Late Show with Big-Time

I really hope that Big-Time is, somehow, the guest host. He does have an errand to run, after all, and he has television's Paul Shaffer. Also, why the heck does the Jameson-Lopez thing get three panels? Other than Mary Jane, who is doing pretty much squat, theirs is the storyline I care about least. At least show us what Aunt May has been up to. I've been doing this blog for... oh geez. Two years come Thursday, and we haven't seen Aunt May once.

TIL: The fact that Maria Lopez continues to make Jameson act all silly and stuff.

Good Times

Remember that secret identity thing Spider-Man used to have? You know, before he climbed up a museum wall in his civilian clothes? Good times.

Seriously, though, you go on and on about secret identities and then you pull something like this. You're begging for your family to get shot, aren't you?

TIL: The fact that Peter's modus operandi for capturing the fake Spider-Man seems to be the same modus operandi he would use as Spider-Man.

Ramblin' Wanderin' Man

If only Peter knew what we knew: that his current mystery foe was in the employ of a clock-obsessed man named Big-Time. Then he'd know that this clock exhibit is probably the sort of thing to watch out for. Also, people probably think he's insane walking around and talking to himself like that. Since he's walking, people will only hear snippets of his monologue, rendering his secret identity safe, but the third panel? I imagine a disinterested man who is out walking his dog stopping suddenly as Peter bends over backwards and comments on promiscuous museums. That man with a dog is probably really confused. The only other explanation is that the fourth wall is being broken.

TIL: I like how they're setting up Big-Time to be a 60's Batman villain. I hope there's clock puns.

Maria Lopez Naked in a Tub Redux

Well, we have a recap of the past few days of strips. This means that there's another day of Maria Lopez, naked in a tub. Jameson's expression in the last panel of the middle row is one which will haunt me for the rest of my days, I fear.

TIL: The unexpectedness of Maria Lopez.

Filled with Sass

Unless Mary Jane was somehow listening in on the conversation, she doesn't see. She does seem to have a nearly supernatural talent when it comes to Jameson offering Peter more money over the phone, but still. It's also possible that Jameson just talks really, really loud which is also believable. Also, if Peter is really that interested in doling out justice and getting paid for it, he should become a bounty hunter.

TIL: Mary Jane is awfully sassy today.

A Decent Plan

...that's actually a pretty good plan. Also, it doesn't seem to involve Google or television at all. I'm surprised, Mister Parker. Quite surprised. Also, is it possible that Stan Lee has been setting this up? I mean, the secret identity thing was a plot thread a few storylines ago. Either he forgot about it and is just now picking it back up, or he was actually planning this. Curious.

TIL: The fact that Peter is actually being a bit pro-active.

Spider-Fugitive

I'm sure he could set a web-foot outside and be safe from the police for a bit. After all, he can web-sling, and I understand that's a pretty fast mode of transportation. No cops will be able to lay a finger on him. When he lands, of course, the police will all over him. Ah, and if they decide to break out the helicopter. Which, to be honest, would probably be more exciting than Peter trying to be a detective.

TIL: Mary Jane, who obviously remembers the last fifteen times this happened.

Really, Peter? Really?

Seriously, Peter? You can't believe that the Daily Bugle is calling you public enemy number one? The newspaper which, at the best of times, simply doesn't mention you at all and at most other times asks whether you're a threat or a menace? You can't believe they're calling you public enemy number one?

Sigh. A few more days like this and all the progress this strip has made in actually being good will be for naught.

TIL: Spider-Thug's gestures. In fact, I can't think of one time he hasn't had a comical facial expression or gesture.

Nefarious Plot REVEALED!

So we finally see how the daring robbery was accomplished! Except, uh... did they take the silk rope with them? After all, Spider-Man's webbing dissolves after about an hour. If they left it there, it could be a tell-tale clue that this nefarious imposter is not the real web-slinger. That, and the fact that it's a length of silk rope.

TIL: The fact that Spider-Thug looks like Jimmy Olsen with a mustache.

Will He?

Peter has sat down to read the newspaper. I believe it's a Daily Bugle with a story about the Spider-Imposter, so maybe he's lazily looking for clues. As long as he doesn't watch the television, we should be okay. As of right now, he's just overhearing it.

TIL: Maria damning Spider-Man with faint praise.

Silly MJ

Why, by hunting him down and beating the living daylights out of him, of course. Silly Mary Jane.

TIL: Peter seems cheerful.

On a meta note, we have a lot of ads now. This is so that I can maybe make a tiny bit of money. Sorry.

Big-Time: Wearing a Clock

First off, some meta-stuff: new poll of the week and Panel of the Week up later today. Now, on with the actual post!Today, we get clarification that the classic snarky Spider-Man is not the same Spider-Man who went to go see Big-Time. There was some worry about that, yes. Spider-Man is also being rather cocky today, something else that's rather classic. Also, acrobatic, which is whiz-bang crackerjack.

