Peter David and David Michelinie's early 1980s Spider-Man work

[Mister Mets]

Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man #123
The Black Cat calls Spidey for help when she’s targeted by the Blaze, except he was more of a scam from #103. This new guy’s more dangerous and trying to impress the Foreigner. He takes a hostage, but when she’s killed, Spider-Man is rather upset. This leads him to jump back into a relationship with the Black Cat, although he gets framed for murder by an unusual suspect.
Part of the fun here is seeing the Black Cat interacting with Peter’s life. I like how she handles the frequent of Peter’s attractive neighbors suntanning on his roof, keeping him from being able to enter through the ceiling. She also gets an official introduction to Mary Jane, who is motivated to call fling Alfredo. We also gets hints of the things she’s keeping secret from Peter, like strange new abilities (the claws are kinda similar to what Miguel O’Hara would later have) and he’s able to pick up that she knows more about the Foreigner than she’s willing to admit (a reader of #119 is going to also pick up on that.)
I’m not familiar with Dwayne Turner. His style fits what I’ve seen in the series. It might seem more traditional superhero comics than crime story, but it’s fine.
One of the features of the Spider-Man comics of the time was that Peter would develop relationships with precinct captains over the city. We all know Dewolff’s story. Keating was one of the other cops and this story’s setting up something big.
B+

And that’s it for Peter David as a consistent Spider-Man writer, at least in the bronze/ early modern age. He comes back in a few months for a two-parter with the Foreigner- to resolve the Black Cat and Keating stories, a rather consequential double-sized Amazing Spider-Man fill-in, and then a three part Sin-Eater sequel. He does occasional Web of Spider-Man stories (which I won't cover here), and then his main work on Spider-Man in the 90s is either in prose or Spider-Man 2099.
There were some behind the scenes problems with some of the people at the Spider-Man offices angry that he was hired to do creative work when he was initially in advertising. It’s a shame that they made these decisions decades ago out of pique that compromised the quality of the Spider-Man comics.

We got some good stuff out of it, but it could have been better. It had to be annoying for regular readers to have so many fill-ins, although Peter David’s able to make it work, with a sense that Spider-Man’s adventures in other titles count, and that Peter’s been mulling over things while there.

I’ll also review two of David Michelinie’s other issues of Marvel Team-Up.



Marvel Team Up #142
It’s set shortly after Secret Wars, so Spider-Man is back with a brand new costume and making cryptic messages about what he was up to in outer space to convince kids to buy a toy line tie-in. David Michelinie may end up being the most significant writer of the alien costume, although that’s not necessarily apparent at this point.
Spider-Man and Captain Marvel face the same opponents: thieves with the ability to vanish into thin air, who were trying to get special equipment that would help a philanthropist with his plan to reduce overpopulation: make a billion people vanish.
The story’s fine. The main highlight is Paulson’s confidence that he’s right, which does make him different from the usual supervillain, and gets to something I like about Michelinie: the bad guys don't see themselves as bad guys, even when they're doing something absurd. And I like a scene where Peter commiserates with a Daily Bugle veteran.
B



Marvel Team Up #143
In the aftermath of the previous issue, Captain Marvel has been transformed into a being of pure light. Fellow Avenger Starfox figures out a way to help her, volunteering to go with Spider-Man to another dimension where women do all the fighting and the evil Willkiller has taken control of a device that can help Captain Marvel, but it may have consequences in their world.
I’ve seen Greg Larocque’s work before, and I’m getting a sense that he’s in a similar school of artists as Jerry Ordway, Alan Davis and Bryan Bolland, detailed but expressive. He handles a fantasy-style conflict pretty well. I like how Spidey is humbled on a planet where men aren’t as respected (although Starfox certainly makes do) and his sense that he’s getting volunteered for stuff he didn’t quite agree to.
B

Peter David and David Michelinie have similar sensibilities, and I hadn’t really considered whether Michelinie was one of PAD’s influences. I’ve always figured Peter David was an earlier Spider-man writer, but Michelinie tackled the character first- even if mainly as a guest writer also incidentally several years into his acclaimed Iron Man run, which was probably Marvel’s best-reviewed solo title at the time. It could also just be that they just have similar influences. It seems appropriate that they’re connected by working on the character at the same time, and by the Death of Jean Dewolff tying into Venom’s origin.

