What If... 31 - Acts of Vengeance

What If... Spider-Man had kept his cosmic powers?

A common feature of What If... was to do a story where a major crossover event turned out differently. The first issue of the relaunched regular series asked "What If... the Avengers lost the Evolutionary War?" and later issues offered alternate outcomes for events such as "Secret Wars" (#114), "Fall of the Mutants" (#101), "Inferno" (#6 and #37), "Atlantis Attacks" (#25), "Infinity Gauntlet" (#49 and #104), "Operation Galactic Storm" (#55 & #56), "Age of Apocalypse" (#77 and #81) and the Spider-Man "Clone Saga" (#86). It's thus a surprise to see there wasn't one focused on the core of "Acts of Vengeance" and we only get a look at an alternate ending to the story of Spider-Man's cosmic powers.

What If... #31

Writer: Glenn Alan Herdling
Penciler: Scott Alan McDaniel
Inkers: Col. Sanders III & Sam Delarosa
Letterer: Ken Bruzenak
Colourists: Tom Vincent and Co.
Editor: Craig Anderson
Chief: Tom DeFalco

The opening scene with Captain Universe possessing the dog Casey features Glenn Herdling proposing to Laura - she said yes both here and in real life though I don't know which way round the proposals came. This scene helps the Watcher to (re)introduce the Uni-Power of Captain Universe and how it came to Spider-Man before explaining how in the regular reality the Uni-Power went on to mainly possess children and animals, leaving unexplored the potential of the power being held long-term by "a powerful, intelligent host. At least not in your reality...!" This story shows that potential.

The divergent point is straightforward - the power stays with Spider-Man after his battle with the Tri-Sentinel and as a result this story doesn't have to wade through retelling loads of existing comics. The only story I can spot from elsewhere is when Spider-Man teamed up with Avengers to fight Nebula, which is here handled in two panels as his powers provide both speedy resolution and concern for Thor and Captain America.

The theme is of the conflict between "With absolute power there comes absolute responsibility" and "absolute power corrupts absolutely". Over the course of this issue we see how cosmic Spider-Man steadily seeks to solve ever greater problems in the world, but things don't always go well. There's an early encounter with the Hobgoblin who, rarely for this era of Marvel, is presented as quite a serious threat, or at least he would be if not for Spider-Man's power level. Spidey tries to remove the physical changes made by demons, but only succeeds to turn Hobgoblin's face into Peter Parker's! (An existing spell by Doctor Strange means Hobgoblin thought he had a normal face and now thinks he has a monstrous one.) There's also a quick fight with Venom (who interestingly is drawn as he looked at the time of Acts of Vengeance rather than with the modifications Erik Larsen had made in the intervening two years), who is persuaded to reform and take Spider-Man's place as a street level crime fighter. This came over a year before the Lethal Protector phase of the character began, showing how many an idea was prefigured by What If... (but also perhaps that's where some ideas should have been left).

However Spider-Man taking on the role of the world's protector is bringing personal changes, with both Mary Jane and Venom's alien symbiote no longer recognising the man they once knew so well. This brings a very poorly handled moment when Aunt May inadvertently discovers Peter's secret. Although the cosmic powers are more shocking than just being Spider-Man, it's become a bit too much of a cliché that upon learning her nephew's secret she would suffer a heart attack. Even before this he has been neglecting Mary Jane terribly and the marriage nearly collapses but eventually proves to be more durable.

In the original stories Spider-Man did wonder if he could have used his powers to stop Gaddafi and end apartheid. However this dated quickly as in the two years between then and this story the world had moved on a bit with South Africa now clearly in the process of dismantling apartheid (one of the key steps, the National Peace Accord, was signed only a few days before the issue went on sale) and Gaddafi had been surpassed as the west's main target in the Arab world. As is so often the case in comics, the actual names of leaders and countries are not used but the area is explicitly identified as the "Persian Gulf" and as Spider-Man soars into a capital city and locates the bunker the dictator is hiding in with his "Republican Guard" the artwork doesn't fail to disguise and instead gives us the wonderful image of Spider-Man capturing Saddam Hussein.

Spidey eventually tries to solve the problem of drought in the Sudan, forcibly recruiting Thor and this leads to a confrontation between the two about whether gods should allow people to seek their own destiny or intervene all the time. For a story exploring the real-world implications of having beings with such great powers, it's good to also get a realistic explanation as to why they don't set out to wipe out famine and the likes in the real world.

The finale brings a confrontation with Doctor Doom, who brings a hostage, Captain Ray Coffin who was the original wielder of the Captain Universe power. And Spider-Man doesn't hold back, leading to Doom snapping Coffin's neck, triggering the eventual confrontation between Peter's true side and Captain Universe, fought out as energy forms before bringing revelations about both Doom and what must truly be done with the Uni-Power. Thus he makes the final sacrifice by using Doom's weapon to release the power, creating a moment of universal unity, linking all minds together.

