Amazing Spider-Man #176-180 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Wein launches probably his best known (and well written) story in issues #176-#180, as Harry Osborn's psychiatrist, Bart Hamilton, is unexpectedly revealed to be the new Green Goblin.  Although it has some moments of weakness, this arc is definitely Wein's best work on the title.  It has examples of all the best traits of his run:  he builds the story slowly, focuses on Peter's personal life along the way, and (mostly) explains the twists and turns by the end.  Except for a brief moment in the final pages, the story also dispatches with the worst trait of his run, his tendency to rely on overly complicated or unrealistic pieces of technology to move along the plot.  (See the Dr. Octopus story in issues #157-#159 and the WHO/Kingpin story in issues #153-#155 and #163-#164.)  In sum, it's a character-driven story that legitimately keeps you guessing until the end.

In today's comics, the author would've jumped right into the conflict.  We would've likely start at the end, with the back story unfolding via flashbacks over the course of five issues.  (A good example of this approach is "Sitting in the Tree," the current cross-over event in "Spider-Gwen" and "Spider-Man.")  However, Wein distinguished himself on this run by building his stories issue by issue.  As such, we start this issue right after the ending of last issue, as Peter returns JJJ, Jr. to the "Bugle" after rescuing him from the Hitman and the PLF.  Wein conveys the sense we're a fly on the wall of Peter's life -- and not just on the high-action moments in Spider-Man's career -- and I miss that approach in modern comics.  Peter finally gets a decent night's sleep, and he awakens with his shoulder has fully healed from when he was shot in issue #173.  He goes to visit Aunt May and discovers a note on her door informing Anna she's protesting at City Hall (a sign of her recent activism, starting in issue #167).  Peter goes to visit her, and we're witness to Aunt May going, for lack of a better term, totally bat-shit crazy.  She starts beating up a cop with her placard after he refuses her entry into the Mayor's Office and suffers a spell as a result of her "faint heart," something Wein has mentioned several times.  (I'd be remiss if I didn't mention a weird moment where May is screaming that she's "old enough to be [the cop's] sister," despite the fact that she really could be his grandmother, the way Andru draws them.)  Peter himself then goes bat-shit crazy, throwing the cop aside to get to Aunt May.  The cop -- not unreasonably -- concludes that Peter has super-powers after he tossed him like a rag doll, but the other cop convinces him that it was just Peter's concern for Aunt May that gave him the strength.  They rush Aunt May to the hospital, and Peter is a basket case.  He calls Mary Jane to come stay with him, and Wein continues his improved characterization of MJ, showing her as reluctant to go somewhere so grim as a hospital (per her party-girl orientation) but willing to do it for Peter.

May eventually regains consciousness, and Peter and MJ are allowed to visit her.  May appears fine (even after Mary Jane makes an oddly sexual-seeming remark about Peter),  though Peter is shown crying as he prays for her to get well.  (I have to say, Wein keeps really upping the melodrama.  May goes from death's door to totally fine in the span of two pages, and Peter seems like he's on the verge of a nervous breakdown, even though Wein established he feels better after a decent night's sleep.)  At any rate, the duo parts outside the hospital as Peter goes to visit Dr. Hamilton to see how Harry is doing.  MJ sarcastically remarks how "fun" Peter's life is, though, again, Wein is showing her as a much more empathetic figure than she was in earlier issues.  Moreover, they seem to be legitimately dating by now.  After the tea-kettle incident from issue #168, it's the second time that we see them physically affectionate:  this time, they make out on the street.

Peter then heads to Hamilton's office (even though I don't get why Hamilton would divulge any information about a patient to Peter).  However, Peter discovers the cops on the scene because Hamilton's office has been destroyed.  Peter puts two and two together and rushes to Flash and Harry's apartment.  There, Flash walks into the apartment to discover it trashed and the Green Goblin waiting for him.  The Goblin announces he's taken care of Osborn, though Flash believes the Goblin to be Harry.  (Regardless of his identity, I still don't understand why the Goblin would trash the apartment.)  Flash tries to subdue him, but the Goblin knocks him unconscious with one of his blasts.  Spidey arrives before the Goblin can flee, and they briefly battle.  Desperate to escape, the Goblin throws Flash from the apartment, and Peter comments on the parallels between this moment and Gwen Stacy falling to her death.  (The Goblin announces Peter doesn't have time to save Flash, though I don't know why he wouldn't, other than the fact that he's just standing there pondering how much it reminds him of Gwen's death.  Shake a leg, Pete.)

Obviously, Flash doesn't die:  Spidey manages somehow not only to lasso him, but swing him onto the roof safely.  (It's hard to see how Gwen's neck snapped when he executed a pretty straight-forward grab, but Flash somehow is unharmed in a move that requires him to be as flexible as Gumby.  But, I digress.)  But, the Goblin's gambit worked, since he's escaped.  True to Wein giving us an insight into all aspects of Peter's life, Spidey is then confronted by a guy whose car he damaged in the melee.  (Seriously, you just don't see this sort of scene anymore in today's comics.)  Peter then visits Aunt May in the hospital, where she stresses how good she feels after some rest.  She tells Anna Watson and MJ the same thing when they visit...and then suddenly has a heart attack.  Speaking of cowinkydinks, Peter just so happens to be wandering through an "abandoned warehouse district" pondering his fate when he stumbles upon a gangland execution.  The gang members are carrying invitations to a meeting the Goblin also wants to attend (though Wein doesn't tell us how he learned about it in the first place).  At the meeting, Silvermane is trying to consolidate all the gangs into one conglomerate, but the Goblin attacks at that moment, demanding to take over the syndicate.  Peter winds his way through an air shaft, only to hear the Goblin offer up his secret identity to the group as proof of his bona fides.

Issue #178 picks up the story, though it's initially anti-climactic.  Goblin (wisely) doesn't reveal Spider-Man's identity at the moment:  he withholds it until the Mafia bosses agree to join him.  The fact the bosses consider doing so infuriates Silvermane, and Goblin departs promising to return with Spider-Man "or his head on a platter."  (At this point, I wasn't actually sure the Goblin knew Spidey's identity; I thought it might be a gambit, figuring he could catch him and then unmask him in front of the dons.  It's only later, when he calls Spidey "Parker," that I realized he did actually know Spidey's identity.  That's getting ahead of the story, though.)  Still in the vent, Spidey bangs his elbow after the Goblin departs; the noise draws the attention of the Mafiosi, and Peter is forced to fight them to survive.  Silvermane escapes, and Peter makes his way home.  He arrives just after Mary Jane calls him to say he needs to sign a consent form so the doctors can operate on Aunt May.  It's here where I feel like this story really shows its age.  Maybe in the '70s doctors couldn't operate on a patient without a form, but I'm pretty sure today someone already admitted to the hospital for heart problems could get further treatment, even if it required surgery.  But, the shtick in this issue (and the next two issues) is that Mary Jane keeps trying to find Peter to get him to sign the forms.  It at least works to show Mary Jane's concern for Peter:  she (correctly) surmises he'd go crazy with guilt if something happened to May in the interim.  MJ eventually connects with him, but he's waylaid by the Goblin en route.  (It's in this fight where the Goblin calls him "Parker.")  The Goblin uses some sort of net on Peter, and he carries him from the hospital, with Spidey having no option but to look into May's room as it gets smaller and smaller.  (Andru really does a bang-up job on this scene.)

