WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #100 - May 1993

Total War

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Alex Saviuk (penciler), Joe Rubinstein (inker), Steve Dutro (letterer), Bob Sharen (colorist)

The Plot: After escaping the android members of the New Enforcers, Spider-Man heads to ESU and develops a new hard-web agent. Donning his spider-armor, he heads for the Foreigner's mansion. There, Spider-Man is caught in a fight between Blood Rose and the New Enforcers. Stalking Blood Rose, Gauntlet arrives. Before he can gain revenge, Gauntlet is confronted by Nightwatch. Nightwatch takes back his power-glove, leaving a wounded Gauntlet for Spider-Man to discover. With the Enforcers defeated, and two Richard Fisks unmasked, a confused Spider-Man allows the police to sort matters out.

The Subplots: After the New Enforcers are sent to prison, another group of criminals calling themselves the New Enforcers is thrilled that “the outer circle took the fall.” They’re now prepared to rule the underworld.

Web of Continuity: The final tally of New Enforcers members includes…Dragon Man, Dreadnought, Super-Adaptoid, Vanisher, Eel, Blitz, Thermite, Plantman, and Tangle. The secret members who aren’t arrested in the end are Mr. Fear, Madame Menace, the Controller, the Fixer and Mentallo.

Richard Fisk reveals that his best friend Alfredo Morelli was actually posing as him during the “Name of the Rose” storyline. His verbatim explanation: “You volunteered your combat experience, Alfredo…to help me try to destroy the Fisk Syndicate without setting off a mob war. But the plastic surgery -- the pressures of the puppet position -- unhinged your mind…you eventually refused to acknowledge any identity other than ‘Richard Fisk.’”

*See _________ For Details: Empire State University was damaged by the Human Torch in Fantastic Four #373.

Gimmicks: This is a double-sized issue with a cardstock holo-graphix cover. The cover price is $2.95.

Review: There are no words to describe the utter inanity of this comic. It’s horrible. I don't think that's much of a revelation. I don’t have the energy to detail fully just how bad this is, so I’ll try to list the low points in a simple bullet-point form.

* There is absolutely no justification for the “spider-armor” gimmick. It’s not even armor; it’s just hardened webbing that gets destroyed during the fight anyway. The armor is a dumb, gimmicky premise that’s only here to chase a fad and get on the cover. I would say it was created to sell action figures, but Marvel wasn't producing any new Spider-Man action figures at the time.

* Why do the Enforcers now consist of around thirty-eight members? It’s a random collection of characters that don’t mesh well together, and they’re all cheapened because Kavanagh can only use them as cannon fodder. The whole premise of a “New Enforcers” is flawed. Even during the early ‘60s, the original Enforcers were already an outdated, old-timey take on mobsters. I can’t imagine Stan and Steve really wanted the audience to take these guys seriously. The Enforcers are a fun premise, not an excuse to cram together any C-list villain that has an opening this month. And am I a total cynic for assuming that the secret cabal within the New Enforcers never appeared again?

* Nightwatch is a flagrant Spawn rip-off. There, I said it. I realize this fact sailed right past many readers, but you can’t slip this stuff by me.

* Richard Fisk was really Alfredo Morelli, and Blood Rose, who we were led to believe was Alfredo Morelli, was actually Richard Fisk. Oh, were there thought balloons that indicated “Richard Fisk” was Richard Fisk in “Name of the Rose”? Well, that just means Alfredo was nuts by that point. And his appearance? Plastic surgery, of course. If it works in the soaps, it’s good enough for superhero comics. Who cares if this plot point is nonsensical and needlessly confusing…it’s a twist. It’s always important to screw the audience around keep the readers on their toes.

Okay, maybe this was terrible. But surely Terry Kavanagh won’t be making any more contributions to Spidey continuity, right?

The Origin of Nightwatch

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Derek Yaniger (artist), Steve Dutro (letterer), Bob Sharen (colorist)

The Plot: During an AIM hijacking, Dr. Kevin Trench is rescued by Nightwatch. When Nightwatch is killed, Trench is shocked to discover an older version of himself inside the costume. Donning the outfit, Trench tries to rescue his girlfriend Ashley, but inadvertently kills her in an explosion. Determined never to complete the time loop, Trench exiles himself to an island and rejects the Nightwatch identity.

Review: As horrific as this issue’s main story is, I have to give Kavanagh credit for creating an intriguing origin story for Nightwatch. A man is given an organic superhero outfit by his future self, only to botch his first mission and kill his girlfriend? Ouch. Trench knows that he’ll die in the Nightwatch identity, so he thinks he can outwit fate on a deserted island, only to find himself wearing the costume again years later in New York City. There’s a decent amount of potential there. It actually reminds me of the more interesting time travel plots on LOST, before the show descended into nonsense. Still, nothing excuses that outfit, and emphasizing its “living” qualities is just provoking a lawsuit from McFarlane.

