Doesn’t this look fun? Did they learn nothing from him hitting her? Actually, I think they did, I believe the Life of Reilly column revealed they had Sal redraw that hand, which was previously a fist, because they didn’t want this to be too menacing. Sure, that fixed it! Anyways, we got a Tom DeFalco plot scripted by Todd DeZago for Sal Buscema to breakdown and Bill Sienkiewicz to finish and John Kalisz to color. Another team-up by the De’s. Think they called themselves that? Mary Jane is running in terror from Kaine, who says she is about to die. Fun from page one.
Sienkiewicz is really going to town on this stuff. Yes, all a dream, of course. And a little recap. But Peter’s dream, as opposed to the visions Kaine used to have about the same topic. Despite the fact that he just woke up screaming, MJ walks in trying to have a playful conversation about their impending child. She really isn’t reading the room. But she quickly notices he’s sweating and agitated. When he looks in a mirror, he sees The Jackal. What? Why? Because, that’s why. Later, he goes to The Bugle looking for work, but Robbie says he’s too busy right now. Then Angela Yin runs up to say hi, and they’re meeting for the first time, despite her being around for over a year now. She says she’s a big fan of his work, which she calls daring and dramatic…
Switching to Spider-Man, Peter says this isn’t unlike the post-hypnotic suggestions he & Ben were dealing with back before ASM 400, and worries he’s still got some kinda programming going on. Well, this storyline is called “Timebomb,” so probably! Meanwhile, MJ’s at the first day of her new gig modeling maternity clothes. And the client loves it so much he wants to extend her contract through her pregnancy and beyond. Hey, where’d this plot go? Dropped like a bad habit. Spider-Man is flipping through the city worrying and thinking maybe he should talk to Seward Trainer when he gets a headache so intense it takes him out of the sky
Can’t get enough of that Jackal “wit.” So, that’s the story.
Bill knows how to make a scene like that creepy. A barely-in-control Peter tells MJ the Jackal has programmed him to kill her and he can’t fight it anymore. He tells her to hit him with a lamp and run. As she flees, he tells her to contact the FF or the Avengers, but she thinks first of Ben. And since The Scarlet Spider is currently a member of The New Warriors, it turns out she has given them their secret phone number, and she calls them. They don’t know how she got this number, when she explains an evil entity has possessed Spider-Man and he’s trying to kill her, they take that remarkably seriously. She asks for their subway stop and then runs down into the subway, Spider-Man closing in on her. She manages to get on a train before he can grab her. He stands on the platform fighting to control himself, but he’s only able to hold off for a few moments before taking off after her again. MJ worries the FF or the Avengers might have hurt or killed Spider-Man, but thinks Ben might know what to do. I mean, if you’re betting on a team to pacify Spider-Man, I’d go with the pros, but she didn’t ask me.
I’ve talked before about how Sal’s art really lives and dies by its inker. Sinekiewicz might not be as comfortable with Sal’s pencils as he is himself, but they make a great team, especially on a story meant to be creepy and intense. MJ starts running through the train cars, which helps for a little while. Nearby, The Warriors (Sans Scarlet Spider) wonder if they’ve been pranked (Or, as Speedball says, if it was The Jerky Boys recording a new album. Topical) But as MJ rushes off the stopping train, Spider-Man grabs her by the wrist.
Sue Richards would already have Spidey in an impenetrable force field right now, MJ. Just sayin’. And where’s Ben? We shall see next time.