Just a Sociopath and His Little Green Dog: Amazing Spider-Man 129

Amazing Spider-Man #129 (February 1974)
"The Punisher Strikes Twice!"
Gerry Conway-Ross Andru/Frank Giacoia/Dave Hunt

NOTE:  Doug apologizes in advance for some of the distorted images.  For whatever reason, when converting the .pdf files to .jpg files, the full pages always turn out boxy-looking.

Doug:  After that somewhat-clunker of a tale last week, we're back in familiar territory.  In case you missed it, we spent five weeks in August (and the first Monday in September) wall-crawlin' with Spidey.  Here we find ourselves again, and in a significant issue no less!  Our theme this month is "Invaders and Anti-Heroes", and today we feature a fellow who is perhaps Marvel's ultimate anti-hero.  You want a vigilante?  Frank Castle's your guy.  Oh, and how about the other major introduction in this yarn, the Jackal?  I know, I know -- many of you loathe the Spider-Clone storyline.  I happen to like it.  Someday, maybe, I'll twist my partner's arm into reviewing those issues.

Karen: Hey, you never know, if we do this long enough, we just might wind up reviewing those issues! But there's so many other books to do first. Like, nearly any others. That's a little joke...  Anyway, let me say I really love this cover. It's certainly iconic now, being our introduction to one of the few characters created in the 70s that has managed to rise up (at times) to the upper levels of popularity. The Romita-designed costume is a beaut, and the layout, with the cross-hairs and upside down Spidey, is quite memorable.


Doug:  The cover is attributed to John Romita and Gil Kane.  My assumption is that Romita did the Punisher figure solo, and then inked Kane's pencils on the Spider-Man figure.  Any thoughts or arguments?

Doug:  Right from the splash page, there's just no doubt at all what we're dealing with here -- a couple of wingnuts.  The Jackal sits cross-legged on some machinery while the Punisher takes dead aim at a statue of Spider-Man.  The Jackal cackles as he goads the Punisher, telling our skull-chested warrior that he does like the killing.  Right away we get a hint of the Punisher's twisted honor code:  He doesn't enjoy killing, and kills only those who deserve it.  Spider-Man is one such person.

Karen: Never understood why the Jackal was green. Just throwing that out there. I don't really feel that the Punisher is crazy though. Obsessed, sure, but a psycho, no. You do wonder why the Punisher would ally himself with such an obvious weirdo. Everything about the Jackal screams "madman" and even a guy like the Punisher, who may be a vigilante but not a nut, should be able to see that.

Doug:  After only four panels we cut away to our star, spinning webs across the Manhattan skyline.  Of course it's never boring when you're Spider-Man, and he soon spots a heist in progress.  Mounting his camera, Spidey swoops down and smokes the gang.  It's a scene full of typical Spidey bravado, and features some nice work by penciler Ross Andru.  At the end we get the familiar neatly-webbed packages hanging from the lamp posts for the police.  A quick scurry up the wall to retrieve his camera, and Spider-Man swings off toward the Daily Bugle.  On the way, there's some nice plot recapping by scribe Gerry Conway, as Spidey meditates on his troubles in the wake of Norman Osborn's death, and the effect on his friend and Osborn's son Harry.  As Spidey lands and changes clothes, we get a really odd Peter Parker panel.  I get what Andru was going for, but it's just weird looking.  Downstairs, we see the usual suspects in Betty Brant, Joe Robertson, and J. Jonah Jameson.  It's a nice two pages of familiar characterization, and as I always say when we do an Amazing Spider-Man review it's a warm fuzzy to see the supporting cast.  Of course Jonah has to berate Peter for bringing in photos of the botched robbery when the Punisher is waging a one-man war on the mob.  Peter's curiosity is more than piqued.

Karen: Spidey makes quick work of the thugs, as he should, and I was struck with the feeling that this was a nice way for someone new to the character to see just what he could do. I thought Conway handled Peter's inner struggles well -he was not overly gloomy about Gwen's death but it was still hanging over him, impossible for him to forget. I know what you mean about that series of panels after Peter changes into his civvies -it seems like Andru was trying to show Pete 'putting on a happy face' but it comes across awkward. JJJ is appropriately over the top. He was fun. I much preferred him as a goofball than as a serious threat.

Doug:  As Peter exits the Bugle he heads back to the roof and switches back to his Spidey duds.  While swinging through the city he's in the sight of a high-powered rifle... the same weapon we saw in the hands of the Punisher at the beginning of this story.  His spider-sense goes off like church bells and the spider-agility kicks in just in time to avoid a massive concussion blast.  Lighting on a nearby wall, Spidey locates his assailant and swings over to find that the Punisher was the shooter.  Spider-Man attacks, but the Punisher evades the assault in a nifty bit of tumbling I didn't know he could pull off.  Spider-Man attempts an interrogation, but Castle isn't much in the mood for talking.  Instead, he vaults over to a chimney and pulls out another rifle.  This one fires a wire that instantly encircles Spider-Man and pins his arms to his sides.  The Punisher moves in closer, calling him a criminal and a parasite, and lamenting that he won't enjoy killing our hero.  Well, if you thought a little titanium alloy wire was gonna hold May Parker's nephew, you'd have been mistaken.  A burst of strength, a little incredulity from the Punisher, and ol' Frank's head smacks hard against the chimney.

Karen: I've never been a big Andru fan, but he pulls off some nice work here. The scene where Spidey evades the concussion blast, and especially the panel where he punches the Punisher into the chimney, are just fantastic. That punch looks so fluid, and Punisher's reaction is as if he were hit by a wrecking ball. Great stuff.