A comment about Hill Street Blues in Marvel Team-Up was telling, since that was a big part of Peter David’s vibe for his later run on Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man.

I’ll also tackle some work by Jim Owsley, who was the editor of the line, since he suddenly tackles some major comics, and I wouldn’t otherwise find an excuse to cover it (maybe a DeFalco reread.) It also lets me cover the Honeymoon annual in this thread.

So next up is Gang War.

[Mister Mets]

We’re now going to be in a weird stretch when a lot of Spider-Man content is written by editor James Owsley, who will develop a pretty good reputation as a comics writer in the late 90s when he’s better known as Priest (I’m covering his Black Panther run in another thread.)

Weirdly, the stories were published out of order. Spider-Man VS Wolverine was released before Gang War. The story in which Peter proposes to Mary Jane is published after the story in which he breaks up with the Black Cat.

Peter David makes some big decisions about the Hobgoblin’s identity, which necessitate two issues of Web of Spider-Man to tie up loose ends. All of this is at the same time David Michelinie joins Amazing Spider-Man.

And then everyone’s going to take three months off for Kraven’s Last Hunt and the Mad Dog Ward.

Amazing Spider-Man #284-288
The long simmering crime war explodes. Kingpin’s disappearance leads the Rose (working with the Hobgoblin) into conflict with the Arranger (Kingpin’s #2- boss of Jack O’Lantern), Hammerhead, Silvermane, a new gang called the blue boys and the Punisher. Peter Parker’s been ready to quit as Spider-Man for some time, and a war between criminals might just do it. Richard Fisk is back in town officially to check in on his ailing mother, although he meets a girl and is revealed to have a bigger role in the conflict.
This was a chaotic time for Marvel. The issue after this is the Hobgoblin reveal. The issue after that is the proposal. This five-parter, one of the longest Spider-Man stories to date; tied with Len Wein’s Green Goblin saga, was supposed to be the culmination of Tom DeFalco’s run on Amazing Spider-Man, but he got fired. So editor James Owsley took over, incorporating other elements from Marvel, like characters from his Falcon mini-series, Punisher’s earlier conflict against the Kingpin and the aftermath of possibly the best Marvel comic ever- Daredevil: Born Again. The other spider-titles are relevant, as we learn that Kingpin’s effort to burn down Hells Kitchen occurred while Spidey was in Appalachia, and Keating’s mystery continues.

I did not like this story. There are some moments that just seemed stupid. I don’t think Peter should ever have believed that Flash was the Hobgoblin. What appears to be the Kingpin turns out to be someone in a fat suit. The pacing on the Rose’s story is a bit weird, with a casual reveal of the secret identity and scenes where he’s suddenly dressed differently which seem to be meant to get the reader to wonder if this is a new character (he looks a lot like Matt Murdock.) I don’t really buy the romance either, especially once she’s aware that he’s in organized crime. Alfredo, a friend of the Rose, is introduced clumsily and becomes a major character in the saga. Matt Murdock is unnecessarily abrasive telling Peter to avoid the conflict, and Peter responds in outrageous fashion, destroying a taxi door because the cabbie won’t let him out in the middle of a parkway.
Some details are okay. The Hobgoblin and Jack O’Lantern both have moments of cowardice when they get into fights that are more dangerous than expected (it was a cool moment when the Hobgoblin thought he was going to ambush Spider-Man, but got shot by the Punisher.) A transformative moment for the Rose lands.

