Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #147

Background

The Jackal cloned Gwen Stacy and Peter thought he was losing his mind when he saw her. Afterwards, Jackal sent the Scorpion to terrify May, who was in the hospital. Scorpion was defeated and when Peter returned to his apartment, the Gwen clone was waiting for him. Neither of them knew what to make of their situation, as Gwen was missing parts of her memory.

Story 'The Tarantula is a Very Deadly Beast!'

Spidey returned to New York after being on a search for the Man-Thing in Florida, knowing that Jameson would be furious that he had failed to get pictures. (His adventure with Man-Thing took place in Giant Size Spider-Man #5 (Story 1).) He was right, of course, and Jonah swore that he'd take the cost of the trip to Florida out of Peter's hide. Peter walked out of Jonah's office complaining about his lack of a heart and Ned Leeds told him that he wasn't so bad before handing Peter an envelope. Ned had taken "Gwen" to a doctor and he thought that Peter needed to see the results.

Meanwhile, in an Upstate federal prison, the Tarantula (Anton Rodriguez) recreated his poison tipped shoes. Pleased with himself, Rodriguez stabbed a nosy guard with the dagger in his shoe before escaping from the workshop. He was lacking the toxin in his shoes, so he had to settle for stunning the guard. Soon he'd scaled the prison wall and jumped over the top onto a waiting truck below. He told the driver to hurry before the guards arrived and the Jackal told him not to worry, he was in the big leagues now.

In New York, Mary Jane and Anna Watson were picking May up from the hospital. As Anna went for the car, May and MJ chatted about Peter and MJ wasn't happy with him. She was mad that since Gwen had returned, she hadn't seen or heard from Peter at all. She angrily told May that she and Peter had learned some important things about each other but now he acted like she didn't exist. May was disappointed in MJ for letting another woman push her out of the picture and that she mustn't lose her chance at love. In fact, Ben Parker had been so shy that if she hadn't taken matters into her own hands, they'd never have gotten together. She told MJ to think about her future and not let pride get in the way.

Spider-Man swung over the city, reeling from the medical report that he'd gotten from Ned. The woman that had shown up was Gwen but was also a clone, grown from a tissue sample. He pondered how many clones there could be. Dozens? A hundred? Looking into a mirror through a shop window, he thought he saw Gwen coming to embrace him. He initially apologized to her and said her loved her and then panicked. She couldn't come back from the dead and he didn't even want her to come back. He'd lost her and couldn't handle the possibility of losing her again. He smashed the mirror, which attracted the attention of two cops, who tried to arrest him.

They didn't get far, as they were stabbed in the back by Tarantula. Spidey was surprised to see him, thinking he was in jail. They began to fight as a couple in a car said they should go back to Detroit. The combatants landed on the hood of a taxi, and the driver reassured the passengers that fights between "super jerks" happened all the time. He was less indifferent when he saw that his radiator was destroyed. At the same time, two kids on a bus noticed that their ride was going the wrong way. One of them didn't care, since he was able to watch a Spider-Man/Tarantula fight.

Spider-Man noticed that Tarantula was taking him in circles, always back to where they started the melee. It made more sense when Tarantula kicked him through a window of the bus that had been misdirected. The driver nonchalantly told the combatants to move to the back of the bus, as Spidey was stunned by his blase attitude. The bus stopped and let the panicked passengers out, before the driver sped off again, swerving like crazy. Eventually the bus stopped again and on stepped the Gwen clone. The driver reminded her to pay the thirty-five cent fare and Spider-Man wondered what the heck was wrong with him. The driver unmasked, revealing the Jackal. He slammed the bus through a car and then ended up at the Brooklyn Bridge.

Jackal and Gwen got off the bus and headed for the top of the support column, and Tarantula used the distraction to stab Spidey with his poisoned shoes. When Spider-Man woke up, he was chained up and surrounded by Jackal, Gwen and Tarantula. Tarantula said he would have killed Spider-Man in his sleep but Jackal wanted him awake. Groggily, Spidey asked Gwen to explain what was happening but she remained silent. Jackal taunted him for his confusion, saying Spidey would never understand Jackal's hatred of him for letting Gwen die.

"Don't look to her for help, Spider-Man. She's mine now...and you can't hurt her anymore! I gave her life...just as I'm going to give you death...by killing you the same way you killed Gwen Stacy two years ago!" Tarantula then shoved Spidey over the edge and toward the river as Jackal laughed.

General Comments

Aside from the silliness of the Tarantula (Spidey has gone up against much more dangerous foes than a guy with poisoned knife shoes) and Spidey freaking out in front of a mirror, this was a solid issue. I do have questions about the medical testing that "Gwen" underwent by the doctor. How did she get diagnosed as a clone? Was there a test available? Wouldn't the doctor have some serious questions regarding how the heck he was looking at a freaking clone?

Aunt May always was a big supporter of Peter and MJ as a couple but she seemed oddly dismissive of Gwen. She was one of Peter's great loves and when she mysteriously returned from the dead May was all, "Whatever. MJ, go after my nephew." It makes me wonder what May really thought of Gwen.

I enjoyed the various reactions of the New Yorkers and out-of-towners while witnessing the super-human brawl.

Overall Rating

It was an enjoyable read that leads up to a classic, cornerstone story in Spidey's history.