Spider-Man in The Trap

May 1975:
Marvel Super Heroes #50, Werewolf By Night #29, Marvel’s Greatest Comics #56, Giant-Size Marvel Triple Action #1, Marvel Two-in-One #9…

June 1975:
Power Man and Iron Fist #25, Marvel Tales #59, Giant Size Avengers #4, Ghost Rider #12, Night Rider #5, Defenders #24, Ka-Zar #9…

Wow, my first review of a Hostess ad! Exciting! I believe this first showed up in May 1975 in the comics listed above (and probably others), and was printed again the following month. By publication date, I’ve probably read this in the wrong spot. This ad is marked (A) because five years later, another Spidey Hostess ad with the same name was released.

In this mini-adventure, Spider-Man is captured by some nameless thugs. When he is thrown into an escape-proof concrete cell, he manages to convince his guard to let him free in exchange for some delicious Hostess Fruit Pies.

How to rate this…hmm… I think I will give this particular Hostess installment a medium rating, mostly because I would have liked the villains to be a little more fleshed out (i.e. have names).

Rating:

Any Number Can Slay!

Murder’s Better the Second Time Around!
Writer: Bill Mantlo
Artists: Sal Buscema, Mike Esposito
Letterer: Karen Mantlo
Colorist: Janice Cohen
Originally published: December 1975

Holy crap, Montana and Fancy Dan from the Enforcers are back! We haven’t seen these guys in ages. They’ve been bringing back a lot of the old villains, but I really didn’t expect to see the Enforcers again. Apparently Ox got killed, so it’s just the two of them, though.

And if that’s not crazy enough, there also appearances by the Big Man and the Crime Master, both of whom are supposed to be dead! (And Sandman, but that’s not as interesting.) What the heck is going on?! Well, what’s going is that the Big Man is actually Frederick Foswell’s daughter, Janice, and the Crime Master is actually Nick Lewis’s son, Nick Lewis Jr.

This had a great twist ending, a lot of really fun fights, and some good dialogue. I really enjoyed both issues.

Racism in comics:

Rating:

Skirmish Beneath the Streets!

Looks like the new Amazing writer might actually be Len Wein. He has experience, but I didn’t really dig his work on Marvel Team-Up. Then again, Team-Up just kinda sucks no matter what, so hopefully Wein does better here.

…and he does. This was a pretty decent story, touching on the clone stuff, Ned and Betty’s engagement, the surprise (to me and the gang) return of Harry Osborn, as well as the beginning of a confrontation with the Shocker. Not the most riveting issue, but definitely a decent read and a solid start for Wein.

Note: I’m thinking the incinerator scenes all take place before that Team-Up stuff I just read.

Rating:

Night of the Griffin

Why do Spidey and the Beast act as thought they’ve never met? I mean, I believe the last time Spidey saw Beast he didn’t have the fur, but that doesn’t explain Beast’s odd behaviour.

I don’t feel like Bill Mantlo has a very good grasp on Spider-Man. Mantlo seems to be trying way too hard with the wise-cracking during (brutally long) fights, and not putting any emphasis on story or character development. In fact, he has the Beast cracking wise almost as much as Spider-Man too, it seems totally out of character.

Spider-Man basically also kills an innocent guy – by accident, but still because of Spidey’s actions – and then barely bats an eye at it. I know Conway had a lot of people die during his tenure, and a lot of their deaths were either directly or indirectly because of Spider-Man, but as far as I can remember they were all bad guys. For Spider-Man to shrug off the death of some random civilian is really out of character.

Rating:

Griffin

Snow Death!

More Frankenstein’s monster and Man-Wolf. This was really painful to read.

Rating:

Once Upon a Time in a Castle… / The Cold Wind of Doom! / To Make a Monster!

So, I was really, really not looking forward to this. Frankenstein’s monster? Come on. This relaxation of the comics code and subsequent horror schlock in the mainstream Marvel books is very annoying to me. The book ended up being better than I expected. Not good, really, but not terrible either. This is mostly because it played like a spy/James Bondy kind of thing.

Rating:

Spider-Man… …or Spider-Clone?

This is the first issue in ages not written by Gerry Conway. Weird.

Pretty crappy book overall, and a big letdown for the 150th issue. I don’t know if Archie Goodwin is permanent or not, but I’m not sure I’m up for the growing pains of another writer.

