UNTOLD TALES OF SPIDER-MAN - Part Eight

The Stalking of John Doe

Written by Adam-Troy Castro

The Plot: Peter Parker is admitted as John Doe to the psychiatric ward, hallucinating violently after being poisoned by Kraven the Hunter. Delirious, Peter latches on to Dr. Gwendolyn Harris, whose name and face remind him of Gwen. When Kraven enters the hospital, Dr. Harris trusts Peter enough to accept his request for gauzes to cover his face. He confronts Kraven, and when Kraven threatens Dr. Harris (after she futilely tries to sedate him), Peter finds the inner strength to break out of Kraven’s grip and take the fight outside. Weeks later, Dr. Harris receives an anonymous note thanking her for her help.

Web of Continuity: Like the previous story, this nominally takes place in “recent” Spider-Man continuity. The presence of Kraven the Hunter creates a problem, though, since he was killed off in 1987. Is this one of Kraven’s sons? Perhaps, although nothing in the story indicates this. Spider-Man even mentions Kraven’s relationship with the Chameleon (implying this is the original), although he is delirious at this time. Could one of his sons fit into the mid-‘90s continuity of this story? Alyosha Kravinoff only fought Spider-Man once before declaring him an ally in Spectacular Spider-Man #253, which would leave Kraven’s oldest son, the Grim Hunter. And Grim Hunter was only active for a few months before getting killed, so that leaves a very tiny window for this story to take place in.

Forever Young: This story, set at some point in the past circa 1997, describes Peter as being a young male in his “late twenties.”

Review: The final, and longest, story in the book, “The Stalking of John Doe” has a solid hook, but a few nagging plot problems. The major one is the idea that Dr. Harris can’t recognize Spider-Man without his shirt and mask. As the story puts it, he’s only wearing blue tights and a straightjacket. Okay, but…what happened to his boots? They easily identify him as Spider-Man. (And where does that belt go when Peter takes his shirt off, anyway?) And, while it’s not hard to imagine Peter ripping off his mask and/or his shirt while in a psychotic rage, I have a hard time picturing him going through the effort required to take off his long, tight gloves or webshooters.

Plus, there’s the continuity nerd question of when this story is supposed to be taking place. Spider-Man mentions that he was ambushed by Kraven in SoHo, which could imply the story is set in the early years of the marriage, circa Amazing Spider-Man #325. However, Kraven was dead long before they moved. Okay, then…being ambushed in SoHo doesn’t mean he’s actually living there, but the placement of this story still creates problems. Since the previous story had Alistair Smythe in his cyborg-monster ‘90s phase, it has to take place after 1987’s “Kraven’s Last Hunt,” which means the reader has to create his or her own explanation for what Kraven’s doing here (or which Kraven this is).

Judged on its own merits, the story still has a lot going for it. It’s a great setting for a Spider-Man story, and the shock opening of a crazed Peter Parker fighting his way out of a straightjacket certainly grabs your attention. And, even though this is probably the fifth story in the book to make Peter’s guilt over Gwen’s death a major plot point, Castro puts the doctor’s coincidental resemblance to Gwen to good use during the final fight scene. His characterization of the staff of the hospital and the beleaguered police officers tasked with bringing Peter in also adds a lot of personality to the story. Having finished the book, I now wonder if this story wasn’t intended to be the final installment, but was moved to the end to make a stronger finish. After all, “My Enemy, My Savior” would’ve been an extremely weak closer. Perhaps someone pushed this story to the back, not considering the continuity issues that the move created.

UNTOLD TALES OF SPIDER-MAN - Part Seven

Arms and the Man

Written by Keith R. A. DeCandido

The Plot: Biographer Randall Andros decides to write his next book on Dr. Octopus, focusing on his past as respected scientist Otto Octavius. After interviewing former colleagues and Daily Bugle staff members, Randall is unable to attain a firm idea of who Octavius is. Unexpectedly, Octavius gives Randall an opportunity for an interview. He ends the interview after a few questions, and when Randall returns home that evening, he’s shot by one of Octavius’ henchmen. Spider-Man arrives, hoping to warn Randall away from Octavius, in time to save him.

