The Amazing Spider-Man #34

"The Thrill of the Hunt"

By Lee, Ditko and Rosen.

I’m a little jealous of Sean for getting the opportunity to review ASM #33, widely regarded as one of the  iconic moments in Spider-Man’s publishing history, right up there with Amazing Fantasy #15, Mary Jane’s first appearance and Gwen Stacy’s fateful excursion to the Brooklyn Bridge.

So iconic in fact, it’s been converted to an animated gif. Pretty neat.

But onto the issue #34. The issue continues with several ongoing sub-plots including Gwen Stacy’s                integration into the main cast and as a potential love interest for Peter. But since this is a Spider-Man comic, Peter assumes Gwen’s out of his league, and Gwen thinks Peter hates her. And everyone at Empire State hates Peter.

The Empire stuff leads to some far-out slang in this issue, dig?  Harry Osborn tells Peter he’s “as popular as Mao Tse Tung.”  Because of this, Peter realizes that everyone at Empire thinks he’s “high-hating on them,” and in turn this makes him feel like the “the prize crumb of the year.”

Betty’s increasingly toxic relationship with Peter begins to seep into her subconscious as she dreams about Peter revealing that he is Spider-Man. The sequence has a nice creepy feel to it, especially when Peter hits the ceiling and the reader sees look on his face in the final panel.  

That gum you like is going to come back in style, Betty.

Betty comes to her senses though, and realizes that “Whatever Peter’s secret is…whatever he is hiding from me…it can’t be..that!”  And then she decides to quit the Bugle. 

Finally rounding out our subplots for the month, Aunt May is on the mend after nearly dying of Spider-Blood Poisoning.  If Aunt May  knew  the hellish cycle of senility, sickness, death, rebirth, more sickness and more death she has ahead of her for the next 666 issues (yep, thats the number as of December 2012) the shock of realization would kill her like the guy outside of Winkies in Muholland Drive.  Only to return three issues later, of course.

The main plot revolves around Kraven the Hunter returning once again the claim the most dangerous game of all: (Spider)Man.   

Kraven might be my favorite Spider-Man rogue for a couple simple reasons:

• His costume
• His insane code of honor that allows him to beat animals to death with his bare hands, but not shoot them with guns or bows
• He’s Russian
• And in this issue, he suplexes a damn lion as a warm up for Spider-Man:

So, Kraven hits New York City and dresses up as Spider-Man and begins harassing JJJ.  This leads to JJJ publishing all manner of anti-Spider-Man stories in The Bugle, which in turn draws out Peter.  All of New York City is fooled as well, which is pretty funny since it’s a heavily accented, muscular, three hundred pound Russian man impersonating Spider-Man.  I was chuckling for a couple minutes thinking about that.

Eventually, Spider-Man defeats Kraven, and because Kraven is honor-bound he owns up to the impersonation and Spider-Man’s reputation gets cleared up, or as good as our wall-crawler's rep ever gets in NYC.  Peter goes home to think about what to do with Betty Brant and he decides that as long as he's Spider-Man, then Betty is pretty much dead to him.

Overall, a fun issue, but not perfect by any stretch.  There are so many subplots that start off the book (so much so that Lee apologizes for it in a panel where Aunt May is serving him snacks on page seven), that it slows things down a lot. 

Something about Ditko’s art felt off in most of this issue, I think some of it has to do with the pacing of the fight scenes which didn't feel like his usual kinetic style.  They felt kind of awkward and flat. The facial expressions didn't seem right as well (which I think is usually one of Ditko's stronger suits).  For instance, on page nine where it appears that Peter Parker has taken an entire strip of acid while he watches television with Aunt May. 

In contrast, I thought some of the better scenes in the book were when the color palette was limited to only two or three shades for when Peter is alone studying or in his lab.  Ditko uses this moody feel to finish strong as Peter is conflicted about whether or not to reveal his secret life to Betty.

The pencils, shading and the color perfectly convey Peter’s isolation.  One of my favorite things about Spider-Man is when Lee and Ditko (and later on Roger Stern and John Romita) channel that street level melancholy where you can almost hear some really sad jazz song in the background, (like this or something like this if you're more of traditionalist I guess) and it just clicks. 

