One of the greatest Spider-Man stories ever (told in Amazing Spider-Man #100-102) has concluded, with Morbius the living vampire apparently dead and Spider-Man having lost the two extra sets of arms he gained in a lab experiment. Peter Parker's life now appears to be back to normal, but he doesn't have time to enjoy it, because in this issue, he visits the mysterious Savage Land - and finds a lot more trouble than he expected!

The issue starts with Spider-Man mopping up some low-level crooks. But he's distracted, as he can't figure out a way to explain his recent disappearance to Gwen Stacy (it's not like he can say, "I grew four extra arms, Gwen.") So he doesn't tell her much of anything. "I wish I could tell you where I was, Gwendy, but I just can't," Peter Parker tells her. Gwen agrees, perhaps too quickly, not to pry. But then again, she's happy and relieved to see her man Peter, so maybe that's why she didn't press the issue. Peter gets a call from Joe Robertson at the Daily Bugle - he's got an assignment for the freelance photographer. It seems as though the Bugle is going through a financial crisis. Costs are up, while circulation and ad revenue is down, in large part because newspaper readers are now watching more TV. J. Jonah Jameson has assembled his editors to figure out a way to turn things around. Something on television catches his eye - a guide in Antarctica claims to have seen a giant, apparently alien, monster there. Jonah has an idea: "We'll give the public something they can't glance at in between dog food commercials! An in-depth look at the so-called Savage Land and the real lowdown on whatever it was that came crawling out of there."

That's the assignment Jonah has in mind for Peter. And he's got another idea - he wants Gwen to come along as a model and she agrees. The three take the long trip to Antarctica where they meet up with Mr. Calkin, the man who saw the monster. They charter a helicopter and head for the Savage Land, the hidden tropical jungle in Antarctica where dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures still live. Roy Thomas provides some beautiful descriptive writing here, "And then, white upon white. A gleaming ivory wall of mist, suddenly looming before the humming 'copter like a milky shroud." Nice bit of work there. After getting some bikini shots of Gwen, the party stumbles across a strange stone temple in the jungle. Jonah rings the gong on the shrine and the Swamp-Men, a tribe of prehistoric, savage men, emerges from the jungle, spears in hand. But they stop - not because they fear the Daily Bugle gang, but because of something behind the temple. Peter and Gwen turn around to see Gog, the giant alien creature, looming over them. Gil Kane provides a tremendous full-page shot of this scene. Gog grabs Gwen and carries her off, in a scene reminiscent of King Kong. Peter inexplicably pulls out a pistol and shoots at the creature, although the bullets have no effect. Let's see - he's got the proportionate strength and speed of a spider, yet he's using a gun? Gog swats Peter off the edge of a cliff, where Jonah believes he is dead. However, Peter is very much alive and changes into his Spider-Man costume.

It turns out that Gog isn't acting alone. He is under the command of a man quite familiar to Spider-Man - none other than Kraven the Hunter! "With Gog's help, I'm carving out a kingdom down here. And what good is a kingdom without a queen?" Three guesses on which "queen" he has in mind! By the way, Kraven was last seen by Spider-Man in Amazing Spider-Man #49 (in between, Kraven makes a "Non-Spidey" appearance in Astonishing Tales #1-2), where he and the second vulture (Blackie Drago) battled our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Meanwhile, Jonah stumbles across Ka-Zar, the jungle lord of the Savage Land, and his companion, Zabu the Sabretooth tiger. The two met back in Amazing Spider-Man #57, when Jonah tricked Ka-Zar into battling Spider-Man. Jonah explains the situation and Ka-Zar agrees to help. "This thing of which the drums have spoken is a menace to all who dwell in the jungle. A menace which Ka-Zar must find -- and purge!" Leave it to Ka-Zar to refer to himself in the third-person! Spider-Man takes up his frantic search for Gwen. However, he steps into what he believes is mud, but it actually is quicksand! The issue ends with the Web-Slinger sinking toward his apparent doom.

Okay, after three classic issues, this story was a step down. The basic plot is a little flimsy to begin with, as its sort of hard to buy that a story on the Savage Land (or any story, for that matter) could turn around the fortunes of an entire newspaper. I mean, what happens the day after the story runs? But I'm particularly disappointed with the treatment of Gwen here. Turning her into a cheesecake model doesn't fit with the serious, upstanding Gwen Stacy we saw in the Stan Lee/John Romita era. Sure, Mary Jane would jump at the chance for a swimsuit modeling gig, but that's party girl Mary Jane, not Gwen. I realize we needed a "Damsel in Distress" to make this story work, but the set-up doesn't ring true to the character.

On the plus side, Gil Kane's artwork once again is fabulous here. I prefer the more traditional artists such as Romita and Ross Andru for the standard Spider-Man stories where Spidey battles a super villain in New York City. But Kane proved during the Morbius storyline that he is a master of horror and he proves here that he's great at exotic locales as well. His Savage Land manages to be both gorgeous and dangerous at the same time.

Next issue: Can Spider-Man survive? Will Gwen be rescued? Who can stop Kraven and Gog? All of these questions will be answered!

Reviewed by Bruce Buchanan.

Reprinted In:
Marvel Tales #81-82
Marvel Selects #4