THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #171

"Photon is Another Name For...?"

• Writer: Len Wein
• Artist: Ross Andru
• Inker: Mike Esposito
• Print Date: Aug, 1977

Featuring:

Plot Summary:

Great, part 2 of a who-dunit storyline. I'm sure this will be an engrossing read considering I only have half of the storyline. Well, I'm not about to go try and find a copy of Nova #12 from 1977, so I guess I'll just have to muddle on best I can without it.

Luckily, the writer spends the first three pages recapping the story, so I don't feel completely lost. Apparently, some schmoe named Dr. Ralph Rider was murdered. Spider-Man holds a photo of a building with a melted hole in it, and someone else holds a photo of a dead body laying facedown on the floor with pages of a calendar scattered about.

Ok, I'm pretty good picking the killer out in the first 5 minutes of a Law And Order re-run. I haven't seen ANY suspects yet, but I'm going to make the call right now, that the calendar is going to turn out to be a HUGE clue identifying the killer. Wait! One of the suspects is named Harry Daze ("Days")? Boom, right there, I'm making the call. He's the killer. We'll see if I'm right or not.

Now, we have a yet-unnamed police captain bitching about the costumed cut-ups getting in his way, and insisting that proper polic procedure will identify the killer. Oh, Captain James Steele reporting. Captain Steel records his observations on his tape cassette thereby providing a convenient vehicle to recap the events of Nova #12. According to one Jason Dean, a masked villain named Photon melted a hole in the living room wall and stepped through demanding to know where to find Dr. Rider. According to Peter Parker, Photon melted a hole in the library, shot Peter knocking him unconscious, and apparently killed Dr. Rider before fleeing the scene. Harry Daze reported being knocked out by Photon in the kitchen. (Ah ha.. So, he was alone at the time of the murder!) Finally, one Franklin Risk was downstairs playing pool by himself and never heard a thing.

How in the world does some guy with a costume and a gun get the drop on Peter Parker? Was his Spider-sense on vacation that day?

Oh, and then we're introduced to the OBVIOUS suspect - One Michael Lincoln who admits to hating Dr. Ryder and stealing his work but protests his innocence in the death. Naturally, the cops gravitate towards him as their best suspect. Apparently, Captain Steele hasn't watched enough crime dramas to know that it is NEVER the guy introduced in the first act with the clear motive.

Whoops - Nova casually throws out some more pertinant information - Jason Dean is an agent of the Maggia, Harry Daze works for AIM, and Franklin Risk is an ruthless businessman who'll stop at nothing to get his way. Apparently, Dr. Rider keeps some pretty unsavory company. Nova also reveals that Dr. Rider has some invention that apparently attracted the interest of these criminal. Which.. still doesn't explain who invited them over to hang out. Finally, Nova mentions (it is unclear here) that all three suspects have fled the scene together. He zooms off to check out a train that recently left the station, but finds no evidence of the suspects on board.

I still like Harry for the murder. By the way, we're about six pages into the story at this point and nothing has happened. They've recapped Nova #12, listed the suspects, explained their motivation, and.. that's about it. This is turning out to be a stellar comic so far. Oh, and now we're treated to a whole page of Nova flying around and fruitlessly peeking into train windows.

Of course, it isn't until after he returns, that he realizes an unmarked hydrofoil was taking off from the harbor. Nova zooms off to check that out, and Spider-Man snags him with a webline to come along for the ride. Finally.. Spider-Man featured in a Spider-Man comic book. I mean, he's tagging along after Nova like some teen sidekick, but I'll take what I can get right now.

And.. We cut to a good many miles away to watch Harry and Liz Allen out on their date. They wander the streets of Chinatown making sweet conversation. Harry talks about life post-therapy and wants to plan their wedding. He's waiting until Dr. Hamilton cures him of his psychosis before he takes on Liz Allen as his bride. As they drive off, a shady character watches from the shadows - waiting for his opportunity to talk to "make her pay". Who the hell would be dressed as some stereotypical gumshoe and stalking Liz Allen?

I did like the artwork of Chinatown, but I found it a little disturbing that Harry and Liz would be parked in a dark alley, alone, at night, and be relatively unconcerned.

