Comic or not, Daryl is badass. I can’t wait for him to meet Michonne.

That final panel is only partly autobiographical. It’s true that 18 years ago (son of a bitch, EIGHTEEN YEARS?), I was sat on the couch watching the black costume episodes of the Fox Spider-Man cartoon. And I did find it strange that they introduced the concept of the costume increasing Spider-Man’s powers and making him more aggressive. But unlike Josh, I did not foresee that this would become the symbiote’s defining trait in the comics.

To be honest…it does work, at least as a reason for Peter to reject the symbiote. It’s certainly better than his reason in the comics: “What, this thing is alive? It has hopes and dreams? Quick, lock it in a cage and forget about it!” So I don’t overly mind that little bit of revisionist history.

The part of it that’s a shame is it reduces the character of Venom to “guy possessed by an evil alien”. And he always had a much neater origin than that. The symbiote was a jilted lover, and Eddie Brock was a paranoid schizophrenic, and they combined to create essentially the first super-villain stalker. Say what you will about writer David Michelinie, but he was notable for introducing villains with more complex goals than robbing banks (Chance, Taskmaster, Justin Hammer, etc).

Venom’s history and motivations have become a continuity quagmire over the years, including some truly horrid stories where the symbiote starts craving people’s brains or feeding off the cancer cells in Eddie Brock’s body. The current Venom series by Rick Remender is actually quite enjoyable, embracing the “troubled guy influenced by evil alien” shtick to good effect. But I do still miss stalker Venom–the delusional human host and an alien that just doesn’t understand no means no–who would casually walk up to Aunt May’s door and creepily ask if Peter could come out and play.

(No, seriously, what the fuck, EIGHTEEN YEARS?!?!)

Quotable quotes from the world of comics:

“I don’t need help. Thanks, Alfred. I work alone. Thanks, Dick. Thanks, Barbara. Thanks, Tim. I’m not a team player. Thanks, Justice League.”
ItsJustSomeRandomGuy, Sh*t Batman Says

I’ve really got nothing specifically against the new Spider-Man movie. I don’t think the cast is bad, I don’t dislike the new costume, and the Lizard…well, looks silly, but no sillier than the Green Goblin or Abomination. 

But as much as I have nothing against it, I’m also not really that pumped up about it. And I’m not seeing many other fanboys get pumped up about it either. Maybe that would be different in a year without Avengers or Dark Knight Rises, but then again, maybe not. It would still be the 4th Spider-Man movie, and when you start hitting that number, franchises usually become something you watch instead of something you’re really excited about. In 2002, I stared at my TV screen like a mental patient when each and every commercial came on, still not quite able to believe I was seeing a live-action Spider-Man swinging around. Now it’s like, “Oh, he’s still swinging, huh? No, no, that’s cool.”

Add to that, the reboot factor. There’s nothing wrong with reboots, they happen all the time and can easily be successful. Batman Begins and Casino Royale both revitalized their respective franchises, but they both marketed heavily on what made them different from their most recent incarnations. This was serious Batman, who could almost conceivably exist in the real world. This was rough-around-the-edges James Bond, without the endless quips and perfect hair and laser ejector-seat underpants. The Amazing Spider-Man trailers aren’t giving us that “this ain’t your father’s Spider-Man” vibe. Quite the contrary, they’re very much saying “this is exactly your father’s Spider-Man. And your older brother’s Spider-Man, and even your Spider-Man from a little while ago. And hey, here’s how he got his powers again.”

I dunno, it could be a great movie. I’m just not losing any sleep over it.

Quotable quotes from the world of comics:

“Avengers X-Sanction #4 was abysmal. Seriously. The attempt at having a point followed through on a fan-predicted plot point envisioned and foreshadowed before Bishop chased Cable through time, and that means this entire storyline served no purpose. Argh.”
Hannibal Tabu, The Buy Pile