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| THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN No. 18.HU, June 2019 |
Guaranteed to take all but the most hard-hearted of Web-head fans on an incredibly disconcerting emotional journey, few long-time buffs of “The Amazing Spider-Man” could arguably have foreseen Nick Spencer’s soul-searching ‘spotlight’ upon the hapless Gibbon providing this comic with such a traumatizing reading experience. Indeed, considering how tongue-in-cheek the villain’s ludicrous first appearance was way back in 1972, this nineteen-page periodical’s tear-jerker of a conclusion proves a real kick to the guts, and undoubtedly provides Martin Blank with just the sort of impactive finale a low-level criminal comic book character could usually only dream about.
For starters, the mutant’s depressingly unhappy life is wonderfully interwoven throughout the wannabe hero’s desperate attempt to escape a literal army of Kraven’s deadly Hunter-Bots in Central Park. Repeatedly shot, stabbed and bludgeoned in the modern day, the rapidly deteriorating 'Ape-Venger' demonstrates an endearing desire to simply be left alone following a childhood haunted by name-calling and brutal bullying. Yet this publication’s entire 52,075 strong audience already know the pitiable pleas of the harmless villain will fall upon all-too deaf ears; “What I want is you mounted and stuffed in my den.”
Of course, the America author still grants both the Gibbon, and in turn any semi-compassionate bibliophile, a modicum of hope that the brutally beaten former member of the Legion Of Losers won’t end up being fatally scalped, by having the rampaging Rhino run straight through Marty’s numerous pursuers just as his demise seems certain. The mutilated man’s seemingly successful last gasp flight for freedom, coupled with the memories of his happy partnership alongside Grizzly and marriage to Princess Python, momentarily even indicates that a happy ending to this comic might possibly be on the cards.
However, this hope soon comes crashing down around Blank’s head, when his ailing strength finally fails him whilst hiding in a tree and he is subsequently shot by a Hunter-Bot who supposedly does it as an act of kindness. Mortally wounded, and unable to even talk because of his physical trauma, the Gibbon’s sad passing in the lap of Spider-Man is unbelievably moving, and undoubtedly must have made his new-found admirers yearn for a far more agreeably happy outcome to this special edition of Spencer’s “Hunted” story-arc.
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| Writer: Nick Spencer, Artist: Ken Lashley, and Color Artist: Erick Arciniega |
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