Web of Continuity: This story is set immediately after Amazing Spider-Man annual #15.

Review: Told from the point-of-view of Dr. Octopus’ unwise biographer, this is an extensive character piece on the villain that attempts to reveal who exactly Dr. Octopus was before his accident. There is actually some controversy amongst fans on this subject, mainly because different writers have different interpretations on who Otto Octavius was before radiation infected his brain. DeCandido makes those contradictions a story point, as Randall interviews any living person he can find with a connection to Octavius and finds that no two people have the same opinion of him. Was he merely arrogant, or truly megalomaniacal? Did Octavius have compassion for other humans, or did he always view them as annoyances? Most importantly, is he crazy or genuinely evil? There’s a lot of great character work in this piece, and it’s heartening to know that DeCandido looked into one of the few previous attempts to flesh out Dr. Octopus, Spider-Man Unlimited #3, and used that story to his advantage. Of course, once modern Marvel took a look back on Octavius’ past (conveniently at the time of Spider-Man 2’s release), all of this work was bulldozed.

My Enemy, My Savior

Written by Eric Fein

The Plot: Jonah Jameson, recipient of the Humanitarian of the Year honor, is kidnapped by Alistair Smythe and the Scorpion. Strapping Jameson inside a Spider-Slayer, they send him to the Daily Bugle building to wreck havoc until the robot self-destructs. Spider-Man arrives, fights off Scorpion, and rescues Jameson. Later, Smythe berates Scorpion for blowing their scheme. Their fight is interrupted by Spider-Man, who followed the tracer he left on Scorpion. That night, Jameson attends his award ceremony and refuses the honor, citing his role in creating Scorpion and the Spider-Slayers. However, he pledges to continue his crusade against costumed menaces like Spider-Man.

Web of Continuity: This story is set in “recent Spider-Man continuity” according to the Continuity Guide. “Recent” would be 1997, although Kate Cushing appears in the story as a Bugle editor, and she was written out of the books a year earlier during the final days of the clone saga. Unless we’re to believe this story took place during the Pursuit/Shrieking/Scarlet Spider days, it would have to be set some time around Amazing Spider-Man #375.

Review: I wonder why the “Untold Tales” in this book skip all the way from 1980 to 1997? That skips over the Roger Stern Amazing era, the debut of the alien costume, the Black Cat days, and the early marriage years. And after a seventeen-year break in continuity, this is what we get -- a generic Jameson vs. Villains He’s Created story? Jameson works when he’s over-the-top absurd, or unexpectedly poignant on those rare occasions. He’s neither here; even having him refuse his Humanitarian of the Year award because of his past mistakes is muted by the story’s admission that Jameson had already faced the legal consequences of funding Scorpion and the Slayers years earlier. It’s hard to discern what the point of the story is supposed to be, and it’s not as if we haven’t seen this basic premise numerous times before.

UNTOLD TALES OF SPIDER-MAN - Part Six

Poison in the Soul

Written by Glenn Greenberg

The Plot: Peter learns from Harry Osborn that their classmate Marty Shultz has committed suicide. Peter immediately flashes back to weeks earlier, when Marty reached out to him, only to be stood up when Peter had to go into action as Spider-Man. Still uncomfortable with his guilt, Peter skips the funeral and goes on a Daily Bugle assignment to find the Shocker. After a brief altercation, Spider-Man follows the Shocker to a cemetery. He soon realizes that the Shocker is Marty’s brother. He allows Shocker to visit Marty’s grave before taking him back to prison.

The Subplots: Peter has recently proposed to Mary Jane and is waiting for her answer at the beginning of the story. In the closing paragraphs, the story shifts ahead a few weeks after she turns him down. Spider-Man travels to the Brooklyn Bridge and reflects on moving forward with life.

Web of Continuity: The Continuity Guide lists this story as taking place “around the events of Amazing Spider-Man #183-184.” Aside from giving the Shocker a younger brother, the story also reveals that his parents died when they were young, leaving Marty alone as Shocker pursued a life of crime.

