What Happened After Spider-Man's (Botched) Proposal to Mary Jane?

In the romantic city of Pittsburg, a 1987 storyline continued Peter Parker and MJ's engagement journey. My retrospective on the early Spider-Man marriage years continues this week at CBR.

15 Ways The 1980s Were The Greatest Spider-Man Decade

You know those internet lists that provide 10-15 justifications for a lofty premise?  I wrote one of those.

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN Annual #10 - June 1994

Shriek, Rattle, and Roll

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (plot), Mike Lackey (writer), Jerry Bingham (penciler), Tom Palmer (inker), Steve Dutro (letterer), Freddy Mendez (colorist)

The Plot: Spider-Man escorts Shriek into Ravencroft, despite his objections that the facility isn’t ready to accept patients. Shriek soon feeds on the negative emotions of a guard and powers herself out of her restraints. She frees her fellow patients, Pyromania, Gale, Mayhem, and Webber, and attacks the staff. With John Jameson’s help, Spider-Man apprehends the inmates.

The Subplots: Warrant and his boss Reynard are using a guard, Barker, as a spy. Their plan is to watch Ravencroft explode and exploit the new bounty hunter opportunities it will generate.

Web of Continuity: Edward Wheelan, formerly the Vermin, now works as a peer counselor at Ravencroft.

Creative Differences: An added thought balloon has Mayhem (who apparently is the only one of the convicts without an online profile) reflecting that she’s only helping the others long enough to kill them after they escape. This was apparently added to justify why Mayhem is joining the other inmates even though a previous scene established that she viewed them as immoral. I don’t think establishing that she wants to kill them as soon as they’re free helps clarify her motivation, though.

Review: Aside from Jerry Bingham’s art, there’s nothing of note here. I don’t even think the introduction of four new Ravencroft patients was intended to do anything more than kill a few pages. In case anyone’s curious, Pyromania is a pyrokinetic, Gale can create massive winds, Mayhem secrets a poisonous gas, and Webber is a “deranged psychotic escape artist,” as opposed to those perfectly stable psychotic escape artists. Two of these villains could’ve given Wizard staffers some easy flatulence jokes, but I can’t imagine anyone else paying these characters a lot of attention. They are such total blank slates that virtually any writer could do something with them, but the Handbook’s already filled with hundreds of generic goons begging for a reinvention.

Daze and Confusion

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (plot), Joey Cavalieri (script), Alex Saviuk (breakdowns), Don Hudson (finishes), Sergio Cariello (letterer), Joe Andreani (colorist)

The Plot: The master hypnotist Daze targets Senator Gaines, who is under Warrant’s protection. Warrant neutralizes Daze and rescues the senator from committing suicide. Reynard injects Daze with truth serum and learns that he works for a criminal cabal known as the Fold.

Review: A caption on the final page asks readers to write in if they want to see more Warrant action. This teaser story, which pits Warrant against a foe that resembles a pedophile cosplaying as Dr. Strange, apparently wasn’t enough to turn the tide in Warrant’s favor. Sadly, we’ll never know the outcome of Warrant’s epic battle with the Fold. I can’t imagine why the comics reading public of 1994 didn’t want more of a character that’s essentially a cyborg Gambit, but sometimes the fates are cruel.

Tabula Rasa

Credits: Mike Lackey (writer), Sergio Cariello (penciler/letterer), Keith Williams (inker), Bob Sharen (colorist)

The Plot: The Black Cat discovers the Black Fox stealing jewelry from her apartment. He claims he’s been hired to return it to its proper owners. After pursuing him she decides to let the Black Fox go, content that the last vestige of her criminal life is gone.

I Love the ‘90s: Black Cat remarks that she wants to settle down with the latest Fabio romance novel.

Review: This is pretty amusing, and the art has a cartoony charm that I like. Mike Lackey’s interpretation of the Black Fox feels a little off (he speaks like a walking thesaurus, which seems like a great exaggeration of his established characterization), but the story remains a fun, quick read. A footnote reminds us that a Black Cat miniseries is coming from Terry Kavanagh and Andrew Wildman, but I doubt it was as entertaining as this back-up.

The Power of Resistance

Credits: Joey Cavalieri (writer), Vince Giarrano (art), Steve Dutro (letterer), Bob Sharen (colorist)

The Plot: The Prowler fights the Resistor, a former AIM scientist that’s using local gangs for labor. He recognizes one of the young gang members as a friend of his brother’s. After defeating the Resistor, the Prowler warns the child to make the right choices from now on.

Review: Obviously this is a fairly generic set-up, but I imagine Joey Cavalieri probably would’ve gotten something out of the concept if he had enough room to flesh out the story. I don’t think the little kid Prowler’s so concerned about is even named in the story, which gives you some idea of how rushed the execution is. The art ramps up the excitement a bit, with a style that’s a mash-up of Sam Kieth and early Jae Lee. Looking at this back-up, I wonder why exactly Marvel created a new hero to serve as a Spawn clone, when Prowler was already there with his McFarlane friendly costume and cape. I imagine Spider-Man completists would’ve felt more compelled to buy a Prowler series than a Nightwatch one anyway.

