PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN had, for most of its run, been a weak sister second title to the main Spidey series, AMAZING SPIDER-MAN. While there had been some good stories along the way, PPSSM operated in the shadow of ASM, never entirely carrying its own weight, and inevitably staffed by talent that wasn’t yet good enough for ASM. So it was a perfectly fine place to get a bit of extra Spidey action in the month, but not a whole lot more than that. This situation was changing since Tom DeFalco came on board as the Spidey editor. He attempted to thread the storytelling continuity through the three Spider-Man titles, ASM and PPSSM as well as MARVEL TEAM-UP. And for a while, he was successful at this. But that didn’t keep me from cutting PPSSM when it came time to strip back my buy list.
My first issue of PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN was #15, purchased seemingly on a whim. It was the wrap-up to an absolutely batshit storyline involving the Hate-Monger, the Man-Beast, the cult run by Brother Power and the absurd CB radio-themed super hero Razorback. Consequently, it didn’t really grab me. Like #79, it was written by Bill Mantlo, a writer who put in a long stretch on the series.
But a few issues later, I was back, attracted no doubt by the guest-appearance of the Angel and Iceman. I had read the final issue of CHAMPIONS and was interested in learning what had happened to the team. From this point, as I was starting to follow a bunch of Marvel titles on the regular, PETER PARKER became a regular purchase for me, with only occasional gaps. It was an easy book to follow, more entertaining than some of Marvel’s more outré releases (I’m looking at you, GHOST RIDER) and always delivering a solid if unspectacular Spider-Man adventure.
As I mentioned previously, editor DeFalco was trying to make all three of the Spidey books carry equal weight and importance. So this issue of the series, my last, featured a final showdown between the web-slinger and Doctor Octopus that had been building for months. Ock and the Owl had engaged in a gangwar that ran for many of those issues, and at one point he beat up Spidey’s paramour the Black Cat enough to put her in the hospital. So here, Ock has returned to finish the job, and Spidey is ready to tear him to pieces in retaliation. The build-up had been very effective–this really felt like a big deal showdown. It didn’t hurt that Ock was one of Spidey’s genuine big league enemies.
It’s funny, I remember this as being a double-sized issue for some reason, but it’s just another regular release, albeit a fast-paced one. Pretty much the entire issue is wrapped up in the conflict between Spidey and his multi-armed foe, a battle that rages from the hospital all across town and eventually to the train yards. It’s pretty strong stuff, even though you can see the impact that EIC Jim Shooter was having on the approach to the artwork. There are a lot of small panels showcasing full figures, which blunts the impact a little bit. But Jim was a stickler for clarity, and his constant instructions in this regard were having an affect on how artists approached Marvel comic book pages. And to be honest, I can’t really say that it doesn’t work here.
Mantlo’s script contains a bit more overt emotionalism than I’m used to seeing from him. He was clearly trying to bring his A-game here as well, no doubt guided in his efforts by editor DeFalco. The conflict doesn’t really let up at all throughout the story, and there’s a feeling that the Black Cat may legitimately be in jeopardy here should Spidey let down his guard.
The wrap-up of this issue wound up setting up a status quo that would follow Doctor Octopus for years. Spider-Man has beaten him so decisively here that he develops a phobia of the wall-crawler, one that cripples his activities and which he struggles to overcome in his next few appearances. It wasn’t really a great look for a super villain, but it did make this story more meaningful in its consequences, which seems like a good thing. Alas, all of this wasn’t enough to keep me on board–especially if I was already dropping AMAZING SPIDER-MAN. Despite DeFalco’s efforts, ASM remained the flagship of the line.
The thing that brought me back to SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN (it had dropped the PETER PARKER along the way) was the return of Gerry Conway to the web-slinger. I’d always had something of a soft spot for Gerry’s 1970s Spidey stories, as manic and insane and haphazardly-plotted as they usually were, and I felt like he’d be able to bring some of that same energy to the character again in the present. And here, I wasn’t reading ASM (though I’d begin again in not too long when Todd McFarlane came on board as the regular artist).
