THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #124

"The Mark Of The Man-Wolf"

• Writer: Gerry Conway
• Artist: Gil Kane
• Inker: John Romita, Tony Mortellaro
• Print Date: Sept., 1973

Featuring:

Plot Summary:

The night of the following week: This issue takes place ten days since Gwen Stacy and Norman Osborn died, but reactions have not died down. We open to Spider-Man stealing a couple of papers from a newspaper stand on a wet New York evening (yes, stealing, he doesn't apparently pay for the papers). On a nearby rooftop, he compares the headlines of the papers. The Herald's fairly unbiased headline read, "Spider-Man... Killer or Victim?" The Daily Bugle definitely biased headline reads, "Spider-Man Murders Eminent Businessman". Spider-Man reads both and wonders who's covering the tracks that show that Norman Osborn was the Green Goblin.

Meanwhile, several blocks south, Joe Robertson and J. Jonah Jameson are having a discussion regarding the Bugle's editorial slant. Robertson wants the Bugle to be sure of their facts before they publicly condemn Spider-Man. Jameson wants to make the public demand the capture of Spider-Man for murdering his friend Norman Osborn. Their conversation is put on hold when Jonah's son John Jameson stops by to pick up Jonah for dinner. John makes mention that he wants Jonah to meet his fiance Kristine Suanders. John's background is that he just retired from astronautics and was one of the last men to make a moon walk. As John and Jonah head outside, John suddenly develops a case of the chills. His face becomes white as sheet and he starts sweating profusely. Jonah is noticeably concerned, but he doesn't a mysterious red stone on a necklace around John's neck glowing mysteriously. John explains that he's been under a recently strain and he's got a touch of the flu. At that moment, John's fiance Kristine meets them in the lobby of the Daily Bugle and is introduced to Jonah. Jonah likes her immediately because she agrees that John needs to take care of himself better.

Unfortunately for J. Jonah Jameson, but fortunately for us, not everyone agrees with him and at this moment, one such dissenter has abandoned his evening's musings in favor of more productive activities. Swinging back to campus, Peter Parker wonders how he's going to resume his life, face the gang, and avoid any misplaced sympathy. All he's want is to forget and move on, but no one will let him. As he sits in class, he catches (or imagines) his classmates watching him, wondering how he feels, wondering if they should say 'hello'. As Peter gets more and more frustrated, he crushes a pencil and storms out of the classroom. MJ rushes out after him to have a word with him. Mary Jane asks Pete how long he's going to keep up his ostrich act, but Peter says he still needs time to adjust. Their conversation quits when Flash Thompson interrupts to ask Peter where Harry Osborn has been recently. At this point, Peter completely cracks shouting that he and Harry just need a little quiet in their lives and not to be treated like freaks. He storms off leaving Flash and MJ to wonder at his outburst.

Later this same evening, in a brownstone overlooking the Hudson River, a door opens, releasing a sliver of yellow light, and the stumbling form of a young man. "I'm changing -- Changing!" the young man shouts as his hand gets progressively hairier. For several seconds muscles bulge across the young man's back, shoulders writhe with the agony of an inner re-shaping. Then, slowly, a new light comes into the eyes of the straining figure, a light in the eyes of a Man-Wolf! Whoever was present in this creature a moment ago is gone now. Now, there is only the pounding heart of an animal... a beast of the night which seems to cast about, as though seeking something, or seeking someone! It runs through the darkness, padding close the ground like the wolf whose image it bears. Now and then it climbs, and leaps from roof to roof, as though from cliff to cliff. A snarl escapes its lupine breast, a growl of sheer hatred reserved for the quarry it hunts, and that quarry is man. The beast can scent it now, the spore of man's passing, the scent of one particular human, the goal of this rain-drenched run. "Ahead," the Man-Wolf thinks, "The one I hunt is ahead." The thought is not so coherent, but the meaning is the same. One final leap, and he squats atop a storm-splattered building, and he looks ahead across a seeming chasm at the human being he seeks! And in one sleek motion, the Man-Wolf leaps!

Jonah's office window is shattered by the incoming form of the Man-Wolf. Jameson bluffs and threatens the Man-Wolf until he realizes the Man-Wolf isn't wearing a costume. He turns to grab the phone as the Man-Wolf leaps towards him.

Marvel Time-Paradox: In which we travel back several minutes and across several blocks, to a newspaper vendor on a rain-swept avenue where Peter Parker, still upset, shatters the newspaper vending machine and begins throwing copies of the Daily Bugle out into the rain and onto the street. Overcome by his fit of rage, Peter vows to show Jameson that he is a menace and a threat to society as he climbs up the walls and over the rooftops. Changing into his costume, he swings out over the city, but as he approaches the Bugle, his anger is replaced with a smoldering bitterness. As it happens, he is standing on the Daily Bugle looking down towards Jameson's office window when the Man-Wolf leaps into the scene.

