“Next time we take a taxi.”
Amazing Spider-Man #252
Marvel (May, 1984)
reprinted by Toy Biz for sale with Symbiote Spider-Man (October, 2000)
“Homecoming!” PLOT: Roger Stern WRITER: Tom DeFalco BREAKDOWNS: Ron Frenz FINISHER: Brett Breeding COLORIST: Glynis Wein LETTERER: Joe Rosen EDITOR: Danny Fingeroth
Spider-Man returns from the Secret Wars slightly ahead of the other superheroes, and gets Curt Connors back to his family before the press arrive. Everyone agreed not to speak about what happened (to avoid spoilers) but he does have a cool new costume that responds to his thoughts. Peter touches base with Aunt May but he and Black Cat miss each other. Peter goes web-spinning with his new costume and comes across two teens having a lovers spat. To get them to stop, Spidey takes the kids on a spider’s tour of New York. The girl seemed to like it anyway. It’s a rare moment when Peter is in a good mood.
What they got right: I don’t have the Secret Wars comics so here’s where I can say I love the black costume better than the classic outfit. It makes him look like a “spider man”. I don’t even mind the shapeshifting nature, especially nowadays when calling Peter an “everyman” would be a lie. (Dude runs his own laboratory after someone took over his mind for a year, sometime after he made a deal with the devil to undo his marriage and parts of his character growth.) It looks really cool and I’m sorry he gave up any version of it.
What they got wrong: The “bonus pin-up” has a caption box and the last line of Spidey’s self-monologue. Even if you scanning it into a photocopier (which they had at the time but scanners were rare in homes) it wouldn’t make a good pin-up with those in there. Just call it a splash page.
Recommendation: This is just setup for new directions (or just the new costume) in Peter’s life. It’s not really a must have but a good addition to the collection nevertheless.
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