The Amazing Spider-Man 275

One of the older books in the random to-read stack. No idea where I got this one.

Title: The Amazing Spider-Man
Issue: 275
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Date: April, 1986
Writer: Tom DeFalco, Stan Lee
Artist: Ron Frenz, Josef Rubinstein, Steve Ditko
Colorist: Nel Yomtov
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Editor: Jim Owsley

From right in the midst of the original black-costume era, this story pits Spider-Man against the Hobgoblin, but more importantly, it pits Peter Parker against his own self-doubt.

It also includes a complete reprint of the original Spider-Man origin story by Lee and Ditko from Amazing Fantast #15 in 1962. In this case, the retelling of the origin is framed as a flashback related to Mary Jane Watson by Peter Parker, who is seriously questioning his second life as Spider-Man.

There is also a major soap-opera going in with Flash Thompson (presented here, disturbingly, as a domestic abuser), Sha Shan, Betty Leeds, and Ned Leeds. It is complicated, and melodramatic, and before the issue is over, the lives of these characters will collide with the lives of Spider-Man and Hobgoblin (well, it's hinted that there may already be a connection there).

Peter Parker's concerns about collateral damage, and his own failings, felt very real, and the discussion with Mary Jane about whether he should continue on as Spider-Man had no real straightforward answers, and writer Tom DeFalco did an especially good job of acknowledging Mary Jane's very mixed feelings.

Hobgoblin, meanwhile was in classic villain mode, operating as an enforcer for the Rose, who is preparing to challenge the Kingpin for control of New York's underworld, while really obsessing over his next encounter with Spider-Man.

It takes a while to get to the action, but once it gets going, the fight between Spider-Man and Hobgoblin is excellent.

This issue has a lot going on, most of it very good, a little bit of it cringe-inducing (Flast Thompson's scenes). The reprint is shoehorned in somewhat awkwardly, but it's hard to complain about getting one of the  greatest comic stories of all time as a backup feature, no matter how many times I've read it.

Rating: 7/10