Review: “Poison in the Soul” is one of the book’s best stories, with a spot-on characterization of Peter Parker and very real emotional sequences that take advantage of the subject matter without crossing the line into mawkishness. Greenberg’s also chosen an interesting era for a story that confronts Peter with young adult suicide. The most obvious choice for a story following Peter’s failed proposal to MJ would be some form of romance, while Greenberg’s focusing instead on a larger issue. Peter is graduating college and entering true adulthood. His love for MJ has given him the courage to move on after Gwen’s death, and now he feels confident enough in their relationship to reveal his secret identity and begin a life together. Marty, for the reasons the story never makes clear (understandably, since he was only an acquaintance of Peter’s) can only see more pain and bitterness in his future. The Shocker is squandering his by refusing to give up crime. Spider-Man gives him an inspirational speech (which is nicely written, even if we know that Shocker won’t listen to a word of it) at the end and makes his own peace with Marty’s death.

There are two flaws that are hard for me to ignore, though. I always hate the massive coincidences that connect Peter Parker’s personal life to one of his villains somehow. This isn’t that bad of an example, since it’s the Shocker’s brother and not the Shocker himself that Peter went to college with, but still…Peter Parker’s freshman lab partner just so happened to be the Shocker’s brother? My other complaint is one that Greenberg himself mentioned in the “Life of Reilly” serial -- the Brooklyn Bridge. Again. There aren’t any supervillain fights this time, thankfully, and the story itself is about moving on so it’s a fitting place for Spider-Man to say goodbye…but can we please never see this bridge again?

Livewires

Written by Steve Lyons

The Plot: ESU student Marcy Kane is allowed to conduct experiments on Electro, confident that his powers can be contained by an electrical circuit. Practical joker Steve Hopkins is removed from the project by Marcy, but not before he insults and mocks the captive Electro. Later, one of Steve’s pranks causes a brief power outage, allowing Electro his opportunity to escape. He takes Steve hostage and is soon confronted by Spider-Man. When Electro has Spider-Man pinned, Steve knocks him out with a plastic skeleton he was saving for a future prank.

The Subplots: Peter Parker is forced to call off his date with Deb Whitman in order to keep an eye on the Electro experiment. His lie that he needed to cover the story for the Daily Globe is blown that night when a Globe reporter and photographer arrive.

Web of Continuity: This story takes place shortly after Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #45.

Review: I guess someone had to step up and represent the long-forgotten days of Marcy Kane, Steve Hopkins, and Deb Whitman. Unfortunately, the story is even less memorable than the era that created this supporting cast. With no real emotional hook for the story, the most interesting event is obnoxious prankster Steve Hopkins coming face-to-face with Electro just a few hours after he viciously insulted him. That is funny, and there’s a cute meta-joke about Spider-Man and clones (one of the few decent ones I’ve ever read), but that’s really it. I just discovered that Roger Stern wrote many Spectacular Spider-Man comics from this era; I imagine he would've been a better choice to represent this chapter in Spider-Man's history.

UNTOLD TALES OF SPIDER-MAN - Part Five

Deadly Force

Written by Richard Lee Byers

The Plot: Inspired by the death of Gwen Stacy, the Rooftop Ripper targets young blonde women and leaves their bodies on rooftops. During their first encounter, Spider-Man learns that the killer has super-strength. The Ripper knocks him unconscious and leaves him next to another victim. The next day, Spider-Man ponders using lethal force against the Ripper. He’s certain of the idea, until he mistakes a teenage purse-snatcher for the Ripper and accidentally breaks his arm. With a stronger resolve to protect human life, Spider-Man locates Ripper’s next hostage, saves her, and defeats Ripper by staying calm and focusing on the battle.

Web of Continuity: The Continuity Guide specifically sets this story three weeks after Amazing Spider-Man #122.

