Spider-Man: 1984 (Before Secret Wars)

SPIDER-MAN in the 1980s, pt. 5 of 12.

A lot was happening in 1984. Miami Vice, Transformers, Terminator, Born in the USA, Purple Rain, Madonna, you name it. In the comics world, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles first appeared, not that I had any idea of that at the time. My big comics event of '84 was Secret Wars. 

A proper overview is beyond my scope today. The only thing we need to know is that it was in Secret Wars that Spider-Man changed costumes.

"You mean I've been waiting since I was eight years old to draw Spider-Man and now he's got a new costume?" - Ron Frenz. (American Comic Book Chronicles: the 1980s by Keith Dallas.)

That happened in Secret Wars #8 (cover-date Dec), but the new costume first appeared in ASM #252 (cover date May), so readers had lived with it for awhile. In fact, by the time Spidey got the black costume in SW, he was already back in his old duds. Four issues of Amazing Spider-Man, Spectacular Spider-Man, and Marvel Team-Up were published with an '84 cover date before Secret Wars, and eight after. Today we'll look only at the former.

SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN 86 - 89

Written by Bill Mantlo.
Penciled by Fred Hembeck (86) and Al Milgrom (86-89). 

Things start off with Assistant Editor's Month, a carefully planned event designed to appear as a spontaneous celebration of mayhem: Marvel's assistant editors unleashing havoc while their bosses were at San Diego Con. Spectacular Spider-Man readers were treated to a one-off from Fred Hembeck before Spidey's relationship with the Black Cat takes center stage. 

He begins to realize there might be trouble ahead when he shows her his apartment and her reaction is less than supportive.

His reservations about her only wanting the Spider-side of his life aside, what really sinks their relationship is her lack of super-powers. To rectify this, she goes around town seeking some way to power herself up. After being rejected by the likes of the Fantastic Four and the Avengers, she eventually finds a mysterious benefactor who tells her to meet him at the laboratory of the late Harlan Stillwell. (The guy who created The Fly.) She gains her x-factor, at the cost of a favor owed (she discovers) to the Kingpin.

How all of this will play out is interrupted, of course, by Spidey's being whisked off to the edge of the universe for SW. So we'll save that for next time.

MARVEL TEAM-UP 137 - 140

Written by Mike Carlin (137) Tom DeFalco (138), Cary Burkett (139),
Bill Mantlo and Tom DeFalco (140).
Penciled by Greg LaRocque (137 - 138), Brian Postman (139), and Ron Frenz (140).

MTU celebrates Assistant Editor's Month by briefly making Aunt May the Herald of Galactus.

Guest-starring Aunt May, Franklin Richards, The Sandman (in his first role as a former criminal struggling to go straight - also features the re-appearance of The Enforcers, a gang of crooks from the early Lee/Ditko days), Nick Fury, Black Widow, and Daredevil.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 248 - 251

Written by Roger Stern and Tom DeFalco.
Penciled by John Romita, Jr. (248 - 250) and Ron Frenz (251).

Things kick off with #248, which features the fondly remembered tear-jerker "The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man."

Which we'll get to in a second, but let's look at the first story in the issue. Namely:

 

As a showcase for JRJR's burgeoning skill set - particularly with action set pieces - it's perfect. 

Plus, Thunderball was such an interesting contradiction - he was part of The Wrecking Crew, sort of a construction gang gone wild, but he had this Asgardian angle and often spoke in mustachioed super-villain-ese.

But the issue is remembered mainly for Spidey's visit to his biggest fan, Tim, a young boy in the leukemia ward. They look through Tim's scrapbook, and when Tim asks some hard questions, Peter answers by unmasking. 

But the main focus of these pre-SW issues is the resolution of the first Hobgoblin storyline.

The Hobgoblin takes another page from Norman Osborn's journals and learns how to disable Spidey's spider-sense with one of his gas bombs. He attempts to blackmail several people, including JJJ (for having a hand in creating one of The Scorpion, whom we'll be seeing more of in this year's ASM annual), but Spider-Man relentlessly pursues him. Finally, his lair - including the rest of Norman's journals - goes up in flames, and after a spirited battle van chase -

he and Spidey crash into the drink.

