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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Comics Corner: Web Of Spider-Man 36

    

Title: Web Of Spider-Man
Issue Number: 36
Release Date: March 1988

Highlights

• First appearance of Phreak, AKA Steve Petty (who made his first appearance in the previous issue)
• Also the first appearance of Tombstone, AKA Lonnie Lincoln
• Additional first appearance of Kate
• Death of Dr. Karl Mendoza
• Spider-Man startles Mary Jane as she's returning home with groceries, springing up on her in an alley
• Mary Jane tells him she thinks she's found them a new apartment on the upper West Side
• Things get kinky as the two jump in the shower
• From his brother's jeep, Jake and Ronda see flashes of light coming from the school basement, and go to investigate, looking for Steve, and hoping it's him
• In the basement, Steve is fitting himself with an exo-skeleton, intent on heading to Peter Parker's apartment once he's fully powered it up
• Jake and Ronda enter the basement, and flipping a light switch causes the exo-skeleton to over power, sending all the juice into Steve, who runs from the basement in burning agony
• Roland Rayburn walks the streets with a woman named Kate, telling her he wants a peak at her company's upcoming quarterly report, and offering her a bump of cocaine to oblige
• From a car, Tombstone tells his driver to follow Roland
• Robbie Robertson exits a diner, and see's Tombstone in his car, immediately panicking that he's back
• In a lab, Dr. Karl Mendoza is administering the serum to Captain Alveraz, which will give him the strength to be the new Tarantula
• Because of the pain of it, Alveraz says he's going to kill Mendoza if he survives
• Peter is awoken from a nightmare, his spider senses tingling, and when he walks through the apartment to investigate, sees all the mechanical items short circuiting
• Steve, no calling himself Phreak, grabs Mary Jane, and when Peter tries to stop him, the television explodes, sending shards of glass through Peter's leg
• Phreak decides to hurt Peter by hurting Mary Jane, and drags her from the apartment
• Despite being wounded, Peter suits up, determined to not let anything happen to his wife
• Ronda and Jake see a news bulletin about Steve
• Jake tells Ronda he didn't mean to hurt him, and he drags her off to try to stop and help him
• Spider-Man battles Phreak atop a building billboard, but realizes quickly he can't make contact with the maniac without getting burned
• Ronda and Jake break through the police barricade, and run into the building
• At the top of the building, Jake apologizes profusely to Steve, and Spider-Man takes advantage of the distraction, dealing a massive blow to him
• Phreak slams into the electric billboard, drawing in all its power, which short circuits the exo-skeleton
• Now garbed in the outfit of Tarantula, Mendoza keeps his promise, and kills Dr. Mendoza
• Tarantula is then sent to America with two assigniments
• The first, to deal with all the refugees
• The second, to avenge the original Tarantula by killing Spider-Man

Low Points

• It's a bit of a boring story arc, and I was hoping to get more on Tombstone than a couple panels

Oddities

• Jake calls Steve his friend, and that ends all his anger instantly

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

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Comics Corner: Web Of Spider-Man 35

   

