Trainin', Mom-Surprisin', Slappin' Fun!

So I went through about seven issues of Amazing Spider-Man and came up with nothin', but then I get to the first story arc of the Black Cat from Amazing Spider-Man #194 and 195 and it has everything we love!

It has ODD NAMES! (tm!)

Well, that is an unfortunate handle.  Seriously, don't give your kids a name that is a pun.  Life is hard enough.

It has RANDOM  SLAPS! (tm!)

Slap her back, Pete.  No jury would ever convict you.

It has the ORIGIN MONTAGE! (tm!): 

Apparently she "trained for years" wearing the same blue leotard.

I presume the cat is there for symbolism only, because most cats aren't interested in you enough to watch you do stuff unless you're using a can opener.

Not that I have anything against cats.  I love cats, but they tend to do their own thing.

Anyway, it even has FUN WITH OUT OF CONTEXT DIALOGUE! (tm!)

And finally, the OFF-CAMERA DEATH! (tm!):

I admit I fell for that last one.  I was pretty young when I read this the first time, and I naively thought they were being awesome by just having May pass away off-camera.  Of course, now I realize that there was no way they were going to end the never-ending "Poor Aunt May's Weak Heart!" storyline, but it would have been awesome had they really gone that way.

See you tomorrow!

All the News We Think You Need to Know!

So I'm reading my fourth "Press Guardian" story, and I'm more convinced than ever that they're just making things up as the go along.  We've already changed the main character's name and costume, so anything goes. 

For example:

So the girl he rescued from the Moroniabund figured out who the Press Guardian was... probably because he waltzed around without a mask in front of her last issue.  But who is Perry's valet?  Heck if I know, and I've been reading this from the beginning!

Well, it's not the greatest mystery.  His name is "The Press Guardian," and he only seems to be interested in things that directly affect his father's newspaper.  And he usually wears the same suit after he puts his mask on, and it's a really pronounced green color.  You don't exactly need a Rosetta Stone to figure this one out.

Anyway, on to more pressing questions, like...

How is he able to shrug off bullets?  That has yet to be explained and since they keep going back to that ability, they really need to explain it.  It's starting to grind my gears a bit.

And now, an off-screen death:

Well, that was quite an afterthought.  When and how did the leader of the graft ring kill himself?  It seems like a story centered on the art of journalism would be a bit more forthcoming in the details.  This must have been the predecessor of Fox News.  ZING!

See you tomorrow!