At this point, Wein has the Goblin become almost omniscient.  We open issue #179 with him not only knowing Peter's identity but also knowing that Aunt May is in the hospital and that she needs Peter to sign a form to survive.  Wein adds to our sense the Goblin is Harry by having him comment that he has nothing against Aunt May but she'll just become a casualty of war.  However, the Goblin's plans are ruined when a bunch of Silvermane's thugs fire an RPG at him, freeing Peter from the net.  (Remember, they're mid-air at this point.)  Peter's knocked unconscious when he unceremoniously lands in a dumpster, and Silvermane's goons retrieve him.  He eventually awakens and escapes, rushing to the hospital to sign Aunt May's forms.  (This whole scene is again needlessly melodramatic.  We learn the doctors began prepping May for surgery after Mary Jane told them Peter was on his way.  But, instead of assuring Peter his delay didn't hurt May, MJ basically tells him May's going to die because he was late.  But, then, when Peter responds by almost having a nervous breakdown (again) from his guilt, MJ tells him to "put a sock in it" because blaming himself isn't going to save May.  It's all just ...weird.)

Anywho, the Goblin decides to go after Silvermane after ditching his damaged glider at his warehouse.  This next scene is pretty great:  Wein sets the stage by telling us how packed Radio City Music Hall is, building the drama for when the Goblin attacks Silvermane in the middle of a show.  Meanwhile, at the hospital, Peter gets news May is fine and recovering.  JJJ, Jr. calls Robbie (who's waiting with Peter at the hospital) and orders him to send Peter to Radio City to get photos of the Goblin's fight with Silvermane.  The hospital scene becomes the epitome of melodramatic.  First, it's weird Robbie is there, to be honest.  My boss likes me, but I don't know if she'd sit in the hospital with me while I wait for news about my aunt's surgery.  Robbie tells Peter it's a sign of how much he cares for him, but here it gets even weirder.  Peter responds to Robbie's expression of affection with a rant, saying how that's what's bothering him:  his life is an extreme of either being the center of attention like he was in Ben and May's house or being ignored at school.  As a result, he's apparently never been able to form an opinion of himself.  (Yeah, I forgot what an asshole Peter was in this era, too.  If I were Robbie, I'd have socked him.)  I don't understand how Robbie saying he cared for Peter led to this existential crisis, but it is what it is.  At any rate, Peter heads to Radio City, because apparently now he can trust the doctors that May is fine.  He then engages in a ballet of errors with the Goblin and Silvermane.  Eventually, the Goblin grabs Silvermane and tries to flee on his glider.  Spidey grabs it with a Web-Line, but the glider can't handle the added weight, spilling the Goblin and Silvermane off it.  Plus, Peter's Web-Line snaps, so all three of them are now in free fall.  Meanwhile, at the warehouse, the hooded figure uses the jagged metal on the discarded glider to free himself, revealing him to be - to the surprise of no one by this point - Harry Obsorn!

Issue #180 stars with the longest fall in the history of mankind:  it lasts five panels, and several rounds of dialogue.  (Compare that to Flash falling in issues #176-#177, where Peter allegedly had no time to save him.)  Peter tries to create a Web-Net, but the Goblin employs a "sonic-toad" (yup) to render him unconscious.  The Goblin recovers his glider, grabs the unconscious Spider-Man, and then lets Silvermane fall.  (Seriously, they're still falling at that point.)  But, for all that drama, Silvermane doesn't die from the fall; his goons confirm he's still breathing.  (To be fair, Wein doesn't say he's OK - just that he's breathing.)  But, the real drama comes later.  Peter awakens and fights the Goblin.  In a moment from the 1960s "Batman" TV show, Peter unmasks the Goblin, and he's revealed to be Harry's psychiatrist, Bart Hamilton.  Hamilton spends two full pages explaining his plan to us.  To be fair, it somewhat miraculously makes sense based on what we've seen so far, but it does raise all sorts of questions.  We learn Harry confessed about his time as the Green Goblin to Hamilton, revealing Peter's identity along the way.  (It explains how Hamilton knew Peter's identity, but it still doesn't explain how he knew Aunt May was in the hospital or why he seemed so familiar with her.  I guess we're supposed to believe he had been extensively stalking them off-panel.)  The idea of the Goblin intrigues Hamilton, and he has Harry lead him to his secret room containing the Goblin stash. Unfortunately, this next part doesn't make much sense.  Hamilton is apparently the one who had Harry tail Spider-Man when he disposed of his clone's body, take photos of the event, and then mail the photos to JJJ, Jr.  It explains how JJJ, Jr. wound up having the photos, but it doesn't explain how Hamilton knew Peter had a clone in the first place or when he was disposing of its body.  Again, are we supposed to believe Hamilton was stalking him that extensively?  At any rate, Hamilton then uses his influence over Harry to forget the entire incident.

With the events of the last several issues now explained, Harry arrives on the scene and fights Hamilton.  This battle is really spectacular; Andru really goes to town on it.  Harry eventually comes to his senses, putting past the rage he felt over Hamilton usurping him.  He starts taking off the Goblin costume, but Hamilton is too far gone to allow him to exit the fight.  Hamilton threatens them all with a pen bomb ("the most potent bomb of them all!!"), but it only kills him -- Harry is knocked unconscious.  (I mentioned earlier there was one exception to Wein generally not using unbelievable technology in this arc, and this "pen bomb" was it.)  Other than the pen bomb, the only other odd moment in this sequence happens when we discover Harry apparently wore the Goblin costume over his suit and tie, which remained unwrinkled despite the battle.  (Where can I buy that suit?)  With Hamilton dead, Peter strips the rest of Harry's costume off him before he awakens, allowing Harry to forget he ever resumed his Goblin identity.  Moreover, all's well that ends well, because Liz returns to Harry at the end of the issue, getting over the embarrassment she felt over the Molten Man debacle.

Wein ends his run on the title with this arc, and, as I said, it's really some of his best work.  I look forward to Peter being a little less hysterical in subsequent issues, but I generally like where Wein left things, with MJ becoming a more sympathetic character and Peter's gang really fleshed out nicely.  Clearly it's all smooth sailing from this point forward!

Amazing Spider-Man #171-#175 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

We take a break from our regularly scheduled programming at the start of this next set of issues for a "whodunit" team-up with Nova.  (Thankfully, it doesn't involve the sentient computer from issue #155.)  If you look to the right of this page, you'll see a section entitled "The Nova Project," where I reviewed Rich Rider's most recent series and the related cross-over events.  Needless to say, I was excited about this arc.

In "Nova" #12, Rich has just gotten off the train and is waiting for his uncle, Dr. Ralph Rider, to come get him.  When he doesn't appear, Nova heads to the police station to use their phone, where he comes upon a panicked man telling a detective that someone has killed Dr. Rider.  Over the course of the issue, the detective discovers that six dudes were at Rider's house at the time of the murder:  his research assistant, his butler, three guys there to buy his latest invention (a "transistorized" nuclear device), and Peter Parker!  Peter was using Dr. Rider's "world-class" library when Photon burst into the room and killed Dr. Rider.  The unusually well connected detective is quickly able to discover unsavory information about the three potential buyers:  Franklin Risk is a cut-throat businessman, Harry Daze works for A.I.M., and Jason Dean represents the Maggia.  Moreover, Rider had just fired the fairly unhinged assistant, Michael Landon; he doesn't do himself any favors by repeatedly mentioning his desire to kill Rider as a result.  The butler apparently observed and overheard information to help the detective, but the detective suspiciously announces that Photon killed him off-panel before he could reveal Photon's identity.  I say "suspiciously" in part because we had seen the butler talking to the detective for a while; it's weird that he buried the lead and didn't immediately tell him Photon's identity.

