This one I got off eBay, but not in the Great Ebay Madness of 2018. I got this one when eBay was still a pretty new idea. Back around the turn of the century, when I first heard about online auctions, I decided to look for some key issues of ASM. I got this one and one other in the collection (to be covered later) for reasonable prices and felt pretty good about it. From here, I can only assume I didn’t pursue anything further largely due to a lack of much money, being a college student and all. But I thought it was really cool to snag a couple of pivotal moments in Spidey history, starting with this one. And as I mentioned, once I’d read this, I really wanted to see the previous issue, and eventually got it later. Let’s see what’s behind that ominous cover.
We pick up where we left off, Spidey falling to his death. And to make matters worse, he’s out of web fluid. Desperate, he grabs onto the arms and uses them to swing himself through a window. But the arms just keep chasing him, even inside, and in an effectively tense sequence, he scrambles down hallways trying to escape, finally cornering himself in an air duct.
As the arms retract, Spidey gets a tracer on one, hoping he can hunt down Doc Ock later. Then we get one of those iconic Spider-Men, one that’s appeared in advertising and commercial products ever since…
…which is always fun to see. Spidey may sound glib, but as the adrenaline wears off, he quickly realizes he’s not doing too well. He retrieves his hidden street clothes and changes back to Peter Parker. Stumbling down the street, sweaty and spent, he gets a little scare:
But it’s only Captain Stacy. George suggests Peter’s obvious poor health could be lingering flu symptoms, and Peter jumps on that as an excuse before passing out in George’s arms. This guy’s really been through it these last few issues. He wakes up to the face of his beloved Gwen, safe in the Stacy home.
Peter’s wondered for a long time if George has figured him out, but also, why he’s not accused him of being Spidey outright. He heads home, bidding the Stacys goodnight, thinking about fighting Doc Ock.
He’s worked up some kind of new webfluid. He gets his kit in order, heads up to the roof, and sets out to find Doc Ock, still worrying he might not survive their next fight. He swings around for over an hour, trying to get a tingle from his spider tracer, and finally gets a hit. But as he hones in on his target, Ock’s arms suddenly envelop him.
This leads to another brutal battle, but Spidey still has a plan…
Somehow, he’s worked up a webbing that will disrupt Ock’s mental command over his arms. On the one hand, that seems ridiculous. On the other hand, he got here by following a little machine he built that he can sense with his brain. Forget it, Jake, it’s superscience. With no one in control of the arms, they’re more dangerous than ever, lashing out wildly and both Ock and Spider-Man.
As the shattered brick tumbles to the street below, tragedy strikes…
A horrified Spider-Man drops everything to leap down to the street…
And so, Peter Parker faces his greatest loss since his story began. And now that people are blaming him for the death of Captain Stacy, his troubles are only beginning. It’s a bit odd that they would just blame Spider-Man when everyone must have seen him fighting Doc Ock, but that’s just how it goes sometimes.
One issue later, Gil Kane’s style is already so much more apparent in the art. Romita is there to keep everything “on model,” but Kane’s dynamic figures, exaggerated anatomy and unique page layouts are unmistakable. The two of them make a dynamite team.