Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #27

Background

The Masked Marauder defeated Spider-Man by blinding him with an "opti-ray." MM escaped with his goons and robot and Spider-Man also got away, but blind. Spidey feared it was the end of his career and his secret but was going to defeat MM anyway.

MJ and Betty were both competing for Peter's attention and they showed up at his apartment at the same time accidentally. They both claimed to be the one he really wanted, MJ by saying he had proposed to her and Betty said he's given her his key. MJ had a key to his apartment too. Little did they know, but Carrion was waiting inside of Peter's apartment.

The vigilante called the White Tiger returned home after a night of crime fighting and was scolded by his sister for not focusing on school.

Spider-Man learned that the police were looking for him as a suspect in a Citibank heist, and Daredevil had heard the same thing. He knew Spidey wasn't a criminal and went to help him. It was only after he saw Spidey stumbling around on a rooftop that he realized that he was blind.

Story 'The Blind Leading the Blind'

Daredevil tried to help Spidey swing across the street but Spider-Man was still too proud to take too much help. His web swing failed and Daredevil had to save him again and once they were safe again Spider-Man lashed out in anger. Daredevil tied to restrain him and talk sense to him but he was easily thrown aside. In defeat, Spider-Man gave up. This gave Daredevil the chance to get him to come to Murdock's apartment and he made an appointment with Dr. Orlock. Orlock was a trusted doctor known by Murdock.

At Peter's apartment, Betty and MJ left on good terms. MJ tells her "Listen, just because we're seeing the same guy doesn't mean we cant be civil to each other." Betty replied, "More than just civil, MJ...we can be friends!" (Yeah, ok....)

Meanwhile, Peter's landlord was complaining about having to overhear details about his lovelife and overheard noises from his apartment. Upon entering it, she found it had been trashed with the words "THE DEAD WALK PARKER" written on the wall. Carrion watched from outside the window before walking away on thin air.

At Dr. Orlock's office, he found that he seemed to be re-cooperating very quickly and he assumed it was caused by his physiology. The doctor couldnt know if the blindness was permanent but recommended time and rest. Spider-Man refused to wait, as the Masked Marauder was going to commit another robbery. The nurse hadn't been able to finish wrapping his ankle but he still got up, and stumbled into a table.

After Spider-Man calmed down, he and Daredevil went out to discuss the Masked Marauder. Spidey was concerned that this could be his last adventure and almost revealed his ID to his ally. Daredevil warned him that he was being morbid and that kind of thinking could get them both killed.

Masked Marauder's scientists were finishing adding a bomb to Tri-Man, to be used to blackmail the city. Spider-Man and Daredevil both used their senses to find the spider tracer that had been attached to MM's cape. After finding the tracer, Spider-Man tried to sit out the fight but Daredevil forced to go on. MM sent a message to the mayor, explaining that Tri-Man was a nuclear warhead and that the city would be safe if it were turned over to the control of the Maggia. Daredevil broke into the hideout and began clearing out the thugs while Spider-Man waited outside. The warhead flew past Spider-Man, catching him by surprise and making him fall towards the street.

General Comments

Things are getting better. Daredevil was a good voice of reason to Spider-Man's despondency. It's funny how Peter can either have a "never say die" attitude or completely fall apart. This is definitely a throwback to the Stan Lee days when Peter's temper would get the better of him and make him lash out.

I still blush thinking that Peter was seeing Betty and MJ at the same time, especially since Betty was married.

The scene of Spidey and Daredevil making their way to the Masked Marauder's hideout was a nice way of showing their teamwork. They both relied on their ESP senses and apparently Daredevil can also sense a spider tracer. That was news to me.

When MM revealed his plan, I thought of the scene from International Man of Mystery where Dr. Evil said "Oh hell, let's just do what we always do. Hijack some nuclear weapons and hold the world hostage. Yeah? Good!"

So we have a helpless Spider-Man versus an airborne nuclear weapon. Find out next time!

Overall Rating

Not bad. Looks like this story is almost over and we can get to Carrion.