In fact, I feel like one of the final panels of the last page really shows how well the "Stan Lee Style" of comic script writing can work. In my mind, Stan Lee saw the art that Ditko was turning in for the final pages of Spider-Man and he realized that he would have to churn out some really good heartfelt prose to accompany the art here. I love the way the silhouette's are placed on his back and it accents his tired posture. Its this combination of pictures and art that really sincerely shows Peter is a "complex, sensitive, and anguished youth."

But before we can get too downtrodden, the last panel lets us know that HOLY SHIT! THE MOLTEN MAN RETURNS!

Molten Men don't cry!

Finally, a couple non-ASM #34 related things:  If you're interested in what's happening in Spider-Man's world in the current Marvel Universe, then go read issues #698-700 (which incidentally is the final issue of Amazing Spider-Man, until they start up the numbering a year or two later).  Without getting into too much detail, the story involves Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus and it is bat-shit insane and fun (and I bet my left pinky finger that its temporary) thing to do with the Spider-Man franchise. Go check it out and let your heart be consumed with rage, or maybe delight.

This isn't Spider-Man related, but it's comics related. A guy sent this as an art submission to Marvel in the hopes of scoring a penciling job. He didn't get the gig, but he probably should have been made their lead writer for all of their X-Men, Avengers, and Spider-Man comics based on just this page as well as Editor In Chief for life:

It has nothing to do with Spider-Man, but its still pretty freaking great.  Happy New Year everyone!

The Amazing Spider-Man #32 and #33

1966

Written by Stan Lee

Art by Steve Ditko

So, as is often the case, the slow issue is followed by two issues of almost pure action. The Peter Parker drama from Empire State University is thrown aside for the next forty pages and is replaced by the type of classic plot that defines what a good Spider-Man comic can be.

As stated in the last entry, Aunt May is sick with some rare blood disease. In issue 32 Peter overhears the doctors saying that there is a strange radiation in Aunt May’s blood and it is killing her. Peter instantly remembers that the last time Aunt May was sick (probably the last time, but she’s been sick so often that I’ve lost count) he gave her a blood transfusion to save her. Now, that very blood transfusion could mean her death.

Also, the identity of the Master Planner is revealed: Dr. Octopus. He is trying to steal enough pieces of radioactive mumbo jumbo so that he can make his own warhead.

While Doc Ock is brooding on how he hates Spider-Man and wants so bad to jack up the world, Spider-Man goes to the one person he thinks will know enough about radioactivity and blood to save his Aunt May: Curt “The Lizard” Connors.

And here are all the elements of a good Spider-Man story: A loved one is ill and only Spider-Man can save them. An iconic villain is wreaking havoc on the city. The only person he can depend upon is a loose cannon. And all action occurs under the mysterious umbrella of radioactivity, the very source that granted Peter Parker the powers that changed his life.

The different plot lines are linked together by ISO 36, an element recommended by Doc Connors to save Aunt May. Connors is having it flown across the country in order to use it, but tragedy butts in. It turns out that ISO 36 is also the last element that Dr. Octopus needs to complete his warhead. Ohhhhhh Snap!

The ISO 36 is stolen and Dr. Octopus has poked the bear. Spider-Man goes nuts. He fights all of the purple henchmen from the last issue over and over again, has a deadly battle with Dr. Octopus which he wins handily, and then is trapped at the bottom of the ocean, under tons of wreckage while the leaking ceiling threatens to bring down the brine on him. 

At this moment of pure exhaustion, Spider-Man recalls why he is what he is. As he is trapped under the wreckage and struggles to summon the strength to escape, visions of Uncle Ben haunt him. He thinks something curious in these frames, and I found it rather moving. He thinks, “I’ll get the serum to Aunt May and maybe then I will no longer be haunted by the memory of my Uncle Ben” (Page 2).

I often think of the visions of Uncle Ben as moments of inspiration—moments where Ben appears and imparts some piece of wisdom—but here we see that that is not entirely true. The Ben moments are actually torturous and Spider-Man would do anything—any heroic feat he could manage—to be rid of them.

Spider-Man pulls himself up from the wreckage, defeats an army of Dr. Octopus’s henchmen, and gets the ISO 36 to Dr. Connors, thus saving his Aunt May. It’s a good, solid story.

One thing bugs me, though. And it’s a small thing, but it makes me wonder about the Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s environment at the time of writing these issues. As I understand it, the two of them were writing something like 15 million different comic books at the time. In the second issue while Dr. Connors is waiting for Spider-Man to get back with the ISO 36 he says, “There’s no way of knowing if it will assimilate with my own potion until we try it.” (Page 12, Issue #32). I read this and instantly thought, “Geez! Connors is going to try his own potion again. Do these goofball scientists never learn?”