Back on Long Island's easternmost tip, a slightly nauseous wall-crawler clings to his web-line for dear life as a hurtling human rocket carries him high over the rocky shoreline towards a most dramatic confrontation! In a lighthouse at the water's edge, the three suspects discuss making a deal whereby they ALL share Dr. Rider's invention. As the discussion continue, the hydro-foil sent by AIM arrives to pick up Harry Daze for his ride back to Manhattan. As the three would-be criminals climb aboard, Nova and Spider-Man arrive turning the scene into a free-for-all.

Apparently, a squadron of AIM agents makes a match for Spider-Man and Nova. A ray blast catches Nova full in the chest and stuns him. Spider-Man has his hands full taking out AIM agents while the three suspects make a break for it.

Heheh.. "Fool! Our coma-guns will deal with... AARRGGHH!!!" Coma-guns. Is this the nicer, kinder AIM? "Oh, we don't want anyone to get hurt while we try and take over the world, so we'll use our coma-guns to gently render them helpless."

"I'm being beaten to death.. by a rainbow!" - God help whomever has that as their final thought before passing out.

And, a short while later, the hidden sea-hatch beneath the lighthouse opens once more as AIM's remarkable hydro-craft strikes a course for the open sea. Oh god, I forgot to mention that this old, turn of the century lighthouse comes fully equipped with a secret entrance and high-tech boat basin hidden beneath. Y'know.. Just in case AIM needs to park a boat her-e, out in the middle of nowhere, for no particular reason. The stainless steel floor of the boat basin with high-tech equipment scattered about in the background provided a nice backdrop for the fight scene.

That past paragraph should be read in a sarcastic tone in case that wasn't immediately obvious.

See now, THIS is what happens when you carry "coma-guns". The two heroes are helpless and unconscious, and AIM has NOTHING AVAILABLE to simply put them out of their misery. So they are forced to chain Nova and Spider-Man to the boats GIANT anchor and throw them overboard. Now, if someone had simply thought to pack, y'know, a regular handgun or something...

Well, it would've turned out badly for our hero.

Jeez, Photon doesn't even rate a cheesy "Before I kill you Mr Bond..." moment. The true sign of a fourth-rate super-villain.

As it is, things aren't looking great at the anchor plunges to the bottom of the ocean with Nova and Spider-Man chained to it. Nova's outfit contains its own air supply whereas Spider-Man has had "Plenty of practice" holding his breath for extended periods. Using their combined strength, Nova and Spider-man shatter the chains, and Nova flies them both back to the surface. Out of curiosity, Nova can fly and has super-strength. Why did he have to wait until he was free of the anchor to blast them both back to the surface?

While our soggy stalwarts clear the water out of their ears back on shore, they try to piece the mystery together - remember, it is supposed to be a MYSTERY dammit, not just a "super-villain of the day" story. They consider that ANY of the three crooks could be Photon, and that pretty much concludes our thinking section of the book. Once they are done with their little brain-storming session, Nova flies them back to Dr. Rider's house where they find AIM laying siege to the place.

As the police and AIM have a shoot-out, Nova spots Photon dashing around the corner. They dash into the house to find Photon holding Nova's dad hostage. Nova flies up distracting Photon while Spider-Man snags Mr. Rider with a webline. Finally Nova puts Photon down-for-count.

In a true Scooby-Doo moment, Spider-Man announces that the clues point to only ONE MAN! Apparently, Spider-Man noticed that Photon melted his was OUT of house, and not in as one man claimed. Plus, our man claimed that Photon headed straight for the library even though there were several rooms he could've been going to along the way. Captain Steele chimes in claiming that they missed the most obvious clue of them all - the calendar pages. Dr. Rider was completely captivated by word games, and in his final moments, surrounded himself with the calendar pages (HA TOLD YA!) of the last six months of the year - July, August, September, October, November, December - which spells J-A-S-O-N-D.

Ok, I was wrong about the suspect, but right about the obvious clue. I admit it. But still, Dr. Rider is shot. As he feels his life ebbing away, he decides how to spend his last moments.. Call 911? No too cliche. Call for help? Nah, no point. Write a clear and concise note implicating my killer? Too bland. I know! Let's spend precious seconds ripping up and assembling these calendar pages before collapses lifelessly on them!

So, how was this issue? Well, we had a fourth-rate villain in his only appearance. We had about six pages of recapping the storyline through the issue. We had Spider-Man getting beaten up not once but twice but a guy with a ray gun. And we had a kinder, gentler AIM blasing people with coma-guns. I'm just happy its over.

I can't imagine why such a deep and engaging villain such as Photon has never made a repeat appearance?