(2008 Cover Date Issues - Most current first)

September 24, 2008

Spider-Man makes a five page appearance in 1985 #5.
Spider-Man appears in Marvel Adventures Super Heroes #3.
Spider-Man makes a cameo flashback appearance in New Avengers #45.
Venom (Mac Gargan/ Scorpion) and Norman Osborn appear in Thunderbolts #124.
Spider-Man makes a one page introduction in Secret Invasion: The Amazing Spider-Man #2.

Story
After battling both Venom and the Beetle, Peter Parker finds himself in the symbiote suit again at the end of last issue. Remember, the suit was originally designed by Peter's father, with the intentions to try and find a biological cure for cancer. So Peter is now helpless and at the mercy of the suit, right smack-dab in the middle of Manhattan, and the symbiote is "hungry". Peter finds himself lashing out at anyone that moves, whether it be friend or foe. Silver Sable and her Wild Pack are there to try and stop him, but they are far from effective. Help is on the way however, in the form of the Ultimate version of the Avengers: The Ultimates, led by Nick Fury. Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hawkeye, and the Wasp all descend (from where I don't know) down to battle Peter in the symbiote costume. The battle rages on for several pages before Thor knocks Peter out. The next morning, Peter finds himself woken up in his own home by his Aunt May. Now wondering what the heck happened the prior night, Peter checks his e-mail to see that he has received invitation from Nick Fury to come see him at the home of the Ultimates the Triskelion. When Peter arrives, he discovers what happened the prior night. He also learns what has happened to the symbiote, and its not a pretty picture.

Art
Very Good.
Best Page: The double-page spread of the Ultimates descending down on Peter in the symbiote suit.

Continuity Police
No tickets given.

Spoilers
Nick Fury took control of the symbiote after Thor knocked out Peter.
Fury tells Peter that "Your father was on to something" when Richard Parker created the suit.
Fury also explains to Peter that "Your father may have started the next dam world war" on the final page.

September 17, 2008

Spider-Monkey makes an appearance in Marvel Apes #2.
Spider-Man appears in Marvel Adventures The Avengers #28.
Spider-Man makes a three page guest appearance in X-Men: First Class #16.

Story
Mac Gargan, the "new" Venom has recently been "cured" of being the symbiote's most recent host by a new character called Anti-Venom, who just happens to be the original Venom: Eddie Brock. As for Spider-Man, he also has his problems, as Norman Osborn and his Thunderbolts are in New York City to try and capture the still unregistered hero. At the end of last issue, Norman has discovered Peter's camera that automatically locates and takes pictures of Spider-Man in action. Norman now has the frequency that the camera uses to locate Spider-Man. "New Ways To Die" is now at part five with this issue, and Norman Osborn sends his "secret weapon": Bullseye after Spider-Man. At about the same time, Thunderbolt Radioactive Man is isolating the "Anti-Venom" residue in Mac Gargan's system, so that Osborn can develop a countermeasure. With the help of our old friend Freak from a couple storylines ago, Norman uses the "walking pharmacy" to do just that. It takes a couple pages, but Bullseye and a couple of snipers locate Spider-Man, when Peter is talking to Harry Osborn and Lilly Hollister. His spider sense goes off, and he makes a run for it. It looks like Spider-Man is up against Bullseye and a bunch of snipers all by his lonesome, but he gets some unexpected help in the form of Anti-Venom, who has been masquerading as a sniper all the whole time. Spider-Man battles Bullseye in the "feature bout", and he uses his brains to help him out in defeating him. Spider-Man and Anti-Venom then make plans on going after Osborn, the Thunderbolts, and whatever else may be waiting for them when they arrive. Something old, something new. Next issue wraps things up in "New Ways To Die" and it will be a double-sized finale.

Art
Very Good.
Best Page: The last spoiler-filled full-page.

Continuity Police
No tickets given.

Spoilers
Norman discovers that someone has been "raiding" his secret Goblin lair.
Spider-Man webs the tracking chip onto Bullseye's hand so that he is the one shot at.
Norman Osborn dons the Green Goblin costume and injects Gargan with the new Anti-Venom countermeasure.
Mac Gargan takes on the guise of a brand new Scorpion, with the symbiote intact.

September 10, 2008

Spider-Man makes an appearance in Secret Invasion #6.
Spider-Man makes an out of continuity appearance in Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #43.

