Amazing Spider-Man #660...or Where Carlie Got Her Tattoo (spoilers)

[stillanerd]

For those who remember, in the last issue of Amazing Spider-Man, Peter's new CSI girlfriend, after finding out Peter lied to her about his business trip to Horizon Labs (he was really off with the Fantastic Four Future Foundation) reacted by getting drunk with her Roller Derby pals and was about to get a drunken revenge tattoo of none other than the Green Goblin, which you can see for yourself here.

So did Carlie go through with it? And what would this mean for her and Peter's relationship? Well, we got our answer. And...





Now admittedly, when the whole Carlie getting the tattoo of the Green Goblin cliffhanger happened last issue, I was pretty ticked. However, while it certainly made Carlie look terrible in that she was shown to make stupid and rash decisions while drunk and upset, at least I understood why she was getting the tattoo and how this could result in potential drama down the road, ridiculous though it might be.

But this? "Oh, how cute. Carlie got a Spidey tattoo, instead. What a great girlfriend. Peter is so lucky to have someone like her in his life who can make such a commitment. Never mind the whole reason that Carlie even asked for a tattoo was because she wanted to get back at Peter after catching him in a bold face lie about him saying he was on a business trip for Horizon. No, we're gonna forget all about that so these two can finally make some sweet, sweet love to show everybody how right and perfect they are for each other."

Give. Me. A. Break. This, my friends, is the definition of a cop-out. What say you, Annie Wilkes?


Oh, and remember that Marvel Watcher video from awhile back that said Carlie would be making a "commitment" that no other Spider-Man love interest in any continuity will have ever made before? Well, this would fit the bill, wouldn't it? Because getting a tattoo takes commitment because, unless you pay for some expensive laser surgery, they're permanent. More permanent than, say...wedding rings? Which means Carlie getting a Spidey tattoo as a sign of her "commitment" to Peter means she's "more committed" to Peter than Mary Jane ever was, and therefore this makes her "the greatest girlfriend Peter Parker has ever had!" right, Marvel? 

Okay, maybe that part I'm being just a little too hyperbolic and tongue-in-cheek.  Oh well, at least now we know Peter has a fetish for...himself?

Comments

[stolisomancer]

You know how I can tell you haven't been reading Ghost Rider?

[darkblade]

The whole "Spirits of Vengence are really angels" thing?

[stolisomancer]

The whole "thinking Johnny Blaze gives a fuck" thing.

[darkblade]

I don't see that. He's an asshole 9 times out of 10 but he is a good person who doesn't want to see shit happen to people.

[stolisomancer]

Then you didn't read the Jason Aaron run, where he is out for vengeance every step of the way and doesn't care about anything other than that. You are judging his reaction based upon your bizarre idea of what the character should be and not what the character is.

[darkblade]

That would explain something here. I didn't care that much for Aaron's run just because he wanted nothing but vengence.

The defining modern moment for Johnny to me was in the run preceeding Aaron's in the World War Hulk tie in. He stopped his satan hunt to drive into New York to try and stop the Hulk.

We aren't going to reach any real agreement on this matter so I say we might as well drop this here.

[stolisomancer]

There's no agreement to reach. You're wrong.

[tsunamiwombat]

Defining a character based on the run of a single run doesn't really work out, 9 out of 10 comics writers are terrible idiots.

I'm more inclined to feel Ghost Rider is out for Redemption, because thats part of his powerset- it's called the PENITANCE stare for a reason.

[philippos42]

Penance Stare, I believe.

[stolisomancer]

Which Johnny doesn't use and doesn't have, because that's Danny's power.

[cainofdreaming]

He used it as early as Way's third issue, after becoming the title character again. And there's not been any scenario where he'd lost it... Didn't he try to use it on Danny too? Have to check on that.

[cainofdreaming]

While Aaron's portrayal is the latest, do you really think it won't be totally changed by some future writer? Come on now, it's Ghost Rider. He goes through origins and personality changes like the Cookie Monster through the cookie jar.

There's no real reason to hold Aaron's portrayal as any more defining take on the character than any others'.

[stolisomancer]

The question under discussion is whether Johnny Blaze in his most recent incarnation would immediately detect the evil in Peter and get to whuppin' on him.

As of his most recent incarnation: no, particularly since that's more or less what got Johnny started down this road, and also no, because Quesada swears up and down that "One Moment in Time" is about MJ one-upping Mephisto and as such no deal actually occurred or something and oh god why do I know that oh my head.

[cainofdreaming]

.... "no, particularly since that's more or less what got Johnny started down this road ...."

He was willing to kill Danny when he suspected that he was the victim of the same kind of deal he'd himself made with Satan, during Danny's stunt as the main Rider. So, he's never really seemed the type to forgive something simply because he himself has done the same.

As to detecting evil in Peter... eh, it depends if Peter gets in his way.

[stolisomancer]

Really, it's not even so much the Johnny characterization as it is yet another dude derailing a perfectly innocent conversation into another tired attempt to make awful jokes about the stupid fucking Mephisto story.