“Why do I have the urge to jump into a giant robot?”
Spider-Man Adventures #5
Marvel (April, 1995)
“The Menace Of Mysterio” WRITER: Nel Yomtov PENCILER: Alex Saviuk INKER: Sam Del La Rosa COLORIST: Tom Smith LETTERER: Steve Dutro EDITOR: Tom Brevvort & Sarra Mossoff
Spider-Man appears to rob a museum and New York begins to turn against him. Then a man named Mysterio appears, claiming to be able to stop the “menace”. After being defeated by Mysterio and missing a date with MJ because of it, Peter decides to give up being Spider-Man, but Police Detective Terri Lee convinces Peter not to give up on Spider-Man (not realizing she was talking to Spider-Man) and together (while dragging Jameson along), they expose Mysterio as Quentin Beck, a special effects man who has a grudge against Spidey for exposing a failed effect nearly killing a stuntman, and Spidey is able to defeat him when he learns his tricks.
What they got right: I like Terri Lee and wish they hadn’t pulled her out to go vampire hunting with Blade later in the series. She’s a cop who actually believes in and sometimes work with Spider-Man, like his own Commissioner Gordon. Mysterio also gets a good showing in this story.
What they got wrong: This one is on the show (or possibly Fox Kids given Fox’s track record). Since this features a quick Spider-Man origin, why not make this the first episode? It’s new to the TV fans who have never read a Spider-Man comic. Also, this comic is pretty close to what I remember about the episode but the writers don’t get any credit, just the adapter.
Recommendation: A fairly decent Spider-Man story that’s worth a look.
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