In "Amazing Spider-Man" #171, the story continues as Nova and Spidey track down the suspects after they escape thanks to Risk pulling the plug on a lamp after the detective had assembled them in the same room.  (Apparently it's really dark in Long Island and people only use one lamp to light a room.)  A.I.M. arrives to help Daze, but it's a reappearing Photon that puts the kibosh on Nova and Spidey.  However, rather than killing them, he thankfully goes 1960s "Batman" TV show on them, having A.I.M. tie them to an anchor and drop them into the sea.  They manage to escape (surprising, I know) and return to Dr. Rider's house, which A.I.M. agents have under siege as they try to get the device.  The duo disables the agents and defeat Photon, revealed to be Dean in the end.  It makes sense, since Dean was the one to report the murder to the detective in the first place.  Spidey picked up the fact that Dean directed the detective to the library, even though Photon could've gone to a number of rooms in his initial search for Rider; only Photon himself would know that he killed him in the library.  The detective came to the same conclusion but for a more ridiculous reason:  Rider pulled out the July-December pages of a calendar, spelling out "JASON D."  I can't say that it's the best cross-over arc that I've ever read, but it was a fun diversion, convenient developments and ridiculous tricks aside.  (Plus, it was weird to see Rich with his '70s hair!)

After the solid Will o'Wisp, Faustus, and Nova stories, I thought that we were on a roll.  Unfortunately, we take a detour to Lizard/Stegron land here in issue #172.  It starts mid-"confrontation" with Rocket Racer.  I put "confrontation" in quotes because the entire four-page chase involves Rocket Racer expositing his powers.  Spidey melodramatically thinks to himself that Racer "may just be as great a menace as any I've ever faced before..." only to capture him five panels later.  (Yeah, he definitely makes Dr. Doom look like a chump.)  Wein then moves onto the next menace, someone that he had in the background last issue stalking Liz Allan.  We learn that it's the Molten Man:  he sent Liz, his step-sister, to steal chemicals from the hospital, but she's caught in the act and arrested.  She calls Peter for help, and he convinces Robbie Robertson to post bail.  Peter is worried that the incident will set back Harry in his convalescence.  (They had seen Liz hurry past the diner where they were eating the night of the crime, and she didn't respond to Harry's calls to her.)  Peter breaks into Liz's apartment as Spidey and, after seeing evidence of burns, realizes that it's Liz's step-brother and entraps him at the hospital, where he's gone to steal the chemicals himself.  However, the Molten Man escapes, leaving Spidey on the scene of the crime as the police arrive.

Although it's not the best scripted issue, this issue is interesting to me mainly for its portrayal of Liz.  First, this Liz Allan is very different from the one that we've seen running Alchemax in "Spider-Man 2099:"  it's probably like reading old "Thor" issues where Jane Foster is a nurse.  Here, she's shy, demure, and not a little bit hysterical.  But, Wein misses the opportunity to explore her character more.  For example, he doesn't even attempt to explain why Allan would go to such lengths to help her step-brother, particularly when it's clear that he doesn't think highly of her, after he refers to her as "imbecilic" in his internal monologue.  I get that he's been previously introduced, but it would've helped to remind us why Liz feels such a debt to him that she's willing to steal.  Second, it's the first issue where JJJ, Jr. expresses a romantic interest in Marla Madison.

Issue #173 picks up the scene right where we left it, though Spidey is basically reduced to a bumbling idiot.  Somehow one of the cops on the scene manages to shoot him in the shoulder (so much for his Spider-Sense), and he barely manages to fend off two hospital workers that then tackle him.  (Wein has vacillated between whether people treat Spidey as a hero or a menace throughout his run, but, in this arc, he's definitely viewed as a villain.)  Peter eventually escapes while, on the "other side of town," the Molten Man has a technician mix the chemicals that he swiped from the hospital into the formula that'll cure him.  It works briefly, and he celebrates becoming Mark Raxton again.  However, the cure fades, and he's quickly on fire.  For reasons that Wein doesn't totally explain, Raxton reveals that his temperature will keep on rising until he explodes.  He decides that he must see Liz again so that he doesn't die alone, and Robbie calls Peter onto the scene to take photos for the "Bugle."  Peter enters the building to make sure Liz is OK, but Raxton is beyond gone.  He keeps insisting on holding Liz, oblivious to the fact that he'd kill her if he did.  Peter fights him, but he eventually loses consciousness due to the pain in his shoulder.  It heightens the tension, as Liz is driven to the edge of the collapsing building ("collapsing" because of Raxton's heat).  Peter eventually recovers and saves her, and Raxton explodes.  Harry tries to comfort Liz, but she flees, saying that she destroys everything that she loves.  Wein still doesn't explain why Liz thinks that Raxton becoming the Molten Man is somehow her fault, but we're clearly supposed to believe that Liz leaving Harry (at least in the moment) is going to push him over the edge.

Outside the Molten Man plot, this issue has two significant developments.  First, Peter narrates that Dr. Connors bandaged up his arm, an assertion that raised both my eyebrows.  I feel like I probably would've asked a student who walked into my office asking for help with a gunshot wound how he got it, but Peter specifically mentions that he didn't ask.  Wein almost seems to be implying that Connors knows that Peter's Spider-Man, but I'm pretty sure that it's not true.  More importantly, Peter gets a letter from Empire State University telling him that he won't graduate from college because of his failing grades.  (As a side note, Liz's last name is misspelled "Allen" throughout the issue.)

I realize at this point that I'm developing a love/hate relationship with Wein, and issue #174 is the perfect example of it.  On the love side, Wein continues two hallmarks of his run that I appreciate.  First, it's his ability to really embrace comic books as a serial.  Sure, the constant appearance of the mysterious goons that the Kingpin hired early in Wein's run got tiring.  But, overall, his commitment to assembling stories issue after issue is something I appreciate.  For example, here, Peter is still smarting from the gunshot wound that he got last issue, a wound exacerbated by his confrontation with the Molten Man later in that issue.  It makes the story more realistic, since it's not like Peter regenerates his body anew every issue like most other authors have their heroes do.  Second, Wein reminds us that these stories happen in a larger context by constantly pulling in guest stars.  In this issue, the Punisher returns, and we've already seen Nightcrawler and Nova in the last few issues.  Moreover, Wein combines both patterns in keeping us updated on the events in the lives of Peter's supporting cast in each issue.  Here, Peter's concern that Liz's troubles with the Molten Man will impact Harry comes true:  Liz has left him, and Harry attacks Flash when he implies that maybe it was for the better if she didn't appreciate everything Harry has done for her.  Again, Wein actually makes sure that actions have consequences, a welcome change of pace, particularly for comics of that era.

Moving onto the actual plot of the issue, the People's Liberation Front (PLF) has hired the Hitman to kidnap JJJ, Jr. to convince him to stop publishing negative editorials about them.  Lucky for him, the Punisher had just run into a group of PLF terrorists, and one of them divulged that Jameson was their next target.  Plus, Peter had just entered the newsroom when the hostage situation started.  Here, we get to the "hate" part.  Peter and the Punisher unexpectedly burst into Jonah's office at the same time, and bungling shenanigans (similar to what we saw last issue in the hospital room) ensue.  The Hitman is able to escape with Jonah to the rooftop, where he's called his remote-controlled, two-person helicopter.  Peter manages to web up his goggles and tries to escape with JJJ, Jr., but Jonah refuses to go with him, giving the Hitman enough time to clean off the webbing.  Peter's busted shoulder means that the Hitman is able to overpower him, and we end the issue with the Punisher ill-advisedly opening fire on the helicopter as the Hitman tries to depart with a recaptured Jonah.  In terms of the soap opera that is Peter's life, we also learn that the Dean has told him that he can't help him graduate, so Peter'll need to take make-up courses.

