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

[Mister Mets]

Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man #117
Peter Parker is missing as a result of events in Web of Spider-Man. The Black Cat tries to pay Doctor Strange a visit. Alex, the super-powered kid, is still on the run after accidentally killing his father. Things are awkward at the Robertson residence because Randy got married to a white girl without telling his parents. The Black Cat also has a confrontation with the Foreigner. All of these stories intersect through an accidental power outage.
I like the idea of occasional issues where we see what’s going on with ongoing subplots, but Peter Parker’s mostly missing. He doesn’t have to be believed dead for that to work. I know Bendis would have occasional spotlights on side-characters, like Aunt May visiting a psychiatrist, and that Geoff Johns had a gimmick in the Flash (20+ years ago at this point) of spotlight issues on bad guys once or twice a year.
I don’t really care for the Black Cat’s new costume, although there is a good reveal about it. The developments with Foreigner are more intriguing, and changes to her powers have potential. The Robertson story is relatively lightweight, in that these are complex discussions within a family that have to be conveyed in about four pages in a comic book. Some smaller moments work, like a near-accident with a dart and a twist with a heimlich maneuver. I am sold on Alex’s story, which takes some dark twists, with black humor and pedophiles who get turned into ash.
B+



Web of Spider-Man #18
Peter arrives at Mary Jane’s doorstep after disappearing for a few days, and explains what he’s been up to since his encounter with Magma. Part of the answer is simple: his costume was torn, and his webshooters were damaged, so he had to find his way from Rural Appalachia. He gets arrested stealing a blueberry pie, and a corrupt sheriff sends him to a rich man who hunts vagrants for sport.
Some specific aspects of the problem work. It makes sense that Peter will be sleep-deprived if sent to jail, because his spider-sense will go haywire. In 1986, it would be hard for Peter to get help if he has no ID and barely any clothes. It also makes sense that all of Peter’s practice with webbing means he can use mud rather well.
Some parts just don’t work. I get bothered by absurd coincidences, and Peter getting targeted by an insane rich murderer is too much. And I get that it’s easier to get a hold of people now, but I think Peter could have done more in the middle of nowhere (IE- if he could get into a place with a phone, he could call home.)
It seems a distinguishing feature of Silvestri’s art is that he’s willing to draw Peter without any clothes.
The cliffhanger is important, kicking off a long-running subplot of a menacing villain who can attack Peter without triggering his spider-sense.
B



Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man #118
Alex is still on the run after gaining superpowers and accidentally incinerating his dad. His teacher gets in touch with Peter to see if Spider-Man can help find Alex. Alex has an encounter with cops who confuse him for a mutant, which leads to overzealous SHIELD agents and Mandroids chasing down a kid.
Mike Zeck provides the breakdowns, with finishes by Bob McLeod and letterer Rick Parker. The reason I mention the art team is that they’re also responsible for Kraven’s Last Hunt. They’re fine here, although the work seems a bit cartoonier.
This is an interesting dilemma for Spider-Man, dealing with authorities who seem to be going way too far, but maybe a kid this dangerous should be taken out before he kills anyone else. There are some good character moments like Peter not correcting the teacher’s memory of meeting him and Spider-Man at the same time. Alex is believable as a kid who is in way over his head. The ending is sudden, but it does land.
A-

Alex’s story seems to come to an end here, but there’s a different conclusion in the pages of the Incredible Hulk, where Alex is illustrated by Todd McFarlane.

[comictimes]

I wonder whether he got much flak over the resolution of Alex's story or he developed a guilty conscience. In any case, it was his character.

[K7P5V]

It's weird seeing early appearances of Sabretooth before he became a Wolverine villain.

I know, right?! Along with easily getting beaten whenever he met Felicia. Even Logan never had it this easy...

