Title: Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man Annual
Issue Number: 4
Release Date: November 1984
Highlights
- First appearance of Johnny Jerome, Albert Reilly, and Claire Reilly
- First appearance of the locations Danceland, and 310 Bedstone Avenue
- Reference is made to The Amazing Spider-Man 258
- As the robbers of a bank exit into the streets, Spider-Man swoops overhead, but he ignores them completely
- The narration tells us he's asleep (see low points)
- In the rain drenched streets below, May Parker walks through the city, remembering her past
- The story serves as a historic glance into the life and times of one May Reilly, soon to be the wife of Ben Parker, and guardian of a young Peter Parker
- Nathan Lubensky calls Peter at home, and tells him he needs to come see his Aunt - The two still haven't spoken since Peter told her he dropped out of school
- Aunt May is getting mysterious letters daily, and a car picks her up each night to take her out alone
- The letters are love letters from Johnny Jerome, a figure from May's past
- Nathan asks Peter to follow his Aunt, and find out where she's going, and what she's doing
- As Peter and Nathan rest, May slips out again, and into a cab - Hearing her exit, Peter springs into action, following as Spider-Man
- Aunt May wander's Coney Island in a daydream, reliving her past
- Aunt May returns to her old home, 310 Bedstone Avenue, but is followed in by some thugs
- While May meets with an older Johnny, Spider-Man quietly deals with the thugs
- In a flashback, Ben Parker informs May the jewelry which Johnny was trying to woo her with was not only stolen from a shop, but that he was shot by Johnny
- We learn that Johnny was only paroled because he doesn't have much time left to live
- May tells him that he doesn't love her, he only loves the memory of her, and says that she will help him find a place to live out the rest of his days, but nothing more than that
- May returns home to a waiting Nathan, and tells him that it's time for her to explain everything
- A backup story has Spider-Man and Black Cat trying to enjoy a normal night in, when the wine carafe Spidey gave her as a gift is stolen
- Black Cat send Spider-Man for a bottle of wine, while she sets out on a mystery to find the stolen glassware
- Black Cat finds the carafe at a restaurant, but it's taken from her at gunpoint by a mysterious man, who gives it to his hostages when she gives chase, and who give it to the police
- The carafe is turned over to Captain DeWolfe, and as she examines it, the mysterious man shows up at her office claiming to be CIA agent Tamarind
- Black Cat busts through the window of DeWolfe's office and chases after the man, only to find out that it's her friend, Tamara Blake in disguise, just playing a game with Cat
- Deciphering the Spider-Man timeline
- This issue must occur at some point during the events of The Amazing Spider-Man 258 - They must because at the end of that issue, Peter no longer has the symbiote suit
- This issue makes reference to a sleeping Peter Parker within his Spider-Man symbiote costume, thus why he doesn't engage with the bank robbers
- In The Amazing Spider-Man 258, the symbiote once again envelopes a sleeping Peter Parker, and takes him out into the night, but prior to Peter going to the Fantastic Four's headquarters
- The events of Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man Annual 4 feasibly occur during that time
- The backup story is silly and unnecessary
Oddities
- Editor's Day Off: A major goof in the lettering occurs, with words completely missing when Spider-Man says, " But at least neither Aunt May else was hurt!" I think it's supposed to say, "But at least neither Aunt May or anyone else was hurt!"
- Editor's Continued Day Off: A young Johnny tells May, "But now there's no time left now." The last "now" is redundent
Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)
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