Tag Archives: Spider-Man

90s Comics, 90s Marvel, Uncategorized

Worthy of the Webs (part 2 of 4)

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Hello, my dear Unspokenites. I bring you this article now as I brave severe tooth pain. (AKA Feel sorry for me.) But as I love you guys and my job at the Unspoken Decade, I will brave this mind-blowing agony and give you what you’ve been desperately waiting for. (AKA Feel really sorry for me yet excited for my impending excessive droning on and on and dumb jokes.) I present now my look back at the Scarlet Spider’s first battle in this exciting second part of the story. It was originally presented in “Spider-Man” #53. Enjoy…..Sigh. No-one has ever suffered as I now suffer. (AKA I’m a big wussy.)

Kenneth Ellis sat at his desk at the Daily Bugle, still impressed with his recent first page story that presented exclusive knowledge of Venom’s recent visit in New York. That’s when his phone rang. He picked it up with haste. The man on the other end began negotiating price before he gave up his bit of knowledge on Venom’s recent whereabouts. Ellis replied that the contact would be paid handsomely if the tip paid off. Satisfied, the man told Ellis where Venom was right this very moment. Excited, the reporter burst through the double glass doors to the famous newspaper building. As he speed walked, he spoke out loud of his hopes and dreams to become top reporter in this city, even though he did hate it here. A voice spoke nearby. It said it was disappointed that Ken didn’t have any pride in his home. Looking up, Ellis saw a man hanging from a building’s wall in a Spider-Man-like fashion! In fact, his costume even somewhat resembled the infamous wall-crawler’s! (Man, does Iron Man ever stop upgrading his armor? This set of duds doesn’t even slightly resemble his usual work. There’s a spider emblem on the chest too. What the hell? I want answers!)

The clone had read Ellis’ recent article. He noticed how he always seemed to be in the right place at the right time with Venom. And if that truly was the case, Reilly would need his help in locating the Lethal Protector before anyone else got hurt. After a moment of consideration, Ken replied that he would tell this costumed mystery man what he knew if he agreed to an exclusive interview after the fight was over. (Yeah. Lets negotiate with a masked guy that’s literally hanging from an alleyway wall in a city full of superpowered killers. Smart move, dude.) Ben didn’t say yes, but he didn’t say no either. That was enough for Ellis. He told the spider-clone that Venom was currently at the Roosevelt Island Trans Terminal! Ben swung away on a webline quickly, readying himself for battle! Meanwhile, Venom mused at the number of police waiting for them below the building they currently perched atop. Didn’t these law-bringers know that Venom was now one of the good guys? Fools. Venom then looks back at the pile of pummeled, bloody bodies of muggers and killers stacked close by and stops talking. They don’t seem to be talking back much anyway.

Just then, the police look up at a swinging form coming their way and instantly relax. Venom follows their gaze. Could that be Spider-Man? The police chief orders his men back. No need to get caught up in this fight between two super-beings. Venom questions “Spider-Man’s” change in costume aloud. His answer is a swinging kick to the ribs! (Oh it’s on now! Bring on the blood! Bring on the pain! Bring on the toothache gel! I’m still in agony here!) Venom begins to fall, but instead of dropping alone, the symbiotic duo grab Ben’s leg on the way down, dragging him with them! Ben shoots a webline to a building top and slows their decent! But Venom turns so that Reilly takes the brunt of the impact! Venom then lunges at Ben, claws ready to tear flesh! Ben barely dodges the attack! Venom states that this can’t be Spider-Man that they’re dealing with. Spider-Man and Venom made a deal to stay out of one another’s business. That means that this man is a fake. And Venom hates fakes! Venom then tears through Ben’s abdominal area with their razor-sharp claws as they finish their sentence!

As Ben Reilly tries to hold his insides in. He admits that he is a fake. Venom replies then that he must now die for this outrage! A female voice interrupts Venom from delivering the finishing blow! Venom looks towards it’s source and sees their female “child”, the symbiote called Scream! Scream warns that soon armored men will come for them should they not flee the area now and that she will help them escape! Venom roars that they will never accept help from their spawn! They are all like Carnage and must therefore die! Venom lunges at Scream with murderous intent! As the two symbiotes fight, Ben sees the amount of blood he’s losing. He should run and save himself. At that moment, reporter, Ken Ellis bursts through the crowd and begins taking notes of the battle! Scream backhands Venom a good distance away from her! They smash into a parked car with a terrified woman trapped within! Venom ignores her and springs back at the female symbiote! However, Ben does notice her. He pulls himself to his feet, ignoring his extreme pain. Hobbling over to the demolished vehicle, he tears off the car door, freeing the sobbing woman! (Does anyone else hear Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out For a Hero” in their heads as this scene takes place?)

