Preview: WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #10. The Extremist

[starwolf_oakley]

Three pages of Marvel's preview of WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #10. This storyline features a new villain called The Extremist. He has an odd set of powers, and has decided to kill people who say bad things about Spider-Man. His next target: J. Jonah Jameson.



At first blush, I thought the Extremist was going to be a dig at the Objectivist thinking that Steve Ditko is known for hyping in his work. Actually, the Extremist is more of a "I do immoral things so moral people won't have to do them" character. (Which bugs me even more, especially when Green Arrow does it.)

Also, the Extremist is blue and white instead of black and white. He looks like Judge Death (from Judge Dredd) and the In-Betweener (from the Silver Surfer).

Spider-Man tracks the Extremist to City Hall, and enters with a Simpsons' reference before finding himself in a John Woo showdown.



In the final panel, the guns aren't floating, it's just a guard is directly hidden by Spider-Man's head.



The Extremist can float, phase, turn invisible, and see "auras." He makes very accurate guesses about people through their "auras." He could tell Flash Thompson was a school bully before joining the army, and could tell Spider-Man has a massive guilt complex. He also noticed Peter and Spider-Man had similar auras, but thought that meant Spider-Man was a bad person and would work better as a dead symbol.



Jonah *is* jealous of Spider-Man, going all the way back to AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #10. Which means Jonah really knows Spider-Man is a hero, and has been badmouthing him for years out of spite. Of course, if Jonah was really such an inherently "bad" person Peter would not have put up with him for so long.

Comments

[keeva]

hmm yellow should be

Fear.

[xammax]

I am always mixed on how to portray Jonah. I am always mixed between the guy who is jealous of Spider-Man and the other side that just hates vigilantism.

However I know that Jonah is a good man, and the writers seem to too. Instances like when he stood up for mutant rights and for civil rights in the '60's along with the fact he paid for the... wedding; say to me this is a man of principles that just blind him to some truths.

[arilou_skiff]

Precisely, far, far beneath that crusty exterior thre's a genuinely good man.

[skalja]

I don't think the current writers have a great grasp of Jonah -- he's been pretty consistently venal and petty. Sure, Jonah IS venal and petty, but he has a soft side to him which is almost never shown, even when it has every reason to appear. For example, his niece/ward Mattie Franklin went missing and then was murdered in Grim Hunt, and all he did in that storyline was uselessly blame Spider-Man for the animal rampage.

[shadowpsykie]

yeah except for didnt he recently want all the mutants OUT of new york, or rather was happy they were gone?

although, favorite comic moment ever

i know this is in SD, but cant find it...

http://www.eatliver.com/i.php?n=4720

[an-idol-mind.livejournal.com]

Yeah...I'm gonna say that the Extremist is spouting bs and that Jonah's motivations for hating Spider-Man are much more complex than that.

[skalja]

I agree. I mean, sure, he was "just" jealous of Spider-Man back in ASM #10, but that was at the beginning of Spider-Man's career (not to mention, written in the Silver Age, when everybody's motivations were that simple).

[starwolf_oakley]

Also, back then, Jameson was a mix of a Stan Lee author avatar and Steve Ditko's dislike of sensationalistic yellow journalism.

[glprime]

I'll jump in and say, it's nice to notice somebody agreeing that Spidey's been around too long not to trust him on sight (the immediate counter-argument being that anybody can impersonate him, like the Skrulls he himself mentions, let alone some of his own rogues).

Also, "procedure" would probably also dictate you don't point your loaded weapon at another security officer, bub. "Don't aim at something you don't intend to destroy" and all that.

[skalja]

The last panel cracks me up because it looks like there's a round robin going on. "Okay, I'll point my gun at Fred, Fred can point his gun at Bob, Bob can aim at José and José can aim at Dan. Great, guys, that's perfect!"

[fredneil.livejournal.com]

And none of them are aiming at Spider-Man. This is why you never hire the easily distracted as security: J. Jonah Jameson at the mercy of SHINY OBJECT MAN.

[darkknightjrk]

Thank God I wasn't the only one who noticed that--it's like they're not trying to stop Spidey, but more trying to recreate the last scene from Reservoir Dogs.

[skalja]

OMG SPOILERS!

Kidding. Plus it's not like I was planning to see that film anyway.

[starwolf_oakley]

There was a movie called "The Immortals" that ended like that.

[sir_mikael]

Oh seeing auras to determine characteristics and if someone is lying or not reminds me of a certain Farscape villain...

It's interesting to see someone who's on Spidey's side, something he's wanted for years especially when it comes to Jonah, but who ultimately is too crazy. That's the Parker luck.