Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #83

Background

Spider-Man is stuck up on a high ledge, unable to regain his bearings. Peter's been suffering serious vertigo problems since his last run-in with Morbius, and it keeps popping up at the worst times!

Writer: Howard Mackie

Story 'Vertigo'

Mary Jane is at the shrink's office, waiting around for Peter. He's late for their counseling appointment. She goes on and on about Peter's sense of responsibility, and how he's constantly doing things for others. She doesn't tell the doctor about Peter's alter-ego, but she dances around it.

Meanwhile, a dark figure spots Spidey on the side of the skyscraper, and goes after him. It's the Shocker (!), and he scares Spidey, but doesn't kill him. Shocker says he's got something big coming up, and wants Spider-Man to be around, so he can kill him then. Peter, still reeling from the Vertigo, is helpless to stop Shocker as he departs. Spidey struggles to hold on, but can't!

In other news, Robin Vega meets up with Paul Stacy. She intends to extract revenge for Paul 'outing' her as a mutant. Robin give him the "everyone hates me cause I'm a mutant" shtick, and Paul reciprocates with the "Spider-Man is responsible for death's in my family" line. As they talks, a hit squad from the Friends of Humanity show up and shoot into Paul's apartment, starting a building fire. Robin and Paul escape, saving a little girl in the process. They reconcile their differences, and Paul reconsiders his choice of friends.

Mary Jane arrives home from her appointment, only to find Aunt Anna. Peter hasn't been seen anywhere, and MJ is very worried.

The last pane shows a tattered remnant of Peter's glove, dangling off the side of the building.

General Comments

Okay, so Spidey didn't do ANYTHING in this issue except hang out. I'm glad J.R. Jr got with the program on MJ's hair, that was starting to bug me. I like Mary Jane with longer hair anyway. Hopefully the 'mutant' thing is over with for now. I can't escape those damned mutants no matter what I do. One thing that sub-plot did do was flesh out the Stacy boy a little more, and made him more likeable (even thought you'd probably have a hard time convincing Peter of that.)

The story was mediocre, and there was a definite lack of action. I didn't find this issue to be particularly exciting. It was more of a wrap-up/prelude of things to come.

Overall Rating

Two webs. I need more action, and more super-hero story matter. I think that this Vertigo thing with Spidey is going to be resolved in a contrived manner. Oh well...