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #116 - September 1994

Live and Let Die Part Four - Crescendo

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Alex Saviuk (breakdowns), Don Hudson (finishes), Steve Dutro (letterer), Kevin Tinsley (colorist)

The Plot: Betty distracts Façade, giving Spider-Man time to recover and fight back. Façade escapes, but shortly after Lance Bannon’s funeral, he returns to the Daily Bugle. Spider-Man resumes the fight and rips open Façade’s armor. The electric shock temporarily knocks him unconscious, giving the man in the FACADE armor time to escape.

The Subplots: Betty vows to continue investigating Archer Bryce, who unexpectedly appears at Lance’s funeral. Jonah Jameson admits to Detective Chase that his son lied about leaving the Bugle with him the night Lance Bannon was killed, leaving John without an alibi. Later, Peter Parker arrives at the hospital to visit Aunt May. May’s mysterious friend arrives at the same time, and runs away when he spots Peter.

Web of Continuity: Spider-Man’s more consistent about calling himself “The Spider” this issue, although the speech pattern still doesn’t match “Shrieking” since he’s still telling jokes and doesn’t seem particularly angry about anything.

Façade visits Lance Bannon’s grave, and while his identity isn’t revealed, we do learn that he’s an adult male who refers to Bannon by his first name.

I Love the ‘90s: Façade calls Betty’s leather vigilante look “a true fashion statement for the nineties.”

Review: “Live and Let Die” concludes, awarding us with no resolution to the storyline’s central mystery, although we are treated to the return of Butch Betty. Not only does she keep a literal armory in her apartment, but she’s also concerned enough about her vigilante image to change into a different outfit before coming to Spider-Man’s rescue. That’s commitment, sister. Just think…about three months ago Marvel Time you were an emotionally broken cult member who couldn’t face the outside world, and now you’re in firefights with hi-tech armored killers. Who says ‘90s comics were dumb?

So, again, the “mystery” turns out to be a waste of trees and the continuity tie-ins with the “Important” Spidey story of the moment don’t work. Façade’s destined to be a joke amongst the few fans who remember him for years, but at least next issue we’re getting the Spider-clone, and that’s not going to make anyone mad at all. What is significant about this issue is that it’s Alex Saviuk’s last one, which is a shame. His work didn’t mesh with Stephen Baskerville’s finishes at all, but thankfully he’s been paired with the more simpatico Don Hudson for the past few issues. Saviuk certainly isn’t going out on the best story in Web’s history, but that’s not his fault. The art is clear, the characters look like themselves, the fight scenes are energetic, and Spider-Man himself has a nice Romita look, even if his eyes are huge now. Saviuk’s art was often the highlight of this title, and his loyalty to the book is certainly admirable. Actually, his loyalty to Spider-Man himself is remarkable, given that he left Web to pencil and ink Spider-Man Adventures, and then moved on to the syndicated newspaper strip. As far as I know, he’s still drawing the Sunday strips.

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #115 - August 1994

Live and Let Die Part Three - Shellshocked!

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Alex Saviuk (breakdowns), Don Hudson (finishes), Steve Dutro (letterer), Kevin Tinsley (colorist)

The Plot: Spider-Man searches Lance Bannon’s apartment and runs into his fiancée. He tries to console her and promises that Lance will be avenged. Meanwhile, Betty has dinner with Archer Bryce. Later that night, Façade breaks into her apartment. Spider-Man arrives to save her, but finds himself paralyzed by Façade’s bio-electric attack.

The Subplots: Aunt May has had a stroke, and Mary Jane is unable to contact Peter, who still refuses to return home. Later, she receives a phone call from May’s mystery friend.

Web of Continuity: This storyline is supposed to be occurring simultaneously with the “Shrieking” arc in Amazing Spider-Man, which established Aunt May’s stroke and Spider-Man’s new anti-social attitude.

*See _________ For Details: The mystery man with a connection to the Parkers will make his next appearance in Spider-Man #49.

I Love the ‘90s: Spider-Man quotes Al Franken’s Stuart Smalley character while fighting Façade.

Review: And, in the shocking penultimate episode of “Live and Let Die”, we discover…that Betty is suspicious that Archer Bryce is Façade. Sound familiar? Almost all of the “clues” in this arc are dedicated to hints that are so obvious they have to be red herrings, while the actual mystery is abandoned to make room for pointless fight scenes and a few cross-continuity references. When Kavanagh focuses on Spider-Man’s guilt over not knowing Lance Bannon well enough, and his feeble attempts to comfort his fiancée, the issue at least has a few pages of competent character work. Unfortunately, they don’t even match the cross-continuity the issue is trying to maintain. Spider-Man’s mindset is radically different in the concurrent “Shrieking” arc, not to mention his speech pattern.

