Who’s Spider-Man this week? Dusk!
Johnny really threw himself a softball on this one. It’s still Howard Mackie, John Romita, Jr., Scott Hanna and Gregory Wright on duty for this book. After a splash of Dusk looking at a big billboard for the bounty on Spider-Man, and then an atmospheric page of a guy walking down n alley only to be beset by ninjas, we get started:
Trappy’s not messing around anymore. Trying to turn him into a real villain is so crazy it’s somewhat admirable. Meanwhile, a montage page of Mary Jane helping Peter suit up leads to some unexpected results.
As he switches to his Spidey gear, in direct defiance of the whole gag, they recap the situation at each other. MJ is not happy about this, but he does it anyway.
(Spidey gave him the web sample back in #88)
Later, at the ESU library, Peter tries to apologize for earlier, but MJ is really trying to study for an exam and doesn’t want to do it. Then, as she leaves the library, she trips in the foggy night, only to be kept from falling by the nearly invisible form of Dusk.
Ouch. She’s not wrong, tho. Elsewhere, Trapster is walking down the street, contemplating the life choices that brought him to a life of endlessly running from something, when he gets yoinked into an alley. Dusk says “come with me if you want to live.” People love doing that bit in comics. Trapster doesn’t appreciate being dragged into an alley by an invisible man and starts shooting his goop everywhere, but Dusk is above him, trying to get him to listen to reason. Then he dives Trappy to the ground to save him from an explosion.
Trapster and Shocker are nearly co-stars in this book, at this point. What a bizarre turn of events. Trappy rescues his would be rescuer, complaining the whole time, crawling him up a wall with his glue and solvent powers. But then Shocker blows up the ledge as soon as they get on the roof, so they’re running for it. Explosions follow them as they flee across rooftops, but then they find themselves in front of a giant electronic billboard, which Shocky shatters into a storm of glass.
It looks to me like Romita has Trapster doing something or other in panel 3 and commenting on it in panel 4, but a combination of the lettering and coloring has turned it to Shocker attacking… from his back somehow. While looking surprised. Comics can get weird sometimes.
You might think that’s a cliffhanger, but it’s not necessarily. The next issue could pick up right where it leaves off or be a little later. And given the logistics, I’m happy to let it be later.