SPIDER-MAN versus VENOM
Undone (Marvel)
Where: Spider-man Family #2 When: June 2007
Why: Sean McKeever How: Kano & David Lafuente

The Story So Far...
Nightly patrol for the web-slinger turns up an unfortunate sight when the screams of a limousine driver draws his attentions to one of the deadliest of his lethal foes - the alien costume clad, Venom!
The symbiote baring madman menaces the corporate passenger, seemingly without reason, but when Peter Parker researches the significance of Ione Damasco and her associates, he uncovers enough of the truth to receive a package from the lethal protector himself!

Venom's notes reveal the truth about Damasco and the pharmaceutical company she serves as a board member for, Devlin-MacGregor. Their greed led them to perform involuntary experiments on the homeless, a fact uncovered by Venom in his life as a Bugle reporter. Now empowered by the symbiote; Eddie Brock stalks the members of the board in an effort to exact brutal justice for their inhuman experiments, and vengeance for their threats to he and his wife.

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Venom 5 (Superhuman)
Intelligence: Spider-man 5 (Professor)
Speed: Spider-man 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Spider-man 5 (Marathon Man)
Agility: Spider-man 5 (Cat-like)
Fighting Ability: Venom 3 (Street Wise)
Energy Power: Venom 2 (Projectiles)


- A bite from a radioactive spider should have killed highschool nerd, Peter Parker, but instead it would irradiate his own blood, granting him extraordinary powers.

After turning to a life of profit, Peter is inspired to use his gifts for the greater good when his decision to allow a burglar to escape leads to the murder of his adopted parent and uncle, Ben Parker.
Ben's sage-like advice, "with great power comes great responsibility", becomes a mantra for Parker as he becomes Spider-man!

Spider-man possesses the proportional strength, speed, and agility of a spider. Adding to his arsenal is a precognitive spider-sense that warns him of pending danger. Self-made mechanical webshooters round out Spidey's abilities, allowing him to ensnare opponents in a variety of modes; travel through the city by web-line; and form basic constructs based on the available quantities of his own formula of web-fluid.

- During the secret wars staged by the Beyonder; Spider-man's attempts to repair his costume inadvertently released a bizarre alien creature from within the Beyonder's machines. The symbiote formed Spider-man's black costume, enhancing his strength and abilities, while also subtly influencing his character with a more aggressive persona. This aggression led Spider-man to discover, with the aid of Reed Richards, the truth about the creature's intent to form a permanent bond with Peter Parker as host.

Using the immense vibrations of a churchbell to disrupt the creature, Peter Parker freed himself of it's influence, unwittingly delivering the symbiote to a man whose bitter hatred of both Parker and Spider-man would make the perfect host for the rejected symbiote. Eddie Brock welcomed the bond of the costume which transferred facsimilies of Spider-man's powers, and all the intimate secrets the wallcrawler had revealed to the creature.

As Venom; Brock possesses superhuman strength, speed, agility, wall crawling, web-slinging, and a host of abilities unique to the symbiote, like; adaptive camouflage and basic morphing, multi-forming tendrils, and the ability to bypass Spider-man's danger warning spidey-senses.

When Brock learnt of his development of cancer not even the symbiote could cure, he opted to sell the alien at a supervillain auction with the hopes of using the profits to attone for his criminal activities. Deeply conflicted, Brock attempted suicide after opting out of a plot to kill May Parker, but the once lethal protector survived once again to fullfil a second chance at redemption. A chance meeting with the mysterious Mr. Negative cures him of his ailments, and transforms the remnants of symbiote matter in his blood to turn him into the white Anti-Venom.

Math: Spider-man Ranking: Spider-man (#2)

What Went Down...
Spider-man beats Brock to the swanky apartment of Max Fischer, where the web-slinger confronts the corrupt businessman with the intent of interrogating to a confession. Enraged by the unscrupulous practises for the development of a hair growth formula, Spidey accidentally places Fischer in the sights of Venom!

