A not-so-subtle homage to the cover of Action Comics #1 is an unusual way for a Spider-Man comic to get going. This one opens with Spider-Man in a really weird position, and for once I don’t mean a questionable McFarlane panel:
What… is happening here? Where are we? He’s apparently webbed up 2 goons… are they in a police station? Spidey doesn’t usually do home delivery of his crooks. As he swings off, Spidey thinks he just threw a fit because he’s jealous… of himself. McFarlane hits what will be one of his stock Spidey poses as Spidey thinks about his situation:
As Spidey switches to his normal clothes, we meet one Buck Mitty, recently released from prison and super eager to get back to his criminal ways as Humbug. I am pretty sure this comic is the entirety of my exposure to and knowledge of this guy. Then we’re back with Peter, who’s come up with a flower for Mary Jane. But then there’s a knock on the door and it’s Jonathan Caesar, saying he wants to welcome MJ back from LA…
If yer thinkin’ this guys seems super creepy, well, you are correct. What’s up with MJ’s hair suddenly being a way more orange red? You’d expect this to mean there’s a new colorist, but nope, it’s Bob Sharen, same as it’s been for awhile. Weird. Later in the night, things are about to get complicated…
While Felicia hung around as a presence in the books after their break-up for awhile, she’s not been seen in over a year. She has no idea Peter is married now. She thinks her Spider must have moved out because he couldn’t stand a place full of memories of her, and he must still love her, so she has to find him. You may think this doesn’t bode well for the future, but you have no idea. But that’s for later. We jump ahead to Peter’s tour stop in Cleveland. Beforehand, a guy asks for an autograph, saying he’s got to leave early. He’s got a bag of comics he’s going to sell at a convention. Peter recognizes one from his youth, but then it’s show time. And then…
Todd just put a DC comic in there. Really pushing it lately. I do believe that thumbs up guy is meant to be Spider-editor Jim Salicrup. Meanwhile, in Chicago, someone named Roland Carson barges into the office of someone called William Dukane and tells Dukane he’ll be taking his place. Dukane objects, calling it a hostile takeover, but then this happens:
Whaaaat? But, hang on, I’m stepping on Humbug’s big intro…
Hey, I have WEB 19 now! I’m gonna learn all about this weirdo someday, I guess. He has just accidentally blown open the door to a girls’ locker room. He runs off in terror, realizing he was never too familiar with the school’s layout and deciding to try again later. Wah wah. Back in Manhattan, Peter & MJ have Aunt May visiting, but there’s that party Jonathan Caesar invited them to, so Aunt May says she needs to go. She just stopped by….
(Kinda fun that Peter’s old Patrick Nagel print made it to the new place) Good instinct about Caesar, Peter. Back at ESU, Humbug is breaking into the physics building, which doesn’t seem like it will help his quest to steal artwork, but that doesn’t matter, because now he’s gonna steal superconductive ceramics from the lab here and sell that. Ok, sure, improvising. But as he uses his amplified insect recordings to smash through things…
Spidey webs Humbug to keep him from dying, but as a campus police roll up, Humbug is able to ignite the gas tank of their car, forcing Spidey to grab the whole car and douse it in a fountain. Just like on the cover! Humbug has used the distraction to return to his old lab, where a student provides him a hostage when Spidey shows up. So Spidey plays on Humbug’s love of, er, bugs…
I mean, you saw that coming, right? The faceswap thing was a giveaway in a Spider-Man comic. So Spidey will fight him in Chicago! But what about this creepy Caesar guy? You’ll have to come back next time to learn more. In the letter page, Jim Salicrup says the cover homage is a tribute to Superman in honor of his 50th birthday. Not as random as it seemed.