[Mister Mets]

Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man #119
Spider-Man’s not feeling a hundred percent after suffering a concussion. Sabertooth escapes from a hospital, wanting revenge against Spider-Man. And with his sense of smell, he tracks the wall-crawler to Peter’s apartment where a party’s going on. The Black Cat decides to take him on, and a weakened Peter Parker realizes he’s going to have to go and save her, as Mary Jane struggles with what it means to be close to someone who risks his life over a hobby (her words.)
This issue really has Lee/ Romita vibes. There’s drama in Peter’s personal life, as he’s not quite over the Black Cat, but realizing that MJ’s into him. There’s a party at his apartment, which brings together multiple characters, so Harry Osborn and Liz can make an appearance, along with the Robertsons, and Peter realizes that his neighbor’s- a minor supporting character- lying about something big. A villain returns after a defeat two issues earlier kinda like Kraven in Amazing Spider-Man #49 or Rhino in Amazing Spider-Man #43. The resolution occurs in a way that isn’t cliched. There’s also something about Buckler and McLeod’s Peter that seems John Romita-like.

I don’t know if it’s intentional. There is a difference this time, because Peter’s no longer in college, so one of his friends just got married, a married couple has an infant and it’s a mix of people who don’t know him very well and who have been with him through multiple tragedies. This time, someone in his life knows his secret, so Mary Jane’s realizing what his life is like, and he’s realizing that she’s going to process his charming stories about the Rhino dropping a ferris wheel on him (Amazing Spider-Man #281- the concussion is understandable) differently than he would.
It’s been noted that Sabertooth is different here than we’re used to. He’s tough, but he’s not someone you can imagine holding off the Hulk. In fairness, the Black Cat did get a power boost lately and Sabertooth is still recovering from serious injuries.
A

Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #6
Ace returns, which may be the first time a new villain appeared in two consecutive annuals. Ace is testifying against his brother and the Reapers, a local gang, which upsets some of the other members. Child Protection Services want to send his sister to a foster home. Peter goes to the trial, and when Ace refuses to follow legal niceties, it leads to a rematch between him and Spider-Man.
There are cute scenes. I like Peter dreaming about validation for Spider-Man, and there’s an entire off-panel fight scene that doesn’t seem lazy because Peter’s camera malfunctioned so Spider-Man readers get to see as much of the showdown as the Daily Bugle readers.

This issue feels a bit off in the beginning. Peter doesn’t have much of a story for the first half- he dreams about a fight with Ace, and helps Aunt May at a garage sale, although it gets him in the head-space where he’s looking forward to a rematch, and then realizes that Ace did something impressive. One odd minor detail is the editor felt the need to make a note that “joint” is slang for prison.
And it just seems like a mess by the end. The pacing and storytelling feels a bit off. Part of it may be Mark Beachum- I haven’t paid much attention to him before, and he’s just not one of my favorite Spider-Man artists- he seems better suited to a story without costumes and superpowers, although in that context he seems undisciplined. It kinda works at times with Spider-Man in a situation he doesn’t understand, facing someone with an entirely different background and culture. Looking at this 35+ years later it doesn't feel very authentic, but I'm sure it was bold at the time.
C+

[Mister Mets]

Only last year did I finally realize that I was pronouncing "Michelinie" the wrong way. I feel so ashamed. I have a question, does the supporting cast feel richer and more substantial than current Spider books?

How do you pronounce it?

Can't see why Marvel can't make ASM a monthly series once again. In addition, Marvel really should hire Chris Claremont as the series writer. Do you agree?

I think I'm going to make a thread about his Marvel Team-Up run. That was a massive blindspot for me as a comics fan.

New York is rough as hell. Spidey needs to start breaking bones like he does in the PS4 game.

It was crazy pre-Giuliani.

And then they retroactively turned him into a Wolverine villain (X-Men #212).

From my understanding, there were plans for that years earlier.

He was introduced in Claremont and Byrne's run on Iron Fist.

And there were plans for a story in the Claremont/ Byrne Uncanny X-Men run, where he would kill Wolverine's girlfriend and set off a berserker rage.

this was mostly the black suit era right? was pretty good overall based on my enjoyment

It's odd how they handled it.

So earlier Spidey would alternate between the red & blue suit, and the black costume.

And then they used the Magma story to destroy the red & blue suit (and let Marc Silvestri draw a Peter Parker who was pretty much naked- that seems to be a trend in his issues.)

