The Strangest Teens of All

A fun little Team-Up-type tale pitting Spider-Man and the X-Men against Kraven and the Blob. The story had a nice pace, good action, and some cute foreshadowy jokes that I thought worked really well. I’m looking forward to the rest of this series, though I think the issues are spaced out chronologically, so I may not get to them for a bit.

This is set sometime after Spidey and the X-Men first meet, but I didn’t really put in the effort to figure out exactly where. Sometime while Pete’s dating Gwen.

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Bewitched, Bothered and Be-Dazzled!

I don’t know why, but I’ve really looking forward to the Dazzler. Is it because I know she’ll suck? Because I dislike (most) disco? No! It’s because she zips around on roller skates and turns music into light with a magic disco ball! WTFantastic!

This cover is amazing. Seriously. You know what else is amazing: Pete and the gang going to see Star Trek. Yeah, that’s right. ON THE WORLD’S TINIEST MOVIE SCREEN:

Wow, Star Trek on a 2.7″ screen. Hot.

So the action gets pretty lame…who cares? So the plots a stinker…big deal. This issue still has enough badassery to make it a fun read.

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Now You See Me! Now You Die!

Another boring Mysterio issue. I am curious what hidden treasure in the Parker home Mysterio and the Burglar are after, but mostly I just want this story to wrap up.

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Requiem!

Well…Aunt May certainly appears to really be dead. BUT I DON’T BELIEVE IT.

This was a crazy issue. In addition to Pete grieving like crazy over Aunt May, Robbie Robertson quits! We also learn that Robbie had another son before Randy, and that he died as a child.

This was a pretty interesting issue. Not action-packed by any means, but that was one reason why it was so awesome. Really nice characterization and plotting here.

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Nine Lives Has the Black Cat!

This Black Cat issue wasn’t as good. The banter between the Cat and Spider-Man seemed more forced, and the story wasn’t really as interesting. The bits of the issue that were good were that Spidey broke his arm and that the Burglar convinced Aunt May’s nursing home to (falsely) inform Pete that Aunt May had died.

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Never Let the Black Cat Cross Your Path!

Alright, the Black Cat! This should be good, right? Right! This was a fun issue and the interplay between the Black Cat and Spidey was well-done. I’m really looking forward to more of Ms. Hardy.

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24 Hours till Doomsday!

This issue brought a surprise return of the Fly! I love that guy! He makes a mess of things as JJJ and Spidey tool around town trying to get Spencer Smythe’s bomb off their arms. Since Spidey is pre-occupied with not exploding he happens to miss not only a very important photography assignment, but also his last-shot date with Mary Jane.

This was an amazing issue. The whole bomb thing played out beautifully, with plenty of tension and boatloads of friction between Spidey and JJJ. I loved that Jonah had the opportunity to peek under Spidey’s mask, but instead took the high road and did the right thing.

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The Jigsaw Is Up!

alright, even with my big shift around, this is in the wrong spot. mary jane reacts harshly towards betty, which is completely contrary to their conversation in spectacular 27 — these two asm issues should come before those.

the whole jigsaw-as-terrified-wreck angle was kind of interesting, but overall this story was a dud.

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Dust to Dust!

Super cool cover on this one, it looks great!

Man, Carrion is one scary motherfucker. I love him! Is he Miles Warren? That would be crazy, but I can kinda believe it I guess. Unfortunately Carrion had a lot more exposition here and a lot less sinisterness, but it was still good.

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Spider-Man Night Fever

Oh jeez, Spidey goes to the disco and fights a bad guy named the Hypno-Hustler. Give me a break.

Frank Springer’s art is weak.

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The Graduation of Peter Parker

This story is supposedly about Peter’s graduation, but once he gets there he discovers — shock of all shocks — he is not graduating. At least not yet. It seems he forgot to take a gym class, and now he’ll have to make it up in the summer and graduate in September.

This was just filler and a tease. Why take away Pete’s graduation from him? From my point of view, it would have been nice to actually see him get through graduation successfully.

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Who Was That Goblin I Saw You With?

