Retro Review: "Spider-Man: The Last Stand"

We've now come to the final act of Mark Millar's Spider-Man run, "The Last Stand."

PREVIOUSLY IN MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN: With no new leads on Aunt May or her kidnapper, Spider-Man had to deal with a new Venom after Eddie Brock sold off the symbiote in a criminal underground auction. In the aftermath of that, Aunt May's kidnapper contacted Peter and set up a meeting.

"The Last Stand" begins in issue nine with a heartfelt flashback to a 13 year old Peter with Uncle Ben. Peter is upset thinking about how much older Ben and May are compared to his classmates' parents, and is worried about them dying and him being left alone. Ben consoles Peter by telling him about his and May's relatives who had lived long lives, assuring Peter that he isn't going anywhere. One moment of tragic irony and a lifetime spiral of death and misery later brings us to the present. Basically Peter's thinking about all the people who have died due to Peter's life as Spider-Man from Gwen Stacy and her father, to Harry Osborn, Jean DeWolffe and so many others, worrying that Aunt May is next on the list. I snark, but it's amazing just how many people have died during Peter's career as Spider-Man, and yet he still keeps fighting on with his upbeat and joking personality.
We then cut to Peter having his meeting with the kidnapper, and he has no idea who he is. The kidnapper feels insulted that he has to spell it out.
Before I reveal who it is, when this story was first coming out, my big theory was that it was Ben Reilly, Peter's clone from the Clone Saga of the 90's. Honestly, the only thing I had to base that on was the instances shown of the kidnapper having powers similar to Spider-Man. Ben being the kidnapper was a bit of a stretch, considering Marvel had seemed to be wanting to distance themselves from the Clone Saga as much as they could at the time. But Ben had been mentioned through Millar's run twice already, so it seemed possible. Still, it did seem kind of crazy that Ben would come back as a villain. I mean, could you imagine--

Oh right. Well, at least Peter David and Christos Gage gave him a prompt redemption story; and though his solo series was cancelled, hopefully we see him back soon.
Anyway, it turns out the kidnapper was actually Mac Gargan, the Scorpion. It was kind of a letdown, but it was probably just my high hopes of seeing Ben Reilly come back since I was a big fan of the character.
Peter then slams Mac against a nearby building, cracking the window on impact. Mac warns him that if he threatens him again or doesn't listen to him, May's as good as dead. The two sit at a café and Mac reveals that it was indeed Norman Osborn who told him and hired him to kidnap May; they play this off as a big twist, even though Osborn pretty much said this was the case way back in the first act. I don't care if Osborn acted like he was lying, Millar pretty much gave away the motivation from the start. Admittedly, there is more to Osborn's plan, as Mac says May's kidnapping was an insurance policy. Mac explains that once superheroes started popping up in the 1940's, rich businessmen and corporations were worried that the do-gooders would turn their attention to them and their own shady deeds. So to keep the heroes distracted, they basically created the supervillains, with handlers assigning them to specific heroes. Even Osborn was one of the proprietors of the conspiracy until he went crazy and became a supervillain himself. While Bush and Clinton apparently put an end to these programs, those in charge of the cabal never saw any jailtime. I'm not totally against this idea. I mean, it wouldn't be the case for all supervillains, but it's interesting. I kind of see it as how comic book superhero stories escalated, since Superman's first appearance dealt with him serving social justice and taking down corrupt officials. Even comic book readers would be more interested in a colorful costumed villain than some businessman in a suit. It also kind of reminds me of how supervillains are done on the Venture Bros., with villains being assigned enemies based on their threat levels.
With Osborn in jail, the cabal is worried about him spilling secrets so they've arranged for Dr. Octopus to be brainwashed to kill Osborn. With that threat imminent, Mac tells Peter that Osborn wants him to break him out. Peter of course tells him to forget it, but Mac reminds him that May will die if he doesn't, and that there's no other way to save her.
After their meeting, Peter heads home where one of his students, Humberto, is waiting outside since Peter said he would help him with a paper. With everything going on, Peter wants to give Humberto a raincheck, but the paper's due tomorrow. Peter relents and promises Humberto ten minutes. This is another good guy Peter moment I like; Peter could have just blown him off or gave him an extension, but no, even dealing with what he's asked to do, he still takes the time to help a kid interested in science as he is.
The final scene of the issue shows Mac going back to his apartment to pick up his new Scorpion suit, but the Venom symbiote is waiting, wanting to form a new partnership. Mac is hesitant saying he has enough friends, but the symbiote replies "You never had a friend like me before." The issue ends there, but I have this sneaking suspicion that the symbiote broke into a dance number to convince him to bond.

