SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN MINUS 1: Childhood misery

[starwolf_oakley]

You know how we found out Mary Jane Watson's father was an abusive alcoholic in the 1980s? We learned Flash Thompson's father was an abusive alcoholic in the 1990s.



FLASHBACK was a "minus" Marvel event in 1997. Most of the books were set before the Fantastic Four's rocket flight. The Spider-Man books (except UNTOLD TALES) were set when Peter Parker was a little boy.







After going to two different bars, young Flash finds his father at a third bar and takes him home.



It might have been UNTOLD TALES OF SPIDER-MAN that first said Harrison Thompson was a police officer, but don't hold me to that.

J.D. DeMatteis's post-Clone Saga SPECTACULAR run also revealed that Flash had a sister, and she was one of the few people who called him Eugene.



Flash intimidates some kids outside Mr. Izzo's store. Since his father is very important, they have to do what he says.

Peter tries to play baseball with some kids. Peter makes a catch but Flash makes fun of him anyway.








May says Ben and Peter can go to a sci-fi movie, if they come back with ice cream. Peter says they are the best "mom and dad" he could want.




As the review at SpiderFan.org said:

Compare this with Mary-Jane's father, a failed writer who blamed his family for never letting him concentrate. It's the same idea, but DeMatteis is so much more subtle. Thompson doesn't blame his family outright, and nor is he painted in solid black as Mary-Jane's dad. It's the reluctant compassion that I could feel for Mr Thompson that made the story so tragic as we see his self-hatred winning the battle over his love for his family.

A lot of Marvel characters have "Father was an abusive alcoholic" put into their backstory. Mary Jane Watson, Bruce Banner and Clint Barton are examples. For Steve Rogers, it was a little different. Various stories had Steve say his father was an alcoholic and "the drink" eventually killed him, but that was it. It was Rick Remender in 2013 who made Joseph Rogers abusive as well.

Comments

[crinos]

And J Jonah Jameson was also apparently an abusive Drunk.

Man, Tony and Carol dodged a bullet when they managed to get clean. Apparently Alcoholism is super rampant in the Marvel Universe.

[mastermahan]

Years ago, a friend pitched me a Marvel series called Alcoholi-X as a team/support group. Tony and Carol would lead, and they'd bring characters like Herc, Siryn, U-Go Girl, and Jessica Jones to fight evil and stay clean.

[crinos]

You know, that would make an interesting aside scene in a comic, like Super hero AA.

[lbd_nytetrayn]

That last bit -- gotta wonder if they just really believed in that message, or if it's just a lack of originality that's afoot.

[beoweasel]

Here's a game you can play when it concerns the Marvel Universe. Name a dad that is a)The biological father b)Has a positive relationship with their child and c) still alive.

For the longest time, I could only think of like four people.

[icon_uk]

Thank god for Power Pack, than!