"MISSION: CRUSH THE KINGPIN!"
Writer: Stan Lee/Breakdowns: John Romita Sr./Penciller: Jim Mooney/Inker: Jim Mooney/Letterer: Sam Rosen/Editor: Stan Lee/Cover Art: John Romita Sr.
Synopsis: Spider-Man pursues the Kingpin to his hideout in order to recover the stolen petrified tablet, but the Kingpin is lying in wait for the wall-crawler to make his move...
Review: A far less plot-heavy issue than last time, but that's not a bad thing at all when the quality stays at such a high level. This issue continues all of the plot threads left dangling from the previous issue very well, whilst setting up some new ones; some intriguing, one not so much, but let's get into it.
I didn't really talk much about what the Petrified Tablet Saga exactly entails last time, so let me do that briefly now. The petrified tablet itself serves as a MacGuffin that several different nefarious parties are after - akin to the Maltese Falcon - and who all come out of the woodwork to try and get their hands on it. It's a brilliant set-up that allows Stan and John to incorporate multiple bad guys into one storyline, and also allows the story to extend beyond the usual two or three part structure that's been established by this point - the longest story we've seen prior to this is the four part Doc Ock/nullifier story from Issues #53-56. It is true that the arc is somewhat episodic, with each villain being introduced in turn rather than all of them after it at the same time, but I don't think that detracts from the epic scope the story has, and it certainly doesn't detract from the enjoyment. As said above, we're sticking with the Kingpin for the time being, who in this issue stores the tablet inside a gigantic metal safe, the door of which has no locks or combinations, for only the Kingpin's terrifying strength can wrench it open. I love this detail, because when you think about it, that really would be a pretty secure way of storing any valuables you might have. No safe-cracker can break it, no one can guess any kind of combination code; the only thing that opens the door is naked strength.
The Kingpin himself is just as much fun as the last issue, although sadly we've lost the thumps and thooms that accompanied his footsteps last issue. We do, however, get the first mention of his wife when one of his henchmen unthinkingly cracks wise about her within earshot of the Kingpin himself, who promptly backhands the fool and demands he be thrown out the door - really, I expect the Kingpin would have straight-up murdered the guy for talking about his wife, but I suppose the Comics' Code would have frowned on that. We won't actually meet Vanessa Fisk until quite a bit later, but this is a tantalising bit of foreshadowing all the same. The battle between Spider-Man and the Kingpin makes up a good chunk of the issue, and is easily one of my favourite encounters between the two, with gorgeous, exciting artwork from Romita and Mooney that almost feels like it's going to burst forth from the page. So many fantastic little action moments in this issue, from the Kingpin's henchmen frantically firing at what they think is Spider-Man, only for it to turn out to be a web-dummy, Kingpin hurling Spider-Man into his own webbing in order to ensnare him, and every so often there will be a huge, dynamic panel that makes the action even more explosive; top notch stuff all around.
The plight of the student protestors is continued as well, with Randy, Josh and the others being interrogated by the police regarding the theft of the stolen tablet, whilst Robbie tries to appeal to his son and get him to realise that the damage he and his friends caused was wrong, even though their cause was a just one. The conversation between Robbie and his son is one of the real highlights of the issue for me; Randy clearly feels that his father has become a part of the white establishment and no longer cares about the troubles faced by the black community; the tension between generations is very much felt, and I like that this is a discussion with no easy answers. Randy's frustration is understandable because he feels his father has abandoned any real crusade to improve the lives of black Americans, whilst Robbie tries to argue that in achieving such a prestigious position at a major New York newspaper, he has proven that he is just as good, if not better, than any white person. It's another great example of this era of Spider-Man exploring more pressing social issues, and I for one think it's done well here.
There is one new subplot, however, that I'm not much of a fan of. After hearing a protestor call Peter a coward, Gwen lashes out, but secretly thinks that the protestor may have been right. I don't like this for a number of reasons. For one thing, it just comes out of nowhere; there has never been any hint that Gwen thinks Peter is cowardly, save for a scene way back in ASM #35, and that was before Peter and Gwen got involved anyway, so it hardly matters here. Secondly, it makes Gwen rather unsympathetic and unlikeable; over the course of the next few issues, she'll begin to question why Peter always runs off at the first sign of danger, and all I can say is..."Well, what do you think is the natural response when all hell breaks loose?" Apart from anything else, Peter always uses the excuse of going to find a good vantage point from which to take photos for the Bugle, so she can hardly say he's a coward for doing that. Finally, didn't we just resolve a subplot surrounding tension between Peter and Gwen? Can't they have an extended period of happiness, or at least contentment? The good vibes between them have lasted all of three issues; at this point, I'm thinking Peter should give her the heave-ho if she's so quick to think ill of him without cause. I'm all for having Gwen become suspicious of Peter's disappearing act, but the way it's set up here just makes her unlikeable, and it ultimately feels kind of artificially inserted into the story, without any real build-up or momentum.
The ending, however, is pretty great, as the Kingpin tricks the police into thinking that Spider-Man is his accomplice in the theft of the tablet, so when the web-head is seen by the cops with the tablet in his hand, they open fire. This causes Spider-Man to fly into a rage and declare that if the city insists on treating him like a menace, then he might as well be a menace. It's an ominous ending that to be honest doesn't really go anywhere in the next issue - it sort of does, but not to any great degree - but for the time being, it's a tantalising close to what has been another top tier issue for me. Great action, great character moments for Robbie and Randy, and the same high calibre of artwork we've come to expect.
Rating: 5/5
Next time, Spider-Man is on the run from the law and the Kingpin escapes from prison to reclaim the tablet...
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