This obviously isn't a substitute for "What If... the Avengers lost Acts of Vengeance" but it was never meant to be and so shouldn't be approached in that way. Instead it's a good What If... that takes the basic concept from a storyline and shows what more could have been done but also why the regular Marvel universe couldn't go there. Unlike a lot of What If... stories it doesn't wind up with the gratuitous killing of characters for the sake of it or else being so tame as to produce a simplified alternative where a few identities, costumes and/or team memberships have changed but otherwise things are much the same. Instead it gives us a good exploration of the fundamental philosophical concept behind Spider-Man, turned up to the absolute degree.

What If... #31  has been reprinted in:

• Nowhere at all it seems.

Web of Spider-Man 65 - Acts of Vengeance

"The Last Act of Vengeance" is the title of this issue and many readers (and perhaps even some editorial staff) were no doubt going "We hope!" It concludes as the group of villains seek money from the Kingpin whilst Spider-Man has to find a way to get back down to the ground.

Web of Spider-Man #65

Writer: Gerry Conway
Penciler: Alex Saviuk
Inker: Keith Williams
Letterer: Rick Parker
Colourist: Bob Sharen
Editor: Jim Salicrup
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Spidey's solution of webbing a plane and then clinging to it until it lands and Graviton's power wears off is somewhat on the fantastical side but, as often with Acts of Vengeance, there's a famous Silver Age precedent, here Spider-Man's mission to repair a space capsule in the very first issue of Amazing Spider-Man. Elsewhere the Chameleon has abandoned the hideout and left faked documents implying he's working with the Kingpin, causing the six villains to go and seek the money they expect from him. It's such an obvious ploy it's amazing that they fall for it, but numerous villains have been gullible over the years.

After some localised subplots about the Daily Bugle building having been so damaged as to have to be condemned and Mary Jane discovering that Harry Osborn has the Green Goblin costume and equipment stored in his flat, we get to the final battle. Once again Spider-Man takes advantage of some of his foes' lack of experience of working with each other to pick them off one by one and it's a pretty straightforward fight. Strangely there's a moment where Titania leaps on Spidey and they both fall a long way before he breaks clear and leaves her falling, assuming she's strong enough it will only stun her. However on landing she gets hit by a bus and there's nothing in the story suggesting Spider-Man's even aware of this yet it's the classic type of situation that would give him a major guilt trip. The Kingpin watches the fight bemused, unaware that this is all a set-up by the Chameleon to destroy his rival's reputation.

This issue is ultimately almost as light as something Graviton has used his powers on. There's not much substance, the team-up between the six villains doesn't provide any further insights and Spidey quickly proves he's able to take each and every one of them down with greater strategy. This epilogue is ever more distant from the big crossover and it's a relief that this is the final book with an "Acts of Vengeance" banner on the cover.

Web of Spider-Man #65 has been reprinted in:

• Acts of Vengeance Crossovers Omnibus (2011)

Web of Spider-Man 64 - Acts of Vengeance

Three months after the conclusion of "Acts of Vengeance" came this issue of Web of Spider-Man with "Acts of Vengeance is Back!" on the cover. This issue and the next provide a further epilogue to the series. The story sees the Chameleon arrange the release of several of the villains Spider-Man defeated in the saga and then offers them $500,000 between them to kill Spider-Man.

Web of Spider-Man #64

Writer: Gerry Conway
Penciler: Alex Saviuk
Inker: Keith Williams
Letterer: Rick Parker
Colourist: Bob Sharen
Editor: Jim Salicrup
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

It's yet another throwback to the Silver Age where numerous villains sought to defeat Spider-Man in order to cement their position as the leading crime lord in the city. This time the Chameleon isn't bothering with trying to do it personally but has instead made an offer to a group of foes with mixed powers who all want revenge now that Spider-Man no longer has his powers. The villains are a motley group - Titania, Graviton, Goliath, the Brothers Grimm and Paste Pot Pete the Trapster - but they prove sufficiently willing to work together for a mutual goal, given leadership and incentive. It stands in stark contrast to the squabbling committee of the leading super-villains during the crossover.

As Peter Parker, Spider-Man is facing further problems as Nick Katzenberg, the sleazy rival photographer at the Daily Bugle, produces photos showing Peter dressed as Spider-Man for a shoot, leading to editor Joe "Robbie" Robertson sacking him with a rant about journalistic ethics, perhaps because of his own lingering guilt at having failed to report Tombstone in his youth that recently put him in jail. It's often been speculated that Robbie has deduced Spider-Man's identity but keeps it to himself, but his reaction here, even disagreeing with J. Jonah Jameson who is willing to overlook it all as it isn't a news photo, suggests otherwise. Peter storms off and has an angry confrontation with Katzenberg before storming off.

