Stillanerd Reviews: Amazing Spider-Man No. 18.HU review

In this tie-in to “Hunted,” Nick Spencer recounts the sad, miserable life of the seemingly laughable Spider-Man villain, the Gibbon.

Amazing Spider-Man No. 18.HU

Writer: Nick Spencer

Artist: Ken Lashley

Color Artist: Erick Arciniega

Cover: Greg Land and Frank D’Armata

Spider-Man stories, regardless of who writes them, often bring up themes about personal responsibility, growing up, the challenges of everyday living, making amends, and, of course, heroism. But the one theme which comes up over and over is bullying, abuse, and how they shape their victims. Just pick any random character who populates Spider-Man’s world, and it will likely be a character that was either picked on by their peers, tormented by their parents, or both. How these characters deal with it determines whether they’ll become heroes or villains.

Credit: Ken Lashley and Erick Arciniega (Marvel Comics); from Amazing Spider-Man No. 18.HU

…as Amazing Spider-Man No. 18.HU reminds us, it was Kraven the Hunter who first set the Gibbon on the path of would-be super villainy after Spider-Man refused to accept him as a crime fighting partner. It’s a tragic irony, then that the Gibbon, along with all the other animal-themed supers, is now forced to take part in Kraven’s latest hunt.

For example, we know Peter Parker was picked on all throughout high school, but the love and encouragement from his aunt and uncle helped him grow up into a kind, decent young man. Doctor Octopus, however, was constantly mocked by other kids, beaten by an alcoholic father, and emotionally manipulated by an overbearing mother. No surprise he grew up as a megalomaniac bent on proving just how superior he was to everyone else.

Then there are those characters not blessed with good looks, high intelligence, or even impressive abilities. Those characters whom we, as readers, wonder why they eve bothered to grace the comic book pages, regarded as one of Stan Lee’s rare missteps. The ones who seem like such a joke that even heroes like Spider-Man laugh at them. Characters like poor Martin Blank, a.k.a. The Gibbon.

Admittedly, he does seem like an odd choice for having an entire crossover tie-in issue dedicated to him. But as Amazing Spider-Man No. 18.HU reminds us, it was Kraven the Hunter who first set the Gibbon on the path of would-be super villainy after Spider-Man refused to accept him as a crime fighting partner. It’s a tragic irony then that the Gibbon, along with all the other animal-themed supers, is now forced to take part in Kraven’s latest hunt.

Credit: Ken Lashley and Erick Arciniega (Marvel Comics); from Amazing Spider-Man No. 18.HU

Taking place mere moments after the Vulture abandoned Gibbon to his fate in Amazing Spider-Man No. 18, Nick Spencer gives us flashbacks to the sad, miserable life of Martin Blank, as the Kraven Bots shoot, stab, and pursue him. We learn the real reasons why the Gibbon refused Spider-Man offer for help and went with the Vulture instead. And in the end, the story Spencer gives us is that of a man, branded as freak simply because of the way he looked, who couldn’t get past how people kept laughing at him, a person who felt incredibly lonely and only wanted love and friendship. In other words, he was just as human as the rest of us.

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Some skeptical readers will likely question the details about the Gibbon’s life story as Spencer presents it. The Gibbon’s a minor bad guy at best, and was even a member of a group dubbed “the Legion of Losers.” Only it turns out everything Spencer recounts about the Gibbon actually occurred within the comics. This includes a brief stint as a superhero working with the Grizzly, his marriage to Princess Python, and even travelling to an alternate Earth populated by apes as told in Marvel Apes. Any embellishment on Spencer’s does is that these events are retold from the Gibbon’s point-of-view.

This, in turn, makes the Kraven Bots’ relentless attack against the Gibbon all the more vicious and sad. Moreover, their words and actions and the way they regard the Gibbon as a potential trophy perfectly show these would-be disciples of Kraven for the contemptible, shallow, disgusting cowards that they are. If Spencer wanted readers to despise these Kraven Bots, then mission accomplished.