[kcekada]

I don't know if it was ever spell out, but when Dr. Strange subverted Felicia's probability powers, it somehow gave her a new power. When her Adrenalin kicked in, her normal abilities increased to superhuman levels. Later, she lost all of her powers in a machine, and later still, I guess she got the bad luck power back -- without the negative side effects on her loved ones.

Did Jed McKay ever address all of this in his run?

[comictimes]

I know, right?! Along with easily getting beaten whenever he met Felicia. Even Logan never had it this easy...

Reading it back then, I didn't get the impression it was weird. Her bad luck powers really worked for a time.

[Mister Mets]

Web of Spider-Man #19
This is probably my favorite issue of Michelinie’s run on Web. Spider-Man’s looking for a fight to test his spider-sense after an unsettling earlier incident where someone pushed Peter Parker onto Subway tracks, without triggering his spider-sense (It later turns out to be Venom.) He gets it with thieves stealing from the waterfront, intimidating new villain Humbug. Another new figure Solo starts targeting terrorists. Peter is commissioned by the Daily Bugle to go to Ireland, so he finally has some money to treat Aunt May, even if he also has to take care of the passport office. But Humbug causes a new mess.
It’s a solid Parker luck story, where some good things happen to Peter, but he also deals with nuisances. Humbug isn’t meant to be an A-lister, and it’s a change of pace in between a story where Peter was believed dead in Appalachia and he encounters IRA terrorists in Belfast. Future superstar Silvestri shows that he can handle funny material. And Humbug's powers are relatively well-realized, like when he essentially tickles officers in a bank robber. I also like the idea of Spider-Man checking if his powers still work in a fight with thieves.
Weirdly, Solo pops up for a page (he's mentioned on the cover) and then doesn’t appear again for a few years. I suspect that had something to do with the Ireland story, where he would be a perfect fit, being hastily rewritten. An anti-terrorist vigilante with a teleporter is an okay gimmick.
A



Web of Spider-Man #20
Peter and Joy go to London, where they witness an encounter between armed terrorists and authorities.
There are some moments I like, such as Peter’s complicated efforts to get his webshooters past airport security, and how this means that it’ll take him longer to get in action. This story takes Spider-Man out of his element, and pushes him to consider questions he hasn’t had to deal with in New York. I also like it when he’s trying to find an excuse to change into Spider-Man, and Joy tells him to get out of public view to get better photos.
There are some moments that just seem weird, like Joy asking an agent in a firefight for an interview. I get that she’s an exaggerated character, but even Lois Lane wouldn’t be that reckless. I also don’t get a sense of what Peter’s up to as Spider-Man, given the risk that his identity will come out if Spider-Man follows Peter to Ireland. There’s a line where he talks about how he can’t risk other peoples’ lives for the sake of his identity, but he could be so much smarter about it.
The art’s fine, although it feels a bit generic in the depiction of London.
B-

Web of Spider-Man #21 is a fill-in by Larry Leiber, where Peter remembers an encounter Spider-Man had while traveling with Joy.

Web #22 is written by Lem Kaminski over Jim Shooter’s plot, but I’m covering it here since it does conclude the Ireland story.
Brian Cronin had a piece on the behind the scenes mess a few years back, and how it led to bomb threats.
https://www.cbr.com/spider-man-web-f...e-bomb-threat/

Web of Spider-Man #22

Peter and Joy head to Belfast, where they immediately get caught in a firefight. Joy is suspicious that Roxxon may have some connection to terrorism, and she helps Liam, a young man who has his own interests in the conflict since his brother’s disappearance. Peter, Joy and Liam are taken by masked terrorists to a Roxxon higher-up who confesses to all of the crimes, working with a corrupt British agent. And Liam discovers one more secret.
Connecting everything to Roxxon kinda makes sense, given their role in an earlier arc, but it doesn’t play fair with what we learned about the terrorists in Web #21. The story also feels kinda repetitive, and I just didn’t care for the villain’s monologue moment. I get that Marvel had different reasons for finishing the story quickly without blaming the IRA. Liam’s story is interesting, and I do like that Peter takes the time to call Aunt May.
C+

[Mister Mets]

I don't know if it was ever spell out, but when Dr. Strange subverted Felicia's probability powers, it somehow gave her a new power. When her Adrenalin kicked in, her normal abilities increased to superhuman levels. Later, she lost all of her powers in a machine, and later still, I guess she got the bad luck power back -- without the negative side effects on her loved ones.