The Tom Brevoort Experience 
The comics world would be greatly improved if lead characters only had one book.
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Depends on the quality. For be, there was a brief sweet spot of “Batman” & “Detective Comics” monthlies in the 1980s
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You’re right it was terrible! However, once Bill Mantlo and Ed Hannigan took over the reins it was dream title. The following 60 or so issues after their arrival had some of the finest creators we have seen on the Spider-Man title. In defence of this story, if you read Ottley and McGuiness recent work on the Amazing Spider-Man you would know what truly awful is and in comparison this issue would be a work of literatily genius, I kid you not!
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i haven’t been into the writing on Spidey in years. But I like Ottley’s stuff. And I love Ed N Guinness’s.
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You should try looking at Amazing Spider-Man #918. Then tell me whether it’s even legible. The stories are clearly aimed at a younger audience maybe 4 – 6 year olds but, it doesn’t appeal to the usual readers of the title. The story telling is of a very poor quality. The worst I’ve ever read.
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I guess I’m a few years younger than you, Tom, but when I read this as a kid, it (and the story leading up to it) felt like one of the most exciting comics I’d ever read. I remember Mantlo had ramped up the tension for this final showdown in the previous issue, wherein Pete said a subtle goodbye to all his loved ones, fully expecting that he might not survive the battle. I don’t think I’d ever read a story that made me feel such a serious sense of jeopardy for the the title character – and this was in the days when death & resurrection weren’t used so cheaply. I still think it’s among the best Doc Ock stories ever, and it cemented his place as the Number One Spidey villain for me. I probably read it before I read a reprint of Amazing 121/122, but there are obvious parallels. And though Otto didn’t die as Norman had, it still broke the character for quite a few years after (as you mention), but even that made this story more special. Among the only times in subsequent years that I’ve felt a similar sense of jeopardy in a Spidey story were during Kraven’s Last Hunt, and then again in the story that led into Superior Spider-Man.
And yet, while everyone lists the aforementioned tales whenever it’s time to talk about the best Spidey stories ever written, it’s rare The Owl / Octopus War and The Final Battle ever get a mention. Thanks for shining a spotlight on them today.
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As I recall, my thought at the time was that SPEC still felt like the “secondary” Spider-Man book, but that it was a really strong secondary book. Where Stern/JRJr felt confident, breezy, Mantlo/Milgrom felt like they were working hard, pushing for greater intensity and reaching it. Each book had its own tone, and both were good.
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PPSSM#52 ( March 1981 – what happened to the White Tiger & his family ) was another glaring example ( along with Gwen Stacy death, return of Peter Parker’s “parents” ) of why Spider-Man would never have been on the Pro-Registration side during Civil War. {{SSM#58 ( September 1981 ) John Byrne made the Beetle look like a guy who be named the Beetle ( Yeah, I really liked this issue ). PPSSM#64 ( March 1982 ) we got Cloak & Dagger and PPSSM#70 ( September 1982 ) Silverman got turned into a cyborg ( You know for a mobster wanting his youth back, one would think he had heard of cloning. You would think that with the Headmen in the past needing cash that they would have hooked him up ( After all Silvermane’s desire to be young again must be know by street level criminals? No way his attempt to regain his youth wasn’t mentioned by any member of his mob ). Plus PPSSM#21 ( August 1978 ) was my first comic book with the Scorpion in it ( That 1960 Spider-Man cartoon I saw in re-runs was my first introduction to most of Spider-Man’s villains ) — plus I love that cover. Doctor Octopus got a phobia from fighting Spider-Man and the Abomination had one in The Incredible Hulk#288 ( October 1983 ). You would think the Tarantula ( both of them ) would have had one too Tarantual should have been a Daredevil or Captain America or Black Widow foe because he is fighting way out of his league going up against Spider-Man ( between Spidey’s strength, speed & agility there is also his spider sense and webbing ).
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Great reply!
