Six-Armed Spider-Man

While I wanted to produce a post for this blog that in some way ties into Sony’s Morbius movie, I couldn’t find any direct connections to the MC2. So, instead I present the next best thing: an in-direct connection to Morbius’ first comic appearance within the MC2.

 

Some history for those who don’t know: In Amazing Spider-Man #100, Stan Lee’s last regular issue, Peter Parker uses a formula he had developed in an attempt to finally rid himself of his spider-powers. Untested, Peter takes a chance and tests it on himself, soon after becoming unwell and experiencing terrible nightmares. Upon waking, Peter is horrified to discover he has grown four extra arms.

 

In shock and forced to hide this latest unexpected development, Peter fobs off his then-girlfriend Gwen Stacy and an offer of work at the Daily Bugle, and desperate to find a place to hide and work on an antidote for his condition contacts Dr Curt Connors aka The Lizard. Connors allows Spider-Man to use his secluded place in South Hampton which included a fully-equipped laboratory in the basement, and Peter stealthily makes his way there under cover of darkness and spends two days frantically trying to cure himself to no avail (Amazing Spider-Man #101). 

 

Meanwhile, another Doctor, Michael Morbius makes his debut aboard a nearby anchored ship. Having killed the ship’s captain, Morbius is turned upon by the crew until nightfall allows him to regain his strength and make short work of them before leaping from the vessel with some remorse. Morbius seeks shelter and rest in the nearby house owned by Curt Connors, and soon encounters Spider-Man when night falls. Their battle is interrupted by the sudden arrival of Curt Connors himself and the shock triggers his own transformation into his more monstrous Lizard form (Amazing Spider-Man #101).

Morbius and the Lizard fight over who may lay claim to the Spider-Man until Morbius seizes an opportunity to bite the Lizard but is interrupted before fully feeding by Spider-Man and quickly departs. The bite causes the Lizard to partially revert to Connors, including the loss of his right arm, which leads Spider-Man and Connors/the Lizard to deduce they can utilize an enzyme from Morbius’ bite to cure themselves. After an extended exploration of Morbius’ origins, we pick up with Spider-Man and a Lizard who is quickly-reasserting control of his mind and body. The pair track down and add some of Morbius’ blood to their serum which fortunately proves to be the cure they needed, restoring Connors to human form and removing Spider-Man’s addition limbs. Naturally, Morbius escapes and is believed to have perished beneath the waves (Amazing Spider-Man #102).

 

Now, how does all this have any bearing on the MC2? Well, we know for sure these events transpired in the past of the MC2’s Peter Parker thanks to an unlikely source; Spider-Man Family Vol. 1 #1. Therein we have a story (seemingly) set during the mostly unexplored point in time after Baby May is rescued and returned to Peter and Mary Jane Parker by Kaine but before Peter loses his leg in his final battle with Norman Osborn aka the Green Goblin. Lured into a trap by the villain Jack O’ Lantern aka Maguire Beck, Spider-Man meets and teams-up with Araña and her *sidekick* Miguel as they battle a variety of museum like room full of Spider-Man robot’s designed to resemble various costumes and points in Peter’s career. Among these we see a Six-Armed Spider-Man robot which should reaffirm for anyone who may doubt the Main Marvel Universe and the MC2 share a common history (up to a point) and by extension, the existence of the living vampire Morbius.

 

Now for a little nit-pick! While I can understand how a villain like Jack O’ Lantern would confuse Ben Reilly or Miguel O’Hara with the original Spider-Man and include them when filling out her museum of various Spidey robots, the very existence of a Six-Armed Spider-Man was supposedly a secret. That said, I’d like to offer a No-Prize explanation, if I may. During the so-call ‘Six-Armed Spider-Man’ story arc, various phone calls are made to New York’s TV News Service and the Daily Bugle about the events that are transpiring, including Morbius’ attacks and a sighting of the Lizard and the extra-limbed Spider-Man, described as a ‘prowler’ with ‘the usual hundred arms.’ It’s conceivable that one of these witnesses managed to snap a photo of the arachnid hero amid all this confusion. Alternatively, any of the participants including Morbius or Connors may have later relayed this information to others. In fact, we know for certain that Spider-Man told the Human Torch about his encounter with Morbius, including mention of how he cured himself of his additional limbs (Marvel Team-Up #3). Problem patched?

 

Well, that’s the closest you’ll get to an MC2-related Morbius tie-in post from me, I hope it was worth the read. Let me know if you think I’ve missed some super-obvious connection!

 

Until I start producing my own unique enzyme that’s capable of removing entire limbs while cursed to crave the blood of others, I remain

 

frogoat

Sony VS Marvel: How it affects the MC2

Some of you may recall that back in November 2014, Sony Pictures were the target of hackers, resulting in a large amount of confidential data being leaked online. Amongst the documents released were several detailing the Amazing Spider-Man film series and correspondence with Marvel Studios. It's fairly well known the backlash to the concepts and opinions leaked resulted in Spider-Man appearing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

Which brings me to today's post. I hadn't given much thought to the exact details of Sony's contracts and agreements to produce films based on Spider-Man, which characters they could and couldn't use or anything like that until I saw this recent video by the YouTube channel Midnight's Edge:

Spider-man: The uncertain future with either Marvel's MCU or Sony's Venom

It was while watching that I noticed a familiar name in one of the screenshots of the Sony documents: Meagyn Brady. I'd always figured May 'Mayday' Parker was included in the package of characters for the film rights to the Spider-Man franchise, but it never really occurred to me such minor characters would be mentioned. So I did some digging through the leaked documents.

As it turns out, I found a lot of original MC2 character's names mentioned under various categories. I may have missed a few within this document which appears to be a more finalized version of these prior documents but I've attempted to include even some which may not, just for the sake of completeness. Let me know what I've missed or omitted. Here's the list of the characters quoted as presented under the various sub-headings in the document:

Alternate Versions of Spider-Man include all of the following

Spider-Man (IV)/Gerry Drew

Schedule 6

Named Characters

Black Tarantula (II)/Fabian LaMuerto
Buzz, The/Jack Jameson
Crazy Eight
Daze
Goblin God/Peter Parker
Green Goblin, The (VI)/Norman "Normie" Harry Osborn
Killerwatt
Misery/Melissa Carsdale
Mr. Nobody
Scarlet Spider (VII)/Felicity Hardy
Spider-Girl (I)/ May "Mayday" Parker
Spider-Girl 2020/May Parker
Spider-Man (IV)/Gerry Drew
Spider-Venom
Spider-Woman/ May "Mayday" Parker
Venom/Spider-Girl, May "Mayday" Parker

Teams/Groups/Gangs

Team Spider

Supporting Characters

Aftershock
April (first appearing in Spider-Girl #75)
Babbit, Mr

Barney – agent of Hobgoblin (first appearing in Amazing Spider-Girl #2)
Bitter Frost
Brady, Meagyn
Canis
Carlo, Mona
Claw
Desantos, Simone
Diana - Black Cat's love interest in MC2 Universe
Dragon King/Carlton T. Hackmutter
Drasco, Det. Vinnie
Duran, Courtney-May "Mayday" Parker's friend
Funny Face
Fury the Goblin Queen/ Elan DeJunae
Golden Goblin
Grief Machine
Groote, Leonard
Hardy, Felicity (daughter of Felicia)
Healy, Gus
Healy, Joyce
Healy, Sandra
Hicks, Ralphie
Hingle, Duane
Hingle, Cindy
Hingle, Sarah
Impact
Jade, Dr. Sonja
Kirby, Davida - May "Mayday" Parker's friend
Kodiak
Kurkle, Charlie
La Fantome
Ladyhawk/Regina Morgan
Ladyhawk/Rosetta Morgan

Lieber, Caitlyn
Lu, Nancy - May "Mayday" Parker's friend
Mansfield, Billy
Mansfield, Katy
Mansfield, Moose
Mansfield, Mr. - father of Moose
Miller, Brad
Mr. Abnormal
Parker, April - clone of May Parker
Parker, Benjamin "Benjy" Richard Parker
Phillip, Charlie
Pirouette
Quickwire
Ragone, Theodore "Turtle"
Raptor/Brenda Drago

Reverb / Rudolf
Spyral
Thompson, Gene (son of Eugene "Flash" Thompson and Felicia Hardy)
Tyne, Reilly
Weadon, Arthur
Westin, Wes
Yama, Jimmy
Yi, Spike

Business and Other IP

Café Indigo
Deacon's Den
"EVERYBODY'S HAPPY" - program
Hotel Caprice
Humanity First
Kingsley International
Spider Shoppe
Spidera
St. Andrew's -women's shelter
Zebra Patrol

SCHEDULE 7A

Frozen Characters

Hero or Villain

Spider-Man appearing as a member of the Fantastic Four (e.g., as a member of the Fantastic Five or Fatal Force)
Reilly Tyne as an alias for Darkdevil

Anthropomorphic Variations

Mary Porker

Schedule 8

Marvel Reserved Characters

Hero or Villain

Bluestreak (III) (first appearing in A-Next)
Coal Tiger/T'Chaka
Darkdevil
Dragonfist
Freebooter/Brandon Cross
Mad Dog Rassitano
Magneta
Stinger/Cassandra "Cassie" Lang
Stormtrooper/Eric Masterson
Thunderstrike/Kevin Masterson
Wild Thing

Teams, Groups, and Gangs

Sons of Serpent/Soldiers of the Serpent

There were many, many other characters that appear in the MC2 who I didn't included in the above list because I only transcribed characters who hadn't appeared anywhere prior to their MC2 appearances. So Phil Urich isn't listed above because he debuted beforehand, meanwhile Normie is listed only as a version of the Green Goblin. Make sense? Good. You'll have noticed a few odd spellings and the occasional character that might not be from the MC2, but I've listed some (such as 'Mary Porker') because I believe they may be typos, misreading or similar mistakes.

The most fascinating discovery was that a character named Reilly Tyne could be used by Sony, so long as he wasn't linked to Darkdevil, and Marvel Studios appears to be able to use the design and name of Darkdevil so long as his secret identity isn't Reilly Tyne. This is attributed to the Daredevil-related elements of the character's super hero identity. Being the son of Ben Reilly -a literal clone of Peter Parker- means he's a Spider-Man character while his super hero moniker, appearance and origin link him to Daredevil as well as Ghost Rider who's film rights were previously held by Sony.  In early versions, Sony Pictures recommended 'Darkdevil' be frozen, likely due to the aforementioned conflict of rights. The use of 'Reilly Tyne as an alias for Darkdevil' appears on the list of 'frozen' characters while 'Darkdevil' appears under 'Marvel Reserved Characters'. Poor Reilly, even in the real world he gets a raw deal, split between so many 'fathers'.

(This might also explain why The Buzz was licenced for the Spider-Man Unlimited mobile game but Darkdevil never appeared, despite actually having spider-powers and being directly related. Not strictly relevant, but I did often wonder!)

It's also worth noting that in earlier versions mentioned above, Meagyn Brady, Magneta and Dragonfist were among the list of characters Sony Pictures wished to have included in their licence agreement, in addition to requesting the spelling of 'Mona Carlo' be corrected. Sony Pictures also felt 'Bluestreak' had 'clear associations with Spider-Man and/or a subsidiary character' enough to request a rationale for exclusion. Regardless, other than Meagyn, all these characters appear on the Schedule 8 list for 'Marvel Reserved Characters'.

It's simple enough to see how and why Stinger, Thunderstrike, Coal Tiger and even Magneta and Dragonfist and other aren't considered a part of the film right for Spider-Man, and are listed as 'Marvel Reserved Characters'. With characters like Hope Van Dyne in the MC2 based on Hope Pym, it's safe to assume the MC2 characters are on the radar for Marvel Studios to mine for future films. My money is on Stinger being the next MC2 character!

I do wonder where a character like Bluestreak falls in the eyes of a legal team. Blue is a former member of the mutant team X-People who first appeared in the Avengers related title A-Next, which is mostly associated with the MC2, primarily known for Spider-Girl, a Spider-Man character. Presumably she counts as either an X-Men character or an Avengers character or both like her predecessor in speed, Quicksilver. This stuff is messy!

The introduction of Spider-Man into Marvel Studios' MCU while Sony Pictures retains several related characters such as Venom for their own 'Sony Marvel Universe' further splits up the available characters within the MC2. For example, would a symbiote character like April Parker aka Mayhem be retained by Sony for their Venom film series or would her clone nature mean she is loaned to MCU?

It would seem that Mayday and her family are all free and clear to appear in a future production (such as a Into The Spider-Verse related movie, for example) but only some of her rogues gallery, supporting cast and fellow heroes are free and clear to make appearances alongside her. Personally, I'd settle for a great Spider-Girl appearance in a future animated film from Sony if it was as well produced as Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
I could cover this a bit more in future, if there's any interest. Let me know!

Until I stop being far too excited by legal documents, I remain

frogoat

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Review

I was lucky enough to attend an early screening of Sony's new animated film, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and thought I'd share my thoughts with my readers. Beware, there will be SPOILERS from here on out!

Spider-Symmetry: Venom

A quick post-drop today because I felt like illustrating an example of Ron Frenz's impressive ability to integrate disparate artistic styles from across the decades of Spidey's publication history into his own inimitable style to make a coherent and believable world within each story.


To illustrate my point using a relevant example, here is a side by side comparison of Venom:

 Here's Eddie Brock as Venom from Amazing Spider-Man #300 drawn by Todd McFarlane.

And here's the only on-panel appearance of Eddie Brock as Venom in the MC2 from Amazing Spider-Girl #29 by Ron Frenz.

     

Not only does Mr Frenz reference Mr McFarlane's work, he also nails the latter's style while making it fit seamlessly within his own unique style. In doing so, Ron makes the world of the MC2 including Spider-Girl feel like the spiritual successor to Marvel's original heroes. I love it.

Until I run out of things to gush about, I remain

frogoat

Review: Amazing Spider-man

This is my late review of the new Spidey flick, The Amazing Spider-man. I'm on the fence on this one. I'm genuinely surprised by all the positive reviews, though, I have to say. I watched the film and I kept waiting for it to snatch me away on a web-line and take me on an adventure. Let's start with the good, then, shall we?

 Andrew Garfield is Peter Parker. With his gangly frame, and his delivery of snappy jokes and jabs, he was Spidey, while also demonstrating the angsty emotions and intelligence of that geek Peter I've know much of my life, Peter Parker. Emma Stone shines as a modern-day Gwen Stacy, with her awkward but somehow confident flirting with Garfield and her natural air of intellect and charm make her a worthy companion. Honestly, I felt the entire cast did an amazing job. Heck, the special effects were dang good too.

 The trouble is, the film never goes anywhere. Yes, Uncle Ben dies and Peter attempts to find the killer. Yes, Curt Conners becomes the Lizard. And yes, Captain Stacy even dies at the climax of the film. But it never felt like the elements of the story fitted together naturally. In fact, watching some of the trailers and thinking over what I saw in theaters, I'm inclined to believe several scenes were shoot and inserted late in production, while others were removed from the final product. For example, there is a subplot involving Peter looking into his parents disappearance that leads him to the Dr Conners lab. Only, he never really asks the good doctor anything about his parents, while a clip from one of the trailers depicts the Lizard taunting Peter with this information. Funny, that wasn't in the film. A lot of scenes end up feeling like this; set up, build up, and then dropped. The shadowing villain behind the Ratha fulfills his role by putting pressure on Conners to deliver a...cure, I guess, for Osborn, who we are told is dying. Ratha shows up throughout the film until the Lizard emerges and appears to be hunting him...but then we never see Ratha again. He just disappears midway through the story. I'm guessing another victim of studio meddling.

But honestly, I could have forgiven so much more because, as I said, the performances were all brilliant. I enjoyed a sort-of-homage to Sam Raimi's films with New York workers pulling strings to get Spidey to the location of his big showdown with the Lizard. I hope this review doesn't come off as overly negative, as I found a lot to enjoy in this film, with it's more serious tone and it's mechanical webshooters. I just wish there was more to like. At the end of the day, I enjoyed it enough to walk away happy that they made another Spidey flick, but also wondering how Marvel would have handled it's top hero, given the chance.