The issue by Ron Frenz looks great. Most of the pencils are by Alan Kupperberg, who is fine. Erik Larsen draws the fourth issue, and it’s stylistically rather different (his pencils are also looser than when he has a regular run years later.)
These stories are interesting in the context of arguments about what Spider-Man comics were supposed to be after One More Day. I think a big part of the reaction was that readers familiar with the older comics and various untold tales were taken aback by seeing a PG-13 single Peter Parker, but we do get hints of it here, with Black Cat & MJ trying to give Peter breakfast in bed, MJ checking in on him change and his general temper. Tonally, there’s something off with the story, which swings from mature to just dumb.
This was promising, but it’s an unfocused mess and a near-tragic lost opportunity. If DeFalco hadn’t been fired, this could have been the story where all the seeds he’s planted take root.
D

[Mister Mets]

Spider-Man Versus Wolverine
Charlie, a former associate of Wolverine’s, has made some enemies in Berlin during the Cold War. Ned Leeds wants to go investigate a related story and he wants a photographer who isn’t too scared of bullets. So Peter is sent along with him. Unfortunately, Peter has decided to stop being Spider-Man (It’s been a theme of the books up until this point that he’s ready to hang it all up) after a series of murders he was unable to stop, and won’t even have a costume. Wolverine advises him that he’s in over his head, but when Peter goes to suggest to Ned Leeds that they should return to the US, it’s already too late. He’s dead.
The whole point of Web of Spider-Man was to take Peter Parker out of New York City, so it kinda seems like this should have been a three part arc of that title. It would have been the best, because this story is really good at taking Peter out of his element and into a situation that is much darker than he’s used to, really pushing him to the limits and forcing him to make difficult decisions. Especially when he realizes that Charlie wants Wolverine to make help commit suicide.

Owsley has a great sense of Spider-Man’s voice, especially the difference between the typical snappy patter and what else he’s thinking about. There are details that really land; I think this is the first comic that suggested that there may be more to how Peter got his powers than just a random radioactive spider. And Peter’s conflicted relationship with MJ is handled well.
Mark Bright was known much more for his work outside of Spider-Man, but he handles the espionage, superhero scenes and Peter Parker scenes very well. He’s more than a solid storyteller.

This remains one of my favorite Spider-Man stories ever.
A+

[exile001]

I've never liked Spider-Man Versus Wolverine.

To me, the whole thing likes forcing a square peg into a round hole. Nothing really works or feels natural for Spidey/Peter. The death of Ned is terribly done, especially for the importance (or at least tenure) the character had. It also screwed over a major story at the time.

It kind of signals the nadir of a particular type of Spider-Man story that ran through the 80's and I find kind of dull and a little unpleasant.

Obviously, the ending is a travesty and should never have been okayed.

I'm not a Wolverine fan, never have been, so solely care about this as a Spider-Man piece and really feels it fails him in most regards.

[Mister Mets]

Amazing Spider-Man #289
Spider-Man first fought the Hobgoblin fifty issues earlier. Betty Brant had seen the Hobgoblin unmasked and went into shock in the previous Hobgoblin story. So it was definitely time to resolve the mystery even with David Michelinie coming on board in the next issue to take the series in a new direction.
It’s difficult to remove this from what I know of the context. I know it was a mess behind the scenes which is why Peter David was brought in to tell the big story. He had a lot of freedom to do it whatever way he wanted, which is why he went with the unconventional revelation that the Hobgoblin was really a supporting character who had just been killed off. The stetcons (I’m going with Peter David’s own term for a retcon of a retcon in ‘The Hobgoblin Lives’) retroactively make this go down a little bit better.

Ned Leeds’ body is delivered from Berlin. His widow Betty is in shock. Peter Parker feels guilty for not being able to save Ned. The Kingpin has learned that the Hobgoblin was murdered by the Foreigner, and sends a message to Spider-Man. Flash Thompson is so miserable he’s unable to turn himself in to police. And a new Hobgoblin targets the Rose.
I’m conflicted on this story. Some parts of it are dumb and cliched. The Kingpin murders an underling who betrayed him to the Rose in a generic scene we’ve seen before where the big bad villain does something nasty just to remind people he’s the big bad villain who does nasty things every now and then. And Spider-Man’s in the next room, which makes it all careless. There’s another scene where the Macendale Hobgoblin kills some of Rose’s henchmen, which does get to a question of why anyone who wants to work for a supervillain in organized crime. There’s some decent stories about the minor career criminals who get jobs working for different bad guys, but here they’re dropping like flies.
The Macendale Hobgoblin is the first goblin who is obviously a B-lister. He pops up again in the Spider-Man comics, but they never settle into much of an identity for him. It does fit the cynical world the villains live in to have an A-lister dispatched by hitmen sent by someone else, and it makes sense for that person not to be as effective at it and for the Kingpin to recognize it. I alternate from thinking the story makes sense to thinking they’re lampshading the flaws.
Kupperberg’s art is okay. He especially delivers on the iconic moment of an unmasked Ned Leeds taken by surprise, and depicts a creepy Hobgoblin.
The story comes together with Flash saving Spider-Man from the Hobgoblin, inspiring Peter to keep Spidey and resolving the subplot about him being ready to give it all up. And the next issue he’s going to make a big decision, and his mindset in this issue does fit that.
I can’t say it’s a good comic, but it’s an important one with some good moments. And the bad stuff’s been retconned.
B-