“Shrieking” is the storyline that famously brought us “I AM THE SPIDER!!!” -- perhaps the greatest melodramatic excess of J. M. DeMatteis’ career. The story reads better than a simple summary would have you believe, probably because DeMatteis writes Shriek and Carrion so well in it and Mark Bagley’s art is fantastic, but it’s still one of the more ridiculous Spidey stories. If you are trying to tie in with it, though, that means you have to present a dark, brooding Spider-Man that’s past the point of a nervous breakdown; one that can only view himself as “The Spider” and can’t even bear the sight of his loved ones. Kavanagh is absolutely not writing that character, even if he does throw in one “The Spider” reference early on. Spider-Man’s supposed to be a monosyllabic loon at this point, not someone who’s still joking and throwing SNL references around. I don’t know how the other two monthly Spider-Man titles (or the concurrent annuals and quarterly Spider-Man Unlimited book) handled “Shrieking” at this time, but it’s hard to imagine them doing a worse job.

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #114 - July 1994

Live and Let Die Part II - Who among Us?

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Joey Cavalieri (script, pgs. 1-8), Alex Saviuk (breakdowns), Don Hudson & Fred Fredricks (finishes), Steve Dutro (letterer), Kevin Tinsley (colorist)

The Plot: Lance Bannon develops his roll of film at the Daily Bugle, and is promptly attacked by Façade. Hours later, Betty Brant discovers Lance’s body. Police detective Sloan Chase questions Jonah Jameson, John Jameson, and Cole Cooper but can’t connect them to the murder. Spider-Man suspects Betty might also be in danger, and soon encounters Façade sneaking into the Daily Bugle. Façade abandons the fight when the Bugle employees call the police.

The Subplots: John Jameson lies to Detective Sloan, claiming that he and Jonah went back to his place the previous night to settle their differences. Archer Bryce’s butler Victor sneaks up on Betty in the Bugle and invites her to see Bryce. They open his limo to discover he’s gone. Meanwhile, a mystery figure calls Aunt May.

Web of Continuity: According to Betty’s research, Bryce’s corporation has been lagging in the industry since his parents died last year. Oh, yeah, and that shadowy figure calling Aunt May is merely the first cameo appearance of Ben Reilly. Pay it no mind.

*See _________ For Details: Aunt May is worried about Peter’s mental state, following the events of Amazing #386-388.

Review: So, Lance Bannon survived last issue’s cliffhanger, only to buy it a few pages into this issue. He discovered the shocking secret of Façade, and surely he must pay the price. Rest in Peace, Lance, until you’re accidentally revived in a peripheral Spider-title by a freelancer who didn’t know you were dead.

Returning Lance Bannon from obscurity merely to kill him off is already a questionable move, but knowing that he died to advance a mystery that no one bothered to resolve, and to build the rep of a generic ‘90s Guy in Armor, is unforgivable. Maybe it’s presumptuous of me to suggest that Terry Kavanagh isn’t exactly Arthur Conan Doyle, but I think it’s charitable to even call this a “mystery.” We have no real clues, just a series of suspects with no motivations, and a hero who’s putting virtually no effort into investigating the case. The hints that Façade might be Archer Bryce are so obvious they have to be a red herring, but there’s nothing else in the story to give any other character a motivation. Yes, John Jameson is lying, but why? And is Marvel really going to make him a villain just three issues after establishing him in a new role at Ravencroft? Façade could be Bannon’s fiancée Amy, or the new kid Cole, or the detective, or an anonymous partygoer, and it wouldn’t matter. There’s no particular reason to care.

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #113 - June 1994

Live and Let Die Part One - Darkness Descends

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Alex Saviuk (breakdowns), Stephen Baskerville w/Al Milgrom (finishes), Dutro, Krol, & Babcock (letterer), Bob Sharen (colorist)

The Plot: Hearing rumors of a theft, Spider-Man sneaks into Morelle Pharmaceuticals’ unveiling of its neo-bionics project, F.A.C.A.D.E. He confronts Gambit on the rooftop, but their fight ends when Spider-Man’s convinced Gambit isn’t the thief. The Black Cat appears, warning the heroes that something’s wrong inside. Soon, they face the Silencers, and stop them from stealing Morelle’s nuclear-powered generator. Later, Bugle photographer Lance Bannon catches someone sneaking into the F.A.C.A.D.E. armor. “Façade” blasts Bannon in the chest and flies away.

The Subplots: Guests at the Morelle Pharmaceuticals party include Jonah Jameson, Marla Jameson, John Jameson, Dr. Ashley Kafka, Lance Bannon and his fiancé Amy, rookie Bugle photographer Cole Cooper, Betty Brant, Mike Wilson (a lecherous Morelle employee who stumbles across Spider-Man’s fight with the Silencers later on), “renowned European industrialist” Archer Bryce, Victor (Archer’s apparent manservant), and Dr. Thomas Haney, who leads the presentation. Haney’s body is discovered by Lance Bannon at the issue’s end, and the killer is presumably the shadowy figure who’s snuck inside the F.A.C.A.D.E. armor.