Review: One of the weaker installments in the book, largely because the Rooftop Ripper is such a lame villain. No motivation outside of general evilness, unexplained super-strength, dull visual (ski mask and jacket…not that an exciting visual would’ve properly translated in a prose story anyway), and dialogue on the level of a made-for-Lifetime villain all add up to a huge dud. And even though Richard Lee Byers does come up with a plausible rationalization for Peter to at least briefly contemplate lethal force, the concept still seems out of place in a Spider-Man story. Finally, attaching a serial killer to Gwen’s death is playing a little too loose with the “untold tales” premise for my tastes. Kurt Busiek came close to this line with the death of Sally/Bluebird in the Untold comic, but this seems like far too gruesome an event to have stayed buried in the past during all of these years. At least Byers doesn’t have Spider-Man save the final blonde on the Brooklyn Bridge, though.

The Ballad of Fancy Dan

Written by Ken Grobe & Steven A. Roman

The Plot: Spider-Man discovers that Fancy Dan’s son, teenage piano virtuoso Rudolph Loyola, has been kidnapped. While investigating, he discovers that Rudolph’s stepfather is suspected mobster Joseph Loyola, who’s feuding with rival Martin Severino. The Kingpin feeds information to both Spider-Man and Dan, which leads them into a confrontation with Severino and the Enforcers (who didn’t know Rudolph was their former partner’s son). After Severino is arrested and Rudolph is rescued, Dan realizes his son doesn’t recognize him. Loyola retires from crime and moves his family to Florida, while Dan contemplates an Enforcers reunion.

Web of Continuity: This story takes place right after Amazing Spider-Man#146. Although ASM #146 was published back in 1975, numerous references in this story place it more comfortably in the mid-‘80s. Not only does a bar owner call Damage Control after Fancy Dan wrecks the place, but there are several allusions to Daredevil having a similar interrogation technique; that’s really the Frank Miller Daredevil, which didn’t exist yet. Also, considering that Kingpin had been in retirement for a while before Miller revived him in the early ‘80s in Daredevil, his role in this story might be hard to fit into continuity.

Review: There’s a decent idea behind this story -- humanize joke character Fancy Dan and team him up with Spider-Man in a mob adventure -- and for the most part it works. I do think that a thirty-one page prose story focusing on Fancy Dan is going to pushing the audience’s patience under the best of circumstances, though. The best moments of the story happen towards the end, as Fancy Dan realizes that his estranged son doesn’t even recognize him, and Spider-Man calls out Kingpin for manipulating all of these events, but is forced to acknowledge that Kingpin’s selfish desires actually created the best possible outcome. Grobe and Roman also manage to work a flawless series of “illusion of change” into the story, as Fancy Dan is so disheartened by the loss of his son that he abandons any plans he had for reforming and just goes back to plotting Enforcer schemes. The reader has to feel for Fancy Dan, but by the end of the story, he’s still in the position he needs to be to serve as a throwaway villain.

UNTOLD TALES OF SPIDER-MAN - Part Four

Moving Day

Written by John S. Drew

The Plot: Aunt May reflects on the past as both she and Peter prepare to move out of their home. While riding in a moving truck into the city, May and the mover Joe are witness to a battle between Spider-Man and Mysterio. Joe risks his life to help Spider-Man defeat the villain. When she questions why he helped, Joe helps May understand the importance of moving on and trusting Peter to become his own person.

Web of Continuity: According to the Continuity Guide, this story “expands on the events of the last page of Amazing Spider-Man #46.”

Review: Following the previous story, this one is an awkward fit. Aunt May must face the fact that Peter’s growing up, and accept his job as a crime photographer. Just a few pages earlier, Aunt May faced the fact that Peter’s growing up, and accepted his job as a crime photographer, and she did it all on her own without the help of a professional mover. Since May is apparently moving next door to stay with Anna Watson, there’s no compelling reason for her to be going into the city anyway; that’s where Peter is moving. Are we supposed to believe that Aunt May is going to be any help moving furniture? Judged on its own merits, this is an unobjectionable story about letting go of the past and accepting change, but someone should’ve realized that it doesn’t co-exist with “The Doctor’s Dilemma” very well.