A man loses his balance from up high during this titanic scuffle and begins to fall towards the asphalt! Quickly Ben fires a web at the man, webbing him safely to a wall! Above, Scream roars that she and the other symbiotes just want Venom’s help. They want to learn from them. Venom dismisses this plea with a death threat! They slam into the tram, snapping it’s cable! Without even stopping to think, Ben Reilly swings toward the battle, straight at Venom with both feet in the creature’s spine! Venom tumbles as Scream roars in outrage! But Venom grabs the female’s tendrils and pulls her with them as they both plummet into the icy water below! Ignoring this, Ben enters the tram car and scoops up the operator. He then swings them both to safety. He carefully sets the man down in the crowd. The people cheer at this new superhero that has saved the day. But Ben is too deep in thought to notice. He must leave the city tonight. What did he think he was doing playing the part of a hero? (I seriously don’t remember Scream being in this story. Guys, you can tell me. I won’t get mad. Am I perhaps getting a bit old? I humbly accept your criticisms…..sob……sniff.)

Ken Ellis breaks through the crowd, demanding an interview with this new superhero. Ben declines as he swings away. He replies as he leaves that he’s no hero. Ken thinks to himself that the people here would disagree. And he’ll write his story about this…..Scarlet Spider anyway. Scarlet Spider. Yeah. He likes the ring of that.

To be continued…..

90s Comics, 90s Marvel, Uncategorized

Worthy of the Webs (part 1 of 4)

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I came across the original Scarlet Spider completely by accident. As many of you Unspokenites already know, I’m a Marvel symbiote nut! And the grandaddy of the symbiote family is of course Venom. This means that every time Venom appears in or just walks by (Hell, every time he passes gas!) in a 90’s comic book, chances are I have the issue. That’s why I originally picked up “Web of Spider-Man” #118. The cover boasted a Venom appearance within. But as I first read my copy, I became more and more enthralled by the new character appearing inside those pages. That’s the beginning of my love for the Scarlet Spider character. Like I said, completely by accident.

Ben Reilly was a man torn between responsibility and a desperate desire to escape. You see, Ben wasn’t technically a man at all. No. He was a clone. He was created by a madman, known as the Jackal, to be a perfect duplicate of Peter Parker, the Amazing Spider-Man! It had taken him quite some time come to terms with that fact. Now the question was what to do next? First, he had to get out of New York City. This was Peter’s home after all and Ben needed to let him live his life without complicating his already-complicated existence. So, first a stop at the Museum of Natural History to clear his head. Ben found himself drawn to the spider exhibit. (No surprise there. Maybe he was looking for a date amongst the creepy crawlies? What? A man can’t have a specific taste?) The museum security walked over moments later and warned Ben that the museum would soon be closing. Nodding, the clone lowered the rim of his cap to somewhat hide his features and headed towards the exit.

But before he left, he spied something in a storefront window that seemed to call to him. It was a blue hooded sweatshirt that had a large, black spider printed on the chest. As he stared at it, he was suddenly interrupted by shouting nearby. Looking, he spied a frantic man pointing a gun into the face of a terrified clerk at the food court as another man played the part of lookout! Instinctively, Ben Reilly began to move towards the danger! But he halted as the police entered the shop and handled the threat with ease! (Weird! Cops actually did something productive in a comic book! Have we entered Bizarro World here, Unspokenites? No! Cuz thats a DC Comics thing, stupid-heads!) This scene got Ben to thinking. What if the police hadn’t been able to handle this situation? Could he have just stood idly by? Uncle Ben’s words came back to him as he once again stared up at the sweatshirt, “With great power comes great responsibility.”

Elsewhere in the city, Venom swung high above the streets, deep in thought. They hated this city. It reminded Eddie Brock and his alien “other” of past mistakes and of personal pain. But they had discovered that Carnage had recently caused some problems at the Ravencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane and Venom decided that that was enough. They had to end the threat of their psychotic offspring once and for all! (Ugh! I hope Carnage isn’t in this story! I mean, don’t get me wrong. He’s an awesome villain. He’s just so overdone. Sorry. The nerd inside of me just felt extra catty…..meow.) Now, they searched for something to take their frustrations out on. A high-speed chase on the city streets below was just the thing they needed. Venom dropped straight onto the vehicle’s hood with a tremendous crash and punched through the glass! They turned the car’s steering wheel forcefully to send the car off of a bridge! Police arrived and fired at the symbiotic vigilante! They ignored the bullets that hit them as the symbiote simply spat the shells out! They then swung away.