Web of Continuity: F.A.C.A.D.E. stands for Full Acclimation Combat and Defense Explo-skeleton. (That’s right. “Explo-skeleton.”) Black Cat says she’s “crossed paths before” with the Silencers. A footnote says, “Remind us to tell you about it sometime.” Looking online, I can't find anyone who's cared enough to create a profile for them. Gambit claims that he’s at the unveiling to make sure members of the Thieves Guild haven’t targeted the project. John Jameson exits the party early after an argument with his father, who disapproves of his new job at Ravencroft.

Gimmicks: This issue comes polybagged with a preview of the upcoming Spider-Man animated series and a facsimile animation cel. I believe the background cover color is what was called a "fifth ink" color. The cover price is $2.95, but a regular-priced edition was also available.

Review: Oh, Façade. This one’s certainly a classic. As future issues will make clear, Kavanagh’s trying to create a murder mystery (Bannon’s merely paralyzed this issue) that uses some of the established supporting cast members and a gaggle of new characters as potential suspects. Kavanagh’s worked overtime inserting characters into this issue, presumably with the goal of creating a few red herrings and perhaps legitimate clues as to Façade’s identity. Unfortunately, as a mystery, the story’s a joke, and not only because the resolution is never given. The book’s a few issues away from getting swallowed into the clone debacle, so poor ol’ Peter Parker’s going to have bigger issues than the unsolved member of a barely remembered supporting cast member from the early ‘80s.

To this issue’s credit, the art’s an improvement over the previous Saviuk/Baskerville team-ups, the Gambit/Spider-Man fight likely thrilled the target audience, and the story’s vague enough at this point to give you hope that maybe this is going somewhere. Unfortunately, “Live and Let Die” turns out to be a prelude to a lengthy, chaotic period of substandard Spidey stories.

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #112 - May 1994

Pursuit Part Three - Trail’s End

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Alex Saviuk (breakdowns), Stephen Baskerville & Al Milgrom (finishes), Krol, Powell, & Dutro (letterers), Nel Yomtov (colorist)

The Plot: The Chameleon stages a prison bus accident, forcing Spider-Man to capture the escaped cons while Chameleon escapes. Spider-Man then follows the explosive clues left by the Chameleon until he reaches his location -- the Kravinoff Estate.

The Subplots: Reynard and Warrant leave government service in order to avoid bad publicity, on the condition that the Deputy Attorney General sends freelance bounty hunter work their way. Dr. Kafka agrees not to reveal Warrant’s recent actions if the government funds a new Ravencroft facility. On Spider-Man’s advice, she calls John Jameson and offers him the role of security chief.

Web of Continuity: Following the revelation that his parents were synthetic robots created by the Chameleon in Amazing Spider-Man #388, Spider-Man has launched a grim search for the villain.

*See _________ For Details: The previous chapters of “Pursuit” are Spider-Man #45 and Spectacular Spider-Man #211. The story is concluded in Amazing Spider-Man#389.

Gimmicks: This issue comes with three free trading cards, bound in the staples, promoting the upcoming Spider-Man trading card series.

Review: If you thought “Lifedeath”’s revelation that Peter Parker’s parents were robots was dumb, “Pursuit” just smacks you in the face and mocks your mother with its inanity. The premise of the mini-crossover is that Spider-Man has been driven over the edge following the exposure of his phony parents, and will stop at nothing to capture, and possibly kill, the Chameleon. The story consists of a lot of grunting, crying, howling with rage, and teeth gritting. Except in the Spectacular chapter, written by short-term writer Mike Lackey, which inconsistently had Spider-Man reverting to his old persona and cracking jokes while in the middle of his blood vendetta. (The four monthly Spider-Man titles had three different editors during this period, which always seemed like a bad idea to me). The most galling moment of this particular chapter has the Chameleon, astonished by Spider-Man’s behavior, reminding him that he’s supposed to be a hero. Spider-Man dutifully rebukes himself, leaves Chameleon behind and rescues the innocents endangered by the escaped criminals, and then goes back to his ‘roid-rage Batman routine. Ugh.

Regardless of my feelings for this crossover, I have to admit that on a purely commercial level, I fell for it. I still purchased Amazing, but rarely looked at the spinoffs by this point. The most recent issue of Web I purchased was during the “Name of the Rose” arc several years earlier. Curious to see if Marvel really would take Spider-Man “too far,” I dutifully collected each issue of this crossover, and even though I was disappointed by each one, I kept going until the conclusion.

Aside from finding the entire event melodramatic and silly, I distinctly remember being stunned by the ‘90s revamp of Alex Saviuk’s style. This was the guy who drew those early, Romita-style Spidey comics I loved as a kid? If I had purchased one of the earlier issues from this era, perhaps I wouldn’t have been so shocked, but considering that Saviuk only did breakdowns on this issue, Stephen Baskerville’s work was particularly unsettling. Did Spidey really look like this now?

