Here’s another one that just screams “filler.” While the other titles are in chaos, I wonder why so many of the Spectaculars of this moment are fill-ins. Maybe Peter David just didn’t care to write a bunch more one-offs that got in the way of his story. It’s Len Kaminski writing, Alan Kupperberg penciling, “Kupperberg & Co.” inking, and Nel Yomtov coloring. Spider-Man is on the corner of a roof on a rainy night, having made a sort of web raincoat for himself, which seems like it wouldn’t be too helpful, but…
One wonders why Spider-Man was just hanging out on that one roof for no reason in this weather. It did look cool, at least. Spidey runs that guy to the emergency room, then goes home, gets out of his soaked suit, and called Curt Connors, who answers the phone. He was worried he’d be out Lizarding, but he says he’s fine. But, when Peter hangs up, Curt says he can’t ask Spider-Man for help this time, so things are probably gonna go in a familiar direction. Later that night, 2 mob legbreakers get done hassling a guy and are attacked by The Lizard, who incapacitates one and tries to shake the other one down for information. That’s unusual. Later still, Peter is watching TV when he learns that a lizard man has been implicated in no fewer than 5 attacks on criminals around town recently. He tries Connors again, and there’s no answer, so Spider-Man has to go back out in the rain.
Then The Lizard bursts in, but he says he’s Curt’s mind in The Lizard’s body and doesn’t want to fight, then promptly changes back. Over coffee, he relates how his disappearance during Secret Wars was too much for Martha, who packed up Billy and left for awhile to sort things out for herself. And while he was gone, Curt went a little nutty.
I’ve never thought about it, but I guess Curt lost his arm in… World War II? Korea? A conflict he certainly isn’t old enough to have served in, at this point.
Not so good with doors or manners. Spidey heads to the ransom location, and spots the thugs, but then Lizard bursts out of the sewer, slashing one guy and dipping with the other one back down into the sewer. Spider-Man follows, and finds Lizard interrogating his prey. Lizard gets the location his family is being held at out of him, then lets him go. Spidey tries to stop him, but he’s off to save his family. Meanwhile, The Owl is notified that Connors is on his way as The Lizard, and seems pretty ok with that. Spidey arrives at The Owl’s building just in time to catch a goon being thrown out a window, then gets to a window in time to see The Lizard smash through a wall into the room The Owl & his family are in.
Billy looks like a grown man there. Spider-Man says, “Oh, great, now what do I do?” to himself out loud, as superheroes so often did in the old days, and Owl actually hears him, setting off a gun battle, which is pretty funny to me. Our man snatches up Martha & Billy, but then a metal panel slams down over the window he came in. As he stalls for time, The Lizard wakes up, but none of Owl’s goons notice. Owl decides they can get what they want out of The Lizard’s corpse, and tells his goons to kill the others, but then The Lizard and Spidey lock eyes and begin taking the goons apart (After Spidey put down the family).
Sad ending. So Owl is still paralized. I wonder how that got fixed. By far the best filler issue lately. I mean, nothing earth shattering, but well put together and enjoyable. In the letters, someone says Peter & MJ should get married. How convenient! 2 fans also say the Rashomon homage in TAC 121 was “weird,” one calling it the weirdest thing they’ve ever seen in a comic. Seems unlikely, buddy. Also, this:
Some bizarre stuff in the letters lately.