Then, we have issue #175.  It's...odd.  On one hand, it's actually a remarkably solid Punisher story.  The Punisher assures Spidey that he's not trying to kill Jonah; he's only aiming at the engine of the helicopter.  (That "assurance" seems pretty irrelevant, since Spidey's concern that he's shooting at the helicopter with Jonah in the line of fire is still valid).  The Hitman escapes, but Spidey manages to land a tracer on his helicopter.  As they follow it, we learn that the Hitman once saved Frank's life in 'Nam (hence why he seemed to recognize him when he burst onto the roof in the last issue).  He was later discharged for mental instability, and Frank reveals that he had always suspected him of being the Hitman but wasn't sure until he saw his face.  The pair find the tracer at an abandoned barn, and they get the two henchman fixing the helicopter there to reveal that the Hitman and Jonah are en route to the Statue of Liberty.  There, we learn that the nutjob running the PLF doesn't want to convince Jonah to stop publishing anti-PLF editorials:  he plans to explode the Status of Liberty with Jonah on it as a message to other publishers.  Peter and the Punisher arrive in the now-repaired helicopter, and the Hitman takes out the head of the PLF when he pulls a gun on him (arguing that his contract only called for him to deliver Jonah, as he did).  The denouement is a familiar one for this period:  in the ensuing fight, both Hitman and Jonah are left hanging on one of the spikes of the Statue of Liberty's crown.  Spidey is holding Jonah (whose hands are tied behind his back so can't help himself), but his injured shoulder is going.  Frank has to decide who to help, haunted by the promise that the Hitman made him make in 'Nam, that he owed him a life.  He helps Jonah, and the Hitman gets philosophical as he falls to his death, commenting that he never made Frank promise that it'd be his life that he'd save.  Frank is distraught over the Hitman's death, but Spidey hypothesizes that it seemed like he wanted to go and that he was now at peace.  Frank comments that the Hitman's war is over, but his war isn't.  Separately, during a therapy session, Harry snaps, assaulting Dr. Hamilton.

I said that this issue is odd, because Wein overuses terms like "friend" and "pal."  It seems like a minor point, I know, but it's really distracting, as the Hitman, Punisher, and Spidey constantly use it with each other, like a group of fraternity brothers calling each other "brah" while playing hackysack.  It's unfortunate, because I think that it's really one of Wein's more solid stories.  Everything flows naturally; although the scheme to blow up JJJ, Jr. on the Statue of Liberty is ludicrous, I bought it, because Wein makes it clear that the head of the PLF is, in fact, insane.  But, the "friends" and "pals" distract from the grim story that Wein is telling.

At any rate, this issue of series continues a pretty strong streak for Wein.  I might have a nit-pick here or there or an occasional issue might be weird (like issue #172, where Wein introduces Rocket Racer).  But, most of the stories now are solid, and Wein continues to make the most of Spidey's supporting cast.  Overall, we've definitely turned the page since the Lizard/Stegron debacle.

Amazing Spider-Man #166-#170 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

It's been about six months since I posted my first round of reviews of the 1970s era of "Amazing Spider-Man."  I just re-read my first three posts about them, and I'll say that the next three posts will have a more positive spin on Wein's run.  It's not all good -- in fact, the first two issues of this review aren't exactly winners -- but overall Wein seems to have tightened his story telling.  He's largely ditched the deus ex machinas -- a major weakness of the early part of his run -- and he's amped up the use of Peter's supporting cast -- a major strength of his run.  If this trend continues, I could see him really ending in top form.

However, as I said, the first two issues of this next batch aren't stellar.  Although I acknowledge that comics in the 1970s were chock-full of corny dialogue, Wein really takes the cake in issue #166.  He overuses the shtick where Stegron elongates all his "s"-es, making it hard to get through his parts of the text.  (In a later letters page, the editor says that Wein actually refrained from using this shtick more, with words that started with an "s" sound, but not an actual "s."  If he had, this issue would've been unreadable.)  Compounding the problem, he has Stegron -- in fact, all the characters -- provide a running narration of all of his actions.  Show, don't tell, Len!  Between the "s"-es and the monologuing, this issue was a chore.  Unfortunately, the plot didn't help matters.  The issue finds Spider-Man confronting the Lizard and Stegron at the same time, and Spidey risks delivering the cure to the Lizard even though it exposes him to Stegron's attacks.  In the end, it was a good decision, since a reverted Doc Connors magically whips up a device from material lying around Stegron's sewer hide-out.  This device somehow reverts the rampaging dinosaurs that Stegron reanimated to skeletons.  (Again, later issues might've ditched the science-defying deus ex machinas, but this one definitely doesn't.)  Stegron escapes, but he's undone by the fact that the December cold renders him immobile.  In an example of pet peeve #3, he acknowledges that it was probably a stupid idea to launch his quest for global domination in December -- right before he inexplicably slips beneath some ice. Between this arc and the one where the Kingpin transferred Peter's life essence into his son, Wein should be sanctioned by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  Oh, also, Harry proposes to Liz.

The good news is that Wein seems to have gone on vacation at some point between writing issues #166 and #167, because the latter one is a lot stronger.  Marla certifies that the Spider-Slayer is ready to use, and JJJ, Jr. is eager to do so.  He follows Peter, figuring that he'd encounter Spider-Man; his stalking brings about this self-fulfilled prophecy when Peter's Spider-Sense leads him straight to Jonah.  Their initial conversation is over quickly, but not before JJJ, Jr. lets slip that he has evidence to prove "who" and "what" Spider-Man really is.  Later, Spidey approaches Robbie about Jonah, and Robbie tells him that Jonah just sits in his office and cackles over some sort of file (the one that he received in issue #161 that seems to show that Peter is Spider-Man).  Abruptly, Robbie then berates Peter for coming to his home (as opposed to his office) for this information, throwing him from the car.  This sequence is odd, but I think that Wein intentionally made it so, implying that Robbie is having some problems.  (In a similar vein, Wein somewhat awkwardly introduces Harry's therapist, Bart Hamilton, in this issue, just in time for Flash to realize that he's having some "problems" and needs to talk to someone.  It's like Wein was watching too many Woody Allen movies.)

To complicate Peter's life even further, Will o' Wisp debuts in this issue.  Wein does a solid job of quickly establishing his m.o.:  he's desperate to return to his human form, but he has to commit crimes on the part of the man that made him this way to win his freedom.  Curiously, one of these jobs is to retrieve the file in Jonah's safe, though Wein doesn't yet reveal how the Wisp's mysterious employer knows about it.  But, Wein steadily builds the tension throughout the issue until the two plots spectacularly combine at the climax:  Peter faces the Wisp in Jonah's office over the file just as Jonah, as the Spider-Slayer, arrives to take down Peter.  Although we just did the "two villains at once" bit in the last arc, it comes together a little more naturally in this one.  (Turning quickly to Peter's personal life, he's in a better place with Mary Jane by this issue, since she's more accepting of his disappearing act, and Aunt May has become a community organizer after her landlord tries to revoke her rent-control.)

