Amazing Spider-Man #132 marks the return of Peter Parker's oldest friends - as well as the return of one of the Web-Slinger's long-time foes, but this issue also is noteworthy for another return - a guest-shot by legendary Spider-Man artist John Romita. During his lengthy run with writer Stan Lee, Romita created the classic look for Spider-Man that subsequent artists have used as their template. Romita's Spider-Man is more imitated even than that of Steve Ditko, the character's co-creator.

Spider-Man has returned to New York after preventing Aunt May from making the mistake of a lifetime by marrying Doctor Octopus. He thinks he should be in a good mood, but unfortunately, he's come down with a bad cold. However, Spidey doesn't have much time to worry about his health. While swinging around town, he notices a break-in at the Museum of Natural History. "Who would be looney enough to steal a Tyrannosaurus Rex?" he thinks. (As luck would have it, that actually happens in Amazing Spider-Man #165 - but that's another story for another day). A closer examination of the crime scene reveals that the bandit melted his way through the skylight. He also burned his footprints into the sidewalk, leading Spider-Man to strongly suspect the identity of the thief, although he doesn't share his suspicions with the reader just yet. In any case, the bandit only stole some meteor fragments, passing up on more valuable artifacts. The scene shifts to a fleabag hotel on the Lower West Side, where a tenant named "Mr. Raxton" rather rudely chases out the cleaning lady. She calls the Daily Bugle with a tip and ace reporter Ned Leeds goes to check it out. Raxton's hotel room explodes just as Ned arrives and Raxton shuffles out, muttering, "I'm doomed...I'll remain this hideous monstrosity...forever!" He melts the linoleum floor as he leaves, providing yet another clue as to his identity. When Ned goes inside to check things out, he is attacked by a mystery assailant.

Meanwhile, Peter Parker runs into his old high school classmate, Liz Allen, who hasn't been seen since all the way back in Amazing Spider-Man #30. Peter remembers his high school crush on Liz, but those days seem long ago to the college student. Liz is upset and exhausted and asks for Peter's help. He takes her to Mary Jane's apartment and she goes right to sleep. Peter heads over the the Daily Bugle offices to check their files on the villain he suspects robbed the museum and Joe Robertson gives him an assignment to take some photos for Ned's story. "Looks like the police will have to solve their museum-robber on their own," he thinks. " 'Cause Spidey's off to make some bread...and in a world as inflation-ridden as this one, that takes A-1 top priority!" Lucky for Ned he got that assignment, because Spider-Man arrives to find Ned unconscious and injured but alive. Before he can do anything, though, he is attacked by Ned's assailant and the thief behind the museum robbery - the Molten Man (last seen in Amazing Spider-Man #35). It turns out the Molten Man has been in a hospital since their last encounter, but he escaped. The Molten Man's body is covered in a molten metal shell and his body heat has risen to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. That makes him a dangerous foe - and a tough one to hurt. He can't match Spider-Man's speed, though, and the Wall-Crawler dodges the Molten Man's attacks. But Spider-Man, in turn, can't do much to hurt the enraged Molten Man, although he does web his fist into a makeshift boxing glove so he can punch the villain (In what appears to be a mistake, the glove completely disappears in the next panel!). Declaring he will kill Spider-Man, the Molten Man charges the hero. Spidey dodges the attack, saying, "My fairy godmother promised me I wouldn't die till I saw a dragon -- and you don't think I'd make a liar out of my fairy godmother!" The Molten Man tumbles out of the window and lands on a fire hydrant. The ensuing cloud of steam enables him to escape. Peter dresses back into street clothes and carries Ned to the hospital. He starts feeling weak himself and figures his cold must be worse than he originally thought. At the emergency room, the doctors say that Ned has a case of radiation poisoning. The meteors Mark Raxton (A.K.A. the Molten Man) stole were radioactive. As Peter leaves the hospital, he becomes too weak to stand and collapses on the floor. He, too, has been stricken by the radiation poisoning. The issue ends with a sick Peter Parker thinking "Is this -- is this it? Is this the end of Spider-Man?"

It's great to see a classic Lee/Ditko villain like the Molten Man return after a nearly 100-issue absence. He never has been a top-notch Spider-villain, but he's still a valuable, long-time member of Spider-Man's rogues gallery. Thankfully, it won't be as long before he appears again, as he comes back to torment the Web-Slinger in Amazing Spider-Man #171. It's also wonderful to see John Romita return to the character he helped make famous. By this point, Romita was Marvel Comics' Art Director, meaning he was doing more behind-the-scenes work than published art (although he provided a number of Amazing Spider-Man covers during this era). Regular penciller Ross Andru, who was doing some fantastic work at this point, resumes his usual duties in the next issue.

Next month: The two-part Molten Man storyline concludes, with the tragic mystery of the Molten Man's crimes explained!

Reviewed by Bruce Buchanan.

Reprinted In:
Marvel Tales #109