The later battle shows some repeat tricks, with Graviton once again lifting up the Daily Bugle building, but also the need for better leadership in the field as Spidey manages to trick the Brothers Grimm and the Trapster into taking each other out, but Graviton's powers proved rather harder to defeat with strategy.

This is an odd issue. After such a long crossover there wasn't really a crying need for yet more "Acts of Vengeance" issues. These also came out in the run-up to a major story in Amazing Spider-Man entitled "Return of the Sinister Six", reuniting more conventional Spider-Man foes so yet another story involving a group of villains teaming up feels repetitive even if it did manage to come out first. Nor does it present much of a lesson in how teams of villains can work effectively, since Spider-Man is able to play off the limitations and lack of expectations. This is just another demonstration of the problems of having three monthly titles for one character without distinctive purposes, leading to a speedy rehash of recent events.

Web of Spider-Man #64 has been reprinted in:

• Acts of Vengeance Crossovers Omnibus (2011)

Amazing Spider-Man 329 - Acts of Vengeance

It seems slightly surprising that the story of Spider-Man's cosmic powers has just run over the end of "Acts of Vengeance", especially as this arc has had a few too many chapters. It would have made more sense to follow the structure of "Inferno" and limit the main multi-part storyline to a handful of issues with others doing their own thing on the side, rather than padding things out so much and then needing an extra issue.

Amazing Spider-Man #329

Writer: David Michelinie
Penciler: Erik Larsen
Inker: Andy Mushynsky
Letterer: Rick Parker
Colourist: Bob Sharen
Editor: Jim Salicrup
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Still this final part does a lot to wrap things up, including a climax on the power stakes. Both Graviton and Sebastian Shaw are continuing to pursue Spider-Man, but the former is put off with a single blast. The latter is more cunning, opting to investigate just how Spider-Man got his powers and locating the scientist who was doing energy experiments at the time. From a modern perspective it's surprising that Shaw is able to blackmail Dr Lubisch by threatening to reveal to the board of Empire State University the details of how Lubisch was sacked from Heidelberg after performing a "rather unorthodox experiment". It seems strange that basic background checks were not performed, especially as by 1989 communication was already sufficiently advanced that universities would be able to contact one another quickly. Still it works that Shaw would turn to the same scientist to produce an "energy negator" to try to cancel out Spider-Man's powers - and that it instead cancels the block in the original transfer that led to Spider-Man acquiring them only slowly.

For Spider-Man has the powers of Captain Universe and now adopts the traditional look, albeit with a red webbed mouth mask. The Enigma force has detected great danger to humanity and empowered Spider-Man to defeat it, though why the powers to him so early is unclear, though Lubisch's experiments are the cause of the delay in fully adoption. One could also wonder if the danger was just the Tri-Sentinel (as Spider-Man's newfound cosmic awareness implies) or the "Acts of Vengeance" as a whole. The robotic menace turns out to be an after-effect of the Acts as Loki, looking rather freer than he was at the end of the final battle, opts to make a final mark on Earth by merging three prototype new Sentinels together. Given the steady step up in power levels of the foes encountered through this arc, a super robot enhanced by the magic of a deity makes sense as the ultimate threat level. And the Tri-Sentinel also evokes one of the classic Silver Age images, Spider-Man with six arms which was the very final panel of Stan Lee's original hundred issue run.

Three is a recurring theme in the issue, with the opening scene introducing the Sentinels set three days ago, Shaw blackmailing Lubisch three hours ago and Loki working his magic three minutes ago. The merged Tri-Sentinel has three faces, making it impossible to sneak up on, though Loki doesn't seem to have thought to reverse one set of arms for fighting in both directions. There's also a fusion to the logic circuits, so Shaw is unable to trigger a failsafe that would make the Sentinel turn in on itself. Instead it's down to Spider-Man to finish the task he received the powers for. Then the power departs, leaving Peter wondering if he could have done more with it to improve the world, a thought that we'll come back to.

At first glance, cosmic powers and Spider-Man are not a natural combination. But this storyline has taken the core philosophical line of the character - "with great power there must also come -- great responsibility" - and asked what happens when greatER power comes? As a one-off event it's been an excellent way to explore the character. The storyline may have had a few too many issues but the finale works in providing a clear explanation for the situation, delivering an ultimate threat and handling the foes who weren't previously captured. The art effectively captures Spider-Man's moves and the sheer scale of the Tri-Sentinel, making for a strong finish.