Doug:  Even though the Punisher's noggin cracked some bricks, he's back on his feet and getting the business end of Spider-Man's fists (is there another end to a fist?).  But, unbeknownst to the Wallcrawler, the Jackal is hiding in the chimney!  With Spidey's back turned, the green-garbed villain rises from the shaft and uses his claws to rake the back of Spider-Man's head.  Spider-Man staggers, grabbing his wound.  He totters near the edge of the roof, and begins to topple!  The Punisher remarks that he won't see his enemy die in this fashion; the Jackal calls him a fool.  Spider-Man is able to fire off a web and make it across the street, but with his balance disrupted he goes right through a window, shattering glass among the startled office employees.  Moments later, he's back on the roof to pay the debt.  Of course by this time the Jackal and the Punisher are nowhere to be found.  However, the rifle that had fired the wire still lays on the roof!  Examining it, Spider-Man notices a label on the gun's butt.  Bingo!

Karen: The Jackal has "electro-prods" in his claws, whatever those are, so there's a reason Spidey goes staggering over the side of the roof. But here's villain trope #5 for you: they don't check to be sure he's dead after he falls! Oh well. The dialog here clues us in on the true natures of both the Punisher and the Jackal -Punisher upset about killing Spider-Man in such an "unjust" way, and Jackal having no problem with it.

Doug:  Back in his apartment, Peter uses two mirrors to inspect his head wound.  His hair seems to cover it, but his Spidey mask is tattered.  Peter thinks about how he was supposed to meet Johnny Storm to work on the Spider-Mobile, and about collecting rent from Harry.  I was a bit confused by that last comment, as I was always under the impression that Norman Osborn had footed the bill for Harry's digs.  Anyone?  Peter, still wearing his Spider-socks, sits on his bed attempting to sew his mask, when we are taken to a view outside the apartment.  Harry presses his ear to the door, and then worries that Peter is in there waiting to ambush him.  He frets that Peter knows he is the "Green Goblin", and is now his enemy.  Claiming to be all alone, Harry slinks away from the door and back down the stairs.  Cut to the Empire State University campus, where Mary Jane Watson has been accosted on the sidewalk by Professor Miles Warren.  Warren asks her if she's seen Peter -- Warren wants to apologize to Peter for misjudging him a few issues prior when the Vulture had shown up on campus.  MJ says she'll pass the good word.  As she departs, she thinks to herself about getting involved in Peter's life, and if she wants to deal with the baggage he's carrying from Gwen.  She convinces herself that Peter's not much fun, but she's only concerned for fun herself.  Except... she doesn't seem to do a very good job of convincing herself.

Karen: Regarding the rent comment, I assume Pete needs the money, however it gets paid. Man, that's just a bad room-mate situation! "My arch-enemy's son is my room-mate..." AND he's a pill-head! Oh boy! Loved seeing Petey trying to sew his suit. Can you imagine how ratty his costume would have looked after a few years of repairs like that? The Spider-Mobile -possibly the most ill-conceived thing to appear in a Marvel comic. Of course, Gerry Conway didn't come up with it, it was forced on him and he did what he could with it. Probably the best thing about it was it provided an excuse to have Spidey and the Torch hang out again.


Doug:  Back in the very lab in which we began our reading, the Punisher backhands the Jackal up against the wall.  Frank Castle is not at all pleased with the way things went down on the roof earlier.  The Jackal tries to do some damage control, hoping to keep the Punisher convinced that Spider-Man is indeed a criminal.  Castle gets his topcoat and storms out, saying he's going to the Mechanic to get his wire-gun replaced.  The Jackal, feeling that his union with the Punisher has run its course, makes a snide remark about what a great team they are.  A short time later we find Spider-Man landing at the Reiss Armory to inspect the lead he'd picked up back on the roof.  And, guess who is arriving at the same time -- yup.  Our guy in black.  Spidey enters first, and calls for any sign of life once inside.  What he finds, however, is a very dead Mr. Reiss, the proprietor.  The Punisher bursts through a large window and gives Spidey a solid kick upside the chops.  The battle is joined tooth-and-nail, with Spidey trying to talk some reason into a raging Punisher, who's just seen Reiss's corpse.  Now nearly possessed with anger, Castle won't listen to Spider-Man's query about the marks on the back of Reiss's head -- marks Spider-Man felt earlier in the week!  Spidey finally figures it's time to talk sense, so (in a nifty rendering by Andru) he launches his full weight into the Punisher's face, dropping him.  Just a head-clearing moment later Castle awakens to find his hands bound and Spider-Man sitting next to him.

Karen: Really no reason Punisher couldn't have used the door, but breaking through the window looked cool. And speaking of cool, I agree with you about Spidey's very acrobatic moves to a three-point landing on Punisher's face.

Doug:  Solving the crime, Spider-Man asks the Punisher if he left the tag on the wire-gun used the day before.  Castle scoffs at the suggestion, and Spider-Man tells him that they need to start putting two and two together.  Claw marks on the back of Reiss's head, a gun placed on the roof that the police would find, Reiss killed a short time before the Punisher would have arrived at the gun dealer, and Castle finishes it by saying that the Jackal had been out of sight for about an hour earlier that evening.  The Punisher is furious that he's been used as a pawn and swears revenge on the Jackal.  Earlier we'd learned that Frank Castle was a Marine; Spidey then asked him why he was Stateside.  Castle said is was none of his business, and left to fight his "lonely war".  With sirens approaching, Spidey exited the premises as well.  But as he swung away, he passed a shadowy figure who had watched it all -- the Jackal.  And the Jackal swore he'd get Spider-Man on his way to taking over the city.

