"THE SPIDER OR THE MAN?"
Writer: Stan Lee/Penciller: Gil Kane/Inker: Frank Giocoia/Letterer: Artie Simek/Editor: Stan Lee/Cover Art: John Romita Sr.
Synopsis: Knowing his future lies with Gwen, Peter decides to take a potion that will strip him of his powers, only for him to fall into a delirious dream where his old enemies - and an old friend - await him...
Review: ASM #100 is a bit of a mixed bag. As far as milestone issues go, it gets the job done, bringing back a plethora of old villains to battle Spider-Man again, and keeping the focus on the character of Peter Parker; who he is, and why he does what he does. In that department, it works very well. But at the same time, it's always felt very slight to me; all the components for a celebratory issue are there, but without any real story or substance to back it up. The fact that the whole thing is just a dream (everyone's favourite plot device) only adds to this problem.
I also take issue with Peter's reasoning here. I can understand perfectly why he would want to relinquish his superhero identity again. He's with Gwen once more, and there's talk of wedding bells on the horizon. Gwen still blames Spider-Man for her father's death, so naturally Peter has trepidations about holding onto his secret identity. To this end, he decides to develop a potion that will take away his powers - a potion that is completely untested - and drink it. Peter is not that stupid, surely? Could he not just stop being Spider-Man, if that's what he wants? It feels like an incredibly contrived segue to get to the issue's final panel (more on that later), and nothing more. With that being said, I do actually quite like the little detail of Peter mentioning that he's been working on this potion since he first got his powers, in case the radioactivity in his bloodstream ever became harmful; it's a nice reminder of his scientific brain at work, before it promptly breaks down again when he decides to drink a completely untested liquid.
The bulk of the issue is taken up with Spidey battling his old foes in a dreamscape, and it gives Gil Kane more opportunity than ever to show off just how great he is at dynamic action scenes. The fights with each villain are all too brief, honestly, with none of them really getting enough time to shine considering they're having to all be crammed into just eleven pages of the story. One thing I do like is that each villain represents one of Peter's fears or anxieties: Vulture taunts Peter about how he always hurts his loved ones; Lizard calls him insane; Green Goblin tells him he's never won any battle, only survived them; Doc Ock calls him a fraud who has only ever been after glory and fame, and Kingpin brands him a failure. It gives the issue a nice structure, with Spider-Man having to defeat each villain in turn and overcome his fears, all the while homing in on a mysterious voice that's calling him from the distance. My one complaint is that the fears that the villains represent should have been more appropriate to each villain. Surely Lizard should be the one who mentions Peter always hurting his loved ones? Wouldn't it make more sense to have Green Goblin be given the line about how Peter is insane? Going to an extra level of detail with this would have elevated the issue that little bit more for me; as it is, it's a great idea, not quite taken to its full potential.
Eventually, Peter reaches the mysterious voice and discovers it belongs to Captain Stacy, in a quite nice moment where he cautions Peter that he can never live a normal life, simply because of who, and what he is. It's a decent way of wrapping up the incident that began the issue, and it's nice to have Stacy return for this little cameo, but wouldn't Uncle Ben have been more appropriate for a centennial story?
But all of that becomes irrelevant as soon as we get to the last page, and by far the best moment of the entire issue. Peter awakes from his dream, only to find that the potion has caused him to grow four extra arms. The final panel is just fantastic, a beautifully weird piece by Kane as Peter stares in horror at what's become of him; it's almost like we're back in the Ditko era again. I also love the little box at the bottom of the panel, promising that this is no cop-out: Peter really does have six arms. I suppose he'll think twice now before drinking some random concoction he knocked together in his bedroom. For all my griping earlier about the stupidity of drinking the potion, it does lead to a phenomenal pay-off, even if I'm sure there was a less absurd way in which we could have got here.
ASM #100 is perfectly fine. It's not great, nor is it below average. It has a few interesting ideas, and some moments I genuinely like, as well as allowing Gil Kane to draw five bad guys in one issue, but it's always felt like killing time until we get to that last, shocking panel. It has a similar problem to Fantastic Four's 100th issue; too much focus on bringing back a load of old villains, and not enough on telling a compelling story.
Rating: 3/5
Next time, the Six-Armed Saga begins in earnest, as Peter takes on a monster called...Morbius!
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