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #99 - April 1993

The Swords Are Drawn

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Alex Saviuk & Joe Rubinstein w/Derek Yaniger (art), Steve Dutro (letterer), Bob Sharen (colorist)

The Plot: Spider-Man arrives to stop Blood Rose from killing the Foreigner, who they discover is actually an imposter. The actor is injured by a grenade blast, forcing Spider-Man to abandon Blood Rose and get the man help. Weeks later, he’s killed in the hospital. Spider-Man swings to the Foreigner’s headquarters to investigate, and is attacked by the New Enforcers: Eel, Blitz, the Vanisher, Dragon Man, Dreadnought, and the Super-Adaptoid. Meanwhile, Blood Rose unmasks in private, revealing himself as Richard Fisk.

The Subplots: The Richard Fisk that’s living on a deserted island discovers Trench’s arsenal. He steals Trench’s power glove and demands that he now be called “Gauntlet.” He escapes on Trench’s boat, forcing Trench to don his Nightwatch identity. In New York, MJ is upset when Peter goes missing. Robbie Robertson tells MJ that he sent Peter upstate to take “seasonal pictures” for the Bugle, a story Peter confirms. Later, MJ offers Peter a job taking publicity photos for her soap opera, Secret Hospital.

Web of Continuity: MJ is still smoking. When she sees through Robbie’s window what appears to be him getting dressed in front of Betty Brant, she suspects they’re having an affair. Blood Rose refers to the original Rose as “the real Rose” and says he took up gardening to support his ruse, even though on the same page he reveals himself as Richard Fisk.

*See _________ For Details: A footnote points towards recent issues of Amazing for details on Peter’s parents.

Review: And now this story officially becomes a joke. Blood Rose taking out the remnants of the Fisk empire, a mystery man hiring the Foreigner to turn against him, and Richard Fisk washing ashore a deserted island aren’t exactly gripping ideas, but they could’ve coalesced into something readable. With this chapter, the story jumps into characters swapping identities, new characters popping up out of nowhere, and the introduction of a new team of Enforcers that looks as if it was assembled by throwing darts at a wall covered in torn-out Handbook entries.

I can’t imagine why anyone thought it would be a good idea to have two Richard Fisks, but this is the same writer who convinced the Spider-office that the clone should be revived, so maybe his mind works along these lines. The Richard Fisk we’ll soon learn is a fake dons a non-Nintendo power glove and renames himself “Gauntlet” this issue, a name that was not only already taken by an X-Men villain, but apparently loved enough by Kavanagh to show up again during his X-Man run. He’s pursued by Trench, who we discover has secretly been a Spawn-clone named Nightwatch all along. Nightwatch goes on to have an ongoing series (I believe retroactively declared a mini-series), but he’s probably best remembered for the last minute costume redesign that had Marvel de-Spawning the guy after the promotional images for his series had already been released.

As for the subplots, the teases that Robbie and Betty are having an affair are slightly crass, but they do grab your attention. In a way, this suits the soap opera tradition of the Spider-titles, but it also feels a little too sleazy for a Spider-Man story (although we of course learn later that nothing happened between them). The “Peter might have a small connection to MJ’s job” subplot doesn’t sound so exciting, but I’ll give Kavanagh credit for trying to work out a story that involves Peter and MJ as a couple. What I don’t understand is the brief subplot about Peter disappearing one morning without leaving a note. If, as Robbie said, he simply went upstate to take photos for a color insert, why did he keep this from MJ? And why is she not angry with him when he comes home that night? Why doesn’t Peter feel guilty for causing his wife unnecessary worry? Why was this even in the story, aside from setting MJ up to “discover” Robbie and Betty? It’s certainly an odd one.

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #98 - March 1993

Uneasy Alliances…

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Alex Saviuk & Don Hudson w/Derek Yaniger (art), Steve Dutro (letterer), Bob Sharen (colorist)

The Plot: Robbie Robertson interferes with Blood Rose’s attack on Spider-Man, gambling that his twisted sense of honor won’t allow him to harm an innocent. Blood Rose leaves with the Cyber-Hunters, warning Robbie not to interfere again. Spider-Man tags him with a spider-tracer. Later, the Cyber-Hunters turn on Blood Rose, but can’t kill him. Blood Rose barges into the Foreigner’s office, demanding to know who paid him for the hit.