Venom reveals to Spider-man the last pieces of the puzzle, which ended threats on he and his wife's lives. Spidey makes attempts to appeal to the moral fibre of an Eddie Brock who refused the company's bribes, but finds only the murderous intent of a lethal protector.

Unable to pacify Venom's vengeance, Spidey prepares to challenge his physical superior in battle. The symbiote-enhancements of Venom offers him no spidey-sense warning as a black blur charges toward him, smashing his body through the structure of Fischer's apartment. Spidey strikes back with an uppercut, but suffers the blow back ten-fold from the super-strong Brock!

Venom snatches Spider-man by the ankle and tosses him through a wall, sending Spidey helplessly tumbling through a hail of plaster, tile, and rubble! The web-slinger comes to rest in the bathroom where he launches a counter attack on the raging bull that is Venom, thrusting his kick into the jaw of his counterpart!

With the powerhouse on the backfoot, Spider-man takes full advantage with a hammer lock and drives Venom's fanged face into a nearby mirror! Spidey loiters deep within his own mind, contemplating the constant threat posed by his dark shadow, but before he crosses any moral boundary, a cry for help snaps him back.

The carnage wrought by Venom's charge had ignited an electrical fire in the apartment, threatening the safety of Max Fischer, who was helplessly webbed to a wall by Spider-man in his interrogation. The web-slinger turns his back on personal grudges, diving through the flames to rescue the vile businessman.

Venom marches furiously behind his arch-rival, but finds the intensity of the flames too damaging to the fire-sensitivity of his alien costume. As the flames engulf more of the apartment, Venom is forced to make a hasty escape, diving through a window to avoid the licking sting of growing inferno!

Spider-man successfully rescues Fischer and turns him over to police, while also delivering Eddie Brock's research to Bugle reporter, Ben Urich. The headlines tell the damning story of Devlin-Macgregor with a credit to the fallen reporter for his groundwork on the story, but for Venom, it is a hollow victory.

The Hammer...
Mmm, it was a tough call this week, folks!
Both got their licks in, but we're going to equate Venom's retreat to a forfeit, and hand the eventual conclusion to Spider-man!

Regular readers will know this win comes two-fold as we put an Olympic pause to our post-One More Day Spider-Boycott, which has seen the top ranking 2007 character absent since the beginning of the year [last seen in the Infinite Wars' Marvel Knights: Spider-man #1 review].
This story was actually right at the top of the to-do list before we opted out of the Spider-business, so it seemed like a fitting choice, even if there isn't any particular connection to the themes we've explored around the Olympic Games.

Throughout August we've been watching developments in the three-times weekly Amazing with our regular instalments of the weekly shipping lists. It's been interesting to observe a swing that might very well have been planned from the beginning of Brand New Day, but seems to undermine much of the described intention to re-establish Spider-man with a new vibe and relatable world.

The reintroduction of Spider-man into the Marvel Universe has been a pleasant change, to be sure, but I'm not sure snipping the ties of matrimony have made Spidey's battles with Venom and Anti-Venom any more relatable. In fact, as welcome as the reintroduction of old foes into the mix is, it seems somewhat counter productive to the BND initiative to throw in a concept like Anti-Venom - which builds upon and defies so much of recognisable mainstream Spider-history.

So much about Brand New Day stirs debate about the validity of reboots in modern American comics.
I recently came across European sentiments which bordered on bemusement when attempting to decypher the history of Wonder Woman, which, really, is no more garbled than the Spider-man saga and it's clone-related twists, and Mephisto-dealing turns [for the worse].

DC Executive Editor, Dan DiDio, recently acknowledged the folly of constant reboots that had served to reinvigorate franchises for short periods, at best, and largely alienated the core audiences that support and care for characters. It was an admission that was welcome, even if it lacked sensitivity to the creative requirements of these lasting properties. Requirements that, as found by our unnamed European friend, could really benefit from some kind of tempered consideration for consistency.