Karen: I found this a satisfying read. The introduction of the Punisher just leaves us wanting more, which is a tribute to Conway's skills. You can feel a lot of threads being put in place for stories to come and you just know Harry's going to do something awful. The art was solid, even spectacular in a few places, which is saying something, as I'm not an Andru fan. All in all, time well spent.

Doug:  I enjoyed this issue a lot, too.  There was quite a bit of action and a ton of characterization crammed between the covers!  As I've remarked several times in the past, Ross Andru isn't my favorite Spider-Man artist, but he's "my guy", on board when I began reading the character regularly.  As you said, Gerry Conway does a nice job with laying some subplots in the Jackal storyline.  I think we all know how this will turn out (I won't spoil it here for those who haven't read the succeeding 20 issues of ASM), but it's sure not evident here at the start.  In fact, the line about the Jackal running the city seems a far cry from the resolution of his arc, doesn't it?  And what of the Punisher?  It's interesting to read this issue in such close proximity to our reviews of ASM #s 161-162 just a few weeks ago (which were around the 5th or 6th stories in the Punisher's development).  The "war journal" hadn't been developed, and it's interesting that we're only dropped a single hint about his background.  Overall, this issue was a nice piece of writing by Gerry Conway, who I generally regard as at the top of his game in this era of the magazine.

Bring Lawyers, Guns, and Money: Amazing Spider-Man 162

Amazing Spider-Man #162 (November 1976)
"Let the Punisher Fit the Crime!"
Writer: Len Wein
Pencils: Ross Andru
Inks: Mike Esposito and Dave Hunt

Karen: Welcome to part two of our little tale -and what a way to start this issue! I love this cover! Comic Book Database credits both Ross Andru and John Romita Sr. - I definitely see Romita, particularly in the Spidey and Punisher figures. I like how the Punisher is facing both the reader and Spidey and Nightcrawler, guns ready. 

Doug:  One of the ideas we've discussed around here in the past is the obscuring of a cover's logo by the art.  Here the artists give us, the readers, a nice bit of depth by allowing the cables to extend to our own horizon.  The placement of the logo (still one of the best ever, by the way) "behind" the cable lines works great.

Karen: This entire issue is narrated by the Punisher in his 'war journal' style, but it's not over-bearing. The splash page is essentially the same as the cover -the Punisher facing our two acrobatic heroes, although he's inside the tramway car. But he's holding a gun on them both, convinced that one of them has been committing murders in an effort to set him up. Spidey and Nightcrawler, on the other hand, are convinced that the Punisher is the killer they've been hunting. Spidey in particular is ticked off, as he'd wanted to believe the police were wrong about the Punisher. The gun-wielding vigilante tells the two to stay put and not to try anything, but Spidey is too quick. He swings around the car, while his mutant companion jumps through the door, knocking the Punisher over. Spider-Man kicks the Punisher's rifle out of his hands  but the ex-Marine manages to pin the wall-crawler to the wall of the car with a pair of knives that he miraculously throws through his costume's shoulders, and not Spidey's skin! The Punisher pulls a gun on Spidey as the webhead tries to break free and demands to know why he's been impersonating him, when bullets begin tearing through the car. Nightcrawler clings to the underside of the vehicle and scans the area for the sniper, and realizes he's somewhere on the 59th street bridge, hidden from view. The shooting stops and 'Crawler teleports into the car, startling the Punisher.  He wants to question the mutant, but Kurt 'bamfs' away quickly -- he's trying to avoid revealing anything about himself, after all (the whole point of last issue's encounter with Spidey). He teleports a great distance and has to recover his strength; he can't go after the sniper.

Doug:  I always kind of enjoyed the "War Journal Entry #..." style of narration when the Punisher was on the scene.  That sort of self-absorption seemed to fit his dour personality, and also showed how meticulous he was in waging his one-man revenge war.  When Spidey and Nightcrawler move to save themselves from ol' Frank's potential attack, it gives us an extended view of what might have been had our two heroes continued to duke it out between themselves.  Take away Nightcrawler's teleportation powers, and the webhead and the fuzzy elf basically have the same power sets.  It would be a sight to see, and as you remarked last week, settings like the Ferris wheel really provided some neat visuals.

Doug:  Nightcrawler having to recover after a long teleportation was his own personal Achilles' heel, much like Johnny Storm overusing his flame, Iron Man's ongoing issues with his heart, etc.  It's just another perfect example of Marvel's characters and their feet of clay. 

Karen: Alone in the bullet-riddled tram car, Spidey and the Punisher realize that neither of them is the killer, and decide to work together to find him. They head off to the Punisher's 'war wagon' - in actuality, a souped-up van (this was the 70's, remember). They manage to drive right through a police road block and evade any conflict with the law. They decide to get back together the next night.

Doug:  "this was the 70's, remember" indeed!  Between reading this off the spinner racks, and my daily doses of Speed Racer and reruns of the 1966 Batman TV show, was there anything that cars couldn't do?  What a great time to be a kid with a hungry imagination.

