SPIDER-MAN versus MISTER NEGATIVE
Out For Blood (Marvel)
Where: Amazing Spider-man #621 When: April 2010
Why: Dan Slott How: Michael Lark
The Story So Far...
Rising crime boss Mister Negative has caused Spider-man & Peter Parker a lot of grief, but mind-control is nothing compared to his latest threat: Devil's Breath!
The designer toxin can be programmed to be lethal to an exclusive DNA set, and since Mister Negative already blackmailed Spidey into surrendering a vial of his blood -- the entire Parker bloodline is in danger!
Desperate to negate Mister Negative's threat to himself and Aunt May; Spider-man has enlisted the aide of his sometimes romantic interest and vigilante-burglar: The Black Cat! Her expertise and bad luck powers are perfectly suited for stealing the Devil's Breath, but when her plan involves creating a distraction Spidey loses the element of surprise deep within the demon's inner sanctum!
Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Spider-man 5 (Super-Human)
Intelligence: Spider-man 5 (Professor)
Speed: Spider-man 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Spider-man 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Spider-man 5 (Cat-Like)
Fighting: Draw 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Mr. Negative 4 (Arsenal)
Total: Spider-man 29 (Metahuman)
Spider-man has seen his fair share of masterminds, kingpins, and evil geniuses -- but in today's featured fight he faces a crime boss unlike any other!
Martin Li is an assumed alias of the villainous alter-ego now known as Mister Negative! Negative stole the identity from a Fujian man who died in a human trafficking shipment wrecked en route from China. Part of the slaver's crew; Li began a new life in New York City - where he was ultimately kidnapped and experimented on by members of The Maggia crime organization.
Li received doses of the same experimental drugs that created Cloak & Dagger, creating a schism of light and darkforce within him! While the personality of Martin Li appears to be a kind and reasonable philanthropist -- his alter-ego of Mister Negative is a callous, super-powered menace!
Semi-occult in nature: Mister Negative's appearance becomes similar to that of a film negative when his dark persona takes over. His strength can reach super-human levels, while his speed, agility, senses, and reflexes are also significantly enhanced. He's a step behind Spidey on most levels, but has a few extra tricks!
Negative can command people in his thrall, able to invert an individual's personality to make the altruistic proportionately villainous. He also commands a loyal army of masked henchmen known as Inner Demons. Typically dressed in black suits and silver dragon masks - Inner Demons can regenerate from fatal injuries, and wield negatively charged weapons, such as swords and nunchaku.
Mister Negative can also charge weaponry for his own use, or expel limited bolts of electrical "negative charge". Energy projection is one of the few areas where Negative can statistically surpass Spider-man, even though he's not far off the pace in most other physical realms!
There aren't a lot of direct comparisons for Mister Negative, but we've certainly seen Spider-man take down a super-strong, well dressed mobster in Tombstone before [see: Spectacular Spider-man #142]. He also got the better of the other dimensional energies that empower The Spot [Amazing Spider-man #589].
Mister Negative has the potential to combine Tombstone's might with Spot's speed & agility, but that negative energy charge is his real edge! Electrical energy is hit & miss against Spidey. Classic nemesis Electro can be dangerously destructive [Marvel Knights: Spider-man #3], or a seasonal schmuck [Marvel Holiday Special '92].
The Tape: Spider-man Ranking: Spider-man (#2)
What Went Down...
Freed from restraint by their apparent immortality: Spider-man unleashes his fullest proportionate strength of a spider against the Inner Demons! Several lie unconscious from the heavy blows, while more line up - until a familiar voice calls an end to the brawl: Mister Negative!
The photo-negative visage of the villain almost glows in the darkness of his inner sanctum. Surrounded by more of his armed Inner Demons, he confronts Spider-man with total confidence, even as the web-slinger unravels his abilities!
Where: Amazing Spider-man #621 When: April 2010
Why: Dan Slott How: Michael Lark
The Story So Far...
Rising crime boss Mister Negative has caused Spider-man & Peter Parker a lot of grief, but mind-control is nothing compared to his latest threat: Devil's Breath!