Amazing Spider-Man #329 has been reprinted in:

• Spider-Man: The Cosmic Adventures (1993)
• Acts of Vengeance Omnibus (2011)
• Amazing Spider-Man by David Michelinie & Todd McFarlane Omnibus (2011)
• Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection: Cosmic Adventures (2013)

Web of Spider-Man 61 - Acts of Vengeance

We come now to the penultimate Spider-Man issue in the crossover, though we'll be seeing Spidey rather more than just one further time in this crossover. However this chapter has all the hallmarks of a filler designed to mark time.

Web of Spider-Man #61

Writer: Gerry Conway
Penciler: Alex Saviuk
Inker: Keith Williams
Letterer: Rick Parker
Colourist: Bob Sharen
Editor: Jim Salicrup
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

As noted before, Web of Spider-Man was often the series that didn't seem to know just why it was there and this especially shows here as we get a chapter putting the hero through a classic cycle of quitting his role only to come running back at pretty much the first sign of trouble. It's easy to lose track just how many times this has been done with Spider-Man now. Sometimes it works as part of a broader plot or even relaunch. But at other times it becomes all too simple a plot device. There is admittedly the added complication that he's struggling to handle the additional powers he's gained, but Peter should know all too well by now that no matter how often he tries, he can never ditch the web slinging for good. And it seems his foes know this as well, with both the Kingpin and Doctor Doom doubting the Wizard's reports of what he's heard. Nevertheless the Wizard decides to use a discarded mask as a scent to send Dragon Man to find and destroy Spidey.

(Noting the continuity errors surrounding the leading villains can be tiresome but two things stand out here. Firstly it's not clear how the Wizard could just casually bring Dragon Man to the meeting room and hide him behind a curtain, especially given the Red Skull's failure to bring the Controller into the room. And the Mandarin is wearing his hideous bare-chested costume rather than the blue armour he donned nearly a year earlier and which he wears in most of his other appearances in the crossover.)

The actual fight with Dragon Man is extremely straightforward with Spidey ultimately just exhausting the android's flames before webbing it up, though it's good to see a positive reaction from the people he's saved. But otherwise this issue advances a number of plots, with Doctor Doom trying to assimilate the energy that Tess One absorbed from Spider-Man, a plan that worries the mysterious stranger who assembled the villains. Doom's plans reach a conclusion here but it's such an anti-climax it's as though developments in the main parts of the crossover were suddenly brought up, necessitating a speedy resolution. Elsewhere we get a scene with Mary Jane and her bulimic cousin Kristy. This was a storyline that seems to have started out with good motives, though appears to have been targeting a non-existent part of the audience and so fizzled out. It's a pity as one of the features of Peter and Mary Jane's marriage should have been to introduce complications from the in-laws but Kristy seems to have been about the only one ever used and fading out fast rather than hanging around a good while and becoming another obstacle for the secret identity to navigate.

This issue is clearly just marking time before the conclusion of the cosmic powers story and it's a pity, though it continues to confirm the problems of giving one hero three titles with relatively little to distinguish them.

Web of Spider-Man #61  has been reprinted in:

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

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)

Amazing Spider-Man 328 - Acts of Vengeance

This is the last issue of the series drawn by Todd McFarlane and it's not hard to spot his is the greater influence on the story than David Michelinie. The issue is devoted to a fight between Spider-Man and the Hulk, whom McFarlane had previously drawn at Marvel. It could well have been his final issue at Marvel overall, and thus going out by drawing both the characters he'd made his name on would stand as a strong legacy. (Instead he succeeded in getting to draw and script a new Spider-Man series but that's another matter.)

Amazing Spider-Man #328

Writer: David Michelinie
Artist: Todd McFarlane
Letterer: Rick Parker
Colour: Bob Sharen
Editor: Jim Salicrup
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

McFarlane's art is a pretty polarising subject. As someone who discovered it long after the event for me it's always been a part of Spider-history rather than an active debate but it's certainly very different from the house style that came before and indeed which both Sal Buscema and Alex Saviuk use on the Spectacular Spider-Man and Web of Spider-Man issues here. It works well enough, though it does seem to be pushing Spider-Man in an ever-darker direction reminiscent of other heroes, something the script picks up on with a scene where Spidey lifts up a criminal who asks, "Who are you?!?" and the reply begins "I'm Bat..." Well it was 1989 but it’s another needless homage. The cover is also a little odd in that Spider-Man seems to be lifting the Hulk up by his genitals, perhaps explaining the latter's bright green tongue.

The main plot is driven by the committee of villains having made an offer to Sebastian Shaw, recently deposed from the Hellfire Club. Shaw has the mutant ability to absorb energy and use it to enhance his strength and speed, which might have made him a good match for Spidey earlier in the storyline when the powers were still slowly developing. However here it would be a one-sided walkover - and Shaw realises as much, noting that Magneto is involved and suspecting this is really an attempt to dispose of an enemy once and for all. So Shaw instead hires the Hulk to do the job.