Issue #168 is another solid entry, putting the Lizard/Stegron arc behind us pretty quickly.  First, we learn, via Peter's inner monologue, that Will o'Wisp was actually trying to steal a different file from Jonah's safe.  (I don't think we ever learn what the file contained or how his boss knew that Jonah had it.)  Peter manages to set Will o'Wisp against Jonah, hoping to escape with the right file before anyone notices.  However, before Peter can flee, Will o'Wisp reverts to the form of a ball of energy and disappears.  We later learn that his creator, Jonas Harrow, can recall him at will, and he did so here, fearing that the delay meant that Will o'Wisp had gone rogue.  Learning of Spider-Man's interference, Harrow uses his control over Will o'Wisp to demand that he kill Spider-Man.  (We learn that this control comes from a device that Harrow installed in the Will o'Wisp when he came to him for help with his condition; it allows Harrow to dissipate him.)  Wein makes it clear that Will o'Wisp is devastated over the idea of killing someone, and he ultimately decides to spare Spidey's life when he has him on the ropes.  He tries to take out Harrow, who he had earlier recognized as a bystander in the crowd watching their fight, but Harrow does successfully dissipate him.

Meanwhile, in between the fights, Peter opened the right envelope and discovered the photo of him with his clone.  Realizing that Jonah either thinks that he is Spider-Man or that Spider-Man killed him, Peter hatches a plan involving his dark room.  Happily for Peter, he also gets in some pretty obvious nookie time with Mary Jane, who stopped by his apartment and made some tea for them when she realized that he was in the dark room.  Wein and his predecessors have done a solid job of not spelling out the fact that Peter and Mary Jane are having sex, keeping everything Comics Code friendly.  But, when Peter exhorts Mary Jane to let the kettle whistle, it's pretty clear that he doesn't just want some snuggles.

Wein brings the mystery of the envelope to a somewhat false conclusion in issue #169.  When Jonah confronts Peter with the photos, we learn that he believes that Spider-Man killed Peter and he's been wearing a mask to impersonate him.  Peter then deploys his plan, using photos that he reverse-engineered from the originals to prove to JJJ, Jr. that his photos were forgeries.  Jonah rebounds quickly, asking how someone made forgeries if Peter had the originals.  Peter didn't see that coming, but he also is light on his feet, hypothesizing that Harry Osborn had access to those photos when they were roommates during his Green Goblin era.  Jonah announces that he's convinced, but it happens too quickly, particularly for a plot that Wein has been brewing for nine issues.  Wein has to be holding back something.  That said,  he also informs us that Jonah left behind the photos at Peter's (and Peter promptly destroyed them), so maybe it really is the end of that particular plot (at least until we learn who sent Jonah the photos in the first place).

A jubilant Peter spends some time Web-Slinging, where he eventually stumbles upon some cloaked men entering a building.  He shakes down one of them, and the goon sends Spidey to an abandoned subway tunnel.  There, other similarly dressed goons are waiting to do something (Wein doesn't specify) with a laser cannon that their boss bought from the Tinkerer.  Spidey makes quick work of them and expects the boss that dramatically enters the room to be the Kingpin:  however, it's really Dr. Faustus.  We're treated to a particularly over-the-top villain's monologue in issue #170, where Faustus explains not only how he survived his apparent death during a battle with Captain America but also conveniently (again) reveals his only fear, of heights.  The good news is that the issue improves significantly from there.  The aforementioned laser canon is meant to break down a wall with a secret lab, and Faustus gases Peter with his "specially prepared cigarette" to get him to lead the way through the security systems.  (Did he expect Spidey to stumble upon them somehow?  I assume that he had a Plan A, but Wein doesn't say what it was.)  At the lab, Faustus reveals that he plans on introducing his own "psychogenic additive" to the "antelope flu vaccine" that the government plans on distributing within days, in advance of a projected epidemic.  However, Spidey is standing under a vent that conditions the air in the lab, and it eventually clears his head.  He then faces a pretty tough battle with Faustus, defeating him only by re-activating the security system as Faustus attempted to flee.  In other developments, with the JJJ, Jr. photo drama resolved (at least for now), Wein introduces a new nefarious background threat, some guy that rents Aunt May's house with the hope of learning its secret.

Again, although the first two issues of this set of reviews were rough, the Will o'Wisp and Faustus issues were solid.  Both posed a real threat to Spidey, and Wein resolved the fights with resorting to the aforementioned science-defying deus ex machinas.  Moreover, he's really doing stellar work with the supporting cast, particularly now that he's settled on a clear personality for Mary Jane.

Amazing Spider-Man #161-#165 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

In my last review, I called issues #156-#160 "off-beat."  Unfortunately, I think that I have to call issues #161-#165 "bad."

I actually had high hopes for these issues.  Issues #161-#162  involves a number of firsts.  Spidey meets Nightcrawler, and the pair eventually team with the Punisher to track down a mysterious assassin impersonating him.  They come to discover that it's Jigsaw, in his first appearance.  Cool, right?  But, as usual with Wein, we take a number of detours along the way that make little sense and weigh down the story.

To start, issue #161 isn't terrible, but it has a number of logic gaps that resulted in a flood of "No-Prize" requests in a later issue.  Overall, the premise works:  Nightcrawler has come to Coney Island to investigate the assassination of a friend from his circus days.  Coincidentally, Peter is there with Mary Jane, and both he and Nightcrawler witness the assassin striking again:  this time, he shoots someone on the roller coaster.  Nightcrawler chases the assassin, and we run into our first set of problems.  Despite creating Nightcrawler, Wein doesn't seem to have a good grip on his powers.  When the assassin locks a door behind him, Nightcrawler simply stares at it instead of teleporting through it.*  Spidey arrives on the scene, and the two heroes then engage in that most time-honored tradition of comic books:  the mistaken-identity fight.  Nightcrawler eventually flees, but realizes that Peter took photos of their encounter.  Later, Spidey visits the "Bugle," and Robbie tells him that word on the street is that the Punisher is behind the shootings.  However, we learn that it's someone impersonating the Punisher, and Frank is trying to discover the guy's identity, since he's ruining his reputation.  Later, Nightcrawler ambushes Spidey as he sits on the Roosevelt Bridge.  He wants his camera, since he has to destroy the film so no one knows about the X-Men's existence.  (They're apparently not publicly known at this point.)  The Punisher then arrives on the scene, because (coincidentally, again) his contact told him that the assassin would be there.  He is convinced, as a result, either Nightcrawler or Spidey is the assassin.

Also in this issue JJJ, Jr. receives a mysterious package of photos that shows Peter disposing of the clone's body (from issue #151).  Wein is obviously going to milk this "mystery" for a while, but I can't see any chance of me actually buying the explanation.  The only person that I could see sending the photos to JJJ, Jr. is the Jackal, but why would he?  Ruining Peter's secret identity seems pretty small potatoes.  (Plus, he's technically dead.)  Also, I'm not sure what JJJ, Jr. thinks (or, more to the point, what Wein wants the reader to think that JJJ, Jr. thinks).  Does he think Peter was killed by Spider-Man?  That makes sense, but what does he make of "dead" Peter being in a Spidey suit?

Issue #162 is an improvement and, frankly, one of the most solid issues of Wein's run so far.  It contains the introduction of not only Jigsaw, but Marla Madison:  JJJ, Jr. approaches her, presumably, to build the Spider-Slayer.  (I didn't realize that she was the daughter of one of his friends.  I'm also surprised, though not in a bad way, by how brusque she is.)  Focusing on the issue at hand, the Punisher realizes that neither hero is the assassin when the assassin himself opens fire on them.  Frank offers to work with Spidey to track down the assassin, and Peter agrees.  Frank's miraculously discovered that the assassin is going to strike a block party (just as he discovered that Nightcrawler and Spidey were at the Roosevelt Bridge last issue).  He and Spidey comb the neighborhood, but Jigsaw's men get the jump on Spidey and somehow manage to defeat him in just four panels.  (Seriously.  Four.  It's one hit with a pipe, a strike on the back of the head, and a kick to the jaw.)  They deliver the unconscious Spidey to Jigsaw, who politely doesn't unmask him, using him instead as bait for Frank.  A fight ensues, and I have to say that it's really thrilling.  Wein did a great job building to this point, so, when Jigsaw finally emerges from the shadows, it's definitely a moment.  That said, we again have gaps.  Jigsaw exposits that he killed four people to get the Punisher to return to New York, but we don't know how he chose those people or how he managed to get the underworld to think that it was the Punisher (since they likely knew that he wasn't in New York in the first place.)   One of the better moments was Wein winking at the reader when he has Spidey comment, "This looks like a job for -- Spider-Man!"  It's a nod to the recently concluded "Superman vs. Spider-Man" cross-over event that they'd been mentioning every month on the letters page.

