Comics Corner: Web Of Spider-Man 53

   

Title: Web Of Spider-Man
Issue Number: 53
Release Date: August 1989

Highlights

• First appearance of Emilio, and Raoul
• Spider-Man tracks down a U-Rent truck in Manhattan, led to believe by the Arranger that it contains stolen weapons
• The information is correct, and gunfire rings out as he jumps on top of the vehicle
• After webbing all the criminals up, Spider-Man speaks to them in Spanish - I guess he's bilingual
• Spider-Man learns of the war that will begin at midnight against the Lobo brothers and Kingpin
• Spidey call the Arranger and fills him in
• Reference is made to The Spectacular Spider-Man 143, and Web Of Spider-Man 51
• The Arranger is afraid to give this information to Kingpin, since it was he who sent the Punisher to attempt an assassination on the Lobo brothers, which started all of this
• At the Bugle, Peter tells Kate Cushing about the upcoming war, and questions if Jameson will publish it
• They go to ask him, but are told all they have is rumors, and that he won't publish anything about it
• Peter's spidey senses to continue to go off in the presence of Jameson (Chameleon), but he can't figure out why
• Joy Mercado stops Peter on his way out, and asks if he's got time to talk, specifically about Gloria Grant, and the trouble Joy thinks she's in
• At a coffee shop, Joy shows Peter the photos of Gloria with her boyfriend, and informs Peter his name is Eduardo Lobo
• The puzzle pieces immediately click, and Peter understands why his spidey senses were going off around the man
• Peter walks through the parking garage and his spidey senses once again go off
• Though he doesn't see the initial threat, it's from Chameleon and Hammerhead meeting in a car, reveling over the coming gang war
• Mary Jane tells Aunt May and Kristy that she's off to work, and will miss Peter coming home again
• But is she really? Remember, Jonathan Caesar is blocking all of her modeling work, and she's been spending her nights out dancing
• Meanwhile, Kristy has got a lot of strange bruises all over her skin, and Aunt May takes notice
• Aunt May also notes she's gotten incredibly thin
• Remember, Kristy had a secret a few issues ago when Peter heard her sick in the bathroom
• Kristy overheard the conversation with Mary Jane and Peter about the coming gang war, and says she's worried about him, and him finding out she loves him because she knows if he finds out that they'll send her away
• A skin and bones Kristy looks in the mirror and tells herself that she's so fat
• She wishes she was thin and beautiful like Mary Jane
• Spider-Man enters Gloria's apartment looking for her, but instead finds shredded clothing with an "L" on it, deducing it belongs to Eduardo Lobo
• In the pocket is a receipt for an aircraft hanger rental
• Kingpin's tower is on lockdown, and security efforts increased
• The windows are now bullet proof, double the guards are on sight, and each has a briefcase with nerve gas
• Meanwhile multiple entry points have been rigged with explosives, and the windows covered with titanium barriers
• The Arranger updates Kingpin, who tells him that when the fight is over they will discuss the problems he has created
• Spider-Man heads to the hanger, and is immediately met by gunfire
• He dispatches the men quickly, but is attacked by two wolves, who announce themselves as Los Hermanos Lobos, The Brother Wolves
• Spidey finally understands - the Lobo brothers are werewolves
• The fight is cut short by the Lobo's schedule, as they break away, and board a helicopter
• Spider-Man lands a web line on it, and tags along for the ride
• His trip is cut short by gunfire which forces him to jump into the river
• The helicopter arrives at the Kingpin's tower, directly outside the Arranger's window
• The issues ends on a cliffhanger ending with Aunt May frantically pounding on the bathroom door for Kristy, being told by her boarders that she's been in there for hours
• Kristy is lying on the floor, unresponsive

Low Points

• I'm admittedly getting a bit tired of this storyline
• It's drawn out way longer than it feels like it needs to be
• The whole Lobos / Kingpin war, and Chameleon posing as Jameson isn't all that interesting an aspect to dwell this long on it
• Now we have the whole cliché Kristy storyline coming into the mix
• We never see where Mary Jane is
• Did she actually get a modeling job? Or is she out dancing again?

Oddities

• None

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

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Comics Corner: Web Of Spider-Man 52

   

Title: Web Of Spider-Man
Issue Number: 52
Release Date: July 1989

Highlights

• Death of Sam and Danny
• J. Jonah Jameson lies chained to his bed, and screams unheard for Spider-Man who is swinging by his window
• Chameleon gives Jameson a few more links in his chain, with the intensions of allowing him to read the paper
• He also explains why he's impersonating the man
• Reference is made to "current issues" of The Spectacular Spider-Man
• Flashback twenty years ago to a young J. Jonah Jameson chasing a story at a local bar
• As he asks Sam for information on the corrupt police department, shots ring out, and Sam is left dead
• Jameson sees the shooter, and it's a cop
• Back to present time, Jameson kicks his mirror, breaking off a piece of glass, and using it to cast a light beam through his window
• He attempts to signal the traffic copter that flies by each day, but it doesn't work
• Back to the past, young Jameson bursts into his editor's office, demanding to know why his story on corrupt cops was buried
• He's told off by his boss, who also demands facts
• As Jameson storms off, he tells the young copyboy, Danny, that if he ever becomes editor, he'll treat his writers with respect
• Yeah...
• Danny asks if he can tag along, and when the two exit the office, they're met on the street by Officer Kenner, and a couple other cops who give them both a beating
• Two mysterious men watch from a car
• Back in the present, Jonah has cut himself on the mirror shard, and uses it as lubricant to try to slip the cuff
• Returning to the past, William Walter Goodman appears to be one of the men who watch Jonah get beat up, and he just so happens to own the Daily Bugle
• Goodman gives Jameson his first cigar, and then offers him a job
• Jameson accepts
• Returning to current events, Jameson is able to slip his one hand free, and begins stretching for the key that Chameleon left on a dresser, just out of reach
• Young Jameson has found a new informant, Officer Michael O'Hill, an eighteen year veteran of the force
• O'Hill gives him a key to a locker at the bus station, and tells him there's a notebook inside with every cop's name who's on the take
• At the bus station, Kenner is walking around, so Jameson gives Danny the key, who apparently has come to work with him at the Bugle
• Danny sneaks off to open the locker, and Jameson realizes what's going on, but it's too late
• As the boy opens the locker door, the bomb goes off, killing him
• Jameson reaches the key and frees himself, but passes out from the pain and exhaustion of everything
• Meanwhile, in his flashback, young Jameson is also passed out from drinking his guilt away
• He's woken by Goodman
• Goodman tells him that while it's his fault the boy is dead, he asks what he's going to do about it - quit, or fight?
• The panels alter between the present and past as current times Jameson crawls for his penthouse elevator, and past Jameson confronts Kenner in his own office at the station
• Jameson from the past is wearing a hidden radio that his boss is recording on the other end, and Kenner is caught confessing
• Unfortunately for current time Jameson, as the elevator opens, the Chameleon steps off of it
• Jameson is shackled around his legs and arms, and locked in a closet in his skivvies, but he thinks to himself that he's gotten out of worse