Spider-man Family, from which our review is taken, is an anthology comic that reprints Spidey classics and presents new stories that don't appear to have any ties to a particular era of Spider-man.
This, embarassingly enough, along with titles like Marvel Adventures: Spider-man and Ultimate Spider-man seem to present the obvious counterpoint to any argument that suggests Brand New Day was a good, or necessary idea.

I could not argue against the fundamental principles of a reboot, or revamp.
Many fine examples exist to paint a positive reflection on a creative shake-up, but more often than not, I believe we see the great examples deliver something informed and based upon the logic established by history.
Grant Morrison's work on New X-Men is one such work that comes to mind, building upon the overdue progress of many facets of the X-brand, including; human-mutant relations, field operations of the team, the next generation, and personal struggles for characters like Cyclops, Beast, and Wolverine. Despite it's many asthetic shifts, everything about Morrison's work on X-Men, if not his superhero work in general, was firmly routed in logics derived from other references. It was change - but with an informed basis and exciting energy.

In the Monthly Punch-Up, we've watched as sales figures for the droll Spider-Reboot continue to gurgle downward. Early plunges mean the revamped book is already approaching figures that would traditionally be associated with yet another reboot, as has been seen in recent years with the erratic direction of the X-Men franchise, which has long since deconstructed anything contributed to the canon by Morrison and his collaborators.

I'll be very interested to continue to watch with some scepticism as we absorb the statistics for this month's issues of Amazing Spider-man. I wonder if the reappearance of familiar characters will sponsor a slight upward turn in sales, and if this will at all contribute to the inevitable return to pre-OMD Spider history.

The Infinite Wars is typically a site reluctant to summarily dismiss companies or creators, but with their recent history, that lingering lure of a time before Mephisto really does seem like an all too familiar construction for sales boosts. If it isn't a radical change from the norm, it's a radical change back to the norm.

In recently digesting massive amounts of Akira Toriyama's classic martial arts epic, Dragon Ball Z, one notes the joy of a simple formula of accumulation. While the organic nature of some devices might be questioned, Toriyama's approach to writing that he admits was an unplanned flow of consciousness, allows characters to develop relationships and mythology with a delightful consistency. Forward momentum allows for change, but constantly calls upon in-built logics.

Toriyama's work suffered from the crippling effects of rapid escalation, but with Marvel's disappointing promotions-heavy output, their problem feels far worse as consequence and history fade from relevance.

The happy medium was a foundation for my hopes to enter independent creation with Nite Lite Theatre. Robert Kirkman is now calling upon similar principles to encourage more big-name creators to turn to self-promotion and original intellectual properties.
Lost on some creators was the unspoken logic of Kirkman's call to arms, not just an effort to inform the obvious of many writers and artists who have already embarked on self-publishing, but as an effort to create a mass movement that would force change within the industry and fanbases that have been reluctant to sufficiently support independent enterprise. He suggests a movement not unlike the alliance of artists that allowed the birth of Image Comics in it's original inception/insurrection, from the shadows of the Marvel offices.

Creators like Brian Bendis; who in interviews showed no awareness or consideration for this subtext; have been reluctant to speak-out in favour of these efforts that buck against the treadmill trends of stories like BND.
It's undeniable that Kirkman's point relies heavily on mass commitment from already prominent names. It needs that level of dedication to steer away from the churning mass market of the Spider-mans and Batmans, but, if self-preservation can be put aside by some very bold men and women, we may yet see a new era that forces the kind of consideration we've described upon the companies that are again all too often relying on cheap tricks and poorly considered gimmicks.

Suffice to say, Amazing Spider-man and Brand New Day is yet to win us over, but as the book continues to return to the familiar, we hope this might eventually lead toward a stronger creative direction for Marvel overall. Anti-Venom? Believe it or not, I actually think this is a real step in the right direction!