Spider-Man arrives in time to pull the Man-Wolf off of Jameson. As the Man-Wolf leaps and claws, Spider-Man dodges while asking Jonah if he insulted any werewolves lately. Spider-Man and the Man-Wolf trade blows in Jameson's office until finally the Man-Wolf claws Spidey across the chest stunning him.

While this is going on, Jonah has recovered his wits and has started to call for help when the Man-Wolf, with surprising gentleness, restrains him. As Jameson pleads with the Man-Wolf, his eyes fall upon the Man-Wolf's neck and he sees a familiar red stone on a necklace circling the Man-Wolf's throat. As a wordless plea for help passes between the two, the Man-Wolf turns and flees into the night leaving behind him one very quiet middle-aged entrepreneur and a slowly stirring Spider-Man.

When Spider-Man recovers, Jonah tells him that he won't allow Spider-Man to pursue the Man-Wolf. In fact, if Spider-Man does attack him, Jonah threatens to report the whole evening as an attack on his life by Spider-Man. As a very confused Spider-Man leaves Jonah alone, Jonah wonders how he is supposed to be grateful when the mad killer he was saved from is his son.

Hours pass in grim monotony. The Man-Wolf hunts over rooftops searching for his prey. Finally, as his keen senses hone in on the one he seeks, he peers down from a rooftop to see a brooding Spider-Man perched on a rooftop nearby. To his credit, Spider-Man's spider-sense warns him of the impending danger, but the Man-Wolf ducks out of sight until Spider-Man turns to look the other direction. At that moment, the Man-Wolf leaps...

Comments:

Ahhh.. Nothing like writing up reviews during a nice quiet relaxing weekend camping. Well, admittedly it's pretty low-key camping. Some friends and I staying in my parent's cabin up north, but it is still nice to get away from the phones, TV's, schedules, work, and all the rushing around in general.

Plot Analysis:

To be honest, I've read and re-read this issue a couple of times, and I don't know how I feel about it overall. On one hand, I think the writing pales when compared to the Death of Gwen Stacy & Green Goblin that preceded this story. Nothing of any real significance happens; it just seems to be sort of a "Villain of the month" type of story. On the other hand, there is nothing really wrong with the issue or story as a whole. The artwork looks good, the story is OK, and while the whole issue is definitely set in the 70's, it doesn't really suffer from an over-abundance of 70's cheesiness. Ok, well, I mean, other than the whole "werewolf that isn't really werewolf" thing that's going on. Basically, as a friend of mine pointed out, they are both the 'classic movie villain with a science-fiction twist to them'.

Actually, thinking back, the Man-Wolf and Morbius are very similar in that respect. Both are obvious throwback to classic horror monsters, but yet in both cases, the writer was very reluctant to include the horror monsters as they were. Morbius appears to be a vampire in every sense except he's really just a doctor that's given himself a 'vampire-like' disease. The Man-Wolf appears to be a werewolf in every sense except John Jameson didn't get his curse by being bitten by a werewolf but by bringing a red stone back from the moon. I'm probably getting ahead of myself though because the origin of the Man-Wolf isn't discussed until next issue.

The issue starts out showing us that the ramifications of Gwen Stacy death and Norman Osborn's death are still affecting Peter and the rest of Spider-Man's universe a whole. Although, in today's world of "here today, forgotten tomorrow" journalism, it seems odd that the newspapers will still be pursuing their crusade to determining the circumstances leading to Norman Osborn's death a full 10 days after the fact. Especially since there has presumably been no new leads in the case since then. I'm not sure if that's the way things were or not, but it did stand out at me. If I was really ambitious, I thought it might be amusing to start assembling some sort of Spider-Man timeline, but I have a feeling that the passing of days and weeks in the comics wouldn't hold up to any real scrutiny. I think it might be dis-heartening to see Christmas storylines that occur every 2-3 months in "comic time".

Actually, what kind of man is Peter Parker that he likes to spend so much time swinging around in his spandex costume in the rain? I'm sitting here in the cabin watching the rain come down and thunder rolling overhead and I definitely wouldn't want to be out in this weather. Apparently, the radioactive spider gave Peter the world's most powerful immune system as well as the rest of his spider abilities. I only wonder that he doesn't suffer from flu and colds more often with the amount of time he spends out in inclement weather.

On the other hand, the dark evening backgrounds and constant drizzle gives the whole issue a certain feel that pays homage to the classic horror movie. Thinking about it now, the whole story does feel like one of the classic, tragic horror movies. The cursed and misunderstood antagonist, the dark and dreary settings, the drizzling rain all are part of what I remember the 'traditional' werewolf stories being about. The only thing that ought to make an appearance in this issue but doesn't it a pan-shot of the full moon rising over the city.

Jonah and Robbie are having their usual discussion regarding the Bugle's editorial slant. This discussion began quite some time back will continue over the next 20 years and beyond. We re-introduced to Jonah's son John. I'll have to check my history when I get home, but I don't believe John Jameson has made any recent appearance in Spider-Man. I know this isn't his first appearance, but he's not really a regular supporting cast member. I also want to check because I can't recall any mention of John's mother in the issue. I would assume that this would be Jonah's first wife, but I really can't think if she's ever been mentioned or discussed at all. It's possible that they just introduced John as Jonah's son without really providing much of a history of him.