This is still the grey Hulk with a mercenary aspect and he accepts the task, though the battle is constrained by the sun rising hours earlier in New York than Las Vegas, with the result that the initial confrontation is aborted when he starts turning into Banner. The following night things are more brutal, with the Hulk seemingly larger than usual and Spidey really not wanting to hurt him until two children are threatened, resulting in a memorable single punch that knocks the Hulk into orbit. Comic fans have long debated who would win in a fight between Superman and the Hulk and at the time this would appear to be the nearest substitute given the difficulties of arranging inter-company crossovers. The point is even more explicit with one of the children commenting that Spidey needs a cape.

As a final bow out for such an influential artist this issue could have just been an indulgent fight between the two Marvel characters he was best known for. But this also works well in advancing the storyline as Spidey faces increasingly powered foes whilst also adding a new element to the mix in Shaw's interests in the powers. This keeps the storyline flowing well.

Amazing Spider-Man #328 has been reprinted in:

• Spider-Man: The Cosmic Adventures (1993)
• Spider-Man Legends: Todd McFarlane volume 3 (2004)
• Acts of Vengeance Omnibus (2011)
• Amazing Spider-Man by David Michelinie & Todd McFarlane Omnibus (2011)
• Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection: Cosmic Adventures (2013)

Web of Spider-Man 60 - Acts of Vengeance

Spider-Man's cosmic adventures continue as he faces ever bigger foes but also the curse of awkward continuity.

Web of Spider-Man #60

Writer: Gerry Conway
Penciler: Alex Saviuk
Inker: Keith Williams
Letterer: Rick Parker
Colourist: Bob Sharen
Editor: Jim Salicrup
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

A glance at the cover suggests that Alex Saviuk did not receive complete information about the lead villains in "Acts of Vengeance" as Magneto is depicted in the costume he wore for a few years in the mid to late 1980s rather than his more traditional garb which he had recently returned to. Inside Magneto is in the right costume but Gerry Conway  also seems to be somewhat misinformed as he writes the Kingpin, Dr Doom and Magneto as all working together out of a specific headquarters rather than meeting as a central committee and otherwise largely carrying out operations independently of one another as has happened elsewhere in the crossover so far (though some villains have been shown as rather more active than others). It wouldn't be the first or last time that a big crossover event saw inconsistency on the details, but these things do erode the ability to appreciate the story as a coherent whole.

Rather than simply finding a foe of the week for Spider-Man to fight before the other titles bring further developments, here we get some right now. Spider-Man now discovers he has the ability to fire energy blasts from his eyes whilst Doctor Doom finally manages to start analysing the cosmic powers. Peter also seeks Aunt May's advice about how to handle having power over life and death, a poignant subject for a woman whose fiancée (Nathan Lubensky) has a terminal heart condition. Amidst all this the latest goings on around the Daily Bugle as Thomas Fireheart continues to push a pro Spider-Man line seem trivial.

Once again Spider-Man has fought this issue's foe but not in this form. He's been Power Man, the Smuggler and now Goliath, with the complication that two of those names have also been used by heroes at various stages, but his previous fight with Spider-Man came before either of them received their current powers. And so we get a battle between a cosmically powered webslinger and a giant, then in the rematch later in the issue Goliath absorbs Spider-Man's energy blasts to grow ever larger, albeit at a risk to his heart. This story is taking on the concept of ever greater power quite well as Spider realises both he and Goliath are becoming ever greater dangers.

This chapter of the story is that surprisingly rare thing - an important issue of Web of Spider-Man. It shows that when a determined effort is made the series can turn in important developments and handle them in an effective style. It's just a pity there's a noticeable discontinuity between here and other parts of the crossover.

Web of Spider-Man #60  has been reprinted in:

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

Spectacular Spider-Man 159 - Acts of Vengeance

The next Spider-Man chapter in the saga sees him put up against the Brothers Grimm, one of the more obscure pairs of super-villains in Marvel. The original brothers first appeared in the original Spider-Woman series, but these are the second pair who have been used so sparingly that it's actually a surprise to find they consider Iron Man to be their arch foe. Meanwhile Spider-Man is continuing to explore his new powers and keeps thwarting the attempts of Doctor Doom to discover more about them.

