Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #94
Background
After the death of George Stacy, Gwen went to live with her uncle in England. Peter blamed his double life for losing her.
Story 'On Wings of Death!'
Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #94
| Editor: | Stan Lee |
| Writer: | Stan Lee |
| Pencils: | John Romita, Sr. |
| Inker: | Sal Buscema |
| Cover Art: | John Romita, Sr. |
| Reprinted In: | Marvel Annual (UK) 1974 |
| Reprinted In: | Marvel Tales #75 |
| Reprinted In: | Essential Spider-Man #5 |
| Reprinted In: | All Detergent: The Amazing Spider-Man |
| Reprinted In: | Spidey's Origin Retold |
Peter walked the streets in misery, thinking about how he became Spider-Man. He remembered the spider bite, his selfishness, the burglar and the lesson about responsibility. He could never tell his secret to his aunt after her doctor warned him about her weak heart. Meanwhile he fought super criminals that wanted to kill him and he wondered when he’d finally slip up.
Peter found that he had wandered to the Daily Bugle and wondered if he had done it intentionally. He kept walking, not wanting to deal with Jameson. Betty showed up and wondered where he’d been and he replied that he’d been busy. He told her that if Jonah missed him, he could always go to a graveyard and laugh at the tombstones. He regretted snapping at her but wanted to keep away from her because she reminded him of Gwen. Eventually he told himself to stop thinking about the past and went to visit his aunt.
As Peter let himself into May’s home, the Beetle flew overhead and smashed into a candy shop. A couple of cops showed up and wondered why he was breaking into small businesses. He escaped, gloating that he’d gotten what he came for. The police were confused as he hadn’t taken anything.
May and Anna Watson were inside when Peter arrived and he noticed how nervous they were. They told him that the Beetle had been breaking into places in the neighborhood. Peter was confused by what he read in the paper, as Beetle had broken into a laundry, a bike shop and a bakery without taking anything. May saw how concerned he looked and sent him to bed. Anna told her that she babied Peter and he was a grown man. May replied that he was all that she had and no one looked after him. Anna said he should be looking after her and May dodged the statement by saying she was out of milk. She went out to get more and Anna warned her about the Beetle.
As he slept, Peter had a nightmare about his friends and Spider-Man. The dream turned to the Beetle, who captured him and threatened his aunt. Anna woke him up, telling him that the news had reported that May had been taken by the Beetle. Peter ran out of the house, changed to Spider-Man and found the police surrounding a grocery store. Inside the grocery, the Beetle told May that he knew that the bank would be vulnerable from one of its walls. (A national bank was in the same building as the other business that he had broken into.) Outside the police opened fire on Spider-Man, thinking that he was with the Beetle.
Beetle flew out of the grocery store with May and Spider-Man had a web net ready. He started to chase after them and Beetle dropped May, just as he’d hoped. Spidey caught her but his web line was snapped by Beetle’s wings. They landed in the net and Spidey told May she was safe. She sputtered about being safe with him but he left before she could finish. He went after Beetle they crashed through building’s skylight. They fell into a pool area and the swimmers quickly escaped. It was a quick fight after Spider-Man knocked him into the pool.
Peter rushed back to May and a paramedic told her that she was saved from her shock by everything happening so quickly. He walked her home, thinking that maybe by saving May, he’d made things a little better for failing Ben.
General Comments
This was a quickly thrown together story on Stan’s part. A lot of the issue was a recap of Spider-Man’s origin and then an easy to solve story with a lackluster villain. I guess both comic writers and superheroes need an easy day.
Overall Rating 
It’s forgettable but after the series of stories he’d just written, Stan deserves a little slack.