Great stuff. Roger Stern was in the process of leaving the title - he and new Spider-editor Danny Fingeroth didn't see eye to eye on things - but when Tom DeFalco (former Spider-editor and new executive editor to all Marvel titles, 2nd in Bullpen hierarchy to Shooter himself) took over as writer and more or less followed the gameplan Stern had created. With one important exception, as we'll see next time.

Fun fact - in the 80s, no one would have batted an eye at Peter Parker walking around in a midriff-bearing tank top and denim cut-off shorts.

As was the case in MTU and SSM, the last few pages of ASM 251 are dedicated to the SW lead-in:

MARVEL TALES #166

I had all the other Marvel Tales issues published this year, but for some reason this one has always stuck with me.

Re-reading it in 2015, I'm not exactly sure why. It's a rather standard affair. Not bad, but not especially mind-blowing for me. I did like the bits from Peter Parker's high school graduation and this final bit of melodrama with Liz.

QUESTPROBE #2

I never had any of these Questprobes. They were a joint venture between Marvel and Scott Adams' Adventure International. I remember their being hyped up in the Bullpen Bulletins a few times, but that's about it. It's all very primitive-looking to 2015 eyes, but on a different level of the tower, perhaps they're another generation's Oregon Trail.

The curious can watch a walkthrough here. I made it through 6 minutes.

~

NEXT: The rest of '84.

Spider-Man: 1983

SPIDER-MAN IN THE 1980s, pt. 4 of 12.

1983 was a great year to be alive. Particularly if you were into Marvel comics. You had John Byrne on Fantastic Four, Walt Simonson on Thor, Frank Miller on Daredevil (by cover-date), Marvel Age, Marvel Saga, The Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe, God Loves, Man Kills, and, less celebrated perhaps than the above but no less seminal, Roger Stern and JRJR on Amazing. I had no idea at the time of the embarrassment of riches in my hands nor how rare it was to have so many top-shelf creators shaping the same mutual universe simultaneously - I just knew I loved it. 

I was likewise unaware of occupying the exact sweet spot of Marvel's mk-1 continuity: not too far nor too close to the beginning. I was actively engaging with Marvel's Silver Age through things like Marvel Saga and The Official Handbook, and most of the books were, too. 80s Marvel was not encumbered by its continuity; it was illuminated by it. The inevitable entropy of all serialized fictional universes would eventually materialize at Marvel, as well, but in 1983, it was blue skies and smooth sailing.

And without further ado here's a double-sized Dog Star Omnibus special - twice the action at half the price.

Get comfy, my friends - lots to cover today.

1. PETER PARKER SOAP OPERA

From Marvel Tales 149.

Oh Betty Brant! Don't you remember when Spidey fought Doc Ock when he had the flu just to save you? 

Everyone just assumed Peter did it as a romantic gesture.

Sha-Shan, Flash, Peter, Harry and Liz re-create The Last Supper (sorta).

Peter finally decides he can't keep juggling his freelance photography and super-hero duties with his grad work at Empire State. So, he decides not to continue.

Not before Marcy Kane gets one last shot in, of course.

What's her problem, anyway? We finally find out in MTU 134 - once a poetic young man overcame her strict all-science-and-no-play demeanor. They fell in love, but one day he went to go visit his Dad and never came back.

He was too busy becoming:

Origin stories always take a toll on romance. This all leads into the not-great-but-not-bad Jack O'Hearts limited series. 

Elsewhere, Lance Bannon's girlfriend puts the moves on Peter:

Eventually, she catches him at home and starts with the kissyface. Only to be interrupted by the re-appearance of The One Who Got Away, Mary-Jane Watson.

 

MJ's re-appearance was foreshadowed often enough - the above is from ASM 243; the below, from SSM 85:

But probably the year's most pivotal soap opera event was the end of the whole Debbie Whitman Saga:

See? Says so right on the cover.