In the end, even with the bumps and weaknesses, these two issues were still pretty fun.  Even if it was one of the weirdest team-up stories ever, Wein made it work in the end.  Unfortunately, I can't say the same for issue #163.  In terms of the ongoing story at that time, it's significant, because we finally learn the identity of the villain that hired the goons that we saw in issues #153, #154, and #160.  The problem is that we don't have to look any further than the cover to know that it's Kingpin.  (Why do they do that?  Seriously.)  Moreover, the issue doesn't start off that well.  With no explanation, we see Spidey riding on the roof of a car in a suburban area.  In so doing, he just so happens to observe a helicopter that the aforementioned goons just so happen to be using to steal an armored car.  Talk about luck!  (Eye roll.)  Spidey engages in a mid-air fight with the goons, but they manage to achieve their goal, stealing a device from inside the car.  (I have no idea why the couldn't have just stopped the car and gotten the device, since using a helicopter to lift it into the air and then rocket packs to break into it seems...excessive.)  The goons flee, and Peter heads to MJ's apartment but she's not there.  He soon learns that she's at his place with all his friends:  Glory has thrown him a decorating party where everyone brought an item they don't need or want anymore.  It's a significant moment, since it introduces the cigar-store Native American statue that stays in Peter's life for a long time.  As the party progresses, Peter grows frustrated at Flash putting the moves on MJ, so he flees (apparently right into the plot of "Spectacular Spider-Man" #1).  Off-panel, Peter went to Con Edison where they very conveniently pointed out the one building in New York using more power than it should.  (Apparently, Peter's glance at the device that the goons stole let him know that it requires a lot of energy.  He really is a genius!)  Surprise, surprise:  the Kingpin is there.  He decides that he wants to engage Spidey in combat personally, and he eventually knocks him unconscious.  Peter awakens to discover that the Kingpin has him hooked to a machine (once again, conveniently leaving on his mask) and his grand plan is revealed:  Kingpin is going to transfer Spidey's life energy to his dying son.

At this point, if I'm not mistaken, the Kingpin has stolen the final component of the W.H.O. computer (issue #153), a freeze ray (issue #154), some furs (issue #160), and the device that he stole in this issue.  How the hell is that going to transfer the life essence from Peter to to Richard Fisk, you may ask?  If you expected us to get an answer in issue #164, well, you'd be disappointed.

I've been really trying to like Wein here, but the conclusion of the Kingpin story makes it feel like he isn't even trying to make sense.  I mean, sure, it's a different time, and I don't expect the same sort of realism in comics from the 1970s that I expect from today.  But, Wein doesn't even seem to have a basic grasp of physics here.  First, we never learn how the W.H.O. component or the furs are connected to anything.  The freeze ray -- or "cryogenic converter" -- from issue #154 makes a lot more sense, because we learn here that Kingpin put Richard into a cryogenic freeze after he died in some ridiculously convoluted fight with the Red Skull in "Captain America."  (Maybe the Kingpin needed the furs to stay warm when he used the freeze ray?)  But, I think the converter would only help thaw him.  I guess we're left to assume that it's the device form last issue that really completed the "vita-drain."

Moreover, assuming even that we accept the fact that such a transfer of life force is possible, the mechanics of the "vita-drain" are bizarre.  Wein treats life force like a set of hit points where the transitive property applies.  If Peter had 36 hit points and Richard 4 hit points, then the transfer completely reverses those numbers.  No, really.  Kingpin magically knew that Richard only had six hours to live before the procedure, so he tells Peter that he now similarly only has six hours to live.  Of course, Peter high tails it to Dr. Connors, and he takes a stun guy that he had been crafting and magically converts it to a device to reverse the vita-drain.  (At this point, don't ask.)  Peter tracks down Richard and hits him with it, and I thought that Wein was finally getting somewhere interesting:  after all, Peter is essentially killing Richard here to save his own life.  But, alas, Wein incorporates a dodge here:  Vanessa, the Kingpin's wife (and Richard's mother), exposits that Richard had possession of Peter's life force long enough to "rejuvenate" his body.  Um, what now?  If he didn't need all the life force to rejuvenate, then wouldn't it also be true of Peter?  Eventually, wouldn't he have just...felt better?

[Sigh.]  At least we won't see the goons again.

Issue #165 is marginally better, if only because it's more focused.  Stegron breaks into a S.H.I.E.L.D. installation to get some sort of device to reanimate dinosaurs, so they can conquer the world and he can rule them.  He also kidnaps Dr. Connors' son to blackmail him into creating yet another device, but Connors is unable to complete it because he turns into the Lizard.  (Apparently the effects of the explosion from last issue -- when he was helping Spidey -- and the stress of Billy's kidnapping pushed him over the edge.)  Meanwhile, Peter confronts Flash about Mary Jane, and he tells Peter that MJ told him that she was a free agent.  However, since she apparently isn't allowed to have free will, Flash berates her off-panel for playing games, and Peter and she go on a date this issue.  (Did I mention that Peter threatened to give her a fat lip in issue #160?  No?  That Peter, he's sure a swell guy.  That said, I could see why MJ returns to him, because his hair is pretty amazing in this issue.  I wish that I could pull off that front curl!)  Also, Marla Madison is scanning JJJ, Jr.'s brain for...science?  I just don't know.

At this point, the problem is that these issues read more like they're from the 1940s than the 1970s.  Wein puts all his faith in various devices that go beyond the usual deus ex machina role.  So many villains employ devices that magically achieve their goals here that you have to wonder why Peter just doesn't swing around Manhattan with a device to change people's alignments.  (Paging "AXIS.")  It's just excessive, and it robs these issues of any natural tension arising from a challenge that Peter or the villain has to overcome to win.  Instead, they just pull out a device and their problems are solved!  [Sigh.]  At this stage, I'm much more interested in Peter's social life, particularly given that we're in that iconic period where he's starting to date Mary Jane.  But, given his bro-ish behavior towards her (no matter how time-period relevant), it's even hard to care about that part. 

Amazing Spider-Man #156-#160 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Wein delivers another set of off-beat issues here, and I'm beginning to wonder if it's a good idea to have the editor also serve as the writer.

Issue #156 is fine, the sort of mad-cap caper that I expect from this era.  The Mirage just so happens to rob the wedding hall where Betty Brant and Ned Leeds are getting married.  (It's hosting several weddings at once, so it's a plum target.)  As a result, Peter has to engage in his typical disappearing act to save the day.  Eventually, the excuse that he provides here -- that he ran into another room to call the police -- becomes so overused (and unbelievable) that writers were forced to acknowledge the implausibility of everyone still buying it.  But, at this point, I guess that it's more or less believable that they're all still going with it.  (Notably, Mary Jane is getting suspicious, since Wein continues to portray her as acutely aware of Peter's absences).  The best part of the issue is probably the first few pages where Wein sets up the story.  As Peter alights on the roof of his apartment building in his Spidey costume, his drunken landlady attacks him with a broom (and worries that she killed him when she knocks him off the roof).  To make matters worse, he realizes that his milk is spoiled as he drinks it.  He also never manages to get food at the buffet table before the ceremony starts.  It's the sort of college-boy antics that had again gotten stale by the time that I started reading "Amazing Spider-Man" in the mid-80s, but they feel fresh here, since they legitimately represent Peter on his own for the first time.  Also, the most important panel is easily overlooked:  on page 18, Harry tries to save Liz from Mirage stealing her purse.  She'll later approach him in issue #157 to thank him, beginning their relationship.  The only real downside to this issue is that I did raise an eyebrow at the idea that Peter and Mary Jane serving as the best man and maid of honor at the wedding.  Ned has no other male friends than the first love of his soon-to-be wife?  Betty has no other female friends than the current girlfriend of her first love?  Really?