Visually, the entire comic was a confusing experience for me, since Al Milgrom seemed to swap random pages with Baskerville as finisher. His pages have a classic Romita look, echoing the style I remembered from those early Web issues (aside from Spidey’s giant eyes, of course). An entire comic with that look I wouldn’t mind, but the abrupt Liefeld-ization of Saviuk’s pencils was a lot for me to take in.

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #111 - April 1994

The Savaging Part Two - Scales of Justice

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Alex Saviuk (penciler), Stephen Baskerville & Sam De La Rosa (inkers), Dutro/Krol/Maley (letterers), Nel Yomtov (colorist)

The Plot: Spider-Man reaches the Everglades shortly after Warrant and his superior Reynard arrive with Billy. They find the Lizard at the abandoned Spanish fort he seized years earlier, which is now being renovated for commercial real estate. Spider-Man rescues Billy and faces both Warrant and the Lizard. As the fort collapses, Spider-Man tries to save Lizard from quicksand, but is stopped by Warrant. When the authorities arrive with Dr. Kafka, the fighting ends. The construction crew attempts to rescue the Lizard, but Spider-Man fears he’s already gone.

The Subplots: MJ is upset that Peter hasn’t spent enough time in their new home, and even attempts to shut off a news report about the Lizard before Peter can see it.

Web of Continuity: This story is supposed to be taking place simultaneously with the “Lifetheft” storyline in Amazing Spider-Man, which just isn’t possible since Peter doesn’t discover that a crazed fan drew a gun on MJ until after he’s transformed into an old man (if you haven’t read “Lifetheft”…yes, that happens). The story can’t take place after “Lifetheft” since that arc leads directly into “Pursuit,” which is the crossover that intersects with the next issue.

Review: So, “The Savaging” turns out to be a typical Lizard story, with some gratuitous bloodshed and obnoxious new characters thrown in. Oh, yeah -- and MJ is becoming an increasingly unlikable and erratic shrew with every issue. It’s amazing to me that the creators of this era didn’t realize that the readers of these titles want to like the lead character’s wife as much as they want to like Spider-Man. MJ was always a popular supporting cast member, probably because she wasn’t a neurotic mess and actually liked to have fun. Her extroverted nature and cheerful attitude played off Peter Parker’s anxious personality very well (and, as later writers revealed to us, masked her own set of personal issues), enabling her to rival sainted Gwen Stacy as a romantic interest. Now, MJ’s stuck in an annoying “cop wife” persona, dragging down every scene that features her. And you can’t blame the marriage on this; the first five years or so of the marriage emphasized MJ’s good nature and willingness to support her husband. This is just cheap, fake drama that doesn’t work.

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #110 - March 1994

The Savaging Part One - Final Sanction

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Alex Saviuk (penciler), Stephen Baskerville (inker), Steve Dutro (letterer), Bob Sharen (colorist)

The Plot: The Lizard goes on an interstate murder spree on his way to the Everglades. The government hires hi-tech bounty hunter Warrant to apprehend him. Dr. Ashley Kafka is consulted on the case, and in violation of her orders, leaks news of the Lizard’s release to the press. At the home of the Lizard’s family, Spider-Man discovers Warrant destroying their home during a brutal interrogation. Spider-Man tries to stop him, but Warrant escapes with Billy Connors.

The Subplots: Jonah Jameson is still angry with Robbie Robertson for investigating his wife without permission. Betty Brant, carrying a morgue file on Need Leeds, interrupts their meeting. Meanwhile, MJ is tempted by a pack of cigarettes she finds in an old jacket.

Web of Continuity: Young Billy Connors wants to go by “William” from now on. I don’t think any future writers ever pick up on this. Dr. Ashley Kafka is the director of Arkham Asylum Ravencroft, which debuted a few years earlier in Spectacular Spider-Man.

*See _________ For Details: MJ quit smoking in Amazing #385, and was targeted by a deranged Secret Hospital fan in Amazing #386.

I Love the ‘90s: Leslie Kafka uses the “latest in portable fax technology” to spread word of the Lizard’s escape.

Review: Comedy fodder Warrant debuts, sporting a foot-long ponytail and hair metal band name a solid two years too late. He may or may not be a cyborg too, in case you were incredibly dense and still couldn’t guess which decade spawned the character. He of course has a bad attitude and lazy shaving habits as well, but unlike most of the decade’s anti-heroes, Warrant is apparently intended to be more of an outright villain. I assume that’s what Kavanagh’s going for, since Warrant spends much of the issue terrorizing a woman and her son, before he kidnaps the kid to use as bait for a monster. I have no doubt that Marvel would’ve quickly softened him up and commissioned a limited series for Warrant if someone in the offices thought he had a future as a solo star, though.