Low Points

• None

Oddities

• None

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

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Comics Corner: Web Of Spider-Man 51

   

Title: Web Of Spider-Man
Issue Number: 51
Release Date: June 1989

Highlights

• First appearance and death of Oswald
• First appearance of Lorraine Mandell's parents
• Chameleon sits down with the Maggia and asks their permission to take over New York as its new crime boss
• They hand him a card after convening, and tell them to contact the person on it, and that if they alliance with him, they may consider his request
• As he leaves, he resumes his stolen identity of J. Jonah Jameson
• Spider-Man comes across some of Kingpin's men jumping on a bus, and leaving town for good
• Peter returns to Aunt May's home, and overhears Kristy puking in the bathroom
• When she comes out, she says she's fine
• Reference is made to The Spectacular Spider-Man 150, and Web Of Spider-Man 49
• Peter is told by Kate Cushing that Jameson (Chameleon) has put a hold on buying any of his Spider-Man photographs because he only wants ones that make the hero look bad
• His spidey senses go off as he passes Jameson, but he chalks it up to his bosses anti Spider-Man tirade
• Jameson (Chameleon) asks Joy Mercado for the complete file on Wilson Fisk, and is told that it's gone
• We cut to Gloria Grant handing the file to Eduardo Lobo
• Peter steps off the elevator as the two kiss, and his spidey senses go off again
• Peter meets up with Mary Jane to look at an apartment, and they're shown a very small single room with a bathroom attached
• Mary Jane take sit particularly badly since the apartment was recommended by her friend
• Out in the streets, she goes off on Peter for trying ot make light of the situation, and ends up throwing her briefcase, which in turn dumps all of her photographs in the street to be hit by a car
• Mary Jane and Peter go to the rehab hospital, where she tells Peter she wants to help Lorraine kick her drug habbit
• Peter interjects, saying he learned his lesson with Harry Osborne that you can't help people get off drugs if they don't want to
• Turns out Peter is right, and Lorraine basically tells her off
• Lorraine's parents arrive, and tell Mary Jane they're going to take their daughter home, and admit her to a closer hospital near them
• As the Arranger heads home for the night, Eduardo Lobo attacks in full wolf mode
• Spider-Man is able to stop him, and the Arranger tells him he has a proposition for him
• Chameleon arrives at the home of the man on the business card, and when he'd denied entry, kills his way inside to find Hammerhead working out
• Chameleon greets him as Kingpin, and when the man attacks, he changes to Spider-Man before shifting back to his normal identity
• Chameleon pitches his offer of revenge on Kingpin
• The Arranger tries to convince Spider-Man to help, but when he is told know, he pulls the only card he knows the hero won't turn down, and warns him of all the innocent people that will get caught in the middle of a gang war between the Lobo brothers and Kingpin
• The story cliffhanger ends with Spider-Man pondering what his options are in light of that

Low Points

• None

Oddities

• None

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

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Comics Corner: Web Of Spider-Man 50

   

Title: Web Of Spider-Man
Issue Number: 50
Release Date: May 1989

Highlights

• First appearance of Ernie, Maggia member Winston Walker III, and  Daily Bugle employee Nick Katzenberg
• Also the first appearance of The Outlaws: Silver Sable, Sandman, Prowler, Puma, Rocket Racer, and Will O' The Wisp
• First appearance of the West Side Marina, and Greenpoint locations
• Nick Katzenberg brings photos of Spider-Man appearing to be a thief to J. Jonah Jameson showing him to be a menace, and is hired as staff to the Bugle (after negotiating hard with Jameson for the position)
• A comedic moment occurs when Jameson returns home, and greets the door man by the name of Sam, and asks how his wife is
• The man responds that his name is Ernie, and that he's not married
• Jameson simply continues on, telling Bert he's sorry to hear that because every man needs love
• As Jameson steps off the elevator at his building, a mysterious figure gases him, rendering him unconscious
• The photos are front page the next day, and those who would become The Outlaws see it, reacting in their own way to it, either believing it, or wanting to prove it wrong
• Winston Walker yells at his security team, furious that he was allegedly robbed by Spider-Man, and he only finds out about it by the paper which has led to the police calling him for a report
• Spider-Man has gotten away with stealing millions in negotiable bonds from the Maggia criminal
• A mysterious figure takes photos of the home from across the street
• As Aunt May's home bustles with breakfast time, and Peter leaves for class, Mary Jane sees the headline
• As Robbie reads the headline from prison, his visiting son Randy is pleading for him to take a potential guilty verdict series, as this could put him in prison for a long time
• As Randy's wife scolds him in the hallway, there's a familiar looking character being escorted by police

• The dialog from The Joker is actually taken from The Killing Joke, which hit store shelves prior to this issue