The designer toxin can be programmed to be lethal to an exclusive DNA set, and since Mister Negative already blackmailed Spidey into surrendering a vial of his blood -- the entire Parker bloodline is in danger!
Desperate to negate Mister Negative's threat to himself and Aunt May; Spider-man has enlisted the aide of his sometimes romantic interest and vigilante-burglar: The Black Cat! Her expertise and bad luck powers are perfectly suited for stealing the Devil's Breath, but when her plan involves creating a distraction Spidey loses the element of surprise deep within the demon's inner sanctum!
Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Spider-man 5 (Super-Human)Intelligence: Spider-man 5 (Professor)
Speed: Spider-man 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Spider-man 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Spider-man 5 (Cat-Like)
Fighting: Draw 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Mr. Negative 4 (Arsenal)
Total: Spider-man 29 (Metahuman)
Spider-man has seen his fair share of masterminds, kingpins, and evil geniuses -- but in today's featured fight he faces a crime boss unlike any other!
Martin Li is an assumed alias of the villainous alter-ego now known as Mister Negative! Negative stole the identity from a Fujian man who died in a human trafficking shipment wrecked en route from China. Part of the slaver's crew; Li began a new life in New York City - where he was ultimately kidnapped and experimented on by members of The Maggia crime organization.
Li received doses of the same experimental drugs that created Cloak & Dagger, creating a schism of light and darkforce within him! While the personality of Martin Li appears to be a kind and reasonable philanthropist -- his alter-ego of Mister Negative is a callous, super-powered menace!
Semi-occult in nature: Mister Negative's appearance becomes similar to that of a film negative when his dark persona takes over. His strength can reach super-human levels, while his speed, agility, senses, and reflexes are also significantly enhanced. He's a step behind Spidey on most levels, but has a few extra tricks!
Negative can command people in his thrall, able to invert an individual's personality to make the altruistic proportionately villainous. He also commands a loyal army of masked henchmen known as Inner Demons. Typically dressed in black suits and silver dragon masks - Inner Demons can regenerate from fatal injuries, and wield negatively charged weapons, such as swords and nunchaku.
Mister Negative can also charge weaponry for his own use, or expel limited bolts of electrical "negative charge". Energy projection is one of the few areas where Negative can statistically surpass Spider-man, even though he's not far off the pace in most other physical realms!
There aren't a lot of direct comparisons for Mister Negative, but we've certainly seen Spider-man take down a super-strong, well dressed mobster in Tombstone before [see: Spectacular Spider-man #142]. He also got the better of the other dimensional energies that empower The Spot [Amazing Spider-man #589].
Mister Negative has the potential to combine Tombstone's might with Spot's speed & agility, but that negative energy charge is his real edge! Electrical energy is hit & miss against Spidey. Classic nemesis Electro can be dangerously destructive [Marvel Knights: Spider-man #3], or a seasonal schmuck [Marvel Holiday Special '92].
The Tape: Spider-man Ranking: Spider-man (#2)
What Went Down...
Freed from restraint by their apparent immortality: Spider-man unleashes his fullest proportionate strength of a spider against the Inner Demons! Several lie unconscious from the heavy blows, while more line up - until a familiar voice calls an end to the brawl: Mister Negative!
The photo-negative visage of the villain almost glows in the darkness of his inner sanctum. Surrounded by more of his armed Inner Demons, he confronts Spider-man with total confidence, even as the web-slinger unravels his abilities!
Demonstrating a full grasp of the gamut of skills Martin Li's 'negative charge' can create; Spidey closes in to deliver a blow with his own brand of spider-strength. Alas, his estimates of Mister Negative's super-human strength have failed to take into account the "upper limits" of his fullest charge!
Negative effortlessly catches Spider-man's fist with a darkened palm...
... and with a mere flick of his wrist sends Spider-man hurtling through the air!
The all mighty blow is powerful enough to launch Spider-man out of the Chinatown sanctum -- and through an adjacent building! The far exterior depositing the battered hero with the trash of an adjoining alley!
The Hammer...Short, sharp, definitive! Just when Spidey thinks he's got the upper hand: Mister Negative reveals another level to his dark powers!
