Yeah, that about sums up the problem with the marketing on “Spider-Island.”

“If everyone could fire guns, would Frank Castle still be the Punisher?”

“If everyone had super strength, would Bruce Banner, Thunderbolt Ross, Jennifer Walters, Betsy Banner, and Rick Jones still be Hulks? And by the way we’re talking about New York, not that planet the Hulk went to where everyone had super strength and besides they called him ‘Green Scar’ there so I guess he WOULDN’T still be the Hulk, would he, Mr. Smarty-pants?”

And that’s not getting into the fact that if everyone had spider powers, Peter Parker would still be the only one with web-shooters.

It’s occurred to me that there are two angles that would sort of make the “if everyone…?” question actually work for Spider-Man where it wouldn’t work for most other people, though. The key is the “With great power…” motto:

1) If everyone had spider powers, one could make an argument that Peter no longer has “great power” (at least relative to everyone else) and therefore no longer has great responsibility. The problem with this is that it requires you to believe that “With great power…” is Peter’s only motivation, and that he doesn’t really care any further than he feels obligated to. It also would seem like the kind of thing that only works if everyone having spider powers becomes the new status quo – as opposed to a temporary situation – which would require Spider-Island to go on for a lot longer than would seem advisable for inter-title continuity.

2) If all of the other superheroes also get spider powers, he could legitimately claim he no longer really brings anything to the team – sure he still has more experience with the powers than anyone, but he could easily get away with handing Spider-Hawkeye his web-shooters and taking a leave of absence … except for the fact that Peter’s a scientific genius. Even if he no longer brings anything to the table in a fight, he’s still a huge asset as far as figuring out that the heck’s going on.

Wait, Marvel’s still publishing comics? I forgot with all the hubbub over DC.

Hah, this was a cool one. They haven’t all been funny but the characters do grow on you.

love the riff on how marvel seems to go over board with marketing their characters espically if they have movies. though the captain americas look like all the cap toys on shelves.

By the way, I like Iron Man drinking with a straw. It am funny.

Was just me, or did marvel basically steal this tagline from a quote in the incredibles?

“By the way, I like Iron Man drinking with a straw. It am funny”

@ TP: Imagine how funny it’d be if IM was eating a burger.

Why is Josh so mad at Captain America that he’d throw that shield?

The “Heroes Reborn” fiasco?

I don’t care what it’s making fun of, it’s just funny all on its own.

Captain America Corps is a ridiculous concept.

It’s making fun of Marvel’s upcoming “Spider-Island” plotling, in which a villain contrives to give everyone in Manhattan Spider-Man’s powers (for reasons not yet made clear, at least in the comics – there may have been a press release explaining it).

Specifically, it’s making fun of the tagline Marvel’s been using, which is something to the effect of “If everyone has spider powers, can there still be a Spider-Man?”

The answer, as the strip points out, is “Yes, yes there can.” The first and most obvious reason – as the strip illustrates – is that physical capacity does not equal skill and experience.

Why is Josh so mad at Captain America that he’d throw that shield?

Because he’s got the same powers as Captain America, and if you get the same powers as someone in a comic, you have to fight them.

>>Why is Josh so mad at Captain America that he’d throw that shield?

That is not Josh. It’s just some random guy on the street. His jaw, nose, hair style and hair color are different.

“If everyone is an idiot, can there still be executive-level editors at the Big Two?”

Of course, in all fairness, I should add: “If everyone is a doddering old churl, can there still be a Dan Bailey.”