ASM 107

This one’s not in the best shape. It’s got a badly rolled spine. I think I might be able to fix it, actually. But first, I shall read it. The splash says “this one’s long on action!” Spidey is still trapped by the Spider Slayer and not in his best shape due to the gas it sprayed him with, so he decides to get Smythe villain monologuing to try to get back his strength. And boy, does that plan work, as Smythe takes it all the way back, recapping his previous appearances in ASM 25 and 58. Romita pretty faithfully re-draws his cover to 58…

Unfortunately for Spider-Man, as soon as Smythe gets done with his trip down memory lane, he gases him again to keep him from fighting back. He carts the barely conscious wallcrawler back to his lair, where the mob bosses from last issue are still waiting (Has to have been awhile by now, right?)…

Spider-Man feels his strength returning, but he’s going to hang out awhile before making a move. Therefore, we can jump over to see what Gwen is up to. She’s talking to Randy and some of his pals about the protest in last issue…

SOMEWHAT CREEPY, Randy! Gwen walks off, thinking she hopes Mary Jane hasn’t gotten her hooks in Pete, but she’s stopped in mid-thought by the approach of Flash. He wants to apologize for how mean he was last time they saw each other. But when Gwen tries to get him to tell her what’s bugging him, he still won’t confide in her. Back at Smythe’s place, the mobsters have all left to go rob a bank, and Smythe’s watching his spy eyes, so the coast is clear for Spidey to break loose. But his attempts to free himself draw the attention of the Spider Slayer robot, left on guard duty…

Hey pages 10 & 11 of my copy of this issue come with the bonus prize of pieces of a dead bug in the spine, awesome. Yuck. Ok, got that cleaned up. Spidey makes short work of the robot, and does something we don’t see with a phone inside. Then he turns his attention to Smythe, but…

Spidey heads out to stop the bank robbery, and sees his call to the cops worked, as he finds some of them destroying the scanners to prevent the robbery. But he’s still a fugitive, so they just start shooting at him. That’s rude. Meanwhile, the men previously identified as New York’s 4 biggest crime bosses proceed with pulling this bank heist all by themselves? Why not send your goons, or at least bring a few with you? But it’s not going too well.

With the scanners off the table, the crime guys turn around and head back to Smythe’s without even trying the heist. And that puts them in the path of Spider-Man.

Spidey swings around webbing them up and making with the banter, but he cuts things short as the cops arrive and immediately start shooting at him again. Seems kinda reckless. With that taken care of, Spidey swings back to Smythe’s hideout. When he gets there, Smythe is waiting for him in his robot. But the robot quickly begins to malfunction…

Day saved and villains caught, there’s only one thing left to do…

I think that’s my favorite Spidey/JJJ interaction so far. Good stuff. Spidey swings off feeling pretty good about things for a change, but that’s shortlived. As he gets closer to home, he sees Gwen walking down the street with Flash. At first, he’s just jealous, but then things take a surprising turn: