THE UNBOXING - MAY 2017

Same tune, different singer. Or something. Last month I had one lone book, a CAPTAIN AMERICA EPIC COLLECTION from Marvel. May brings a repeat of that theme, with another single offering in the form of another Epic Collection -- only this time the character is Spider-Man, and the book is THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN EPIC COLLECTION: THE GOBLIN'S LAST STAND.

This volume ushers the web-slinger into the 1970s with Stan Lee's final few issues as series writer and the beginning of Gerry Conway's multi-year stint as his successor, accompanied by the likes of John Romita and Gil Kane on art -- and it includes, as the title indicates, the milestone deaths of the original Green Goblin and of Peter Parker's longtime girlfriend, Gwen Stacy.

But that's not all! Due out later this month is the AMAZING SPIDER-MAN OMNIBUS volume 3 (and I'll speak a bit more about it in June's Unboxing). That book will include AMAZING #68 - 104, while this Epic Collection covers issues 105 - 123. That's more than fifty consecutive issues of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN reprinted by Marvel in a single month! What a time to be alive! It's almost as if they want to get a bunch of new collections out there in various formats to tie in with a big movie this summer...!

That's it for May, but next month will more than make up for the past couple smaller Unboxings with the afore-mentioned AMAZING SPIDER-MAN OMNIBUS 3 and one or two other neat surprises. See you then!

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #22

"DRUG WAR RAGES"
By Tom DeFalco, as told to David Michelinie
Photos: Mark Bagley & Mike Esposito
R. Parker, signs on | B. Sharen, in the red | J. Salicrup, indicted
T. DeFalco, shrieks

The Plot: Spider-Man beats up some drug dealers at Manhattan's Pier 7 and leaves them for the police. But a rival gang arrives first and kills the men, leaving Spider-Man to take the rap. Matt "Daredevil" Murdock vows to get to the bottom of the case. Meanwhile, the Kingpin of Crime orders his men to capture one of the High Evolutionary's Purifiers, which have been patrolling New York in recent days. Elsewhere, young Robbie Baldwin and his mother arrive in Manhattan to take in some Broadway shows.

Daredevil and Spider-Man cross paths at Pier 7 and join forces to clear the web-slinger's name. Elsewhere, Robbie is accosted by a group of muggers and transforms into Speedball, his kinetically charged alter ego. A group of Purifiers arrives and kills the muggers, and Speedball follows them back to their base. While Spider-Man and Daredevil comb the city for clues as to who killed the dealers, the Kingpin interrogates a captured Purifier and learns of the High Evolutionary's plans. Speedball also gets wind of their plot, which involves a transmitter atop the Empire State Building.

At Kingpin's order, one of his men plants himself at a seedy dive and waits for Spider-Man and Daredevil to show up and continue their interrogation roadshow. The man tells them that the drug dealers were killed by a new gang headquartered atop the Empire State Building. The heroes head there and find the Purifiers' transmitter. While Spidey and Daredevil fight the Purifiers, Speedball also arrives at the building and heads to the top floor to disable the transmitter. The Purifiers succeed and Speedball carries out his task but nearly plummets to his death; his life saved by Spider-Man.

Knowing Daredevil and Spider-Man will be after him for the planted information, the Kingpin arranges for the wall-crawler's name to be cleared, to get them off his back. Spider-Man is embraced as a hero once more and all returns to normal.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #629

"WITH GREATER POWER..."
Writer: Roger Stern | Artist: Lee Weeks
Color Artist: Dean White | Color Assist: Matt Hollingsworth
Letterer: VC'S Joe Carmanga | Assistant Editor: Tom Brennan | Editor: Stephen Wacker
Executive Editor: Tom Brevoort | Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Dan Buckley | Executive Producer: Alan Fine
Web-Heads: Gale, Kelly, Slott, Van Lente, Waid & Wells

The Plot: As Captain Universe confronts Spider-Man and Juggernaut, an earthquake hits. Spider-Man realizes that the Uni-Power has taken control of Captain Universe so that he can repair damage done to the fault lines beneath New York caused by Juggernaut's escape from the concrete in which Spider-Man had buried him years before. When Captain Universe's vendetta against Juggernaut proves more important to him than accomplishing his mission, the Uni-Force deserts him and possesses Juggernaut instead.

