The thick outline around Spider-Man compared to the others is a weird choice, but always nice to see a Gil Kane cover. As we rejoin the action, Spider-Man and Angel are… running away from Iceman. As they recap last issue. I mean, just web his eyes and bonk him on the head like you did Angel last issue, Spidey, jeez.
I am just not buying this in the slightest. Spidey gets the door down and Iceman starts freezing it. Also a caption tells me Clarke from last issue is the original Rampage. That checks out. Spider-Man asks Angel how we got here while they wait to get killed or whatever, leading to 3 pages of flashbacks expanding on what happened after The Champions broke up. Iceman went to visit Clarke in the hospital, I guess very recently crippled in some fiasco with Iron Man villain The Crimson Dynamo. Somehow, Clarke hit him with “hypnosis gas” that he made with items from around the hospital, which is insane, and then made Iceman take him away. Then they put Angel in the spot he was in last issue. Yadda yadda. Essential reading for Champions fans, maybe, but it don’t mean much to me.
Angel said they couldn’t hurt Iceman because it might permanently damage his brain, and now here he is whomping him in the face. Spider-Man is having way too much trouble with that giant iceball until it falls out a window, and he has to save bystanders from being crushed, which is a much better way to distract him. Our man gets back to find Iceman freezing Angel to death and delivers a flying kick to the face that somehow doesn’t take him down. Then he ffffffinally tries webbing the guy.
Oh, sure, I’m sure Warren would just stand there and listen to that.Spidey has the wacky idea to swing them into a car wash, thinking the shock might change Bobby’s demeanor.
Ugh. The boys get back to the building just in time to see Angel scaring the business men out as they promise to drop all complaints and rent the building from him? He says he forced them to admit that their contractors conspired to destroy the building from the start? Does that make any sense?
I just remembered this isn’t an issue of MTU. The heavy, heavy focus on The Champions in Spectacular Spider-Man is really self-indulgent on Mantlo’s part. I don’t care about them. This should’ve been an MTU plot. But it’s not, so the last few pages are more about this book’s cast…
It’s very strange to cram things people reading this title would actually care about into the last few pages after 2 issues of Champions stuff. Comics can be an odd business. Seeing the true, long-delayed beginning of Flash & Sha Shan’s relationship after already seeing it fall apart sure is awkward, but that’s this blog for you. Not excited to see The Enforcers, but before we do, it’s back to MTU for awhile.