But, it's the three-part Dr. Octopus story in issues #157-#159 that stakes out new territory in oddness.  We learn that the mysterious homeless man that we've seen a few times over the previous issues is actually Dr. Octopus.  He appears on May's doorstep for help, and he's still there when Peter arrives.  Honestly, I had no idea that May and Ock had a relationship so soon in the series.  I expected it to be much later in the 100s.  But, a relationship they had, and Otto tells us what happened after he left May at the altar.  Apparently, it was Hammerhead that caused him to flee the ceremony to a "uranium-rich Canadian island" that May had apparently inherited.  (No, really.  I assume that this tidbit was better explained during the original story.)  Hammerhead followed him there and, in the scuffle, caused a nuclear explosion that only Otto survived.  However, he claims that it also turned Hammerhead into a ghost, and he's been haunting Otto (again, really) ever since.  We learn that Otto isn't crazy when Hammerhead appears in May's living room.  Otto flees with May, starting a three-issue battle with Spider-Man over which one of them is going to save her.

(Seriously.  For reasons that don't really make sense to me, Peter doesn't trust Otto with May.  He acts as if Otto is going to kill her, something that he clearly has no intention of doing.  Maybe Peter is just young and overly emotional?)

Eventually, Hammerhead manipulates Otto into returning him to his body.  (Apparently, Hammerhead wasn't "killed" so much as he was "out of phase" or some such nonsense.  Seriously, Wein puts no real effort into explaining it.  He also puts no effort into explaining how Hammerhead -- not the sharpest tool in the shed -- knew better than Otto that the device that he created to kill Hammerhead once and for all would actually resurrect him.  But, I digress.)  However, Hammerhead's resurrection doesn't last long.  Corporeal again, he swipes Aunt May and escapes, forcing Peter and Otto to join forces to find them.  They do, and Otto eventually downs Hammerhead's helicopter as he (again) tries to escape, allegedly killing him (again).

Honestly, it's just strange.  As the next issue confirms, this arc starts a pattern of Wein using science as a deus ex machina, putting little effort into explaining major drivers of plots.  Moreover, Aunt May seems to be perpetually near-death.  She was in the hospital for issues #144-#146, and she's unconscious for the better part of issues #157-#159.  She's essentially the original woman in a refrigerator.  It makes you really appreciate how great it is that "Brand New Day" made her less frail.  (Look, I said something nice about "Brand New Day!")

All that said, it all somehow gets even weirder in issue #160.  Spidey encounters the henchmen from issues #153-#154 again, this time robbing furs.  While he fights them, the Spider-Mobile reappears and attacks him.  (The disappearance of the Spider-Mobile from where he previously crashed it into the Hudson River has been a sub-plot for the last few issues.)  It's unclear to me if the henchmen were working for the Tinkerer, the guy that we later learn sent the Spider-Mobile after Spidey in the first place, or if the Tinkerer just happens to attack at the same time as Spidey's fighting the henchmen.  (At this point, I don't expect us to ever learn anything about these guys.)  Peter barely manages to escape the Spider-Mobile in his first encounter with it, because some sort of gas robs him of both his Spider-Powers and the use of his Web-Shooters.  In a second encounter, the Spider-Mobile eventually webs up Spidey and delivers him to the Tinkerer.  The Tinkerer (besides revealing that his alien bit from issue #2 was a ruse) exposits that the gas clogged Peter's pores, denying him his Spider-Powers.  (I have no idea how it also clogged his Web-Shooters, because Wein doesn't even attempt to explain it. Again, it's "SCIENCE!")  The Tinkerer is apparently supposed to deliver Spidey to his mysterious employer, but Spidey manages to escape.  He later delivers the Spider-Mobile to the PR company that conned him into creating it in the first place, after they had previously threatened to sue him if he didn't return it.

Honestly, it just makes no sense.  Wein is using it as part of this larger story that he's apparently telling involving the henchmen, but it just seems bizarre that he chose the Spider-Mobile as this issue's action-forcing event.  Moreover, seven issues after the henchmen's first appearance, I still have no idea who employs them or what his/her goal is.  At this point, assuming that it's the same employer, s/he wanted the missing piece to the WHO, the industrial freeze-ray, some furs (I think), and Spider-Man.  It's an eclectic mix, to say the least.

Despite the just downright bizarreness of these issues, Wein does include some decent small moments.  Glory brings over a cake to Peter's apartment in issue #158, and she meets Mary Jane, who amazingly doesn't have a conniption fit over a woman being in Peter's apartment.  (We're also treated to Peter in his tighty-whities as he puts on his costume under his street clothes in his bedroom.  Speaking of a naked Peter, I should also note a glitch in issue #157 where his Spidey pants are flesh-colored, making it look like he's flashing his ass at us.  It makes you realize how important colorists are, since the spandex crowd are essentially naked all the time.)  Moreover, JJJ, Jr. is going through secretaries like Kleenex now that Betty has moved to Paris with Ned; he fires his third one in issue #160.  (Betty made that announcement at the end of the wedding issue that they were moving to Paris, though, honestly, I don't recall it being mentioned since I started reading this era, with issue #144.)  All these moments definitely leave you feeling like you've got a good insight into Peter's life.  In fact, I'm starting to think that it's why it's so easy to feel connected to characters of this era and not of the modern one.  The authors took the time to let us into the characters' lives, and I just feel like we don't get that anymore.  I can't remember the last time (outside maybe "Batgirl") that I saw people gathered in a character's apartment or home.  I mean, where does Sam Wilson even live?

Finally, I will say that Wein does a marvelous job keeping plots on a slow burn (even if, when they come to a boil, they make little sense).  For example, the Spider-Mobile sub-plot appeared in several issues before it came to a resolution in this issue, similar to Otto's initial appearances as a haunted homeless man.  In issue #160, we've got JJJ, Jr. receiving a mysterious package of photos that'll apparently ruin Spider-Man.  This effort to preview coming conflicts again leaves you feeling like you're involved in Peter's life, since we're not just seeing conflicts randomly burst onto the stage.

Now, if we could only just have the plots make a little more sense, I'd be a happy camper.

Amazing Spider-Man #151-#155 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

About a year or so ago, I spent some money that I'd been saving to buy all "Amazing Spider-Man" issues from #150-#199.  (I already have #200-#423.)  I hadn't particularly planned on reviewing the issues as I read them, but I was motivated to do so after reading these five issues, since we're dealing with a really interesting period of Spidey's history.

Len Wein starts his run on "Amazing Spider-Man" with issue #151, following in the footsteps of the great Gerry Conway and the conclusion of the Jackal story, now known as the first Clone Saga.  In fact, Wein is the one to deal with the aftermath of the story, with Peter dumping the clone's (supposedly) dead body into the now-famous smokestack.  (I say "famous" because this moment inspired a storyline in the second Clone Saga that became the moment where that story really ran off the rails.)  Issue #151 is also notable because it reintroduces Harry Osborn as a supporting character; he returns after leaving the mental institution where he stayed after his time as the Green Goblin in issues #136-#137.