The Fight: 4.5 The Story: 7

Symbiote naysayers need to pick this comic up!
Sean McKeever delivers one of the finest Venom stories I've ever read, balancing the lethal anti-hero qualities of the character, with the villainous aspects that antagonised Spider-man in Brock's early career! Our brief glimpses at the artwork provided by master penciler David Lafuente (with flourishes by Kano) cannot begin to communicate how beautiful the artwork in this story truly is! Everything comes together - even the unique lettering treatment from Nate Piekos - to tell a truly atmospheric tale that's both creepy AND mysteriouso! Shades of noir detective work make this not only a great Venom story, but also a terrific outing for Peter Parker! You'll find the collected digest in the Amazonian Gift Shoppe which also includes other fantastic tales - and - by using purchase links provided you help sponsor future entries in the Infinite Wars! Check it out!

ORION versus DARKSEID
Darkseid Equals Death (DC)
Where: Countdown #2 When: June 2008
Why: Paul Dini, Sean McKeever & Keith Giffen How: Scott Kolins

The Story So Far...
When the prophecized death of the New Gods begins; Darkseid begins siphoning the powers of each of the deceased for future use in his attempts to create the Fifth World on Earth. In need of a storage vessel, Darkseid recognises Superman's best pal, Jimmy Olsen, as one of the most protected individuals in the cosmos.

Though the mysterious development of these strange powers gives Jimmy hope of becoming his own type of superhero; the intrepid photo journalist soon discovers the truth about his many fantastic transformations! After being reunited with Superman, Darkseid is able to take control of Olsen's new abilities, forcing him to emit Kryptonite!

The intervention of the Atom gives Jimmy a chance to take control of his powers, but even with the giant-size energy of a New God, he's unable to overcome the dark lord. Just as all hope seems lost for Superman's pal a boom tube ushers the arrival of a New God thought dead - Darkseid's son, Orion! Intent on putting an end to his father's darkness once and for all, can Orion fullfil the prophecy?

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Darkseid 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Darkseid 5 (Professor)
Speed: Orion 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Darkseid 7 (Unstoppable)
Agility: Orion 2 (Average)
Fighting Ability: Draw 6 (Warrior)
Energy Power: Darkseid 6 (Mass Destruction)


- The second son of the New God despot, Darkseid; Orion was part of a peacekeeping trade between frictioned twin planets.
While Mr. Miracle would take his place on the destructive world of Apokolips, Orion would have a lighter life raised by the Highfather Izaya.
Izaya taught Orion to control his inherent rages, making him one of the greatest warriors the universe has ever seen! His legend includes a brief reign as ruler of Apokolips, and member of Earth's Justice League.
It has been prophecized that Orion will one day destroy his father, plunging his body into the depths of firey pits.

Orion, a New God, possesses fantastic strength, speed, and endurance.
With the aid of an Apokoliptian Mother Box, Orion is capable of maintaining a calm, while also focusing his energies. His astro-harness also allows the funneling of destructive energies from The Source from which the New Gods came, and also facilitates travel through almost any environment.

- Born to Yuga Khan and Heggra; the New God named Uxas would ultimately change his name to Darkseid as part of a reinvention that would include the assassination of his mother, and ascension to ruler of the planet, Apokolips.

In his desire for universal domination Darkseid seeks the Anti-Life Equation; an ability that will grant him omnipotence over all thought and being. This quest has brought him into regular conflict with the denizens of a distant planet called Earth. It is Darkseid's belief that the recesses of the human mind retain lost fragments of the Anti-Life Equation.

Darkseid's power rivals and maybe even dwarfs any of his New God peers, or even those from other pantheons of godly order. Ungauged levels of strength and invulnerability provide a baseline for the enduring despot, with other abilities, such as his Omega Effect, providing a lethal projectile offensive said to be inescapable and nigh impossible to survive.
Also at Darkseid's disposal are endless hordes of parademon soldiers, fiercely dedicated and willing to die in his name.

The Math: Darkseid Ranking: Darkseid (#79)

What Went Down...
Just as the fates of Ray Palmer and Jimmy Olsen seem sealed a boom tube explodes spewing forth an astro-harnessed Orion who survived a death that took him directly to The Source. He is none too pleased to see his father.

Channeling the very power of the mystic Source, Orion blasts Darkseid with a devestating blast of energy from his harness. Darkseid laments his disappointment, summoning his own energies for a clash of New Gods!