The Subplots: On a deserted island, Trench trains Richard Fisk using his “radical” approach to physical therapy. Meanwhile, Robbie Robertson remains short-tempered, and Betty Brant is sneaking into his office for unknown reasons. In the sewers, the Death-Spawn that kidnapped Doppelganger are now ripping out of his body.

Web of Continuity: MJ has begun smoking, which is a subplot from the end of David Michelinie’s run on Amazing. Richard Fisk is referred to as “One Eye” by Trench, and now wears an eye patch. This is presumably due to the injuries he received after crashing on to the island.

Miscellaneous Note: The Statement of Ownership has average sales at 298,733 for the year, with the most recent issue selling 212,450 copies.

Review: This is more tolerable than the last chapter, if only because Kavanagh is adding some twists to the story and throwing in a few traditional Spidey-style subplots. The Robbie Robertson/Betty Brant story turns out to be a flop, but the early teaser scenes are slightly intriguing. One subplot that doesn’t work is the mysterious reappearance of Doppelganger, who receives an entire page dedicated to showing him screaming in the sewers while little ghosts shoot out of his body. I ask this again -- whoever cared about this guy? Blood Rose is also an embarrassing relic from the early ‘90s, but at least he kills off the even more embarrassing Cyber-Hunters this issue.

I’m beginning to wonder if this was originally intended as a three-issue arc, and someone along the way decided to pad it out to coincide with the one hundredth issue. Derek Yaniger’s opening six-page sequence last issue (Blood Rose killing dozens of generic goons) didn’t have an immediate impact on the plot, and his Richard Fisk/Trench interlude from this issue also has no direct bearing on the main story. These threads do come together, but it’s easy to imagine the story working (and “working” is a generous word) without the scenes Yaniger’s penciled so far. It’s also unusual for Alex Saviuk not to pencil an entire issue, which would be more evidence that Yaniger’s pages came later.

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #97 - February 1993

Opening Volley

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Derek Yaniger, Alex Saviuk, & Joe Rubinstein (art), Steve Dutro (letterer), Bob Sharen (colorist)

The Plot: Blood Rose continues to attack the remains of the Fisk empire. He launches an assault on Fisk Tower, destroying large sections of the building and endangering civilians. Spider-Man tries to rescue the building’s occupants, which include Robbie Robertson, who raced in to investigate the explosions. Blood Rose confronts Spider-Man with men hired from the Foreigner, the Cyber-Hunters.

The Subplots: Betty joins Peter for dinner with Aunt May, MJ, and his parents. MJ appears to be annoyed. Later, a fuming Robbie Robertson criticizes Peter for “monopolizing” the Bugle’s dark room. When Peter disappears after the explosions hit Fisk Tower, Robbie grows even angrier with him. Meanwhile, a feeble Richard Fisk washes ashore St. Thomas in search of his doctor. He’s confronted by a man named Trench.

Web of Continuity: Richard Fisk claims he survived drowning in Web #89 after his “loyal divers spirited me away and followed my escape route.”

Review: So, Howard Mackie’s run on Web is followed by another superstar you might remember from the crème de la crème of ‘90s X-titles…Terry Kavanagh. Kavanagh didn’t stick around long enough to receive as much vitriol as Mackie did during his Spidey stint, but he is the freelancer famous for pitching the return of the Spider-Clone, which became the most reviled storyline of the ‘90s. People used to think replacing the “clone” Spider-Man of the past twenty years with the “real” deal was the dumbest thing that could be done to the character. How naive we were…

As bad as Mackie’s run turned out to be, at least he opened with a strong issue. Kavanagh’s first issue leads with the grenade, machine gun, and pouch-laden Blood Rose shouting, “Don’t panic, punks -- I brought enough ammo for everybody!” as he mows down an army of generic thugs. The ‘90s clichés don’t stop until we reach the final page -- the introduction of the Cyber-Hunters. I’m sorry; I meant they don’t stop until after we reach the final page, obviously. Assisting Alex Saviuk in that opening section is Derek Yaniger, and artist I recall from the Transformers: Generation 2 series. To put it politely, he draws better robots than people at this stage, although he has a Ted McKeever feel on a few of the pages, which adds some teeth to the fight scene.

In-between the mindless action, Kavanagh brings us more of the moody, unlikable MJ (i. e., the out-of-character MJ), a seething Robbie Robertson berating Peter for being such a screw-up (i. e., an out-of-character Robbie), and a token appearance by Peter’s recently returned parents (and Peter’s dad, who we later learn is a robot, doesn’t seem to like Peter much, either). What fun.