• Reference is made to recent issues of The Spectacular Spider-Man, Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man 104, Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man Annual 7, and The Amazing Spider-Man 235
• The Arranger arrives on scene of another slew of murders of the Kingpin's men, and another note scrawled in blood, "wolves take revenge"
• As the detective questions him, the Arranger is told he has a call on his car phone
• The call is from Carlos Lobo, who informs him that he and his brother are town, and that the Kingpin not only disapproving of their drug running, but thinking they were after part of his city will cost them both their lives
• Carlos asks his brother, Eduardo about Gloria Grant, and he responds that she is not only his, but will do everything he tells her to
• Peter is awoken by Dr. Swann at school, and finds out he was asleep for three hours
• Peter also apparently has a beeper, and it goes off, causing him to bolt from the room
• As Peter heads out on the roof, he's attacked by Puma
• Peter states that he thought they were pals now, and that Puma owed him a debt
• Puma informs him the debt was paid when Peter declined his offer to come work for him
• Puma further explains his reason for attacking is because his honor was shamed when he learned Spider-Man was a common thief
• In an unexpected turn of events, Spider-Man admits he did actually rob Winston's house
• Spider-Man drops his beeper while escaping the fight, which Puma retrieves
• Prowler arrives at Winston's home intent on finding evidence that Spider-Man isn't a thief
• He's met by Rocket Racer who too is there for the same reason, but mistakes Prowler as the thief returning to the scene of the crime
• Naturally, they fight, but it's broken up by the cops who think they're both the thieves
• The two finally come to their senses and escape together
• They spot the mysterious figure, and after grabbing him find out Silver Sable hired him to keep tabs on the house, and inform her when Winston leaves
• Spider-Man heads across the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, finding Winston's car, and informing the readers that the beeper he had was provided by Silver Sable, and the device went off to inform him when the Maggia had left his home
• He follows the vehicle via a spider tracer he planted on it at a time not shown in the story
• The vehicle stops in a secluded area, and Winston unearths a cylinder of documents from a hidden safe underneath a fake rock
• Spider-Man makes his presence known, and the fight begins
• Spider-Man is able to get the cylinder, but the fight is interrupted by Will O' The Wisp who is there to confront Spidey on the report of him being a thief
• Spider-Man is able to break lose by tricking Wisp into running into some power lines
• Spider-Man meets up with Silver Sable and gives her the cylinder, but the meeting is interrupted by Rocket Racer and Prowler who seeing this are now convinced Spider-Man is a thief
• Though they try to attack, Sandman hits them from behind
• Spidey tries to intervene, and stop everyone from fighting
• Silver Sable, intent on her mission leaves them all there to duke it out, only to be attacked by Puma who has tracked her through the beeper he picked up
• As Spider-Man attacks Puma to get him away from Sable, Will O' The Wisp joins the fray, exploding Sandman into particles of sand, but he soon recovers
• Frustrated with nobody listening, Spider-Man pulls the dock down around everyone, giving him a moment to toss the cylinder to Puma, and telling him to read the documents for himself, which he does
• After everyone finally learns that Winston is part of the Maggia, and that Sable and Spider-Man were working together to uncover this, cooler heads prevail
• Silver Sable gives them all her card, and tells them to call her if they ever want freelance work
• Puma is once again angry because he feels he owes Spider-Man another debt of honor
• Spider-Man set up his camera during the fight (apparently), and Peter now has photos that prove him innocent
• Peter takes the photos to Jameson, who is mysteriously at work, and no mention of the gas incident, but something isn't right - Peter's spidey sense keeps going off
• Jameson says he won't publish the photos because he needs the public to believe Spider-Man is a criminal
• As Peter and Mary Jane get interment, Aunt May bursts into the room with hot cocoa, only to be told the two are already warming each other up
• Embarrassed, she races out of the room
• Jameson returns home, talking to himself about his plans to overthrow the US government, and that phase one is already complete by taking over the Bugle
• As he enters the home, we find the real J. Jonah Jameson tied up, and the fake Jameson morphs into the Chameleon
• Fantastic issue!

Low Points

• None

Oddities

• Happy with his photos, Jameson leaves the Bugle on cloud nine, kissing Gloria Grant on the cheek on his way out - I know times were different, but could you still do that in 1989?

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

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Comics Corner: Web Of Spider-Man 49

   

Title: Web Of Spider-Man
Issue Number: 49
Release Date: April 1989

Highlights

• First appearance and death of Winston Shepherd
• First appearance of Sal
• Spider-Man stops Winston from selling drugs to a kid, and then tosses all his drugs into the wind to blow away
• The story flashes back to Mary Jane meeting her friend Lorraine, who's with Winston
• Lorraine and Mary Jane go to the former's apartment, and she crashes out from drug induced side effects
• Mary Jane calls the Bugle looking for Peter, who's in Kate Cushing's office being reamed out
• Unknowingly, Mary Jane ends up on the phone with Kate, and tells her that she knows her husband is in with that "ice queen", referring to Kate, and to please get him for her
• Mary Jane points out Winston to Peter from the window, and asks him to make him go away
• Peter proposes a series of photographs of a day in the life of a drug dealer to Kate, and she tells him to go do it
• Back in the present, Spider-Man tracks down Winston again, and stops him from selling drugs to someone else
• Winston calls Sal, and tells him about his troubles
• Sal sends him to a specific location to get a resupply, but tells him that if he leads Spider-Man to him that he'll kill him
• Mary Jane attempts to get Lorraine checked in to rehab, but keeps getting told there's a waiting list
• When they find a private institute they're told that it's $50,000.00 year, which they can't afford
• This portion of the story is intercut with Spider-Man breaking up more of Winston's attempted sales
• After dropping Lorraine off at home, Mary Jane leaves, and shortly after, so does Lorraine
• Across town, Winston makes his way to Sal, and pleads for help
• Sal shouts at him, telling him he warned him not to come there, and shoots the dealer
• Spider-Man enters the warehouse, and is met with gunfire
• Mary Jane returns to Lorraine's house to tell her that some of her well off friends will help with rehab costs, but finds she isn't there
• Spider-Man makes short order of the criminals, and approaches a dying Winston, who he promises to get to a hospital
• Winston asks him why he did all of this to him, and Spider-Man says because of Lorraine, to which he responds, "Who's Lorraine?"
• Peter turns over the photos to Kate, and then goes to find Mary Jane, only to learn that Lorraine has overdosed, and is in the hospital\
• She cries about how even though Winston is gone that all she did was find another pusher to sell her drugs, finding the whole effort pointless
• Peter tells her it wasn't pointless, but rather that the fight against drugs is long
• As the two walk off, a new dealer takes his place on the corner

Low Points

• No major villains, just a preachy story

Oddities

• Editor's Day Off: Mary Jane tells her friend Lorraine, "Tomorrow when you're feeling better, we'll just just show up at one."