Much of the rest of the story is a retread of the early chapters of “Torment,” as we’re treated to a lengthy embellishment of the Lizard’s killing spree that can’t match the mood set in the original storyline (which is far from a classic anyway). Making this more absurd is the straight-faced defense of the Lizard given by Dr. Kafka, which is intercut with images of the Lizard brutally murdering innocent people. If these scenes were supposed to make Kafka look like an idealistic idiot, they’re successful in accomplishing that much, but I’m under the impression that Kavanagh honestly wants us to be sympathetic to the doctor. Sorry, but only J. M. DeMatteis can pull that trick off. She still says and does moronic things in his stories, but somehow DeMatteis makes her point of view seem less absurd.

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #109 - February 1994

A Shock to the System

Credits: Joey Cavalieri (writer), Rurik Tyler (penciler), Sam De La Rosa (inker), Steve Dutro (letterer), Bob Sharen (colorist)

The Plot: Spider-Man follows Shocker to a seemingly abandoned TV studio. The studio is actually a secret base belonging to Night Thrasher, who’s hiding an experimental biofeedback harness. After the heroes defeat Shocker in battle, he confesses that he wanted the harness to control his powers, which he’s convinced will kill him. Night Thrasher and Spider-Man combine their scientific knowledge and use the harness to tame Shocker’s powers.

The Subplots: None.

Creative Differences: A few added word balloons elaborate on Night Thrasher’s real name and costume gimmicks, Spider-Man’s spider-sense, and who exactly is going to take Shocker to the Vault after he’s cured.

I Love the '90s: The title of this issue is presumably a reference to an early '90s Billy Idol song.

Miscellaneous Note: The Statement of Ownership has the previous year’s average sales at 332,858 copies with the most recent issue selling (is this a typo?) 432,900 copies. Even Web of Spider-Man almost broke the half a million mark!

Review: Web can never, ever escape filler, can it? Not that this is particularly bad filler, it uses the characters logically and has decent art, but it’s still a page-killer. The most ridiculous element of the issue is a scene that has Shocker literally terrified of Spider-Man’s shadow, but other than that there’s nothing really objectionable here. I’ll give Cavalieri credit for utilizing Spider-Man and Night Thrasher’s scientific expertise and emphasizing Spider-Man’s willingness to help people, even a villain who’s tried to kill him numerous times. So, it reads like a free comic given out at a baseball game, but it’s okay as filler.

The Savaging Prelude - Death Becomes Her!

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Alex Saviuk (penciler), Stephen Baskerville (inker), Steve Dutro (letterer), Bob Sharen (colorist)

The Plot: Calypso seduces a Guardsman and breaks into the Vault. She unlocks Curt Connors’ cell, only to be killed by her former pawn when he transforms into the Lizard. The Lizard escapes into the night.

The Subplots: None.

Web of Continuity: A one-page interlude showcases the Parkers’ new brownstone home, which has already debuted in Amazing.

I Love the '90s: “Death Becomes Her” was the name of a popular Bruce Willis/Meryl Streep movie at the time.

Review: The regular creative team was still free to do seven pages, so this issue’s filler is padded out with a brief prelude for the next story arc. “The Savaging” is a sequel to Todd McFarlane’s initial Spider-Man storyline, and it’s about as good as you might expect. Kavanagh actually uses Calypso’s voodoo powers quite well during her brief invasion of the Vault, and killing her off so early in the story arc is an unexpected move, but it’s hard to forget that this is setting up an unbearably bad story. And even if Kavanagh’s scored some shock value with her death, killing off Calypso feels like a waste. Say what you will about McFarlane’s “Torment” storyline, but he did manage to take the ultra-obscure Calypso and sell her as a credible threat.

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #108 - January 1994

The Eye of the Storm

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Alex Saviuk (penciler), Stephen Baskerville (inker), Steve Dutro (letterer), Bob Sharen (colorist)

The Plot: Tony Trainer emerges as Sandstorm, creating a fierce “grit-storm” that reflects his confused state of mind. Spider-Man rescues Sandman from the storm, while Quicksand convinces the erratic Sandstorm to join her side. After Spider-Man finds a piece of irradiated shrapnel and reverses its polarity, Sandstorm’s powers fade. Sandman stays by Sandstorm’s side as he’s arrested to make sure he’s treated fairly.

The Subplots: Amidst the chaos, Robbie and Betty save Jonah and Marla from falling off the ESU science building. Jonah offers Betty her job back. Meanwhile, MJ is dodging calls from Secret Hospital’s publicist.

*See _________ For Details: Amazing Spider-Man #385 has the long-awaited resolution to MJ’s riveting smoking subplot.

Creative Differences: A few word balloons are added to explain that Sandman and Quicksand can’t use their powers within Sandstorm’s grit-storm. Later, an added thought balloon has MJ resolving to stop smoking tomorrow.

Review: And, not surprisingly, the debut of Marvel’s latest sand-related villain whimpers out spectacularly. Aside from the white mullet, there’s nothing really objectionable about Sandstorm’s appearance on the cover, but once Stephen Baskerville’s inks get a hold of him, it’s full-on Rob Liefeld/Andrew Wildman/Marat Michaels '90s ugliness. The resolution to every cliffhanger in the previous issue is even more cliché than you might expect, right down to Betty Brant saving her job by rescuing her boss and his wife. Dull, pat, predictable…I’m almost ready for the clone to show up, and I hate the clone storyline.

