I mean, finally. The old codger hanging around only gets more and more ridiculous. We have already seen the 90s attempt to make him young fail even though we haven’t seen it start yet. These days, he’s still a 400 year old man in a flying suit. He even improbably has a grand daughter who’s a superperson called Starling. But he just won’t die. Uh, I mean he’s dying for sure, like the cover says. TAC is still JM DeMatteis, Sal Buscema, and Bob Sharen. Still can’t believe they didn’t make it into the last 90s block at all, but that’s what all these multi-parters back-to-back does. We open on The Vulture throwing a guy off a building to is death in the rain, with internal narration letting us know this guy snitched on him to the cops 5 years ago, and now he’s getting his comeuppance.
I’ve not read these, of course. I wonder if DeMatteis is going to try to rectify how The Vulture didn’t seem to know May or Nathan when he killed Nathan in ASM 336. That would be nice. Meanwhile, a silent 3-page sequence shows Spider-Man approaching and smashing into a warehouse, finding his way to a close with a long-abandoned Green Goblin mask inside.
Spider-Man swings on, thinking he has to find Harry and bring him to Dr. Kafka (Yeah, I’m sure she could help, she’s done such a good job on everyone else). Then we move to that same ol’ grain silo Vulture’s used as a base since way back in ASM 2. Inside, he’s beating a man to death.
Well, so much for that guy. We’re having fun in TAC, as usual. Back in Queens, May & Mary Jane are having a nice little time together, a rare moment just the 2 of them. MJ asks how things are going with Willie Lumpkin, and Aunt May downplays their relationship, which can’t help but feel like DeMatteis isn’t as into it as the other writers. May hints around that MJ & Peter should have a kid, and cautions that her & Ben said they’d have kids later and never did, that she’s so glad Peter came into their lives. MJ promises they’ll give her a granddaughter someday. The gender of their hypothetical child was never really in doubt, I guess.
I don’t doubt DeMatteis when he said he loved writing Aunt May. You can tell. It makes killing her in ASM 400 all the more ridiculous. MJ realizes Aunt May is just changing the subject and goes along with it, and we cut to Vulture fuming over his fate until he sees Spider-Man swing by. As Spider-Man senses someone attacking from behind, he fully expects to be facing Harry, and is surprised it’s The Vulture.
Vultch throws Spider-Man “to his death” below, and of course, our hero saves himself. Vulture buzzes him at top speed and tells him to watch his back and he departs. He thinks to himself he can “peck away at Spider-Man bit by bit” as he and Spidey unknowingly set out for the same place.
I wonder if this is gonna swerve and be an apology for Nathan’s death. That would be nice. Can’t say I expect it, but it would be nice. I can’t really think of why Vulture would have it in for May. I guess we’ll see. This issue published alongside part 3 of Revenge of the Sinister Six, featuring a decidedly less upset Vulture, by the way. Awkward.