The Liar

Written by Ann Nocenti

The Plot: Peter Parker finds himself telling a series of lies to Aunt May, MJ, Gwen, and his professors. He tries to justify his lying as a necessary part of his role as Spider-Man, but finds himself lying to cover unrelated activities. While grocery shopping with Aunt May, Peter is forced to lie again in order to don his disguise and stop an armed robber. Later, while on a date, he spots Vulture and his gang robbing a bank. When the Vulture drops him from a great height, he flashes back to the first lie he caught his parents telling him. A passing sailboat rescues Spider-Man, who loses track of Vulture.

The Subplots: Peter double-books dates with MJ and Gwen. He covers his absences during the dates by telling more lies.

Web of Continuity:

· The story is set shortly after Amazing Spider-Man annual #5, the issue that revealed Richard and Mary Parker’s double-life as spies.

· Peter’s age is specifically given as six-years-old when his parents die, which coincides with most of the comic stories, although I believe some writers have claimed that Peter was as young as two when he came to live with Ben and May.

· The Vulture has a gang that consists of three other men who are wearing versions of his costume. Presumably, there’s no connection with this group and the Vultrions from the ‘80s.

Review: “The little fibs are like annoying black moths, fluttering at the edges of his consciousness; shadows that flit about and dog his heels, they haunt him when he least expects it. The big ones are like rocks tied to his feet, that he has to drag with him wherever he goes.”

It’s hard for me to read a story by Nocenti and not just geek out when she hits the mark so perfectly. Everyone knows that Peter has a guilt complex. Everyone knows that he has to lie in order to maintain his identity as Spider-Man. But how many people connected these concepts and actually made you feel for Peter’s predicament? What is it like for someone with such a highly developed moral code to live half of his life as a lie? Nocenti touched on this idea briefly in a Web of Spider-Man back-up, but now she takes advantage of the prose format to fully explore the concept.

Aside from creating a pretty heartbreaking characterization of Peter, she also writes a fantastic rendition of Mary Jane -- the boy-crazy girl who’s a little too accepting of Peter’s lies and occasionally knows just the right thing to say to assuage his guilt. Tying his pattern of lying to his parents’ career as double-agents is another brilliant move (as is setting the story right after he discovers their past, instead of generically during his college days). Was Peter destined to be a liar? How can he avoid this question after learning the truth about his parents? Intriguing questions, and Nocenti’s frank exploration of the answers becomes a fascinating character study. If I have any quibbles at all, it would be the scheduling of this story right after “Moving Day,” since that story also had Aunt May face-to-face with Spider-Man through a forced set of coincidences.

UNTOLD TALES OF SPIDER-MAN - Part Three

Identity Crisis

Written by Michael Jan Friedman

The Plot: After Jonah Jameson casually informs Norman Osborn of the newspaper practice of deep background, Osborn dons his Green Goblin identity and attacks a newspaper’s office. The staff is reluctant to give up its unpublished information on Spider-Man, but only one staff member, a young photographer, is willing to stand up to the Goblin. When Spider-Man eventually makes his appearance, the Goblin realizes he’s exhausted his weaponry and escapes.

Web of Continuity: This story takes place a few weeks prior to Amazing Spider-Man #39.

Review: Perhaps the most memorable installment in the book, Michael Jan Friedman toys with the reader’s expectations and manages to pull off a twist ending that still plays fair with the audience. I don’t want to spoil the ending (although it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out if you read between the lines), so I’ll just say that this is a clever story that’s executed masterfully. It’s also a story that could only be told in the prose format, so Friedman deserves even more credit for taking a format that isn’t exactly suited for the superhero genre and using it to his advantage.

The Doctor’s Dilemma

Written by Danny Fingeroth

The Plot: Dr. Bromwell expresses his concerns to Peter over his job for the Daily Bugle. He offers him a job as a lab assistant, hoping that he can support Aunt May in a safer environment. Meanwhile, a destitute victim of radioactive steroid testing named Walter Cobb becomes the supervillain Impact. Peter is forced to abandon his job and stop Impact during one of his rampages. Spider-Man seeks a peaceful resolution, but Impact’s heart gives out. Later, Aunt May gives her blessings to Peter to work for the Daily Bugle. He apologizes to Dr. Bromwell and leaves the job.

