WEB OF SPIDER-MAN Annual #9 - June 1993

The Origin of the Cadre

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Nelson Ortega (penciler), Don Hudson (inker), Joe Rosen (letterer), Marie Javins (colorist)

The Plot: Three mysterious babies are left on the doorstep of a monastery. The children (Shard, Vortex, and Dementia) are raised by the Knights Templar, and left ignorant of their connection to the Hellbent. Calling themselves the Cadre, the orphans reach young adulthood and sneak out of the monastery. On the night they leave, the monastery is assaulted by the Hellbent.

The Subplots: Gregori, one of the Knights Templar, is worried about the “potential danger” of the Cadre’s “cursed heritage.” Later, when the Hellbent attack, they boast that the Knights have been betrayed by someone named Seth.

Gimmicks: Like all of Marvel’s 1993 annuals, this comic comes polybagged with a trading card spotlighting the fantastic new characters introduced this issue.

Review: Ah, so the Hellbent are something Kavanagh carries from book to book with him. I bet they’re even in his Moon Knight run, aren’t they? Just like their portrayal in X-Man, this is too vague to really be engaging, although Kavanagh does work an admirable amount of plot into just a few pages. The structure of this annual is odd, as we’re getting a short story spotlighting the new characters before the main story, starring the title hero, appears.

Chaos Is the Cadre!

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Chris Marrinan (penciler), Keith Williams (inker), Jon Babcock, Joe Rosen, & Rick Parker (letters), Joe Rosas (colorist)

The Plot: Peter and MJ’s romantic dinner is interrupted by the Cadre, who are running amok in Manhattan. Spider-Man tries to run interference between the teens and Code: Blue, but the violence doesn’t stop until one of the Knight Templars, Chloe, arrives. She takes the Cadre away with her, declaring “the Shadowspawn” her responsibility.

The Subplots: Peter is still concerned with MJ’s smoking.

I Love the ‘90s: Peter refers to himself as “a ‘90s husband” when MJ questions if he’s okay with her paying the bill.

Review: The “real” story begins, but calling this a “story” is generous. Peter and MJ have their token domestic scene, MJ behaves irrationally because that’s how she tended to behave during this era of the books (although the in-story explanation has everyone in the area affected by Dementia’s powers), Spider-Man has a misunderstanding fight with the Cadre, and a mystery lady appears to take them away. Why, it’s almost as if this story has nothing to do with Spidey. I am glad to see Chris Marrinan on art, since I like his interpretation of Spider-Man and the action scenes look nice, but even he can’t save the ridiculous designs of the Cadre.

Things to Come

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Vince Evans (penciler), Bill Anderson (inker), Rick Parker (letterer), Mark Bernardo (colorist)

The Plot: Following the massacre at the monastery, the Cadre attempt to adjust to life with Chloe. Unbeknownst to her, the teens are determined to learn the identity of their mother.

The Subplots: Chloe is fearful that the Cadre will be recruited by Seth the Immortal.

*See _________ For Details: An event involving the Hellbent called the “Bloodline Agenda” is set to occur in Moon Knight #50. (A-ha! And are there any guesses as to who was writing Moon Knight at this time...?)

Review: Labeled the epilogue to the main story, this is presumably a character-building piece starring the Cadre. All we learn about them is that they’re sad the Knights who raised them are dead, and they want to find their mother. Also, Dementia seemed to be going nuts for a little while there, but she’s getting better now. I’m certainly riveted. Chloe gets a few pages of internal monologue to spell out the internal politics of the Hellbent, but the plot still seems needlessly confusing. Is this Hellbent stuff over with now?

Mayhem in the Streets

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Fred Haynes (penciler), Tim Tuohy (inker), Chris Eliopoulos (letterer), Dana Moreshead (colorist)

The Plot: Cloak and Dagger reluctantly face their former friend, Mayhem, who is killing local hoods. During their fight, Mayhem is apparently killed by one of Dagger’s light-daggers.

The Subplots: None.

Review: I’ll take a wild stab in the dark and guess that Mayhem is also a Terry Kavanagh creation that predates his run on Web of Spider-Man. I actually don’t mind Kavanagh pulling his past continuity into this book, assuming he’s telling stories that actually make sense and aren’t filled with vague, mystic nonsense. Perhaps Mayhem was supposed to have an extended arc that was cut short when Cloak and Dagger was cancelled, so he’s resolving it here. Fine. I’m not given enough information on Mayhem to actually care about the character, but maybe Cloak and Dagger fans got something out of this.

Opening Gambit

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Mark Powers (penciler), Hector Collazo (inker), Joe Rosen (letterer), Rob Tokar (colorist)

The Plot: While investigating the origins of his costume at ESU, Nightwatch stumbles across a burglar in a hi-tech, invisible suit. After defeating him, Nightwatch is shocked to discover he’s in the office of the girlfriend he believed dead.

The Subplots: None.

