PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #9

"...Like A Tiger In The Night!"

• Writer: Bill Mantlo
• Artist: Sal Buscema
• Inker: Mike Esposito
• Print Date: Aug, 1977

Featuring:

Plot Summary:

You have no idea how happy I am to be reading a Spider-Man comic that does not feature Morbius at this point. This issue could be featuring the Hypno-Hustler, and I'd still have more interest in the villain than I do towards Morbius.

Our story opens on the Empire State University campus where thousands of inner-city students flock back to class after spring recess only to be met by the president of the university shutting down ESU's night school. The city's monetary crisis is forcing the university president to make cuts, and he's shutting down the night school in order to save money. Because the night school tends to enroll primarily black and Hispanic students, his move is seen as racist and is unpopular with the students. Many students stand out front protesting the decision, and Professor Vasquez - from ethnic studies - incites the crowd. Prof. Vasquez points out that the university is shutting down the night school for lack of money, but still maintaining its ownership of the multi-million dollar Erskine Manuscripts.

Peter Parker happens to be present as he stopped by ESU campus to make up some of the work from his day classes. As he walks through the crowd, he discusses the closing with a random Hispanic student. The student points out that his only option is to return to the streets to get lessons in dope, numbers, rats, and poverty. He is also quick to point out that it is "our" problem and doesn't affect Peter and the other white students at all.

While Mr. Parker ponders that, let's look in on some of his friends and a certain restaurant we've visited before. Flash Thompson and Mary Jane are having dinner at a particular Oriental style restaurant and asking about Sha Shan - a girl that Flash met in Vietnam and he swears he saw here earlier. However, the restaurant owner insists that no such person works here. Annoyed, he heads upstairs in the restaurant to a certain private room where Sha Shan sits silently and sadly.

Cutting back on service due to budget crisises? Wow, you could easily reprint this story today and the only thing necessary to update it is changing some of the fashion and funky hairdos. Of course, now that we have Marvel's first Hispanic super-hero, the writers need to feed us a heavy-handed dose of 'us vs. them' racial tensions to the story. I haven't gotten past page 3 yet, and already I can see that this racial tension is going to contribute to a misunderstanding and multiple fights between Spider-Man and White Tiger. Am I right? It's just a guess so far, but let us find out.

We spend three panels in the office of President Dwyer (did he have name before? I don't recall). Basically, the writer just brought us here to emphasize what a jerk the university president is. He makes comments about how the Erskine Manuscript is worth more than the education of a bunch of 'slum kids'.

I'm kind of at a loss over why the writer had to make the university president such an unsympathetic character. Instead of the president dealing with a moral grey area - maintaining a priceless artifact as a public asset versus convenient education, they've made him out to be a pretty blatant racist. I'm not sure why there needs to be a stark definition of 'good' versus 'bad' in this story.

Again, we jump to a darkened apartment where a mystery figure vows to fight back and provide a symbol for the community to rally around. This figure decides it is time for the White Tiger to prowl again.

Ok, I skipped ahead a WHOLE PAGE, and it is established the White Tiger is none other than Hector Ayala - the same Hispanic student that Peter spoke to earlier. What a coincidence! (sarcasm) Anyways, why are we darkening his face here? It's not like this "Who is the White Tiger?" mystery is going to last longer than, say, a page.

Back to ESU, and if the standard story format is in place, it is time we get to the action! Peter Parker walks alone on the ESU campus, and HE is the one to consider the difficulty in choosing between the Erskine Manuscript and providing an education to the people who need it most. Lost in thought, he enters the library immediately followed up four bad-guy henchmen types packing guns. Peter doesn't notice the criminals lurking about, but Hector spots them. He thinks to himself that someone is going to beat him to the Erskine Manuscript - which he holds responsible for preventing him from getting an education. He does something with his tiger amulet and is transformed into the White Tiger!

Good grief, what's more annoying? The fact that Peter's spider-sense doesn't alert him to a cocked and loaded pistol pointed in his general direction? Or Hector's internal dialogue seamlessly switching between proper English, English sprinkled with Hispanic slang, and pure Spanish all in the matter of about six sentences? At first blush, it also appears that Hector is living down to the university president's expectations of the 'slum kids'. I'm not sure what his plans are for the Erskine Manuscript, but I'm guessing it will involve some sort of illegality on his part.

I love the classic "henchmen" look of everyone wearing matching green jumpsuits. Nothing says "Hey, we're BAD GUYS!" more than donning a green jumpsuit and skulking around in the dark.