Did Jed McKay ever address all of this in his run?

They did spell it out. Or at least they had Dr Strange mention that her powers have been altered. So it makes sense for that to be enough for her to defeat Sabertooth,

I think Dr Strange popped up in McKay's Black Cat run- I was thinking about how a lot of the stories were about her interacting with the rest of the Marvel Universe, and that she seemed more comfortable in that context than against Dr Strange, although it makes sense that she'd more effective a few years later.

Reading it back then, I didn't get the impression it was weird. Her bad luck powers really worked for a time.

It makes sense in context.

At the time, Sabertooth was an Iron Fist bad guy. He hadn't even had a multi-part story yet.

His appearances in this title were a few months before Uncanny X-Men #212-213 set him up as Wolverine enemy, so this story came at an interesting time, elevating him to B-list before Mutant Massacre made him A-list.

[HypnoHustler]

Great series as usual.

The IRA scaring Marvel enough to make them seriously alter the story is pretty interesting stuff. Can’t say I blame them.

[comictimes]

They did spell it out. Or at least they had Dr Strange mention that her powers have been altered. So it makes sense for that to be enough for her to defeat Sabertooth,

I think Dr Strange popped up in McKay's Black Cat run- I was thinking about how a lot of the stories were about her interacting with the rest of the Marvel Universe, and that she seemed more comfortable in that context than against Dr Strange, although it makes sense that she'd more effective a few years later.


It makes sense in context.

At the time, Sabertooth was an Iron Fist bad guy. He hadn't even had a multi-part story yet.

His appearances in this title were a few months before Uncanny X-Men #212-213 set him up as Wolverine enemy, so this story came at an interesting time, elevating him to B-list before Mutant Massacre made him A-list.

I wouldn't say he was C-list before PAD.

[exile001]

With some exceptions, I've never really been a fan of the art style shown in this era. There's something very... bland about it? I'm not sure exactly how to describe it. It's weirdly boring to look at for me.

[HypnoHustler]

With some exceptions, I've never really been a fan of the art style shown in this era. There's something very... bland about it? I'm not sure exactly how to describe it. It's weirdly boring to look at for me.

The first thing I notice is the colors are muted. Maybe the quality of the paper stock wasn’t as good during this time. And sure, the art style isn’t very dynamic in general. It’d be a few years before Todd McFarlane and Jim Lee came on to the scene and revolutionized everything.

[Mister Mets]

Web of Spider-Man #23
On the airplane back from Ireland, Joy tells Peter he’s not cut out to be a photographer. The slippery Slyde causes trouble, and Aunt May invites Peter to Atlantic City.
Lem Kaminski writes the story over Michelinie’s plot. The story seems a bit unfocused, but it’s not bad. It’s fun to see Spidey have hijinks with an annoying villain like Slyde, who isn’t too dangerous but poses a challenge of a different sort.
Given what happened in the previous story, I don’t think Joy is obviously wrong to call out Peter. This does resolve a problem I had with Spider-Man showing up in Ireland, and it makes sense that Joy would think Peter called him, especially since it’s been an open secret since Amazing Spider-Man #87 that Peter and Spider-Man have a financial deal. It comes across as the type of thing that people talk about behind Peter’s back.