A raging Orion warns the heroes of the Justice League away; allowing the fullest of his powers to swirl like a maelstrom of raw force! Declaring his intent to fullfil his prophecized victory, Orion doesn't see the bending beams of energy coming up behind him -- Omega beams!

Orion survives Darkseid's occular assault reduced to a smouldering mess.
His dark father is unremorsful when punting his burning son. Orion's body hurtles to the ground with explosive impact. Superman, Green Lantern, Flash, and Donna Troy reluctantly watch on, aware of their helplessness.

Darkseid pins Orion's skull beneath his heel to gloat. The strategum only serves to provoke Orion's untapped rages further. He bursts from his self-made crater, toppling Darkseid, only to take a mount position and unleash blows that rock the already destroyed city of Metropolis!

Crackling energy bursts from the two titans as they lock in close quarters like the ancient gods of Olympus. Darkseid mocks the details of his prophecized downfall, "... I don't see... your precious firepits, Orion..." The Apokoliptian despot feigns a moment of joy for his son's promise to sacrifice his own life to kill him, and then...

... Orion plunges his fist into Darkseid's chest!

Darkseid drops to his knees as firey energy pours from the cavity in his chest. Orion stands over his father a vision of stoicism, "Ever so arrogant, this Darkseid. Straight through to the end. Goodbye, father."

Metropolis is bathed in the explosion of energy before the heavens open to a pacifying deluge. Darkseid's boney remains glow like embers and Orion walks into the pouring night -- victorious.

The Hammer...
In one of the most epic battles of the year: Orion wins! Fatality!

We're running disgustingly late after a week of delays, but I'm pleased to finally have this battle up on the Infinite Wars. The pipedream would be to give the best few reads this sort of treatment each week as a gauge of the year's progress. That just isn't realistic for me, but it's nice to pick up a big battle like this one.

This fight vaguely connects to the on-going Mortal Kombat versus DC Universe discussion, because here is a prime example of the combative chops of the DCU. Orion would undoutedbly be at home with morally ambiguous warriors like Scorpion and Sub-Zero, while Darkseid, to me, is the most obvious lead villain the makers of the game could choose to pair-up with an MK menace.

Of course, as much as MKvsDC has been a driving force on the Infinite Wars, there's a whole lot coming from the comics side of the fence the next few months! As you'll see in the shipping list; it's going to be a big week of books, particularly with DC simmering away with it's upcoming Final Crisis efforts.

By now more information is surely presenting itself, but I haven't really been keeping up. Which I think I like. I'm enjoying having little preconceived notion of what Grant Morrison plans to do with his final chapter in the 'Crisis Trilogy.'

Particularly after the DC Universe 0 special, I'm enjoying the notion of DC heroes ascending to fullfil the void left by the dead New Gods. It seemed foolhardy to expect Bruce Wayne to be among this new pantheon, but the speculative return of Barry Allen instills a faith in me that this is a concept that really could work.

Of course, I'm not entirely sure that's the destiny laid out before the deceased speedster. Initially I was very fond of the idea of a zombified Barry Allen as part of the new Black Lantern Corps and many sources have since suggested that what I thought was a cosmic Barry Allen in DCU0, was actually Darkseid being reborn. So I really don't know where this is all going, but I'm excited.
More surprisingly, I'm excited about the New Gods!

I mentioned at the beginning of the month [Super Powers #5] that I'm not a New Gods fan, but I certainly appreciate the weight of the characters.

Countdown [to Final Crisis] has come under heavy criticism for struggling to maintain a direct line to the stories it's been responsible for instigating. I'm certainly surprised to see this monumental battle told outside of the pages of Death of the New Gods, but to DC's credit, this book has done the unthinkable, and actually gotten me retroactively interested in the related mini.

I'm disappointed that Darkseid is almost certain to return soon.
If I had a greater affiliation for the character, I might disagree, but my preference for death to end in death applies even moreso to the New Gods. Granted, there's a cyclical precedent in the canon, but I just don't feel that's justification for one of the most played out scenarios in comics. Worse still was the immediate fakeout of Orion's death which played specifically into the conclusion of the story of the New Gods.

