Return of the Spot: Why Fred Van Lente Rocks

[TCJohnson]

I mean, besides that whole Incredible Hercules stuff.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #589
Written by FRED VAN LENTE
Pencils by PAULO SIQUEIRA
Cover by KLAUS JANSON, CHRIS ELIOPOULOS & DEAN WHITE
CHARACTER ASSASSINATION may be over, but the troubles keep coming as Spidey's old nemesis THE SPOT returns deadlier than ever! Wait. Did we just use "The Spot" and "deadlier" in the same sentence? You better believe it -- with his teleportation powers, he's poised to make a name for himself as an unstoppable killer for hire, and the only thing standing between him and his latest target is your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!


http://www.comicbookresources.com/images/solicits/marvelcomics/200903/ASM589_COV.jpg

C'mon, Scout, I can't be the only one who loves this!

[scout1279]

You so are not. I would have been excited enough for Van Lente doing an issue of ASM OR The Spot returning. The both of them together might make my head explode.

Now, if someone would just bring back White Rabbit.

[RachelEvil]

Neat. I liked the Spot in Modok's Eleven.

[mgs]

there's only ONE reason why Van Lente rocks, and that would be, Action Philosophers! :wink:

[TCJohnson]

"Spot? Spot? Where are you, Spot?"

"Why do I get the villains who make me sound like I am calling a puppy?"

[Venom Melendez]

I haven't seen Spot since Modok's Eleven.



Man, Much Like Hammerhead Spot never stays dead.


But yay i love the spot

[escapegoat]

Van Lente's been doing some great stuff these last couple of years, and his Spot was awesome in MODOK's 11....so I'm in on picking this one up.

[Tetsuo_man]

The Spot returning to spider-man, can someone say nostalia fest?

[Tetsuo_man]

Damn double post. Thought this didn't go through a couple of minutes ago.

[scout1279]

there's only ONE reason why Van Lente rocks, and that would be, Action Philosophers! :wink:
Nah, he pretty much rocks for everything.

The Spot returning to spider-man, can someone say nostalia fest?
No, a nostalgia fest would bring back The Spot and Frog Man. This is merely nostalgic. But if there's a good story to be told about the return of The Spot. There's nothing wrong with that. When it's a problem is in stories like "Kraven's First Hunt" where Vermin showed up for no good goddamn reason other than that he was in "Kraven's Last Hunt." But that brings up a whole other issue of why I find ASM so frustrating right now, which I don't want to get into. This is a thread about how awesome Fred Van Lente is.

[TCJohnson]

This is a thread about how awesome Fred Van Lente is.

And how awesome the Spot is...in a really pathetic way.

Now we just have to wait for The Answer to come back.

[scout1279]

And how awesome the Spot is...in a really pathetic way.

Now we just have to wait for The Answer to come back.

I always thought pathetic sort of villains suited Spider-Man really well. I mean, you need the big threats like Doc Ock and whatnot, but the pathetic ones are sometimes more interesting for a lot of reasons. Peter's the kind of superhero who would almost feel bad for them. He'd feel sorry for himself for having lame villains, but he'd also feel sorry for them for being lame. Those aren't the kinds of stories you can tell with many other characters, because most characters are only as good as who they can beat up.

[Venom Melendez]

You know what we need?

Van Lente writting a Spot/Deadpool Team-up.

[Flying Saucers Over Oz]

He... tried with POWER PACK. I'll give him that. The rubbish with the Fantastic Four aside, he was clearly making an attempt to do right by them...

But if he's doing a bang-up job elsewhere, great for him. Let him be appreciated.

[Venom Melendez]

He... tried with POWER PACK. I'll give him that. The rubbish with the Fantastic Four aside, he was clearly making an attempt to do right by them...

But if he's doing a bang-up job elsewhere, great for him. Let him be appreciated.

The Power Pack mini's have been fun and his Marvel Adventures stuff is cool and his MODOK"S 11 was awesome.

He also co-writes Incredible Hercules which is awesome.


Van Lente is awesome.

[Briareos]

He created the new Scorpion who is a interesting character

[Ian Boothby]

He's a very good writer.

[Cayman]

His X-Men Noir is a lot of fun so far, and Dennis Calero's art is sexy.

[Gail Simone]

I need to read his stuff!

[escapegoat]

I need to read his stuff!

Then be sure to hunt out Super-Villain Team-UP MODOK's 11 first. I think it may be up your alley, considering the fact that you write a super-villain title as well. Lots of fun twists and turns...plus MODOK!!!!

How could anyone not like MODOK?

[Charles RB]

Monica Rappacini probably doesn't like him much.

[scout1279]

Saw this on Newsarama, figured I'd share it, even if only TC is interested.

Goofball Triumphant: Fred Van Lente on The Spot (http://www.newsarama.com/comics/010920-Spider-Man-Spot.html)

I appreciate the fact that Van Lente is trying to make The Spot a more legitimate threat, because he really does have a lot of potential with his power set. I still think Spider-Man should have some goofy, inept villains though. This is why we need the return of White Rabbit.

[stealthwise]

His X-Men Noir is a lot of fun so far, and Dennis Calero's art is sexy.

Van Lente is writing that? It had to be the stupidest concept to come out of Marvel in a while (next to OMD).

Anyways, yeah, Van Lente's Spot was great in Modok's 11:

"I fought Spider-Man once!"

"I lost!"

[Cayman]

Van Lente is writing that? It had to be the stupidest concept to come out of Marvel in a while (next to OMD).


Why exactly?

[scout1279]

I love X-Men Noir so, so, so much. It is the most clever AU/Elseworld type story I have ever read, especially with regard to how Van Lente has translated the characters without their powers. The recreation of 1930s New York is fantastic too, but Van Lente doing his research shouldn't come as a surprise. Plus, the art rocks.

[Tobias March]

Neat. I liked the Spot in Modok's Eleven.

I loved that book so much.

In fact I thought I saw some resemblances - even down to character roles - between it an Gail's original Villains United book.