THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #161

"...And The Nightcrawler Came Prowling, Prowling."

• Writer: Len Wein
• Artist: Ross Andru
• Inker: Mike Esposito
• Print Date: Oct., 1976

Featuring:

Plot Summary:

Helpful hint #428: Study the front page of this newspaper most carefully, or since you're reading this online, I'll study it for you. The paper features a photo of Spider-Man (credited to Peter Parker) with the headline "Wall-Crawling Killer Still At Large!" Sharing the front page are the headlines "Spider-Man: The Menace Behind The Mask" and "3rd Sniper Victim".

The hand holding the paper belongs to Nightcrawler, a member of the X-Men. Nightcrawler hangs upside-down by his prehensile tail from a ring attached to the ceiling in the X-Men's gymnasium while Colossus and Wolverine work out in the background. Wolverine, deciding that Nightcrawler has been hanging around too long, bounces off a trampoline and cut through the ring's cable to cut him down. "That was not funny, Wolverine. Not in the slightest!" cries Nightcrawler as he hits the ground. Angry and upset at Wolverine's pranks and at having his paper destroyed, Nightcrawler demands an apology. The brewing confrontation between the two is interrupted by Colossus who threatens to report both of them to Cyclops. Realizing that he has an errand to run alone, Nightcrawler quickly dashes out of the gym and heads off into the night.

But lest we forget the name of this mag, we'd better take our leave of the X-Men's Westchester headquarters and target in on a certain Coney Island roller coaster where we can introduce our web-slinging star in his every-day identity of college student Peter Parker. We sight in on the roller coaster through the view of a set of crosshairs. The crosshairs take in the roller coaster and slowly zooms in until it focuses directly on the forehead of Peter Parker. Fortunately for our hero, he zooms past the view of the crosshairs and rolls zooms up and down the Tornado ride until he's about ready to lose his lunch. Mary Jane clings to him and laughs in glee at the ride and at Peter's discomfort. Finally, the ride comes to an end and Peter and M.J. along with Harry Osborn and Liz Allen deboard with MJ insisting that they go back for more. Peter instead offers her a hot dog with the works, and the foursome head off to good ol' reliable Nathan's.

As they order hot dogs and fries, we again zoom in on the roller coaster through the lens of a cross-hair. Again they zoom in on the front car of the coaster, but this time, the passenger is not as lucky. With a single shot to the head, the passenger is knocked out of the coaster car and falls to the ground stories below. Hearing the gunshot and seeing the body fall, Peter rushes to off with the explanation, "I'm going to get some photos for the bugle!" He ducks under a ride and starts stripping off clothing to reveal his Spider-Man costume underneath.

And, even as our dour hero doffs his civvies, let's whirl destiny's clock back a few minutes to before the fateful shot was fired and follow mysterious Nightcrawler as he prowls through the evening shadows! Nightcrawler's thoughts turn towards his friend Eric Hoffman, whose picture was on the front page of the paper because he was the third sniper victim. Nightcrawler feels that he owes it to Eric to find his killer when his attention is diverted by a gunshot. Seeing the body fall from the roller coaster, he looks up to see a man holding a rifle on the rooftop above him. As the rifle clatters to the ground in front of him, Nightcrawler leaps up to the rooftop to see the mysterious figure ducking into a door. Locking the solid steel door guarantees the assassins escape, and Nightcrawler returns to retrieve the rifle. Wrapping the rifle loosely cloth to preserve any evidence on the gun, Nightcrawler gets up to pick up the trail of the killer.

In a classic case of bad assumptions and mixed identities, Spider-Man, arriving on the scene, sees Nightcrawler with the rifle and mistakes him for the sniper. A quick kick sends Nightcrawler sprawling, and Spider-Man follows it with a leap trying to tackle him. Nightcrawler wonders if Spider-Man was the assassin on the roof he saw earlier, but decides he needs to capture Spider-Man first and ask questions later. A quick one-two jab catches Spider-Man by surprise, but the web-slinger isn't fazed as his return blow sends Nightcrawler reeling into the wall. Spider-Man attempts to web his foe to the wall but succeeds only nabbing the tip of Nightcrawler's tail. Nightcrawler demonstrates the strength and agility of his tail by ripping out the chunk of brick that it's webbed to and flinging it at Spider-Man's head. Then, picking up the rifle, the over-sized elf flees towards the Ferris Wheel. He wonders to himself, "With his powers, what need would Spider-Man have for a rifle?" With Spider-Man (and now, the police) close at his heels, Nightcrawler runs up the side of the Ferris Wheel to the very top. At this point, he's tackled by Spider-Man on roof of a Ferris Wheel car. The two swap insults like 'Killer' and 'Murderer' as they roll around and wrestle for the rifle. Finally, the rifle is dropped and falls to the hands of the police below. Realizing that there is nothing here worth fighting for, Nightcrawler shocks Spider-Man by teleporting away in a puff of fire and brimstone. Spider-Man, obviously shaken by his run-in with a "full-fledged demon", beats a hasty retreat as well.