Spectacular Spider-Man #159

Script: Gerry Conway
Breakdowns: Sal Buscema
Finishes: Mike Esposito
Lettering: Rick Parker
Colours: Bob Sharen
Edits: Jim Salicrup
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

This is another issue that feels like it's treading water and isn't even fully in sync with other things happening. Early in the issue Spider-Man is astonished to discover that he can now fly, yet he discovered this power in the previous chapter of the sage (Amazing Spider-Man #327). It would have been so easy to modify this to his powers getting out of control again, but this part of the script hasn't been fixed. There are also a couple of subplots shown in the title, but both don't really advance. One sees another conversation about the possibility of getting Joe Robertson a pardon, but this is a storyline that has dragged out interminably and the angle of his lawyer being interested in a sleazy Daily Bugle photographer is something that we could just do without. Meanwhile J. Jonah Jameson has plans to launch a new photo journal magazine in order to get himself back into news publishing and is trying to recruit Peter to the project. Although it has long-term possibilities, at the moment this just feels like a distraction.

The battle itself feels rather too much like a throwback to the Silver Age, but then this issue is written by the man who once did a story of Manhattan Island being stolen by terrorists and then dragged back into place by Hercules. So in this regard the Brothers Grimm using the Wizard's anti-gravity disks to raise the whole of Madison Square Gardens isn't the silliest thing to have appeared from Conway's pen (and Sal Buscema has certainly had to draw some nonsense in his time). But it's not only ludicrous but also highly repetitive after Graviton also used his powers to float a building in an earlier chapter in the same arc. "This is getting ridiculous" declares Spider-Man but "getting" is the wrong word. Spider-Man's powers continue to be difficult to control, as shown when he declares he's taking charge, only to immediate overact and destroy yet another of Doctor Doom's spy cameras when he wanted to examine it.

It is an unfortunate case that this storyline feels insufficient for the number of issues assigned to it. Consequently we're getting inconsequential chapters that do next to nothing to really advance the story and just show the problems of having too many series for a character all trying to tell the same tale. If this was a deliberate attempt to show why the three books should be running their own stories (as indeed they largely did for the next three years) then it proved the point. However I think it instead reached that by accident.

Spectacular Spider-Man #159  has been reprinted in:

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

Amazing Spider-Man 327 - Acts of Vengeance

We continue with the storyline of Spider-Man's new cosmic powers, which here see both an increase in their development as he discovers how to fly and a step-up in the foes available as he clashes with Magneto.

Amazing Spider-Man #327

Writer: David Michelinie
Penciler: Erik Larsen
Inker: Al Gordon
Letterer: Rick Parker
Colourist: Bob Sharen
Father Figure: Jim Salicrup
Grandfather Figure: Tom DeFalco

So far in the Spider-Man portion of the crossover it's been easy to spot the hierarchy of the three titles, with Amazing Spider-Man inevitably the flagship and carrying such a major encounter, in contrast to Web of Spider-Man which can barely struggle to justify its existence. But the result is that here we get a very strong chapter as Spider-Man contemplates the effects of "with great power comes great responsibility" as he now faces even greater power and realises the consequences, most significantly when he whips up a super bat to knock a car out into the water, only to subsequently discover it's hit a cruise ship. Spider-Man's new powers continue to attract the attention of the media and in turn the leaders of the alliance, where I do wonder why the Kingpin is drawn at such an exaggerated size. Both Doctor Doom and Magneto have their own interests and plans and as a result the Master of Magnetism goes to investigate, leading to the first big fight between a hero and one of the leaders of the alliance.

"Acts of Vengeance" came out during a particularly protracted struggle within Marvel over the portrayal of Magneto. Over the course of nearly a decade Chris Claremont had steadily developed the character beyond a traditional villain into a more complex anti-hero. It was a development that wasn't popular with all Marvel creators and from time to time there were would be some quite pointed conflicts for control of the character. Magneto's role in the crossover is one of the most traditional, using him in a way that he could just as easily have been used back in the Silver Age along with all the other traditional big-name foes, but it does seem odd when considering his position as a fighter for mutants against humans to see him instead allying with humans. Here we get the first attempt to rationalise the situation when Magneto thinks of the arrangements as an alliance of convenience as part of his long-term preparations, and his interest in Spider-Man's powers comes through consideration of the coming war. It's somewhat stilted but it shows the problems of having a character written by conflicting sub-committees. Magneto is wondering if Spider-Man is a late developing mutant but soon concludes not, given the multitude of powers displayed which seems a little odd given the power set of some of the most powerful mutants around. Although Spider-Man and Magneto met in Secret Wars, I can't recall any particular fight between them there or find any other prior clash in the comics. (They had, however, clashed in both 1981 cartoons, the Spider-Man solo series and Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends, but those aren't part of the canon.)

The issue continues some good characterisation for Spidey as he discovers what he can about his powers and tries to gain an idea of how to control them, including through a meeting with his old friend Flash Thompson who has now become a professional boxer and faces the same dilemma of potentially hurting others. Meanwhile Mary Jane starts her job as a soap opera actress, playing a character who tries to commit adultery with a doctor and contemplates what impact the nature of her role will have on her marriage. This is effectively the start of Erik Larsen's run drawing the title, having done one chapter of an earlier saga, though as noted the switch-over from McFarlane is not a clear-cut changeover.