Karen: The following day, we see Spidey in his civilian ID as Peter Parker, on the Empire State campus. Interestingly, this is the only time we see Peter in this issue -it was a bit light on his personal life this time around. peter sees Mary Jane getting a little too close to Flash Thompson on a grass lawn on campus. She's obviously trying to make him jealous -and she's also obviously annoyed with him leaving her alone last issue at Coney Island when they witnessed the murder.Pete's irritated by her displays of affection with Flash but he doesn't have too long to dwell on it, because he soon spies another member of his cast, J. Jonah Jameson, headed into a building on campus. We (but not Peter) discover that Jameson is there to see Dr. Marla Madison, an expert on "electro-biology" (??) and he has an offer to make her, the challenge of a lifetime: help him destroy Spider-Man! Boy, he never got tired of that, did he?

Doug:  You see, this is why I was never a big fan of the Peter/Mary Jane relationship.  I know that many of you will say that MJ's strong point was her independence and spirit.  I know Gwen would get mad at Peter for running off on her, but it always struck me that Mary Jane would seemingly dump Pete immediately.  Chalk most of this up to a wide-eyed 10-year old who didn't yet get the cat-and-mouse aspect of dating relationships, but MJ could seem cruel.  And what of Flash Thompson?  Does everyone recall that weird Mindworm story in ASM #138 where Pete moves in with Flash and they become fast friends after years of Flash tormenting Peter?  Fast friend here?  Nope.  BUT -- this was a necessary part of the Spider-Man mythos, and a peek into the alter ego side of things that I looked forward to (still do when reading these old stories).

Doug:  We've also gotten a hefty does of JJJ in this issue and last as well, haven't we?  Jonah is best when moving beyond the typical "Spider-Man's a Menace" headlining, and this is the beginning of a nice arc for him.  How about later when Dr. Marla Madison and he hook up -- inter-generational love, my friends!  By the way, at some point I'd like to see some sort of diagram, graphic organizer, or whatever that explains Marvel science/scientists and just what disciplines they are fluent in.  Electro-biology...  that's not part of your job, Karen?

Karen: Later that night, Spidey and the Punisher meet up as planned. I really like the way these two relate to each other. They don't quite get one another, but there's a respect there. Punisher has a tip that the gunman is going to show up at a block party organized to support a fire house in a poor neighborhood. Spidey takes to the rooftops in search of the shooter while Punisher checks out the alleys and streets. At one point we see a man in an overcoat speaking on a walkie talkie, watching Spidey and telling someone on the other end that he's there, when suddenly he's yanked into the shadows. But that's the last we see of him. Mysterious, hmm?  Next we see Spidey dropping down into an alley where he sees what appears to be an unconscious man. But surprise! It was a trap. The man pulls a gun on Spidey. Old webhead's spider-sense goes off, but thinking it's telling him about the danger he already knows, he ignores it -- and promptly gets hit over the head from behind. He's tough though -- it takes a few more konks before Spidey is knocked out. 

Doug:  The way Spidey's spider-sense worked in the rooftop/alley scene was sketchy at best.  Even though he was some distance from the guy with the radio, we've seen in the past that Spider-Man can have a feeling of being watched -- seems like that should have been the case here.  Additionally, shouldn't Peter have been alerted to the guy in the alley who was playing possum?

Doug:  One of the things I think of (now -- not back in 1976) when I read comics is how much punishment our heroes and villains take in the course of a story.  No way Spidey wouldn't have had a severe concussion after those three blows to the head.  No way.  And that would have affected him well into the next few storylines.  But the only thing we ever see him, or Daredevil for that matter, affected by is a cold or a wrenched shoulder.  Silly...

 

Karen: The party is still going on in the street when the crowd becomes aware of something terribly wrong. They see the limp form of Spider-Man, in chains, hanging from a lamp post. There are gun men in front of him, holding their weapons on the people. A figure in the shadows pulls out a bullhorn and begins calling for the Punisher. He says he knows he's out there, and he has his partner, Spider-Man. He says that the Punisher may not remember him, but he remembers the vigilante, thanks to being thrown through a plate glass window by him. He steps into the light and we can see him -his face is horrifically scarred. He says he's called Jigsaw now, and he's going to kill the Punisher. I thought Andru and Esposito did a an excellent job on Jigsaw's face -- he could have been a joke, a caricature like a Dick Tracy villain, but he really came across as terribly mutilated.

Doug:  I absolutely love the large image of Spidey hanging from the lamp post in chains.  Ross Andru must have looked at some old Harry Houdini images for inspiration!  You said it with your kudo about Jigsaw's look.  The only complaint I have about that page (well two complaints -- lavender body suits for the henchmen?  C'mon...) is the reveal of Jigsaw in the last page panel.  You know who was a master of "the big reveal"?  Jack Kirby.  I swear that man did a great job knowing where the full and half-page ads would be placed in magazines he worked on.  His reveals always seemed to be after a page turn.  Anyway, we really don't get cheated, as there are several more good shots of Jigsaw on the following page.  It's sort of like a trainwreck -- difficult to avert one's eyes.  And that Andru and Esposito did not keep his face consistently drawn only seems to add to the horror the guy went through.

Karen: Jigsaw says if Punisher doesn't show himself his men will start shooting the crowd. He starts counting to three, but on three a knife knocks his gun out of his hands, and bullets begin to spray at his feet. However, he's not lying when he says he's been training- he springs away, rolls, and comes up with his gun pointed at Spidey's head. Before he has a chance to use it, Nightcrawler comes bursting out of nowhere to knock him over. Yes, it was Kurt Wagner who took out the man on the walkie talkie a few pages earlier. Apparently he'd been tailing the Punisher in hopes that it would lead him to the man who killed his friend (Kurt was reading about it in the paper Wolverine destroyed when they were in the Danger Room). Now, he's just in time to save our wall-crawling hero. 