Wow, Harry suits up as the Green Goblin again, to take out the new Goblin — his psychiatrist, Dr. Barton Hamilton! Barton ends up blowing himself up, and Harry (of course) ends up with some kind of limited amnesia. Liz Allen’s return completes the happy ending.

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The Goblin’s Always Greener…!

Well, as I suspected, Harry Osborn was not the new Green Goblin! Yet another cliffhanger here, as Spidey, the Goblin, and Silvermane seem to be plummeting to their deaths.

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Green Grows the Goblin!

Spidey continues to tangle with the Goblin while his Aunt May needs him in the hospital! Oh, the drama!

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Goblin in the Middle

There’s a bit character in here named Murray Futterman. This also ended up being the name of a dude in Gremlins, six years later.

While Pete is off looking for the Goblin, Aunt May suffers another heart attack!

I was surprised to see Silvermane’s return — I was pretty sure he was dead. I guess it didn’t stick.

Another cliffhanger ending, with the Goblin about to reveal Spidey’s secret identity to all of New York’s underworld.

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Big Apple Battleground!

I have a problem with the Punisher appearing in Spidey comics. The Punisher is all about killing bad guys. That’s his schtick. But, when he teams up with Spider-Man, we’re always supposed to believe that Spider-Man is able to stop him from killing for this one mission. It makes no sense at all, and it’s a cheapening of the Punisher’s character.

Looks like the Green Goblin is back — but who is behind the mask?!?!

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The Fiend from the Fire!

If You Can’t Stand the Heat…!
Writer: Len Wein
Illustrator: Ross Andru
Embellisher: Jim Mooney
Colorist: Glynis Wein
Letterer: John Costanza
Originally published: October 1977

Rocket Racer was incredibly lame, but after his extremely brief appearance, the books got into a solid Molten Man story. I totally enjoyed these, mostly because we’re finally seeing some character development and villains that actually interact and impact the lives of Peter and his friends.

Spidey gets shot at the beginning of the #173, which is pretty cool.

Andru’s Molten Man art is really awesome, especially this panel:

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Photon is Another Name for…?

Man, this was kind of a disappointing conclusion. It really doesn’t feel like Len Wein has a handle on the whole whodunnit thing as well as Marv Wolfman did. Wein’s contribution had way too much fighting and jetting around, and not anywhere near enough suspense or intrigue.

This is the last Amazing for awhile…looks like I have a ton of Marvel Team-Up to put up with.

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Confrontation

It’s a new night, which means I could have presumably shoved those two issues I moved into here. Oh well.

Pete’s done something very clever with those photos Jameson had. He recreated them using existing photos of himself and Spidey, so that when Jameson confronted him about it, he could simply prove that they’ve been doctored. Interestingly, one of the shots Pete used is of him and MJ on a beach, which means that the vacation from that last Hostess ad may have happened!

There’s still no explanation for who took and sent the original shots of Spidey and Ben, though.

At the end, Dr. Faustus – who I saw in Captain America 224 with the Tarantula – shows up.

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…Stalked by the Spider-Slayer!

JJJ, Dr. Marla Madison, and their Spectacular Spider-Slayer are back! We’re also introduced to a new super-powered character, Will-o’-the-Wisp. Is he hero? Villain? He robs 30 Rock, but he’s doing it against his will. Hmm…

We finally see Harry’s psychoanalyst, Dr. Barton Hamilton.

The best part of this issue is that Aunt May has become politically active, and is shown marching and protesting for old people’s rights! As MJ says, “Right on, Aunt May! Sock it to ‘em kid!”. Another awesome moment comes when Spidey oversteps his welcome with Robbie Robertson, and causes the usually calm and collected city editor to snap at him. It was a really interesting moment.

Also, I totally forgot that JJJ had pictures of Spidey dumping Ben Reilly! Shit! Spidey steals them, but they accidentally end up in the hands of Will.

There was a lot that I loved about this issue!

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War of the Reptile-Men!

As I suspected, Jonah’s goings-on with a certain Dr. Marla Madison were for the creation of a new Spider-Slayer robot.

Harry and Liz Allen are engaged!