With Harry's arrival, the "gang" that later comes to define Peter's supporting cast is firmly in place.  Peter spends most of his time at Empire State University (ESU) with Harry as well as Flash and Mary Jane; Betty Brant and Ned Leeds also frequently appear in these issues.  As a kid of the '80s, I'll be honest that I was surprised by the role that Ned plays in these issues (including the preceding issues under Conway).  I always thought of Ned as a somewhat random character that they revived to serve as the fall guy for the Hobgoblin's secret identity.  But, he's really an integral part of this cast, and it makes me better appreciate the shock that it must've been for Peter (and, obviously, Betty) to learn that he was the villain.  (That said, I also remember being impressed by how dark and difficult his character was in the early 200s, making it easier to believe that he eventually became the Hobgoblin.)  

In terms of the "gang," I will say that their characterizations are definitely rougher than they are now, some 40 years later.  Flash is pretty much still Flash, though a slightly more gentle version of his previous self.  It's Harry and Mary Jane that are...odd.  Harry appears like he's had so much shock therapy and/or is taking so many psychotropic drugs that he can barely manage a declarative statement.  But, at least it's sort of a reason for his odd characterization.  It's really Mary Jane that seems like she's had some sort of personality transplant.  Under Conway, she was aloof but determined, whereas Wein portrays her as flighty and mean.  She becomes furious with Peter for abandoning her to "go take photos" at Betty and Ned's engagement party in issue #151.  In issue #153, she's equally perturbed when Peter talks to Ned instead of dancing with her and later for allowing Harry to "cut in" when they are dancing.  In fact, she spends most of these issues refusing to talk to Peter for these affronts, leading to an exchange in issue #153 where it seems that she's quite possibly schizophrenic.  She tells Peter that she's decided that it's not worth fighting for him (changing her mind from issue #146), and he begins to leave as a result.  But, she immediately calls on him to stay, saying that she's changed her mind (again) and asking him if he wants to share her ice cream.  It's bizarre to say the least.

Conversely, a highlight of characterization comes as result of the aforementioned engagement party that Robbie Robertson talks JJJ, Jr. into hosting.  JJJ, Jr. hilariously spends the entire party trying to make sure no one breaks any of his valuable tchotchke and "encouraging" his guests to eat and drink the cheaper items.  (Interestingly, Peter complains that the waiter gives him a Dr. Pepper instead of something with "a little zing in it," despite the fact that he's currently portrayed as someone that doesn't really drink.)

In terms of plotting, issues #151-#152 are pretty standard, with Peter foiling a fairly ridiculous Shocker plan.  It's in issues #153-#155 where it all gets weird.

In issue #153, Ned introduces Peter to a guy named Dr. Bolton.  He's a former star quarterback at ESU, and he relates a story about how he fell a foot short of scoring a championship-winning touchdown.  (He was apparently trying to run the full 100 yards, and I'd say that any quarterback that thinks that he can run 100 yards better than an actual running back has delusions of grandeur.)  At any rate, he went into computers after graduating.  He and a colleague, Dr. Smith, have invented the "Worldwide Habitual Offender" (WHO) catalog, a computer that will allow authorities to enter in crime details and find likely suspects.  However, some guy named Paine has kidnapped Bolton's daughter and his employer wants Bolton to turn over the final part to the machine.  When Bolton does so, Paine tries to abscond with his daughter anyway as "insurance."  In one of the oddest moment that I think that I've ever read in a comic, Bolton runs across the football field where they met, just like in his story.  This time, Bolton makes it to the goal line and saves his daughter, but not before Paine's men kill him.  Who knew that quarterbacks were all secretly superheroes able to (mostly) evade bullets?  (Spidey had realized that something was wrong with Bolton, and it's why he left MJ with Harry at the dance.  Unfortunately, he arrives too late to save Bolton, but manages to take down Paine.)  Despite the somewhat ridiculous premise, it's definitely shocking to see someone actually die in a Spidey comic, particularly in front of his young daughter.  The last image -- of his dead body on the goal line -- makes it almost seem like he cared more about making it the entire 100 years than saving his daughter.

However, in the next issue, Wein implies that the incident with Paine isn't an isolated one.  The same costumed goons that Paine employed break out the Sandman and deliver him to an unseen employer (presumably the same one that Paine mentioned in the previous issue).  He sends him to get a piece of equipment from a research facility, but Sandman calls an audible (to continue the football theme).  He activates a Spider-Tracer to attract Spider-Man and, in a moment straight from the 1960s "Batman" TV show, captures him and plans to use the device -- some sort of industrial freeze-ray -- on him.  Shockingly, Peter breaks free of the bonds and eventually evades Sandman until he (Sandman) accidentally slides himself in front of the ray.  This entire sequence is odd for two reasons.  First, I initially assumed that the employer, since his goons were the same ones as Paine's, would have wanted Sandman to collect the piece of the WHO catalog that Paine failed to secure in the previous issue.  However, I sort of doubt that the missing piece was a freeze ray.  As such, it's unclear at this point if it is the same employer.  If it is, does he have some larger plan that would require both the WHO and the freeze ray?  If it isn't, is someone running some sort of henchman-for-hire company?  Second, Peter initially frets that the freeze ray will kill Sandman if it hits him, but, after it does, Peter announces that he'll be fine once we get to the summer thaw.  Seriously, it seems sloppy at this point.

But, it all gets even weirder in issue #155.  The District Attorney has invited JJJ, Jr. and Peter to the unveiling of the WHO catalog.  However, they instead discover Dr. Smith dead.  As Spider-Man, Peter breaks into the office later that night to use the machine to develop a list of likely suspects.  However, when none of the names on the list winds up being involved, Peter realizes that it was WHO itself.  Smith apparently realized that it had become sentient, and it killed him, leading to the terrible title of this issue, "WHOdunit?"  (Get it?  Who dunit?  WHO dunit.)  However, this resolution makes no sense in terms of the developments of the previous two issues.  Paine and Sandman are both (again, presumably) working for the same person, as the similarly costumed goons imply.  As such, Paine's employer had to be human, since Sandman's was.  So, we never learn what he wanted to do with the WHO (or, for that matter, the freeze ray).  Did he just want to prevent the police from having such a powerful tool?  Put another way, it seems unlikely that WHO hired Paine to get the last piece of equipment needed to complete him (particularly since Smith didn't realize WHO was sentient until after he finished him).  As such, we're never given any insight into Paine's employer's motives.  I guess that it's possible that he has some master plan that Wein will reveal in a later issue, but, at this stage, it all feels disconnected and odd.

In other words, it's a weird start for Wein's run.  He seems to have interesting ideas and a desire to tell larger stories (as the mysterious man that we've seen a few times implies), but he seems to have trouble closing the deal.

Perhaps the most amazing parts of these issues, though, are found in their letter pages.  In issue #153, Marvel declares itself so overwhelmed by letters demanding No-Prizes for spotting the legion of inconsistencies in the Jackal story that it's forced to write a narrative explanation to clarify.  But, it's Carol A. Strickland of Fayetteville, NC that could've saved us all a world of hurt if someone would've just listened to her.  She points out something that honestly never occurred to me in the years that I was reading the second Clone Saga.  She observes that Spidey should've fairly easily been able to tell if he was the original Spider-Man, since he'd likely have scars and bruises for years of crime-fighting, something that a newly baked clone wouldn't.  Ladies and gentleman, why couldn't someone have re-read her letter in 1994?