Doug:  Had anyone else nearly forgotten that Nightcrawler was also guesting in this story?  I had.  This was really beginning to play like a typical Marvel Team-Up, where last month's guest only sticks around as a segueway to the next guest and the evolution of the plot.  I was happy, however, to see Kurt arrive to save the day!

Karen:  With Nightcrawler's appearance, Punisher decides to make his entrance. He comes down from the rooftops, firing rubber bullets (to protect the civilians nearby) and using special gas grenades. "Not exactly my regular style, " he muses. No indeed -- especially in his later years! 

 Doug:  As our readers have seen on our reading list on the sidebar, we'll be checking out Frank Castle's first appearance later this month.  This 2-parter, by the way, is the Punisher's 6th appearance (if I count correctly -- check my math).  Am I correct in thinking that it was Spider-Man who insisted that the Punisher use rubber bullets?  Or was that something Castle was doing all along?

Karen:  The Punisher blasts away at Jigsaw's thugs, making his way towards the main event. Speaking of which, Nightcrawler isn't doing too well against Jigsaw (we'd find out later he's wearing an exo-skeleton). Spidey comes out of his stupor just in time,and snaps his chains, saying "This looks like a job for Spider-Man!" (Cute.) With Spidey, Punisher, and Nightcrawler all together, the tide quickly starts to turn. Jigsaw sees this, and turns tail. He heads for the firetruck, of all things, with one of his thugs driving. The wall-crawler spots him and swings up onto the speeding truck but Jigsaw turns the high-pressure water hose on him and it's all he can do to grab on to a piece of equipment and not go flying off the truck. He manages to turn off the water supply, so Jigsaw tries throwing the hose at him. However, it catches around a tire and the other end wraps around Jigsaw's leg. The whole truck goes careening off the road and into a building, with Spidey flipping out of the way just in the nick of time. Nightcrawler and the Punisher catch up and see that Spidey has Jigsaw tied up in the hose. They tell him Jigsaw's men are "neutralized." Spidey goes to shake hands with NC, only to find a cloud of brimstone, and then turns to Punisher, but he's disappeared too! Old web-head decides he might as well leave himself, and swings off into the night.

Doug:  The half-splash of our three heroes kicking butt is pretty fun.  What did you think of Spidey's somewhat cruel goading of Jigsaw?  On the one hand, the guy was a mass murderer bent on some personal revenge scheme.  On the other hand, he had faced (pun intended) great personal loss/tragedy.  On the other hand (now we're venturing into Doc Ock territory with all these hands)...  Ah, nevermind.  The smash-'em-up of the firetruck at the end was a good way to finish the story. I really expected one of those Wile E. Coyote moments with the firetruck going under a viaduct and Jigsaw being decapitated.  It was sort of nice that he was just trussed up, so that we are fully aware that he'll be back.  I loved the Batmanesque exits by the Punisher and Nightcrawler!

Karen: I really enjoyed this story. It was simple and straightforward, it had great pacing, the action was fun and exciting, and Spidey sounded right to me. I much prefer this version of the Punisher -I suppose the original version - to what he eventually became, which was pretty much a psychopath. Nightcrawler really didn't have a lot to do, but was still fun to see. All in all, a very solid read.

Doug:  As I usually do with you -- I agree on your assessment of this 2-parter.  And I think we needed this one after the Marvel Team-Up story, which was uneven to say the least.  But hey -- over the past month we've read stories with Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Human Torch, the Inhumans, Nightcrawler, and the Punisher -- and by Conway, Wein, Andru, Mooney, Giacoia, and Esposito.  That's not a bad line-up.  And as we said a couple of weeks ago, it just goes to show that sometimes our memories of these 35-40 year old stories can be a little cloudy.  But when viewed through the eyes of a child, they were certainly pretty awesome!

There Must Be Some Misunderstanding: Amazing Spider-Man 161

Amazing Spider-Man #161 (October 1976)
"...And the Nightcrawler Came Prowling, Prowling"
Len Wein-Ross Andru/Mike Esposito/Dave Hunt

Doug:  Hey, after that Marvel Team-Up 3-parter we just concluded, let's fast forward about three years and look in on some team-ups in Spidey's own mag.  We're going to conclude the month (and actually stretch just a couple of days into September) with a throwdown involving Spidey, Nightcrawler, the Punisher, and the introduction of Jigsaw!  So on with it, then!

Doug:   Man, I was excited to purchase this one off the spinner racks just after I'd turned 10.  I was already hooked on the All-New, All-Different X-Men, and that this story opens in the Danger Room of all places was about all I could handle.  Nightcrawler's perusing a copy of the Daily Bugle during what appears to be a lull in the normally-death stakes workouts that Cyke usually prepared for the new team.  Wolverine seems especially mischievous and totally out-of-character as written by Len Wein here -- I really got a bad vibe from the normally abrasive little psychopath.  Anyway, Wolverine bounces off a trampoline and cuts the cord on the high ring from which Nightcrawler was hanging.  As he falls, Kurt rips the paper in half and comes up fighting mad.  Colossus has to intervene, as you know Wolverine popped his claws at the first sign of trouble.  Nothing comes of it, and Kurt takes the high road and stalks off through an open window.

Karen: Doug, I was also very excited to see Nightcrawler guest-starring in ASM, as he was my favorite X-Man. I realize that I always gravitated towards the stranger-looking characters in books. Nightcrawler filled that bill in X-Men, but it was also his personality that pulled me in. Of course, when Dave Cockrum was drawing the book, Kurt got more of the spotlight, but that changed when Byrne came on-board. I agree with you regarding Wein's handling of Wolverine -- seems a bit off. For comparison's sake, also cover dated October 1976, was X-Men #101, so we'd seen Wolverine in that title for eight issues at this point (not counting the Giant-Size X-Men nor his Hulk appearances). I think by this time we had a decent idea of his personality, and this kind of practical joke/maniacal laughing stuff just doesn't fly with what we know about the runt so far.

