Spectacular Spider-Man 160 - Acts of Vengeance

The cover of this issue demonstrates one of the more irritating features of early 1990s Marvel covers - slapping a "TM" next to just about every single named character. Did someone genuinely think that Shocker (TM), Rhino (TM) and/or Hydro Man (TM) would one day star in their own series and they needed protection just in case?

Spectacular Spider-Man #160

Script: Gerry Conway
Art: Sal Buscema
Lettering: Rick Parker
Colour: Bob Sharen
Editor: Jim Salicrup
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

It's also another sign of the continuing discontinuity between the Gerry Conway written issues and the rest of the crossover as the Shocker has already been taken down in an earlier Fantastic Four issue and Hydro Man appears in one that went on sale the same day as this one. Conway's handling of continuity hasn't always been the best and it can sometimes create awkward story points - two that spring to mind in this era are the changing of the nature of the clones that then had to sort out explaining the Carrion saga and revealing that Mary Jane had known Peter was Spider-Man right from the start which does significantly alter the understanding of their relationship. In this regard his use of foes being used elsewhere and continuing to present the core alliance operating in a different manner from the rest of the crossover aren't such major things, but they do stand out when read altogether.

Such is the nature of Spider-Man's powers that even though the three villains are prominent on the cover, inside they're taken down in just two pages. But his powers are making him cocky and not realising how the public is turning against him because of the sheer destruction that comes from his fights. Into this mess comes Doctor Doom's latest tool, Tess One, a Second World War era android built for Total Elimination of Super-Soldiers. The backstory is interesting as it shows that during the war the government was concerned about the creation of super-humans and wanted safeguards in place lest their creations turn on them. One of the big missed opportunities of the "Acts of Vengeance" crossover has been the failure to really play up in a consistent way the public concerns about the dangers of having such powers in their midst. Doom receives a message that Magneto and the Kingpin are concerned about attitudes in Congress, but other than the odd reference like this there isn't a great deal of attention given outside of the Fantastic Four issues. Thus Spider-Man's actions and the fear it creates almost operates in a vacuum. It seems he'll get renewed attacks as J. Jonah Jameson steps up his plans to launch a new magazine with sleazy photography Nick Katzenberg supplying the crucial photographs. (The scenes here are made worse by comments about Katzenberg dating a lawyer. There's a bit too much information.)

Spider-Man's powers continue to grow, with a hint of their origin as he starts to be drawn with the aura of another being around him and hears whispering in his ear. The actual fight with Tess One is a walkover as Doom expected, but it extenuates Spidey's cockiness with the public getting increasingly scared of the menace. Even Mary Jane is getting concerned, leading to a row. Sal Buscema continues to draw some amazing scenes, with Spidey's destruction of Tess One doing well to convey the sheer power involved.

This storyline has had some weaker moments due to its length but is clearly now building towards a climax with a more logical progression of events. Despite some minor poor continuity, this issue is overall a good instalment that brings the series back on form.

Spectacular Spider-Man #160  has been reprinted in:

• Spider-Man: The Cosmic Adventures (1993)
• Acts of Vengeance Omnibus (2011)
• Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection: Cosmic Adventures (2013)