Issue ten begins with Spider-Man at Uncle Ben's grave, with a restored headstone, apologizing that he's about to break the law, but it's the only way to save May. We then cut to Peter and Mary Jane's apartment, where she's trying to convince Peter not to do this since it's just Osborn manipulating their lives again. Peter reiterates he has no choice, and then he and Black Cat head to the prison. To make sure Spider-Man isn't seen doing a prison break, he's wearing black baggy clothes and mask over his regular costume. Before they head inside, Felicia offers Peter the chance to back out and allow her to be the one to break Osborn out; her criminal past can allow her to bear this on her conscience, but she knows it would be harder for Peter. While he appreciates the sentiment, the two head in as planned.
They manipulate the security system to break Osborn out, only for guards to eventually discover him missing and sound the alarm. Spidey, Cat, and Osborn are escaping through the sewer system when they encounter a maintenance worker who radios the guards when he sees them. Osborn tackles him against the wall and makes a break for it, with Cat going after him while Spidey stays behind to check on the worker. Guards then arrive and shoot at Spidey, who submerges himself in the water, staying under so he can get far enough away from the prison. It's going well until the water itself seems to jettison him onto a pier. It turns out it's Hydro-Man, and Sandman is there too holding Black Cat down. Spidey then looks up and sees Norman fully dressed as the Green Goblin and on his glider. Goblin finds it hilarious that Spider-Man actually thought he would have kept his end of the deal, remarking that May only has an hour left to live, and that his last act involved him breaking the law. Spidey and Cat then find themselves surrounded by more villains which Goblin dubs the Sinister Twelve; the other members include Shocker, Lizard, Electro, Vulture, Chameleon, Boomerang, Hammerhead, and Tombstone. Goblin remarks that it's a shame Scorpion didn't show, only for the issue to end with Mac Gargan arriving as the new host of the Venom symbiote.

Issue eleven begins with Goblin surprised and somewhat insulted that Mac isn't wearing the new Scorpion suit he made him, with Mac arguing that being the new Venom is even more of an upgrade. Goblin sets his own pride aside to allow the villains to put an end to Spider-Man while he goes off to kill Mary Jane. Spidey and Cat begin battling the villains only for Cat to be electrocuted and knocked out by Electro. Now alone and surrounded by his enemies, Spider-Man fights on, knowing this could be how he dies and that he let down Mary Jane and Aunt May.
I want to take a timeout from the story though to say that the idea of a Sinister Twelve isn't a bad one, but here, it doesn't live up to its potential. Chameleon, Boomerang, Tombstone, and Hammerhead are barely involved or seen in the fight, and hell, I actually had to look up Wikipedia to identify Hammerhead and Tombstone since the art kind of obscures them in the Sinister Twelve reveal two page spread in issue ten. Besides that, I kind of wish they had more well-known or powerful Spidey villains involved. I mean, Boomerang? Seriously? And Chameleon's whole schtick is being a master of disguise; what does he have to offer here? Why not Mysterio, Rhino, or Molten Man? And comparing this to "Hush", at least the villains involved there had a part to play in the master plan against Batman. Here, it just feels like they threw in whoever they could.
Thankfully for Spidey though, Mary Jane called in the cavalry through SHIELD, who sent in the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and Daredevil, who help fight the villains and get Cat to safety. Cap says they got this so Spider-Man can go help Mary Jane, who has already been kidnapped by the Goblin. Spidey races through the city only to be blindsided by Venom. The two have a pretty cool battle over the streets, leading to Venom shooting out multiple symbiote tendrils across the buildings and then using them to tear down pieces to crash down on the people below. Spidey moves fast though and is able to catch the rubble in a giant web before anyone is hit; and for the first time since this run began, Spidey gets some actual praise from the citizens. Spidey then pulls out all the stops on Venom, finally defeating him by pulling down a condemned building on top of him. Spidey takes a second to make sure no one else is hurt before going on his way to help MJ. This is the last we see of Venom in this story, and it's worth noting that Gargan would remain as Venom until 2010. In terms of a successor, Gargan wasn't too bad; he definitely had more of the villainous edge Angelo was missing in the last act.
Meanwhile at Riker's Penitentiary, a group of doctors are discussing Osborn's escape over a seemingly unconscious Dr. Octopus, who awakens at the mere mention of Osborn. The doctors try to keep him under control since the brainwashing isn't a precise science and he needs guidance. But there's no going back since Ock has summoned his arms, killing the doctors and going about his mission. I'm at least glad to see Ock with a little more dignity than he was shown in the previous act, even if he was doped up on tranquilizers.
Finding the apartment empty, Spider-Man uses his instincts to try and find Mary Jane, leading him to the Brooklyn Bridge, where he sees Goblin holding her unconscious. The issue ends with a splash page of Goblin's smug face asking "Look familiar, Mister Parker?" For a penultimate issue, it's a pretty ominous cliffhanger.

