Amazing Spider-Man #644: “Origin of Species Part 5″
Written by: Mark Waid
Art by: Paul Azaceta
Well, we’re finally at the end of “Origin of Species” and I’ve got to say, I was hoping it would end with more of a bang than a whimper.
The issue opens with the Lizard preparing to do some sort of experiment on Baby Osborn (and I don’t even know why he’s interested in the child’s genetic payload) and soon we Doc Ock has tracked the Lizard to a general location (the sewers, how quaint) by accosting a hobo. Thankfully Spidey’s right there on scene to propose a truce to Octavius. The two of them will rescue the baby from the feral Lizard together, and fight over it later. Ock agrees, not realizing he’s been duped. Spider-Man is only using him as a beacon to know how close they are to Lizard (since one of his new abilities is that he brings out the reptillian portion of mammalian brains, something Spidey is only immune to because Connor’s gave him a serum)
After smashing Ock nice and good, Spidey confronts the Lizard who gives up the baby without a fight. His senses have told him that the child doesn’t have whatever it is he’s looking for, and a quick blood test by Spider-Man confirms it. Whoever the baby’s father is, it’s not Norman Osborn. Unsurprisingly, Ock soon recovers and comes looking for the child by Spider-Man makes his escape and leaves Doc Ock and the Lizard to duke it out.
Next we cut to MJ and crew, who receive word from Peter that the baby is okay. Lily is pleased by the news, but recognizes her unfitness as a mother (you know, with the horns and everything) so she hops on her glider and flies off into the sunset. Harry heads off to Avengers Tower to retrieve the baby from Spider-Man when he receives some shocking (to him, to us it’s pretty obvious) news: he’s the father of Lily’s baby! Harry and his son go off to start their brand new life and Spider-Man swings off into the sunset.
Yawn.
Not really the ending I was hoping for, but at the very least, the end of “Origin of Species” stayed very much in line with the rest of the mini. It was sort of dry, the action was few and far between, and we don’t get the sense that anything that happened really matters. Hopefully we see a little more of baby Osborn in the coming months and maybe something is done with the implication that Harry was messing around with goblin formula.
Overall Rating: 4/10: For those of you who’ve been waiting for the trade, don’t even bother. Now I’ve got to decide if Big Time is enticing enough to keep me reading Spider-Man.