All in all this is a strong entry in both the cosmic powers saga and the wider crossover, showing how to use Spider-Man's powers to set up fights with foes on a level he's never been able to reach before.

Amazing Spider-Man #327 has been reprinted in:

• Spider-Man: The Cosmic Adventures (1993)
• Acts of Vengeance Omnibus (2011)
• Amazing Spider-Man by David Michelinie & Todd McFarlane Omnibus (2011)
• Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection: Cosmic Adventures (2013)

Web of Spider-Man 59 - Acts of Vengeance

The problem of finding villains who haven't fought Spider-Man recurs in this issue, though here there is explicit acknowledgement that Spider-Man and Titania have fought before in Secret Wars, although not their subsequent encounter a few years later. But it makes a mockery of Doctor Doom's claim that Spider is "a less-familiar opponent - against whom you will be equally fresh, unsuspected and irresistible."

Web of Spider-Man #59

Writer: Gerry Conway
Penciler: Alex Saviuk
Inker: Keith Williams
Letterer: Rick Parker
Colourist: Bob Sharen
Editor: Jim Salicrup
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Rather this issue sees Titania again trying to overcome her irrational fear of Spider-Man that has made it difficult for her to beat him on previous occasions. It's also interesting that this time round it's Doctor Doom who sends a foe after Spider-Man, after the Kingpin and the Wizard dispatched Graviton and Paste-Pot Pete the Trapster in earlier issues. Maybe the leaders of the alliance are rotating who takes charge of dealing with a particular foe or maybe there's a taxi-rank principle that sees the next one available step in. But also Spider-Man's new powers have already attracted Doom's attention and he seems personally interested, suggesting the alliance leaders are not quite all working for the same ends.

Meanwhile the Daily Bugle has been making itself even more of a target since it was brought out by Thomas Fireheart, aka Puma, as part of his attempt to repay a debt of honour to Spider-Man, with the result that it is now running ridiculously pro-Spider-Man coverage and this makes Doom suggest it as the best target to draw the wall-crawler out. The eventual battle is rather disappointing, with the complications of Puma intervening, Spider-Man still struggling with his enhanced senses and Titania being unknowingly boosted by one of Doom's devices. As a result Spider-Man comes across as confused and clumsy, only winning through because of his new powers and ultimately lashing out in a rage.

This issue is from about a year into Gerry Conway's run on the title and two from Alex Saviuk, bringing a stability it had previously lacked but there's still a real sense that this is one Spider-Man title too many, existing purely for the sake of having a third title on the stands. It also means that Spider-Man's new powers are being developed at a frankly tedious pace. Historically it was actually quite unusual for the different Spider-Man titles to run the same story at this stage - including three sets of annuals this is only the eighth time it had happened and five of those (including two sets of annuals) were part of wider Marvel crossovers. Perhaps it would have been better to allow each series to handle the concept in its own way rather than putting them all together for such an extended length.

Web of Spider-Man #59  has been reprinted in:

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

Spectacular Spider-Man 158 - Acts of Vengeance

We come now to one of the biggest moments in comic science since a spider decided to wander around a radiation experiment.

Spectacular Spider-Man #158

Writer: Gerry Conway
Breakdowns: Sal Buscema
Finishes: Mike Esposito
Colourist: Bob Sharen
Letterer: Rick Parker
Editor: Jim Salicrup
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Okay since he appears on the cover, let's tackle the first problem with this story. Spider-Man has fought the Trapster before, including in this series (#42), three times as part of the Frightful Four and once solo. And both Gerry Conway and Sal Buscema were present for one of those encounters (Marvel Team-Up #2 and #58 respectively). But then it is particularly difficult to find villains that Spider-Man hasn't encountered before, given his multiple titles, former team-up book and many guest appearances have meant he's been around the Marvel universe far more than just about any other hero.

However this isn't the only continuity error that sticks out here. Although much of the chronology of "Acts of Vengeance" is debatable, the three Spider-Man books have a clear order as established by previous crossovers (which have been surprisingly few; it wasn't until 1993 that the Spider-Man books began routinely running multi-part storylines across each other). Thus it's strange to see the Kingpin here recruited to the central alliance (otherwise so far consisting of Doctor Doom, Magneto and the Wizard) when in Amazing Spider-Man #326 he was said to be the one who sent Graviton to deal with Spider-Man and thus already a part of the scheme. This lack of co-ordination within the Spider-Man office is not a good sign and more broadly there will be a number of questions about the order of involvement of the leaders of the alliance and their various hidden motivations. Now is not the best time to discuss the presence of Magneto as he's not a major presence in this issue and there are ones coming up that are more appropriate, but overall it's an interesting start to the scheme by bringing together three major villains plus a has-been like the Wizard.