Scott Kolins is an artist whose stock dropped dramatically when he produced some of the very worst covers I've ever seen, for New Invaders. From that point sloppy digital looking inks have been a constant disappointment of his artstyle, but not so here. Kirby overtones were welcomed in this 'final' clash of New Gods, and helped round this issue out as a strong stand-alone clash.

I was a little disappointed, particularly given that the entire issue is dedicated to battle, that it didn't quite live up to the epic standards of recent comparisons; like World War Hulk #5. The epic nature of the battle was well communicated in concept, but failed to really be reflected in the quality of the artwork. There were glimpses of grandeur very similar to the concluding issue of World War Hulk, but all too often the action was broken by the mundane. This is one time I could undoutedbly call for the popularized 'widescreen' presentation that, although not showing a great respect for the economy of the page, lends a lot of power to a story.

Keith Giffen wears a story consultant credit, suggesting to me a role pertinent to the written side of things, more than the role as layout artist he had for 52. If this assessment is at all correct, it does tend to make you wonder if Kolins might have benefitted from the added direction, but I wouldn't want to be too harsh on the penciller. His inks, though a little rough and imperfect, were a refreshing change from the unconfident and spotty lines I've come to associate with him.

I quite enjoyed the issue on the merit of it's own context, but wish I could've had more scope for the surrounding chapters. I tend to imagine the segmentalized nature of the series probably lends to my selective purchase, but it still might have been nice to have experienced more that led to the gravity of this issue.

I imagine we'll revisit the earlier part of the issue for the Darkseid/Jimmy Olsen showdown, but for the mean time, hopefully this was worth the wait. I'm certainly pleased to have finally added one of 2008's big showdowns to the record!

The Fight: 6 The Issue: 5.5

Missed out on all the New Gods action and keen to catch-up? If your appetite's whetted head over to Amazon where you can find all the information for pre-ordering the collections of those issues! Amazon not only has all the titles you need at affordable prices, but if you use purchase links provided on the site, you help sponsor future entries in the Infinite Wars! You can find more titles in the Infinite Wars Amazonian Gift Shoppe!
Thanks for your continued support! Stick around as the Infinite Wars rolls through overdue posts!

SANDMAN versus SPIDER-MAN
Homesick (Marvel comics)
Where: Spider-man Family #1 When: April 2007
Why: Sean McKeever How: Terrell Bobbett

The story so far...
For much of his life William Baker has struggled with right and wrong. After escaping from prison Baker took a nap on a beach where he was the victim of bizarre radioactive waste which caused a molecular shift in the composition of his body, giving him great power over the sand particles that would now make-up his body.

Rather than using his new powers responsibly, Baker continues his career in crime as the Sandman, clashing with Spider-man time after time. A series of defeats and repeat sentences in jail eventually lead to a shift in the sands of the Sandman.

Desperate for an opportunity to live a normal life free of his criminal history, Sandman tries to adjust in various ways. One way is getting a job lugging crates at the docks, but when Spider-man comes swinging-by looking for trouble, he feels an obligation to step in an help his fellows. But Spidey isn't backing down!

Previous Form:
Spider-man (#1): Spider-man has defeated classic foes like Kraven and Tombstone.
Sandman (#79): Sandman scored the victory over Thing with Thundra and the Frightful Four.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Sandman 5 (Super-Strength)
Intelligence: Spider-man 5 (Professor)
Speed: Spider-man 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Sandman 5 (Marathon Man)
Agility: Sandman 7 (Unlimited)
Fighting Ability: Spider-man 3 (Street Wise)
Energy Powers: Draw 2 (Projectiles)


Well, Sandman's an interesting case, isn't he? I think we see part of the point in the situation that's arisen in the Spider-man 3 film. As cool a villain as Sandman is, he might not have the depth or motivation to properly represent an A-list villain. In the case of the movie that means you've got it padded out and mooshed into a bunch of other things, while here, you have an awkward balance between legitimate threat and villain-of-the-week.

