Lights, Camera, Danger!

Background

This is an XYZ-published audiobook that came with a sound stick that added sound effects to specific parts of the story.

Story 'Lights, Camera, Danger!'

While running late to school (as usual), Peter Parker is hailed by Harry Osborn and Mary Jane Watson. They show peter an ad in The Daily Bugle from the famous Hollywood Producer, B.J. Cosmos, who wants to make an action movie about Spider-Man, staring Spidey himself. Excited about the prospect of staring in a movie (and perhaps making some money), peter rushes off to find B.J.

Upon reaching B.J. at the Plaza Hotel, the director gets Spidey to sign a contract, telling him to show up in Hollywood the following week. As soon as Spidey swings off, the Green Goblin shows up outside B.J.’s window gloating that his plan is going along smoothly.

Back at the Daily Bugle, JJJ tells Peter to head to Hollywood and cover the story because he hopes to expose Spidey as a fraud and embarrass him. Peter happily agrees, and heads to the airport. A week later on the set of the film Spidey meets The Enforcers and the Green Goblin, and starts to get a bad feeling about them. Unfortunately, it isn’t until B.J. yells “action” that Spidey realizes that these are the real criminals and not just actors.

Only now, the fight has begun in earnest, and Spidey finds himself in an all-out brawl with the Enforcers and the Goblin. Using his webs to whip up a dust storm, Spidey escapes into a cave but is followed by the4 Enforcers. There, he manages to web them up, knocking out Ox in the process. Emerging from the cave, He faces off against the Goblin, but when a police helicopter arrives on the scene, the Goblin takes off on his flying glider and escapes.

Back in NYC, Jonah is upset that B.J. called off the movie, and he (once again) missed his chance to expose Spider-Man as the fraud he believes the teenage hero really is. Meanwhile, Peter is just a little bit upset that he won’t get the opportunity to become a movie star.

General Comments

This story follows the Amazing Spider-Man #14 story on which it is based, simplifying it for a younger audience. One of the “simplifying” aspects of this version of the story is the exclusion of the Incredible Hulk (who appeared in the original version). Still, the story works well, and Rick Geary’s art is most excellently suited for this youngster’s version of that classic tale.

Overall Rating

What truly makes this story fun is the audio stick that allows the reader to add sound effects to the telling of the story. In fact the audio stick is so much fun, that this reviewer often kept the stick in his desk at work, occasionally utilizing the stick apart from the story, just for the hilarity of the SFXs it evoked.

Footnote

This story is loosely based on the classic Stan Lee, Steve Ditko story from Amazing Spider-Man #14 about how Spider-Man fought the Green Goblin and The Enforcers on the set of a movie in the American South West (that story also included The Hulk, but this story doesn't).