Web of Continuity: This story is set shortly after Amazing Spider-Man #42.

Review: This is more reminiscent of an Untold Tales issue than any other story in the novel. A new villain from the past is introduced (one with sympathetic motives and a simple, old school origin), as the story focuses on a minor supporting cast member who’s never been fleshed out before. And Fingeroth does a fine job transforming Dr. Bromwell into a likeable, believable character. His characterizations of Aunt May and Peter are also faultless, as he addresses a conflict that was often skipped over in the early issues. If Aunt May is so overprotective, why does she accept Peter’s job chasing Spider-Man for the Bugle?

Aunt May’s made it clear that she doesn’t like what he does, but she doesn’t tend to bother him about it. She theorizes in the story that she knows she needs the money, which might’ve influenced her silence. May berates herself for not doing enough to stop Peter after she overhears Dr. Bromwell giving him a lecture on the topic, but later in the story reconciles his job with Uncle Ben’s belief that Peter should be free to make his own decisions. If he thinks he’s doing the right thing, she can’t stand in Peter’s way. The story isn’t entirely clear, but Fingeroth might even be hinting that Aunt May knows that Peter is Spider-Man by this point (remember, this predates the “genetically altered” actress, so the continuity at the time had Aunt May knowing "for years" that Peter was Spider-Man) and is giving him her blessings to keep going if it’s something he feels compelled to do. Peter’s guilt over potentially leaving Aunt May alone or causing her undue worry, and Dr. Bromwell’s anger at Peter for his apparent selfishness, are also well executed.

UNTOLD TALES OF SPIDER-MAN - Part Two

Celebrity

Written by Christopher Golden & José R. Nieto

The Plot: Peter Parker is assigned to take photos of the Human Torch’s date with actress Heather Fox. Sandman is also on a date in the restaurant with Candace, a jewelry store clerk he has a crush on. When Candace expresses her attraction to the Human Torch, Sandman snaps into a rage and attacks the hero. Spider-Man and Torch battle Sandman until he is scared away by the Fantastic Four. Heather, bored by the Torch, approaches Spider-Man after the fight and asks if he knows Sandman’s phone number.

Web of Continuity: This story takes place shortly before Amazing Spider-Man annual #1. Sandman is also referred to by the narrator as William Baker throughout the story, further complicating the later retcon that claimed his true name really is Flint Marko.

Review: This is yet another Silver Age-era Spider-Man/Human Torch team-up. I can’t say it really adds anything to the genre. Selecting Sandman as the villain does work to the story’s advantage, though, since at this point the audience knows he’s destined to reform (and doesn’t know yet about John Byrne’s ridiculous retcon), but also knows how nasty he was during this era. Golden and Nieto reconcile the two portrayals by presenting Sandman as a hard luck loser with a bad temper. He wants to do right, but once his ego is bruised, he irrationally acts out and turns on the society he feels has rejected him. This gives Sandman a more nuanced portrayal than he received in the Silver Age, but also avoids any direct contradictions. I also enjoyed the twist that Heather and Candace are on dates with the wrong guys; it’s probably the best moment of the story. But as a Spider-Man/Human Torch story…they’re the dullest elements of the story, which is a problem.

Better Looting Through Modern Chemistry

Written by John Garcia & Pierce Askegren

The Plot: Out on bail, the Looter immediately begins a new crime spree. Spider-Man follows him to a science exhibit where he hopes to rejuvenate his powers with a recently discovered meteor. When the Looter runs out of helium, Spider-Man recognizes him from hours earlier -- he couldn’t afford two helium cartridges at the Chemco supply store. Spider-Man races to the closed store and ambushes the Looter there.