Moments later, Peter is, for no explainable reason, entering the room that contains the Erskine Manuscript. His spider-sense alerts him to something wrong in the room (guns pointed at back - no alert. 'Something wrong' - high alert), and he bursts in to find the White Tiger standing over an unconscious guard. The White Tiger declares his intentions to steal the manuscript and buries Peter under a bookshelf before fleeing the scene. Peter laments his decision to charge in as Peter Parker and not taking the time to change into his Spider-Man garb.

Ok, Peter uses the lame excuse of "Not used to fighting in shoes" to explain his clumsiness. I thought it was amusing how he tried to fire his web-shooters by instinct before realizing that he wasn't wearing them. Still, the only reason for lying under the bookshelf while the White Tiger fled the scene is he was simply taking a fall in order to get the privacy required to change into his Spider-Man outfit.

Elsewhere in the library, our green jumpsuited baddies gun down the other guard before being confronted by the White Tiger. The White Tiger makes short work of the henchmen, but he does NOT appear to be carrying the Erskine Manuscript. The distance from the library (where he fled carrying the manuscript) to the hall where he attacks the henchmen (without the manuscript) is roughly 20 feet. Does he have some undocumented invisibility power? Perhaps this will be explained later...

Peter pushes off a half-ton of bookcase and quickly changes into... Wait.. Instead of changing into his Spider-Man gear, he races into the hall to face the White Tiger in his civilian identity again. Again, the White Tiger easily bats him aside. The goons take advantage of the distraction by fleeing the scene. White Tiger also flees out the front claiming "There is much to do this night!"

So, questions - Who are the hoodlums, and why are they trying to steal the manuscript? Who are they working for? Guys don't wear matching jumpsuits like that unless they are working for a major baddie. What did the White Tiger do with the manuscript, and why did he want it in the first place? And why did Peter, not once but twice, go rushing into a fist-fight without changing into costume?

The university president makes a brief appearance griping about the Puerto Rican hoodlum who stole the manuscript and young thugs who defy his authority. He declares a State Of Emergency on ESU campus. What does a state of emergency entail?? No one knows.

Later that same night, Spider-Man finally uses his head, and goes to the Daily Bugle to dig through their archives looking for information about the White Tiger. Briefly, the White Tiger fought the Prowler, battled Jack Of Hearts, and worked with Shang Chi and Iron Fist. There are also some photos with the White Tiger and Harlem detective named Nathaniel Alexander Byrd (AKA Blackbyrd). A quick trip uptown and Spider-man locates Nathaniel Byrd walking along the streets of Harlem. Spider-Man gets the meeting off to a poor start by shining Blackbyrd in his spider-spotlight, and Blackbyrd blows him off until Spider-Man says he wants information about the White Tiger. Hailing a cab to ESU campus, Blackbyrd and Spider-Man ride in the back while Blackbyrd summarizes the White Tiger's origin.

Yadda yadda -- Sons of the tiger -- yadda -- tiger amulet -- yadda -- found by Hector Ayala-- yadda yadda -- became the White Tiger.

So, these Sons of the Tiger break up and throw their magic amulets out the window. Does this make sense? Much of the origin is simply a recap of what Spider-Man found in the Daily Bugle a whole two pages ago, so I can see why the writer feels the need to refresh our memories. In fact, there is nothing here that couldn't have been summarized at the Daily Bugle and spared us the four pages it took to find Blackbyrd and get the origin from him.

Of course, in the days before the internet, the writers had to recap and remind everyone of everything that had gone on before. I'm pretty sure by the mid-80's they had some X-men series that were nothing but a neverending loop of issues devoting entirely to recapping what had happened the issue before. Entire STORIES were told entirely in recap. Crazy times.

Ok, so the White Tiger fought some crime, and decided to attend night school in the process. In hindsight, it is a good thing the Spider-Man has better taste than to be friends with a private eye who BLABS HIS SECRET IDENTITY to the first guy that comes along.

Spider-Man returns to ESU campus to find the city police patrolling ESU grounds in response to the state of emergency. Keep in mind this is still the same evening, so who knows what ungodly hour of the morning it is by now.

We cut to the corridors of the administration building on campus where Ethnic Studies Professor Ramon Vasquez enters his office to find the Erskine Manuscript on (or in) his desk. The White Tiger steps out from hiding behind a curtain to point out that Prof. Vasquez now holds the stolen Erskine Manuscript in his hands. That book gives the professor a lot of bargaining power over the university. However, the White Tiger simply wants answers and grabs the professor by the throat - only to be confronted by Spider-Man.

Ok.. The White Tiger steals the manuscript, drops it on Vasquez desk, and waits for Vasquez to return, only to begin throttling him and demanding answers. Does anyone have a clue what's going on here?