But then the story ended sans The Lizard tearing New York City apart. I wonder if the issue went to print and then Stan Lee slapped his forehead realizing that he forgot that thread of the plot.

The Amazing Spider-Man #31

If this be my Destiny

Written by Stan Lee

Art by Steve Ditko

The title page to issue 31 is filled with Spider-Man fighting a group of soldiers in purple uniforms spraying deadly gas and springing nets at him in a desperate attempt to stop the one-man wrecking machine. The narration bubble proclaims “A new era in the life of Spider-Man. And you shall live it with him!” (Page 1). Exciting stuff, right?

Actually, ninety percent of the issue is about Peter Parker’s first day at Empire state University. Aside from issue #18 where Spider-Man didn’t even through a punch, this is the most actionless episode we’ve seen.

The villains, during their scarce appearance, are aquatic henchmen to an arch fiend who lives at the bottom of the ocean. They refer to him as “The Master Planner,” a title that might be better suited for local government than world domination. The Master Planner has his men stealing a nuclear reactor and then dumping it into the water where a rescue team nabs it and brings it to his under-the-sea lair. Think Sea Lab 2020 at the mouth of the Hudson.

The only interesting thing about the henchmen is their amazement at how well their capers are organized. They say things like, “There are the units…exactly as described!” (Page 3) and “It went like clockwork! We still have 30 seconds to spare!” (Page 2). They seem to almost expect some blunder to occur. It’s like when you start working at a new job and during the first days the working environment seems so common-sense-driven and efficient that it’s hard to believe. Then, a month later it becomes obvious that the efficiencies are just on the surface and everyone is really phoning it in. I expect one of the henchmen to walk in on the Master Planner in his underwater lair and see him quickly click away from Facebook and onto some floor plans of a bank vault.

The Master Planner storyline is not resolved in this issue and, like I said, most of the pages are spent on Peter Parker drama. Some hugely important characters are introduced in this issue: Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborn.

Some of the same story-lines that occurred in Peter’s high school career will be revived in college. Ole’ Flash Thompson is still around and he still thinks Parker is a bookworm. He immediately strikes up a friendship with Harry Osborn and they bond over hating Peter. “If there’s one thing Harry Osborn doesn’t dig, it’s a swell-head who thinks he’s better than anybody else” (Page 10). And this from a guy wearing a little red bow tie. Sheesh. They begin pulling pranks on Peter, just like in high school.

Also, just like in high school, the girl that Flash is into has the hots for Peter. Gwen Stacy, though she runs with the popular crowd, is into the brainy outcast. She thinks “He’s not as husky as Flash, but he’s brighter and very attractive” (Page 9).

All in all, it’s an introductory issue. Lee is transferring Peter Parker from high school into college and defining his new friends and new preoccupations. He does this without a major villain and without any major plot lines. It was probably for the best, but the issue has an unsatisfying aftertaste.

Oh yeah, and Aunt May is sick again.

"The Claws of The Cat"

By Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, and Artie Simek

So this issue’s villain is The Cat. He’s a cat burglar. I couldn’t find anything on Wikipedia about him, but I get the feeling that his origin isn’t exactly as full of emotional turmoil as Victor Von Doom’s origin.

So I’ve decided to make up one for him.  He’s Rorschach’s dad.

Things that make you go hurm.  Sorry.

I’ll be brief, Rorschach never met his father. The Cat looks like Rorschach, and of course he’d be a cat thief.   It made me enjoy this issue much more when I thought of it that way.

So The Cat rob’s JJJ, and around the time that Jameson finds out, there is an attempted robbery on an armored Stark Industries truck, which Spidey breaks up. I always enjoy those tiny crossovers in the early Marvel Universe, they are norm nowadays, but it’s neat to watch the first stages of world-building.

JJJ puts out a reward to get back the stock papers and other important goods that the Cat stole from his safe. Spider-Man decides to try and get the money from JJJ himself, not so much to help his ailing aunt, but to be a complete dick to his boss. So Spider-Man swings into JJJ’s office to inform of this, which pretty much gives JJJ a panic attack, which in turn gives us the best expressions of JJJ in this issue by far.

As an aside, the visual of Spider-Man with teeth over his mask is remarkably creepy.   I wonder ifTodd McFarlane took visual cues for this when creating Venom?