Minutes later, Spider-Man retrieves his trusty camera right where he left it. He's not sure if demons photograph or not, but he intends to find out back at the Bugle. He swings off unaware that he is being observed by Nightcrawler who takes special notice of the fact that Spider-Man has pictures of their encounter.

The night owl edition of the Daily Bugle has finally been put to bed, and a weary Joe Robertson would gladly follow its example if he didn't have to deal with interruptions like Spider-Man. Spider-Man tells Robertson he just wants a little information and a question and answer session follows:
Spider-Man: "What do you know about these recent snipings around town?"
Joe Robertson: "Well, after your little escapade at Coney Island earlier, fella, the police now think that you're somehow involved."
SM: "Any idea who's really behind the killings, Robbie?"
JR: "My sources downtown say it looks like the work of the Punisher ."
SM: "What would you say if I told you I've seen a pointy-eared demon with a long forked tail?"
JR: "I'd say you ought to have your eyes examined or your head examined or both!"

With Jonah seeing Spider-Man in Robbie's office eavesdropping at the door, Spider-Man swings off promising Robbie a Bugle exclusive if anything comes from his information. Spider-Man even quips "I might even let that Peter Parker kid take the photos!" Jonah sneaks back into his office, locks the door, unlocks his desk, and brings out the special package of photos he received last issue. Looking at the photos, he thinks about how these pictures will bring about the inevitable end of the killer called Spider-Man and the final triumph of J. Jonah Jameson! Spreading the photos out on his desk, we see that the pictures are of Spider-Man carrying around the body of the Spider-Clone. The Spider-Clone has its mask off in at least one shot showing the very distinctive face of Peter Parker! Finally, the last photo has Spider-Man dumping the body in the chimney of the incinerator.

War Journal Entry Number 381: They'd run out of money and hope at about the same time, and now, what was to have been a shining new apartment complex on the tip of the Rockaway was instead a towering eyesore. It makes little difference to the Punisher. Joey Whisper had informed him that he would find the animals he was searching for here, and that was all that really mattered. The sentry fell like a brick wall in an earthquake with a single karate chop to the back of the neck. Four gangsters huddle around a craps game as the Punisher steps up and demands to speak to the one called Snake-Eyes. As the gangsters go for their guns, several rounds from the Punisher's semi-automatic speak the only kind of language the gangsters understand. Seeing what happened to his pals that made the mistake of being difficult, Snake-Eyes surrenders. The Punisher wants to know who's been going around town impersonating him and dragging his reputation through the sewers. War Journal Entry Number 381, to be continued.

The omnipresent roar of the traffic clattering across the 59th street bridge forms a most appropriate chorus for the web-slinger's thoughts as he drops towards the newly reconstructed Roosevelt Island Tramway to catch his bated breath. While Spider-Man is thinking, Nightcralwer drops in and catches him off guard. While Spider-Man recovers, Nightcrawler removes the film from his camera intending to keep the X-Men secret yet. The fight carries itself out on the tramway with neither gaining the upper-hand. Suddenly, both combatants are startled to see the cable-car come out to their section and stop. Having been sent here by his snitch, the Punisher steps out intending to kill whoever has been impersonating him around town!

Comments:

And it's still my Fourth of July vacation. Actually, vacationing hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be. I've been hanging out on my parent's lake swimming, snorkeling, and even trying the windsurfer again. It's been brought to my attention that I spent WAY to much time writing the plots of these books. I concur, and you'll start seeing shorter and MUCH less detailed plot summaries. It's also been brought to my attention that rumors are flying around regarding Marvel dropping their classic universe all-together and going with strictly their Ultimate universe. That would suck. Still that won't deter from my page, but I'll probably consider developing the Ultimate Spider-Man page in conjunction with this one. We'll see what develops though.

Plot Analysis:

Unfortunately, I'm not as familiar with my X-Men history as I am with my Spider-Man. I'm not sure how recent to this issue that the new X-Men team was introduced. It's interesting seeing the old personalities and interactions between Nightcrawler, Wolverine, and Colossus though. Wolverine is much more antagonist with his practical jokes and as quick to violence as I remember him being in her early appearance. Much more feral than he is these days. Nightcrawler really hasn't changed all that much personality-wise. At least not that I've noticed. The archaic X-Men's training room was interesting to see as well. Much more primitive than the "Danger Room" that was developed for them. We see old-style rings, trampolines, and weight-lifting sets here. Nothing high-tech about it actually.

The scene with Peter on roller-coaster confused me. I would've thought that Peter's spider-sense would've been screaming if he was in the crosshairs of a loaded rifle. The only excuse I can see is that his spider-sense knew that Peter would not be the target of a shot, and that's why it wasn't going off at the time. Harry and Liz's relationship continues with them going out on a double-date (mentioned last issue) with Peter and MJ.

We have a shockingly violent death in this issue with the mystery sniper shooting a man and knocking him off the roller coaster. Now, for starters, I've been to Great America and I know that NOTHING is going to knock someone free of one of those security bars on roller-coasters if they are strapped in properly. Aside from that though, if the shot didn't kill, the fall certainly did. And Peter runs off to do his thing, leaving a perpetually frustrated MJ behind.

