"THE BIRTH OF A SUPER-HERO!"
Writer: Stan Lee/Penciller: John Romita Sr./Inker: John Romita Sr./Letterer: Sam Rosen/Editor: Stan Lee/Cover Art: John Romita Sr.
Synopsis: The spores that John Jameson came into contact with on his space walk transform him into a towering, muscular superhuman, and it isn't long before he clashes with Spider-Man...
Review: This is an interesting middle chapter of the Rhino trilogy, in that the Rhino himself barely appears, and the focus is shifted into John Jameson and his transformation into a superhero. I'm actually rather glad that this was the direction Lee and Romita took, as it means we get a nice follow-up to the space spores from last issue, not to mention the fact that three issues in a row focusing on the Rhino may have got a bit tedious; as much as I love the guy, he's not the sort of villain that can carry three whole issues back to back. This also means that we get given quite a nice little tale about what it takes to be a superhero: it isn't enough just to possess superpowers; you have to have the nobility, the humility, the responsibility of a hero, something that John Jameson proves he doesn't.
To be fair to him, it's not his fault at all; the spores not only affect his body, but his mind as well, making him merciless and arrogant, itching for another scrap with Spider-Man even after the wall-crawler's been proven innocent of the bank robbery he's accused of at the start of the issue. I will say that John is perhaps a bit too quick to believe his dad's accusation that Spidey robbed the bank, especially considering how much John defended the web-head in the previous issue, but I suppose you can chalk that up to the spores affecting him as well. Really, John should just not bother going into space again; every time he does, some disaster befalls him: a faulty guidance system, space spores, and in years to come, a gem he finds whilst out in space turns him into the Man-Wolf. I think he needs to find a different line of work. The action scenes between Spidey and John are terrifically impactful; it's always an exciting prospect, having Spider-Man go up against someone who isn't really a bad guy, because it forces Spidey to fight in a different way, to pull his punches and to avoid hurting his opponent too much. I'm not sure his solution is entirely sound, however: flooding John's body with God-knows how many volts of electricity to shock him back to himself; he's become pretty powerful, but is he that powerful? Oh, well, it works, so I suppose there's no real harm done.
Outside of the superhero action, we get some more lovely scenes with Peter and the gang at ESU - with Gwen finally wearing her iconic black hairband - and it's even clearer than last issue that Stan is trying to push the idea of Peter being a more sociable and popular figure on campus; he's more amiable and chatty with the others, and they in turn are friendly to him. Harry is quick to defend Peter when Pete says he can't go to Gwen's party, and once again, Flash and Peter seem to be developing more of a friendly rivalry than the bitter antagonism that defined their relationship in the Ditko era. I love Flash; he's one of my favourite characters, and his development from Peter's enemy to playful rival to eventual best friend is one of the best character arcs in comics. In addition to Peter's supporting cast, we also get a rather bizarre guest appearance from Foggy Nelson, who is ostensibly in the issue because he's been called to defend the Rhino in court, but he seems to only be included to give a plug to the latest issue of Daredevil. Possibly my favourite character moment though, comes from Jameson, when he begins to worry about John being called a superhero; considering his history of bashing them in his newspaper, how will it look if his own son has become one?
But of course, all of these little character scenes - hell, everything else that happens in this issue - is completely overshadowed by the debut of Mary Jane Watson, in one of the greatest and most iconic panels in comic book history. It really can't be understated just how good Mary Jane's entrance is; after several years worth of baiting readers with the character - including a couple of tantalising scenes during the Ditko era that almost revealed what she looked like - we finally get to see her properly, and John Romita is clearly in his element here; he's probably better than any other Spider-Man artist when it comes to drawing attractive women. She may not make her first full appearance until the following issue, but she's given tons of personality with just the two panels she appears in here: the pose that Romita gives her, that flaming red hair, and Stan's wonderful piece of dialogue is all you need to know that this young lady is going to shake up Peter's life something fierce. More and more the book is becoming a soap opera, but I for one can't get enough of it.
ASM #42 is another winner for me; great artwork, and a nice break between the two Rhino dominated chapters either side of it. I also feel that this is the issue where you can really see John Romita begin to put his own stamp on the character: the web lines on Spider-Man's mask are becoming a lot more stream-lined than Ditko's, and the fight scenes, whilst exciting and dynamic, feel like they're taking a backseat to the teen soap opera stuff that will only become more prominent in the issues to come. You won't hear me complaining; the book finally has some life injected back into it again, a renewed sense of purpose that was lacking somewhat during the last few issues of Ditko's tenure.
Rating: 4.5/5
Next time, the Rhino breaks free and goes on the rampage again, and Peter has his first date with Mary Jane...
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