THE VIBRANIUM VENDETTA (1991)
Part One
Amazing Spider-Man Annual #25
Amazing Spider-Man Annual #25
"The Spider and the Ghost"
Writer: David Michelinie
Penciler: Guang Yap
Inker: Jeff Albrecht
Part Two
Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #11
"The Ghost and the Machine"
Writer: David Michelinie
Artist: Marie Severin
Part Three
Web of Spider-Man Annual #7
"The Machine and the Man"
Writer: David Michelinie
Pencilers: Guang Yap
Inkers: Aiken & LaRosa
Story:
Instead of giving you a short overview of this story (and in so doing, inevitably selling off some of the twists and punches), I'll simply give you a list of some of the most interesting characters and briefly tell you what their agenda is. That way, you'll get the idea of what's going on, who's involved, but you'll have no idea what the heck happens. Clever, no? ;-)
Story:
Instead of giving you a short overview of this story (and in so doing, inevitably selling off some of the twists and punches), I'll simply give you a list of some of the most interesting characters and briefly tell you what their agenda is. That way, you'll get the idea of what's going on, who's involved, but you'll have no idea what the heck happens. Clever, no? ;-)
Roxxon Oil: The infamous company (along with Jonas Hale) is back with a new revolutionary material called "nuform", a synthetic metal that imitates the properties of the very rare and expensive vibranium. They're planning to market it very soon, but what they're not telling the public is that the new compound has the nasty habit of degenerating into "Arctic vibranium" which melts all metals in its immediate vicinity. Can you imagine that happening to skyscrapers, airplanes, bridges? Well, Roxxon doesn't give a damn as long as it can make a quick buck.
Arthur Dearborn: Yup, he's back too, still at Roxxon's employ, still as blind as ever to the company's dirty dealings. And if Dearborn is back, can Sunturion be far away?
The Black Panther: T'Challa is a very nervous man. If the rumours are true, if Roxxon really has discovered a way to create a cheap substitute to vibranium, then his country (the world's sole source of vibranium) is in big trouble.
The Ghost: One of IM's all-time greatest foe's been hired by the Kingpin to steal the nuform formula from Roxxon and cause enough destruction to set the company back a few years, enough time for the Kingpin to come up with his own version of it.
Ultron-13: Shortly after his defeat at the hands of the Avengers West (AWC #68), Ultron escapes the Guardsmen who were escorting him back to the Vault. He needs to find a new gambit to destroy all life on Earth, and he finds it… synthesized vibranium is just what he needs to build his invincible robotic army, and he's not going to let anyone stand in his way.
Iron Man and Spidey: Throw them in the mix and what you get is the Vibranium Vendetta. What more can I say?
What's cool:Whaddaya mean, what's cool? Isn't it obvious? This is a story written by David Michelinie for starters, generally acclaimed as THE best writer to ever tackle Iron Man (and who also did an amazing job on the Spider-Man book, he's the creator of Carnage after all!) It features The Ghost and Sunturion, two of IM's coolest villains EVER! It also features Ultron, truly one of the most powerful and interesting foe the Avengers have ever fought. You get the Black Panther and Spidey on top of all that, and you still wanna know what's cool?? Maaaan… tough customers! I should also mention that the three covers are drawn by Spidey artist extraordinaire and creator of the Savage Dragon; Erik Larson. Verrrrrry nice.
What's baaad:Okay, so this is a very cool story. But, aside from the covers, the art is not great. I wouldn't say it's bad either, just that it's not great. Part two, in particular, is below par, in my modest opinion. It's a shame such a cool story didn't get the great art it deserved. It would've made it an instant classic. But let's not forget that, in those days, Marvel often hired completely unknown artists for its annuals and the final result was not always a pleasant surprise.
What's cool:Whaddaya mean, what's cool? Isn't it obvious? This is a story written by David Michelinie for starters, generally acclaimed as THE best writer to ever tackle Iron Man (and who also did an amazing job on the Spider-Man book, he's the creator of Carnage after all!) It features The Ghost and Sunturion, two of IM's coolest villains EVER! It also features Ultron, truly one of the most powerful and interesting foe the Avengers have ever fought. You get the Black Panther and Spidey on top of all that, and you still wanna know what's cool?? Maaaan… tough customers! I should also mention that the three covers are drawn by Spidey artist extraordinaire and creator of the Savage Dragon; Erik Larson. Verrrrrry nice.
What's baaad:Okay, so this is a very cool story. But, aside from the covers, the art is not great. I wouldn't say it's bad either, just that it's not great. Part two, in particular, is below par, in my modest opinion. It's a shame such a cool story didn't get the great art it deserved. It would've made it an instant classic. But let's not forget that, in those days, Marvel often hired completely unknown artists for its annuals and the final result was not always a pleasant surprise.
There's another thing that bugs me, but to explain my point, I'm going to have to go political on y'all, so forgive me in advance. Michelinie writes another story in all three annuals, a shorter one featuring the Outlaws (a team composed of Silver Sable, Rocket Racer, Prowler and Will-O-The-Wisp). I don't care much for these characters to begin with, but this particular mission was of interest to me because it takes them to my beautiful homeland: Québec. In the story, the Outlaws must infiltrate the hideout of a «political extremist» and a «zealot» who's kidnapped the daughter of some Canadian member of Parliament. Michelinie seems to have a thing for imaginary Québécois «political extremists», because he wrote another story about that, in the pages of Justice League Task Force, in which the heroes had to combat evil French-Canadian «extremists» and «separatists». That issue in question actually created quite a bit of a scandal here when it came out.
I know this is just fiction, but still… it shows a great deal of ignorance for the political situation of Québec and also vehiculates stupid stereotypes about us (the Québécois bad guy is made to look like a stereotyped Frenchman, curly mustache and all, for Pete's sake). It would be like somebody writing a story in which the Defenders must battle the evil and extremist Republicans from Texas… imagine the stir! When it looks and smells too much like biased political propaganda, that's what it is. This story, in my humble opinion, greatly insults the democratic nature of Québec sovereignists. Yes, some people here wish to see the province secede from Canada in a democratic fashion and it's got nothing to do with extremism, kidnapping or terrorism in any way.
So, Mr. Michelinie, I'm a great fan of your work, but in your next Québec story (I do hope there is one), please leave the political lunatics aside, ok? Thanks! And if you need a hand to make it look more genuine and less insulting, drop me a mail! Chuck Austen appreciated my help recently in writing a more believable Northstar, so I'm sure you would too.
Quote:
Quote:
After being hired by the Kingpin, the Ghost says: "So I'll accept your fee for stealing their secrets! The destruction… I'll do for free!"
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