SPIDER-MAN: THE MUTANT AGENDA #0 - February 1994

Credits:  Stan Lee (writer), Larry Lieber & Fred Kida (artists)

Summary:  Brand Corporation CEO Neil Landon hosts a conference on mutations.  Peter Parker attends, wondering if he can learn about his own powers.  He’s seated next to the Beast, who distrusts Landon’s motivations.  The Hobgoblin interrupts the conference and causes a panic.  As Spider-Man, Peter places a tracer on Hobgoblin’s glider.  With Beast, Spider-Man follows Hobgoblin to Brand’s research facility, where Hobgoblin steals a folder of research.  Beast is captured by Brand’s guards, while Spider-Man follows Hobgoblin to Landon’s office. He discovers Hobgoblin blackmailing Landon, threatening to release info on the “mutant genocide” Landon is planning.  Landon pulls a gun on Hobgoblin, but Spider-Man leaps to take the blast.  He awakes inside a cage with the Beast.  Hobgoblin reappears and accidentally frees the heroes while searching for Landon.  Spider-Man tries to swing away with Landon, but Hobgoblin’s pumpkin bomb forces them to fall into a chemical vat.  Landon emerges as a monster.  Beast subdues Hobgoblin and Spider-Man suggests Landon seek the X-Men’s help to deal with his mutation.

Continuity Notes:  

• Landon's first name is Neil in the strip, and Herbert in the comics. He also appears to be 20 years older in the newspaper strip's continuity.
• This storyline is set in the continuity of the Spider-Man newspaper strip.  Originally, this lengthy story arc was supposed to cross over with the Spider-Man: The Mutant Agenda miniseries making it the “first ever comic book-newspaper strip crossover.”
• The specific strips covering the newspaper’s “Mutant Agenda” storyline ran from December 6, 1993 to February 26, 1994.
• For the record, Spider-Man isn’t harmed by the chemicals in the vat because his costume covers him from head to toe.  Also, the gun Landon shoots Spidey with was set to “stun,” of course.

Production Note:  This is a forty-eight page comic, going for the standard cover price of $1.25.  Why, you ask?  Because half of the pages are blank.  The rest of the comic has previews of upcoming Spider-Man comics, and a reprint of the newspaper strip’s version of Spider-Man’s origin.

Miscellaneous Note:  Although the cover date reads February, the indicia list March 1994 as the month.

Review:  I recall Marvel promoting this miniseries in the fold-out inserts that ran in all of their titles in late 1993, and while I might seem to be the target audience for a limited series featuring Spider-Man and the X-Men, I can only recall an overwhelming sense of apathy.  Even at this early age, I was wary of the glut of X-product (Spidey-product, too, come to think of it) and didn’t want to waste my limited funds on a tossed off mini that clearly wasn’t going to be impacting the main titles in any way.  The idea of the comic series crossing over with the newspaper strip wasn’t much of an enticement either; to this day, I’ve never seen the Spider-Man strip in an actual newspaper.  Why would I buy a limited series that wasn’t even going to provide me with a full story?

As it turns out, the crossover element of the two “Mutant Agenda” storylines fell through early on.  The strip’s story is totally self-contained, so no reader was left confused by only getting a fraction of the storyline in this specific format.  But due to what I’m assuming were legal issues, kids purchasing this comic didn’t get much of anything.  Half of this comic is blank because they expect you, the reader, to physically cut the Spider-Man strip out of the newspaper and tape it on to the blank pages.  That’s seventy-two strips -- if you missed one, tough luck -- you’re expected to track down and preserve in-between the covers of a cheaply printed early ‘90s Marvel comic.  I’d like to give Marvel the benefit of the doubt and assume that the original plan was for the actual strips to be included in this issue, but they discovered later the syndicate wouldn’t allow them to be reprinted, or perhaps the deadlines were blown.  I’d hate to think the original plan was to sell kids a blank comic.

Thanks to the miracle of the internet, all of these strips have been compiled and scanned.  And how lucky we are.  Actually, this is less goofy than I was expecting it to be, even though it’s filled with the awkward writing that’s common in newspaper adventure strips (such as Peter spontaneously explaining to MJ who the Beast is a few days before he actually appears in the strip. “He's okay -- for a mutant!” Peter tells her, which is perhaps a joke, but it just feels wildly out of character).  Lee spends the first few days patiently explaining the Marvel concept of mutants to his “civilian” audience, then moves on to his story of the evil CEO and the returning villain who wants to blackmail him.  It’s odd to think that plotting to kill mutants is considered blackmail material in the Marvel Universe, but maybe the rules are different in the strip’s version of the MU.  I will say that it’s a relief to see the Hobgoblin have a scheme that actually requires him to use his brains; blackmailing a CEO feels like something he would’ve done in his earliest Roger Stern appearances.  And the story, by the staid standards of adventure strips, is relatively fast-paced.  Much of it is an involved chase sequence, and the Hobgoblin does make a decent showing for most of the adventure.  If the plot sounds familiar, that’s because much of it appeared a year later in the Spider-Man animated series.  Landon even becomes a monster in both stories, although in the strips, he’s much smaller and isn’t subdued by a random telepathic mutant who’s shoved into the plot.  In the strip, turning into a hideous freak is enough motivation for Landon to stop the fight.  Hopefully, the strip didn’t use this arc as an excuse to reintroduce Landon as an ongoing antagonist, one with a shocking resemblance to Two-Face.

The Origin of Spider-Man

Credits:  Stan Lee (writer), John Romita, Sr. (artist), Joe Agostinelli (colors)

Summary:  Student Peter Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider during a school experiment.  Realizing he has spider powers, he makes money as the costumed performer Spider-Man on various television shows.  During a robbery at a television studio, he allows a criminal to go free.  Days later, his uncle is killed by a burglar.  When he captures the burglar, Spider-Man discovers that he’s the man he could’ve stopped earlier.  Spider-Man realizes his uncle died because he shirked his responsibility.

Continuity Notes:  In the newspaper strip’s version of Spider-Man’s origin, the fateful experiment happens at Peter’s school, and he’s an active participant in it.  The implication seems to be that he’s in college instead of high school.  Peter’s also trying to get a job as a Daily Bugle photographer before he gains his powers in this origin story.  Spider-Man’s realization that he can’t cash a check made out to “Spider-Man” is also moved up from the comics’ timeline.  (As Bob Ingersoll points out, his agent could’ve avoided this problem by just having the checks made out to “Cash.”)  Finally, wrestler Crusher Hogan has been renamed Crusher Clark.

Review:  In one of the earliest outside-media adaptations of Amazing Fantasy #15, the comic strip goes through the motions and presents the basics of Spider-Man’s origin.  This was originally published in the ‘70s, and it’s interesting to see what aspects of the origin aren’t quite considered sacrosanct yet, such as the missing phrase “With great power…”  Stan Lee plays around with the continuity, touching on some issues that AF #15 didn’t address while also setting the stage for the basic Spider-Man status quo.  I suppose nothing’s harmed by Peter’s motivation to work as a professional photographer before he becomes Spider-Man, but some of the changes are arbitrary (such as Dave, the lab partner present when the spider’s irradiated.)  The most obvious difference from the comics is John Romita, Sr.’s interpretation of Peter Parker.  He’s already twentyish, handsome, and not wearing glasses in this origin story, which noticeably undermines the impact of his transformation.  I suppose Lee wanted to start the comic strip with Peter at college age and didn’t want Peter to have years of unrevealed adventures as Spidey in the strip’s backstory.  That’s reasonable, I guess, but it does lessen the significance of Peter's transformation into Spider-Man.  Still, it’s fun to see a run of the Lee/Romita strips reprinted, and up until recently, this was your only shot at reading them.

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #25-#27, April 1987-June 1987

After an abrupt change in editorial, and the movement of David Michelinie to Amazing, Web of Spider-Man returns to a stretch of aimlessness. Most of these issues are simply filler and aren’t that interesting, so I’ll go through them as quickly as possible with capsule reviews.

Beware the Stalker from the Stars!

Credits: Larry Lieber (story & pencils), Vince Colletta (inker), Rick Parker (letterer), Julianna Ferriter (colorist)

Well, just look at that cover. You know you’re in for a classic Spidey story, right? This is another Larry Lieber inventory story, which has Spider-Man locating an alien weapon that’s landed on Earth. With the help of a pacifist alien that’s followed it here, Spidey defeats the green guy on the cover. Also, Aunt May gets mugged, but Spidey manages to retrieve her broach…from the same crook who initially found this alien plot device. What are the odds? Lieber’s previous fill-in was tolerable, but this one should’ve stayed in the drawer. For the record, the Statement of Ownership has yearly sales at 264,500 with the most recent issue selling 239,225 copies.

