Amazing Spider-Man #8

[cyberghostface]

 

Comments

[jgraygaming]

I honestly like the idea of Norman on a road to redemption. Once upon a time, before Marvel tried to turn him into their Lex Luthor, that was a path for him. A person who learned he was a corrupt businessman and crap father and tried to crawl out of the hole he dug for himself.

Of course, the biggest problem is it won't last. Like Sandman or Flash's Rogues, Norman can only stay on the up and up for as long as the current writer and editorial team allows it. Eventually, he'll go back to being the Green Goblin because true shifts of character are rare. Especially in the modern age where archetypes driven by mass media reign supreme.

[cyberghostface]

Most writers were fine with Sandman to be fair, it was just John Byrne who had a vendetta against it. Even as recent as 2018 he's still whining about Sandy. His reasoning is that if Sandman was on the FBI's Most Wanted list at the time, he must have done something like mass murder or child killing.

What's really stupid is Stan Lee wrote that in 1960s and during that point this guy was on the FBI's Most Wanted list just for holding up a restaurant. So it's not that hard to believe Sandman being a criminal/bank robber would be enough.

https://www.historicalcrimedetective.com/msm-kenneth-eugene-cindle/

Fortunately while Sandman is a villain he's more or less depicted as being a decent guy underneath it all.

[janegray]

His reasoning is that if Sandman was on the FBI's Most Wanted list at the time, he must have done something like mass murder or child killing.

Martin Luther King was on the FBI list.

Fucking Mark Ruffalo is on the terror watch list because he made a documentary that says that fracking is bad.

[armycat23]

Yea....and plus, even the ones of the most wanted list, who have done crimes, haven't been guilty of mass murder or child killing. I saw one person on the list fore wire fraud. While that's bad.....it certainly is nothing like murder.

[armycat23]

Or rather at least not all of them are guilty for stuff that severe.

[arilou_skiff]

The watch list and the "most wanted" list are different things. The "Most wanted fugitives" list is well... Fugitives. MLK was never on that list, and niether was Mark Ruffalo.

[janegray]

True. But my (badly worded) point is that the FBI has a long, extensive and documented history of making enemies of decent people fighting the good fight. So I have very little doubt that their Most Wanted list is also padded with people who didn't do anything that horrible but got the book thrown at them because they pissed off some rich asshole. The idea that you have to be a child killer or mass murderer to get the feds to throw you in jail is asinine.

[nyadnar17]

My biggest issue is that Norman fucking Osborn gets to travel this road and Harry gets sent to hell.

Harry is basically peter's brother and he gets stuck with "child of evil is always broken forever" crap.

[blues32]

Harry has been set free and most likely went to Heaven. Or some Hell that isn't Mephisto's realm. That was the deal of the game he played with Dr. Strange.

[overlord_mordax]

right? like can we PLEASE get Harry back? And Gwen while we're at it.

[cyberghostface]

Gwen will never come back. (They’re teasing it again but it will likely be a fakeout.) Spider-Gwen is as far as they’ll take it. If she does the next writer will just say it’s a clone.

Harry, who knows. I think they made a mistake by undoing Spectacular #200 but Spencer just made things worse.

(Nice icon btw, I loved Ben.)

[overlord_mordax]

Deeply depressing, but probably true. Wish they would at least keep Spider-Gwen around 616. Oh well lol. Its just infuriating how dirty they have done her and especially Harry.

Thanks! I was a huge Lost fan and haven't updated my icons in a decade!

[zachbeacon]

I like a good redemption arc (though I'm very annoyed that they hardly ever last) but a lot of those villains were already somewhat sympathetic.

Norman was a monster long before he started dressing like one and it took literal supernatural intervention for there to be anything good about him.

Even if I believed this would stick, it just doesn't feel earned.

[blues32]

I mean...I suppose his spider sense would be going off if Norman was lying and therefore a threat...unless something in that suit is designed to prevent that. Or the writer didn't think of that possibility. Still, this seems a BAAAAD idea.

I like that Norman is afraid to get on a glider again. Like a recovering alcoholic, he's afraid if he has just one tiny taste of it, his world will spiral back into manic laughter and tossing people off bridges every August 15th. I'm pretty sure that isn't even close to when he tossed Gwen off a bridge, but maybe he's too busy on that day for an anniversary blonde toss so he set August 15th up instead.

[cainofdreaming]

If he's really committed to staying good the first thing he should do is to get a haircut. The traditional Osborn one would make anyone villainous.

[scorntx]

"Ooh, I could shave off all my hair, go bald! What do you think?"
"... no, Norman. That... no. No. Just... no."
"Not even if I got a beard?"

[blues32]

God, what if his beard had the same Osborn pattern? I know Harry didn't have that problem when he was on the lamb, staying out of Norman's grasp, but maybe he got that from his mother.

[cainofdreaming]

By all the gods and demons, my brain went further. Further down, that is.

Brain bleach time!

[blues32]

And now you've dragged us all with you. You better have enough bleach for the whole class.

[cainofdreaming]

I am truly very sorry, but if I have learned anything during my time in the internet it is that there's never enough brain bleach.

[super_fly]

He shaves his head and it turns out it's not a hairstyle, his skull makes it look like that.

[zachbeacon]

A bald Norman would be the next logical step in the proud tradition of him and Lex copying each other.

Well, that or running for office.

[zachbeacon]

I mean, those cornrows just make me think of that guy from the awful Spring Breakers movie so ... yeah, good call.

[numeronone]

Norman: "I just...couldn't face the temptation, Peter. To get back on that glider is the first step on the road to evil..."

Christopher Cantwell: "...unless ya got a spiffy new PAINT JOB, Normie-Baby! Guys, wheel in the new glider!"

Norman: "Oh Christopher. You're lucky home makeover shows were always my weakness."

Peter: "THAT'S what it was?"

[zachbeacon]

So - aside from hanging out with the Green Goblin and having a lot of medical debt, do we know why everyone suddenly hates Peter yet or are they going to drag this out forever?

[cyberghostface]

Nothing yet beyond the tease with him in the crater.

[zachbeacon]

Ah, same thing happened to Yamcha in DBZ. You find yourself in one crater and suddenly everyone stops inviting you to things.

[blues32]

Well, that and having an old man insert his hand into your chest cavity. The crater thing does seem to cause relationships to break up though.

[john_wyatt]

Word is, it'll be revealed during DARK WEB. I doubt I'll read this for that long.