After a couple short blocks, we’re back to a longer one. I broke up the Stern and Wolfman eras a little more just to keep them in the mix, but there’s about 3 years of the DeFalco/Frenz period, so they need to come in larger chunks. Look at this guy. You don’t even have to see the front of him to know this “all-new” character is just Man Mountain Marko by a different name. And goes on to about the same longevity, as well. It’s Tom DeFalco writing, Ron Frenz penciling, Joe Rubenstien finishing, and Nel Yomtov coloring for a tale called “Whatever Happened To Crusher Hogan?” That’s the wrestler Spider-Man beat for $100 in Amazing Fantasy 15. And this issue opens with him retelling that encounter, and then adding details about how he took the “Masked Marvel” under his wing after, teaching him everything he knew, designing his webshooters for him (Does the public really know Spider-Man has mechanical webshooters?), and all that.
Man Mountain Marko? No, sir, this is Manslaughter Marsdale! Couldn’t be more different. He wears lil’ things on his hands, see? Did MMM have lil things on his hands? Totally different.
So, that’s the deal this issue. Crusher heads to his modest apartment, thinking Bobby Chance is in real trouble, and wishing he really did know Spider-Man so he could call on him for help. Speaking of, he’s arriving home just to find Randi, Candy & Bambi sunbathing again, and he doesn’t have any normal clothes on him. So he makes some vaguely bat-shaped objects out of web and chucks them over there, scaring the girls away. Even he doesn’t believe that worked. As he gets out of his Spidey suit, he thinks he’ll have to be more careful with the skylight from now on. Then Mrs. Muggins pounds on the door to accuse him of harassing the girls after hearing them screaming. He wonders how it could’ve been his fault, but she just calls him a pervert, says rent is due, and leaves.
MJ serving looks as usual, but… that’s some look. This gold notebook subplot is a total deadend, but I don’t think Tom & Ron know that.
Defining Peter & MJ’s relationship at this stage is difficult. They’re not dating… but they’re not not dating, either. Poor Nathan answers the phone only to be threatened by a mysterious figure from his past, telling him to meet tomorrow night. He’s shaken, but tries to play it off for May. The next day, Peter & MJ emerge from a hardware store with all the stuff MJ wanted to spruce up his place. They had to put it on her credit card because Peter can’t afford anything, but she’s not sweating it. MJ says the hardware store isn’t far from where she works…
Uh-oh. MJ working for Kingsley seems like bad news, Betty & Ned fighting seems like bad news. The danger sense buzz is courtesy of Lance Bannon trying to sneak up and slap Peter on the back. Hardly danger, I’d say. He says Kate Cushing’s had him so busy he doesn’t have any free time anymore, which Peter notes with some disdain since he can’t get a gig. Lance suggests Peter take his assignment for tonight so he can have some time off. Kate’s not too into it, but approves it. As Peter leaves her office, Ned storms out on a crying Betty. No fun. But then we cut to Peter getting home just in time for Aunt May to call, worried about where Nathan’s going tonight. So now Peter has to choose between looking out for Nathan like she asks and doing the only job he’s been offered in awhile. What about the other plot this month?
We skip ahead to the evening, where we learn Peter called a very upset Lance to cancel on him so he can follow Nathan, and he’s feeling very foolish for it. At the same time, Crusher goes to warn Chance just in time for them to be caught by Manslaughter and some goons.
This can’t end well for Nathan. Why does Chance look like Spock in panel 7? Spidey starts laying into the goons as Manslaughter reveals he “had an operation a few years back” and can no longer feel pain. Which is… a terrible superpower. So Chance punches him in the face and he doesn’t feel it, but he still got punched in the face! Ugh. Anyway, Nathan has also arrived at his meeting, and things are looking ominous.
Aw, Nathan. Manslaughter keeps coming at Spider-Man, as if he’s a thing, but Crusher is still worried, and tries to help. He gets Buscema-punched across the room for that, but…
Peter only just stopped having college keeping him and Aunt May on the outs, and now this. Why wrap up “Aunt May is upset with Peter” only to immediately start another “Aunt May is mad at Peter” storyline? And why try so hard to sell a villain you then reveal is no threat to your hero? I mean, this issue wasn’t terrible, but… Why? This issue’s letter page actually features a guide on what order to read recent and future Spider-Man comics in through ASM 275, and tells me I wasn’t supposed to have read The Death of Jean DeWolff yet. Well… oops. But I’m gonna use the rest of it, because why not?