cyberghostface (![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} cyberghostface) wrote in ![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} scans_daily,@ 2009-08-13 18:41:00 |
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gloomy
The Show Must Go On
This was brought up numerous times in the previous Amazing Spider-Man thread, so I decided to post it once and for all. In my opinion, it's one of the better Chameleon stories out there. Not surprisingly, Marvel has all but forgotten it.
On a related note, this was the first Spidey story written by Paul Jenkins. He would later become the writer for Peter Parker Spider-Man and Spectacular Spider-Man.
The story originally appeared in Webspinners - Tales of Spider-Man #10-12. It was an anthology title of sorts that ran alongside the Howard Mackie reboot. At the time, most considered it to be the superior Spider-Man title, but it had little promotion and was cancelled after eighteen issues.
So basically, Chameleon tells Peter he has MJ at the Brooklyn Bridge. There, he orders Spider-Man to take off his mask. The two have a conversation, and Peter realizes that the Chameleon doesn't have MJ after all--it's just a hologram.
Chameleon tells the story of the man who goes to a doctor--he's depressed and wants to kill himself. The doctor tells him to see the famous clown Grimaldi to cheer him up, but the man tells him that he is Grimaldi.
Being that this is the place that Gwen has died, Peter realizes that he's run the scenario through his head a million times now of what he could have done differently, and this is his chance to try again.
The story continued on for another issue, although for the most part, it was just an epilogue. Peter's guilt over the Chameleon's death was explored in the opening scene.
So how was Chameleon's death dealt with after this? Well, in Ron Zimmerman's disastrous "Call Me Al" miniseries, Chameleon's back and believes that he's Kraven. No explanation for his death is given. Later, the Spider-Man Encyclopedia states that his body washed ashore, alive, and taken to Ravencroft.
The only time Jenkins' story was ever addressed to the best of my knowledge was in Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's Civil War arc in which Chameleon organizes a group of Spidey villains to go after Spidey. The following scene has a monologue in which Chameleon recaps his previous appearances.
To Roberto's credit, he does a good job at referencing continuity and trying to piece together the mess that others have gone before him. At the same time, while the bridge scene is referenced, all the character development that Chameleon went through in Webspinners is now gone, and Chameleon's back to being yet another "Kill that pestering Spider-Man!" villain. Which is a shame, if you ask me.
So basically, Chameleon tells Peter he has MJ at the Brooklyn Bridge. There, he orders Spider-Man to take off his mask. The two have a conversation, and Peter realizes that the Chameleon doesn't have MJ after all--it's just a hologram.
Chameleon tells the story of the man who goes to a doctor--he's depressed and wants to kill himself. The doctor tells him to see the famous clown Grimaldi to cheer him up, but the man tells him that he is Grimaldi.
Being that this is the place that Gwen has died, Peter realizes that he's run the scenario through his head a million times now of what he could have done differently, and this is his chance to try again.
The story continued on for another issue, although for the most part, it was just an epilogue. Peter's guilt over the Chameleon's death was explored in the opening scene.
So how was Chameleon's death dealt with after this? Well, in Ron Zimmerman's disastrous "Call Me Al" miniseries, Chameleon's back and believes that he's Kraven. No explanation for his death is given. Later, the Spider-Man Encyclopedia states that his body washed ashore, alive, and taken to Ravencroft.
The only time Jenkins' story was ever addressed to the best of my knowledge was in Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's Civil War arc in which Chameleon organizes a group of Spidey villains to go after Spidey. The following scene has a monologue in which Chameleon recaps his previous appearances.
To Roberto's credit, he does a good job at referencing continuity and trying to piece together the mess that others have gone before him. At the same time, while the bridge scene is referenced, all the character development that Chameleon went through in Webspinners is now gone, and Chameleon's back to being yet another "Kill that pestering Spider-Man!" villain. Which is a shame, if you ask me.