Spidey realizes he is not a clone, so I guess that’s something.

Rating:

Even if I Live, I Die!

A really great finish (?) to this first clone saga! Woo. I know people really hate on the other one, but I never hear many comments about this. I’m quite happy to say that I totally enjoyed this arc and this ending.

A Spidey clone was an unexpected surprise! Is the surviving Spidey the original or the clone? Is there a difference really? Ah, sweet.

(We actually all know the answer to this, I assume, but I’ll just suspend that for now…)

Rating:

Jackal, Jackal…Who’s Got the Jackal?

Another great Tarantula / Jackal / clone-Gwen issue. In this one the identity of the Jackal is revealed as Professor Warren, which is great. I mean, I already knew all about it, so it wasn’t a surprise, but I really loved the way it was handled.

It’s funny how I used to hate Gerry Conway so much, but I think he’s really grown into his role in Amazing Spider-Man. His good stories are really good.

This happens to me a lot:

Rating:

The Tarantula is a Very Deadly Beast!

I’m sick, so not much of a review here.

• Pete finds out clone-Gwen is a clone: so good
• Tarantula and Jackal: so good
• Spidey going nuts and smashing a mirror: so good
• “Spider-Hombre”: so good
• the whole thing: so good

Rating:

Beware the Path of the Monster! / The Lurker in the Swamp! / Bring Back My Man-Thing to Me!

Well, the issue of Gwen’s memory is addressed here – she has no memory of the last two years at all. There was nothing wrong with this, but I just couldn’t get into it…I dunno, I have nothing to say.

Rating:

Beware the Death Crusade!

Hmm, this issue says that it’s late February, but Amazing 145 said that it was March. Is there any way to reconcile this? I’ve looked into it, and there absolutely is not as far as I can tell. It’s just an error.

Despite Team-Up experimenting with less self-contained, more on-going stories, this was a bit of a dud. Valkyrie really added nothing to this at all, which is a shame.

Rating:

“Scorpion… …Where is Thy Sting?”

So everybody in this issue is saying that Gwen’s been dead for two years, but every other issue indicates it’s only been a few months. That’s super weird, but I guess Marvel-time can be confusing.

In this issue we get the first hints that the Jackal is behind the Gwen-cloning. The best part about all this is that clone-Gwen doesn’t know she’s a clone, and doesn’t understand what’s going on. As far as she’s concerned, she’s just normal Gwen! I wonder what her memories of the last two years are like.

The Scorpion shizz is still boring, but at least now it’s tied in with the Jackal stuff. Does the Jackal know that Pete is Spider-Man? Hmm, I think he might, and so does Peter.

Rating:

Gwen Stacy is Alive…And, Well…?!

This issue picks up where Amazing 144 left off; remember that Marvel Team-Up 33 happens in the middle of this issue (somewhere on page 17, to be specific).

So Gwen Stacy is back, and we’re full on into the first clone storyline. Pete totally flies off the handle, and accuses clone-Gwen of being an impostor. It’s a great scene. At the end, Pete finds out that, a) clone-Gwen’s fingerprints match dead Gwen’s fingerprints, and b) dead Gwen is still in her grave.

The Scorpion stuff in this issue is really boring and crappy, but the Gwen story is great.

Rating:

Anybody Here Know a Guy Named Meteor Man?

Continuity note: “The events in this tale take place during the events in Spider-Man #145.” Good to know. Spidey is assuming that somebody is impersonating Gwen.

I guess Gerry Conway’s the new permanent writer on Team-Up, since Len Wein seems to be the new editor in town. I was getting kind of sick of Len Wein and this title anyway, but Conway certainly hasn’t been bringing his A-game to this series. Fortunately, this particular issue is a bit of an exception.

In this episode, Spidey and Nighthawk fight the Looter (from Amazing 36!), who has renamed himself Meteor Man. Back when I reviewed that old issue, I liked his costume but not his name – I guess I wasn’t the only one. He’s still not the most interesting character, but he does get a bit of a personality, which makes this issue a little more bearable than some of the more recent ones. In fact, this leads to a very surprising ending – Nighthawk decides that Meteor Man needs psychological help rather than fisticuffs, and leaves Spidey with a guilt complex about his eagerness to fight. That’s a cool switch!