Spider-Man eventually captures the cat, but not before the police can get there first so the reward is void, and Jameson breathes a sigh of relief.  I was relieved too, I actually felt bad for him in this issue, the way Parker was treating him, and to make matters worse he ends up giving Peter a bit of the reward money for his photos.  Pete looks pretty guilty about the whole thing, although he never says it aloud or in a thought balloon.

Not much to say about the big fight itself, but we do get an incredibly awesome Ditko panel that could have easily been much larger.  I wish I had a poster of this single panel (which was crammed in with six other panels):

The b-story consists of Peter’s usual girl troubles. Betty has PTSD from The Scorpion's attack last issue, and she tells Peter she can’t hang with someone who lives such a dangerous life like Spider-Man, which is a pretty reasonable statement to say for most people, but Peter acts insufferable to her most of the time, and mopes about his behavior in word balloons the rest of the time.  

Also in this issue, Peter ran into Liz Allen.  Liz told him that she was scared that Flash Thompson was stalking her, so Peter prevented him from following her by knocking him. Not a good issue for the male characters.  Then he jumps up to save a guy from being killed by a disgruntled employee and he voices his disappointment with the fact that the guy wasn’t the cat burglar.

There were a pair of pop-cultural references that jumped out at me. Peter remarked that Aunt May’s apple pie was “the most!”  and he tells the guy he saved from the workplace rampage “Don’t waste that story on me!  Send it to a confession magazine!”

A lot of stuff happened, but the story was scattershot, the subplots intersected in really nonsensical ways.  The art was great as usual, but the story didn't do much for me overall.  Peter being a jerk didn't help much either.

But—HEY LOOK, IT'S BRUNO SAMMARTINO!  

If Spider-Man took on Bruno instead of that jobber Crusher Hogan, he'd still be eating food out of a straw!

Okay, I have to go drop this disc off with Sean now.

Issue #29
“Never Step on a Scorpion”
By Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, and Sam Rosen.

First, thank you to Sean for letting me pitch in on this blog. I believe I will be doing two issues, and then Sean will be doing two, and then back to me and so on.  Sorry about the continuous delays getting this first one out.

Here goes:

Out-of-context reference: Betty Brant tells Peter that Ned Leeds is taking her to see the “The Golden Boy,” which I guess would be interesting small-talk if not for the fact that merely two panels before the NYPD arrived at the Daily Bugle to tell Jameson and his staff that The Scorpion is on his way over to kill JJJ. 

I'm getting ahead of myself.  The “Golden Boy” was a play about a young black man who became a prizefighter to escape the ghetto and raise money to become a surgeon. In the process he makes a Faustian pact with a shady promoter. I wonder how much Stan Lee took from that story of when he was spit-balling the story of the Marvel Universe’s most famous (and tragic) boxer, Battlin’ Jack Murdock and his son Matt.  Of course, it's not like that's the first and only story that's ever been made about a boxer who has made poor decisions.

But anyways, back to Scorpion. The Scorpion convinces his guards that he’s experiencing a mental breakdown and by that having his costume back would be therapeutic. Yep.   A silly premise, but it’s an awesome page that features this great three-panel sequence of Scorpion busting out of jail. 1. The reader sees Scorpion's fist bust through the bars into the outside. 2. He’s mid-air leaping over adjacent buildings. 3. He’s on the ground.

 

All sandwiched between four other panels. It’s not the most dynamic or action-packed scene in an issue that has all sorts of insanity,  I just really dig it.

So word hits The Bugle about The Scorpion's escape, Ned Leeds and Betty Brant plan their date (people were really lax about costumed maniacs threatening their boss’ life in the 60’s, it was a different time) while both Peter and Jonah hatch separate plans for Spider-Man to take care of Scorpion.

Peter and JJJ’s dueling plans are probably the best part of the issue. Somehow they contradict each other’s plans, fail in the execution and still lead to Scorpion being captured:

JJJ decides to lure Spider-Man by publishing an extra edition of Bugle with the headline that screams: “'SPIDER-MAN AND SCORPION ARE PARTNERS' SAYS PUBLISHER.” Jameson figures that Spider-Man will feel obligated to clear his name.

Spider-Man on the other hand decides instead to “…simply show myself swinging through the city until he attacks.” Not exactly Sun Tzu, but hey, there’s a real fun vibe that permeates this whole and the fact that Spider-Man’s master plan is exactly ten words really encapsulates that feel.

