"THE IMPOSSIBLE ESCAPE!"
Writer: Stan Lee/Penciller: John Romita Sr./Inker: Jim Mooney/Letterer: Artie Simek/Editor: Stan Lee/Cover Art: John Romita Sr.
Synopsis: An unconscious Spider-Man is transported to a prison infirmary where he can recover whilst he awaits trial...
Review: ASM #65 makes for a bit of change of pace from the usual fare we're used to seeing by this point, and I think the issue benefits from this; it's very much the precursor to the simple, minimalist issues that you see quite a lot of in 80s Spider-Man, particularly from writers like Peter David. Spider-Man is trapped in a prison; he's not locked up in a cell, but he is in every other sense of the word, a prisoner, and has to escape. It's not only a nice, simple idea that can be told in just 20 pages, but is also new territory for the character; he's often touted by the people of New York - most obviously Jameson - as a criminal menace who should be locked up, and now he basically is, though he's allowed to keep his mask on for fear of violating his civil rights by removing it.
Of course, Spidey's escape attempt doesn't go quite according to plan, as a group of convicts are also trying to break out of the prison and take Captain Stacy as a hostage. This allows Romita - providing some beautiful full pencils once more - to deviate from his usual staggeringly attractive characters and give us some grizzled looking heavies, although even they look a little too pretty for my taste; Ditko was far more proficient at giving his petty crooks some personality simply in the way they looked, whilst Romita's cons all look pretty identical. I do like the idea that some of these bad guys are criminals that Spider-Man himself helped put away, even if nothing is really done with this idea beyond a passing remark. We also get to see Spidey pretend to join the bad guys so that he can get close enough to them to rescue Captain Stacy, which provides some nice tension. One thing of special note is the moment just before Spider-Man - still weak after his battle with the Vulture - emerges from the infirmary to confront the escapees for the first time; his grogginess giving way to his determination and resolve not to let Stacy down is just wonderful, and the pose and angle on the last panel is one of the most powerful images of the character ever created; give it a look:
Jim Mooney's inks work wonders here, especially in that fourth panel; the subtle blacks on Spider-Man's neck and hands add so much detail and realism to the piece.
There isn't a whole lot of action in this issue, but Romita gives us a really well executed little tussle between Spider-Man and the crooks during their first confrontation, and the whole sequence where Spidey shuts the lights off so he can pick them off in the dark one by one is just sublime; seeing the web-head crawling on the ceiling, ready to pounce on the unsuspecting bad guys below is such a stunning image, and the colourist does an exceptional job in only rendering these panels in blue, heightening the mood, whilst Mooney's inks really lean into the deep blacks and bring out the best in Romita's line work.
We get a few breaks from the prison stuff to check in with the supporting cast, but these scenes all feel a bit pointless really, giving us nothing new other than a second look at MJ's vile new hairdo. Harry's still worried about his father, Gwen's still worried about Peter, Aunt May's worried about Peter, and Jameson still hates Spider-Man, although we do get his marvellously funny line: "Personally, I can't stand anyone who carries a grudge!" The main focus of the issue rarely deviates from all the stuff going on inside the prison, and I think the result is all the better for that; it's a memorable story to be sure, continuing on from the Vulture two-parter, but still managing to tell a tale all its own. A bit of a classic in its own way.
Rating: 4/5
Next time, Mysterio is back, with a plan to cut Spider-Man down to size...
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