"MAN ON A RAMPAGE!"
Writer: Stan Lee/Plot/Pencils: Steve Ditko/Inker: Steve Ditko/Letterer: Artie Simek/Editor: Stan Lee/Cover Art: Steve Ditko
Synopsis: Whilst Aunt May's condition worsens, Spider-Man desperately tried to find a cure, but the Master Planner may get in his way...
Review: The second instalment in the Master Planner Saga is probably the weakest, but that really doesn't matter. It may boast a bevy of plot holes, and certain plot details are kept rather vague, but you just can't argue with the raw power of the story. Here we see Peter fighting harder and more determinedly than he ever has before, all to prevent the death of his beloved Aunt May, wanting more than anything not to fail her the way he failed Uncle Ben. It's a truly exhilarating and emotional story, featuring easily some of Ditko's most intense and powerful artwork: the scene in which Peter unleashes his frustrations on a desk, before vowing to find a cure for his aunt, no matter what the cost, is absolutely spell-binding, and Peter remains true to his word, selling every piece of scientific equipment he owns just to make up the money to pay for a cure. This story brings Peter to his most desperate, and we get to see that desperation makes him more dangerous and fighting mad than ever.
One really lovely use of continuity comes in the revelation about Aunt May's illness. She has somehow managed to absorb a radioactive particle into her bloodstream, and it's rapidly killing her. To his horror, Peter deduces that the only way this could have happened is through the blood transfusion he gave his aunt all the way back in Issue #10; his own radioactive blood is poisoning her. This is such a fantastic call-back to an earlier story that most readers had probably forgotten about by this point. In fact, it's been such a long time, it's a wonder that the radioactivity didn't kill Aunt May earlier, but I'm willing to swallow that little contrivance, because of the added drama it brings to the issue; Peter feels that simply by being related to him, both Uncle Ben and Aunt May have met with tragedy. I do love it when Peter starts to brood; it only makes him more determined to win once he snaps out of his malaise.
Ditko doesn't take long to reveal who the Master Planner really is: Doctor Octopus, secluded in his undersea base and conducting further experiments in radiation. This is where the plot becomes a bit vague - and perhaps suffers from its Silver Age trappings - as Ock simply wants to become a master of radiation and thereby control the world; a pretty thin villainous scheme, but in all honesty, that doesn't bother me a bit. As said earlier, it's the emotion and furious, frenetic pace that make this issue something special. Less forgivable is how Ock runs out on his fight with Spider-Man at the end after only a brief tussle. Ock decides that Spidey is fighting too aggressively and retreat is the best option, and personally I don't think that Ock's arrogance would allow him to run away so quickly; the fight lasts all of about two pages. Considering how good the overall story is, this should be one of the all-time great Spider-Man/Doc Ock battles, but it isn't, and Ock doesn't even appear in the climactic following issue, which does seem slightly odd. With that said, he does finally have his signature goggles now, instead of the bog-standard glasses he's been wearing up to this point, so that's nice.
Not appearing in this issue after being introduced last time are Gwen and Harry; in fact, ESU doesn't even get a mention, which is a bit of a shame considering how well the new setting and characters were introduced last time. Instead, we get a return to the Bugle regulars with Jameson, Betty, and Ned; Peter decides that it's best to make a clean break with Betty because she would never accept him as Spider-Man, and so acts like a jerk to steer her away - strangely enough, he tries this same tactic in Marv Wolfman's run on ASM over a decade later. This scene is another reminder that slowly, things are changing in the pages of Spider-Man, that the old relationships and storylines may soon be coming to a close, something that Stan makes definitive once Steve departs the title. Making a very welcome return, however, is Curt Connors, now based in New York; this is the first of many times that we see Connors acting as an ally to Spidey, helping him track down the ISO-36 serum that can cure Aunt May. I love seeing Connors and the web-head work together; it's a nice reminder of Peter's own scientific background, even if Connors - formerly established as a reptile expert - is now elevated to Reed Richards levels of scientific prowess.
So, ASM #32 definitely has a few flaws. Doc Ock's plan isn't very well fleshed out, and his abrupt exit is rather clumsy. Gwen and Harry are much missed already. The way that Spider-Man stumbles onto the Master Planner's base by complete accident is something of an anti-climax. And yet, all the way through, we get such a sense of super-charged emotion from every page; it's like Peter is a tightly coiled spring, waiting to explode, and when he does get his mad on, he really gets it on, ripping stairways off walls and swinging Ock around by his tentacles. And then, of course, there is that cliff-hanger. After his fight with Ock brings the ceiling of the undersea base down around the two foes, Spider-Man finds himself pinned beneath a gigantic piece of rubble, unable to move, unable to reach the ISO-36 that lies just a few feet away from him, and all the while, a gradually widening hole in the ceiling brings the river overhead dripping down, down, down to flood the base. It's just perfection, and much like last time, I defy anyone not to want to read on after this. A flawed issue to be sure, but I don't mind much at all.
Rating: 4.5/5
Next time, Spider-Man rises...
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