The Subplots: Peter is buying supplies for his webbing at Chemco but doesn’t have enough cash. He gets an advance from Jonah Jameson, but can’t make it to the store before it closes. On his way there, he accidentally offends Gwen Stacy. Later, he’s invited to lunch with another classmate, Sally Green. He annoys her by leaving early when he sees a report on the Looter’s crime spree.

Web of Continuity: This story is set a few days after Amazing Spider-Man #36.

Review: The major flaw in this story is the assumption that page after page of the Looter rigging up his devices and causing chaos is inherently entertaining. The Looter’s gimmicks are a visual gag, and with no one to bounce off of for much of the story (and very little internal narration), his trademark nuttiness isn’t exploited very well, either. Garcia and Askegren do have a decent handle on Spider-Man and his supporting cast, though, and his run of misfortune throughout the story doesn’t feel tired or hackneyed, which is often the case when writers feel as if they have to go out of their way to insert problems for the hero.

The hook of the story is that Spider-Man’s forced to go without his webbing for the entire adventure, as opposed to the standard last-panel cliffhanger. His solution for moving across town is to hitch a ride on a television news helicopter, which has of course abandoned him by the end of the story. Without the webbing, he also needs something to keep his automatic camera in place. The best solution he can come up with is a roll of duct tape. The deceivingly simple journey of purchasing the chemicals he needs for the webbing is also a series of archetypal bad luck moments that allow the writers to use the supporting cast in a way we haven’t seen in the novel so far. This feels the most like a Spider-Man comic so far, assuming someone would’ve commissioned an extra-length Looter issue.

UNTOLD TALES OF SPIDER-MAN - Part One

Side by Side with the Astonishing Ant-Man!

Written by Will Murray

The Plot: Ant-Man, wary of the new adventurer Spider-Man, sends a message to his ants to bring him any information on Spider-Man. Egghead intercepts the message and hatches a new scheme. Soon, a giant tarantula appears in Manhattan, sending an arachnid-specific message to Spider-Man, offering a partnership. Spider-Man investigates and runs into Ant-Man, who assumes he’s responsible. Ant-Man overwhelms Spider-Man by shrinking him and setting him against an ant colony. After investigating the tarantula and realizing it’s a robot, he discerns Egghead’s involvement. Calling a truce with Spider-Man, the heroes team up and defeat the villain.

Web of Continuity: According to the Continuity Guide in the back of the novel, this story takes place in-between Amazing Spider-Man #2 and #3.

“Huh?” Moment: Ant-Man’s costume is repeatedly described as being red and purple. Purple?

Review: There is a strong premise here, although the story drags in places. Set during the days before Spider-Man established himself as a hero, Ant-Man learns of this new costumed adventurer and wonders if Spider-Man’s identity has been inspired by his own. After all, there aren’t that many costumed characters around yet, and spiders and ants are natural enemies.

Egghead learns of his curiosity and takes a page out of the Chameleon’s book by somehow using a spider to communicate with Spider-Man. How long exactly he thought he could convince Spider-Man that this phony robotic spider was his ally is questionable, but his scheme is utterly plausible by Silver Age standards. And it’s that innocence and charm of the Silver Age that Will Murray is trying to evoke. It’s not hard to imagine this as a Tales to Astonish issue that never made it to press. And while the story is filled with great moments, such as Spider-Man’s guilt over hurting an ant he accidentally throws out of a window, it feels like it runs on for too long. Perhaps because it’s the first story in the book, an inordinate amount of time is spent patiently spelling out each character’s costumes, powers, and gimmicks. That’s understandable, but the lengthy exposition helps to push the story to a full twenty-one pages of prose, making it one of the longest stories in the book.

After the First Death…

Written by Tom DeFalco

The Plot: When sibling thieves Kent and Wayne fight Spider-Man on a rooftop, older brother Wayne accidentally falls to his death. Shaken, Spider-Man leaves the scene. Soon, Kent has informed Wayne’s estranged wife Jeannette of his death. As Peter Parker sinks into a depression, Jeannette visits Jonah Jameson, who helps her file a wrongful death suit against Spider-Man. Later, Spider-Man’s given a chance to redeem himself by rescuing a group of hostages at a grocery store. And when Kenny learns that Jeannette has cut him out of the lawsuit, he concocts a story that implicates himself in his brother’s death. Spider-Man is officially cleared, but he knows he’ll always carry the guilt.

