Spectacular Spider-Man 215-216

Predator and Prey

Hoo-ha! Now these two comics bring me back. I bought both of these off the newsstand at the local Quickie Mart (and they have the barcodes to prove it!) I remember it seemed like an eternity waiting for part 2 of this story. Obviously, it didn’t help that Spec was always the last Spider-title to come out each month, so I kept seeing all these Spider-Man comics coming out, but never the right one. Even after all these years, I’ll never forget the order: Web, Amazing, Spider-Man, Spec.

I read Spectacular 215 so many times that to this day, I still remember every panel. I thought it was so cool that the Scorpion told that old man in the sewer to “take a freakin’ powder.” I remember getting in trouble for telling a kid in my class to “take a freakin’ powder” when he took the computer I wanted during computer class. While I wasn’t familiar with the etymology of that particular colloquialism, it was good enough for the scorpion so it was good enough for me. 

Maybe it's because I read these two comics so many times that they had such a lasting impression on me. There are tons of little tidbits throughout that had an inordinately formative effect on my brain. They can be summed up in three main points:

1. With great power comes great responsibility.

Spider-Man annihilates an entire sewer full of thugs. Then he kicks the Scorpion’s ass. Then he one-shots a crazed old wrench-wielding man. He feels bad about the last victory, which I had trouble understanding when I was little. Spider-Man punched the horrible old man into a wall! That was awesome! Or, I guess maybe it wasn’t—the old man probably deserved what he got, but just because you can kick an old man’s ass, it doesn’t give you the right to.* Lucky for me, I can’t kick anyone’s ass, so I’ve got no worries. I just tell people to take a freakin’ powder when they take the last avocado at the grocery store right in front of me.

2. Buy all the fucking books.

If you’ve read any of my other posts, you might be getting tired of this “I need the whole story” bullshit. Lots of people only collect Amazing Spider-Man issues and use their copies of Web of Spider-Man for toilet paper. But that’s not how Marvel taught us to collect in the 90’s. No sir. No siree bob. Let’s check out that sick ass little coloured text box in the corner.

Yep, it’s talking about the mystery man that’s been showing up in all the Spider-Man comics lately, always with his face obscured. Who could he be? Collect all the clues! Well hey, that’s kind of fun. Or is it? Maybe it’s actually psychological torture! I like the way Marvel describes it: “if you haven’t been picking them up, then you aren’t getting the full story.” That’s right. Hit me right where it hurts. I only have so much money, and these things cost over two bucks a pop. Hopefully they never release four foil covers in the same month, because I would never be able to afford the whole story then!

3. Maximum Carnage was the greatest comic book event in all of history.

Lazy but fun content: Marvel puzzle corner! There’s an avenger word search, some fun trivia and... what’s this? Crossover classics? Okay, fill in the blanks here to complete the names of ten LEGENDARY crossovers that Marvel has put out over the years. That’s fun, let me test my knowledge. Oh hey, Infinity Gauntlet! They turned that into the top grossing movie of all time. And that’s only number 3! Okay, I’ve got to skip right to number 10, because these definitely aren't in chronological order, so it must mean that they're ranked from least to most legendary of all time.

"Maximum __________"

So okay, I read Spec 215 over and over and subliminally incepted myself with the true meaning of Spider-Man: “with great power comes great responsibility, and with an incomplete comic collection there comes dissatisfaction and shame, especially where you're missing out on Maximum Carnage!” Excelsior! I felt guiltier than Spider-Man after giving brain damage to an octogenarian.

How does the story end?

In Spectacular 216, a green blob of slime with no name or origin story teaches Spider-Man that his anger is wrong. There’s a full two-page mega ad for the Maximum Carnage video game. Then Spider-Man discovers that his clone is still alive and it’s onward and upward to the Power and Responsibility 4-part all chrome cover at only 195% of the normal price! Wallopin' websnappers! There were also non-chrome versions, but I doubt your local Quickie had those in stock.

There was one really cool panel I particularly liked in this comic, which occurs before the big reveal. The clone is trying to non-chalantly abort his visit to Aunt May in the hospital when he sees the real Peter Parker arrive. As they pass by each other, they’re having the exact same thought, “I can’t wait to see her.” This mirrors the first encounter between Spidey and his clone at Shea Stadium (way back in Amazing 149). In that epic scene, they are both regaining consciousness at the same time and both say the exact same thing. It was a neat way to show that they were identical both physically and mentally. Having them both thinking the same thought (albeit with different specific meanings, based on the different contexts) is a cool callback to ASM149 and is a great clue for all the readers that were trying to decode the identity of the mystery man before it was fully revealed.

ALTHOUGH, the even BETTER clue that the mystery man was Spider-Man’s clone was the massive spoiler in the ad on page 12 (that somehow had advanced information on upcoming issues) and was promoting their deal on the “Spider-Man Clone Saga” comics that would be on sale next month! What the fuck! Those aren’t even the right issue numbers! Why would you spoil the big reveal at the end of the issue with an ad in the fucking middle of it??

Goddamn comic books!

*Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man”, 2002.