Pop-quiz time! If you saw this guy wandering around, would you think he was a deadly super-villain or an escapee from the local "retirement village" ?
I'd have bet "escapee", especially since he's gadding about in his favorite green footie pajamas and a woman's feather boa. Plus, look at that pose -- it practically screams "Get off my lawn, you damn kids!"
On the one hand, I'm all for non-traditional types appearing in comics, and it's nice to see someone out there representing Geritol Nation. But did they have to bring up the grim specter of looming death hovering over his aging body by naming him "The Vulture"? That's just cruel.
On the other hand, this guy's going to snap in half like a dried-up old stick the first time he tries to pull out of a power-dive. And I don't think, in general, anyone over the age of 24 or so ought to be wandering around in anything skin-tight. Just say no to drooping.
Luckily none of that matters to Spider-Man, who gleefully beat the snot out of him on a regular basis back in the day. Sometimes it's nice to have an opponent who can be defeated just by starting a conversation about low-rise pants and/or that loud rock-and-roll music.
(Image and character ©Marvel Comics.)
