SPIDER-MAN: THE LIZARD SANCTION - October 1995, Part Three

Chapters 8-12

Written by Diane Duane

The Plot:  In the Everglades, Spider-Man and Venom collide as they search for the Lizard.  Venom attacks Spider-Man, but their fight is short-lived as armed men target them both.  The armed men escape in boats; Spider-Man chases the men traveling north, while Venom pursues the boat heading south.  Venom eventually catches up with the boat and stops it from picking up several barrels of the unique ink used in manufacturing the ECU.  Meanwhile, Spider-Man follows his targets to Kennedy Space Center.  He helps end a firefight between security and the terrorists, then stops a bomb from destroying the space shuttle.  He soon returns to the Everglades to search for Curt Connors’ secret lab.  Venom also returns, and joins Spider-Man and the Lizard in defeating Fischer.  Lizard, while briefly under Curt Connors’ control, gives Spider-Man a message to give back to his family.  Venom decides not to pursue the fight and disappears in the confusion.

The Subplots:  During the attack at Kennedy, NASA security enables Spider-Man to help.  While talking to a lieutenant, Spider-Man discerns that the hydrogel is being used to protect the space station from the atomic energy they plan on releasing in order to propel it into deep space.  Meanwhile, MJ spots her annoying photographer Maurice signaling someone on the beach early in the morning.  She causes a public spectacle in order to scare the men away, and later discovers that Maurice had been blackmailed into helping a group of smugglers.  As Vreni Byrne prepares to leave Florida, she tells Peter that Regners Wilhelm and CCRC are now both under investigation.

I Love the ‘90s:  The ECU, which was a new concept at the time of the novel’s publication, predates even the Euro.  Also, MJ regrets not paying extra for voicemail on Peter’s cell phone.

Review:  Not every thread is fully resolved, but the final chapters of the novel do manage to leave the reader with a fairly satisfying conclusion.  I was wondering how the hydrogel subplot could possibly relate to the Lizard’s story, and that resolution is particularly odd.  It turns out that the smoke-substance can not only absorb any impact, but it can also be injected into the body and used like a nicotine patch to slowly release a serum.  Curt Connors needs it to properly disburse the latest version of his Lizard cure throughout his body.  I guess if you’re going to be making up pseudo-scientific inventions for a story, there’s no limit to the applications of whatever it is you’ve just made up.  In fairness, Duane does a decent job of making the uses of hydrogel sound plausible, and she even acknowledges the existence of admanatium in the Marvel Universe and provides explanations for why hydrogel is a much better solution for what NASA has planned.

My earlier complaint about the excessive amount of technical information is multiplied in the final chapters, as we receive numerous facts about Kennedy Space Center, how the ECUs were manufactured, the justification for how atomic energy could power deep space travel, and even how a thermal imager works.  (That last bit relates to a minor subplot that has Spider-Man befriending a Miami detective who allows him to borrow their gear for searching the Everglades.  The detective, Murray Anderson, actually receives a decent amount of attention for a section of the novel but doesn’t end up contributing an awful lot to the overall story.)  I actually like the touch of realism that honest research can add to a novel, but at a certain point it feels like the story has to stop every few pages to explain another complex concept.  The answers you really want, like who’s controlling the Lizard, are left presumably for the next book in the series.

The novel’s at its best when the focus shifts to the characters.  Venom has an interesting character arc, as he begins to recognize that the Lizard isn’t any more of a monster than he is, and could be deserving of his own shot at redemption.  The novel plays with the theme of humanity, and why we’re willing or not willing to see it in others.  By the end, Venom begins to see the Lizard as Curt Connors, Spider-Man wonders if Venom is capable of ending his grudge, and MJ even grows sympathetic towards the obnoxious Maurice.  

The Maurice subplot is actually well-played; initially, it seems like an obvious setup for getting MJ at Kennedy Space Center in time for the climatic fight scene, but it turns out that the shoot is cancelled because Maurice really is a flake.  And Maurice’s flakiness is explained by his connection to the smugglers, who are also played as a red herring connection to the main plot.  (Not all smuggling in Miami is related, of course.)  Duane makes you think she’s going in the most obvious direction possible, especially if you’re familiar with the genre conventions, and then turns the opposite way.  It’s actually a relief that MJ isn’t being held hostage or somehow in the same building with the main villain at the novel’s end; instead, she has her own story, it’s kind of cute, and the connection to the main plot only comes through what the audience thinks will happen.

Taken as a whole, The Lizard Sanction is an entertaining Spider-Man novel, but I wouldn’t put it in the same category as its predecessor.  The momentum of the novel’s dragged down by too much exposition, and the dynamic between Spider-Man and the villains just isn’t as interesting as The Venom Factor, although I confess that I’m automatically biased towards Hobgoblin anyway.  I think if Duane tailored the story to truly focus on the Lizard and the Connors family she would’ve played more to her strengths, but instead the novel feels like it’s stretched too thin.  The parts that work do work very well, so it’s still a nice read if you’re looking for a story that really understands the main characters in the Spidey mythos.