The red stone on John's necklace is featured prominently in this scene. Even without its ominous glow as John is stricken with the chills, Gil Kane does a good job making sure the reader notices the necklace before it is feature prominently in its own shot on John's neck. John's fiance is also introduced here. I'm pretty sure that she's simply here to fill the "damsel in distress" role, and I would be surprised if she makes any future appearances after this storyline.

Actually, I think the best part of this whole issue is Peter's thoughts when returning to college. Peter's thoughts border on paranoia with him feeling people watching him, imaging wondering how he feels, and mentally projecting their thoughts into words. The writer does a very good job with leaving it ambiguous whether the other students are really watching him and thinking these things or whether it's just Peter's anger and imagination running rampant. It's great to see his reactions to returning to school and actually having Gwen's death have a noticeable affect on him rather than the writer demeaning the whole event with a token "Gwen is dead. Woe is me" expression as Peter continues to go about his normal life. Peter's thought and reaction feel real and I can certainly sympathize with what he is going through and how he feels dealing with his friends and classmates.

The next few pages introduce the Man-Wolf. Again, it's a throwback to the classic horror movie in that the writer tries to treat the Man-Wolf's identity as a big secret, but everyone really knows who he is anyway. I'm sure it's simply done just so the reader can share Jonah's horror later at finding at the Man-Wolf is really John Jameson. I'm not sure if it's necessary, but we then treated to two and half pages of the Man-Wolf running and leaping over rooftops stalking his prey. It seems a bit gratuitous, but then again, nothing in this story seems missing and nothing leaps out at me that could've been expanded to fill the space.

Now, the one problem with the writing this issue is the timeline for the whole issue is in question. Presumably, the entire issue takes place in the course of one evening. But, we see John and Jonah going to lunch, then Peter going to class (night class, I guess), then suddenly John is by himself and transforming into the Man-Wolf, Jonah is back at home, and Peter is wandering the street working himself up into a rage. It just doesn't seem to fit. From Peter's point of the view the transition from class to the street seems within a short time, but from John's point of view it should be MUCH MUCH later (after dinner and dessert and drinks and dropping his dad and fiance off) in the evening. I don't know... I have troubles picturing the internal timeline of this issue.

Anyways, the fight scene between Spider-Man and the Man-Wolf is nothing exciting other than the Man-Wolf gets the better of Spider-Man (surprisingly) thus establishing himself as a credible threat. This is good from several standpoints. First, it adds some suspense to their future encounters. I mean, when Spider-Man fights say The Rocket Racer, there really isn't the sense that Spider-Man could come to any real harm. Secondly, it provides Jonah and the Man-Wolf with a quiet moment to realize who they are. Of course, if this had been done BEFORE Spider-Man burst into the apartment it could provided a very different background to the fight.

Regardless, Jonah comes off like and ingrateful, wildly eccentric, madman when he threatens Spider-Man not to chase after the creature. Spider-Man is understandably upset and confused, but I'm sure Jonah is not concerned with Spidey's feelings. Something that could have some significance (but I'm sure won't) is the deep scratch the werewolf inflicted across Spidey's chest. Depending on which werewolf mythos the writer is using, it's plausible that this scratch could cause Spider-Man to start turning into a werewolf himself. I doubt that is where the writer is going with this, but it jumped out at me.

Art Review:

The artwork in this issue is pretty good. The backgrounds remained detailed, but maybe a little too detail in places as early in the stories, the background distract from the images of Spider-Man sailing through the city. Gil Kane's facial expressions are very good as usual. Unfortunately, it might've been more impressive if Gil Kane had drawn the reader's eye to John Jameson's pendant in a more subtle fashion without having the thing glow and be the center of its own panel. Something that did impress me about the art however is the fact that everyone in Peter's class had their own distinctive face. Gil Kane seems to be able to draw a wide variety of faces well instead of many artists today whose faces all seem to be variations of the same face.

Action Factor:

Just one fight between Spider-Man and the Man-Wolf this issue, and it only lasts for three pages. Of course, for story purposes, Spider-Man had to lose so Man-Wolf could confront Jameson. I thin kit would've been better to have the confrontation between the two first and then the fight. This way, Spider-Man, who appears to be the superior combatant, could've drive off the Man-Wolf without taking a set of claws to the chest.

Spider-Villain lessons 101:

Tip #1:
Dealing with public reaction to Norman Osborn's death has really put Spider-Man off his game. He appears distracted during the Man-Wolf fight and causes him to lose a battle that he should've won.

Tip #2:
Despite his spider-sense, Spider-Man is easily fooled. His senses warn him that the Man-Wolf is about to attack, but when he whirls around, the Man-Wolf ducks behind a chimney quickly. Spider-Man then disregards his spider-Sense and turns his back on the Man-Wolf again.