Previously on Peter Parker 90210 *, Debbie's suspicion that Peter Parker is Spider-Man (seemingly confirmed when she saw Peter exit a building and then Spidey web-swing away within seconds of one another) triggered her schizophrenia.

* Should be 02150 for Chelsea, but I didn't think the joke - lame as it is - would register.

Peter is prepared to do the right thing, especially after talking to Biff.

Who, it turns out, isn't exactly the loser we've assumed him to be.

But when Spidey unmasks for her, it has an unexpected reaction.

As Betty Brant (and Doc Ock) did before her, she assumes that Peter couldn't possibly be Spider-Man - despite his dramatic entrance through the window - but the thought that he would do something like this for her instantly removes her mental anguish. 

There's more to it, of course, but this is just broad strokes overview stuff. Part of me wonders if Peter's actions weren't a bit reckless and might have ended up scrambling DW's brains even worse. But all's well that ends well - adios, Ms. Whitman.

2. MARVEL FANFARE #6. 

Written by Mike W. Barr and penciled/ co-plotted by Sandy Plunkett.

I'll be honest - I couldn't even finish this damn thing on account of this god-awful computer coloring.

Someone needs to send Captain Kirk in to convince the digital colorization computer to fulfill the prime directive, if you know what I mean.

It's not a bad story or anything, but it's just rendered unreadable by this. I'll have to track down the original, un-computer-colored version and see if it looks as garish and awful as this  maybe I'm blaming the wrong thing. But I've seen this enough elsewhere to know the old coloring process is often not faithfully rendered by computer. Moving on.

3. SPIDEY LIKES STAR TREK

4. MARVEL TEAM-UP 125 - 136

Written by J.M. DeMatteis (125, 127 - 135), Jim Shooter (126), and David Michelinie (136). 
Penciled by Kerry Gammill (125, 127), Tomoyuki Takenaka (126), Sal Buscema (132 - 133), and Ron Frenz (134 - 136).

...

Weaponized carrots!

In 1983, Spidey teamed up with Tigra, the Hulk, the Watcher, and Captain America: 

Marvel occasionally experimented with these sort of photo-realist covers. They never did much for me.

The Vision, Frog-Man: 

They were always trying to make Frog-Man stick. (Pardon the pun) Image below from ASM 247.

Bless them. I can hear them from across spacetime - he's a spider; he's a frog! It's natural predation!

Back to guest stars: Mister Fantastic: 

"I'm ordinary! Ordinary!"

This leads to a Spock's Brain (sorta) situation where Spidey has to walk Reed through the operation to save himself.

The Fantastic Four, Kitty Pryde, and Wonder Man.

As well as Cloak and Dagger

and the New Mutants for SSM Annual #6.
(Written by Bill Mantlo. Penciled by Ron Frenz.)

Isn't Cloak and Dagger's origin story very similar to Olivia's on Fringe? Anna Torv would make an excellent Dagger, incidentally.

The Watcher story is a good Christmas story. (I'm a sucker for superhero Christmas stories.) Uatu, we learn, breaks his non-interference rule once a year - guess which date - to save one innocent life. 

He appears to Spider-Man while Spidey is out searching for one of Aunt May's boarding house tenants' daughters. 

After Peter's sexually assaulted by Sophie and Martha.

Guest stars Cap, too:

I forgot to mention J.M. DeMatteis' run on Cap up there on my Best-of-1983 list. Essential reading. Given DeMatteis' memorable runs on so many titles, it's easy to overlook this early-80s tour of duty on MTU. But it was surprisingly rewarding; allowing for some bumps here and there, it's aged pretty well. One more worth looking at before moving on, issue 129:

Kerry Gammill had some skills. Still does, I assume, but these old MTUs he drew have many great moments.

The Vision's having one of his long-nights-of-the-android-soul he has every so often. (Him and Red Tornado - man! This odd trope of mopey androids is making me appreciate Douglas Adams' Marvin even more). How does this relate to the mysterious folks running around who look like long-dead artists or statesmen?