Credit: Ken Lashley and Erick Arciniega (Marvel Comics); from Amazing Spider-Man No. 18.HU

As with Superior Foes of Spider-Man, [Nick] Spencer once again takes a character created as an object of ridicule and transforms him into a pitiable, fleshed-out person. Amazing Spider-Man No. 18.HU makes you regret all the times you thought the Gibbon was laughable at best and useless at worst, only to make you wonder why more wasn’t done with him over the years.

Even the art perfectly sets the story’s emotional beats. Ken Lashley’s illustrations are appropriately clean and crisp during the Gibbon’s flashbacks, chaotic, dark, and brutal in the present. Even Erick Arciniega’s coloring complements Spencer’s script along with Lashley’s pencils and inks. The flashbacks are presented through a soft, sepia tones, almost as though you’re looking at aged newsprint. Meanwhile, those scenes and panels occurring during the hunt are filtered through blues and purples to simulate night, conveying a literal absence of light and a metaphorical absence of light–and hope–within the Gibbon himself.

As with Superior Foes of Spider-Man, Spencer once again takes a character created as an object of ridicule and transforms him into a pitiable, fleshed-out person. Amazing Spider-Man No. 18.HU makes you regret all the times you thought the Gibbon was laughable at best and useless at worst, only to make you wonder why more wasn’t done with him over the years. It’s a true testament to the idea that so-called bad characters are only as bad as the stories they are in, and that even bad characters, with the right story, can reach greatness in the end.

Stillanerd’s Score: 5 out of 5

Stillanerd’s Nerdy Nitpicks (with very sad spoilers)

Credit: Ken Lashley and Erick Arciniega (Marvel Comics); from Amazing Spider-Man No. 18.HU

• “…I thought you were the monkey.” And the fact that this bully thinks gibbons are monkeys when they’re actually apes is proof of his stupidity.
• “Ape-Man? Gorilla-Man?” I think that Kraven Bot meant Man-Ape. Also, that same Kraven-Bot should know that Gorilla-Man isn’t a super villain, as Taskmaster and Black Ant only captured bad guys with animal themes.
• “After I got fired…” Au contraire, Mr. Blank. You ran away from the circus because you couldn’t stand being laughed at. Do I have to start deducting some sympathy points?
• “I’m Kraven the Hunter, baby!” Okay, so not only are these would-be hunters piloting the Kraven Bots a bunch of sadistic cowards, they’re delusional, too. Though it definitely underscores how they’re approaching this as if they’re playing an online first person shooter complete with their own avatars.
• “Out of my way, you fools!” You know, considering how easy it was for the Rhino to plow through these Kraven Bots, you have to wonder why he’s hasn’t already turned them into scrap metal by this point.
• “…then Grizzly got another job, and he didn’t really have time to hang out.” If you mean turned back to a life of crime, sure. Although Scott Lang hired him for his Ant-Man Security Solutions during Nick Spencer’s Ant-Man series.
• Here’s the thing about Gibbon and Princess Python’s marriage–it was the Punisher who actually brought them together. That’s because Frank Castle tried poisoning all the patrons in the Bar With No Name, which caused Princess Python’s temporary blindness.
• Funny thing about Princess Python’s new “friend,” Live Wire. Her snake ate him. No seriously, it happened in Secret Avengers No. 29.
• Just the fact that Gibbon thought the Vulture, an A-list villain, would lead him to Princess Python and Grizzly, much less associate with them, really does show poor decision-making skills on his part.
• Wait, I thought all the Kraven Bots had the same body type. Arcade made female versions, too, complete with hair extensions? Or did the artist mistakenly think these folks are wearing armored suits?
• Considering how happy Martin Blank apparently was on the Marvel Apes Earth, one has to wonder why he ever left. Not to mention how he returned to the 616.
• “At least nobody’s laughing.” It’s almost as if this comic read our minds. Because no joke, the last couple of pages showing Spider-Man kneeling at the side of the dying Gibbon, along with the Gibbon’s interior monologue, is truly powerful, gut-wrenching storytelling.

According to the “Hunted” checklist, we’ll return to the story proper with Amazing Spider-Man No. 19. In the meantime, though, for those who read this tie-in, what did you think? Did this feel like an essential part of the story? More importantly, did it change your perceptions about the Gibbon as a character?