Redheaded Reviews: Spider-Man: The Darkest Hour by Jim Butcher

This truly is a wonderful book and it's the one time Butcher took a very brief break from his Harry Dresden books and sadly he has not strayed again. I am a huge Spider-Man fan and I can be critical of how Spider-Man's wisecracking mouth is done. Butcher is a master in capturing Spidey's sense of humor He also adds two very interesting characters to the mix: Black Cat and Rhino.

Spidey runs into Mortia, Thanis, and Malos who are the sister and brothers of Morlum whom Spidey let someone kill. These are the Ancients and Morlun was nearly impossible to defeat and he was left with nightmares afterward. Now his brethren have come for revenge. The Ancients live off of those totems are animals. Black Cat has been working at the Company and has uncovered something dangerous to Spidey and warned him he was in danger but she had no idea what it was. The Ancients set up Spidey to fight Rhino who they roped in to help them but then they turned on him and beat him up. Spidey couldn't leave him there so he took him back to Aunt May's because Peter and Mary Jane's apartment was discovered by the Ancients.

He makes an agreement with a blinded Rhino that they will be partners for the duration of this mess which is until dusk of that day. They also agree to a ceasefire for twenty-four hours after its all over; During that time he gets to know the Rhino and struggles with this knowledge and his belief that the Rhino is a bad guy that can never change. But first, he must come up with a spectacular plan to bring down three very powerful beings with just him,, Black Cat, and a wounded Rhino. SPOILER: I do so love it when Dr. Strange makes an appearance somewhere.

While Spidey is dealing with that mess, Peter must deal with his duties as a school teacher where he has been forced to fill in as the basketball coach while the real coach is having surgery done that he doesn't want his team to know about; What the coach wants is for Peter to teach cooperation to his star player who feels like he's the only one who needs to be on the team, But this attitude will keep him from getting a college scholarship, But getting the team to listen to him is going to be tough.

Butcher based this book on a series of comic books and they were well chosen. The Ancients are a powerful foe. He can't defeat them alone and he is given Black Cat, a favorite of mine, and Rhino. an odd choice as he is an enemy to help. The language is delightful and Spider-Man's big speech is just out of this world. Butcher is an amazing writer and here he shows he can write more than his Dresden novels. It's just a shame that he's never tried again.

Quotes

All I know is that every tijme I walk into a gymnasium, I get hit with a rush of memories from my own days of high schoo. Some people call that phenomena “nostalgia” I call it “nausea”. Unless of course, nostalgia is supposed to make you feel abruptly shunned, unpopular—in which case I suppose gymnasiums are nostaltics as all get out for me.
-Jim Butcher (Spider-<Man:The Darkest Hours p 7)

Redheads are naturally evil.
-Jim Butcher (Spider-Man:The Darkest Hour p 21)

Peter. You’ve spent your entire adult life fighting crime, protecting people from bad guys of every description and otherwise putting yourself in danger for someone else’s sake—while wearing brightly colored tights with a big black spider on the chest. I think it’s safe to say you have issues.
=Jim Butcher (Spider-Man: The Darkest Hour p 90)

“If you can deal with the immortal unstoppable mosters I can deal with the DMV.” “Easy there Superchick. If you’re working up an archenemy you don’t want to start with the DMV. Go with someone a little easier to deal with. Dr. Doom. Magneto.”
-Jim Butcher (Spider-Man: The Darkest Hour p 141)

“What in the world did I do to deserve you?” “I have no idea. But it isn’t the sort of thing to happen twice.”
-Jim Butcher (Spider-Man: The Darkest Hour p 202)

I have seen gods and demons at war. I have seen worlds created and destroyed. I have fought battles so far from Earth that the light from their stars has never reached us. I have seen good men die. I have seen evil men prosper and I have seen scales balanced against all odds. I have seen the strong oppress the weak, the law protect the criminals instead of the citizens. I have fought with others and alone against every king of enemy you can imagine, against every kind of injustice you can imagine. In all that time I have never surrendered.
-Jim Butcher (Spider-Man: The Darkest Hour p 276)

Good never came of treachery. It wounds the betrayer and the betrayed alike.
-Jim Butcher (Spider-Man : The Darkest Hour p 286)