“Nothing to Fear…”

Credits: Stefan Petrucha (plot), Len Kaminski (script), Tom Morgan (pencils), Mike Eposito (inker), Rick Parker (letterer), George Roussos (colorist)

It’s an “untold tale of Spidey’s past,” back from the days of his red and blue costume, and that apartment with the cigar store Indian and Star Wars poster. It’s hard to tell if this sat around for years, or if the story was intentionally set in the past (I’m not sure if any of these creators were working for Marvel in the early ‘80s). The cover was clearly pulled from inventory, though. There’s a nice hook for this story, as soft-touch Spider-Man falls for a crook’s lie and lets him go, only to later realize he stole $50,000 from a famine relief charity. The crook soon seeks Spidey’s help, as his older brother targets him after his sibling tried to pin all of their crimes on him. Exposure to chemicals has caused Spidey’s spider-sense to go haywire, but he decides he must keep going, of course. Tom Morgan draws a fine Romita-style Spider-Man. He goes on to design the U.S. Agent costume in Captain America, and then undergoes a ‘90s makeover in Iron Man and the 2099 books, I believe.

Scared To Succeed!

Credits: Dwight Jon Zimmerman (story), Dave Simons (art), Rick Parker (letterer), Marie Severin (colorist)

There isn’t an editorial footnote placing this story in the past, although it not only features Spidey in his red and blues, but Dave Simons goes out of his way to draw the costume Ditko-style. Notice that the spider-legs on Spidey’s chest emblem are all pointing down, which was a huge no-no by the 1980s. Peter also has a 1985 calendar on his wall, so I’m assuming this was another one pulled from the drawer. In this issue, Spider-Man faces Headhunter, a white knockoff of Mr. T (not to be confused with New Mutants villain Axe, the other Marvel Universe Mr. T clone). Headhunter works for the mysterious ESI corporation, which promises to help executives get ahead in business. The only catch is their contract, which demands things like the CEO’s firstborn child if their business slumps. Spidey spends the issue protecting an auto CEO and his son from Headhunter, who literally keeps the heads of his victims in jars on display (McFarlane should’ve revived him for his grim ‘n gritty Spider-Man series). It’s as silly as it sounds, but I guess we’re lucky this random inventory issue didn’t have any aliens in it.

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #20 - #22, November 1986 - January 1987

Little Wars!

Credits: David Michelinie (writer), Marc Silvestri (penciler), Rick Parker (letterer), (inker and colorist are unknown)

The Plot: Peter and Joy arrive in England to cover Margaret Thatcher’s speech on terrorism. At the airport, IRA Provos stage a terrorist attack. After Peter helps the police capture the terrorists, he investigates IRA activities in London. Spider-Man rounds up another group of terrorists and stops an attack at Thatcher’s speech. Peter and Joy decide to travel to Ireland to investigate more IRA activity.

The Subplots: Joy shows some romantic interest in Peter, but pulls away. Her actions hint that she still suspects he’s Spider-Man. Both Peter and Joy uncover the phrase “Red Hand” while investigating the IRA. Joy is also looking into Roxxon’s practices in the UK.

Production Note: There are no credits listed in this issue. Comics.org doesn't know the full credits, either.

I Love the ‘80s: Well, the IRA…Margaret Thatcher…

Creative Differences: The IRA, or at least someone claiming to represent them, didn’t take kindly to this story. Christopher Priest says on his website that someone called in a bomb threat to Marvel’s offices after this story ran, which he thinks might’ve contributed to his removal as Spider-editor.

Review: It’s more of the “gritty realism” that showed up in many of the Spidey titles in the mid-eighties (although I think Tom DeFalco mostly stayed away from it in the main book). If seeing Spider-Man take on a real-life terrorist group isn’t enough for you, the story ends with the revelation that a little girl injured in the bombings has just died. See, Web is different from the other books because Spidey fights fewer supervillains and there’s always the chance that a kid will die. In hindsight, this is perhaps trying a little too hard to be serious and important, but it’s still a well-crafted action tale. Michelinie throws in a few “Spidey moments,” such as his guilt over worrying about his secret identity while civilians are dying, and his growing relationship with Joy Mercado. It seems like Michelinie was going with the angle that Joy knows Peter’s Spider-Man, respects him for it and is perhaps attracted to him because of his selflessness, but is reluctant to get involved with a superhero. Of course, it’s hard to discern where any of this was going, since virtually all of these storylines are either dropped or carried over much later into Amazing Spider-Man.