• The Daily Bugle wants a story on a day in the life of a drug dealer
• It sounds odd on the surface, but Spider-Man breaks up every deal before they can happen

• The woman at the private facility tells Lorraine that it took years to get addicted to drugs
• Not that I'm on drugs or anything, but I'm pretty sure it happens a lot faster than that

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

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Comics Corner: Web Of Spider-Man 48

   

Title: Web Of Spider-Man
Issue Number: 48
Release Date: March 1989

Highlights

• Reference is made to The Spectacular Spider-Man 147, and The Amazing Spider-Man 313
• Spider-Man remains knocked out after the fight with demons inside the Daily Bugle city room
• J. Jonah Jameson admits that without Spider-Man's help that the city room would be a morgue, but follows this by stating that Spider-Man is probably behind all the troubles with the demons
• Spider-Man comes to, but is hallucinating that everyone in the Bugle is a demon
• After webbing Jameson's mouth, he jumps through a window, and swings away
• Eduardo Lobo and Gloria Grant make their way through the carnage of the city
• Eduardo saves her life from a machine that comes to life, and as they kiss, she tells herself she loves him
• The demons attack Kingpin's tower, and learn quickly the mistake they've made as he makes short order of them with his bare hands
• Kingpin sees it more of a failure on the Arranger's part to handle day to day affairs, and not interrupt his mission against the demise of Daredevil
• He threatens to terminate the Arranger's employment
• Possessed by the Demogoblin, Hobgoblin quickly realizes the mistake he's made trying to barter with N'Astirh
• He only wanted the powers of a demon, not to be deformed
• As he reflects on this, he sees a giant lizard man running through the brush, and think's he's going insane
• But it really is the Lizard, AKA Dr. Curt Connors
• Hobgoblin also see's Spider-Man swinging by, and blames him for what's happening to him
• Spider-Man makes his way to the photo shoot where he looks for Mary Jane, and tracks her down to the sewers
• The demons are there too, and they attack her and the photography crew
• In Forest Hills, Norman Osborn checks on Aunt May
• Back in the sewers, Spider-Man is attacked by Hobgoblin, and realizes he's faster and stronger
• Hobgoblin shows him his demonic face and explains as they fight what happened
• Meanwhile, Mary Jane and the crew with her realize that light frightens the demons away
• Mary Jane decides that breaking the gas pipes and blowing the tunnel up is what they need to escape, but just as she's about to toss the flame, Spider-Man and Hobgoblin burst through a wall
• She throws the fire on Hobgoblin, and Spider-Man in turn, and unintentionally kicks him down the tunnel, igniting the gas
• In an epilogue ending, Aunt May decides to go to the city and look for her nephew

Low Points

• None

Oddities

• Editor's Day Off: Several panels with Spider-Man's eye lenses colored red

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

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Comics Corner: Web Of Spider-Man

   

Title: Web Of Spider-Man
Issue Number: 47
Release Date: February 1989

Highlights

• The story picks up with Spider-Man catching up to Hobgoblin later that night, who's returned to Harry Osborn's plant
• Reference is made to The Spectacular Spider-Man 146, and the Inferno crossover story arc
• Though fighting, Hobgoblin informs him he had nothing to do with the destruction of the plant earlier that day
• A creature comes up from the ground, grabbing Spider-Man, who makes short order of it
• In the interim, Hobgoblin makes a hasty retreat
• Spider-Man ponders why all these strange events as of late are not altering his spider senses
• Glory Grant is once again out and about with Eduardo Lobo, the man who bumped into her at the Bugle
• Ben Urich is in the same place with Joy Mercado, and when he see's Glory with Eduardo, he attempts to tell Joy who the man is, but this is interrupted by the escalator coming to life, and causing a ruckuss
• Eduardo grabs Glory, and with ease leaps from the top floor of the mall to the lower level, telling her something bad is going down
• Peter and Mary Jane, take cousin Kristy, and stay the weekend at Aunt May's house
• While there, they pawn Kristy off on May, who is over the moon about the idea, and even says it's been a long time since she's had a child in the house, which doesn't sit well with Kristy who seems unhappy with being ditched
• As Peter and Mary Jane leave later that morning, Kristy makes a comment to herself that one day Peter will be hers
• Peter stops by Harry Osborn's house, and perched on the roof, unseen, is Hobgoblin
• Liz is outside, and tells Peter she's worried about her husband, who's been in the attic all day
• Peter makes his way to the attic, and is not warmly welcomed
• As Harry yells at him to go away, his family screaming outside pushes him into action
• Outside, Hobgoblin is attacking
• Hobgoblin demand's Norman Osborn's formula from Harry
• Spider-Man intervenes, but the battle ends with Hobgoblin spraying him in the face with tear gas
• Harry bluffs, telling Hobgoblin the formula is in the safe in his office, causing the villain to depart with a warning that he'll be back if it's a lie
• Ben Urich bursts into J. Jonah Jameson's office to inform him of fires breaking out everywhere, and demons running rampant around the city
• Jameson tells him when he was younger that the bomb was the impending doomsday when he was younger, and he used to practice writing articles based on the end of the world, referring to it as "very funny"
• After leaving his family with the neighbors, Harry returns to the attic, determined that his father would have done something to protect his family, and continuing his search finally finds what he's looking for, the costume and accessories of the Green Goblin

Low Points

• None

Oddities

• None

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

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Comics Corner: Web Of Spider-Man 46

   

Title: Web Of Spider-Man
Issue Number: 46
Release Date: January 1989

Highlights

• First appearance of Peter's tour asistant, Jeff Wainright, town local, Dan, inn manager, Evie, talk show host, Jeanette Latour, Carolyn, and clinic secretary, Katie
• Peter Parker arrives in Shriver Cove, Massachusetts, but the welcome is anything but friendly when a local named Dan rushes him shouting that he hates outsiders
• Peter easily subdues him, and Dan is taken into custody
• As Jeff Wainright walks Peter to the inn he'll be staying at, he explains that as of late the entire town seems stressed out over a looming expansion
• That night, as Peter lays restless in bed, he hears an explosion which blows out the window of his room
• Looking outside, he sees a group of locals have blown up his car, and are chanting about hating outsiders
• A quick change to Spider-Man, a few fists, and webbing, and the crowd is subdued
• None of the men will answer questions, and though they weren't hit hard, all begin to pass out
• Jeff call's Peter's room, and informs him he'll get him another car, but that Peter will most likely have to stay one additional day for that to be arranged
• Overnight, the town seems to have done a 180, with everyone being super friendly
• Peter learns from Jeff that many people in town go to the Hatros Clinic for help with stress, Jeff included
• Peter follows him to the appointment, and asks to see the doctor for a publicity chat, he's promptly turned away
• Spider-Man infiltrates the building, and discovers the towns folk are being drugged through the water, and submitted to mind control sessions
• The most recent is prompting Jeff, and others, to hate outsiders
• Reference is made to Vision And The Scarlet Witch 11 (vol. 2), Avengers 58, Shanna The She-Devil 5, Spider-Woman 16, and though no specific issue, West Coast Avengers
• Spider-Man finds a phone, and ask Wanda to get Hank Pym to come to the town
• Pym arrives, and immediately sets to task on testing the town's water
• He's quick to discover it is polluted with a substance developed by tribal chieftains in Africa
• Before he can implement a treatment, he's grabbed by cultists, and knocked unconscious
• The cultists bring him to Nekra, the head of the Cult of Hate
• Hank tells Nekra that she can't move without a half-witted plot, which is exactly how I feel about this story