Web of Spider-Man #29

Richard Fisk is tying up some loose ends after the death of Ned Leeds, who he’s been working with. We see his perspective of the Macendale Hobgoblin’s attack in Amazing Spider-Man #289. Peter wants someone to talk to after the recent traumas, but Black Cat’s unavailable, it may be too much for MJ, and Daredevil’s been a jerk. Mutual Leeds/ Rose friend Alfredo gets the attention of bad people, while Wolverine wants to chat with Spidey about events in Berlin.
It’s chaotic to have an epilogue to one story set during the events of another. The whole story just seems indulgent. And Alfredo is just such an annoying character, whose presence in the larger plot just seems unearned. There’s some good moments, but it all just seems so perfunctory.
C

[HypnoHustler]

‘Web of Spider-Man’ was always a perfunctory book in general. That said, I kinda liked Rose’s backstory with how he linked up with Alfredo and Ned Leeds slowly went nuts on him (that could be the following issue though).

[Mister Mets]

‘Web of Spider-Man’ was always a perfunctory book in general. That said, I kinda liked Rose’s backstory with how he linked up with Alfredo and Ned Leeds slowly went nuts on him (that could be the following issue though).

They had been trying to give Web its own identity as the series where Peter leaves New York City, but around this time it shifted to just another satellite title. And then there was the time Gerry Conway was writing Web and Spectacular so you pretty much had to follow both titles to make sense of his storylines.



The origin story was next issue.

Web of Spider-Man #30
We get the backstory of Richard Fisk, and how he and Alfredo, became friends with future Hobgoblin Ned Leeds. Ned reveals himself as the Hobgoblin, inspiring Fisk to work with him as the Rose.
This story has to connect plot threads from Stern’s original Hobgoblin story, the introduction of the Rose and his alliance with the Hobgoblin in DeFalco’s run and the Kingpin saga from Frank Miller’s Daredevil/ Born Again and the Love & Death one-shot. And it tries to give it all a sense of tragedy. And it just feels unearned. Maybe if it all had planned from the beginning, it would have worked.
D



Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man #128-129
Peter tells the Black Cat just what the Foreigner’s been up to, and she’s not happy. J. Jonah Jameson hires Silver Sable to go after Spider-Man, now that he’s credibly accused of murder after Keating framed him. Stan Carter’s out of jail and thinks there’s something suspicious about all of this. Betty Brant refuses to accept that Ned is dead, and a seriously injured Flash tries to help her. After a showdown with the Wild pack, Peter overhears a conversation between Felicia and the Foreigner that indicates she’s playing him for a sucker.

There are some decent details. I like a fired SHIELD agent from an earlier story returning as an angry member of the Wild Pack. Spider-Man musing about other superhero names has some decent payoff with a joke when he gets attacked. Felicia’s call to policty that Spider-Man broke in and is trying to kill her boyfriend is a decent complication.
The story seems meaningful. It feels like Peter’s ready to make a major change to his life (and the proposal issues of Amazing Spider-Man are coming out at the same time.) And it plays fair with Felica, who has her own agenda rather than betraying Spider-Man for the Foreigner.
I don’t like the Foreigner that much. His stature seems unearned (I have similar complaints about Alfredo) but I do like that he’s Silver Sable’s ex.
Alan Kupperberg’s art seems strange and plastic at times.
B+

[HypnoHustler]

Wait, was Black Cat sleeping with the Foreigner in order to set him up? I read a lot of these issues but I must’ve memory-holed that. Probably wouldn’t fly today.