Comics Corner: Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man Annual 7

   

Title: Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man Annual
Issue Number: 7
Release Date: November 1987

Highlights

• Last annual titled Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man, all the remaining annuals in the run are simply titled, The Spectacular Spider-Man
• The honeymoon of Peter, and Mary Jane Watson-Parker
• First appearance of Smugglers, Ramon, Carmen, Cheryl, and Lewis
• First appearance of the locations Hartsdale, New Mexico, and Cassis, France
• At an American Indian Reservation in Hartsdale, Puma partakes in a ritual, showcasing his power against the brave warriors of the tribe
• When the test is complete, his uncle tells the Puma that while he enlisted the help of Spider-Man in his plight against Beyonder, that he never thanked the hero for his aid
• He's told to find Spider-Man, and express some form of gratitude and thanks
• Reference is made to The Amazing Spider-Man 273, Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man 111, and The Amazing Spider-Man Annual 21
• The newlywed couple arrives at the Villa in France, a gift from Bruce, one of Mary Jane's old boy toys
• As the two walk on the beach, Peter loses himself in thought of their future together with his consistent lack of money
• Mary Jane notices he's grown distant, and snaps him out of it by saying they should go swimming, throwing her dress off, and running for the water
• The two go to a swanky joint for dinner, and Peter is anything but comfortable in both the atmosphere, and his tux
• Things don't get any better when Mary Jane is spotted by some posh "friends"
• She's then spotted by Carmen, an owner of a fashion model agency, and when Peter excuses himself, he tells her that he wants her to join his group
• When the two return to the Villa, they find Thomas Fireheart, AKA Puma, sitting in the living room
• He introduces himself by his real name, and gives them a wedding gift
• Thomas offers Peter a job where he can be a scientist, as well as live his life as Spider-Man, and even doing side work on his Puma missions with him
• He tells Peter he's in Marseille on a mission, and if the job suits him, it pays $80,000.00 a year, and he can meet him tomorrow at 8:00 PM for a Spider-Man mission, which will pay extra
• Peter struggles with the offer, knowing he doesn't like Fireheart, and certainly had his issues with Puma in the past
• Though he arrives late, Peter does come the next day to see him
• Fireheart tells him of the mission to secure to stolen eggs, the ova ignata
• Fireheart has even had Spider-Man's costume designed, web shooters and all, in anticipation he would be working for him
• Peter is worried that Fireheart knows so many details about him that he could reproduce his superhero suit and gear
• Despite all their attention to details, the webbing his team has produced is inferior, and it snaps the first time Spider-Man tries to swing on it
• Spider-Man returns to Firehearts lab to create his own, which only somewhat turns our right, giving off acidic fumes when it comes in contact with the oxygen in the air
• Spider-Man arrives at his assigned location to retrieve his egg of the pair
• Fireheart monitors from afar, and is angered when the hero enters from the top of the building, and not the basement as instructed
• Ninjas attack, Spidey makes short order of them, and orders "squad A" to move upstairs
• Spider-Man finds his egg, and makes short order of the guardian and faux priest who try to stop him
• Everything is just the plan of Fireheart, who doesn't really want to work with Peter or Spider-Man, but is doing this for his uncle
• While saving the life of the faux priest, Spider-Man drops the egg, and in instinctively webbing it, it disintegrates when touched by his new acid webbing
• Fireheart sits at the restaurant waiting for Peter, and it just so happens to be the same one Mary Jane has stepped out to with her friends from earlier
• Peter returns the shredded Spider-Man suit to him, along with the trackers he put in it, and shouts at him that everything was just a setup to study him
• Fireheart shoots back that the job offer was legit
• Fireheart comes to see Peter the next day, and says the offer for the job still stands, and admits it's only to make his uncle happy, but still he respects him now
• Peter says that instead of the job, that they'll call it even if he destroys all the data he collected on Spider-Man, to which he agrees

Low Points

• None

Oddities

• None

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Comics Corner: Secret Wars II 7

   