Doug:  Cut to Coney Island, where Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson are on a wild rollercoaster ride.  Peter does a good job of feigning fright and sickness, and once he, MJ, Harry Osborn, and Liz Allen are back on solid ground, they head over to Nathan's Hot Dogs for some refreshment.  But in a Spidey mag, nothing's ever as easy as it seems, and sure enough -- Peter turns back toward the coaster just in time to see a man shot in the head by a sniper!  Doing the usual I've-gotta-get-pictures-for-the-Daily-Bugle routine, Pete dashes away to switch to his web-slinging duds.  But also on the scene, and unbeknownst to Peter, is Kurt Wagner.

Karen: Even though I am a West Coaster born and raised, I have heard of Nathan's, so that was a cool inclusion. I want to note here also how fierce and demonic-looking Andru makes Nightcrawler look. It seems like he is all fangs. I always think of Kurt as such a nice guy!

Doug:  Very true in regard to his personality.  But what do you think is the most visually appealing aspect of his design?  In the Nightcrawler story we ran a little over a week ago, his thick mop of hair seemed to dominate my view of him, but in this story I'd say it's his hands (particularly in a scene toward the end of the story, which we'll show you).

Karen: His whole costume is unconventional, and I like how his inhuman appearance contrasts with his very human personality. I think Dave Cockrum (in his first go-round on X-Men) drew him best.

Doug:  As the shot is fired, Nightcrawler's lurking in the shadows beneath the rollercoaster.  Musing to himself that on that paper he'd accidentally torn up back in Westchester was a photo of an old friend, a carnival worker named Eric Hoffman, Kurt is now seeking to find the killer.  As he's moving through the shadows, he looks up to see the sniper, still holding a smoking rifle.  Bounding up and over the wall, Nightcrawler sees the shooter vanish into the roof's door.  However, instead of just teleporting through it and pursuing his target, for some reason he remains outside, tugging on the locked barrier.  I definitely did not understand that part.  Nightcrawler then leaps back to his starting point, where the rifle had been dropped and landed.  He wraps it up in a white cloth (found just laying around?) and thinks that he will turn it in to the police, who will need it as evidence.  At that point, he's knocked for a loop by a double-legged kick from some familiar boots.

Karen: I think there were plenty of opportunities for Nightcrawler to teleport in this story, but Wein was holding off until later in the fight, to give it more impact. 

Doug:  Spider-Man introduces himself in a most aggressive way -- it's funny to read this now and think that Kurt's surprise at actually meeting Spidey was genuine.  Nightcrawler had probably been in the States for less than a year at this point.  As you might imagine, a genuine tussle occurs, with neither combatant giving any quarter.  Nightcrawler eventually stuns Spidey long enough to get away, rifle in hand, but Spider-Man gives chase.  The battle moves to a ferris wheel, which is a cool visual as both heroes run up the spinning ride.  Spidey leaps at Nightcrawler, pinning him to the top of a car; the rifle falls to the ground.  Sensing this is turning futile, now Nightcrawler teleports away.

Karen: When Spidey punches Kurt it really looks powerful. I was always under the impression that Kurt's strength was just a wee bit greater than normal, so this would be a big mismatch, at least in strength. But in pure acrobatic ability - well, I'd think they're pretty evenly matched. I agree, the scene of the two running on the ferris wheel, with the view from above, is spectacular.

Doug:  Spider-Man goes to find his trusty camera so that the evening won't be a total loss (what happened to MJ, Harry, and Liz?).  Nightcrawler, again lurking in the shadows, sees Spidey swing away and also notices the camera.  Since it's far too early for the All-New X-Men to go public, something has to be done about that film.  So where was Spidey swinging to?  To see his buddy Joe "Robbie" Robertson, city editor at the Daily Bugle.  It's now late when Spider-Man arrives, and he surprises Robbie.  Spider-Man wants information on the snipings that have been going down, and Robbie tells him that the Punisher is suspected.  "Great", Spidey thinks... Just what he needs.  During the conversation, J. Jonah Jameson starts to enter Robertson's office, but then backs out when he hears Spider-Man's voice (why didn't Spidey's spider-sense go off?).  As Spidey finishes, he asks Robbie about fighting fuzzy forked-tail demons.  Robbie says he should have his head examined.  As Spider-Man swings away, JJJ goes back to his own office and removes a crumpled envelope from a locked drawer.  Sliding he contents out and spreading it around his desk, we see that someone has sent Jonah a series of photos... of Spider-Man disposing of the Peter Parker clone!

Karen: Oh that damned clone! Well at least we don't have to deal with that in this review. I always liked Robbie and Pete/Spidey's relationship with him. Robbie was that nice voice of reason in contrast to JJJ's hysterics. This was back when I actually thought the Punisher was an interesting character. He was still very much grounded in the adventure novels and crime films of the day, and despite being willing to kill bad guys, he still had a code. He wasn't a psycho, which I feel he eventually became in the 90s and on.

Doug:  We then get an interlude featuring the Punisher.  Ol' Frank Castle comes to a haven of underworld types, offs three of them, and gets the information he wants from one Joey Whisper -- who has been going around town pulling jobs in imitation of the Punisher?

