[Reviews] End of Month Reviews #16 - April 2005 [spoilers]

[phippsmartin at hotmail.com]

saxon.bren... at uts.edu.au wrote:

> Also posted:
>       LNH Asia: 2 Slow 2 Serious #1-4 [LNH2]
>       LNH Asia: The Week After Next #1-4 [LNH2]

Hmm.

> Speak #1
> 'The Strange Case of Gregory Dingham'
> An Eightfold [8FOLD] series
> by Tom Russell
> There are a few scenes
> that foreshadow a superheroic origin, making the story seem to point
in
> the direction of a parallel of the standard Spider Man style
>
superhuman-vigilante-fight-crime-because-of-the-crushing-sense-of-guilt-at-having-caused-a-relative's-death
> (only this time with a more direct cause of death). But then Tom
twists
> the whole thing on its head, and Gregory buckles under the pressure
of
> what he perceives to be obligation of being an active hero, and turns
> to crime.

Except that part of what appeals to me about Spiderman is that he
wasn't really responsible for his uncle's death, at least not in the
comics.  (In the movie, he lied and said he was going to the library so
that gave him more reason to angst beyond simply not stopping the
robber.)  The fact is that his uncle's death in the comics occured
simply due to his inaction and not anything he actually did.  Thus
"With great power comes great responsibility".  Now Spiderman feels
responsible for everyone in New York because he knows he can help them
but may choose not to.  Greggory, on the other hand, can do one thing
to prevent death and destruction: shut up.  Or he could become a
doctor.  Or a phone sex operator.  As the super-plumber said, not every
power lends itself to superheroism.

Martin