Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #246
Background
The attack of Spider-Man's most fearsome foes! Or perhaps not...
Story 'The Legion of Losers!'
Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #246
| Editor: | Ralph Macchio |
| Plot: | J.M. DeMatteis |
| Writer: | Glenn Greenberg |
| Pencils: | Luke Ross |
| Inker: | Al Milgrom, Dan Green |
| Cover Art: | Luke Ross |
The issue begins with Spidey being misidentified as The Human Fly, then Ant Man. He is busy fretting that the Chameleon has discovered his secret-- but not as secret as it once was-- identity. Having no luck in finding the Chameleon, he goes to see Dr. Kafka at Ravencroft, where he arrives just in time to find out both Dr. Kafka and John Jameson are being fired and replaced by Dr. Leanord Sampson. Spidey wonders where the Chameleon is, and the comic, sensing his question, shows a panel of Kraven the Hunter.
Then, Gibbon, Grizzly, the Spot, and the Kangaroo strike with a vengeance! The Legion of Losers rob a bank. They have a little spat, and Gibbon and Grizzly leave seperately, which means they end up getting chased by the cops, while the Kangaroo and the Spot leave through one of the Spot's spotted spots. Gibbon and Grizzly run into Spidey who laughs his way through the "fight", which I use only for lack of a better word. Grizzly gets his hand stuck in the wall., and Spidey is eventually distracted by the Spot and knocked out by the Kangaroo.
The villains take Spidey back to Grizzly's apartment. They promptly get into an argument about whether or not they should give the money back. The Spot and Kangaroo fight with Gibbon and Grizzly, and are beaten. When the remaining two try to let Spidey go, they find that he has already let himself go, and was never unconcious in the first place. He just wanted to know what they planning. Gibbon and the Grizzly decide to become heroes, which is probably more dangerous than Gibbon and the Grizzly as villains anyway...
The side stories were as follows. Betty decides to help Flash with his alcoholism. Jameson gets the snot beat out of him by the Jack 'O Lantern, and is left laying battered and bloody, right there in the last panel of the comic.
General Comments
This is the first Spider-man comic in months that was of a lighter nature, and I am relieved. I was pleased to see Spidey get a bit of a break from all the heavy stuff that he has been through lately. I was neither relieved nor pleased to see Kraven the Undead. I do hope that Leanord Sampson is joining Spidey's supporting cast. I enjoyed the dialogue with the Legion of Losers, and the art was acceptable(probably only to me, but acceptable nonetheless). This comic was mostly just comic relief(in its most appropriate forum), and well worth reading.
Overall Rating 
Four webs. One per loser.