Story
"New Ways To Die" has transformed Eddie Brock into a new "anti-hero" by the name of Anti-Venom, and he is hell-bent on seeking out everything symbiote related and "curing" them. He has just "cured" Mac Gargan, the new Venom and he now has his sights set on Spider-Man, who still has small traces of the symbiote in him. At the same time, Norman Osborn and his Thunderbolts, is still trying their best to track down Spider-Man. As this issue begins, it takes a couple pages for Spider-Man to free himself of Anti-Venom's wrath. Unfortunately for Spider-Man, he now feels much more "sluggish" than before, since Anti-Venom began sap the irradiated blood in his system. It will be interesting how this latest "power-loss" will be handled. At about the same time, Norman Osborn and Menace finally square-off in a battle of the Goblins. This is the highlight of the issue, and is much more interesting than the other fight that is going on at the same time: Spider-Man versus a couple of Thunderbolts - Songbird and Radioactive Man. Spider-Man escapes all the madness, and returns to the FEAST homeless center to help Aunt May clean up the mess created by Venom and Anti-Venom. The issue ends with Norman showing his Thunderbolts a new discovery concerning Peter Parker's connections to Spider-Man. A "forgotten" member of the Thunderbolts then makes plans to locate and kill Spider-Man, but that will have to wait till next issue.

Art
Very Good.
Best Page: The splash page of Anti-Venom battling Spider-Man.

Continuity Police
No tickets given.

Spoilers
Harry Osborn turns over his father's documents that tie Norman up with Mayoral Candidate Randall Crowne to Ben Urich.
Norman Osborn an Crowne have been dealing in human trafficking from shipments to and from China.
Norman found Peter's camera that automatically locates and takes pictures of Spider-Man in action.
Norman has discovered the frequency that the camera uses to locate Spider-Man, and he plans on using it to his advantage.
Bullseye makes plans on killing Spider-Man on the last page.

Story
Lots going on here. At the end of Amazing Spider-Girl #23, Mayday went face-to-face with the "other" Mayday Parker - the one whom the Green Goblin kept in suspended animation for years. Both believe they are the real deal and while we don't get a conclusive answer, we do get a tantalizing new twist in the story.

Also, Spider-Girl continues to try to help her classmate Sara Hingle, who is being recruited by Magneta, the evil mistress of magnetism. Sara, who is a mutant, continues to be torn between the peaceful approach of mutants like the X-People and Magneta's more violent approach. In this issue, Spider-Girl gets caught in the middle of that conflict.

Finally, Mayday Parker's relationship with Gene Thompson comes to a crossroads in this issue, after Gene beats up Mayday's friend Wes. Oh, and Peter Parker, who is still under the influence of the Green Goblin formula, squares off with Fury the Goblin Queen.

Reviewed by Bruce Buchanan.

Art
Lots of good action scenes for the Frenz/Buscema team to flex their artistic muscles on.

Best page:  The full-page splash of the two May Parkers meeting face to face.

Continuity Police
No tickets given.

Spoilers
Mayday dumps boyfriend Gene Thompson after finding out he sabotaged her campaign for student council.
Spider-Girl is caught in an explosion caused by Magneta, apparently buried under rubble.
The other May Parker goes to the Parker's house and takes her place!

September 4, 2008

Spider-Man makes a full guest appearances in Ms. Marvel Annual #1.
Spider-Man makes a flashback cameo appearance in X-Men Origins: Beast #1.
Spider-Man and Mary Jane Watson appear in Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane Season 2 #2.
Spider-Man makes a one-page flashback appearance, plus Spider-Monkey is featured in Marvel Apes #1.
Spider-Man makes a flashback appearance in the continued re-telling of Venom's origin Venom: Dark Origin #2.

Story
"New Ways To Die" is now half-way complete with this the third part. Last issue ended with Venom attacking the FEAST Homeless Shelter, while looking for Spider-Man. Thinking that he found Spider-Man, the still-new Venom instead discovers the Venom symbiote's old host: Eddie Brock. Eddie transforms into a new character by the name of Anti-Venom, who wants to rid the world of the symbiote once and for all, and the battle is soon joined by Spider-Man moments later. It is still somewhat of a mystery as to how Brock has made his most recent transformation, but we do know that Martin Li (Mister Negative) has something do with it, as it has bee shown that he has some sort of strange healing powers. Back to the fight: Things are getting out of control, and the members of the homeless shelter are quickly moved to safety, and before you know it, Spider-Man is sent flying across town by the combined might of Venom and Anti-Venom. Elsewhere, Peter's old friend Norman Osborn, now leader of the Thunderbolts, is still trying to track down his nemesis. Norman gets a ring-side seat atop a building to watch the three-way battle that Spider-Man is involved in, as he awaits for a "random element" to enter the battle. Anti-Venom begins to take over Venom, and saps him of the symbiote by "burning" it away. Within moments, Venom begins to look more and more like Mac Gargan than Venom. When Anti-Venom is finished with Venom, he begins to pay his attention to Spider-Man, but why?

Art
Very Good.
Best Page: The double-page last splash page of Venom and Anti-Venom getting tangled up.

Continuity Police
No tickets given.

Spoilers
Mayoral candidate Bill Hollister is roughed up and threatened by Menace.
Anti-Venom saps the small traces of the symbiote out of Spider-Man.
Anti-Venom then begins to sap the irradiated blood in Spider-Man as well.
Menace meets Norman Osborn on the rooftop on the final page.

This site & all scanned images created & maintained by Eric Gillette
Thank you very much for your visit!

Spider-Man   ™  and © 2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at:
http://www.marvel.com