Web of Continuity: This story takes place “in the general vicinity” of Amazing Spider-Man #10.

Review: Tom DeFalco would’ve been a more obvious choice to write the campy Spider-Man/Ant-Man team-up, but I’m glad he’s been given a chance to show another side. This is one of the least “comic-booky” stories in the novel, as DeFalco takes advantage of the prose format and creates a grim psychological drama for the young Peter Parker. The only levity in the story comes from a handful of in-jokes, all of the villains in the piece are named after DC characters or staffers, which the average reader probably won’t catch. After setting up the dark premise, DeFalco drives the knife deeper into Peter’s gut when he’s forced into selling photos of the event in order to make an overdue mortgage payment for Aunt May. Classic Spider-Man melodrama, of course; he’s already mentally convicted himself of manslaughter, and now he’s making blood money. There isn’t a clean way to get Peter out of this dilemma, so DeFalco ends the story by giving him a small victory and opportune advice from Aunt May about the importance of acknowledging your mistakes and moving on. Nice work; probably one of DeFalco’s best Spidey stories.

UNTOLD TALES OF SPIDER-MAN (the book)

Marvel has a history of licensing its characters to prose novels that goes all the way back to the 1960s (when Captain America carried a gun), so it’s not much of a surprise to discover that a series of Marvel novels was published in hardback and paperback throughout the ‘90s. Unless you regularly visited the sci-fi/fantasy section of your local bookstore on a regular basis, however, you might not realize just how many of these novels were published. (This site has a comprehensive list if you're interested.)

I don’t pretend to have anything approaching a complete collection of the line, but I do have a couple of the novels; almost all of them purchased years after they went out of print from Amazon sellers. Obviously I was a hardcore X-completist for much of the ‘90s, and I tried to keep up with the Spider-titles whenever the current status quo didn’t infuriate me, but the novels were way off in whatever land for me. Marvel didn’t see fit to acknowledge them in their comics, not just in the stories but in house ads or Bullpen Bulletins blurbs, so I didn’t see the point in pursuing the prose novels.

I’m assuming the novels sold well, considering how many were made, but I’m not sure who the target audience for the books was supposed to be. Presumably hardcore fans who must have every appearance of their favorite character, regardless of format, although just keeping up with the comics can often be a financial burden. If you only read the comics, you wouldn’t be aware of the novels anyway. I guess the overlap of “comics readers” and just “general readers” was enough to help keep the line afloat. I can see this working -- someone looking through the sci-fi/fantasy section probably has some familiarity with the Marvel heroes. You’re looking for a book to buy, you recognize the name of the writer, and you remember the characters from the comics, so you risk a couple of bucks and try it out. It’s also likely that many of the viewers of the X-Men and Spider-Man cartoon shows never stepped inside a comic book shop or paid attention to a spinner rack, but did visit bookstores. If you’re already inclined to read prose instead of comics and like the characters, I can see why the novels would be appealing. Lots of Star Trek and Star Wars fans have probably never read those comics either, but they’re more than willing to read the various novels.

All of this brings me to the first in my series of prove novel reviews. Untold Tales of Spider-Man, published in October 1997 and co-edited by Stan Lee and Kurt Busiek expands on the critically acclaimed comic of the era and brings us untold stories from various eras of Spider-Man’s life. Most of the short stories are penned by genre writers, although a few comics scribes make appearances. No one seemed to treat the prose novels as a part of the comics’ “official” continuity, but each story is given a specific back issue reference to show the reader when exactly it’s supposed to take place. (Can you imagine the actual comics being this anal today?) Everyone seems to know and love Untold Tales of Spider-Man the comic book, what about the novel? It’s lived in obscurity for years, but I think it’s worth another look.