Meanwhile, Ben decided that before he left the city behind for good, he had to check on Peter’s Aunt May in the hospital. His memories of her had been implanted, but he still felt as if he had to see the kind, old woman at least one more time. He clung outside of her room’s window and peered inside. He looked in lovingly and with great sadness until another visitor spied his shadow. He used his spider agility to make himself scarce quickly. (Remember when Doctor Octopus acted like he wanted to date Aunt May or something? Ugh! She looks like a living mummy! Barf! I couldn’t even fake that to get back at my worst enemy. Well…..maybe if she died her hair…..perhaps some makeup…..) Next on Ben’s trip through Peter’s memory lane was the abandoned warehouse that Spider-Man had caught his uncle’s killer so long ago. Ben relived the scene in his false memories as he continued to think about his future.

Venom was reminiscing themselves at this very moment. The symbiotic duo had swung to a church familiar to both of them. It was within that Eddie Brock had decided to take his life but was interrupted by the sudden appearance of the rejected symbiote! They bonded that very day. They were reborn as Venom! Brock called the symbiote to once again cover his face as they shot a webline up into the rafters. Venom then left the church the way they had entered. Ben was now standing at the Brooklyn Bridge. It was here that Spider-Man had met his biggest failure and lost the love of his life. This was where the Green Goblin had thrown poor Gwen Stacy to her death. Ben Reilly wept. He knew these were not his actual memories, but they hurt just the same. (Anyone else sick of the characters having these meaningful flashbacks? Ugh! Feelings and stuff. Total wussies.) That’s when he noticed a woman walking along the bridge! She appeared as if she were about to jump!

Ben lept into action, firing a webline from his webshooters and swung towards the female just as she went over the edge! He caught her in the nick of time! In all of the excitement, the woman had passed out. But she lived. Ben swung through the city, holding her limp form close to him. He entered a nearby hospital, with his ball cap and sunglasses fit in place, carrying the woman in his arms. He quickly explained the situation to the doctor and nurses, but fled the scene before he could even be thanked. (That’s the sign of a true hero, folks. Me? I’d want some cash. What? I’m broke and thar be comics out thar ta read! Yarr!) Ben stood atop a rooftop and happened to hear a passing car radio. Venom had been spotted in the vicinity! That was it. He knew what to do.

(My apologies for becoming a pirate for some unknown reason in the last paragraph. ) He made a quick trip to the museum’s gift shop before returning to his apartment. He pulled a red, skintight costume from a drawer and pulled it over his muscled frame. Next, he tore the arms from the sweatshirt he’d just purchased and pulled that over the costume. He checked his webshooters for fluid and then lept from his window, swinging through the city in search of Venom and his own destiny!

To be continued…..

90s Comics, 90s Marvel, Uncategorized

Dark Liaisons (part 4 of 4)

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Greetings and salutations, Legions of the Unspoken! Your loyal Symbifan has returned as promised and with the final part of my look back at one of my favorite storylines from the 90’s, “Spirits of Venom”! (This exciting finale was originally published in “Spirits of Vengeance” #6) As we begin, I must ask you all a very serious question: Have you ever wanted to see the inside of Venom’s fanged and drooling mouth? No? Too bad! Hahaha!

(Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Ugh! You just know he has an alien form of gingivitis in there.) Venom roars at Ghost Rider in rage! How dare he aid Spider-Man in escaping his grasp? Now the Spirit of Vengeance will suffer in the wall-crawler’s place! Venom leaps at the Rider, ready to tear him to shreds! Ghost Rider attempts to speak reasonably to the symbiotic villain. Spider-Man was helping the innocent people be free of the evil minions of Deathwatch. And doesn’t Venom often preach about saving innocents? This only added to Venom’s anger! The Rider knew nothing of him and what the Spider did to him! Venom then uses his superior strength to toss Ghost Rider across the sewers tunnel and into a concrete wall! He then picks up the Rider’s fallen chain and lunges!

Venom pins Ghost Rider to the ground, forcing the supernatural chain into his mouth and tightening it! This effectively traps the Spirit of Vengeance underneath the drooling symbiote! As Venom roars curses, Ghost Rider has had enough! He unleashes the most feared of his powers, the Penance Stare! By peering into an enemy’s eyes, the Rider can force them to feel all of the pain that they’ve inflicted upon others! Most scream in absolute terror at this disturbing skill. (I want this power! Except I want others to feel my utter annoyance. I would punish all who work at my local Walmart! Self checkout, be damned!) But what’s this? Something’s wrong. A type of unknown feedback harms both Venom and the hellish Rider! An explosion of mystical fire hurls Venom away and rocks Ghost Rider’s body!

