This could be a rough one. This issue is illustrated by the legendary Gil Kane… at 68, only 5 years from the end of his life. I’m not sure I realized this was the same guy whose work I found thrilling in reprinted 70s material, one of the few classic artists who seemed to live up to my 90s idea of what was good comics art, but man, did I not like this as a dumb teen. But was I right? This cover is kind of shocking right off the bat, but I don’t think it’s terrible. The credits say Gil Kane/Tom Palmer/Howard Mackie – Art & Story, which is interesting. I wonder if this was the most Marvel Method comic of the 90s. Kevin Tinsley colors.
I mean, not the flashy 90s crap I loved at the time, but far from terrible! The “Is Peter still evil” setup turns out to be Peter feeling their unborn child in MJ’s stomach again, fascinated since feeling it kick last issue. MJ tells him she has to get some sleep and he keeps waking her up, and suggests he go swing around or something. So, soon, Spider-Man is on the prowl, internal monologuing about how happy he is, for once, and thinking he hopes Ben is happy, too, wherever he is. Well…
Still don’t get why Trainer routinely dresses like a SHIELD agent. Ben says she better not hurt Seward, and she asks if he’s been like a father to Ben before saying it’s too bad he wasn’t the same to her. Which, you know, fair!
I keep forgetting this title is still on better paper than the others despite Todd McFarlane being gone 47 issues until I try to take pictures of one. Some very Gil Kane stuff this page. No mistaking him, even now. Ock tells Seward to just give her all his advances in cyberspace and she’ll be on her way. Instead, he antagonizes her, asking her if she got her mechanical arms in the same place as her new violent behavior. Weird dialogue, dude. She implies that Otto Octavius was her teacher before Seard cuts her off to call her insane. Really making you feel for her, he is.
Ben has had enough and dives himself and Seward out a window. MJ briefly wakes up, wonders where Peter is, remembers she sent him away, and says she hopes he’s having fun. Look at this:
Gil has clearly seen Todd McFarlane’s Spider-Man and is even kind of trying to play ball. That’s amazing to me. At 68, a defining artist on the character, he’s trying to bend to the popular moment. And yet, as the next page makes clear… Still Gil.
Elsewhere, Ben is rambling at Seward, who doesn’t want to talk about his daughter he never, ever mentioned in the 5 years they’ve known each other, and then they have to run ‘cuz she’s caught up to them. Seward actually asks why Ben keeps making jokes, he’s never heard him like this. Ben says he’s trying to pick up where he left off. And then Doc Ock is on them. Ben kicks Seward away and tells him to run.
Nobody would’ve done a page layout that weird but Kane.Spidey heroically pushes Ben to safety, but takes a big hit for his troubles, and almost falls to his death before being snatched up by Ock’s tentacles. She tells Scarlet she’ll give him Spider-Man for her dad. Spider-Man has an epiphany:
Good call, buddy. Scarlet has a realization and uses hsi impact webbing, hitting a tentacle near the force field and sending it snaking up the tentacle into said force field, which is ridiculous, but whatever. So she drops Spider-Man in a classic villain “this will allow me to escape” move.
And with that, Peter realizes going out and almost getting killed every night isn’t cool to his family, and we’re all set to shuffle The Parkers off, stage left, to make way for a new Spider-Man. Well, sort of. More on that next issue. I gotta say, this wouldn’t be anyone’s favorite Gil Kane comic, but it’s pretty solid, honestly, for his age and all. Not nearly as rough as I remembered it. Young me was very unimpressed. Shame on you, young me.