Dostoevsky! (One of DeMatteis' favorite writers. Might have even been how I first learned the guy's name, come to think of it.)

When they see in the Vision a kindred spirit, they ask him to join their Brotherhood of Compromised Android Doppelgangers.

Good stuff.

5. MARVEL TALES

Reprinting ASM 13 and 14 and ASM Annual #1 written by Stan Lee and penciled by Steve Ditko. 

I'll save the Doc Ock stuff for when I get to SSM, but some quick thoughts on the first appearances of Mysterio and the Sinister Six. I always liked Mysterio and almost 100% because of this Marvel Tales I got back in the day.

I love the get-up. And he wears a costume for the same reason Spidey does.

Mysterio leads Spidey on a merry chase around town and causes him to question his sanity. Things finally come to a head in a movie studio where their battle takes them across several different soundstages. This was years before The Monkees did this every other week.

As for the Sinister Six, I can certainly think of at least one contemporaneous story that left a huge impression on me, but we won't get to it for a few years. This reprint was my proper introduction to them. Doc Ock assembles some of Spidey's best-known villains for the novel concept of teaming up to take him out. Instead of attacking him all at once and overwhelming him with their combined strength, they decide to attack him one at a time, each one holding a clue as to where the next will be. The thing is - Spider-Man won't get the clue unless he beats each one, so their whole plan rests on steady and sustained failure. Sweet super-villain logic, how I adore thee.

As an annual, it hits several soon-to-be-Marvel-annual staples - main character loses powers for some reason? Check. Powers come back ? Check. Lots of splashes? Check.

Gratuitous guest stars? Check, check, and check. 

How much you'd enjoy it in 2014 undoubtedly depends on your tolerance for Silver Age storytelling. I was touched by how enthusiastically Lee and Ditko were trying to entertain me on every level - dramatic, action, humor, spectacle, self-promotion, you name it. Everything is crammed into this thing, and often into every panel.

At least they let you keep your costumes, Vulture. (And why is the Sandman sticking around? Shouldn't he just sand himself right out that window?)

6. SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN 74 - 85

Written by Bill Mantlo (74 - 85) and penciled by Bob Hall (74), Al Milgrom (75 - 79, 81, 85), Ron Frenz (80), Greg Larocque (81), and Dave Simons (82).  

No annual this year. 

This is a strong year of SSM as far as the Spideyverse goes. There are stretches where all the main events in Peter Parker's life happen in ASM and are only referenced or mildly re-enforced in the other titles. But this stretch of SSM is the main theater of operations for several overlapping main-story events, too, not second unit stuff. The reason for this is that ASM was reserved for the Hobgoblin saga in '83. So Mantlo and Milgrom (mainly, as modified above) got to showcase the end of Debbie Whitman and leaving ESU, as noted above, as well as several "A" storylines.

The Punisher is put on trial and goes to prison.

The Punisher was nowhere near as popular as he was to be in later years. And here, Mantlo writes him as mentally ill. Pains were taken in the subsequent mini-series and ongoing Punisher title(s) to pave over this characterization of Frank Castle.

There's a JJJ-centric issue that seemed to me to be either an homage or a rip-off of DD 185. But since it's a JJJ ish, for our purposes, it does not exist. There are two narratives that dominate the year. First up:

6a. DOCTOR OCTOPUS

Things kick off with a Doc Ock / Owl gang war which results in the Black Cat being seriously injured and the Doctor driven mad by thoughts of revenge. Spidey spends his time mainly at the Black Cat's hospital bedside and swinging around town, mentally listing the many ways that Doctor Octopus has always been his most serious foe. Sounds tedious maybe, but the Marvel Tales Doctor Octopus that I was reading simultaneously was Spidey's most serious foe, so it clicked with me. This double-whammying was "Space Seed" / Wrath of Khan stuff for 9-year-old Bryan.

From the start he's obsessed with Spider-Man.

There is something so charmingly ridiculous about this.

This too. Doc Ock is given to certain eccentricities.

