Saturday, August 27, 2011

Amazing Spider-Man: The Gauntlet v1 TPB


Burning through all these old Spidey trades is reminding me of one thing: I love Spider-Man. It’s been too long since I read about the ol’ web-slinger, and I’m happy I’ve got so many trades to burn through over the next few weeks. (My library has a pretty complete set!)

Mark Waid kicks off the “Gauntlet” storyline with a great new take on Electro. Electro sets himself up as a champion of the people, a guy who wants to punish new DB publisher Dexter Bennett for accepting government bailout money. I love seeing Waid’s low opinion of the masses. They start loving Electro immediately, wearing shirts for him, marching in protests, and generally supporting a long-time villain. It’s funny, but poor Spidey just can’t catch a break, can he? He’s been fighting the good fight for years and he can’t get ahead of these fads.

I didn’t really see how Electro fit into the general Gauntlet being run by the Kraven family. Electro and the Mad Thinker were kind of doing their own thing, so I guess the fact that Electro is a classic villain is what makes this part of that storyline?

The Sandman’s arc isn’t really part of the Gauntlet yet either, but is a touching story that boosts Sandy’s powers at the same time. It seems he’s now able to split himself into an army of sand duplicates, each manifesting different aspects of his personality. It’s a neat upgrade and one that makes a lot of sense considering the different personalities the Sandman has exhibited over the years.

Good

1 comment:

Jeff said...

That Sandman story was so great. Sad and perfect in a way only a Spider-Man comic can be.