Low Points

• Awful story, another throw away that has no long term impact on the storied history of Spider-Man

Oddities

• Hank Pym makes an antidote for the town, and it just so happens to be compatible with Spider-Man's web shooters

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

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Comics Corner: Web Of Spider-Man 45

   

Title: Web Of Spider-Man
Issue Number: 45
Release Date: December 1988

Highlights

• First appearance of Morris "The Snake" Diamond, Harry, Danny, and Lenny
• First appearance of McCarran International Airport
• Peter Parker is still in Las Vegas, but he's happy because he thinks he's going home
• He's wrong
• Peter makes it to the airport, and finds out he's flying on Rattlesnake Airlines, along with Morris "The Snake" Diamond
• Reference is made to Web Of Spider-Man 24
• The Vulture is out for vengeance against Mr. Diamond for stealing the plans to his invention, a pair of ultra sonic controlled trick dice
• Vulture flies towards the plane headed for New York, and blows it from the sky with a bomb
• As everyone parachutes from the plane (see oddities), Vulture issues a warning to them all that he will strike when they least expect it
• On the ground, the Stewardess, Sara, suggests they all head back to the plane wreckage, as that will be their best bet for a rescue
• Diamond has his own plans, and his many Danny pulls a gun, slapping Sara across the face with it to make her shut up
• As Peter prepares to intervene, the Vulture appears, and grabs Diamond, air lifting him from the group, and telling him he has a serum he wants to test on him
• Spider-Man carries Sara away to safety, and then goes after Vulture
• Diamond explains to Vulture that the journals he stole, which the villain wants back, were on the plane, and destroyed in the explosion and subsequent crash
• Spider-Man uses the last of his web fluid to stop a mountain lion preparing to pounce on Sara
• As Spider-Man and Vulture fight, Diamond's men rescue their boss
• As Spider-Man hangs on to Vulture, the villain jabs him with a syringe full of the previous noted serum
• Vulture tells him it's a mummification serum, just as Spider-Man gets one final blow, and blacks out
• When he awakens, Sara is standing over him, and informs him she's with the CID, Central Intelligence Division
• She also informs him that they "convinced" Vulture to give them an antidote for Spidey
• Spider-Man asks for a lift home

Low Points

• The whole story is just dumb, very amateurishly written, and the ending too convenient
• Someone at Marvel got paid to write this throw away story?

Oddities

• The plane is equipped with enough parachutes for every passenger on board

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

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Comics Corner: Web Of Spider-Man 44

   

Title: Web Of Spider-Man
Issue Number: 44
Release Date: November 1988

Highlights

• First appearance of the Warzone team, Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, and Delta
• Also the first appearances of Lloyd, Harry, Dinah, Mr. Peterson
• First appearance of the location Page After Page is Las Vegas, Nevada
• As Spider-Man swings through Las Vegas, he makes his way into the path of where Delta is aiming his rocket launcher, and this sets off his spidey sense
• Delta takes notice, and duck into the shadows
• The remaining members of Warzone are at a bar catching up, and planning for the upcoming game
• Marlo Chandler goes to the casino hotel room of Joe to surprise him
• When she knocks, she says she was watching MTV, and Michael Jackson's The Way You Make Me Feel came on, prompting the visit to him
• When she asks if he knows what else Michael sings, Joe replies, "Beat It," and slams the door in her face
• As Warzone get ready in their respective rooms for the game, they each take a line from Beat It
• Meanwhile, on the television, the introduction for the Dinah Show notes that special guest, Peter Palmer, will be on that evening, showcasing his book Webs
• Despite repeatedly correcting her, Dinah continues to call him different names
• Marlo watches Peter on television, and takes a shining to him
• Peter's appearance at Page After Page isn't going well, with minimal people coming by for an autograph
• As Marlo heads to the store to meet Peter, the games begin, and Delta fires a rocket at Charlie, who is also nearby
• Spider-Man makes an appearance, and attempts to question Charlie, but is met by two rockets coming his way, which he neatly webs up
• Spider-Man hits Delta with a spider tracer, but then diverts his attention to the injured Marlo, who he takes to a nearby hospital
• Marlo's roommate Mona works at the hospital, and when she see's her friend, she call's Joe to let him know that she was hurt by a woman in fatigues
• Spider-Man and Charlie track Delta to a hotel, and it just so happens to be the one Joe is at
• As Spidey and Delta enter, Alpha appears, and starts shooting, only to be interrupted by Joe who blocks the gunshots with his hand, and tells him he doesn't like noise
• Joe sees the woman in camouflage, and deduces that she's the one who hurt Marlo
• Alpha says he'll take care of her, and fill her full of holes, to which Joe says he's fine with
• Spider-Man protests, and realizes it that Joe, AKA Mr. Fix-It, is actually the Hulk, but he's sure he's supposed to be green, and dead

Low Points

• The story continues in the pages of The Incredible Hulk 349
• So tired of all the crossovers

Oddities

• None

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

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Comics Corner: Web Of Spider-Man 43

    

