Discover Top Posts Tagged with #mark allan

David Bowie Photoshoot - Glasgow, 1995

- photos by : Mark Allan

Bowie fotografato by Mark Allan, 1995

Beck performing on Top of the Pops in England, November 1999

Photo by Mark Allan

Scanned from a 35mm film slide in my collection

#beck #beck hansen #1999 #midnite vultures #live photos #perfunctoryidols scans #tv appearances #film slides #mark allan #<3

I know it’s more popular to praise the supervillains and fantastical side to TSSM but imho I think one of its greatest strengths was in how the civilian side to the show was just as compelling. I love the civilians I love Peter’s unusual friend group of dumb kids. I like how a decent chunk of them start off as typical high school bullies for our nerdy protagonists to butt heads with but then so naturally over the course of the show evolve into legitimate friends.

Like there isn’t really a big switch moment it just happens thanks to a series of circumstances and before you know it they genuinely like each other, and you can buy Peter thinking of them to find strength against the symbiote. It’s the sort of thing where you look back and are like, Huh Yeah we really did change. Really sells that they aren’t just shallow bullies, in fact they’re all dumb kids who get in over their heads but mean well and are trying to get through in life. I would genuinely vibe with a compilation of just the high school antics because I find them underrated; Just the mundanity of people trying to live life, and how this extends to the other civilian plots with the Daily Bugle and whatnot.

It also makes me mourn that we never got a resolution with Mark Allan because lbr, they were gonna go a comic route and have him finally wizen up by asking Spider-Man for help. He has the setup to make another bad deal with the villains but finally conquers his gambling addiction by avoiding the risk and just taking the L to sincerely ask another person for help.

And it’s fascinating because Mark has so much potential as a parallel to Peter. He’s introduced initially as a member of Peter’s life, as another one of the kids, he’s Liz’s brother and a friend to MJ. He’s another moment of Peter and Spidey’s lives intersecting, but unlike Eddie he’s ultimately a well-meaning victim of circumstance. I can’t help but feel like Mark is someone who Peter could’ve talked to, who could understand, who has also walked both worlds; The civilian and super ones. The world of superpowers taking away from the world with his friends. Mark knows what it’s like dealing with the supervillain crowd but they also started as high school friends.

Realistically I’m not sure Mark could’ve gone back to school after becoming Molten Man, but it makes me wonder as to how the writers would’ve handled him post-turnaround. Since his powers are controlled by the actual villains, it’s a pretty easy excuse for why the supervillain can’t help Spidey now; His powers are no longer in reach, maybe the remote is destroyed and that means Mark can return to a normal life, albeit in hiding mayhaps.

I’d have appreciated seeing his friends discuss one of their own becoming a part of that super-powered world, oblivious to Peter. Imagine a scene of Mark reconnecting with Liz, maybe making it clear he can’t stay around but his life is actually turning around for once; Give her something to be proud of with him and feel hope over, before saying goodbye.

#TSSM #The Spectacular Spider Man #Spider Man #Molten Man #Mark Allan