PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #1

"Twice Stings The Tarantula"

• Writer: Gerry Conway
• Artist: Sal Buscema
• Inker: Mike Esposito
• Print Date: Dec., 1976

Featuring:

Plot Summary:

This issue opens with Spider-Man snapping pictures of a speech by a vice-chancellor of his university. The speech is interrupted by the sudden appearance of The Tarantula and his goons who are there to kidnap the vice-chancellor. While Spider-Man swings in to stop The Tarantula, the goons manhandle the vice-chancellor to a waiting car. Flash Thompson rushes in to aid the vice-chancellor with Mary Jane looking on, but he is easily subdued by the goons. The Tarantula feigns unconsciousness in order to sucker punch Spider-Man and makes his escape on the back of the getaway vehicle leaving Spider-Man to flee a crowd of hostile students. Our hero returns to his original perch to find his camera smashed and in a fit of anger, injures his hand punching into a brick wall.

Peter Parker returns to his Chelsea apartment and runs into his neighbor Glory Grant. She tends his injured hands and ropes Pete into going out jump-hunting with her. They run into Mary Jane in the hallway, and the threesome wanders down to City Hall. Outside City Hall, Pete spots The Tarantula's getaway vehicle. Pete makes an excuse about visiting Aunt May in the hospital to go change into Spider-Man.

Cut to The Tarantula and his goons being dropped off in the basement of City Hall. Here it is revealed that The Tarantula has been hired by an unknown party to assassinate the Mayor in the guise of a bungled kidnapping. Spider-Man catches up with the trio and tangles with the two goons while The Tarantula ducks into the Mayor's special express elevator. Spider-Man dispatches the goons, and climbs the elevator shaft in pursuit of the The Tarantula. Spider-Man catches up as The Tarantula confronts the Mayor in his office. When Spider-Man dives and carries The Tarantula out of the office window, The Tarantula drags the Mayor out with them. Forced to rescue the Mayor, Spider-Man webs them both gentle to the ground, allowing The Tarantula to escape once again.

Comments:

Ok, so this is the first issue, I reviewed and put up. The review process is a work in process, and you'll see slight changes (and hopefully more humor) as things develop.

Plot Analysis:

When the Spectacular Spider-man series started, the focus was meant to be as much on Peter Parker and his life as on Spider-Man. This issue starts off that way by having the whole first half of the issue set on Pete's university campus. Plot wise, this issue is pretty standard stuff. The Tarantula's mysterious employer's motives are a mystery. Hiring the Tarantula to kidnap a vice-chancellor and assassinate the mayor seems to be pretty disjointed events, but the assumption is everything will be made clear in the next couple of issues. My only comment was too much of the issue was focus on Spidey fighting The Tarantula and not enough on Peter's personal life.

Art Review:

Sal Buscema started out doing a 20 issue run to kick-off the Peter Parker, Spectacular Spider-Man series. This is his early work on Spider-Man, and it shows. The pencils don't have the distinctive style he'll display when he returns to the title around issue #134. His fundamentals seem pretty sound, the layouts are good, and he's got a nice splash page. In a couple of panels, the angles and perspectives seem a bit off, but overall it's a solid if unremarkable effort.

Action Factor:

Two good fights against The Tarantula would make for a good action comic if The Tarantula wasn't so overmatched by Spider-Man. I've always felt that The Tarantula shouldn't provide as much of a challenge as he typically does. His fighting skills are arguably better than Spider-man, but he doesn't have nearly the agility, strength, or even a good enough gimmick or gadget to put him on even ground. He's basically a thug, a talented thug with poison spikes, but a thug none-the-less.

That said the fights in this issue are pretty good culminating with a real nice full-page panel on page 23. However, the Tarantula's inferiority shows in both fights: In the first, he sucker punches Spider-man to get away (Spidey was distracted by Flash getting beaten and ignoring his Spider-sense). In the second fight, The Tarantula forces Spider-Man to save the mayor, allowing him to get away. In neither fight does Tarantula appear to be much of a threat.

Babe Factor:

Hey, besides the fights and the action, Peter is always surrounded by babes. How he manages it, I don't know. Actually, I do know, but unfortunately, I don't have as good of a writer managing my life. Anyways, in this issue, both Glory and MJ make brief appearances, but not much worth noting.

How many slices of CHEESE with this issue?:

Ok, as much of a fan that I am, I can appreciate good cheese when I see it.

This issue isn't bad for that though. I had a good laugh at The Tarantula's Hispanic stereotypes: particularly his bad accent ("Keel them" "PEEG!"), and obsession with his 'machismo' and honor.

And, in true villain fashion, The Tarantula spends an entire page gloating and trashing the Mayor's office instead of going ahead with the planned assassination. This gives Spidey the necessary moments to dispose of two thugs, climb an elevator shaft, and blindside The Tarantula from behind.