Guest Appearances - Silver Surfer in Amazing Spider-Man #430

Since I'm a completist nut about Firestorm and the Silver Surfer, I thought it may be fun to take a look at their many guest appearances. Not a full review of every comic as such, mostly just the parts they are in, to see how they are handled. And to warn off others thinking of becoming Silver Surfer completists, because he's had some truly awful guest spots over the years. So, look for this semi-regularly (maybe, heh).

The Silver Surfer gets to kick things off, with The Amazing Spider-Man #430, which sees Spider-Man taking on Carnage.

We meet up with the Surfer in space (strangely enough), chasing down an asteroid that's about to hit the Mir space station. What could happen?

"I must return to the planet Earth where other startling events now claim my attention."
Writing at it's finest.

Down on Earth, Spidey is locked in a tight battle with Venom-offspring Carnage. Thankfully for him, while saving Mir, SS happened to be directly over America and saw all this, so comes to lend a hand, because there's clearly nothing else happening on the planet more important than a couple of red guys throwing cars at each other.

Carnage seems about to be handed his ass, but out of the blue something strange happens.

No, more strange than Kasady not wearing underwear under that suit. The symbiote recognises chrome dome, and freaks out, peeling off his host and jumping down the nearest drain.

Hmmm, sure sounds that way Spidey. Care to explain, Surfey?

Hey, he's a Star Wars fan too. I knew there was a reason I liked him. Gotta love how alarm bells started ringing when the term 'symbiote' was used. Because clearly the only symbiote in the entire universe is the type that bonds to humans and makes them hate Spider-Man. Nice of Spider-Man to worry about damage to the road, moments after being informed the planet is at risk. With a pretty darn smug comment, SS drops in to the sewer to chase Carnage down, leaving Spidey to figure out just what the heck is going on. He interrogates Kasady, and finds out the symbiote has a racial memory of the Surfer, which demands revenge. Ohh, that sounds ominous, considering the Surfer is now in close quarters with the goo. I wonder what could happen?

Looks like a trap!
*gasp*

It's The Carnage Cosmic! As named by the guy who was the one-time editor-in-chief of Marvel. Man I bet brainstorming sessions with him were scary.
"Hey, I've got this idea for a new character, he basically carries a big gun and kills people, I call him the Punisher"
"Have you considered the name 'Gun-Man'?"

So yeah, now the Surfer is possessed, in a manner that seems slightly more akin to a parasite than a symbiote, but whatevs. What will happen next issue? Will the Silver Surfer realise that being taken over by something that lives on your skin can easily be defeated by, oh I don't know, flying through a sun, or unleashing a burst of cosmic energy? Will Spider-Man last more than ten seconds against something that routinely kicked his ass when it was bonded to a mere human? Will Tom DeFalco invent any more stupid character names?

Stay tuned.