The Enemy Unknown!

Credits: Larry Lieber (script/pencils), Vince Colletta (inker), Rick Parker (letterer), Bob Sharen (colorist)

The Plot: While on the boat ride to Ireland, Peter reflects on a previous adventure. Gymnast Ron Corbett blamed Spider-Man for his father’s death, after he was killed by robbers fleeing from Spider-Man. Ron and his brother decided to ruin Spider-Man’s reputation by having Ron impersonate him and commit crimes. Spider-Man tracked the brothers to the Roosevelt Island Tram, where he publically defeated Ron and restored his reputation. After Spider-Man saved Ron’s brother from falling, Ron forgave him.

The Subplots: None.

I Love the ‘80s: The mayor of New York, Ed Koch, makes a cameo.

Review: Are you kidding me? In the middle of an “important” terrorism storyline, we get an inventory story by Stan Lee’s brother? The feeble setup has Peter sneezing on the boat, then reflecting on the last time he had a cold. Coincidentally, a new Spider-Man emerged that week and began a crime spree. It’s not as hokey as the cover would have you believe, but this is clearly a reminder of the days when shipping late wasn’t an option and something had to go in-between those pages, even if it had been sitting in a drawer for a while.

Profit of Doom

Credits: Jim Shooter (plot), Len Kaminski (script), Marc Silvestri (penciler), Art Nichols (inker), Rick Parker (letterer), Bob Sharen (colorist)

The Plot: Peter and Joy arrive in Belfast and are shocked to discover the city in ruins. After evading another terrorist attack, they meet a local named Liam. He reveals that terrorists with no discernable agenda, the Black Hoods, have arrived in Belfast. Liam suspects they’re connected to his brother Rory’s disappearance. Soon, Peter and Joy are kidnapped by the Black Hoods. They learn that Roxxon created the group to foment fear in the populace, which will help the corporation sell a new weapon to the British government. Liam helps Peter and Joy escape, but is shocked to discover the Black Hood he killed in battle was his brother. After Roxxon’s plot is exposed, Roxxon kills the executive in charge of the project.

The Subplots: Aunt May is afraid her boarders are abandoning her. I don’t think this goes anywhere, since the boarders stick around until 1990, when she asks them to move out.

Production Note: For the second time in three issues, the credits are missing. There actually is a significant change in the credits this month, as this would’ve been Jim Salicrup’s first credited issue as editor. The regular writer is also gone this month. A future issue reveals the credits for this issue in the letters page.

Review: Wow, this storyline started with a “ripped from the headlines” IRA plot, diverged for an inventory issue, then concluded with a new, fictional terrorist group sponsored by the all-purpose evil corporation, Roxxon. And what of the mysterious “Red Hand” that was teased in the first chapter? It’s been forgotten, except for a brief mention as Peter remarks that he’s heard of a “Red Hand” but not the Black Hoods. Plus, that teaser scene with Solo was never resolved. Obviously, something happened behind-the-scenes over the course of this arc. I don’t know if it was the phony bomb threat that inspired Marvel to backtrack, but this is clearly not where this storyline was supposed to go.

Last issue’s inventory story was probably needed to cover more than just a blown deadline; it reads as if Big Jim Shooter stepped in to show the incompetents how to write a story that doesn't inspire death threats. The first chapter did have Joy investigating Roxxon, so maybe they were always supposed to work with this story, but I can’t imagine this was the conclusion Michelinie had in mind. Because everything has to be resolved in twenty-three pages, the plot is rushed and the conclusion feels anti-climatic. Peter and Joy barely even do any investigative reporting, as Roxxon conveniently kidnaps them and their helpful executive spells out their sinister plot in fine detail. Shooter doesn’t have a lot of options if he wants to work all of this into one issue, but the scene is rather ridiculous. And, c’mon, this is clearly a copout. We start with the IRA, and end up with made-up villains and their giant death ray? That’s lame.