Juggernaut imprisons Spider-Man and William Nguyen, the former Captain Universe host, in an energy sphere, then heads beneath Manhattan to fix the fault line. Meanwhile, Spider-Man uses some ingenuity to get William and himself out of their makeshift prison. But Juggernaut arrives immediately after to finish off William. Spider-Man convinces Juggernaut to spare the young man, and the Uni-Power leaves Juggernaut after he agrees to do so. Juggernaut departs.

A few weeks later, William has become a minor celebrity, having written a book about his experiences with Juggernaut and the Uni-Force.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #628

"VENGEANCE IS MINE!"
Writer: Roger Stern | Artist: Lee Weeks
Color Artist: Dean White | Letterer: VC'S Joe Carmanga
Assistant Editor: Tom Brennan | Editor: Stephen Wacker
Executive Editor: Tom Brevoort | Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Dan Buckley | Executive Producer: Alan Fine
Web-Heads: Gale, Kelly, Slott, Van Lente, Waid & Wells

The Plot: Captain Universe announces his intention to kill Juggernaut, then hurls him out of the armory with Spider-Man hanging on for the ride. The captain pursues, but Spider-Man attacks him to keep the still-unconscious Juggernaut safe. Captain Universe flies around the city trying to be rid of the web-slinger, while Juggernaut comes around and goes in search of his foes.

Captain Universe leaves Spider-Man in a construction yard and heads under the Earth's surface, beckoned by the Uni-Force to repair a fault line. But when Juggernaut reaches the yard, Cap abandons his mission and returns to the surface to finish his vendetta against the unstoppable villain.

The Sub-Plots: None to be found this issue.

Continuity Notes: While Spider-Man and Captain Universe skirmish inside Juggernaut's cell, the video screen outside shows Juggernaut still unconscious with nobody nearby, thanks to the wall-crawler setting the security camera on a loop last issue.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #627

"SOMETHING CAN STOP THE JUGGERNAUT?!?"
Writer: Roger Stern | Artist: Lee Weeks
Color Artist: Dean White | Letterer: VC'S Joe Carmanga
Assistant Editor: Tom Brennan | WHAM!ed: Stephen Wacker
Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Dan Buckley | Executive Producer: Alan Fine
Web-Heads: Gale, Kelly, Slott, Van Lente, Waid & Wells

The Plot: Peter Parker suffers an intense blast of spider-sense while on a date, and ducks out to investigate. Following the danger to its source, he finds the Juggernaut, fallen from the sky, crash-landed in Central Park. Before the web-slinger can investigate, the police arrive and Juggernaut is taken into custody. Later that night, Spider-Man finds a car parked atop a large structure in Washington Square. The vehicle's drunk driver tells Spider-Man he was deposited there by a blue-and-white figure.

The next day, Spider-Man infiltrates the Inwood Armory in Upper Manhattan, where the Juggernaut is being held. He questions the villain about his current state, and Juggernaut also cites a blue-and-white "flying guy" as the cause of his crash-landing in the park. Then, as if on cue, the all-powerful Captain Universe appears, declaring his intention to destroy Juggernaut.

The Sub-Plots: At the story's start, Peter is on a date with Carlie Cooper, a CSI investigator. They have a second date later in the issue, which is how Peter learns where Juggernaut is being held. Also, Carlie and Peter discuss the fact that Peter recently lost his job at Front Line, the newspaper which replaced the Daily Bugle when the latter ceased publication.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN FAMILY #7

"JUST AN OLD SWEET SONG"
Writer: Roger Stern | Pencils: Val Semeiks | Inks: Mike Getty
Colors: Andres Mossa | Letters: Jared K. Fletcher
Assistant Editor: Tom Brennan | Editor: Steve Wacker
Executive Editor: Tom Brevoort | Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Dan Buckley | Executive Producer: Alan Fine
Webheads: Gale, Slott, Guggenheim, Waid & Kelly

The Plot: Peter Parker stops by Aunt May's house to spend the anniversary of her wedding to Uncle Ben with her. As they sit and reminisce, May tells Peter for the first time the story of how she met Ben in Atlantic City when she was eighteen years old. Ben was on leave from the army and they spent time together, but eventually Ben returned to service and May met another man, a gangster named Johnny Jerome. When Ben returned from the service he found May with Johnny and trailed the hood, learning that he was a criminal. Johnny was eventually arrested and May and Ben wound up together.

Early in their marriage, the couple faced a challenge when May miscarried and the doctor discovered she suffered from a cardiac defect which, at the time, was irreparable. But May and Ben persevered and looked after young Peter when his parents, Ben's brother Richard and his wife Mary, left the country. The couple took Peter in as their own when Richard and Mary were killed.

In the modern day, Peter and Aunt May share a toast as Peter realizes he still knows so little about his late uncle. May discusses her relationship with her new fiance, Jay Jameson, then Peter departs to head home.

SPIDER-MAN BY ROGER STERN: LOOSE ENDS

Even though they were published over a decade after Stern left AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, I consider the entirety of HOBGOBLIN LIVES and the subsequent "Goblins At the Gate" storyline in SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN to be an essential coda to Stern's original run with the character, tying up, as they do, the biggest loose end mystery from those previous stories. Stern did a bit more work for the Spider-Man office around this time, but nothing as integral as those stories, and therefore the remaining contemporaneous issues aren't anything I consider necessary in order to get the full "Roger Stern on Spider-Man" experience. The real meat is the original SPECTACULAR/AMAZING run, after all; the subsequent Hobgoblin stories are, as noted, merely an epilogue.

However, about ten more years later, in 2009, Stern returned to Marvel again, accepting a few odd Spider-Man assignments once more. And while the majority of these stories are fun reads, once again very few relate in any major way to Stern's previous time with the wall-crawler... with the exception of two. First up is a short story from AMAZING SPIDER-MAN FAMILY #7, picking up a stray thought from Aunt May in AMAZING #238, and explaining its context. The second tale is a sequel to one of Stern's best remembered Spider-Man adventures, as the wall-crawler learns that "Something Can Stop the Juggernaut" in AMAZING issues 627 - 629.

Since both these stories relate, in some way, to Stern's original Spider-Man run, I've made the eleventh hour decision to include them in my review series after all. I won't go as in-depth as I did previously with regards to categories like "Also On Sale This Month", and I won't delve into the letter columns or provide copious continuity notes -- but I figure these stories are worth at least touching upon.

So, originally my plan was to provide a sort of "Afterword" to my Stern review series this Wednesday. But instead I'm going to save that for a couple weeks. Meaning, after tomorrow's "Goblins at the Gate" conclusion, we'll continue with Stern's Spider-Man through the holidays and up to the end of the year, devoting some time to a few of Stern's final issues to date starring the wondrous web-slinger, which tie back to his original run on AMAZING all those years ago.

Then, on New Year's Eve, the afore-mentioned Afterword will make its appearance to cap off the entire series.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #252

"HOMECOMING!"
Plot: Roger Stern | Script: Tom DeFalco
Pencil Breakdowns: Ron Frenz | Finished Art: Brett Breeding
Letters: Joe Rosen | Colors: Glynis Wein | Editor: Danny Fingeroth
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The Plot: One week after disappearing into the huge alien structure in Central Park, Spider-Man emerges from it in a new black costume, with Dr. Curt Connors in tow. After returning Connors to his family, the web-slinger catches up on his personal life as Peter Parker and patrols the city in his new outfit. While out and about, he bumps into a pair of quarreling teens and takes them up above the city, letting them see the environment, good and bad, that they take for granted.

The Sub-Plots: Spider-Man's black costume is somehow alive, responding to his thoughts by disappearing and changing into street clothes when necessary.

Despite having taken several photos of his adventures on Battleworld, Peter decides that he can't sell them to any respectable newspaper or magazine, both because Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four advised all the kidnapped heroes to keep their adventure a secret from the general public and because the photos are simply too unbelievable to be taken seriously.

Peter also gives Aunt May a call to check in and agrees to join Nathan and her for Sunday dinner.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #251

"ENDINGS!"
Plot: Roger Stern | Script: Tom DeFalco
Pencil Breakdowns: Ron Frenz | Finished Art: Klaus Janson
Letters: Joe Rosen | Colors: Christie Scheele | Editor: Danny Fingeroth
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The Plot: Spider-Man and the Hobgoblin continue their fight within the goblin's burning warehouse as firefighters battle the blaze outside. Hobgoblin gets the drop on the spider-senseless wall-crawler, subduing him and escaping the scene in his battle van. But Spide-Man grabs hold of the fleeing vehicle and eventually makes it inside for a rematch with his foe. As the van rockets through the city under control of an auto-guidance system, Spider-Man's spider-sense returns, allowing him to turn the tables and stun the Hobgoblin. But when the van drives into the Hudson River and begins taking on water, Spider-Man is forced to evacuate. He dives back into the water to search for the Hobgoblin, but finds only his mask drifting to the surface.

