The cover of Amazing Spider-Man #144 reads, "If you can only read one Spidey tale this year, it has to be this one! The Delusion Conspiracy!" Yeah, it's hyperbole -- but in this case, it just might be true.

The top-notch creative team of writer Gerry Conway and artist Ross Andru follow up last month's barnburner with yet another stellar outing that simply demands you keep reading. In Amazing Spider-Man #143, the Daily Bugle's Joe Robertson received a mysterious telegram indicating that J. Jonah Jameson had been kidnapped while in Paris. Joe invites Peter Parker along and they discover that the grouchy publisher has been kidnapped by a French villain known as the Cyclone. The Cyclone defeats Spider-Man and kidnaps Joe Robertson, too. Now, Spider-Man has two people to save -- and not much time to do it.

"I always thought Paris was a quiet sort of city: cultured, sophisticated, peaceful," he thinks. "Boy, did I have my head screwed on backward. Paris is as nutty as New York! No -- nuttier!"

Peter goes back to the hotel, where the kidnappers have left him a note telling him to stay in his room until they arrive with new instructions. He gives Aunt May a quick call. She and Anna Watson are going to the movies; both ladies are quite excited about the rapidly blossoming romance between Peter and Mary Jane Watson, Anna's niece. But as they are walking to the movies, Aunt May sees a young woman in the shadows and cries out in fright. "It can't -- can't be--that girl--" she says. Hmmm....

Back in Paris, Peter is jumped by two of the Cyclone's goons. He isn't hurt, but allows himself to be roughed up to get the information he needs. The thugs tell him to bring the $1 million ransom Joe brought to Notre Dame Cathedral the following morning. The next morning, he does head out to the Cathedral. But first, he stops by a local hardware store and makes a rather large purchase.

Inside Notre Dame, a captive J. Jonah Jameson listens to the Cyclone explain his motivations. The Cyclone once was a NATO engineer who developed the cyclone-powered weaponry that he now uses. However, NATO didn't want to buy it, for which the Cyclone blames America. "You're blaming America -- and Americans -- because of your own incompetence!" Jonah says. Thankfully, Spider-Man shows up before the Cyclone can get too angry with his hostage. "If you had any class in the first place, you'd never have kidnapped a clown like J. Jonah Jameson," Spider-Man says. "After all, there are people who would have paid to have you keep him." He pulls the cover off the purchase he made at the hardware store to reveal -- a large fan. "What is this American? A jest? Do you plan to use a simple fan against the murderous force of the all powerful cyclone?" Well, it so happens that Peter Parker is a science whiz as well as a superhero. The fan creates a vortex in reverse of the cyclone's own, so when the villain tries to use his powers, he ends up getting flung across the room. The "all powerful Cyclone" crashes into a stone pillar and drops to the ground unconscious.

Spider-Man frees the hostages, including a less-than-grateful Jonah. He even has a tape recorder rigged in the balcony to make it seem as though Peter Parker is in the cathedral at the same time as Spider-Man.

So that's it, right? The mystery is solved and everything is hunky-dory in Peter Parker's world. Yeah, sure it is. Peter gets back to his apartment to find a shaken Anna Watson standing out front. She explains Aunt May is in the hospital. Peter runs upstairs with "the sudden, overwhelming knowledge that after tonight, his world will never be the same." He opens the door and standing inside his apartment...is Gwen Stacy!!

Wow! Talk about a cliffhanger! Gwen Stacy, of course, was Peter's girlfriend who was murdered by the Green Goblin in the instantly classic Amazing Spider-Man #121. In recent issues, Peter had spotted glimpses of a girl who reminded him of Gwen, but we never were able to see her fully until now. Obviously, there's a lot more to this than meets the eye, as we will learn in the upcoming issues. The main story is a good one, too. Spider-Man comes up with a clever way to defeat a new, dangerous villain. The Cyclone never was used much after this promising initial story. He came to New York to battle Spider-Man and Moon Knight in Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #23, but that was it. Sad to say, he was one of many lesser-known villains killed by the Scourge of the Underworld in Captain America #319.

Next issue: The Scorpion returns. Oh yeah, and Gwen Stacy's back!

Reviewed by Bruce Buchanan.

Reprinted In:
Marvel Tales #121