Chapters 3-7
Written by Diane Duane
The Plot:
Venom investigates CCRC, the company involved with the Hobgoblin’s
recent scheme in New York, and learns it’s providing material to Kennedy
Space Center. He travels to Florida and stops an illegal exchange of
radioactive material. He then interrogates a vice president of the
German-owned bank, Regners Wilhelm. Meanwhile, Peter visits the
Connors, and learns from William that Curt has been using the family’s
ATM card in various locations near the Everglades. Soon, Spider-Man
locates the Lizard, but their encounter is interrupted by Venom. When
the police arrive, Venom and the Lizard escape. Later, Peter and Vreni
Byrne separately investigate the connection between CCRC and Regners
Wilhelm. At the home of Jurgen Gottschalk, an ex- Regners Wilhelm
employee who’s on house arrest for money laundering, Venom appears. He
forces Jurgen to reveal the bank has been laundering money for an outfit
that is taking radioactive waste from Europe, converting it into
plutonium, and then sending it back overseas.
The Subplots:
MJ has a modeling job for a "high tech" campaign that could send her
to Kennedy Space Center. She’s annoyed by Maurice, the flaky
photographer. Meanwhile, Peter learns from an ESU classmate that the
mysterious smoke is an experimental substance called “hydrogel.” He
discovers that it can’t be harmed by a sledgehammer or blue flame.
Elsewhere, a man named Fischer monitors Curt Connors’ activities.
I Love the ‘90s:
MJ buys Peter a cell phone to stay in touch while they’re in different
parts of Florida. She says it’s a "new netwide" cell phone that would
also work in New York. Peter worries about the cost. The phone’s
number is written on a sticker attached to its top. Peter writes the
number down in his address book.
Review:
Hmm…do you think this novel has enough plot threads? The evil
corporation from the first novel is back, a German-owned bank is
laundering money, there’s a scheme involving radioactive waste,
something fishy is going on at NASA, a mysterious group of men are
somehow controlling the Lizard by remote control, Spider-Man’s
discovered some kind of corporal smoke that’s invulnerable, MJ is on a
photo shoot that seems inevitably to be heading towards Kennedy Space
Center, plus Venom has also decided to get involved. I don’t doubt
Duane’s ability to draw all of these threads together, but the abundance of plot threads causes the novel to morph into scene after scene of Spider-Man/Peter
Parker, Vreni, and Venom all investigating this complicated conspiracy
involving money laundering and illegal smuggling. It’s honestly not the
most interesting subject in the world, and the stakes just don’t feel
as high as they felt in the previous novel.
The
basic mysteries involving what the smoke substance is and why the
seemingly mindless Lizard would steal it are fine, but these are the
most interesting questions and they receive the least amount of
attention. The Venom Factor
had a certain tension that ran throughout the book, culminating in the
Hobgoblin’s threat to unleash a dirty bomb in Manhattan. This novel
spends over a hundred pages having characters slowly discover corporate
espionage and a possible cover-up at NASA. I realize that rogue nukes
(or at least the potential to create nuclear material) play a part in
this story as well, but there doesn’t seem to be anyone in the story
that’s either crazy or competent enough to actually be a threat with
them.
So,
while the main story drags, the novel relies on Duane’s
characterization skills to maintain the reader’s interest. Peter and MJ
are still written as a fun couple, and there’s a cute bit about Peter
forgetting to turn off his cell phone, because MJ won’t stop calling
him, while hiding from the police in the Everglades. Martha Connors is
fleshed out for perhaps the first time, as Duane does a great job
dramatizing just how lonely her life is. Venom even has his moments,
doing a better job investigating the conspiracy than either Peter or
Vreni. Partially because he’s willing to terrorize people into giving
him the information he wants, but also because he’s not that bad of a
reporter. I also like that his motivation to go to Florida is partially
to investigate CCRC, partially to stop the Lizard (and “correct” one of
Spider-Man’s mistakes), and partially to look for another excuse to
fight Spider-Man. I do have to question, however, Venom’s unusual
passion for companies obeying environmental regulations to the letter of
the law, which is how one of his interrogation scenes plays out.
Suddenly casting him as an ardent environmentalist just seems like a
strange choice.
2 comments:
It's probably partially based on the Anne Nocenti Venom mini series, which I believe was released in 1994.
While Venom wasn't an environmentalist, he befriended some people who were, and as a vigilante interested in justice, he had no problem targeting corporations destroying the environment and hurting people with their pollution.
MJ buys Peter a cell phone to stay in touch while they’re in different parts of Florida. She says it’s a "new netwide" cell phone that would also work in New York. Peter worries about the cost. The phone’s number is written on a sticker attached to its top. Peter writes the number down in his address book.
Ha!
Post a Comment