The Wizard isn't the only one with a poor reputation. The Trapster took on his current name nearly a quarter of a century earlier, but he's never been able to shake off the ridiculous initial one "Paste-Pot Pete", with both Spider-Man and the Kingpin using it. His abilities have also long been mocked yet here he overpowers Spider-Man in the space of just three pages using a mixture of paste and grease. He's been specifically picked by the Wizard so it's understandable that he's gone in with weapons to overcome Spider-Man's ability to stick to walls, yet it's an astonishingly quick and one sided encounter, with no real distractions to explain how Spider-Man can be taken down so easily. This is the problem with deliberate defeats to set up subsequent encounters and it stands out the more when the foe comes with all the baggage of an acknowledged loser that the Trapster has.

But this is only a prelude to a major transformation. Doing some work in a science lab, Peter Parker gets exposed to an energy burst which enhances his sense and powers. He becomes invulnerable to electricity, starts generating giant sized hands made of webs, fires energy bolts from his fingers and can sense just about everything for miles until he gets that under control. It's an interesting step-up in his power levels and leaves Spider-Man scared of what the consequences might be. For a crossover event in which the balance of power is going to be deliberately altered, it's actually quite appropriate for one of the heroes to be suddenly more powerful than usual, making the encounters more unique which is handy given the already mentioned limitations of finding foes Spider-Man hasn't fought before.

This issue also briefly touches on the later stages of one of the more bizarre Spider-Man stories from the period where Joe "Robbie" Robertson was sent to jail for not having reported a crime when he was a young reporter. The problem with the story has always been the absurdity that a witness gets jailed for being intimidated into silence. The judge may have been corrupt but a judge is not the whole system and it shouldn't have to take a presidential pardon for such an absurdity to be overcome.

Overall though this is a fairly solid issue that brings some local mysteries alongside the wider event, helped by some always spectacular artwork.

Spectacular Spider-Man #158  has been reprinted in:

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

Amazing Spider-Man 326 - Acts of Vengeance

The main appeal of "Acts of Vengeance" is that it pitches heroes against villains they've never fought before. But in some cases that may be a little difficult to arrange. At this point Spider-Man had had three ongoing titles for over a decade, as well as many more guest appearances. And that presents a strong challenge to the writers to find qualifying villains.

Amazing Spider-Man #326

Writer: David Michelinie
Penciler: Colleen Doran
Inker: Andy Mushynsky
Letterer: Rick Parker
Colourist: Bob Sharen
Editor: Jim Salicrup
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

As we'll see, this is from a slight period of flux on the art side of the title, with Todd McFarlane leaving and Erik Larsen coming in but it's not a clean-cut changeover with no two consecutive issues between #323 & #329 handled by the same penciller as Larsen steadily takes over from McFarlane, with this issue drawn by a filling-in Colleen Doran.

This issue comes early in Spider-Man's marriage to Mary Jane, a subject that has consumed great debate over the years and led to many deeply controversial stories as writers tried to undo it. So it's of particular notice here that the Spider-writers of the late 1980s had solved the "problem" of Mary Jane being a high-flying supermodel by getting her effectively blacklisted in the industry due to a vendetta by an obsessive stalker. Instead this issue sees her securing a job as an actress in a soap opera and also her and Peter's flat warming party in the loft of Harry Osborn's building. It's a way of bringing her down to earth and making the marriage more equal, something that writers in other periods often forgot.

Otherwise this issue sees Graviton seeking to battle Spider-Man at the behest of the Kingpin. We've yet to see the central scheme in action, but already the heroes are being targeted. At this point Graviton has mainly appeared in the Avengers titles, with a few side appearances in the likes of Fantastic Four and Thor, so he's a genuinely unknown quantity for dealing with Spider-Man. Even Graviton is surprised at the idea that the Kingpin will sort out revenge on the Avengers in trade for this, but given Spider-Man's ingenuity it's perhaps natural to deploy such a powerful foe. More surprising is that the Kingpin has realised that targeting the Daily Bugle building is an easy way to draw out Spider-Man, suggesting he might want to work on shoring up his secret identity. But the result is Graviton attacks the building and then rapidly defeats Spider-Man, leaving him in a pile of rubble.

It's a straightforward tale that shows how the overall idea of Acts of Vengeance can potentially work, at least against the less powerful foes and also how the crossover can easily fit in a title's ongoing subplots so long as they're reasonably explained.

Amazing Spider-Man #326 has been reprinted in:

• Acts of Vengeance Omnibus (2011)
• Amazing Spider-Man by David Michelinie & Todd McFarlane Omnibus (2011)
• Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection: Cosmic Adventures (2013)