Title: Web Of Spider-Man
Issue Number: 43
Release Date: October 1988

Highlights

• Death of the Cult of Love members, Teacher, and Brother Bruce
• Last appearance of Reverend Tolliver, and Tracy Cushing
• Flash, with the help of Reverend Tolliver, have kidnapped Betty Leeds from the Students of Love's compound, and with Peter now there too, she's begging him for help
• Though Peter initially protests the kidnapping, he agrees with Reverend Tolliver that it's for a good purpose - to deprogram the brainwashing the cult has instilled in Betty's mind
• Teacher hands Brother Guy a list of Betty's friends, which she created when she joined the cult, tricked into believing it was an emergency contact list
• He also tells Guy to check on Brother Bruce, who may be in a fragile state after the kidnapping
• He's down in the basement working on more arson materials
• Aunt May goes to visit Peter and Mary Jane, but as Mary Jane showers, she finds the envelope of sultry photos taken for the lingerie shoot, causing her to faint
• As they make progress on breaking the hold on Betty's mind, members of the Students of Love burst into Flash's apartment from the door and windows
• Reverend Tolliver is ushered through the battle to the hallway by Peter, who tells him to get help
• He leaves a message for Ben Urich
• The cult take Peter, and Flash hostage, while also bringing Betty back to the compound
• Down in the basement, Brother Bruce leaves his new flame thrower, only for it to light a pile of clothing on fire
• Back at the apartment, Mary Jane burns the photos and negatives after May tells her that if she causes her nephew any embarrassment that she'll deck her
• Ben calls Kate with the location of the cult's compound, and she asks him to pick her up
• Brother Bruce is scolded for his violent tendencies, demanding that the hostages be killed, but Teacher tells him to go meditate\
• Instead, he finds a gun in Teacher's desk, and decides to handle things himself
• With the house now on fire, and Betty, Peter and Flash all tied to chairs, sequestered in the same room, Peter decides it's now or never, and breaks his binds
• When Flash asks how he did that, he replies, "spider strength", but Flash doesn't believe him, so he replies, "adrenalin, frayed ropes, loose knots, gamma rays, take your pick"
• Bruce tries to shoot them, but Peter disarms him, and tells him he better get out of there while he's letting him
• With Flash and Betty unconscious from the smoke, and a quick change to Spider-Man, our hero attempts to get them out of the building
• He's stopped by Teacher, who also now has a gun
• Teacher shoots at Spider-Man, but he dodges, and the bullet hits Bruce
• Spider-Man says he'll web up his wound, but Teacher tells him to instead get Betty and Flash out, and that he'll help Bruce
• Teacher instead walks away from Bruce, but as he does, Bruce grabs him by the leg pleading for help
• The delay causes the burning ceiling to collapse on both of them
• They don't make it out of the fire
• Kate and Ben arrive, and Betty points Kate to Tracy
• It's not Kate's Sister, and distraught, she tells Peter, exclaiming, "Not everyone gets a happy ending"

Low Points

• It's kind of like the Mad Dog Ward story arc, wherein it's long, drawn out, and not that interesting

Oddities

• Editor's Day Off: In issue 40 of Web Of Spider-Man, Kate Cushing refers to her sister as "Tracy", but in issue 42, says her name is "Tracey"
• Now in issue 43, we're back to "Tracy"

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

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Comics Corner: Web Of Spider-Man 42

    

Title: Web Of Spider-Man
Issue Number: 42
Release Date: September 1988

Highlights

• First appearance of Sgt. Bob Miller, Glen, and Kevin
• The story picks up where the last left off, with Peter dumbfounded and believing that Teacher really can cure cancer, though in truth, it's slight of hand magic
• Peter overhears Betty speaking to another cult sister, this one named Tracey (see oddities)
• Teacher meets Peter in the yard, pulls out the Spider-Man mask, and informs him that he believes it belongs to him
• Mary Jane goes to the lingerie photo shoot set up by Lorraine, but decides she cannot go through with it without first talking to her husband
• Teacher walks Peter to the exit of the compound, and tells him that their way is not with fists, and while he feels Peter could benefit from being part of their family, he's not ready for that
• He gives him bus fair, and sends him on his way
• Peter returns to the Bugle, and tells Kate and Ben about Spider-Man finding the compound, and seeing a girl named Tracey
• Kate, thinking it is her sister, demands to know the location, but Peter says that Spider-Man didn't tell him
• Peter calls Mary Jane, and when she wants to talk to him about the modeling gig, he blows her off saying that it's her career, and her decision
• She does the photo shoot
• Spider-Man goes to see Flash, and tells him that though he's found Betty, she's happy, and they should respect her wish to stay at the compound
• Bob, and officer working with Flash in the youth program, overhears the conversation, tells him about a run in he and other officers had with them before, and offers to give Flash the address, as long as he doesn't do anything illegal (wink, wink)
• Flash goes to see Reverend Tolliver, and convinces him to help with Betty
• Spider-Man goes to see Anthony Druid, who fills him in on the slight of hand trick that Teacher most likely pulled
• Flash Thompson and some "deprogrammers" infiltrate the compound, and grab Betty
• Before going back to the compound, Peter first goes home to check in with Mary Jane, but she isn't there
• Flash calls in a panic, and tells Peter to get to his place fast
• At Flash's place, Betty begs Peter, saying she's been kidnapped, and needs help

Low Points

• None

Oddities

• Editor's Day Off: In Web Of Spider-Man 40, Kate Cushing refers to her sister as "Tracy", however, in this issue, she's referred to as "Tracey"
  

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

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Comics Corner: Web Of Spider-Man 41

    

Title: Web Of Spider-Man
Issue Number: 41
Release Date: August 1988

Highlights

• First appearance of the Cult of Love members, Teacher and Sister Jane
• Also the first appearance of Lorraine Mandell, and Howard
• Mary Jane runs into an old high school friend, Lorraine, and brings her to the apartment
• Meanwhile, back at the Students of Love's compound, Spider-Man is in battle against large numbers alerted by Betty Leeds when she screamed for help
• Spider-Man grabs Betty and tries to take her away from the place, but she yanks his mask off, causing him to cover himself with his arms
• All throughout this, Brother Bruce, the unknown man we met last issue who recruited Betty, is running rampant with a homemade flame thrower, lighting the building on fire as he tries to stop Spider-Man
• Spider-Man flees, escaping through the vent system of the building
• Ben Urich goes to see the real estate agent, Rita Hathaway, and after asking about the Leed's resident which she's selling, asks if she's ever heard of the Student's of Love
• Rita ends the conversation fast, and closes up for the night
• As Spider-Man crawls through the ventilation, he comes across an office where Brother Guy is informing Brother Teacher of the recent events with Spider-Man and Bruce
• During this conversation, Rita calls, identifying herself as Sister Jane, and explaining about the nosy reporter asking questions
• Guy informs Teacher that he can takes some men and scare the reporter off, but is told that this is a place of love, and to do no such thing
• After a long evening, Mary Jane invites Lorraine to stay the night
• Flash goes to see Kate Cushing the next morning at the Bugle to talk about Betty missing
• She takes him to Ben Urich, who hands him a camera, and congratulates him on becoming a photographer
• Lorraine tells Mary Jane that she can help her get some lingerie cataloge photo shoot jobs that pay $5,000
• Meanwhile, back at the Students of Love compound, Peter is disguised as a member, spying on Betty
• He admits she hasn't looked this happy ever
• Ben and Flash go to visit Reverend Tolliver, who gives them details on the cult, including that he's worked with several past members to deprogram them
• Back at the compound, Teacher is performing a "miracle" as Reverend Tolliver narrates the scam to the two
• He explains it as a slight of hand magic trick, used to fake removing cancer from sick people
• Peter appears to have fallen for the scam in a cliffhanger ending which leaves him staring at the scene dumbfounded

