The Amazing Spider-Man #689

The cover is kind of cool, decent layout, but if you've read the previous issue, it seems really off. Then as you read the issue, you see what it's going for, but you know the whole time Morbius isn't himself. He's never the threat in the readers' mind. We KNOW he's being manipulated, and not even really being much of a threat.

I don't know what it is exactly, but Camuncoli's artwork just didn't seem as solid as it generally is on Spider-Man, certainly not as much as the previous issue. There were a lot more awkward faces and such. And actually there were a lot more awkward positions in the fight scenes. It was as kinetic as it can usually be. Something just seemed really off about Camuncoli's artwork this time around.

I've never been a fan of Morbius, despite being a HUGE fan of vampires; though that very may have been the cause. Morbius really ISN'T a vampire, he's just kind of almost sort of technically the scientific equivalent of a vampire. But lately he's REALLY endeared himself to me as a character. Dan Slott writes him in such a fun balance of personality types... mostly I forget he's supposed to be a vampire. I can classify him as simply a 'monster' and leave it be. He's such a tragic character but more of a self-aware and apologetic self server. He's..... really sympathetic, and Spider-Man ends up coming out looking like the asshole for constantly being so quick to judge and abuse him. But Spider-Man has some degree of reasonable cause.

But more than Morbius in this issue is The Lizard. I always DID like him, but he's so much more fascinating than I've ever seen him. The Lizard is the mind, and Curt Connors is the body. We get to see so much internal monologue from him, and to see his lingering intelligence and contrasting thoughts and actions REALLY add such a cool tone to the story. At this point I'm seeing why Shed is recommended pre-reading, because it is at this point I'm starting to question the logistics behind Curt Connors 'dying' and completely being swallowed up by The Lizard. As Morbius points out in the previous issue, it just doesn't make sense. Maybe Shed casts some light on that?

Knowing about Spider-Man's upcoming sidekick, Alpha, makes some of the scenes in this issue all the more intriguing. Spider-Man goes off on Uatu attempting to join in on the action, and then thinks to himself about keeping the inexperienced out of harm's way. What is going to happen in this arc to make him change his thinking?

And then there's Madame Web's whole future seeing thing.... eh. Maybe I'm jaded from Geoff Johns' overuse of that type of foreshadowing in GL.

WHY IS THIS $3.99? Don't say 'digital copy' because A: this series has been $3.99 LONG before they started including a digital copy and B: technically it says the digital copy is 'Free,' so Marvel's not trying to use it to justify the cost, they're trying to convince us that they're being nice by including it. I see your underhanded tricks Marvel. You should not have the gall to charge an extra dollar without adding extra actual content.

In Conclusion: 4/5

There's a lot of nice stuff in this issue, but there was a lot more that was off in this issue. The artwork wasn't as well executed, the story didn't do as much, and Madame Web's thing was kind of.... whatever. But The Lizard really shone brightly here, and this issue made me realize how much I genuinely enjoy Morbius under Dan Slott.