Another plus is Sal Buscema’s art. His layouts and composition are really great, and totally different from a lot of what I’ve been seeing lately. It’s really refreshing!

Rating:

The Delusion Conspiracy

Awesome cover this month, by Gil Kane I think.

Aunt May still looks insane and evil and dead.

This issue, super-creepy Aunt May thinks she sees Gwen! Oh noes! AT THE END GWEN IS AT PETER’S APARTMENT!!!!

Well, I liked the Cyclone, even though he wasn’t much more than a stereotype, but the way Spidey defeated him was dumb. The whole Cyclone thing ended up being kind of a dud, but this issue had enough going for it on the Gwen Stacy front that I can’t really deny it a 4/5.

Rating:

…And the Wind Cries: Cyclone!

Spidey sees Gwen again, but before he has a chance to investigate he has to head off to Paris to rescue JJJ’s ass. Pete and MJ hook up!

Pretty great issue, as seems to be the usual for this period.

Rating:

Midgard Aflame!

Loki invades Earth — specifically, Washington, DC — and, to ensure his battle is solely with Thor, he immobilizes every other super-powered individual on the planet. This includes Spider-Man, who appears in a brief cameo.

Even though I don’t really know most of the backstory, this was a thoroughly enjoyable issue. It also made me realize how much I miss John Buscema’s art. Nothing against Ross Andru or anything, but John Buscema is fantastic.

Rating:

To Sow the Seeds of Death’s Day / Attack of the War Machine! / Death-Camp at the Edge of the World!

There is a lot of cleavage at the beginning of this issue. Ross Andru, you dirty man.

This was a really dark story with a lot of fairly gruesome death. I guess that’s par for the course with Punisher, but it still caught me off guard. I am very pleased to say, though, that it was also awesome! As with the last Giant-SIze, Conway seems to have figured out how to pace a story of this length, and it played beautifully.

Rating:

For a Few Fists More!

This episode, with Spidey and Iron Fist versus Drom the Backwards Man, was almost as dumb as issue 30. I’m losing a lot of faith in bloody Marvel Team-Up.

Rating:

Dead Man’s Bluff!

The art in this issue is pretty good, except that Aunt May looks like an insanely creepy reanimated corpse:

In this issue Ned and Betty drop the bomb that they’ve set the date for the wedding…but I thought they already got married. Am I nuts? Perhaps. Speaking of nuts, Pete certainly seems to be losing it in this issue. Gerry, Ross, et. al. do a good job of showing him becoming more and more unhinged. Eventually it is revealed that JJJ is behind it (along with a brand new Mysterio).

The most interesting part is when Pete thinks he sees Gwen. Could this be the first hint of the Jackal’s Gwen-cloning operation?

Rating:

The Man’s Name Appears To Be…Mysterio!

The Spider-Mobile is back! Sweet! Unfortunately, it also goes headfirst into the drink, and I suspect that’s the last we’ll be seeing of it.

This issue was alright, but a bit slow. Spidey runs into Mysterio and ends up getting duped into beating himself up. In the end, Ned Leeds informs us that Mysterio died in prison, causing Spidey to question whether he’s beginning to crack up. Jameson seems to be involved somehow. Fairly entertaining, I guess, and it had a nice brisk pace.

The best part is when Spidey steals McDonald’s from some guy:

Rating:

All That Glitters is not Gold!

Spider-Man and the Falcon go up a racist golden man named Midas. Not great, not terrible. More or less forgettable.

Rating:

The Yesterday Connection! / The Secret Out of Time! / Tomorrow is Too Late! / The Future is Now!

Ok, other than some irksome physics and linguistics issues, this was a bad-ass story. With this book I feel like Marvel’s finally gotten a handle on what to do with a Giant-Size story. Instead of dragging some normal thing out and making it dull, the cutting back and forth between two different but related tales worked beautifully. Plus, like some other recent things, this was a really neat kind of classic sci-fi story that I dug. Reviving Doc Savage (in a way) was a great idea, and I’d love to see more stories like this in the future. Time travel, other dimensions, betrayal, deceit; this book had it all.

Rating:

…And One Will Fall!

Meh, this issue had too much Grizzly, not enough Jackal. Let’s get some fucking momentum on this Jackal story already.

Also, I can’t help but wonder if the “tea” comment from Pete’s new neighbour was a sly marijuana reference. I will assume it was.

Rating: