Web of Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #82

Spider-Man wakes up in a pile of rubble quite the worse for wear. Ben Urich is there and ask for a statement as we slip into flashback mode… Man Mountain Marko was collecting protection money for the Maggia when he went a bit crazy. He trashed an entire bar – with Spider-Man inside. Ben tells Spidey that Marko took off after kidnapping a kid.

Spidey goes to a gym where Ben said Marko worked out. At the gym, Spidey finds Marko's locker and there are steroids inside. He goes to the owner, who tells him the Maggia souped up Marko's genes to make him stronger. Spidey breaks into the Maggia's offices and takes a rolodex to direct him to Marko's.

Spidey tips off Ben, then heads to the house. Marko gets the better of Spidey as they fight at first but he tires and Spider-Man fights back and knocks him out. Meanwhile, the 'kidnapped' boy was just a fan of Marko's who wanted to be as big as him.

General Comments

This story really had potential. Spider-Man's interaction with Ben was a really good touch. The problem is that there's simply not enough substance to sustain the whole story. I don't really get either a) who the kid is, or b) why he switches his allegiance from Marko to Spider-Man at the end.

The whole thing doesn't really fit together properly. You get the feeling that all the aspects are right … and included … but the writing isn't quite strong enough to bring it out.