USM 107

USM 106 & 107 represent Bags’ last month with 2 issues. And more or less the end of the practice for the title. It’ll ship 2 issues in a coupe of months in the near future, and then a specific event will prompt them to do it some more in the future, but for the most part, this title returns to a monthly schedule. Look at Justin Ponsor getting his name on the cover! This was starting to become a thing in this period. And why not? The colorist is pulling a lot more weight than when Stan elected not to credit them in the 60s, and that will only be more and more true. Well, inside, Kitty is officially a member of the class, because she has “parted ways” with the X-Men (I don’t remember what that means, tho I think was reading UXM still). After she’s directed to sit behind MJ (Awkward), Kong and Flash have a million questions, and demand to see how her powers work.

Liz is racist against mutants, we’ll recall. Also Kong seems to have lost a lot of weight since we last saw him.

Samsunk! Later, Peter & MJ find Kitty brooding on the bleachers, where they normally hang out. Peter says he’ll go talk to her. MJ says he better not be mean, but he doesn’t know why she’d suggest that. She asks if he told Kitty to transfer here, which he finds preposterous since he doesn’t even like it here. Then he goes to talk to her.

Heck of a stinger in that last panel. Poor Kitty She didn’t deserve this. She wandered into somebody else’s storyline. The awkwardness, and Peter’s terrible handling of it, is very authentic. Later, Peter is sitting with the unconscious May, thinking about how Kitty was right about what a jerk he is, and also thinking about how he can’t help wanting to go see what Daredevil was talking about. And so, he does. He describes himself as the textbook definition of someone looking for trouble as he heads to the meeting spot.

Moon Knight’s response there is so great. Oh man. I loved that bit so much at the time, and still do. DD makes his pitch to kill Kingpin, and Spider-Man rightly points out someone else would just take his place. DD says they killed Hitler, and that was the end of the Third Reich. Which is a pretty dumb rejoinder, but it’s all he’s got. Spidey says, rather comically, that if they do go through with this, he will go to Nick Fury and tell on them. That he will not allow this.