So Spidey never reads JJJ’s article, and Scorpion doesn’t attack Spidey.  Scorpion pretty much just waltzes into the Bugle through a window and goes straight for JJJ. In fact, the way The Scorpion gets right down to business is pretty admirable: “Break out of jail. Arrive at Daily Bugle. Kill Jameson.”

If this book was about a guy who sets out a goal for himself and accomplishes it, Spidey and JJJ would be dead in a puddle of blood by page 4.

Eventually Spider-Man smartens up and realizes that Scorpion has already arrived at the Bugle. The fight scene is great and takes up half the comic. Spider-Man balls himself up and propels himself like a cannonball, turns his webs into bolos, and eventually webs on Scorpion and swings all over NYC with him in tow. It’s great stuff. Screenshots do a better job of describing this better than I can:

 

So the issue ends with Scorpion back in jail and JJJ using the Daily Bugle to spin the story as if he single-handedly defeated both Scorpion and Spider-Man. Ned takes Betty away from the scene of the fight since she is pretty shaken up from the whole thing.  Jameson's reaction to the fallout is probably the funniest bit I've ever read in a Silver Age comic about insurance fraud:

I could probably write about 10 more pages just about the fight scene. It was a great issue to start out on.
 
I’d recommend it to anyone to go out and buy the Essential trade just for this issue if you have any affinity for classic Silver Age Marvel.  And apologies to A.A. Milne on behalf of Steve Ditko:

   

The Amazing Spider-Man #28

The Menace of the Molten Man


Written and edited by Stan Lee
Illustrated and plotted by Steve Ditko


Bizarre Reference: Spider-Man says to Molten Man: Don’t let a couple punches go to your head, Raxton. You’re not exactly fighting a Maypole dancer. (Page 11)

Oooookay. Well, I sort of know what a Maypole dance is because I used to work with a Pagan lady named Anna. I thought, perhaps, that it had multiple meanings that I was missing but I can’t find another way to define it.
A Maypole Dance is an ancient Germanic Pagan dance around a pole where the participants hold ribbons attached to said pole. It is known to increase fertility. This is one of the most confusing things Spider-Man has ever said. If anyone has any insight on what this could mean, please let me know.

The Molten Man was one of my favorite comic villains growing up. He was a major character in “The Web of Spider-Man” in the 1990s. During this time he crossed over from villain to good guy after serving time in jail and coming to terms with his sister, Liz Allen. There was lots of family drama and moral dilemma every time the Molten Man made an appearance. None of this is apparent in this issue, but his introduction was still pretty good.

Spider-Man goes to see the scientist Smythe, the guy that made the robot that tried to kill Spider-Man in issue #25, to get his costume back. He’s been without his original costume for over three issues now and it’s about time this storyline ended. While Peter’s lifting his costume, a guy named Raxton breaks into the lab. Raxton has been working with Smythe to create some magical metal alloy and now that it’s nearly finished, he’s planning on stealing the stuff and selling it.

The bottle containing the alloy breaks during a struggle with Spider-Man and Raxton is covered in it, thus becoming the Molten Man. He runs away and Spider-Man tracks him down to his apartment. By this time, Raxton has discovered he has super strength and metal skin and has, of course, decided to begin a life of crime. He kicks the crap out of Spider-Man for a while before the web slinger pulls a trick with his webbing and wins the day. It was good action and I look forward to the return of the Molten Man.

The really good stuff, though, came at the end of the comic. It’s Peter Parker’s graduation day. He’s leaving high school and going out into the big world. And, normally, this might be a boring thing to put in a comic. But not with the great side characters in The Amazing Spider-Man. The high school gives out two scholarships; one for athletic achievement and one for scholarly achievement. Can you guess who receives them? Yes, Peter and Flash Thompson will both be attending Empire State University on full ride scholarships. Awesome. Totally awesome.

Amazing Spider-Man #27

August, 1965

Written by Stan Lee, Plotted and Illustrated by Steve Ditko

Favorite Bizarre Reference:

A double feature of Bizarre References: Firstly, on page 2, the Goblin tells the Crime Master “This will knock your plans to get the mobs into a cocked hat.” Phrase Finder tells me that ‘knocked into a cocked hat” refers to a game, sort of like bowling, from the 1800s called Cocked Hat. Cocked Hat used three pins and when you knock them all down you’ve “knocked a cocked hat.” The phrase means that someone’s plans of success are now in disarray.

