The promise was that Spider-Man would not tackle the Vulture until Peter got over the flu. Nothing was said about appearing on talk shows. Also: I've never heard the term "blue-skying it", but you can be sure I'll try to work it into my daily conversations.
I'm still enjoying this far more than the sick Peter/idiot Vulture story-lines.
Might we be getting an answer to the mystery first revealed in this set of strips? In all honesty, I'm far more intrigued by this than whatever Spider-Man or the Vulture are up to. Bring on Jameson's story of loss, Stan Lee. I'm ready.
Maria Lopez is pretty much the last thing I expected to see today, or ever again. As you can see, Jameson is also quite surprised.
At this point, there is really no possible way Peter isn't going to get his butt kicked by someone. Mary Jane might do it because he keeps trying to find loopholes to allow him to sneak out and go fight the Vulture with a clean conscience. Jonah Jameson would do it since Peter isn't getting him photos. The Vulture might do it if Peter ever gets out there to fight him. If Peter doesn't end up in a crumpled heap at some point during all of this, I'm going to be quite surprised.
The headline is a far better slant to what happened concerning Spider-Man's inability to show up. Also, Jameson is still acting how he's supposed to. It's the small things that make the strip better, really.
Spider-Man likes to dream that his enemies are somewhat competent (what's in the mysterious brown satchel? State secrets? Diamonds?) and that he's about ten times more competent than they are, apparently. Also, at this point, Mary Jane should be wearing more... conservative sleepwear. I would want as much clothing as possible between me and the dreaded Spider-Flu.
Robbie's dialog in panel one just seems sort of muddled. It makes sense, yes, but it just doesn't seem natural. What surprises me most about today's strip is that we're well into into the next storyline and they're calling back to a previous one. Some people out there are going to be wondering, "Oh my goodness, what is this Krandis thing they're talking about?" and they'll go into Google and type in Krandis, and you know what pops up? An entry from this blog. Thanks, Mister Lee.
All right, this is just bizarre. In order for the Vulture to make Spider-Man look like a wimp, wouldn't Spider-Man have to be there? The same goes for Jameson's claim, as Spider-Man wasn't even there to try to stop the Vulture, and therefore, had no chance to do so. So, instead of making Spider-Man look like a wimp, the Vulture merely made Spider-Man look apathetic to the plight of the rich. This goes for Jameson's claim as well, as the Webhead (why is he using a pet name for someone he hates?) merely didn't show up to stop the Vulture. Now, whether making Spider-Man look apathetic is worse than making him look wear is an entirely different debate.
Technically, he was only thinking of going out as Spider-Man, so no promise was broken. I think. He may have promised not to even think of going out as Spider-Man, but it's two in the morning and I'm too tired to check.
Okay, for some reason I found the middle panel here really funny. It still doesn't really mean Mary Jane was right to quit her play, because actors should be able to get used to things like this. If an actor quit a show every time they got heckled, the world would have no more actors in it, after all. Mary Jane is obviously not cut out for this, as she looks as if she's dead inside in the third panel.
1) YOUR MOVIE DID NOT BOMB YET
Just the dreaded Monday recap. I would like to point out that Marvella hasn't yet flopped. It could still do a fair bit of business on the DVD market. After all, isn't something a flop only if it's failed to make money despite being released?
At this point and time, this strip has no likable characters in its main cast. Our supposed hero is even less effective than usual, down with the flu. The main female lead, who so recently proved her authority by forcing her husband to stay in bed, is now in tears because the audience did not like her because her movie is going directly to DVD. All the while our current villain is content to rob rooftop parties, using a gun to menace people. Also, our current villain is a man who utilizes a flying suit which traditionally has razor-sharp wings. Yet he's menacing people with a gun. I hope some bit character pops in soon that will bring a ray of sunshine to this dreariness.
I just have to say that I really don't like where this is going. I mean, it seems like it can't get any more dull or inane, but that's the amazing thing about this strip- it will always get more dull or inane.
What? Can it be? We're actually being spared Spider-Man going out sick and attempting to return home before Mary Jane? A happy day indeed! She's the true heroine of this strip.
Then you wait until he does something worse than robbing some rich folk. Seriously, I know that with great power comes great responsibility, but you're sick. You need to take time to recuperate. If he starts trying to kill people, actively trying to kill people, then you can go web-sling after him. Until then, just take it easy.
Always with the stinking television. I wish his television set would just explode so he'd actually have to look for crimes to stop. I mean, right now, yes. This is about the only acceptable reason Spider-Man should be watching television: because he has the flu. Yet I can't appreciate that because he's always watching the stinking television. Now he's going to go out as Spider-Man despite his promise, all while trying to be back before Mary Jane comes home.
Argh, it's even worse when the Vulture is using stupid bits of slang! The man is butchering every bit of the English language he can get his beak around, and these people are shouting for Spider-Man to save them. Screw Spider-Man, people, he's sleeping at home in bed. We need Curtis Langsley, Action Librarian. He'd catalog the Vulture right back into jail, he would.
We know he's not Dick Tracy, since he's not dressed in yellow and his body has rounded edges. Also, is this the first we've seen of the Vulture's need for revenge against Spider-Man? I think it is, but the Vulture seems to be forgetting one thing: Spider-Man can swing from a web. Therefore, unless the Vulture puts some serious hurt on Spider-Man (or just hits him in the head with a lead pipe or falling brick, really), then Spider-Man will most likely not hit the street.
The Vulture is so nonthreatening that some normal guy is willing to tackle and taunt him. This makes him at best a B-level villain, but the fact that the Vulture dropped him only about twenty feet (still painful, but probably not fatal) drops him down to a C. He has low goals, no threat level, and an unwillingness to commit any crime greater than theft. No longer he was in a normal guy prison, this Vulture is pretty much a complete putz.
Numbered list time, readers!
Vulture steals costume jewelry from Mary Worth while Alfred Pennyworth stands idly by. Vulture stretches for pun! Film at eleven!
Blah blah blah, he has the flu, oh my stars and garters. Wait, what's this? The Vulture?! What nefarious deeds will he do while he has free reign over the city?
This better not lead to Peter adopting another secret identity just so he can face down the Vulture and still keep his promise. Seriously!
Peter has been driven mad by his fever. At no point does Mary Jane make any sort of bargain with him, she only issues commands. She does, however, take joy in this. We should fear her.
Mary Jane doesn't want to see a flu-infected Peter stupidly fight the Vulture, as such a thing would be quite cliched and whatnot.
Surprisingly, Mary Jane convinced Peter to go to bed instead of going out to fight the nefarious Vulture. Not surprisingly, it'll take more than one night to cure Peter's illness.
This whole thing is just an exercise in padding. The whole illness probably won't have any actual bearing on the plot, other than making us spend a week watching Mary Jane convince Peter to stay in bed.
Peter is just going to keep whining and whining until he gets his way, then we'll get a lame fight where Peter gets his butt kicked. He'll then FINALLY listen to his wife and take some bed-rest, so he can then go back and beat the Vulture. Why doesn't he just recuperate now so he'll be battle-ready sooner?
While the Vulture has broken out of jail and that might be cause for alarm, he technically hasn't done anything other than fly around yet. Now, if he starts stealing stuff or murdering people, then Spider-Man can start worrying. Until then, he should just take a rest.