Karen: Hey, he said he just wanted to talk! They didn't have to pull their guns on him.

Doug:  Spider-Man's out on patrol when he stops for a break, atop the 59th Street bridge and the new Roosevelt Island Tramway.  He's thinking that in his limited encounters with the Punisher, there's not been a single innocent harmed.  What's been going down just doesn't have his stamp on it.  Suddenly Nightcrawler appears and whacks Spidey upside the head, twice and hard!  Now tell me something -- unless Nightcrawler had trailed Spider-Man to the Bugle and away, how the heck did he find him?  Anyway, Nightcrawler grabs the camera from Spidey's belt and makes tracks.  Spider-Man gives immediate pursuit to Nightcrawler, who has now begun to traverse the cables of the tramway.  As the Wallcrawler catches up, Nightcrawler rips the film from the camera and tosses the device back to Spider-Man.  Well, that doesn't exactly please ol' Webhead, who right-crosses Kurt Wagner right off his perch.  However, in mid-descent Nightcrawler teleports and lands right behind Spidey.  Not to be taken by surprise again, Spider-Man shoots a web at Nightcrawler's chest and pulls him forward, only to sock him one -- knocking the mutant off the ironwork.  Both combatants end up lighting on the tram cables when a cable car comes along and stops right where they do battle.  And who should lean out of the car?  The Punisher, that's who.  He says he knows who's been impersonating him, and he's come to exact his own form of justice -- by killing that man!

Karen: I've said before that Andru doesn't do a whole lot for me. I don't dislike his work but I don't love it -- it's just OK to me. But I do really love that shot of Spidey swinging high above the tram tower. To me it captures the freedom and thrill of his web-slinging. It looks fantastic. Nightcrawler's assault on Spidey was fun -what was he doing, putting some sort of nerve blocks on the webhead? Those were strange moves. I love how he's apologetic about the whole thing -that's in character for Kurt. Their ballet on the cables was cool. Of course, having the Punisher make his declaration at the end of the book was the perfect cliff-hanger.

Doug:  I enjoyed this issue.  It's all basically set-up for next week's conclusion, but it was a fun, easy read.  You know, we've remarked over the past several weeks about fun issues being so easy to write about and clunkers can be difficult motivation-wise.  But other than some of my nitpicks with Wein's script (again, I'd have never caught those discrepancies when I was 10), the art job was pretty solid.  Mike Esposito and Dave Hunt did a nice job of softening some of the harsh facial expressions that Ross Andru could draw during this era.  I have no complaints on the storytelling, either -- this one was very clear as to what was going on, pacing, etc.  For my money, this was a decently-spent 20 minutes of my time.

Karen: I couldn't agree with you more about this issue. It moved along nicely, the plot was clear, characters were well handled (with that possible exception of Wolverine) and the art was pretty solid. After three weeks of some pretty awful reviews, it was great to have a solid issue to work with!

Return of the Goblin: Amazing Spider-Man 137

Amazing Spider-Man #137 (October 1974)
"The Green Goblin Strikes!"
Gerry Conway-Ross Andru/Frank Giacoia/Dave Hunt

Karen: It's time to wrap up the return of the Goblin. The final part of our story begins with the Goblin -Harry - causing a big rig to crash, and then stealing a metallic cylinder from it. Considering the word "atomic" is written on the side of the truck, I think we can be assured that whatever he's stolen, it's pretty dangerous stuff. He grabs the cylinder and flies off into the night cackling madly.

Doug: Ummm... First off, why in the world would a semi carrying that sort of payload broadcast it to the world? Secondly, and again given the cargo, don't you think the drivers would be armed, or escorted by law enforcement? Thirdly (geez, I'm curmudgeonly today -- must be because I'm actually typing this on Saturday, when we ran the "Suspension of Disbelief" query), if the truck is full of atomic weapons, why the heck wouldn't a megalomaniac take it all?
Karen: Meanwhile, Spidey has been searching for Harry for two nights, with no success. He muses that maybe, given some more time, Harry will calm down and get over the whole thing, but Peter doesn't really seem to buy this. He goes on auto-pilot and swings back home, only to see the burnt-out shell of his apartment. Yes, he'd actually forgotten that his old buddy rigged a bomb and blew up their apartment! I think that explosion must have given him a concussion. How do you forget something like that? He decides that after two nights without sleep, he has to find somewhere to crash. Again on auto-pilot, he winds up at the hospital where Mary Jane is being treated for her injuries from the explosion.
Doug: I suppose, given how spacey Peter often is, I'll give him the "forgot the bomb" angle of this plot. It was an interesting way to get readers who may have missed last issue caught up -- a simple thought balloon while web-swinging would have done it, but this is maybe more effective visually.

Karen: Once inside the hospital, Peter discovers that the gang's all there -really, they all are! Robbie Robertson, Flash Thompson, Liz Allen and even J. Jonah Jameson have all come out of concern for Mary Jane and Peter. To top it all off, Aunt May comes tottering in too! As Pete and Aunt May enter Mary Jane's room, Flash notes that only one friend is missing -Harry. On a side note, these 70s fashions are killing me. Liz Allen is bizarre, with her stacked heels, midriff-baring shirt, and white pants with green leaves pattern!

Doug: Strange that Aunt Anna Watson wasn't there, too.
Karen: MJ is doing well, and she turns on the radio just in time for Peter to hear about a man in a green costume on a flying bat attacking a truck. He makes an excuse about having to get pictures for the Bugle and rushes out, with Aunt May saying even she doesn't understand him. In the hall, Peter and Jonah run into one another. JJJ tries to make amends with Peter -remember the weird coda to last issue, with Pete storming out of JJJ's office? -but Peter brushes him off. I still don't know what that's all about.