Tainted Part Two

Credits: Carl Potts (writer), Jesse D. Orozco (penciler), Timothy Tuohy (inker), Steve Dutro (letterer), Bob Sharen (colorist)

The Plot: Cardiac escapes Scorpion, only to encounter him again while invading the offices of Tamco Pharmaceuticals. After disabling Scorpion’s tail, Cardiac kills Tamco’s CEO. He then purchases the company, saving the jobs of the honest employees and keeping Tamco’s beneficial drugs on the market.

Review: This is essentially the same as the previous issue, only now Potts is playing on the word “tainted” to describe the business deal that allows Cardiac’s civilian identity to purchase Tamco (its stock price is way down following the CEO’s death and the exposure of its bad drug shipment). That’s actually clever, so at least the ending isn’t as generic as the story’s premise. Potts is essentially writing Cardiac as the white-collar equivalent of the Punisher, and the story offers no judgment of Cardiac’s actions, so it actually becomes an unusual read in retrospect.

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #107 - December 1993

The Coming Storm

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Alex Saviuk (penciler), Stephen Baskerville (inker), Dave Sharpe (letterer), Bob Sharen (colorist)

The Plot: After the Daily Bugle exposes weapons testing at ESU, Spider-Man travels there to investigate Project: Sandstorm. He arrives just as the project explodes, killing Marcus Devane, the corporate representative who advanced the project against Marla Madison’s wishes. Spider-Man rescues Marla, but discovers that her lab assistant, Tony Trainer, has been transformed into a mass of sand. Suddenly, Sandman and Quicksand arrive, just as Sandstorm emerges from the wreckage.

The Subplots: In spite of her reduced role, MJ is improving as an actress on Secret Hospital. Peter is considering a job taking cast photos for the soap. Meanwhile, Jonah Jameson impulsively fires Betty after learning that she’s investigated his wife without his knowledge.

Web of Continuity: Project: Sandstorm uses “bio-samples” from Sandman and Quicksand, obtained without their knowledge and possibly illegally, according to Marcus Devane. Presumably, Sandman and Quicksand learned of the project through the Daily Bugle article, and conveniently arrived just as it exploded.

Review: It apparently dawned on someone that a former Spider-Man villain and a current Thor villain had the same powers, which naturally means that they must be forced together into the same storyline. I don’t know if this was always what Kavanagh had in mind when he began the phony Robbie/Betty “affair” storyline, but he’s decided it’s good enough as a payoff to the long-running subplot. Not surprisingly, it turns out Marla’s working as the moral compass of the project, and it’s the big ol’ corporate meanie who’s only concerned with results and profits. What exactly is so unethical about the project isn’t clear, aside from the fact that Sandman and Quicksand’s cell samples are being used without their permission, which doesn’t seem like such a giant scandal that Robbie and Betty would risk their careers for the expose. Yes, it turns out that the project is too dangerous to be conducted in a populated area, but you’ve got to figure anyone living in the Marvel Universe’s Manhattan is used to this kind of thing by now. Perhaps the mere existence of weapons testing on a college campus is supposed to be the big scandal, which is a fair enough point, but nothing in the story indicates why they’re doing this work at ESU anyway.

The Peter Parker drama of the issue is another forced attempt at selling “marital tensions” between Peter and MJ. Life with Peter’s just so hard, she’s now channeling her anger through her acting, which is actually making her a better performer. Admittedly, Kavanagh doesn’t make the scene too dramatic, and actually shows us the playful side of their marriage for a few pages, but it’s yet another “MJ’s too weak to handle this life” scene; a subplot I’ve always found misguided and annoying.

Tainted Part One

Credits: Carl Potts (writer), Bill Wyllie (penciler), Fred Fredricks (inker), Dave Sharpe (letterer), Bob Sharen (colorist)

The Plot: While stopping a shipment of tainted cancer medications, Cardiac is attacked by the Scorpion. Before he can reach his beta-staff, Cardiac is knocked unconscious by Scorpion.

Review: Well, Carl Potts at least remembers Cardiac’s gimmick. This back-up is just an extended fight scene so there’s not much to say about it, although I did enjoy Wyllie's subdued, retro-art style and clear storytelling.

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #106 - November 1993

Judgment Day

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Alex Saviuk (penciler), Stephen Baskerville (inker), Steve Dutro (letterer), Bob Sharen (colorist)

The Plot: Spider-Man joins the Goddess’ team and fights against the “unenlightened” heroes. When Jean Grey threatens to “mind-sear” the Thing, Spider-Man jumps in-between them, just as the sun goes nova. A “final rapture” purges the universe.

The Subplots: Betty leads Jonah to believe that she and Robbie are having an affair in order to cover their investigation into Project: Sandstorm.

