. Due to some silly shenanigans, Alistaire captures Mary Jane and her Aunt Anna, mistakenly believing MJ is Spider-Man until his flying saucer-style Spider-Slayer crashes into powerlines.

 

 When next we see Alistaire, the injuries sustained during his crash have left him confined to a wheelchair with damage to his nervous system, only able to sustain himself via intravenous injections which likely contributed to his significant weight loss. Tracking Mary Jane down in his new Spider-Slayer an attempt to find the true identity of Spider-Man, Alistaire eventually followed her to Pittsburgh. There he was defeated again thanks to the combined efforts of Mary Jane and an enraged Spider-Man  who threatened Smythe not to harm MJ or other innocents again. (Amazing Spider-Man 291-#292).

Sent to an asylum, Alistaire eventually escaped with a group of fellow intelligent patients, keeping them as a work force to build a series of Spider-Slayers. During this time, Smythe developed a bio-organic carapace which repaired and enhanced his body, granting him super-human abilities. Dubbing himself the 'Ultimate Spider-Slayer,' Alistaire sent the various robots one after the other in a wave of attacks on Spider-Man until he was eventually found and defeated by the hero (Amazing Spider-Man #367-#373). 

Alistaire would next appear during the Clone Saga in two connected storylines, Virtual Mortality and CyberWar wherein he allies himself with prospective crime boss Jason Tso against Carolyn Trainer aka Doctor Octopus. Seeking specific microchips to complete and improve his new Cyber-Slayers, Smythe eventually ends up being out played by Trainer when she takes possession of the master control for the constructs following Alistaire's completion of the device, knocking him out in the process (Amazing Scarlet Spider #1, Scarlet Spider #1-#2, Spectacular Scarlet Spider #1-2, Web of Scarlet Spider #2).

That's the last time we see Alistaire before the MC2 diverges from the Main Marvel Universe, but it's not the last time a Smythe plagues the Parker family over in the pages of Spider-Girl. Staci Smythe makes her first appearance as an unnamed store clerk in the Spider Shoppe when May first discovers the place in Spider-Girl #45. Cleverly and subtly, Staci makes small appearances in almost all later issues featuring the Spider Shoppe, including Spider-Girl #73 and Spider-Girl #75 where Mayday purchases her original black suit.

We learn far more about Staci Smythe in Spider-Girl #91 when she is revealed as the costumed villain La Fantome. Staci Smythe desired to be a famous fashion designer and attended fashion college. While there she was recruited by Mary Jane Parker to work at the Spider Shoppe upon it's opening, allowing her to pay for her education. Recognizing Staci's surname, Mary Jane had hoped to give the young woman a break from the stigma of her family's name, which Staci evidently greatly appreciated.

Disguised as La Fantome, Staci began making attacks on Daniel Kingsley at his Spider-Women themed fashion show and warehouse office as revenge for his profiting from idea's stolen from the Spider Shoppe. Staci also organized a rally in support of the Spider Shoppe which attracted the police, prompting her to don her La Fantome guise once more. However, La Fantome undone when her fellow rally attendee's (including Spider Shoppe secret-owner Mary Jane Parker and Spider-Girl herself, May Parker) joined forces to surround her wearing various spider-costumes allowing Spider-Girl the opportunity to easily apprehend and unmask her. 

A few things before I wrap this up: While Mary Jane mentions Staci's uncle made Spider-Slayers and was an old enemy of Spider-Man, we don't learn whether the uncle in question was Spencer or Alistaire. For the purposes of my Smythe Family Tree, I've concluded this refers to Spencer, as Alistaire never mentions having any siblings when discussing his childhood. The only argument I have to refute this is Alistaire is far more familiar to Mary Jane, but there's nothing concrete to support either argument, so I've assumed Staci's family name came from an unseen sibling of Spencer Smythe. 

Speaking of names, many online sources and even comic writers have spelt Alistaire Smythe incorrectly as 'Alistair' and the same is also true for Staci Smythe, with some online spelling it 'Stacy'. Perhaps it's a family tradition upheld by Spencer and his sibling to spell their children's names oddly?

I'd also like to briefly point out that Mary Jane has strong connections to all three of the Smythe's first named appearances. Spencer Smythe first appears in Amazing Spider-Man #25 which is also the first on-panel appearance of Mary Jane Watson (albeit with her face obscured). Alistaire Smythe first appears in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #19 wherein he kidnaps Mary Jane and deludes himself into believe she is Spider-Man. Staci Smythe first appears in Spider-Girl #45 working in the Spider Shoppe, which is owned by Mary Jane as confirmed in Staci's first named appearance Spider-Girl #91. There's just something about her, isn't there?

While I don't touch on it much here, long ago I made an entire post about Spider-Girl #10-#11 which heavily features Spencer Smythe and his first Spider-Slayer. Check it out here. I've also made posts before discussing the connection between La Fantome's name and appearance with that of the Fifth Avenue Phantom from the 1967 Spider-Man animated series and another post detailing how La Fantome connects the Incredibles to the MC2, so I won't go into detail about it here. On the other hand I can't help but mention my love for the Spider-Man: The Animated Series adaption which first introduced me to Spencer and Alistaire Smythe! I still hear Alistaire's voice from the show whenever I read him in the comics.

Until I manage to convince Jameson to buy my latest killer robot, I remain

frogoat