#she really knows how to build the suspense and i love it bit also AAH

[measuringbliss]

Spider-Man Read-Through 035: Stalked By The Spider Slayer (ASM 167-170)

MASTERPOST

In this batch...

Aah, this storyline reaches its climax!

Ross Andru opens this batch with his traditional (and lovely!) building views. Here, Jameson's shooting lasers at Spidey thanks to a suit made by that scientist we've seen a few times.

Well, he's shooting at slides, not at Spidey proper, but that's a detail.

In the meantime, a glowing fireball-shaped human causes a car wreck, but it doesn't matter because we've got some delicious slice of life!

I love the way the team draws eyes in close-ups, it's beautiful. Also, why not? That's a nice plot for May.

Seeing her like that, Peter can't help but wonder... maybe it's time to tell her he's Spider-Man!

His thoughts are interrupted by feeling that someone's watching him. This is, what, the third time he has that feeling now? I wonder what's going on with that plotline!

He asks to be alone, and MJ is comprehensive, and after a quick costume change, he stumbles upon... Jameson in his new robot suit!

Remember that Jameson believes the real Peter Parker is dead, as he saw the pictures that someone took of Spidey getting rid of his clone. He believes our Peter is an imposter, and that's why he was watching him.

Or... maybe not? Jameson simply says that he knew following Peter would lead him to Spidey. Hmm. What's up with that?

Anyway, this is the return of the Spider-Slayer! We already saw that same scenario twice before, as a caption helpfully informs us.

Can't wait to see what's in Jameson's brilliant mind.

MEANWHILE.

My jaw dropped! Time to check back my previous batches because I'm sure I saw that guy...

...Okay, can't find him, but I know it! Maybe it was just under the same role, but he has the most suspicious face to ever feature in this magazine. Is he a hypnotist? I hope he's not doing anything bad to Harry :( Like bringing back his Green Goblin memories...

Later, Spidey surprises Robertson in his car and gets a stern reprimand. It's funny because this is the second time I see a panel on my dash, and read the page not long after! I knew it was coming because I recognized the art style and figured it would come soon.

And it's well-deserved.

So Spidey finally goes to Jameson's office and gets the famous envelope. But before checking at home (gotta build suspense!), he's distracted by our firelight and follows him.

Spidey immediately attacks WOTW even though the latter says he doesn't want to fight, which I suspect was a lack of coordination between the artist and the script because it seems really odd.

There's an envelope quidproquo, then Jameson's remote controlled robot arrives to make the situation even messier.

In the next issue, Jameson is left dissatisfied, while WOTW leaves... literally. Thankfully for JJ, Dr Madison says she'll build a better Spider-Slayer. Oh dear...

Yup. The plot moves forward!

WOTW returns to his creator, Jonas Harrow!!!!!!

Wait, who?

Oh. Okay.

So WOTW and Spidey fight on 5th Avenue! What a fun panel. It's actually nice to see them interact in this decor, feels quite original.

Spidey "we always have a choice"-izes WOTW, who realizes he can't kill Spidey and lurches at the doctor who's in the crowd... and disintegrates, by the baddie's doing, with the simple press of a button.

Time for #169! It's a great cover (check the first pic of this post if you don't believe me).

That's funny, Len Wein, because I was thinking about this run so far and---Sorry, it was too easy.

I wouldn't say Wein's run has been dull so far, but I'm not exactly impressed so far, it seems very... inconsequential. I'll have to see how it evolves (and this batch's intrigue does reel me in!).

Marla Madison is a girlboss, but she can only do so much.

Jameson is kind of over this, though.

You know, I can appreciate what Wein's doing here. He's creating some sort of status quo with those two characters regularly fighting Spidey, a bit like Lex Luthor and Spider-Man, but I can't say I'm particularly attached to this idea.

Meanwhile, the evil (and devilishly hot) doctor returns!

Hm. He's visibly less... intense here. And his thought bubble doesn't show murderous intents. Intriguing.

Just as Peter gets home, someone rings the bell. It's Jameson!

Great fit, Peter. I'm almost tempted to replicate it. "Yes, I'm cosplaying Earth 616 Peter Parker on one page of issue 169, huh-huh!".

That hair grab, though! Is it me, or...? I mean. Some people will see it.

After some prolonged hair grabbing, Jameson surmises Peter's not wearing a mask after all and shows his envelope, that Peter put back in his desk last issue.

What's Peter's explanation?

Oh! Well done, handsome. That's ingenious!

So... Harry's stint as the Green Goblin is public? Wow. Just... wow. That's. Peter... *sigh*

Anyway, he looks so adorable, small-ish then very happy. Adorable!

That's an interesting panel on the left. That's how Marvel wishes to present itself: admired and read by everybody. A bit on the nose imo. The yellow border reinforces its meta aspect.

Spidey ends up at a super secret mega evil lair with mooks shooting at them. He gets rid of them, sees a large shadow and calls out the Kingpin... I grimace...

Except...

Huh. Not a name that inspires trust, you know.

In the readers' letters, the team says Len Wein is known for his long-range plots, and I'm not surprised. I'm here for it. Kinda. "He has the storyline worked out on THOR for the next two years. [...] He tends to lose an issue-by-issue perspective on things." Huh-huh.

#170 time!

Yeah, I had a feeling. He's a Captain America #192 expat, and it's not the first time we see stuff from another magazine come up here in Wein's run...

So that happens, Spidey gets essentially hypnotized by Faustus's smoke and helps them rob a factory or something (it's actually a fun sequence!), but more importantly, girl bonding!

Meanwhile, some guy rents May's house that she owns to retrieve something...

Dr Faustus seems to be an anti-smoking ad personified, and I'm like, sure, why not. At the end, Spidey takes care of him too.

Overall, it's a fun batch, but the Spidey/Peter ratio is completely, utterly messed up. Decompressed storytelling: why not! But that's not it. Still, there was fun stuff.

Also, know who we're going to see in the next post?

[mell0bee]

critical role's exandria unlimited, or, aabria iyengar stressing me out for 4 hours straight every thursday