Physically Sandman has to be one of Spidey's more physical opponents.
As problematic as a Dr. Octopus or Green Goblin might be, neither of them can really exert the physical dominance Sandman displays, and that's a versatile weapon in this case. Not only can he turn his hands and arms to rock hard clubs and mallets, but he can also form various other objects like stoney walls, or dense, sandy tidal waves.

Without easy quick-solves like something involving water to upset the meta-physical balance, Spider-man struggles to properly compete with someone like this. Especially when you throw that tricky intangibility factor into the mix.

Ultimately in a one-on-one confrontation it's hard to pick against Sandman, given how broad his powers are, and how non-specific Spidey is. As intelligent as he is, he doesn't usually have the resources or super-smarts of a Reed Richards, who might be more likely to get the best of Sandman.

As strange as it feels to do it, I've got to say in the absence of a construction scene with a cement mixer, or a dissipating jet stream from a conveniently placed firehydrant, Spidey's toast.

The Math: Spider-man
The Pick: Sandman

What went down...
Unable to sleep, Peter Parker decides a little late night web-slinging might be the trick needed to tire him out. After foiling a jewellry store robbery, Spidey is discontent to find himself on an adrenaline high, more alert than before.
Lucky for him, his trusty new black alien symbiote costume can lend him a hand, knocking him out cold with a crack from a go-go gadget mallet!

Gently carrying forth it's sleeping host, the symbiote decides to continue into a night of terror, overlooking basic theft and a rendezvous with Black Cat in favour of finding some action with some mooks at the docks.

It just so happens these unwitting mooks are the Sandman's newest pals, and he hasn't taken too kindly to what he thinks is an unprovoked attack by Spider-man! Little does he know, the alien symbiote is driving this ship!

Sandman's clubbing fists flow into a barrage of sand, but even on auto-pilot Spidey's agility is more than sufficient for dodging the attack that shatters some nearby crates.
Sandman isn't discouraged, taking another swing with a giant, rock-hard sand fist that is likewise jumped over. Symbiote-Spidey takes a swing at Baker's sandy mug, but his fist travels straight through, popping out the other side.

Symbiote-Spidey follows up with a double shot of webbing, but the Sandman's metamorphic abilities allow him to open up a hole in his mid-section, whilst shifting sands to make a spiked-club of his fist!
The club hammers down on the attacking Spider-man with devestating force!

As much as he'd love to have heard the final words of the uncharacteristically silent Spider-man, Sandman is content to see to finishing the job. He looms over the symbiote Spider-man before crashing down as a wave of sand that turns into a swirling storm before dissipating.

Before Spidey even realises it, a towering Sandman pushes some of the steel freight containers that litter the docks down upon his tiny frame!

The Sandman's gloating turns to curiosity when Spider-man doesn't emerge from the wreckage, but that changes quickly. The goopy, elastic black costume stretches it's way from beneath the crates and slithers it's way into humanoid form to lurch at Sandman.

In a reversal of mere moments ago, Sandman finds himself swinging at air as the symbiote opens itself up where a sandy fist attempts to strike! As the symbiote looms over Sandman he lets out the cry, "What are YOU?!", before being engulfed beneath the slick black, and white sentient costume.

Sandman manages to burst through the goopy pseudo-fabric, emerging to freedom with a renewed determination to put an end to the creature.

The two malleable beings swirl around each other like two halves of a double helix, each attempting to best the other.
They wrap around one and other, before exploding away like two equal and opposing reactions.

Conceding that the symbiote creature knows how to hit, a staggered Sandman seaches the scene for the missing black costume. It finds him before he finds it, as it leaps into his mid-section.

The formless symbiote buries itself in the particles of Sandman's grainy mid-section, jetting deep inside of him.
Baker clutches at his stomach, before rigidly throwing his limbs out straight in reaction to the internal struggle being inflicted upon his transformed being. The symbiote does it's wicked business.