Later, Peter Parker has dinner with Harry Osborn and assures him that all proof his father was the Green Goblin was destroyed in the warehouse fire. After Harry leaves, Peter suffers an agonizing blast of spider-sense and follows it to the Sheep Meadow in Central Park, where an enormous futuristic structure has appeared. The web-slinger is drawn to the bizarre edifice and as soon as he enters it, he vanishes.

The Sub-Plots: Jonah Jameson, having printed his confession regarding his role in the Scorpion's creation in the Daily Bugle, steps down as the newspaper's editor-in-chief, turning the job over to former city editor Robbie Robertson.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #250

"CONFESSIONS!"
Writer: Roger Stern | Artists: John Romita, Jr. & Klaus Janson
Letterer: Joe Rosen | Colorist: Christie Scheele | Editor: Danny Fingeroth
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The Plot: Spider-Man exits the Century Club, changes back into Peter Parker, and meets up with Harry Osborn inside. Harry informs Peter that the club members have decided not to report the Hobgoblin's extortion scheme to the police.

Later, with no spider-sense to guide him to the tracer planted on Hobgoblin last issue, Spider-Man uses a list of the victims' names provided to Peter by Harry and traverses New York looking for leads, but finds none. Finally he realizes that he can find the tracer with his old receiver device. Peter repairs the receiver and follows it to the Hobgoblin's warehouse, where the two begin a battle which quickly sets fire to the goblin's lair.

The Sub-Plots: Jonah Jameson decides to one-up the Hobgoblin by admitting his culpability in the Scorpion's creation via a Daily Bugle editorial. Spider-Man pulls the editorial from Jameson's typewriter, telling him to keep it to himself, but as soon as the web-slinger leaves Jameson's office, the publisher begins his confession again. On the issue's final page, Jameson gives the manuscript to a copy boy for composing.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #249

"SECRETS!"
Written by: Roger Stern | Breakdowns by: John Romita, Jr. | Finishes by: Dan Green
Letters by: Joe Rosen | Colors by: Bob Sharen | Edited by: Danny Fingeroth
Chiefed by: Jim Shooter

The Plot: While hosting a housewarming party at his new home in New Jersey, Harry Osborn receives a blackmail package from someone aware of his father's identity as the Green Goblin. In Manhattan, Jonah Jameson finds himself with a similar demand. The next day, Harry is accompanied by Peter Parker to the Century Club, where a number of blackmail victims, all wealthy and powerful men, are gathered to meet their blackmailer. Peter waits outside while Harry and the others enter a meeting room to find themselves in the presence of the Hobgoblin. When Jonah and Harry stand up to the goblin, he is revealed as a robotic stand-in. The true Hobgoblin then bursts into the room, having used the robot to ferret out troublemakers, but is attacked by Spider-Man.

Hobgoblin gets the better of Spider-Man by using a gas on him which dulls his spider-sense. Thus incapacitated, the wall-crawler is easily defeated by his foe. As Spider-Man passes out, he attempts to tag the goblin with a spider-tracer, but fails. Hobgoblin prepares to kill Spider-Man, but is stopped by the Kingpin of Crime, another club member. The goblin, unwilling to challenge the Kingpin, departs, unaware that the crime lord has planted the discarded spider-tracer on his glider.

Kingpin brings Spider-Man around with smelling salts and informs the web-slinger that, believing Hobgoblin to be a potential threat to his operations, he has planted the tracer. But unknown to the Kingpin, Spider-Man is unable to follow the tracer's signal without the aid of his spider-sense.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #17

"HEROES AND VILLAINS"
Plot: Roger Stern | Script: Bill Mantlo | Penciler: Ed Hannigan
Inker: Jim Mooney | Letterer: Diana Albers | Colorist: George Roussos
Editors: Tom DeFalco & Danny Fingeroth | Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The Plot: Milton Farr, publisher of sleazy men's magazines, is kidnapped by mobsters who are aware he has information which could topple the Kingpin. Meanwhile, Peter Parker attends the pre-reunion mixer for Midtown High School's class reunion, where he bumps into former classmates Louie Minelli, now an insurance salesman, and C.J. Vogel, a comedy writer. Peter leaves the mixer and changes to Spider-Man, and as he departs he spots Louie coercing C.J. into delivering a package for him by invoking the name "Remington Colt".