We also see that Big-Time is, in fact, wearing a watch on a chain around his neck. Big-Time is fantastic, and while I'll no doubt regret saying this as the weeks drag by, I look forward to spending this time with him.

TIL: Big-Time. He may be this year's break-out character.

Sweaty Guy

Yes, it may seem like a cop-out, but Spider-Man does this all the time. I do hope he at least webs up that burly thug.

TIL: How much the burly thug is sweating.

Out of a Job?

This is classic Spider-Man, right here. Cracking wise, doing some good, hanging upside down. The only thing that's missing is him webbing up that guy who looks like a more muscle-bound Weasel with worse hair. While I like that the strip is actually good right now, it sort of makes my job as a commentator a little bit unneeded. So do I hope for the strip to get terrible again, or do I hope that it stays moderately decent? I honestly don't know. Also, can anyone read that thing that looks like an e-mail address between the second and third panels? I can't make it out.

TIL: The burly thug in panel three. Or should I say the burly thug not in panel three? Since when does this strip do artistic flourishes like that?

Heroics? Heroics!

...well, this was a bit unexpected. Spider-Man actually doing something heroic instead of just moping. It'll probably end with the old lady screaming at Spider-Man, but he's actually trying right now. I think something is up with Stan Lee, as this strip's been pretty competent over the past week or so.

TIL: How burly the purse-snatcher is.

Somewhat Accurate Spider-Man

The last panel of today's strip accurately sums up the usual mindset of Peter Parker in most mediums he's appeared in. All in all, since this storyline debuted two weeks ago, the whole thing has been more like an actual Spider-Man story than any that have been covered on this blog. I'm sure he'll get knocked out with a brick pretty soon, or go sit at home and whine or something, but for now I'll enjoy it.

TIL: I like Spider-Man's pose in the second panel. Larry Lieber, if he's actually the one drawing the strip, usually doesn't do things mid-pose like that.

Wisecracks Make Most Everything Better

As is usually the case with Monday strips, this one basically recaps things that happened yesterday. Except I like this version much better, since Spider-Man makes a wisecrack while he's making things much more difficult for himself. In fact, he's far more flippant and talkative in this version, which I think is much preferable to him whining yesterday.

If those cops are in the strip much more, then I'll have to give them meta-tags.

TIL: Flippant Spider-Man

Spider-Man's New Power

Spider-Man: With the proportionate ability of a spider's knack for making things worse!

TIL: Either the fact that the police have established a sort of barrier separating the overturned car from the crowd, or that big exclamation point in the second panel of the second row.

In Which the Author Uses Logic

Now, we all know this isn't the main Marvel universe, simply because if it was, there'd be a great deal more face-kicking and elaborate poorly done crossovers. There's also not a whole subsection of the population who can, by themselves, overturn a car with their "bare hands". However, I have seen several other individuals in the strip who can do just that. Namor the Sub-Mariner, for one. The Rhino, for another. Perhaps the X-Men's Beast. I'm not entirely sure about the Hobgoblin and Doctor Doom, but I've seen them do such things. Ah, and Peter keeps on mentioning the Hulk whose whole thing is that he can overturn a car as easily as you or I could knock down a small chair. Now, I'm not saying any of those people could be this faux Spider-Man, I'm just saying the cop's assertion that no one else could have done it is wrong.

Now, bare hands? Spider-Man is wearing gloves. If this were the real world, well, there wouldn't be Spider-Man for one thing. Ah, and the addition of gloves would at most protect your hands and wrists from various things, depending on the thickness of the gloves. Since this is a comic, however, wearing gloves can do all manner of things. Spider-Man himself is wearing a pair of web-shooters underneath his, and no one can see them. The Hobgoblin keeps an entire arsenal of things in his gloves. Doctor Doom's whole thing is that his gloves are weapons of considerable might, as is the Shocker's, though to an inferior degree. So the addition of gloves could easily allow someone to knock over a car in a comic strip.

Ah, and Doctor Strange has been in the strip. When you put him into the strip, all bets are pretty much off because he sets a million precedents. So that cop is pretty wrong that Spider-Man is the only one who could have done it.

On top of all this, it is pretty amusing that Spider-Man thought that going to help the cops was a good idea at any point and time considering his dubious history with them. At least now he's come to his senses, somewhat. The fact that there's only two cops at the crime scene is laughable, as well, considering how it's probably a media circus. If it has been that long, why has no one turned the car back over? It's on it's side. A few guys could push it back onto its wheels no problem.

TIL: I like the two cops, for some reason.

Mister Freeze

I originally read the last panel as "Okay, Mister Freeze!" and was going to go on a little tirade about how odd that is, since Spider-Man is not Mister Freeze. Heck, one is a Marvel character, the other is a DC Comics character and the two look nothing alike. A random cop calling Spider-Man Mister Freeze would be so absurd that it would cause minor explosions. In my head.

Then I noticed the little exclamation point after Mister, and... I went on the tirade anyway. Huh.

TIL: It's nice to see Spider-Man doing something Spider-Man-ish. Even if it is being hunted and hated by the law.