Title: Secret Wars II
Issue Number: 7
Release Date: January 1986

Highlights

• First appearance of the Legion Accursed, which consists of Juggernaut, Electro, Baron Mordo, Absorbing Man, Titania, Abomination, Doc Ock, Rhino, Vanisher, Dr. Doom, White Queen, Kraven the Hunter, Silver Samurai, Vulture, Hobgoblin, Wizard, Ultron, Wrecker, Kang, Anaconda, Batroc, Crimson Dynamo, Diablo, Graviton, Living Laser, Mole Man, Blastaar, and Ringmaster
• Also the first appearance of Judy, Allen, and Mephisto's demon, Bitterhorn
• First appearance of Chelsea, New York, and Boulder, Colorado
• Mephisto has created a machine that intercepted the power Beyonder drained in doing away with Death in the previous issue
• Reference is made to Marvel Super Hero Secret Wars, and "recent issues" of The Thing
• Mephisto looks to drain Beyonder's power, much like Dr. Doom did during the events of Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars, and in doing so, weaken him enough to destroy him
• Death tells Mephisto the death of a God is sweet, and he ponders if she means his death or Beyonders
• Beyonder sits on an island, doing nothing more than thinking when he's met by a boater named Ed Strunk
• Ben Grimm is also on an island working on a film, when his pilot, "Hopper" Hertneky arrives with a case of beer
• After drinking, the subject of Beyonder is brought up, which sets Ben off
• Ed tells other people about Beyonder just sitting there thinking, and they too want to do that, so he brings them to the island
• Bitterhorn is sent by Mephisto to gather up villains willing to go up against Beyonder in exchange for whatever they ask
• Unknown to the villains, with each agreeing handshake with Bitterhorn, he's imprinting them with an invisible sign which will absorb all energy from Beyonder if they touch into the beyondersbane, and surge it back into him, ideally to kill him
• If Mephisto's plan works, not only will Beyonder be destroyed, but the entire Earth, and 1/3 of the universe
• Spider-Man contemplates trying Beyonder's think system
• As Mephisto's plan goes into its final stages underneath the island, up top Beyonder decides it's too crowded, and will leave
• Mephisto panics at the thought of Beyonder leaving before they can strike, and sets a diversion in place to keep him there by way of manipulating Ben Grimm with disguises of multiple people from his past to goad him into attacking Beyonder
• Mephisto also gets Ben to sign a contract that grants him increased power, but costs him his soul
• With Beyonder distracted long enough by Ben, Mephisto sends his army of villains in to attack
• Coming to his senses, Ben turns his attention to the villains instead of Beyonder
• Seeing Ben use his increased strength to defeat all the villains, Mephisto panics, and rips up the contract
• With his plan failed, the beyondersbane explodes, and seeing his failure, Death leaves Mephisto by himself
• Beyonder decides that his role may be to show people what their true role in their existence is

Low Points

• The story continues in New Mutants 36, The Amazing Spider-Man 273, X-Men 202, Peter Parker, and The Spectacular Spider-Man 111 before coming back to Secret Wars II 8

Oddities

• None

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Comics Corner: Web Of Spider-Man 7

   

Title:Web Of Spider-Man
Issue Number: 7
Release Date: October 1985

Highlights

• Apparent death of Nightmare
• It's obviously a dream from the start when Peter arrives to work at the Bugle in his birthday suit
• As the Hulk rampages through the Bugle, Spider-Man changes from panel to panel from his classic red and blue suit to his black costume
• Peter wakes up, or does he? He continues to switch from suit to suit with each panel as the story progresses
• Spider-Man follows a cry for help, only to end up back at home where the Burglar guns down not only Uncle Ben, but Aunt May, Gwen Stacy, Captain Stacy, Mary Jane, and Betty
• Spider-Man gives chase, but when he captures the killer, it's Peter Parker, concluding that he's responsible death and tragedies that befall those he loves
• Spider-Man finds the voice crying for help - It's Nightmare, and he pleads with Spider-Man to help stop the Hulk, who is ravaging through his realm
• Reference is made to The Incredible Hulk 299
• Nightmare explains that the Hulk being there is because of Doctor Strange, and that he used the last of his strength to summon Spider-Man for help
• Spider-Man defeats the Hulk by pushing him into the realm of madness and insanity
• After winning, Spider-Man asks Nightmare to return him home, but is told by the villain that he won't do it - He wishes to keep Spider-Man there forever as his defender
• The Hulk reaches through a rip in the realm, grabbing Nightmare, and pulling him in with him
• Peter awakens, surrounded by his landlady, neighbors, and the police, who responded to Mr. Muggins saying that he was shouting so loud that she thought someone was being murdered
• As reality sets in, Peter's dream drifts from his mind, being forgotten, as dreams usually do

Low Points

• None

Oddities

• None

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Comics Corner: Marvel Team-Up Annual 7

   

Title: Marvel Team-Up Annual
Issue Number: 7
Release Date: October 1984

Highlights

• First appearance of Pearl of Great Price, an extraterrestrial clam, Snake-Eyes, no not the one from G.I. Joe, and the creatures, Venusian Shock-Flies, and Xanthian Boulder-Crushers
• The last Marvel Team-Up Annual in the series
• Joe Robertson tells Peter to put in a voucher for his photos, but that he's not going to continue printing about Spider-Man if it's not news worthy, and encourages Peter to get photos of other super heroes
• Reference is made to Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars, Alpha Flight 3 - 5, and 12
• The Collector wants Spider-Man for his collection, and traps him in Pearl of Great Price
• The Collector then traps the Plodex, Marinna, using Snake-Eyes to disable her with hypnotism
• Alpha Flight continue to bicker amongst themselves, despite the recent death of Guardian
• Alpha Flight infiltrate The Collector's ship
• Sasquatch goes berserk from the consistent taunting of Northstar, and trashes the ship, destroying the crystals which power it, and the containment unit that holds many Plodex creatures
• Spider-Man smashes the Collector's flute, just as he awakens Snake-Eyes again
• Spider-Man webs Snake-Eye's face, blocking his vision, however the beast is completely out of control, and does his part to destroy the ship
• The Plodex turn into monsters, and begin attacking everyone and everything