Peter learns that Colt was a pen name for writers working for Farr, and also that Farr has been kidnapped. He follows C.J. on his delivery run and gets in between two rival gangs, both after Farr's dirt on the Kingpin. Spider-Man saves C.J. from the gangs and nurses him back to health as Peter Parker. After C.J. leaves Peter's apartment, Spider-Man heads out to Farr's office, where he finds a hidden safe C.J. had described to Peter. The web-slinger takes a file which would identify C.J. as Remington Colt, then departs to let the police in on the safe's location, which still contains the evidence on the Kingpin.

But Farr finally breaks under pressure, and his captors head for the office to raid the safe. C.J. has headed there as well, to recover the Colt file, and is cornered by Louie. Spider-Man returns from calling the police in time to find one of the gangs holding Louie and C.J. both at gunpoint. The wall-crawler saves them and webs up the gang, but C.J. burns Farr's safe, still believing the Colt file to be inside.

Later, at the Midtown High reunion, C.J. gives a monologue filled with cruel jokes about his former classmates, and the alumni are not amused. Backstage, Peter gives C.J. the Colt file and informs him that Louie has been arrested for his part in recent criminal activities. C.J. evidences his selfishness to Peter, who berates him and walks away.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #248

"AND HE STRIKES LIKE A THUNDERBALL"
Writer: Roger Stern | Pencil Breakdowns: John Romita, Jr. | Finishes: Brett Breeding
Letters: Diana Albers | Colors: Bob Sharen | Editor: Bob DeNatale
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The Plot: Spider-Man battles Thunderball, eventually defeating him by luring him into an electrical substation and using his body to close a high-voltage circuit.

The Sub-Plots: None to be found in either of this issue's stories.

Continuity Notes: Thunderball tells Spider-Man that he received his powers from an Asgardian Norn Queen. The wall-crawler, despite having met Thor numerous times at this point, believes the story to be "hooey".

Thunderball recalls the origin of the Wrecking Crew in DEFENDERS #18, and notes that he's been uncharacteristically weak lately, as seen in IRON MAN #171.

The Spider's Web: Assistant Editor Bob DeNatale provides a brief column on the genesis of these "Assistant Editor's Month" stories. Then readers react to Peter's decision to leave graduate school in issue #243. And one fan asks if John Romita, Jr.'s recent appointment as penciler of X-MEN will affect his work on Spider-Man, resulting in a statement that Romita will simply have both series on his regular schedule. Liars!!

Also On Sale This Month: "Assistant Editors' Month" hits PETER PARKER #86 with a story written totally straight, but drawn in the cartoony style of Fred Hembeck -- then Spider-Man takes a break from MARVEL TEAM-UP to allow Aunt May and Galactus to headline the title.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #247

"INTERRUPTIONS"
Writer: Roger Stern | Breakdowns: John Romita, Jr. | Finishes: John Romita, Sr.
Letterer: Joe Rosen | Colorist: Bob Sharen | Editors: Danny Fingeroth & Tom DeFalco
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The Plot: Spider-Man visits "Nose" Norton to see if he can scare up some information on the Hobgoblin's whereabouts. Norton claims to know nothing, but the web-slinger plants a spider-tracer on his hat and, following dinner with Aunt May and Anna Watson as Peter Parker, our hero trails Norton to Brooklyn, where the stool pigeon sells a trombone case to a group of thugs taking orders from a man they call "Doc". Spider-Man is discovered watching the men and leaps into action against them. When Doc displays superhuman strength, the wall-crawler believes he has finally found the Hobgoblin. But the untimely arrival of Spider-Man's would-be sidekick, Frog-Man, allows the criminals to escape.