Doug: I'm thinking that in most business circles, flicking your boss's hand off of your jacket while telling him you just got it cleaned would constitute burning a bridge. Pretty bold on Pete's part.

Karen: Back in his web-slinging persona of Spider-Man, Peter locates the truck Harry attacked. Two policemen are questioning the truckers. Hey Doug, did you notice the VW van that passes by the scene? Did you think of Scooby Doo too? Spidey listens in on the conversation and finds shards of a broken pumpkin bomb in the front seat. Did he really need that to convince him this was the Goblin's work? As he's checking it out one of the cops sees him and Spidey takes off. He has an idea where to find his former best friend turned psycho.

Doug: With a different paint job, that definitely could have been the Mystery Machine! Question -- when Spidey swung from the roadside up onto the semi-trailer, how was he not seen or heard by those below? And what did he attach his webline to?

Karen: That's a good question. I also wondered how no one saw or heard him. Spider stealth? Harry, still dressed as the Goblin, is back at Osborn's empty townhouse. Spidey comes crashing through the window, and tries to talk to Harry, telling him he's not well. He dodges Harry's attempts to attack him and glues Harry's foot to the floor with his webbing. But it's obvious that Harry is too far gone to listen. Harry's positive that Peter killed his Dad and wants revenge. However, Harry has none of the true Goblin's skills. He flies right into a web that Spidey puts up and is easily captured. But he has an ace up his sleeve. Conveniently located in the room is some sort of control panel and three big monitors. Each one shows one of Peter's loved ones -Aunt May, MJ, and Flash- in a chair with something strapped over their heads. Harry tells Spidey that one of them has a "small shaped-charge clean fusion nuclear bomb" over their heads! Talk about overkill. Spidey has six minutes to find the right one, but the three are spread all over Manhattan. He busts Harry in the chops, knocking him unconscious, and swings off. Although this idea has been used many times before and since, the similar scene from "The Dark Knight" film popped up in my head.
Doug: If super-villains actually did what they ultimately intend to do, stories would be short, huh? Really -- sometimes the plots and ploys of super-baddies just smack of the 1966 Batman TV show. But to be honest, when I was 8 I didn't notice stuff like that. Which is funny -- DC was the company that never seemed to care if their stories were rife with plotholes. Marvel, however, was considered the more mature storytellers.

Karen: Spidey has to quickly decide where to go. He thinks about what Harry said and plays a hunch about who Harry would have chosen to kill. He heads for Aunt May -but first, maddeningly, his web shooters run out of fluid -AGAIN - and he races off to find a spare costume he'd hidden near-by to restock his web supply. I kid you not. When it happened before with the boat in our first issue, I could just write it off, but here, it seems ridiculous that we're encountering this situation again. It's needlessly trying to inject more suspense and it fails miserably.

Doug: Given that Pete's wrists are encircled with spots for the web fluid cartridges, I'm thinking he'd have to use a lot of webbing to have run out in just the couple of days since he replaced them when in the middle of the scuffle with the Tarantula.

Karen: After getting fresh web cartridges, Spidey heads to Grant's Tomb, where Aunt May is stashed. He snags the bomb on a webline and slings it into the water, where it explodes -apparently harmlessly. Then we have a bit of a gap in the story, as the next scene is Spidey standing over Harry, who wakes up and goes bonkers again. Spidey smacks him back into unconsciousness, and removes his costume as sirens sound the approach of the police. So what happened with Aunt May? Anyway, Spidey changes to his civvies and Harry is hauled out on a stretcher. Shockingly, he yells out that Peter is Spider-Man. It's a tense moment for Peter, but it's quickly deflated when Harry next states he is the Goblin. One of the cops says he's way too young to be the Goblin, chalks it all up to Harry's obvious insanity, and Peter breathes a sigh of relief. The police say Harry will need a lot of help, and Peter says he'll get it, because Harry's his friend. Kind of a downer ending, don't you think?
Doug: I read this twice before sitting down here to add my two cents. Harry told Spider-Man that there were three people hidden, in three parts of town. Only time to save one. But he never said who was hidden where, only that the one Peter loved the most had the real bomb threatening him/her. So how in the world did Pete know who was going to be inside Grant's Tomb? From the speech balloons as he approached, he didn't know, but thought that when he saw that it was Aunt May he'd gotten lucky. I just thought this was way too contrived. Did you feel that this story was rushed?

Karen: That might explain some things. Overall, I'd say this was a decent little story, although this ending was somewhat anti-climactic, and riddled with some odd doings. There's never a feeling that Harry is a real threat to Peter as a combatant, so the fight scenes are dull. We know that it's mostly about Peter trying not to hurt Harry. Harry's only real threat -and it's a very disturbing one -is due to the fact that he knows Peter's ID and can threaten his loved ones. I think there might have been a way to play with this and increase the tension over four issues but Harry only becomes the Goblin in the previous issue, and so there's not much time to up the psychological ante.

Doug: Again, and I think we've discussed this before -- didn't Norman Osborn have some sort of "super soldier" serum that gave him enhanced strength? Or was it merely his mania that made him an able combatant against Spider-Man's super strength? Because if it's the former, I'm surprised that Harry couldn't have gotten his hands on some of that goon juice and amped himself up. And to think we could have used another issue to really flesh this out and make it more suspenseful, but instead we got the Mindworm in Amazing Spider-Man #138 -- yeah, good call there!