Issue twelve begins with Spidey trying to talk sense into the Goblin, who's just enjoying watching him squirm, until they're interrupted by the arrival of Doc Ock. It's also worth mentioning that it's started raining, adding more to the ambiance of the situation. Ock's tentacles knock Mary Jane out of Goblin's grasp, but Goblin blasts Ock back with some pumpkin bombs. The distraction allows for Spidey to web his glider and slam Goblin down. The two begin to battle while MJ comes to, pulling out her gun and getting two shots into Goblin. The kickback sends MJ over the edge of the bridge though. As she falls, Peter thinks back to what happened to Gwen, learning from his mistakes then and shooting multiple weblines at MJ to ensure a safe stop. While pulling her back up, Goblin tries to crush them with his own glider, only to be stopped by Ock. As the two villains struggle, lightning strikes the glider, shocking them as well and causing them to fall from the bridge into the water. After Peter and MJ embrace each other, Peter remarks that there's no way of finding May in time, until something clicks in his head. He then swings off, leaving MJ on top of the bridge and telling her to wait for the police. Oh yeah Pete, just leave your wife at the very top of a tall bridge in the middle of a thunderstorm. You know it could have taken you probably five seconds to drop her down to street level.
Peter remembers choice words from both Osborn and Gargan and how they described May's situation, as well as remembering Rachel's vision from the previous act. He puts it together that May had been drugged and buried alive in the cemetery right next to Uncle Ben's grave. Peter is able to dig her out, and while he thinks he's too late at first, she eventually starts breathing again, and Peter embraces her. I will say though that Rachel's vision of the tombstone in the previous act was a clever foreshadowing to her location.
In the aftermath, all the villains are taken into custody, except for Osborn who was never recovered from the river, Felicia is healing in the hospital, the new Scorpion is being sold at auction, and Jameson is praising Spider-Man since he still thinks it's his son, John. There's also a scene with Aunt May finding Peter sulking at a spot he occasionally goes to on the Brooklyn Bridge, who first comforts him by telling him that she's moving back into the old house, which the new owner is allowing her to rent at a good price, and selling the new apartment she was going to move into gives Peter and MJ enough to pay off their debts (so there's that subplot resolved). Peter is still upset though that him being Spider-Man put her in so much danger, but she reminds him that it's because he's Spider-Man that he was able to save her and so many others in the past, signifying his importance by giving him his costume which she had brought in a bag. She then makes a crack about how Mary Jane says he throws a hissy-fit over being Spider-Man like this every so often before he eventually regains his senses as they head home to have some wheatcakes.
This story finally comes to an end with a letter Osborn sends to Peter, congratulating him on once again besting him, that he lives for their battles, and in a sick way, hopes there are no hard feelings. Yeesh, and I thought Joker had an unhealthy obsession with Batman.

I'd consider "The Last Stand" to be my favorite of the three acts of this story, since it gets right to the point, has some pretty climactic moments with Spidey against Goblin and Venom, and it wraps up everything very well. Plus, it's the act that doesn't remind me of my hatred of "One More Day" like the others did.
Despite my nit-picking through all these posts, I overall find Mark Millar's "Marvel Knights Spider-Man" run pretty serviceable. While the plot can run a little slow (especially in "Venomous"), Millar does get Peter's character and relationships right, and it features a good variety of his rogue's gallery, even if some of it is underutilized. Terry Dodson's art style is also very unique, giving it a different feel compared to other Spider-Man stories. I can't really recommend it to brand new readers, but if you're well versed in Spider-Man knowledge through maybe movie, games, or cartoons, it's definitely worth a look, though it really should be read in one setting.