Later, Peter develops photos from his automatic camera and gets a look at a map Doc had been showing his men in preparation for an armored car heist. The next day, Spider-Man takes the Long Island Railroad to the heist location, but arrives moments too late. He attends to an ailing armored car guard, then followed the criminals' tire tracks to a nearby garage. There, Doc reveals the item he and his men have stolen is not, as he had claimed, gold, but a crowbar. When Spider-Man shows up, Doc sheds his lab coat, dons a mask, and produces a wrecking ball from a nearby crate, revealing himself to be Thunderball of the villainous Wrecking Crew.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #246

"THE DAYDREAMERS!"
Writer: Roger Stern | Penciler: John Romita, Jr. | Inker: Dan Green
Letterer: Joe Rosen | Colorist: Bob Sharen | Editors: Tom DeFalco & Danny Fingeroth
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The Plot: Still recovering in the hospital, the Black Cat daydreams that she is healthy and going into action alongside Spider-Man to liberate important documents from an embassy in Manhattan. The couple then turns the papers over to a government contact, who pays $500,000 for them. Afterward, Spider-Man takes the Cat for a spin in his yacht and unmasks himself as Cary Grant. She comes back to her senses after falling out of her hospital bed during the fantasy.

Elsewhere, Jonah Jameson wanders through the Daily Bugle printing press room, lost in thought. He imagines that Spider-Man arrives to taunt him. Jameson beats the wall-crawler senseless while Lance Bannon and Peter Parker photograph the entire incident. Marla Madison arrives to embrace Jameson as the latest edition of the Bugle comes off the presses. Jameson, reverted to a younger, heartier age, proudly reads the headline praising him for his defeat of Spider-Man. He then drifts wistfully back to reality.

Meanwhile, Mary Jane is on a date in the theater district when she imagines herself as the star of a Broadway show based upon her own life. But when her sister, Gayle, appears with her two children and declares that she had always wanted to be an actress, Mary Jane snaps out of her daydream and returns to her date.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #245

"SACRIFICE PLAY!"
Writer: Roger Stern | Artists: John Romita, Jr. & Dave Simons
Letterer: Joe Rosen | Colorist: Bob Sharen | Editor: Tom DeFalco
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The Plot: Spider-Man begins his hunt for Lefty Donovan by speaking with District Attorney Blake Tower, but the D.A. is uncooperative. The wall-crawler next tries looking for info on Donovan at the Daily Bugle, but strikes out again. Finally, after additional weeks of searching, he visits Detective Lieutenant Lou Snyder, who provides Spider-Man with Donovan's file.

Meanwhile, a mysterious figure has completed Norman Osborn's strength formula, but it explodes in his face. He recuperates in the hospital while Spider-Man conducts his search, and then, after sneaking out and stealing a car, he heads for the Hobgoblin's former mansion on Long Island and enters a secret basement, where he dons the goblin's costume and heads for Times Square to get Spider-Man's attention at the same time the web-slinger is visiting Snyder.

Snyder informs Spider-Man of the Hobgoblin's rampage and the wall-crawler heads out to meet him. The goblin's strength gives him an unexpected edge, but Spider-Man soon regains the upper hand. He unmasks the Hobgoblin to find Lefty Donovan's face underneath, but just as Donovan is about to reveal the identity of the true Hobgoblin, his jet glider locks onto his feet and takes off, crashing him into a wall.

As the paramedics mop up, Spider-Man realizes that Donovan was simply a decoy, and the real Hobgoblin is still out there. And the Hobgoblin himself watches the news footage of Donovan's death, pleased that his guinea pig provided him with enough data to hopefully duplicate Osborn's formula again, this time without the resultant explosion.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #244

"ORDEALS!"
Writer: Roger Stern | Artists: John Romita, Jr. & Klaus Janson
Letterer: Joe Rosen | Colorist: Bob Sharen | Editor: Tom DeFalco
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The Plot: Osborn Industries' corporate headquarters in Manhattan is the victim of an armed robbery by a group of thugs. Spider-Man gets wind of this and investigates, sneaking into the local police precinct to learn that the culprits were after assorted chemicals. When a call comes in about another robbery in progress at a waterfront Osborn warehouse, Spider-Man heads that way to challenge the robbers. But the goons' leader, watching from a nearby truck, sets the warehouse ablaze with a pumpkin bomb. Spider-Man rescues the robbers and turns them over to the police, then pursues the truck but finds it empty, its occupant having switched to a smaller van to escape.

