Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #53

Background

Spidey defeated an unstable army colonel named Gideon Mace, who had attempted to murder the White Tiger (Hector Ayala). Ayala gave being the White Tiger and left New York with his girlfriend, Holly.

Story 'Toys Of The Terrible Tinkerer'

On his way home from a bad day at work, Peter noticed a hysterical woman panicking on the ledge of a building. She screamed and begged for someone to keep the toys away from her, precariously close to falling. Not having time to put on his costume, Peter ran to a phone booth and webbed his face for a makeshift mask. Peter summersaulted out of the booth and a man in a hat and trench coat recognized that he must be Spider-Man. As Spidey made his way up the building, the woman was approached on the ledge by an officer, who warned her that the ledge was too old to hold both of them. She was still in terror, promising to not tell anyone about the toys. Before Spider-Man could arrive, they both fell toward the street and he webbed both of them. Unfortunately, he wasn't anchored well to the wall and their momentum yanked him loose. He was able to grab them in the air and catch a flagpole with his legs, but knew the flagpole wouldn't hold them for long. He dropped them, repositioned himself and caught them in a web net before they hit the ground.

The man in the trench coat watched from the street, convinced that he had just passed a maskless Spider-Man. He was annoyed to have not gotten a look at the young man's face but knew that one day Spider-Man would be dead at his feet. Spidey headed back to the window that the woman had come from, realizing that it was a savings and loan company. The room had been ransacked, and he was soon blinded by a flare from a toy zeppelin. He managed to cling to the wall but was pummeled by a huge bald African American man. As his vision eventually cleared, Spidey recognized his assailant as "Toy," who worked as muscle for the Tinkerer. He was distracted by a jack in the box, which sprayed a psycho-active gas at him. He had managed to hold his breath before he took the full hit but the gas clung to his web mask. Toy began to leave out the window and Spidey was stunned when he seemed to leap to his death. He realized he'd been fooled when Toy flew away via a flying device in his backpack. He threw a spider tracer at the escaping goon, accidentally hitting him in the back of the head. Toy didn't react, which confused Spidey.

Spidey left as the police arrived and as he swung away he pondered what was bothering him. He had escaped the police too narrowly, blaming the fact that he was acting as Peter Parker and not as Spider-Man. He'd been too uncomfortable because it wasn't as much fun as being Spider-Man. He wanted to go after Toy but wearing his mask over his web mask would suffocate him, making him wait 45 minutes for it to dissolve. After the old mask finally loosened, he followed his tracer to a fix it shop. He knew he was on the right path, since Tinkerer had used a similar shop when they first met. Looking through an air shaft, he found a workshop that "looks like the research and development department of 'Menaces R Us!'"

Slipping inside the shop, Spidey observed the toys, amazed that they were deadly despite looking harmless. His spider sense buzzed and he jumped out of sight just as Tinkerer and Toy entered the room. Tinkerer was pleased with the events of the day, happy with the money taken from the savings and loan, and satisfied by Toy's success against Spider-Man. Tinkerer counted his money as he declared that he had built weapons for criminals long enough and was cutting out the middle man. Soon they'd have wealth beyond imagining...but was glad that money meant nothing to Toy. It's why he was Tinkerer's only friend.

Spidey then laid out Toy, and Tinkerer noticed the spider tracer on the back of his assistant's head. He told Spidey that he still managed to surprise him despite their various encounters. Spidey corrected him, saying they'd met twice. Tinkerer explained that after his initial defeat years ago, he'd laid low until he saw the chance to destroy his enemy via remote control of the spider-mobile. His failure put him off obsessing over revenge and focused on building his trade. However, he did send other criminals after the webhead, like Rocket Racer and Big Wheel. Tinkerer's business dried up after the defeats of his inventions, making him go into business for himself. As he talked, Tinkerer moved closer to his control panel, allowing him to unleash his weaponized toys.

The mini menaces forced him toward a pit filled with plastic balls. Looking around, he realized that he was in a giant replica of a prize machine in an arcade. The ceiling was cut off by an electrical grid, which he noticed shut off if the game's claw got too close to it. Timing his jump just right, Spidey escaped when the electricity was turned off. Spider-Man asked Tinkerer where he got such a corny death trap, and was told it had been ordered by Arcade, who refused payment. Other such traps were still at the shop for the same reason. Spider-Man was grabbed by Toy, who had recovered from the surprise attack. Tinkerer attempted to shoot the webhead with the same gun he'd used in their first meeting but Spidey kicked out Toy's knees, letting him flip the minion over his back.

Spider-Man had devised that Toy was also a robot and tossed him at his master just as Tinkerer fired his weapon. In shock, Tinkerer ran to his fallen comrade, who had a hole blown through his chest. Toy asked why Tinkerer had never told him the truth, and was told it was better that way. Tinkerer swore to avenge his mechanical ally as Toy promised to never leave, despite shutting down. Tinkerer begged Toy not to leave him, because friends didn't leave friends. Spider-Man left, wondering if Tinkerer needed the police or a therapist. He'd become so isolated from humanity that Toy meant more to him than people.

General Comments

Another solid issue. The beginning dragged a bit, as several pages were devoted to Spidey saving the woman and cop from falling. That said, Peter's rush to create a makeshift mask and the problems it caused was a clever plot point. You do the best you can with the tools at your disposal. Tinkerer's plan doesn't make much sense. There has got to be more subtle ways to rob a savings and loan than using a gas spewing jack in the box and a weaponized toy zeppelin. Hysterical people on ledges of buildings tend to draw attention.

Some of the toys were actually kind of intimidating. The cover has a dead eyed teddy bear holding a knife, and another in the shop has a knife in one hand and a gun in the other. A doll has clawed hands like a crab and a clock has the devil's face. I don't know what the clock is supposed to do and I don't want to. Other bears and dolls shoot at Spidey with handguns. Again, not very subtle, more of a "do you want to talk about your childhood Mr. Tinkerer" kind of situation.

Bill Mantlo and Roger Stern must have been fans of Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #2 (Story #2), since the aliens from that story were brought back in Spectacular #51 and the Tinkerer returned here. Two obscure references from a long ago story two issues apart is an interesting coincidence.

The Tinkerer is possibly the most obscure of Spider-Man's enemies but he actually was fleshed out a little in this issue. His motivations and actions were very relatable. He had disappeared from Spidey's radar for so long because he had been laying low and focused on building his underground arms dealing. His business had dried up after a series of failures, putting him into financial trouble. He cut out the middle man, found an ally with no interest in money and was on his way to wealth and riches. Despite it all, despite wanting money more than actual friends, he was a lonely old man. After Toy was destroyed, his grief distracted him from Spider-Man altogether.

That said, his beloved Toy was a silent, obedient black man that called him "master."

Overall Rating

Maybe not noteworthy and the slow beginning bring it down, but the character building and menacing toys help.