Spider-Oracle Petitions (01-Aug-2004)

 Posted: 2004
 Staff: The Spider-Oracle (E-Mail)

Here's Oracular Wisdom a-plenty. Note the increasing politeness of supplicants. While we do include as many Oracle responses as possible, it has become clear that the Mighty One showers his Sapient Favours more freely on those whose missives contain due deference to his Superior Status.

If you wish to see your response printed, or wish the Oracle to answer more difficult questions in great detail, you would be well advised to begin your request with a sufficiently submissive introduction. "O Mighty Oracle" is a good starting point, but don't feel limited in your entreatments.

From garrett50

I was reading the first Secret Wars series and came about a strange fact. Spidey returns from the Secret Wars in Amazing Spider-Man #252. If I'm not mistaken, that was published in May 1984. BUT, Secret Wars #1 actually was published in May 1984 also to stop in April 1985... How could he have returned from the Secret Wars when they weren't even written?

It's like this, Garrett. A bunch of Marvel heroes, in their issues cover dated April 1984, vanished at the end. The next month, SECRET WARS #1 came out, and began the year-long 12-issue storyline of where they had all gone. But Marvel didn't want to go a year (or even a month) without publishing any issues of AMAZING, or AVENGERS, or X-MEN, etc. So in the month after the heroes vanished, the next issues of their series showed them all returning from the Secret Wars, even though only issue #1 was out so far. Does that clear it up?

From mikell222

Are Marvel Knights Spider-Man and the Pulse in the same continuity? I'm wondering because of the storyline relating to Norman Osborn's capture. In The Pulse #5, Osborn is exposed and captured. In Marvel Knights #1, which came out a few months before Pulse #5, Norman Osborn is exposed and captured. Are these stories supposed to fit in the same continuity?

What apparently happened, mikell, is that Norman was captured by Spidey and Luke Cage in PULSE #5, then soon after, briefly escaped, until he was recaptured by Spidey alone in MKSM #1.

From Zephonex

Who is Hybrid? What does he/she/it look like? And what issues did Hybrid appear in?

Would a day be complete without at least one symbiote question? I think not! (Arg! My sarcasm-sense is tingling!) I'll just tell you, Zeph, that you need to check out two limited series: VENOM: ALONG CAME A SPIDER, and also VENOM: HUNTED. Those are all the appearances Hybrid has made to date.

From joshuathemos

Around the time that Liz Allan returns to Amazing Spider-Man, Peter makes a comment that he knows MJ and Liz didn't get along in high school. Also, MJ is always making comments that Peter was no fun back in high school. I thought Peter only met MJ well after he started college in #42. He had obviously never seen her face when he said "THAT'S Mary Jane??!" in 42. But MJ saw Peter crawl out of the window after Uncle Ben was killed... Was she stalking him? She was such a flirt, why wouldn't she have introduced herself earlier? How did Mary Jane tie into the High School Era? Was she at Midtown too?

So many questions, Josh! Let's go over the answers in chronological order. While Peter was in High School, MJ would occasionally stay at her Aunt Anna's house, which was next door to Aunt May and Uncle Ben's house. From her aunt's house, MJ saw Peter for the time when he was about 15, and would occasionally see him outside from her aunt's window, but never actually met him face-to-face.

It was, as you say, in AMAZING FANTASY #15, when, behind-the-scenes, Mary Jane saw Peter run into his house after being informed his uncle had been murdered, and then saw Spider-Man emerge from a bedroom window. Knowing that Peter was Spider-Man made MJ a bit hesitant about meeting him, despite the wishes of their respective aunts, so it wasn't until ASM #42 that Peter saw MJ for the first time.

Now on to Liz Allan. After graduating high school with Peter in ASM #28, she made one brief appearance in ASM #30, then didn't appear again until running into Peter years later in ASM #132. In that issue, Peter takes her to MJ's apartment where MJ opens the door and asks, "Liz?" and Pete makes the comment about MJ not getting along in high school, but that was just a writer's error. MJ and Liz didn't meet until that moment in ASM #132.

From Jester_654

When was Carnage's first appearance? He's my favorite villain in the Marvel Universe. What's yours?

Oh, what the heck, one for the road. Cletus Kasady first appeared in ASM #344 and 345. He first appeared as Carnage in a brief tease in ASM #359 and 360. The first official full appearance of Carnage is ASM #361.

 Posted: 2004
 Staff: The Spider-Oracle (E-Mail)