Uh… what? Are Joy & Peter not going to Ireland? Hm, maybe this is a fill-in. The creative team certainly suggests it. We got Larry Lieber hopping in to write and draw this month, with Vince Colletta inking and Bob Sharen on colors. I’ve often wondered why Larry’s profile didn’t rise when Stan gave up control of Marvel. Larry has had some choice words to say about his brother’s attitude toward him and his work over the years, and I’m sure Larry’s work at other companies (Particularly Atlas/Seaboard) didn’t help that relationship, but he’s still an OG Marvel guy, co-creator of Iron Man and Thor, and the rare writer/artist of his era. Seems like late 70s, early 80s, all the Marvel fans who inherited the company would’ve thrown a million jobs at him. Maybe he didn’t want them, I dunno. Anyway, Pete & Joy are going to Ireland, but this whole issue is a flashback.
And with that, we’re off to the unspecified-but-recent past, as a red & blue suited Spider-Man sees a mugging, but instead of stopping it, tells the goons to give him his cut at the end of the month and takes off.
The ol’ suction cup gag. Like it’s that easy to climb a brick wall.
So… was Peter just sick, like, the day before they left? All this continuity seems surprising in a story like this. The fake Spidey steals some jewels and hangs around to make sure the cops see him, and even drops a necklace to make sure they don’t think he was chasing the real robber before climbing away. His buddy has some kinda rope gun he shoots to fake Spidey, who swings to another roof, changes to regular clothes, and leaves with his friend. Later, mayor Ed Koch worries that Spider-Man may be only the first costumed hero to go bad, and elsewhere, JJJ is crowing that he was right all along to Robbie, who, as usual, isn’t so sure. And back at Chelsea St., Peter & MJ hear about all his alleged misdeeds on the news.
The fake Spidey gang prepare their next stunt as the real Spidey swings away from a worried Mary Jane.
That’s pretty funny. The cops make it up on the roof in record time, and our beleaguered hero can barely escape them. His cold seems to be messing with his Spider Sense. But he’s still able to track the fake Spidey visually, and catches him changing in an alley with his buddy. He decided to follow them. He almost falls to his doom trying, but he follows them back to their apartment, and then… takes a nap, hoping he’ll feel better and can get them in a little while, which is, again, pretty funny.
A flashback within a flashback! Spidey compares what happened to The Corbetts’ dad to when Sin-Eater shot into a crowd during their fight in TAC 108, and feels bad about it. But he knows this can’t go on, and when he sees evidence of their next gag, he’s even more certain. They’re off to hijack a car of the Roosevelt Island Tram. Fake Spider-Man stops the car in mid-air and “takes a hostage,” secretly his brother, forcing him up onto the roof of the tram as police helicopters arrive. He announces either the city gives him one million dollars in an hour, or he’ll burn the cables holding up the tram with the blowtorch he brought and leave them all to die. Koch won’t negotiate, JJJ hears about it and grabs a taxi, and Spidey himself is on his way when some cops spot him and start shooting. He manages to escape them and swings on over to the scene.
Well, then. All’s well that ends sort-of-well. And we even end on a cliffhanger back in the present, which I’ll be surprised if the next issue picks up on. But we’ll see. For a fill-in, a fine job by Leiber and Co.