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.