Title: Web Of Spider-Man
Issue Number: 35
Release Date: February 1988

Highlights

• First appearance of Steve Petty, Roland Rayburn, Jake Dorman, Ronda Kramer, and Dr. Karl Mendoza
• First appearance and death of Miguel Sanchez
• Also the first appearance of Luis Alvarez as the new Tarantula
• Peter has taken a job as a substitute teach for his old high school, and it's his first day
• Midtown High School is a dump now, with the neighborhood all run down
• Jake is blaming Steve for his "F", and the smarter classmate isn't having it
• As they almost come to blows, Peter breaks it up, but feels like this is history repeating itself when it was he and Flash constantly butting heads
• Steve recognizes Peter, and says that he's his hero, being the only person to win an award for science in the school
• Steve says Jack is just a dumb jock, and that all jocks are dumb
• Peter tells him they should meet for lunch to talk about it
• In Santa Maria, El Arana, AKA Luis Alvarez, heads to a church in his jeep, and upon arrival tells the priest he wants Miguel Sanchez
• The priest denies his request, telling him that his church is a sanctuary
• After beating the priest, Miguel comes out, only to be met by cold blooded murder from El Arana, who then orders his men to kill every at the church
• At lunch, Steve takes Peter to the basement, and shows him all the computers which his dad donated
• Steve tells Peter that people don't take electronic engineers seriously, and call them Phreaks
• That will be important later, as it's the persona that Steve will soon take
• Peter tells Steve he's a lonely kid, and needs to understand the importance of having people in his life, but when he suggests Steve open up to Jake, that's more than enough for him, and Steve storms off
• In the cafeteria, Ronda calls Steve over, and tells Jake to apologize, but the kid gets his leg caught, dumping his food tray on the jock
• Enraged, Jake pushes him, breaking Steve's glasses
• Steve has coupled together the old parts to recreate the Living Brain robot, and it crashes through the school on a rampage
• Reference is made to The Amazing Spider-Man 8
• Steven directs the robot towards Jake and Ronda, destroying the jock's car
• Spider-Man eventually lures the robot to an elevator shaft, and jumps out of the way just in time for its arm to smash an electric junction box
• Spider-Man sees Steve as a darker mirror version of himself
• El Arana is told that after he has been enhanced medically, that he will become the new Tarantula, and deal with the refugees who have fled to the USA
• Peter goes looking for Steve, trying one last time to help him, but can't find the boy

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 34

   

Title: Web Of Spider-Man
Issue Number: 34
Release Date: January 1988

Highlights

• First appearance of A'Sai, Gerbil, Truck, Lumpy, and Grunz
• First appearance of Bally's Las Vegas
• Uatu, the Watcher, is ambushed by the alien, AiSai, a feet never before achieved
• Spider-Man joins the game when Gerbil is injured
• Grunz bet A'Sai eight million credit-units that the latter couldn't accomplish what he just did, and now Grunz is flat broke
• A'Sai explains that he was able to accomplish his task with a piece of Galactus's home world that he salvaged
• Reference is made to Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars 11
• A'Sai wants the weapons of the Watcher, and negotiates a wager
• If Uatu wins, A'Sai will turn over his weapons
• If A'Sai wins, Uatu turns over his weapons, and A'Sai will also kill him
• The two see Spider-Man playing football on a monitor, and decide that the game he's playing will be their bet
• A'Sai gets the red shirts, AKA, the big guys
• Uatu gets Spider-Man and the kids
• Though initially down fifty-six to nothing, Spider-Man is able to pep talk the kids into giving it all they've got, bringing the score to fifty-six to forty-five
• Seeing them making a comeback, A'Sai blasts Truck with his weapon, giving him added strength and speed
• Gerbil comes back into the game when Lumpy gets injured too
• With time expired, and the ball in their possession, Gerbil scores the winning touchdown by barreling through Truck
• A'Sai loses the bet, and though he attempts to turn the weapon on Uatu, finds it has vanished
• Though Uatu promised he would not punish A'Sai for invading his home and taking him prisoner, the villain's attempt to use his weapon after the bet was won demands the Watcher punish him
• Uatu banishes him to a prison inside of a Joker card at Bally's Grand Hotel Casino in Las Vegas

Low Points

• Jim Shooter leaves, and you have Spider-Man playing football, and a bet between a Watcher and alien?

Oddities

• Spider-Man sees some guys playing football with a group of kids, and says the ball is probably full of crack
• Editor's Day Off: Truck says to his team, "I ain't gonna sit on the bench just 'cause the the shrimp got bunged."

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

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Comics Corner: Web Of Spider-Man 33

   

Title: Web Of Spider-Man
Issue Number: 33
Release Date: December 1987

Highlights

• First issue in The Mad Dog Ward story arc
• First appearance of the Gibbs family, Vicky, Frank, Jacob, and Tanya
• Additional first appearance of Doctor Hope, Doctor Hunt, and Patient MD 2020 (though he remains unnamed)
• First appearance of the location Pleasant Valley Mental Hospital
• Vicky Gibbs stands in the kitchen talking to herself
• Her son Jacob enters, and asks her if she was talking to the shadows again
• Vicky is clearly not well
• Vicky is leaving her husband Frank, and she's taking the kids, Jacob and Tanya with her
• As they leave, Frank is outside, coming home from work
• He sees their bags are packed, and immediately concedes that they should all just go
• Vicky tells the kids to stay there, and that she'll be right back
• Jacob tells Tanya, they're not going anywhere, and he too goes inside
• Vicky tells Frank she doesn't like the criminal company he works for, and says she almost turned him in, setting Frank off
• Frank tells Vicky he'll kill her, and she runs for the bedroom, calling the police, and grabbing a gun
• Vicky discovers that the police officer she's on the phone with is on the take, and Frank gets on the phone with him
• He tells his wife she's signed his death warrant, and the phone rings, an unnamed man tells Frank that his wife needs to be put away so she can't cause anymore trouble
• Peter reflects on being buried alive, and his battle with Vermin, and also informs the readers that Mary Jane is away in Paris on a photo shoot
• Peter has dinner with Aunt May, but as he's leaving her house, an ambulance screams by with its sirens blaring, and Jacob and Tanya bump into him as they chase after it
• Tanya tells Peter they took mommy, and they need to follow the ambulance
• She tells Peter they're taking their mom to Pleasant Valley, and asks him what is wrong with her, but he doesn't know
• Jacob keeps trying to pull her down the street, but when Peter says that maybe their mom just needs to rest, he gets angry, and they're trying to get rid of her, to shut her up
• Peter suggests the kids visit her in the hospital
• That night, Peter can't sleep, and he keeps thinking about the two kids
• He suits up, and heads out into the night
• Jacob and Tanya are out in the night, of the roof of the hospital to find their mother, and the boy has brought a gun with him
• Their father has followed them, and though Tanya hugs him, Jacob turns the gun on him
• Jacob tells his father that he's no longer his son, and that he'll never go near their mom again
• Armed guards swarm the roof, and after making a call tell Frank he and the kids are being taken inside for a chat
• Spider-Man breaks up the party, but Frank runs away
• One of the guards grabs Tanya, and holds her over the edge of the building
• He tosses her over, and as Spider-Man dives after her, he takes bullets to his back
• As Spider-Man lays there bleeding, he tells Tanya to run and get the police

Low Points

• Marvel pretty much required you to read all three Spider-Man titles at this point to get the full story, which arced across multiple titles

Oddities

• None

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

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Comics Corner: Web Of Spider-Man 32

    

Title: Web Of Spider-Man
Issue Number: 32
Release Date: November 1987

Highlights

• Peter's mind run's rampant as he subconsciously clings to life, buried alive for weeks
• He finally breaks through the soil
• Kraven has Vermin held captive in a cage
• Peter Parker finally gets home to Mary Jane
• Peter's vocal chords aren't working right, and he clearly needs time to rest, but instead he's back in his Spider-Man suit, preparing to go after Kraven
• Peter catches up with Kraven

Low Points

• Not a lot of text makes it a quick read, and more of a visual comic

Oddities

• None

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

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Comics Corner: Web Of Spider-Man 31

   

Title: Web Of Spider-Man
Issue Number: 31
Release Date: October 1987

Highlights

• Kraven's Last Hunt begins
• First appearance of Harry Skitter
• First appearance of the location Kravinoff Estate
• It's a storm night, and at his estate, Kraven is naked, destroying taxidermy animals, talking about his age, and that his time is coming to die
• Outside, a groundskeeper digs a grave
• But before he can die, Kraven has one final hunt
• He walks to a coffin in his home that has Spider-Man's black suit draped over it
• Joe Face, a two-bit thug which Spider-Man often rustled up for information has died
• Spider-Man goes to his funeral being held in Jimmy's Corner Bar, a local dive, and donates money to his burial
• Peter admits he's afraid to die
• Kraven eats fists full of Spiders, and then begins his last hunt
• Spider-Man is caught off guard, and hit by poisoned arrows, leaving him hallucinating Joe Face's ghost, but it's really Kraven
• Kraven traps Spider-Man in a net, and approaches him with a rifle
• Spider-Man thinks that the villain will take him to some hideout, giving him the chance to recoup, and fight back, but this isn't the case
• Kraven lifts the rifle, and fires
• Spider-Man is buried, and Kraven is happy with his victory

Low Points

• The last issue of Web Of Spider-Man crediting Jim Shooter as Editor-In Chief - Jim was fired in April 1987 from Marvel Comics

Oddities

• None

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

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