Low Points

• None

Oddities

• None

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

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Comics Corner: Web Of Spider-Man 40

   

Title: Web Of Spider-Man
Issue Number: 40
Release Date: July 1988

Highlights

• First appearance of the Cult of Love, Brother Guy, Brother Bruce, Brother Lenny, and Rita Hathaway
• Also the first appearance of Tracy Cushing
• Flash Thompson has landed a job working with kids on the police athletic club
• He stops by the Daily Bugle to share the news with Betty Leeds, but finds her talking with another man
• Reference is made to The Amazing Spider-Man 289, Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man 109, 110, and Spider-Man Versus Wolverine
• Two weeks later, Spider-Man is swinging by Betty Leed's home, and thinking she's there, changes into his civilian clothes, and knocks on the door
• He's greeted by Rita Hathaway, who informs him the home is being sold as is, fully furnished
• As Spider-Man swings back towards the Bugle, he see's Flash below, and he's roughing up the man he saw two weeks earlier with Betty
• He explains to Spider-Man that the stranger is the last person to have seen Betty
• Spider-Man makes nice with the guy, but takes one of his pamphlets, and sticks a spider tracer to him
• Peter takes the pamphlet on the student's of love to Kate Cushing and tells her about Betty missing
• Kate tells him about her sister, Tracy, who joined the group at a very low point in her life, and when given the ultimatum by their parents to leave the group or leave home, she chose the latter
• Kate says she's never seen her sister again
• Peter shows her the business card of the real estate agent, Rita Hathaway
• Kate pulls in Ben Urich to find information, and then calls the police to report a missing person
• Flash sees the guy again, and tails him
• Flash enters a dilapidated building but the door closes behind him, and the trap is sprung
• Cult members surround him, a knives are pulled
• Flash is chased up all the stairs, but finds himself at a dead end
• Spider-Man crashes in, and the fight is on
• Spider-Man let's them flee, and when Flash protests, he tells him he is going to track the head guy, but doesn't tell him about his spider tracer, opting to keep that a secret
• Spider-Man latches to the top of the fleeing van, and lets the driver take them to their compound
• Hanging to the high ground, he spots Betty planting things in the garden
• He waits until nightfall, and enters the dorm where multiple people are sleeping, and wakes her up
• Though he says he's there to help her on behalf of Peter and Flash, she screams, alerting cult members, who come crashing in

Low Points

• None

Oddities

• None

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

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Comics Corner: Web Of Spider-Man 39

   

Title: Web Of Spider-Man
Issue Number: 39
Release Date: July 1988

Highlights

• First appearance of Rashiv, Bob Flanagan, Robert Tempia, Marty, and Mr. Giovanni
• First appearance of Ye Olde Pawn Shoppe
• Spider-Man helps a homeless woman in an alley who is being robbed by a homeless man
• The woman repays him by pulling a thread on his suit, opening the entire back of it
• Nathan Lubensky leaves his apartment in Queens, grumbling about the state of the area, and missing May Parker
• Reference is made to The Amazing Spider-Man 271, 300, Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man 41, and 113
• Nathan gets his paper from Ravish, and gives some change to Norton, a homeless man before wheeling his chair down the sidewalk
• Norton repays his kindness by literally ripping the door to his apartment off the hinges to rob him
• Norton has super strength
• Mary Jane comes home and finds Peter poorly sewing his ripped suit back together
• She makes a call to Bob Flanagan and Robert Tempia, telling them she needs a Spider-Man costume for her husband by tomorrow
• Aunt May calls Peter, and tells him about the robbery at Nathan's home, and that there's also been robberies in her neighborhood
• He goes to check on her
• Norton sells some of Nathan's valuables to the pawn shop, and uses the money for liquor
• Peter goes to check on Nathan too, and though his deed is first met with hostility, the two soon smooth things over
• With a new suit, Spider-Man hits the streets the next day checking with every pawn shop, and scrupulous character on the street
• He finally gets a lead that points him to Giovanni's
• Spider-Man finds Norton attempting to sell Nathan's engraved watch at Giovanni's, and feels like he recognizes the man
• He does - As Norton escapes, he runs to his shopping cart, retrieving his Looter outfit
• Peter returns the watch, and upon hearing Norton's first and last name from Nathan, he realizes it's the Looter, and tells Nathan to call the cops (see oddities)
• Spider-Man catches up to Looter, and the battle takes place outside of Aunt May's home
• Looter turns his sights on the van with May and her fellow seniors inside
• It's a big mistake, as this sets Spider-Man off
• Seeing May in danger Nathan wheels towards her, and when he falls from his chair when a cop tries to stop him, he crawls, shouting for her
• Nathan proposes to May, and she accepts

Low Points

• None

Oddities

• Peter thinks that the Looter is headed to Aunt May's house, and despite no clues or evidence leading to this, he's somehow right

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

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Comics Corner: Web Of Spider-Man 38

    