This marks a strong debut for Mister Negative on Secret Wars on Infinite Earths! Created in the late 2000s by Dan Slott and Phil Jiminez: he's still a relatively new addition to Spidey's famed lethal foes, but was entrenched as a premier threat of the last decade!
Powers-wise, he can seem a little bit of a piecemeal hodgepodge, but for the most part - I'm a fan! Flanked by his suited Inner Demons, Negative has a flavor of modern Asian crime cinema, with strong Marvel Comics reference!
I still have misgivings about the era that brought Mister Negative into the fold. He was a product of the 2008 Brand New Day re-launch that was typified by its role in haphazardly excising quantities of Spider-man's iconic history. Most predominantly, but not exclusively, was Peter Parker's marriage to Mary-Jane, removed at the long discussed behest of Editor in Chief: Joe Quesada.
Early on, you might've been forgiven for wondering if Mister Negative was a demonic consequence of Peter Parker's choice to make a deal with Mephisto - but not so. Like a majority of the best moments since BND - Mister Negative has little to nothing to do with history that was deleted, or rejiggered. In fact, he's steeped in the kind of nostalgia that made history tampering feel contradictory!
His origin references the same Maggia experiments that gave us Cloak & Dagger in the early eighties -- 1982, to be specific. Indeed, the character feels right at home with the crime-ridden decade -- particularly the dark urban-noir of Spectacular Spider-man, where the aforementioned duo first appeared, and a cavalcade of darkly lit crooks, crime bosses, and super-villains came to the fore.
Artist Michael Lark, inker Stefano Gaudiano, and colorist Matt Hollingsworth collaborate for a finished image that feels suitably moody and tactile.
The shadows may be jet black, but the night is moonlit blue. It creates an atmosphere somehow equivalent to those fondly remembered night time romps in eighties issues of Spectacular Spider-man. It's all just very enjoyable!
Amazing Spider-man #621 is actually part of The Gauntlet: a nostalgic tour that revisits some of Spidey's most classic villains, but not necessarily as you know them. It was a run that stirred up feelings of disdain for the unnecessary reboot, but pushed through them by sheer force of being fantastic Spider-man comics!
I've been hoping to get to The Gauntlet sooner, preferably with some of the classic villains, whose issues were real favourites. I love the way The Gauntlet's issues are soaked in the classics, but blend well with a sense of something new. Mister Negative provides a very obvious new element to Amazing #621, but again I go back to that eighties Spectacular flavor, and the guest appearance of a character I think of as synonymous with those years - Black Cat!
She was entangled with another creation that comes to mind as right up Mister Negative's alley. The Spot was attempting to harness Cloak's connection to a dimension of darkness, but tapped another realm to become a living portal, circa Spectacular #100. Their similar origins were nicely exploited in Dark Reign: Mister Negative, where The Spot served as a mole in The Hood's gang of villains. Quite a nice way to stitch a new character into the fabric of the old.
The Spot was originally working on behalf of Black Cat's old employer - and another crime boss of the series - the Kingpin! As it so happens - Mister Negative will be at odds with Kingpin when he receives a major boost in exposure next week via the release of Spider-man for PlayStation 4!
The highly anticipated video game return for Spidey is direct inspiration for today's entry, with Mister Negative set to appear alongside versions of Electro, Vulture, Rhino, Scorpion, and Shocker! You can expect Black Cat to factor into the action as well -- although, given her recent rise through the criminal ranks in comics -- who knows whose side she'll be on?!
I'm not such a big fan of the redesigned, off-the-shelf villains, but I am loving being back in the world of Spider-man! You can be there too by checking out today's featured fight in collected edition!
By shopping via the Amazon links provided, you help support Secret Wars on Infinite Earths at no extra cost to you!
You can find even more inspirations by diving into the Secret Archive to revisit classic fights indexed by publisher, series, and issue number! Be sure to follow links throughout these entries to discover unexpected hits and misses!
Follow on Twitter and Facebook to get daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day. A like, share, or retweet is a great way to show your support and spread the good word: FIGHT!
Winner: Mister Negative
#314 (new) Mister Negative
#2 (--) Spider-man
No comments:
Post a Comment