*See _________ For Details: Thanos says that he and Silver Surfer (who’s turned against the Goddess) have a “diversion” planned for the Goddess’ team. A footnote points to Infinity Crusade #4. Following Infinity Crusade #5, Rogue owes Hercules for a “sucker punch,” and the Thing is recovering from Gamora’s nerve-blow. The conclusion to this story can be found in Infinity Crusade #6

Review: More mindless hero vs. hero fights, and a cliffhanger that isn’t even concluded in this title. I feel sorry for the hardcore Spidey and/or Infinity Crusade completists who were stuck buying this stuff. Is it really so hard to guess why sales of comics began to plummet after 1993?

Since the story is virtually nonexistent, I’m left to discuss the art. We’ve now entered the third phase of Alex Saviuk’s work on Web of Spider-Man. Saviuk originally drew this title as a loving Romita homage, then switched over to a McFarlane-esque Spidey when that became the standard look (although his actual drawing style never imitated McFarlane’s, just the basics of his costume revamp), and now we have…this. I’m sure Saviuk’s original pencils haven’t changed at all, but the addition of Stephen Baskerville as inker brings a conspicuous change to the title’s look. Basically, it seems as if Baskerville has been given the edict to “Liefeld it up,” and boy is it Liefeld-y…

Now, my major issues with Liefeld’s work have to do with his bizarre anatomy and weak storytelling (his inking certainly looks dated now, but I didn’t mind it so much as a kid), so there are worse ways the Extreme look could’ve been introduced into this book…but man, I miss the days of Keith Williams.

The Killing Ground

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Bill Wylie (penciler), Timothy Tuohy (inker), Steve Dutro (letterer), Bob Sharen (colorist)

The Plot: Nightwatch finds Deathgrin in the sewers and defeats him. He vows not to lose himself to the Nightwatch persona the same way Daniel Davis was consumed by Deathgrin.

The Subplots: None.

Review: Nightwatch beats up a guy wearing a goofy mask in the sewers and vows not to turn into him. Okay. What a waste of eighteen pages this turned out to be. If the goal was to entice readers into picking up Nightwatch’s solo book, that makes this effort even more embarrassing.

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #105 - October 1993

Soul Gauntlet

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Alex Saviuk (breakdowns), Don Hudson (finishes), Steve Dutro (letterer), Bob Sharen (colorist)

The Plot: Inside his Soulscape, Spider-Man is transformed into a teenage Peter Parker and forced to face his deadliest enemies. Simultaneously, he fights the heroes gathered by the Goddess. Eventually, Spider-Man realizes that his life is an endless cycle of violence, one that threatens his loved ones. He decides to follow the Goddess’ plan.

The Subplots: Liz Osborn is spending time with MJ and Aunt May. Liz is discussing her plans for little Normie when she’s interrupted by Aunt May. Meanwhile, Robbie Robertson and Betty Brant sneak into Dr. Marla Madison’s ESU office.

Web of Continuity: Dr. Marla Madison is Jonah Jameson’s wife, which is why Robbie and Betty have kept their investigation a secret. They’re looking into a “hush-hush government experiment funded by Morelle Pharmaceuticals,” which is run by Marla.

*See _________ For Details: This story takes place in-between Infinity Crusade #s 2 and 3. Moon Knight #57 details why Moon Knight is so devoted to the Goddess’ cause.

Review: Allegedly a look into the psyche of Peter Parker, this is really an excuse for an extended fight scene with all of the issue’s guest stars. I do like the way Kavanagh handles the two levels of the fight scene, which has Spider-Man convinced that the heroes are actually members of his rogues gallery (when Madrox shows up, he sees a thousand Carnages instead), but the story offers no insights past “Peter Parker loves science!” and “Peter Parker wants to keep his family safe!” At least the subplots are advancing, so the Robbie and Betty story actually seems to be going somewhere. This issue finally confirms that the two aren’t having an affair, an idea that’s been teased for too long. The prospect of how the Bugle would handle a story involving Jonah’s wife is intriguing, but my memory is that the payoff to this subplot is pretty dismal.

Acid Test

Credits: Terry Kavanagh (writer), Bill Wylie (penciler), Timothy Tuohy (inker), Steve Dutro (letterer), Bob Sharen (colorist)

The Plot: Nightwatch rescues the museum’s security guards from Deathgrin, but the villain uses his acidic powers to escape into the sewers. Nightwatch vows to stop him.

The Subplots: None.

Review: I assumed Deathgrin was a throwaway enemy created to be Nightwatch’s punching bag for a few back-ups, but now I wonder if Kavanagh intends to make him Nighwatch’s main villain. I’m basing this on the “dark reflection” bit Kavanagh plays up, emphasizing that both are trapped by their costumes in some way -- Nightwatch hates his organic costume but feels compelled to wear it, while Deathgrin is ensnared by the ancient mask he chose to wear for no discernable reason. Clothing related drama, folks. This is classic stuff.