It all leads up to an ultimate confrontation, naturally enough.

Spidey fights for his life and eventually wins -

whereupon he harangues him so ferociously that Otto spends the next few years of Spider continuity as a shattered man in a padded room. He's literally driven mad(der) by Spidey's chest-beating.

It's an ambitious undertaking that ultimately falls short of its mark. It would take until 1986's Kraven's Last Hunt to achieve the effect they were going for here: an epic and decisive end to one of Spidey's oldest villains.

The other main narrative thread, tied into and around the above is:

6b. THE BLACK CAT

When last we saw the Black Cat, she was plunging into the depths of the sea, presumed (by Spidey at least) dead. Turns out she was rescued by Doc Ock and ensnared in the above machinations. 

News that makes Spidey very happy.

An important arc in the burgeoning (but doomed - I mean, let's face it) Spidey/ Black Cat relationship. 

This is Spidey's first concern, this how-do-you-make-a-relationship-between-alter-egos work?

Not an unreasonable concern - even for non-superhero-types.

Things change, though, when the Black Cat is almost killed at the conclusion of the Owl/ Doc Ock war. And it's handled rather ridiculously - her near-death is a ballet of erotic poses and wankery. I declined to screencap it for you.

Sorry.

Spidey spends the rest of these issues visiting Felicia in the hospital and dealing with all the above Doc Ock stuff.

Once that plays out, they wrestle with the logistical problems of their relationship (Felicia's mother, romantic dinners while in costume, how to coordinate their moves in tandem against super-villain attacks, as happens in 85, etc.)

Speaking of 85, the super-villain in question is the Hobgoblin, who ends this run of issues by immersing himself in a vat of green slime:

What better way to transition to -

7. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 236 - 247

Written by Roger Stern (236 -247). Penciled by JRJR (236, 238 247) and Bob Hall (237).
The annual is a co-written affair between Stern and Mantlo and penciled by Ed Hannigan. It's not bad, but since it dealt with Peter's high school reunion, I wanted it to go in more of a Grosse Pointe Blank direction. And it didn't. It's probably unfair to fault a comic book for not being like a movie that came out 15 years after it was written, I know.

Every issue is a gem this time around, but I'll concentrate on only three things:

7a. END OF THE LINE FOR THE TARANTULA

As a kid, I loved the Tarantula. For his visual, mainly, but I spent a lot of imaginative time on the idea of this South American mercenary with the spiked shoes. He seemed like the type of guy James Bond would have to fight sooner or later. So, part of me was kind of mad they killed him off. But at least they did it in a multi-issue story arc where he's turned into a gigantic tarantula.

A concept I never, ever tire of.

It ends on this subversive (and prescient) note from Robbie Robertson:

7b. DAYDREAMS

Issue 246 is an interesting case. It's four extended daydream-sequences. One from the Black Cat:

One from JJJ, one from MJ:

And one from Spidey.

I love how Spidey's daydreams include a better camera with a tripod.

YOU'VE WON AT SCIENCE!

It all ends with Spidey intervening in the bullying of a young bookworm and giving him some encouraging words. 

Ties it all together nicely. Well done.

7c. ENTER... THE HOBGOBLIN

No other villain captured my imagination the way the Hobgoblin did in these early years of the character. 

ASM 238 penciled by JRJR and inked by JRSR. What a treat.

A great deal of the appeal was the mystery of his identity, of course. Who could it be? I always thought it was going to be Lance Bannon. Spoiler alert - it wasn't. We'll get to those stories in turn. For '83, we see the early formation of the character: 

his throwing Spidey off the scent by paying one of his underlings to wear a spare set of armor and fake a death:

and the general building of suspense and intrigue as he gains confidence in his powers and equipment and continually tangles with Spidey:

We'll see how this first stretch of the Hobgoblin's adventures plays out next time around. Technically, the whole of it came out in calendar-year 1983, but I'm sticking with the January to December cover-date parameters.

~

NEXT:

1984! Keep thy webs untangled!