Well, I'm certain this isn't the first "hero mistakes other hero for villain" battle and it definitely is not the last. By some wild coincidence, Nightcrawler JUST HAPPENS to be wandering around the amusement park, looking for the sniper, who JUST HAPPENS to be shooting someone at that instance right above him. Seems a little too neat for me. Then, just to top thing off, the sniper drops his rifle for no apparent good reason. Now, I don't know much about psycho snipers, but I would imagine that they just don't go about leaving their favorite rifles lying around town. That'd be like a plumber coming over and leaving half his tools lying around. Ok, it might happen, but not likely.

And, since we can't capture the villain 1/3 of the way through the first book of a two-part story, Nightcrawler doesn't bother teleporting through the locked door. Instead, he decides to let the shooter escape apparently under the "Well, he can't shoot any more people without his gun" theory of crime prevention. I guess Nightcrawler figured that the cops were familiar enough with freaky looking demons to just accept their word. I can imagine the conversation:
"Here's the murder weapon!"
"Where did find that?"
"Just lying around."
"You didn't shoot anyone with you, did you?"
"Nah, it was some other guy."
"Oh, Ok, carry on then."

So, of course, since Nightcrawler is toting around a rifle in the vicinity of the area the shot was fired from, Spider-Man jumps to the immediate conclusion that the evil-looking demon-type dude must be the shooter. There's probably some racial undertone there, but I don't want to go there. Fight commences. Nightcrawler gives Spider-Man a run for his money. I guess I can accept that even though their reflexes are on par and Spider-Man has the edge in strength, experience, and equipment. Maybe he was just distracted by fighting a 'full-fledged demon'. The fight ends inconclusively after the rifle falls into the hands of the police.

Nice to see Spider-Man checking in with Robbie Robertson for information. I'm not sure if they shared information like this before or not, but it's good to see Spidey using his friends and contacts for help occasionally. Surprisingly, Jonah controls his emotions when he realizes Spider-Man is in the building. Typically, I would've expected the usual J.J.J. outburst at the thought of Spider-Man hanging around "his" newspaper. The pictures that Jonah got in the mail are rather intriguing, and it will be interesting to see the details of who shot those pictures. They are quite damning with an evidently dead Peter Parker in a Spider-Man outfit with Spider-Man crouched nearby. The pictures also show Spidey dumping the body into the incinerator. I'm sure the writer has a good idea for developing this little subplot.

Early Punisher was cool. With the Punisher helping to track down a mystery sniper around town, I'm sure we'll be treated to many more scene of gunfire, bad guys being shot down, and the like that always seems to follow the Punisher around.

Spider-Man and Nightcrawler Round #2: This round is definitely Nightcrawler's. Not only does he catch Spider-Man off-guard, he manages to steal his camera and lead him on a chase down the cables for the tram. The fight is relatively short, but it's good as it demonstrates both character's strength and skills during as the high-wire act on the cables continues. Unfortunately, the Punisher interrupts the fight with the intention of killing whoever is impersonating him. Improbably enough, his contact told him that the sniper would be on the tram at precisely this time, and Punisher has concluded that it must be either Spider-Man or Nightcrawler.

Art Review:

Ross Andru's art is up to its usual high standards. The view of the X-Men's exercise room was cool. He still does an excellent job with facial expressions. You can really see how upset MJ is with Peter for running off on her again, and you can really see Jonah's glee as he views the photos that are going to cause Spider-Man's downfall. Usually, his weakness is perceptions, and I expected to find some glaring problems in Spider-Man's and Nightcrawler's fight on the tram. However, despite my expectations, he's done a fine job. On the art note however, Nightcrawler is one of the least visually interesting regular characters Marvel has around. At least in my opinion. I mean, yeah, he looks like a demon, he's got pointy ears, yellow eyes, three fingers and toes on each appendage, and a tail. However, the black on blue color of his skin (fur?) really doesn't allow either the artist or the inker much freedom to show a lot of facial lines for expressions and such. They're pretty limited to mouth open/closed, mouth smiling/frowning, eyes wide open/squinty. It doesn't really carry a lot of room for facial expression. Maybe that's just me though.

Action Factor:

Good action in this issue. Nightcrawler shouldn't be as well-matched against Spider-Man as he's depicted, but we can easily write that off as Spider-Man fighting conservatively against this "demon". Both fights demonstrated both character's strength and ability to strategize and think ahead in a fight well. The battle atop the tram car particularly was well-done with both character showing off their amazing dexterities and strengths in the battle.

Of course, neither of the fights tops the Punisher gunning down a bunch of gangsters dressed in the classic pin-stripes.

Spider-Villain lessons 101:

Tip #1:
Ok, there wasn't much of a "bad guy" this issue, but I did think of one thing. When you're sniping someone, your strength lies in surprised and concealment. Being so predictable that a fledgling hero can stumble across you shooting someone is probably a bad idea. I imagine that next issue, the Punisher and Spider-Man will stumble across the sniper somewhere in the vicinity of the tram. If so, I'd like to add that logging your itinerary with the local stool pigeon is probably not a good way to avoid being caught either. Who knows though, maybe the sniper WANTS people to find him. I guess we'll see next issue.