"THE SCHEMER!"
Writer: Stan Lee/Penciller: John Romita Sr./Inker: Mike Esposito/Letterer: Sam Rosen/Editor: Stan Lee/Cover Art: John Romita Sr.
Synopsis: A new crime lord calling himself the Schemer wages war on the Kingpin...
Review: And so, a mere four issues after Stan said that multi-issue storylines were being cut short, he gives us part one of a new trilogy. I'm not even going to speculate about his reasons; I'm just going to be grateful that we can sink our teeth into a slightly meatier story again, and thanks to the previous issue marking the return of more intricately plotted issues with a lot more going on again, the Schemer Trilogy is already set up for success.
The Schemer himself is probably the weakest aspect of the issue and the trilogy as a whole; he's a very generic villain with no real personality or even a fun gimmick to make him stand out. I don't like his costume much either; it makes him look more like a Flash Gordon villain than an urban crime boss. He is at least an intriguing character in concept: a rival crime lord daring to take on the Kingpin hadn't been done before, and I think that such a monumental event is given the reverence it deserves in this issue; Spider-Man instantly knows that something big is going down the moment he realises that the Schemer's men are targeting the Kingpin's shipments. I also rather like the Schemer's single-mindedness: Spider-Man is nothing more than an "accidental nuisance" to him, for the Kingpin is his real target. Ultimately, however, the Schemer only really becomes vaguely interesting in the next couple of issues, leaving him feeling a bit bland in this first instalment.
The Kingpin doesn't appear much in this issue, but the one scene he does appear in is probably the best in the whole issue, because finally, we get to meet his wife. Vanessa Fisk is an immediately compelling character: a glamorous, caring woman who somehow ended up being married to the most notorious crime lord in the country. Not only that, but her mere presence makes the Kingpin himself more interesting, as we start to see a softer side to the character emerge when he's around her, although he's still quick to fly into a rage when provoked, especially when Vanessa accuses him of indirectly causing the death of their son, Richard. In many ways, the re-invention of the Kingpin that Frank Miller orchestrated in the 80s has its beginnings here, when we start to see more layers to the character, and we begin to see him not only as a powerful villain, but as a person too.
As with the previous issue, there are some really striking moments with Peter and the supporting cast, and I just can't express how much these scenes bring me joy; I have so missed seeing the gang of Peter, Gwen, Harry, MJ and Flash together in the same scene, and their little farewell at the airport as Flash flies out to Vietnam once more is a fun moment, but one that also leads to a more serious contemplation from Peter about how the world is starting to make less and less sense to him. He doesn't know what's worse: being home whilst others are doing the fighting, or fighting in a war that nobody wanted, against an enemy you have no enmity towards. It's little moments like this, that capture those feelings of confusion and alienation that practically defined the baby boomer generation towards the end of the 60s, that make me love this particular era of Lee/Romita goodness above what came before (but only slightly).
The action is pretty strong throughout as well, and will only get better as the trilogy goes on: the whole sequence in which Spider-Man attacks the Schemer's hideout is brilliant, especially the moment when he tricks the Schemer's goons into racing to the wrong window, whilst he crashes in through the one behind them. I also get a real kick out of seeing Peter going into action in his civilian identity when he and Gwen are nearly crushed to death by one of the Kingpin's trucks when the Schemer decides to target it; Romita expertly portrays the anguish and strain on Peter's face as he struggles to stop the truck from killing them both.
ASM #83 is something of a stealth landmark in Spider-Man history. It's the first time a rival crime lord has ever challenged the Kingpin's authority, and it's the first sign of a more human side to the Kingpin himself; without this issue, I don't think Frank Miller's Daredevil would have taken quite the same direction that it did with the character. I love seeing a return to street level crime for Spider-Man after he's been tackling nothing but costumed supervillains for a while, and the balance of superhero action with soap opera drama is just right, ending with a beautifully ominous scene in which Gwen turns Peter away after he left her at the hospital to go and fight the Schemer. As the falling snow swirls about the melancholic form of our hero, we know that things have only just begun.
Rating: 4/5
Next time, the Kingpin makes his move against the Schemer...
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