"THE WEB CLOSES!"
Writer: Stan Lee/Breakdowns: John Buscema/Penciller: John Romita Sr./Inker: Jim Mooney/Letterer: Sam Rosen/Editor: Stan Lee/Cover Art: John Romita Sr.
Synopsis: A new sinister figure emerges from the woodwork with his eyes on the petrified tablet: the aging crime boss Silvermane, who sends his brutish henchman Man-Mountain Marko to retrieve it...
Review: We're entering the home stretch of the Petrified Tablet Saga now. These final three issues represent something of a culmination of everything that has come before, and whilst we won't see the return of the Kingpin or Shocker, we do start to see some familiar faces coming back to bring the story to a close. The title of this particular issue is very apt indeed; this really feels like the threads of the plot tightening around the characters, with the danger only increasing with each scene.
New villains mostly get introduced to us one at a time, but here we get three to whet our appetite for what's to come. Man-Mountain Marko is certainly the most prominent of the bunch - he's featured on the cover, after all - but I find him ultimately the weakest of the trio, which is a shame considering a good chunk of the page count is dedicated to a battle between him and Spider-Man. Marko isn't necessarily a bad villain, but he's just nothing to write home about. He's a big, strong, dumb guy who does anything Silvermane asks him to. He doesn't possess any unique physical characteristics other than his size, nor does he have a unique fighting style; he's all brute force, and to be fair, the stunning artwork does a great job of making him look like the kind of guy you'd want to avoid if you saw him on the street. I personally find him a bit one-note, but your mileage may vary. The fight between him and Spider-Man is also pretty dull compared to the others we've had recently; I feel this may be down to the fact that a lot of the panels consist of close-ups, not allowing us to see the characters battling each other in all their glory; it's just a hand or a side profile.
Of far more interest are Silvermane himself, and fellow Maggia member Caesar Cicero. There isn't much of these two in this particular issue, but when they do appear, they're a lot of fun. The issue takes on a more noir-ish, old-school gangster movie quality when these guys show up, and I love the bitterness between them, with Silvermane keeping a firm grip on his power over the Maggia despite his age, and Cicero making every move he can to undermine his boss' authority; it makes these characters feel like more than just your average gangster types, and the artwork on Silvermane's craggy, wrinkled face is beautiful; there's so much brooding menace in every single line, and Mooney's inks only accentuate this. What's more, Silvermane actually seems to know what secret the tablet holds, making him in some ways a more compelling villain than the previous bad guys who have tried to get their hands on it. Not to disregard the Kingpin or Shocker - I prefer them to Silvermane as villains - but until now, we haven't seen anyone actually possess any knowledge of what the tablet's hieroglyphics might say.
We get some a nice return to Robbie and his discussions with Randy in this issue; the scene they appear in doesn't really add anything to the overall story, but I'm glad it's here all the same, and I also appreciate how their argument about the importance of education for black Americans doesn't offer any easy answers; it simply presents opposing viewpoints and allows the reader to draw their own conclusions, or better yet, discuss the same issue with their peers or family more openly. Another thing that stands out in this scene is the return of Jameson, discharged from the hospital and eager to take his paper back from the man who's been printing pro-Spider-Man news stories. It's here that we get a nice remark from Robbie after Randy questions why his dad lets an "old racist" like Jameson tell him what to do: Robbie replies that Jameson isn't a racist; just a stubborn old blowhard. We'll see some more evidence of Jameson's stance on civil rights in future issues, but this is a nice little teaser of just how much the old goat can surprise you just when you think you've got him pegged.
This issue is clearly a lot of setup, with the Maggia characters being introduced, along with the return of Curt Connors and the Kingpin's former henchman Wilson, who are tasked with solving the riddle of the tablet by Silvermane, but there's still a lot to like here. In fact, I think I like the stuff with the supporting characters and the villains more than the stuff with Spider-Man in this issue. As said, the fight scene is OK, but nothing special, and the fact that it keeps getting interrupted so that the other scenes can get some focus means that we can't really invest in it all that much. Regardless, this is another great instalment, and a solid way to begin the conclusion to the longest Spidey story thus far.
Rating: 4/5
Next time, the secret of the petrified tablet is revealed, and what a secret it is...
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