"THE SPIDER SLAYER!"
Writer: Stan Lee/Penciller: Gil Kane/Inker: Frank Giacoia/Letterer: Artie Simek/Editor: Stan Lee/Cover Art: Gil Kane
Synopsis: J Jonah Jameson teams up with Spencer Smythe once again to defeat Spider-Man, but Smythe has his own plans for his latest, deadliest Spider Slayer...
Review: We're into the home stretch (for real, this time). Stan's run on ASM will very soon be coming to an end, but he wasn't done serving up great Spider-Man stories, as this issue proves. After the gothic horror of the Six-Armed Saga (which I liked), and the King Kong-esque fantasy adventure of the Savage Land two-parter (which I didn't), this story feels as though the web-head is really back in full force, with his co-creator back on writing duties. We get action, humour, and characterisation in equal measure, and it's pretty great, in all honesty.
The big thing to mention, of course, is the return of Spencer Smythe, who hasn't been seen since ASM #58; combined with the return of the Green Goblin in the drug addiction trilogy, and Kraven during the Savage Land story, this really did seem to be a time for bringing back villains that hadn't been seen in ages. This story marks the transition point for Smythe's character, however, as he fully embraces the role of supervillain. Not content with merely defeating Spider-Man, he now wants to become 'Master of All', by installing spy cameras throughout New York and using them to spy on people to gain their secrets. It's much more elaborate than anything we've seen Smythe do up to this point, and it's clear that he's really gone off his rocker this time. I know some people aren't a fan of this sudden shift in Smythe's character, and I do see why, as it doesn't really track with his previous appearances, but I must confess to enjoying the barmy mad scientist he becomes from this point on.
The Spider Slayer itself has received a much needed upgrade. Ditching the notion of humanoid robots that appeared in the previous two Spider Slayer tales, this third model resembles a robotic spider, and I couldn't be happier. This, to me, is what a Spider Slayer should look like. Though it's nice to have a bit of variety every now and again, I will always have a preference for a Spider Slayer that looks like a mechanical spider. Maybe this stems from my love of the 1994 Spider-Man cartoon growing up, where every Spider Slayer was a massive mechanical arachnid of some sort, but whatever the cause, I can't get enough of this design. It may be quite small, but it's much more nimble than previous models, not to mention being able to shoot webbing just as well as the wall-crawler himself.
But the thing that really makes this issue for me is the character interaction that makes up the first half. Harry Osborn returns home from the hospital for the first time after coming down from his excessive drug use, with Peter and gang throwing him a surprise party. I'm not sure if being surrounded by a load of people is what I would want if I had just come out of hospital, but this scene does give us an opportunity to check in with everyone, Flash Thompson included. Fearless Flash has been fully discharged from the army, and is back for good. It's only a brief appearance, but it is an absolute joy to have him back in the fold, even if Peter does sense something off about him (more on that in the following issues). As a little aside, it genuinely brought a tear to my eye when Peter tells Flash that everyone's missed him; it just shows how far these two have come since their high school years. The party scene is just fantastic: Peter and Aunt May's usual rapport, Harry returning, Flash returning, Mary Jane trying to come on to Peter; seeing the classic Lee and Romita gang assembled will always make me happy.
The only bit of character drama that falls a bit flat for me is the protest that occurs at the start of the issue. Randy Robertson as his friends are staging a march outside the Bugle, protesting against...what, exactly? They seem to be annoyed that the Bugle is printing a story about the Savage Land, claiming that neither Jameson nor the paper care about oppressed minorities or the common man. I don't really understand this logic, to be honest; it just seems like an excuse to include Randy at the start of the story, and whilst I like the character, he always just seems to be wheeled out for Stan to make a bit of social commentary, before being promptly forgotten about again. Usually, the social commentary works (such as during the Petrified Tablet Saga or the Green Goblin/Drug Trilogy), but here, it just feels like padding to get the book to its required page count.
Quibbling aside, ASM #105 is a triumphant return for Stan, containing all the elements that made his time on the book a success. Great action, soapy character drama, and the typical Spidey humour, plus a long-awaited returning villain as a bonus. Gil Kane continues to excel as a Spider-Man artist; his panel layouts are so exciting and dynamic in this issue; even something as simple as Spidey leaping and swinging through the city is made that much more impactful by Kane's pencils and layouts. I also really like the cover for this issue, with several scenes from the story being segmented by the ominous presence of the Spider Slayer in the middle. The ending is a real shocker as well: Peter caught unmasking whilst being monitored by one of Smythe's spy cameras, unwittingly revealing his secret identity to the mad scientist. Obviously, we know he'll find some way out of this predicament, but it's a great final panel all the same. A pretty fantastic start to Stan's twilight issues.
Rating: 4.5/5
Next time, Smythe's criminal ambitions only grow, as he now holds the secret of Spider-Man's identity...
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