Title: Web Of Spider-Man
Issue Number: 38
Release Date: May 1988

Highlights

• First appearance of Barney Muggins, Fran, Mindy, Jasmine, and Dick Wagner
• Jason Macendale Jr., AKA Jack O'Lantern, but now Hobgoblin, streaks through the sky on his glider
• He explodes his way into Kingpin's tower, searching for the crime lord
• Arranger halts the battle by telling Hobgoblin that they should talk like the businessmen they are
• When in a private office, Hobgoblin demands to know why he's been blacklisted, and not received any assassination assignments, and is told it's because he's a boor, and an incompetent idiot who's only success is stealing the identity of someone else
• Arranger tells him that he proposes a test to see if he deserves the mantle of Hobgoblin
• It's proposed he kill Spider-Man
• When the meeting is over, Tombstone walks up behind Hobgoblin, and tosses him out the window
• He's able to call his glider at the last moment, saving himself from death
• Hobgoblin vows he'll not only kill Spider-Man, but then Arranger
• Mary Jane has thrown a massive party in the apartment, and Mrs. Muggins, who is searching for her husband, is none to pleased with all the noise
• It's a moving out party, as the two will soon be relocating
• Spider-Man is downing the punch that Mary Jane is serving, not knowing it's not just punch
• Hobgoblin searches the city for the perfect battle ground to challenge Spider-Man, and finds it in the Lincoln Tunnel
• Reference is made to The Amazing Spider-Man 261
• Harry Osborn calls Peter from his car phone, and informs him that he and his wife are stuck in the Lincoln Tunnel, and that the radio has announced that Hobgoblin is onsite causing problems
• Peter explains the situation to Mary Jane, and heads out
• The punch starts to kick in, and a drunk Spider-Man not only misses his web shots, but starts slurring his words
• A drunk Spider-Man goes into battle with Hobgoblin, and it isn't pretty
• He only wins the fight when Hobgoblin crashes his glider into a tower, causing it to go haywire, launching him off into the distance
• When he returns home, Peter demands to know who spiked the punch, only for Mr. Muggins to admit it was him
• Mrs. Muggins sees her husband, and attempts to chase after him
• Peter stops her, and when she says she won't miss him, he tells her that he'll miss her, and plants a kiss on her
• The party commences

Low Points

• It's really just a trope to hammer home the "drinking is bad" monicker
• Regardless, it's amusing and humerous

Oddities

• It's odd that Arranger would propose that Hobgoblin kill Spider-Man, calling him an obstacle for Kingpin, when the crime lord has often stated that Spider-Man serves a purpose to him
• A "friend" of Mary Jane's at the party hits on Peter, telling him she'd love to be the other woman in his life, and that his wife need not know
• Drunk Spider-Man

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

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Comics Corner: Web Of Spider-Man 37

   

Title: Web Of Spider-Man
Issue Number: 37
Release Date: April 1988

Highlights

• First appearance of Elyse Nelson, Harvey Finklestein, Leslie, and Officer Richardson
• The story opens on a crime scene, where the police have found a dead body at the river
• The police have been on the hunt of a serial killer murdering fashion models, but have no leads, and no suspects
• The detective on-site speaks to Dakota North, the PI hired by several modeling agents to investigate
• Side note - Dakota is an obscure character introduced in her own five issue limited series in 1986, Dakota North Investigations
• As he's suiting up, the security guards of the building he's on the roof of show up
• Without his mask on, Peter jumps over the edge, and comes across an open window with a half naked Elyse inside - To which he thinks to himself, "Man is she cute." All of this in the same breath of thinking to himself that he's supposed to be meeting his wife
• It turns out this has a point in the long run, establishing that Elyse is quite the knock out
• A man named Harvey manages to get past security, and bring Elyse flowers to her dressing room
• As he's ushered out, Harvey grumbles to himself that Elyse and her friend, Mary Jane, are probably laughing at him
• He bumps into Peter, who's spider sense activates
• Elyse makes a comment to Mary Jane that she thinks herself to be fat, which Mary Jane informs her is quite to the contrary
• We're seeing Elyse has a complex that doesn't visually fit her physical attributes at all
• As Peter and Mary Jane leave, she tells him that her and Elyse will be in the upcoming fall fashion show
• Peter tells Mary Jane he can't attend the show because he's got a photography job out of town, and the money will pay his taxes
• Mary Jane informs him she's paid it, and it makes him feel bad
• After telling Mary Jane that maybe he will decline the job and attend the show, she tells him not to
• As Harvey walks through the unemployment office, he grumbles about being an unemployeed actor, and ponders how to get Elyse to notice him
• When he bumps into Leslie, a large man reading a paper, he notices the slasher headline, and asks the guy if he wants to make a few bucks
• The man put's Harvey's plan into action, holding Elyse in her apartment with a knife
• When her doorbell rings, the killer takes off, and Elyse begins scream, prompting Mary Jane and Peter to enter the home
• Peter gives chase, but instead of finding the man, runs into Dakota
• As Dakotah meets with Elyse, Peter chastises himself for losing the killer, and says there's no way he's leaving town now
• At Leslie's apartment, Harvey shrugs off that the plan didn't go off as expected, but then notices that Leslie has an awful lot of clippings of the slasher, and a lot of knives
• Leslie plays it off as being a character actor, and just him getting into character
• The next day at the shoot, Peter is sneaking in with a disguise on, after telling Mary Jane he was leaving for his assignment, and unknown to him Leslie is also working his way through the event
• Leslie, disguised as a security guard, enters the room of Mary Jane and Elyse
• Outside, Harvey knocks on the door, ready to play his part as protector, but as the girls and Leslie come crashing out of the room, he informs Harvey that his plan isn't working
• Meanwhile, outside the building, Peter has been taken into custody for sneaking around the bushes
• Hearing the ruckus upstairs, Dakota spring into action, as does Peter, who forgoes his secret identity, breaks his cuffs, and runs for the building after tossing the officers off of him
• They both give chase after Leslie, only for him to confess that he's just an actor
• Meanwhile, as Elyse and Mary Jane continue to run away, Elyse pulls out a knife
• Elyse tells Mary Jane that she's so pretty as compared to herself, and chases after her
• Spider-Man webs her up

Low Points

• The whole story crumbles under its hokey narrative, and Dakota's closing words (see oddities)
• The story just ends abruptly, and the whole thing is dumb

Oddities

• Ricky, Dakota's brother, reminds her that tomorrow is their father's birthday, and proceeds to produce an 8 X 10 headshot of him, all this while standing at their car at a crime scene
• Does he always carry around such large photos of his dad? Maybe I should read that limited series and find out
• After the introduction to Dakota at the crime scene, we cut to Peter suiting up, and it says, "Days later in New York City," but we're not told where the opening portion of the story took place
• When Dakota shows up after Spider-Man has webbed up Elyse, she says, that Dakota had a history of mental illness, and was always her prime suspect - What? No way, that's not even believable it's just conveniently hokey

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

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