Returning to the docks, Spider-Man gets the escaped ringleader's name -- Lefty Donovan -- and realizes that he must be the Hobgoblin. However, Donovan returns to the Hobgoblin's headquarters on Long Island, where the villain, still recovering from his initial bout with Spider-Man, greets him and reveals that the chemicals Donovan has acquired will endow him with the same physical strength possessed by the original Green Goblin.

The Sub-Plots: Peter goes through with his decision to take a leave of absence from the Empire State University graduate program, spending a long morning waiting in lines and getting signatures on his paperwork (these are the "ordeals" to which the issue's title refers). Before signing off, Professor Sloan tries to change Peter's mind, but when his student refuses to budge, Sloan thinks to himself that it's unlikely he will ever see Peter again.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #243

"OPTIONS!"
Story by: Roger Stern | Art by: John Romita, Jr. & Dave Simons
Letters by: Diana Albers | Coloring: Bob Sharen | Edited by: Tom DeFalco
Overseen by: Jim Shooter

The Plot: Spider-Man pays a visit to Dr. Curt Connors at Empire State University to analyze the fragment he grabbed from the Mad Thinker's android. Unfortunately, Connors is able to provide no answers. Afterward, the web-slinger patrols the city, takes out a group of terrorists who have seized a church, and eventually returns to ESU to inform his lab partner, Roger Hochberg, that he has decided to quit graduate school.

The Sub-Plots: If that main plot description seems a bit thin, it's because this is pretty much a sub-plot-centric issue, as Stern catches up on various aspects of Peter Parker's life. First off, the Amy Powell storyline finally comes to its close. After several issues of Amy toying with Peter to make Lance Bannon jealous, Amy storms out of Peter's apartment when Mary Jane Watson barges in. Lance pursues Amy and the couple eventually reconciles over coffee, finally admitting to one another that they are in love at that the games they've played have gone on long enough.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #242

"CONFRONTATIONS!"
Scripter: Roger Stern | Artists: John Romita, Jr. & Kevin Dzuban
Letterer: Diana Albers | Colorist: Bob Sharen | Editor: Tom DeFalco
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The Plot: The Mad Thinker, incarcerated in a maximum security prison, projects his consciousness into an android body at his hidden lair and learns that Spider-Man recently fought a rogue robot from one of his laboratories. The Thinker, having heard rumors of the wall-crawler's spider-sense, sends another robot to his normal stomping grounds to test him.

The robot attacks Spider-Man as he blows off some steam at the East Side Con Edison plant. The automaton unleashes weapon after weapon against Spider-Man, but he avoids every assault and eventually defeats the robot by tricking it into dropping a pair of huge generators on itself. Spider-Man grabs a small fragment of the robot's shell and heads home.

The Sub-Plots: Peter heads to Empire State University to see if he passed his final exam. While there, Professor Sloan reminds Peter that he needs at least an 80% on the test to stay in the graduate program, then informs him that the tests are not yet graded.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #241

"IN THE BEGINNING..."
Scripter: Roger Stern | Artists: John Romita, Jr. & Frank Giacoia
Letterer: Joe Rosen | Colorist: Glynis Wein | Editor: Tom DeFalco
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The Plot: Spider-Man comes around, still inside the New York Coliseum, then snags a walkie talkie from Lt. Kris Keating and goes in search of a spider-tracer with which he tagged the Vulture during their fight. The police are also in pursuit of the winged villain and his captive, Gregory Bestman, and Spider-Man hitches a ride on a police chopper which chases the Vulture to a wooded area on Staten Island. The Vulture enters the forest and Spider-Man follows, while the police circle overhead.

The Vulture takes Bestman to his "Vulture's Nest", a farmhouse and silo filled with technological gear and, as Spider-Man listens in, recaps his origin as an ex-business partner of Bestman's driven to crime by the other man's underhanded business practices. As the Vulture prepares to finish Bestman, Spider-Man drops in and challenges his old foe. Their fight takes them out into the woods, where Spider-Man uses the close quarters to his advantage and defeats the Vulture.

The web-slinger turns his enemy over to Lt. Keating, who reveals to Bestman that the police overheard the Vulture's entire story and believes the District Attorney may want to hear it as well. Later that day, photos of the Vulture's capture, taken by Spider-Man's automatic camera, grace the front page of the Daily Bugle.