SPIDER-MAN: THE LIZARD SANCTION - October 1995, Part Two

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.

SPIDER-MAN: THE LIZARD SANCTION - October 1995, Part One

Prologue, Chapters 1-2

Written by Diane Duane

The Plot:  At Cape Canaveral, the Lizard attacks a barge and steals a mysterious substance labeled “fourteen-eighteen.”  In New York, Peter Parker is lonely, now that MJ is spending two weeks in Miami.  To his surprise, he receives a photo assignment from Kate Cushing that sends him to Florida.  Kate pairs Peter with reporter Vreni Byrne to investigate NASA’s heightened security, which could be tied to the Lizard.  After connecting with MJ and Aunt Anna, Peter visits the Connors family as Spider-Man, leaving William with a spider-communicator.  At a press conference inside Kennedy Space Center, Vreni Byrne questions if NASA is sending an atomic reactor into space as a power source for the space station.  Later, after testing out his telescopic lens, Spider-Man overhears a Lizard sighting on a police scanner.  Following an inconclusive battle, the Lizard escapes, leaving behind a small container.  Spider-Man opens it and discovers a tiny “piece of smoke.” 

The Subplots:  MJ is in Miami to visit Aunt Anna, and to pursue modeling opportunities now that her acting career has stalled.

Web of Continuity:  

• This story is set a few weeks after Duane’s first Spider-Man novel, The Venom Factor.  That places it shortly before the Clone Saga.
• I believe Vreni Byrne is a new creation for the novels.  She’s described as a tough, yet beautiful, blonde.  
• The Lizard is described as a mindless beast, and not semi-intelligent, drawing upon his more recent appearances in Web of Spider-Man.
• Billy Connors is referred to as “William” in this story, which happened a few times in the early ‘90s when Marvel seemed willing to age the character a bit.
• Peter is able to drive a car without problems, even though at this point in continuity he shouldn’t have a driver’s license.

I Love the ‘90s:  Peter has to make sure he gets a longer answering machine tape before leaving town.

Review:  I enjoyed Diane Duane’s first Spider-Man novel, and thought it held up very well upon rereading, so I’ve decided to review the second installment in her Spider-Man/Venom trilogy before moving on to any more of the Marvel prose novels.  Unfortunately, while The Venom Factor had a strong opening, dropping you into Peter’s somewhat mundane but still entertaining daily life, The Lizard Sanction just doesn’t draw the reader in as quickly.  The character work is still there, as Duane does an admirable fleshing out everyone from Kate Cushing to random Bugle employees to NASA security guards, but there’s nothing in the book so far that compares to the fun banter between Peter and MJ in the first novel.  I also wonder if Duane’s attention to detail is slowing the book down a bit in the beginning, as we receive copious information on the interior of Kennedy Space Center, how space stations are powered, the exact details of mounting a Questar telescope on to a camera, and even how the Daily Bugle’s travel arrangements are handled internally.  The book opens with a fairly generic guards vs. Lizard scene in the Prologue, then goes without any action until the end of the second chapter.  The novel’s eighty pages deep before Spider-Man has his first confrontation with the Lizard.  

Peter and his supporting cast remain likeable, appealing characters, thankfully.  Duane has a fantastic handle on MJ, refusing to write her as a nag or jealous spouse.  She actually likes Vreni Byrne, a character you might assume has been introduced as a rival love interest, and is consistently portrayed as someone who supports her husband, even if she needs the occasional break from his insane life.  I don’t think any of the comic stories at this point even had MJ considering going to Florida to visit Aunt Anna, which is odd in retrospect.  It’s a perfectly logical way to shift the setting of a story out of New York, and not much of a stretch for introducing a new Lizard story since his family lives in Florida.  

The Lizard at this point in continuity needs some rehabilitation after “Torment” (the comics couldn’t decide if they wanted to keep him as a mute monster or not.)  The prose format could offer more insight into his thought process than a traditional comic could, so he’s not an unreasonable choice of a villain.  Duane understands the importance of the Connors family in a good Lizard story, so I’m glad she’s bringing them into the novel early.  Admittedly, Martha and Billy, um, William aren’t given a lot of personality yet, but Peter’s inner monologue effectively gets across what the family’s life has been like since Curt became the Lizard.  Peter’s sympathetic towards them, of course, which works as a reminder of how empathetic he is when properly written, so at the very least the reader knows that the Connors are important to him.  My main issue at this point, aside from the pacing, is the casual way Peter’s traveling to Florida and appearing as Spider-Man with no cover whatsoever.  Peter just outright tells William that he’s going to be seeing him in Florida, and Spider-Man just might be coming as well.  If we’re to believe that William is any older than eight at this point, it’s hard to imagine the kid’s not suspicious.  It’s amusing that some writers go out of their way to have Peter provide some excuse for why Spider-Man’s suddenly appearing in the town Peter Parker’s traveling to, and others just plow ahead.