“Yesterday’s” Comic> Spider-Boy

Taking “web-shooter” a little too seriously.

Spider-Boy

Amalgam (Marvel; April, 1996)

After dealing with Bizarnage, Spider-Boy gets no rest. With machinations on top of machinations going on at the secret Project: Cadmus, Spider-Boy must deal with King Lizard, his secret day job as Pete Ross, Daily Bugle photographer, and the worst threat ever…meeting Doctor Octavius’ family friend Mary Jane Watson, the very insect queen the tabloids say are already dating (they’re not…yet)!

What they got right: You know how I’ve complained that some of the Amalgam titles just thrown as many amalgamations into the pot and sees what works? Here that strangely doesn’t annoy me. Maybe because Spider-Boy’s life is completely insane. It’s a lot of fun, really.

What they got wrong: However, too many things are still going on which ultimately hurts the first half of the comic. Reed is slowly being turned evil by Doctor Donovan. There’s the fight with Bizarnage, then one with King Lizard, but Spider-Boy keeps getting stopped along the way (part of which is to introduce the Chekov’s shrinking gun), and throwing in as many unfused DC and Marvel scientists as they can into one comic.

• Spider-Boy (Spider-Man Ben Reilly/Superboy): Not surprising they would push the two clones together. While Superboy takes up the lion’s share of the personality it works pretty well. His gravity powers take the place of Superboy’s tactile telekinesis, limited gravity control being the explanation they were going with at the time for how Peter/Ben climbs walls. He’s a clone of Peter Parker, one of the Cadmus scientists trying to give a clone superpowers in the hopes of recreating the Super Solider project. (More on that next week.) He’s raised by Thunderbolt Ross until he’s killed in an alleyway, which is why Spider-Boy turns to public crimefighter. The only problem I have is that the web-shooters are actually guns that shoot webbing. I get the joke but it’s kind of lame.
• Bizarnage (Bizarro/Carnage): It’s surprising how a Bizarro Symboite (he’s a failed attempt to clone an alien) works so well. He’s nuts, obsessed with killing Spider-Boy and somehow taking his place. There’s some potential here.
• King Lizard: I’m not sure where the “King” part comes from in the DCU, but this time the creature is formed from Curt Connor’s dismembered arm rather than Curt’s attempt to regrow him. I wonder if the Spider-Writers ever considered doing that? Not a lot to say. He walked through Pym’s particle accelerator and turned giant-sized so the Arach-Kid try to use Palmer’s shrink ray. Long story short, the giant King Lizard swallowed the power source and shrunk to at least the subatomic universe. Not a whole lot except he existed.
• Project Cadmus: As I said before, every scientist not drawn into an Amalgamation is here. Ray Palmer and Hank Pym, Reed Richards (we’ll get back to him and the other FF in the next round of Amalgam comics), and even a not-evil Doctor Octopus are all here. Donovan’s still evil, though. I don’t know if Superboy’s time with Cadmus was this crazy or not, but if it was I think I missed out before he moved to Hawaii.
• Daily Bugle: In the same vein, the non-amalgamated reporters are here. JJ Jameson seems more willing to do tabloid stories on Spider-Boy rather than declaring him a “threat or menace”. Talia Moon may have suspicions that Cadmus exists. Jack Rider makes a cameo. Spider-Boy takes on the name Pete Ross (using a transformation device that makes his hair blond, which Ben would eventually change his hair to) while he’s there. It’s mostly here to get the Bugle into the story and show Spider-Boy has a secret identity. Nothing comes of it as I recall the next time we meet up with the Arach-Kid. (I like that nickname.)
• Insect Queen (Mary Jane Watson/Lana Lang): I wonder if this is why Spider-Boy get the Pete Ross alter-ego? Lana was hypnotized into being Insect Queen once or twice. They’re both red-heads. It’s just there to play on the MJ part of the Spidey side of our hero, right down to her famous line being changed to “face it, Spider, you just hit the jackpot”. Simple throwaway gag and nothing more.

Would I buy the series: I’d at least check it out. Hopefully the subplot count wouldn’t remain at Simon Furman levels as a full series.

Recommendation: This was a fun comic that’s low on plot and high on crazy. I think it’s worth a look but it depends on what you think of the previous sentence.