The second reference comes from Spider-Man. He says on page 4, “I feel like Steve Reeves in one of those Italian costume movies.” Wikipedia tells me that Steve Reeves was a body builder in the 1950s who starred in a slew of movies, most famously Hercules and Hercules Unchained, both Italian films. I should note that Spider-Man was breaking free from chains when he referenced Reeves. Probably important.

Bring Back my Goblin to Me

In our last issue the Crime Master, a new villain with a much debated secret identity, had positioned himself to take over the city’s mobs, thus earning the name he’d already given himself. He has a big meeting planned down at the docks where he’s telling all the mobsters what’s what when the Green Goblin breaks in with an unconscious Spider-Man in tow, looking to steal his thunder.

There’s a criminal named Patch at the meeting that we know from last issue is an informant to the police. Patch sneaks out of the meeting when he sees that Spider-Man is in trouble and calls the police again. Spider-Man wakes up and fights the mob, the Crime Master, and the Green Goblin, all while bound in chains. The police come and aid Spider-Man and all the bad guys are defeated, the two main villains escaping in the fray.

There’s a moment of mass disappointment when we find out later, after the capture of the Crime Master, that he’s some no-name mobster that Frederick Foswell knew from his days as the Big Man. Spider-Man, who suspected Foswell to be the Crime Master, thinks, “It’s kinda funny, in real life when a villain’s unmasked it’s not always the butler or the one you suspected. Sometimes it’s someone you don’t even know.” (Page 10) This sorta made me mad. I agree with the theory, I suppose. In the real world it’s not always going to be the perfect ironic person that it should be. But, come on. This isn’t the real world. You stick to walls, right? To not give me a shocking twist is simply unimaginative.

Lee and Ditko make up for it somewhat at the end when we find that Frederick Foswell was actually disguised as Patch, the police informant and that he is the true hero of the story. For the first time ever in the Spider-Man series, a villain has rehabilitated and come over to the good side.

This two-parter loosely promised to give up some dirt and pay off. It didn’t. There was some good action and decent Parker character development, but the suspense with the Green Goblin’s identity needs to end soon, because it’s not that interesting.

Amazing Spider-Man #26

July, 1965


Scripted by Stan Lee, Plotted and Illustrated by Steve Ditko

The Man in the Crime Master’s Mask

This one opens up with Peter Parker searching for his lost costume. If we remember correctly, Aunt May confiscated one off him and J. Jonah Jameson took the other when Spider-Man used it as a decoy. Parker has been costumeless for a few days and unable to prowl as Spider-Man. He starts to get anxious and his violent side comes out.

First, he gets in a fight with Betty Brant. She’s pissed because she believes that Peter helped Jameson try to capture Spider-Man in the previous issue. I’m not 100% sure why she is so into Spider-Man since she sort of blamed the web-spinner for the death of her brother, but I suppose Stan Lee is a big supporter of fickle women. Parker says as the end of the fight, “Boy! The only thing worse than a hot-tempered female is a jealous hot-tempered female (Page 6).”

Parker then goes to his high school and endures the normal ribbing from Flash Thompson and his pack of goons. But this time Peter flips out. He charges the whole crowd of students and starts kicking ass until Liz Allan breaks it up.

We’ve seen this in the past. The teenage Peter Parker has some seriously violent tendencies and when he can’t fight criminals as Spider-Man he will start, both physically and verbally, to attack those around him. He finally breaks down and buys a Spider-Man suit from a costume store.

The other story involves the Green Goblin and a new villain called The Crime Master. These two apparently had a plan to take over the mob “racket” and the Crime Master is now cutting the Goblin out of the deal. The Crime Master is able to do this because he has the Goblin’s secret identity locked in a safety deposit box somewhere and if he dies the world finds out.

So, these two are fighting each other as Spider-Man is out of commission. When Spidey finally comes back he gets on the case and is quickly beat up by both villains. The Green Goblin actually succeeds in knocking him unconscious and bringing him to a mob meeting where the Crime Master plans to take over the city. Luckily for Peter, the costume he bought was defective and he needed to web his mask on because it kept stretching out of shape. There will conveniently be no unveiling of a secret identity.

We’re left with a bit of a cliff hanger, so we’ll have to see what happens next issue.