Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 5 No. 21: Spidey’s forced to make a hard choice

Stillanerd’s Nerdy Nitpicks (to spoil or not to spoil?)

• “Got you, wascally rabbit!” Hold on there, comic. I realize you’re making a Bugs Bunny joke around the White Rabbit, but you don’t own the rights to Bugs. Warner Brother does. Kind of straddling the line, aren’t we?
• Welcome back, Carolyn Trainer, a.k.a. Lady Octopus. This is your second appearance in this story since Amazing Spider-Man No. 20. Nevertheless, I have to ask how come we’re only now seeing you actively taking part in this story? Not to mention how did you even get captured in the first place?
• During “New Ways to Die,” when Spider-Man thought he was on death’s door, he thought about Gwen Stacy. In this issue, when Spider-Man thinks he’s about to be killed by the Vermins, he thinks about Mary Jane Watson. Funny how you can tell which comic was written during the aftermath of “One More Day” and the other comic years after the fact.
• Hmm…so rather than thinking a spider is Peter’s avatar, Kraven believes it’s the other way around. Does he think this for anyone who dresses up like an animal? Does that mean because he wears a lion vest that he’s a lion? What about sports teams? Does he think, for example, the Seattle Seahawks are actually hawks in human form?
• Yeah, based on the way Dr. Connors responds to your “Uh. Pete called me…” Spidey, methinks he doesn’t buy that. Or at least he shouldn’t since it’s one of the most unconvincing lies you’ve ever told.
• All right, if Billy has memories of his dad eating him, then why, in Amazing Spider-Man No. 19, did he say, “I want to go home?” For that matter, why didn’t he try running away from home earlier if he was afraid that his dad would eat him again?
• Wait, wait, wait? So according to Doctor Strange, even though Billy’s a clone, his original soul, a.k.a. his “true spirit” resides within him. Never mind how, according to Ben Reilly (a.k.a. “Ben-27”) during “Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy,” the New U clones had a “psychic imprint” of the original. Guess after all the complaints how cloning isn’t the same thing as resurrection, it’s now been retconned into kinda, sorta resurrection now.
• Come to think of it, that does fit with how Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider had the soul of Ben Reilly, even though he’s a clone of Peter Parker twenty-seven times over. It also means that Marla Jameson really was brought back to life… just to be killed off again. And that Ned Leeds really was brought back to life… just to be killed off again. And that Gwen Stacy was brought back to life… just to be killed off again. Or since we never saw her turn into dust after “Clone Conspiracy,” maybe she’s still alive?
• Wait, Billy tells Black Cat “I’m not the real me.” But in the flashback, Dr. Strange says that, technically, he is. Something which Billy overhead. Then again, I don’t blame him for being confused, as this whole “they’re clones, but they’ve been brought back from the dead” thing is confusing.
• Okay, so now Kraven’s “son” is in on his “dad’s” plan? What happened to all that impatience he had over how “weak” his dad was for not killing Spider-Man?
• “I’ve never seen you heal from something like that!” Spidey, Dr. Connors’ arm would literally grow back every time he became the Lizard. I think the chances of him regenerating from you pulling out his inhibitor chip are pretty dang high.
• Okay, so when Spider-Man is near death’s door, Kraven tells him to “rise.” When Dr. Connors is near death’s door, Spider-Man tells him to “rise.” I guess it’s supposed to suggest that both Spidey and Kraven are two sides of the same coin, right? Except would Spidey really tell someone he thought was dying to “rise?” I mean, who does he think he is? Elmo?

With one more issue of “Hunted” left to go, what did you think of its penultimate chapter? Now that Kraven believes Spider-Man is willing to “do what is necessary,” how do you expect their fight to go down? How many bad villains will survive, or will it only be better known ones like the Vulture left standing? Finally, now that Dr. Connors is full-blown Lizard again, do you think he’ll abandon his reptilian clone family in the sewers?