Low Points

• Northstar continues to taunt Sasquatch, trying to bring out the beast in him so that his sister Aurora sees it, and preferably leaves the beast
• Way too much going on in this issue
• The Collector reveals that the reason he is collecting around all the universes is that he saw a vision of a demon setting fire to the universe, and the creatures he collects will serve to repopulate after the destruction
• Very long, and a bit boring
• This was my first taste of Alpha Flight, and I'm not a fan

Oddities

• None

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Comics Corner: Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars 7

    

Title: Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars
Issue Number: 7
Release Date: November 1984

Highlights

• First full appearance of the new Spider-Woman (AKA Julia Carpenter)
• The Wrecking Crew roll up on the heroes, and toss the body of Wasp at them
• The village healer, Zsaji, attempts to help Wasp, but is unsuccessful, she is dead
• The heroes rally, ready to go after the villains, only to be stopped by Captain America who tells them they need to stay put and be prepared for Galactus's move to devour the planet
• The X-Men attack the group of villains who were previously at the volcano
• During the battle, Wolverine cuts off Absorbing Man's arm - Though he's protected from bleeding to death by being solid rock at the time
• Volcana begs Enchantress to teleport her to the side of Molecule Man, and promises anything in return
• Enchantress agrees
• Inside Galactus's home, Doom continues to search for answers to his questions, and information on how to defeat Galactus and the Beyonder
• Galactus senses small out of place on his home, and expels it - That something being Doctor Doom, which he isn't gentle about removing
• Galactus also senses the erupting volcanos, and turns his attention to fixing them
• Uncertain if it will work, Absorbing Man holds his severed arm in place, and turns back from rock to flesh - His arm reattaches itself
• She-Hulk breaks into the villains base, seeking revenge for Wasp
• Though she first gets the upper hand on all four Enforcers, she sis soon overwhelmed when the other villains join the fight
• A battered and defeated Doctor Doom returns to his base, collapsing in bed
• Back at their base, the other heroes notice She-Hulk is missing, and knowing where she is, they ask Captain American to go help her - He tells them no again
• Meanwhile, an exhausted Zsaji stumbles out of the hut where Wasp's dead body is
• Colossus, who has secretly fallen in love with her, quickly rushes to her aid
• Xavier reaches out to Captain America telephatically, and tells him the X-Men will stand watch over Galactus, giving him the time he needs to go rescue his friend - Captain America accepts the offer

Low Points

• None

Oddities

• None

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Comics Corner: Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man 7

   

Title: Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man
Issue Number: 7
Release Date: June 1977

Highlights

• Reference is made to The Amazing Spider-Man 169, and Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man 5
• Reference is made to the Fonz, Laverne, and Shirley
• Flash Thompson continues his mysterious quest to speak to Sha Shan
• Aunt May's protesting continues, using the term, "Gray Panthers" for the first time, in reference to her group's name
  
• Peter Parker's web shooters break
• Cameo appearance of The Empathoid

Low Points

• None

Oddities

• None

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Comics Corner: Marvel Team-Up 7

   

Title: Marvel Team-Up
Issue Number: 7
Release Date: March 1973

Highlights

• First appearance of Kryllk the Cruel
• Awesome black and white (negative) effect starting on page 8
• Spider-Man calls Kryllk and his goons, "Laughing Boy and the Seven Dwarfs"
  

Low Points

• Reading Thor's dialog is annoying at times, "doth," "thou," and "hast" abound plentifully
• Story ends abruptly
  

Oddities

• Kyrllk is defeated by having his insides punched from another dimension? I don't get it
  

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

 

 

 

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Comics Corner: The Amazing Spider-Man 7

Title: The Amazing Spider-Man

Issue Number: 7

Release Date: December 1963

Highlights

• Great story featuring the return of Vulture
• Vulture has evolved, thwarting Spider-Man's way of stopping him the first time - Which Spider-Man thinks will work just like last time

Low Points

• Peter Parker, High School Student, cuddles with Betty Brant, adult receptionist for The Daily Bugle

Oddities

• Vulture's idea for a "big score" is robbing The Daily Bugle, and not a bank

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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