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I remember being very excited when SPECTACULAR debuted — rather than seeing it as a money-grab, I considered it acknowledgement that Spidey was just as important as those other “multi-title” heroes, Superman and Batman. I read it pretty steadily for several years (there were even periods when I was buying SPECTACULAR and not AMAZING). I dropped out around #59, turned off by the constantly-rotating artists; they’d go from Mike Zeck or John Byrne one issue to Frank Springer or Jim Shooter (?!) the next…talk about artistic whiplash!
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I don’t know for sure when I checked out but I do know I have read very few Venom stories so it must have been around his debut. I didn’t buy a single McFarlane story, having loathed his Infinity Inc stuff and never much liking his Image or Marvel output either. I sampled JMS’ run and found it off-putting but I do like the ideal of Spider-Man. Unfortunately, the deal with the devil kept me away until Superior though I left with Slott. Spider-Man titles have become like the Superman titles for me: I only buy when I like the writer.
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PPSSM was a series that I picked up occasionally beginning in 1982, in the mid-#60’s, when I had a mail subscription to ASM. I thought of it as Spider-Man’s “nighttime” title, while ASM took place during the daytime. They may have even stated something like that in the lettercols at the time. I suppose that Spider-Man having three ongoing series (four if you count Spidey Super Stories) didn’t bother me too much back then, since Superman and Batman had their share of secondary titles, and Archie and Richie Rich had even more titles devoted to them. It was easy to see, though, that ASM was the main book because it had the highest issue numbers.
I remember being particularly impressed with PPSSM #77, the fight with Gladiator — an issue which helped me appreciate the character’s return in Daredevil #227, just prior to Frank Miller’s “Born Again” run. But by the #80’s, I had lost interest. The art looked bland, and at the time the Punisher (who had begun appearing regularly in the series) meant nothing to most people — apart from the cool illo that Miller drew for the character in the Official Handbook.
I distinctly recall PPSSM #85 (Dec. 1983) being the issue that caused me to drop the book. It was just the epitome to me at the time of a blandness at Marvel — or maybe I was just growing up and burned out on the type of comics that I had enjoyed just a year or two before. I did buy the next issue (#86) — drawn by Fred Hembeck for Assistant Editors Month — but then I stayed away until #107 (Oct. 1985) which was billed on the cover as the “All New, All Daring PPSSM” so I gave it a try. I enjoyed it, thinking that new writer Peter David was perhaps drawing some inspiration in his approach from what Alan Moore was doing at DC.
I bought PPSSM sporadically again after that, and for me it seemed more quirky and interesting than the main ASM title. More uneven, too, with different people drawing it nearly every issue, but that variety just made it more unpredictable and therefore more interesting to me. This was the period from the #110’s to the early #130’s. I didn’t notice that Gerry Conway & Sal Buscema had become the regular creative team until I bought #139 (somehow I missed #138 with Captain America on the cover, since I was a fan of Sal’s Cap) and bought the next few issues in a row, until finally dropping out of the habit of buying new Marvel comics by 1989.
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Oops, I meant Gladiator’s return in DD #226, not 227.
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You really summed up that issue of Spectacular. I definitely remember reading that one. Although it was a great read, not sure I could express exactly why at the time.
We would pick up the odd issue of Spectacular here and there,
mainly if we saw a villain on the cover that we liked. But if memory serves, there was more soap opera antics in most of Spectacular. Which was a turn off as a kid. Comics needed to be about action!
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I was not a big Marvel fan. but I wish I had paid more attention to Milgrom’s Ditko-style covers in this period.
They were a nice homage to an artist he plainly valued . . . . .
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PPTSS no. 17 was one of the first few comics I ever bought. I was pulled in by Byrne’s art of the Angel, and came back for 18. Rampage the recession villain makes more sense now than ever!
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“The absurd CB radio-themed super hero, Razorback…”
You misspelt ‘iconic’.
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I’m surprised Spidey tells Ock that Ock’s his deadliest foe. Norman Osborn came close to killing Spidey more than once. And he killed Gwen.
Personally, the Scorpion’s the best and deadliest Spidey foe.
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And pretty much permanently ruined by nonsensical changes to his costume.
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