Venom, though still reeling from the blast, pulls himself to his feet first. Ghost Rider lies very still. He seems unconscious. Venom, angered at the pain he just felt, approaches to finish his foe! But as he moves to do so, he suddenly finds a hellfire shotgun pressed to the back of his skull! Blaze won’t allow the murder of his partner. But the symbiote sends a tendril backwards, blocking the trigger from being pulled! As Venom laughs, sure of his victory, Blaze instead slams a long blade into Venom’s shoulder! Blaze is backhanded some distance for this outrage! But before any of the three can continue their brawl, the very ground seems to swallow them as the eerie Deathspawn pull them downwards! (Anyone else sick of these Deathspawn interrupting the superhero fights in this story? These guys are more annoying than Girl Scouts when it’s that time of year to sell their damn cookies. Making me feel all guilty as I walk on by. What was I talking about? Not sure, but I suddenly crave cookies.)

Aboveground, Spider-Man has contacted the authorities to take the unconscious Hobgoblin into custody. As an armored Guardsman lands and cuffs the goblin, Spidey also reports that Venom is free at this very moment right beneath their feet. In fact, this is where he himself must return. He has to help his allies. The Guardsman gets on his radio and orders a containment squad for Venom just as the web-slinger disappears back into the dark and murky sewers. Johnny Blaze, Ghost Rider, and Venom are trapped, held against their will by two of Deathwatch’s main goons, Hag and Troll! This evil twosome were even more powerful than the numerous Deathspawn! (So important to the storyline, that I completely forgot that they even existed until just now. But hey, it’s not like I wrote three whole articles, not even mentioning them. Pardon my nervous laugh…..heehee.) It seems that the trio will be used as offerings to Deathwatch when he arises from the land of the dead! Just as Blaze scoffs at this plan, the Deathspawn suddenly enter Deathwatch’s still form! He then sits straight up and turns his gaze to the captives!

As Hag and Troll egg on their dark master, Deathwatch slowly reaches for Johnny Blaze! He will feed upon his life-force and be whole once more! But just before his fingertips touch Blaze’s cheek, a strand of webbing pulls Deathwatch’s hand away. Everyone present looks and they see Spider-Man standing there, Blaze’s hellfire shotgun held at the ready! Hag and Troll ignore Spidey as he warns them with the weapon as they rush him! For a moment, Spider-Man contemplates actually using the enchanted gun. But instead, he throws it to its owner. Blaze uses it to free Ghost Rider and himself. (Look at Spidey in the pic above! Who knew that the web-slinger could look so gangsta?!) As Ghost Rider tackles Deathwatch, Blaze aims the weapon towards Spider-Man and his two attackers. He can’t fire or he’ll hit the hero for sure! That’s when inspiration hits. He looks to the captive Venom. He would go through anyone to make it to his arch-nemesis. Blaze hopes he won’t live to regret this. He frees the symbiote!

Venom wastes zero time in swinging towards his hated enemy! And as predicted, he does in fact tear through Hag, Troll, and numerous Deathspawn to try and reach Spider-Man! At that moment, the Deathspawn try to flee Deathwatch’s battered form! This cannot be allowed, or this madness will start over again! No. They must be contained! Ghost Rider encircles the villain with his chain as Blaze ignites it with a hellfire blast! The result is a type of cage, keeping the Deathspawn from escaping! Seeing their beloved master fall, Hag and Troll try to flee! But Johnny Blaze expected this. He knocks both to the ground, holding them at gunpoint! (Wow! No wonder I forgot Hag and Troll until now. They were beyond pointless to the story. Yeah. I’ll keep telling myself that. No screw up here, folks…..) Badly weakened, the creatures begin to fall one by one. It all seems to be over until Spider-Man hears a familiar growl coming from behind him. Venom won’t be denied his prize!

But before Venom can spring, a blast from a sonic disruptor rifle knocks him back! Countless armored Guardsmen enter the sewers and begin taking control of the situation. Venom is quickly contained. Demogoblin is found lurking about elsewhere in the sewers and is captured as well. Doppelganger was never located. (Seriously! The writer just completely forgot about him!) As for Hag, Troll, and Deathwatch, they are taken prisoner by Blaze and Ghost Rider to be deliver to the mystic, Dr. Strange. Spider-Man thanks the two as they mount their bikes. But all three of the heroes know that as long as evil runs rampant, this will hardly be their last meeting.

End.

Dedicated to my beloved Renee for our seventeenth anniversary. I have always and will always love you. Thank you for making this big comic book nerd’s heart feel whole.