An ad by Silver Sable reveals that this issue was set before Peter’s encounter with the Sinister Syndicate in Amazing Spider-Man #281, which means that it’s set before Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man #119, as is presumably the next issue.
B



Web of Spider-Man #24
Peter joins Aunt May and some of her friends in Atlantic City, where the Vulture is causing trouble.
The Vulture story is generic, but two new additions elevate it. Venom has a cameo, attacking Peter, which sets up Venom as a new type of bad guy. The Hobgoblin also attacks.
I like the idea of Peter hanging out with Aunt May and her friends, and getting annoyed at her taste in entertainment, while also needing to ditch her when he sees the Vulture flying in the sky. While weird coincidences are a pet peeve, I buy it in this case, because this is Peter’s spider sense getting him into a situation someone else wouldn’t notice. And it makes sense for bad guys who figure into the Gang War story in Amazing Spider-Man to be in Atlantic City; they only get involved when Spider-Man gets into a very public fight with a supervillain.
B

[Mister Mets]

Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man #121
It’s a riff on Rashomon as Peter, Mary Jane and Jonah have different recollections of a bank robbery. It starts off with MJ’s version, as she flatters Jonah and tries to avoid revealing too much about why Spider-Man popped up. Jonah remembers it a bit differently. Peter has a choice between embarrassing his boss by telling the truth, and doing what’s best for his career and ability to keep refilling his webshooters.
It’s funny. There are easy jokes with characters coming up with flattering versions of events, especially with Jonah’s version of the story and Robbie’s realization that a guy who is trying to smoke pretzel sticks may have had a few drinks. It says something about the characters, especially Mary Jane’s willingness to finesse the truth to get to the best outcome. And the reality of the lunatic bank robber is a good moment. This story also highlights something special about Spider-Man, with all the personal sacrifices he makes to be an effective superhero; he struggles for his bills because he has to pay for things like webbing.
The issue has work by multiple artists John Romita Sr, John Buscema, Mark Texeira which gives a variety to the different renditions of the story. Given the names involved, you might expect something a bit more impressive, but it’s solid.
B+



Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man #122
Peter Parker finds an abandoned baby in a dumpster, after an altercation with an angry Irishman claiming to be the dad. When Spider-Man brings a baby to a hospital, the public’s interested. Then it turns out dear old dad is the Mauler, a soldier of fortune who now has more to lose than ever before, and wants his kid back. And he doesn’t care who gets hurt in the process.
There are some decent gags, like Peter casually webbing a pickpocket’s hands to a woman’s purse, or his enemy thinking that Spider-Man saved his kid from the nasty Peter Parker.
But this story also says something meaningful. Spider-Man is pushed pretty hard here; not so hard that it seems unreasonable, but definitely more than in a typical single issue story. The bystanders have personalities, from a nurse explaining why she lied to a doctor realizing that he may have live to up to his claim that he can deliver a baby in darkness, a cop deciding he doesn’t have to do what Spider-Man says or a cancer victim deciding that he’s not willing to be used as a hostage. The hospital setting is used pretty well, especially Spider-Man’s discomfort when a fight goes to the morgue.
A

The Mauler appears again a few times, and this may get to something I’ve been thinking about with these older comics. You have follow-ups to something that happened thirty years earlier, and I wonder if it’s really needed. In fairness, he was an Iron Man villain created by David Michelinie, so it made sense to bring him back as one of multiple enemies in an arc by Matt Fraction. Apparently, his kid dies in a car accident, and he tackles Hyperion in an Al Ewing/ Dale Keown Avengers issue, which gives this a sour taste but may lead to a good comic by a good creative team.



Marvel Team Up #136
Reading about Mauler’s earlier encounter with Spider-Man led me to realize that David Michelinie wrote a few more issues of Marvel Team-Up. So I figured I might as well check it out.
It starts with a relatively normal scene of Spider-Man facing thieves. Little details elevate it. The thieves steal calibration equipment instead of something more typical. When Spider-Man makes a threat, an optimistic crook thinks he might have something good to offer. And we get some early work from Ron Frenz, who is a fantastic storyteller. The whole mess leaves Peter with a cold.
It turns out to be a plan by Steyer, a security specialist, to get more information about Spider-Man’s webbing. He sets up a trap for Spider-Man using pseudo-celebrity Wonder Man and mercenary Mauler. But things go south.
This may be a top ten issue of the original Marvel Team-Up. It’s a single issue story that says something about both of the heroes, who have the similarity of getting as much respect as Rodney Dangerfield. The rich industrialist is driven by the death of a police officer. Mauler’s a generic heavy, but he’s not an idiot. The trap for Spider-Man is the type of thing Peter would fall for.
A