Stegron did decide to “clothe [his] long-tailed brothersss with flesh once more” and he plans to clone more, so i guess South Pole dinosaurs are not necessary.

Pretty boring issue, unfortunately. I like dinosaurs, but this just didn’t really have any oomph to it. One thing I did quite enjoy was that the Lizard still tried to protect Billy Connors – it was a nice bit of humanity showing through, which I hope gets explored more.

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Twice Stings the Tarantula!

Danger: Demon on a Rampage!
Guest writer: Gerry Conway
Artists: Sal Buscema, Mike Esposito
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Colorist: Don Warfield
Originally published: December 1976

All the Kingpin’s Men!
Writer: Len Wein
Illustrator: Ross Andru
Embellisher: Mike Esposito
Colorist: Glynis Wein
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Originally published: December 1976

man, it’s been ages since I read amazing spider-man! and, we have the start of a brand new spidey series!

alright, so spectacular 1 has a reference to amazing 163, and amazing 163 has a reference to spectacular 1. i guess they intersect, with everything up to and including the surprise party in amazing 163 comes first, then all of spectacular 1, then all of marvel team-up 52, then the rest of amazing?

in asm 163 pete thinks MJ is mad at him, and she is kinda chummy with flash. later, in spectacular, pete says that mj has been dating flash. however, pete and mj were just hanging out together in marvel treasury edition 12, and mj expressed jealousy about pete recognizing bev switzer. hmm… maybe that’s what pete was apologizing for.

• spidey runs into the kingpin’s goons
• peter’s apartment gets furnished in a surprise “please-provide-for-peter-parker’s-pad” party
• harry and liz are makin’ time
• spidey fights the tarantula, who escapes and kidnaps some guy named lansky
• pete and mj have an off-panel talk
• tarantula, under somebody’s orders (i suspect the guy that originally got “kidnapped”) tries to fake-kidnap-but-really-kill the mayor, but spider-man stops him
• tarantula gets away
• spidey’s swinging home and a interdimensional portal opens, spitting out a monster, the falcon, a cowboy, some crazies, and captain america
• the monster runs afoul of batroc the leaper, who enlists him to rob a shield hovercar
• cap and spidey stop them and capture batroc, but the monster gets away
• spider-man acknowledges that the monster is lost, confused and trying to get home, but kills him anyway. nice.
• pete and mj pick up aunt may from the hospital
• spidey tracks down kingpin’s men, but really it’s a trap and he has to face the kingpin himself
• they fight like mad, and spidey gets captured, gassed, strapped into some kinda contraption

overall, these issues were all kind of boring. not a great return to amazing, and not a great debut for spectacular. i give these three one big “meh”.

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Let the Punisher Fit the Crime!

Not bad issue wrapping up the whole Punisher/Nightcrawler thing. The bad guy turned out to be Jigsaw, whose origin I saw back in Punisher: Year One. Nice to see that story come around finally. This was not really anything special, to be honest, but it certainly wasn’t bad.

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…And the Nightcrawler Came Prowling, Prowling

Holy Hannah! Somebody mailed JJJ photos of Spidey dumping the clone’s body into the incinerator chimney! And they show Ben’s face!

This was a decent issue that introduced a bunch of the new X-Men – it featured Nightcrawler, but we also got appearances by Colossus and Wolverine (yeah!). Also present was the Punisher. It felt more like an issue of Team-Up than Amazing, except that it was pretty good.

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My Killer, The Car!

This is some of the worst art I’ve ever seen from Ross Andru. I know there are/were a lot of Ross-bashers out there, but I’ve never really had a problem with him. This issue, though, he is just the pits.

This issue features my beloved Spider-Mobile turning against Spider-Man. It’s very much like that Futurama episode where Bender becomes a car, only dumber and not funny. It also retcons the Terrible Tinkerer so he isn’t an alien, which makes absolutely no sense when you consider his previous appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #2. Finally, other than a brief and useless visit with Aunt May, this issue doesn’t feature anything from Pete’s personal life.

To borrow some automotive phraseology (in honour of the Spider-Mobile and its ignoble demise), this book was a total lemon.

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