Stringy black tendrils begin to burst out of the Sandman's body, before he explodes in a grainy spray of sand and bodypart shaped blocks as the symbiote expands itself from the inside out.

Emerging as an erect, but formless black sludge, the symbiote discovers one of the artifacts contained within the freighter crates. An artifact that reminds it of a time long ago. An iron-nickel composite meteorite found in Canada. A piece of home.

The hammer...
Well, since Parker was asleep for most of the thing, I'm going to give this one to the Venom Symbiote, with an assist to Spidey.
Not a bad way to kick off Web-Slinging Wednesdays, even if I am over a week late. Sorry about that, guys.

Parker wakes at the end of the story to find himself tucked into his bed, with the black costume hanging innocently over the back of a chair. Presumably this is indicative of the story's place in Spider-man canon, placing it during the period where Peter Parker was the unwitting slave of the Symbiote's midnight whims.

I picked up Spider-man Family on a whim, and I have to say, it's one of the best things I've seen coming out from Marvel in a while. Though a little pricey, it's ultimately worth it considering this particular issue is jam packed with two brand new stories, two classic re-prints, and the first ever translation of Japan's Spider-man J. Pretty damned good, particularly given the title's slant toward the characters being featured in Spider-man 3. I think it's a fantastic way to introduce and induct new fans into the comics culture!

I actually wanted to feature the other new feature story, which dedicates itself to a fight between Black Cat and Hellcat, way back when we were talking International Woman's Day [New Avengers #27]. It never eventuated, but I'm glad to have at least approached the book here with this month of Spidey 3 fun.

Though initially a little uncertain about whether or not it was a Marvel Adventures story, I still found McKeever's classic comicbook fight style to be more than satisfactory in it's balance of characterization and plot. Granted, it isn't a deep plot, but it provides insight into the nature of the Symbiote and it's historical relationship with Spidey for the uninitiated, who might be curious about how the film's take on the effects differed.

The visual combination of Terrell Bobbett (Pencils), Gary Martin (Inks) and Bruna Brito (Colours) makes for a visual feast. I'm a really big fan of this very clean, slick looking style, and I was pleased to see it loosely carried over into the secondary new story, and hope to see a lot more from these guys in the future!

I probably won't actually get around to seeing Spider-man 3 until it hits DVD, but I feel like there has to be something said for Sandman. He's one of those villains who maybe isn't supremely significant, but like a Tombstone, he's just one of those guys I really love to see done well.

Like Doctor Octopus before him, and maybe even Norman Osborne to a lesser degree, Sandman's suffered for his fame in the comic book world. A resurgence in Sandman appearances has seen something of an over saturation, far beyond this book, expanding out into appearances in various core books, and also a complete annual dedicated to a revised origin.

Unfortunately a lot of Sandman's more recent appearances have rested on a return to his more classic villainous role, ignoring the progress the character had made over the past few decades as a man redeeming himself. I gather this is somewhat translated into the film, despite his shonky connection to Uncle Ben's death, but unfortunately the comics have felt the need to push him back into that corner.

Perhaps what made Sandman's transition into a more heroic role more readily acceptable than even an Eddie Brock-Venom was the fact that he never really had any strong motivation. For the most part Flint Marko/William Baker was always characterized as a petty career criminal who simply took advantage of his powers to continue to look for an easy way to make some bucks, usually by robbing or working as a henchman.

The attempts to redeem himself as an honorary Avenger, and as a member of Silver Sable's Wild Pack, were really the biggest steps made, I feel, to fleshing the man behind the sand out, and developing his character beyond the two-dimensional villain of the week he was beforehand.

Still, I'm not too fussy. I'm usually pretty happy to get my Sandman however I can get him, and even as a mook with the Frightful Four, you've seen me enjoy him for what he is. [Fantastic Four #129]
I just can't help but feel it's worth highlighting that Marvel continues to make fairly uninspired decisions like these, pushed less by well grounded creative decisions, and presumably more by cheap tricks.

The Fight: 5 The Issue: 7