Review: How many stories are in this book?! Another story starring a Kooky Kavanagh Kreation, we’re now treated to Nightwatch recapping his origin and beating up someone who might be a member of the group his future self warned him of -- the Camouflage Cadre (which word does Kavanagh love more, Gauntlet or Cadre?). And, yes, that’s future X-editor Mark Powers providing the art. If you’re curious to see more his work, he also drew a Constrictor serial for Marvel Comics Presents. His art is a little too soft for my tastes, but it’s perfectly fine for an annual back-up, and it’s certainly easier on the eyes than the sloppy work displayed in the Cloak and Dagger piece. Nightwatch’s solo book is only a few months away, but we’re advised to see more of this arc in Web. It’s nothing special, but the revelation that Nightwatch’s beloved Ashley is still alive is potentially interesting. Is there anyone on the planet who read Nightwatch’s series? I realize this is probably a ridiculous question, but is it any good?

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN Annual #8 - August 1992

The Dark at the End of the Tunnel (The Hero Killers, Part Three)

Credits: David Michelinie (writer), Scott McDaniel (penciler), Keith Williams (inker), Steve Dutro (letterer), Bob Sharen (colorist)

The Plot: Spider-Man teams with the New Warriors to rescue their teammate, Speedball. They battle supervillains employed by Justin Hammer at the scientific research station where Speedball is being held. During the fight, Silhouette is kidnapped, and Firestar discovers the body of Gamma Flight’s Auric. Later, the united heroes find Auric’s sister, Silver. She inadvertently leads them into a trap, where Speedball’s powers are used against the heroes.

The Subplots: None.

*See _________ For Details: Speedball was kidnapped in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #26. The final installment of this storyline appears in New Warriors Annual #2.

Review: This is the only chapter of this crossover that I own, but the basic concept sounds promising. As the Sphinx explains on the final page, a group of villains are inverting the government’s Project Pegasus program and analyzing the powers of heroes for their own ends. Spider-Man’s research reveals that the conspiracy involves the Life Foundation, the Brand Corporation, and Justin Hammer, which is a nice cross-section of Marvel villains, and at least two Michelinie creations. I’ve always enjoyed stories that have villains forming alliances, and this plot sounds like a perfectly logical scheme, within the context of the Marvel Universe, for the villains to be pursuing. The rest of the story is an extended fight scene, competently rendered by a pre-stylized Scott McDaniel, which has Spider-Man and the New Warriors fighting a cross-section of Marvel villains that range from Rhino and Boomerang to obscure losers like Bombshell and Stiletto. It’s not deep, but it’s fun.

First Kill - Part Three

Credits: David Michelinie (writer), Aaron Lopresti (penciler), Bruce Jones (inker), Rick Parker (letterer), Kevin Tinsley (colorist)

The Plot: Venom kills Bruno Markham in retaliation for the murder of an inventor whose work was stolen by Markham. When the victim’s nephew expresses remorse for helping Markham take his work, Venom gives him a second chance. Later, Eddie Brock decides to bond with the alien symbiote permanently.

*See _________ For Details: This story is continued from Amazing Spider-Man Annual #26 and Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #12 (incorrectly listed as #11 in the footnotes).

Creative Differences: The narrative captions leading up to Markham’s death are clearly not lettered by Rick Parker.

Review: The ongoing Venom series of miniseries is about to begin, which is why this year’s Spider-annuals are running a prequel story that shows Venom as an anti-hero fighting for justice in his own warped way. This is only eight pages, and without the context of the previous chapters, it’s hard to make much of a judgment. I was never a fan of using Venom as a vigilante, though, and retroactively inserting quasi-heroic adventures into his past just sounds like a bad idea.

The Security Gauntlet

Credits: G. Alan Barnum (writer), Tod Smith (penciler), Don Hudson (inker), Dave Sharpe (letterer), Sara Mossoff (colorist)

The Plot: While testing a family friend’s security system, Black Cat encounters Hydro-Man. She tricks him into an airtight display case and locks him inside.

Review: It’s eight pages of Black Cat skulking around a house and then fighting Hydro-Man. Nothing else going on, except a joke in the final panel that suggests she doesn’t trust herself as a security consultant because she’s still tempted to steal. Filler, obviously.

Down Memory Lane (Spider-Man’s Top Ten Team-Ups)

Credits: Tom Brevoort & Mike Kanterovich (writers), Aaron Lopresti (penciler & inker), Steve Dutro (letterer)

The Plot: Spider-Man reflects on various heroes he’s teamed up with while waiting for MJ to return home. He finally declares his marriage to MJ to be his most successful team-up yet.

Review: It’s a story co-written by Tom “Youth” Brevoort reaffirming Peter Parker’s marriage. Make of that what you will. Some of the in-jokes are humorous, such as Spider-Man’s funny feeling that he has something in common with Dr. Strange.

Evil’s Light - Part Three: Charge of the Light Brigade

Credits: Eric Fein (writer), Vince Evans (penciler), Don Hudson (inker), Dave Sharpe (letterer), John Kalisz (colorist)

The Plot: Cloak pulls Lightmaster into his Dark Dimension, angering the businessman, Chadwick, who’s using his powers for research. Cloak follows Dagger’s command to stop fighting and releases the comatose Lightmaster. Chadwick threatens to press charges, but can’t because he isn’t operating within the law either.

*See _________ For Details: A footnote says Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #12 has all of the details of the story so far.

Review: Another shred of a story that’s hard to properly judge. Pairing Cloak and Dagger against Lightmaster isn’t a bad idea, although I have a feeling this is another story about a generically evil businessman exploiting a villain for profit and then biting off more than he can chew. Unless Eric Fein had a great twist on the concept, it doesn’t sound very interesting.