I would like to introduce yet another brand new reviewer to Spider-Man.Info: Willi Gerrard! He has stepped up to take on and review the third Spider-Title to feature Spider-Man, Web Of Spider-Man. Web Of Spider-Man began just two months after the cancellation of Marvel Team-Up, which lasted for 150 issues. At the time, it was another #1, plus the new title featured Spider-Man without another character to team-up with. The title had it's ups and downs, lasting for 129 issues, but as we will see, there was plenty of good stories, and significant events taking place in it. On to the review!:

What more could you ask for? This comic’s got a brand new group of villains, the last appearance of the alien symbiote before it bonds with Eddie Brock, and is the first issue in Spider-Man’s third series. Web of Spider-Man! (Okay, the letterer and artist could’ve have been better, but that’s another story).

Oh, and if your not familiar with the alien symbiote, check out Secret Wars #8 for details of it's introduction into the Marvel universe. The symbiote is a living parasite that came from Battleworld. While at Battleworld, Spider-Man wore it as a costume, not knowing what it was. The alien was very comfortable, could produce an endless supply of organic webbing, could change shape and color, and look like human clothing, Could only cover certain parts of Peter’s body, or his entire body. The symbiote acted by and obeyed Peter’s thoughts, but Peter still wanted to find out what it really was. He eventually went to Dr. Reed Richards, Mr. Fantastic of the Fantastic Four in Amazing Spider-Man #258, and after a few tests it was discovered that it was an alien symbiote, and was going to act as a parasite and bond with Peter. Symbiotes hate fire and Sonics, so Dr. Richards blasted it off Peter with a sonic ray-gun, and locked the alien in a vat in his headquarters, the Baxter Building. Now the symbiote has broken out, and is looking for Peter.

The story begins in Peter Parker’s apartment bedroom. He is worrying about his relationship with the Black Cat, and doesn’t even see the alien symbiote hiding in his closet. Peter wants to clear his mind, and decides to go out web-slinging. Just before he reaches for his tights, the symbiote races to the hanger, closest to Pete’s hand and disguises itself as his classic red and blues. He takes it out, puts it on, and thinks he’s getting used the original outfit again. It feels just as comfortable as the one he got from Battleworld. (See the Secret Wars mini series). He the thinks about the rumors going around that a black shadow is snaking around town and taking people over, and says he’s going to see Mr. Fantastic, to see if the alien broke loose. Peter goes to get his cartridge belt, and sees in his closet mirror, that the symbiote is engulfing his body. Oh NO!

In another area in the city, a gang of three boys, (Gripes, Sugar Face, and Pigeon) enter a warehouse where they meat with their boss, Honcho. It is revealed that these people were captured by Spider-Man in the past, and were each sent to prison for separate crimes. In jail, they shared a cell with Adrian Toomes the original Vulture. They were interested in his flying harness, and the lonely old man told them all about his engineering. Gripes worked in the machine shop at the prison and it was easy for him to smuggle the supplies to him and learn more about the wings. Honcho and the boys got out of jail, and made their own harnesses, based on the Vulture’s design. They were now putting on their suit, which were different from Toomes’. They were red with yellow, had protective eye’s shield and head gear, and had speakers they could contact each other with. The group called themselves the Vulturions. They would now have their revenge on Spider-Man, but they first went on a test flight.

At the same time, Peter has realized what’s happened, escapes his apartment, and tells the alien costume he’s going to the Baxter Building for sure. Now the suit has almost total control over him, and Spider-Man struggles to move where and how he pleases. The symbiote has control over Spidey’s webbing as well, so he can’t web-swing. Spider-Man doesn’t realize this at first, and tries to shoot a web-line. The suit does release it, but not in the direction he wanted. The alien then removes the web from it’s building and Spider-Man falls into the streets below, unable to shoot another web-line. He almost fell to his death, but at the last second, caught hold of a flag pole. For some reason, his spider-sense did not alert him. The symbiote made him flip around and off the pole, crash through the window of a building, go out another window, and walk down the wall below. He thinks to himself he’ll have to walk and wall-crawl to the Baxter Building, but the costume reads his mind and ties part of itself around his legs and ankles. He tries to break free and hitch a ride on the roof of a bus, but his costume attaches itself to a light post, trapping the web-slinger. For some reason, his spider-sense begins to tingle. My spider-sense going off like crazy! But why now after I almost fell to my death?

Mary Jane, shopping at a mall, is trying to find a gift for Harry and Liz Osborn’s newborn son, Norman. There she meets Peter’s Aunt May. MJ tells her about being Normy’s God Mother (And Peter being his God Father) and May replies, saying she didn’t know since she hasn’t spoken to Peter since he quit Grad School. She’s still furious at Peter and she wants him to continue his dream, instead of photography. Mary Jane tells her that maybe it is his new dream and he’s happy about it, but May says he was happier being a scientist. The old woman sees a hat she wants, and MJ tells her she should buy it. "Maybe later sweetie!, I’m having a few little money problems with the house!" replies May.

Now back to Spider-Man and his predicament: Gripes sees Spider-Man being suspended on the light post below by his own costume, and calls in the other Vulturions. He figures it’d be a waste of time to wait for the others, so he flies up with Spidey, while his own costume attacks him. He asks Gripes why he’s wearing the Vulture’s outfit, and if he’s working with him. He replies Well, what did you think? The other Vulturions come to the scene and warned their team-mate that he should’ve been more careful than to take on Spider-Man by him-self, but that he points out to them that his own costume has got him hog-tied. Gripes said if he dropped Spider-Man from up there, he be killed for sure, but then the symbiote attacked him. The web-head was now free and took out all but one of the Vulturions. He rode that one to a ringing bell tower. He realized that Sonics from the tower would remove the symbiote from his body and walked straight under the extremely loud bells, and ordered the Vulturion to fly away. (Which he gladly did.) Peter told the alien that if he stayed and used him as a puppet, he would die, and that would be bad for both of them. He explained if he died, it would be bad for his loved ones too. Since the symbiote had lived with Peter, he learned to understand emotions. He felt sorry for him and separated. Peter was knocked out cold from the loud bells around him. The suit then moved him further down the church tower and saved his life. The symbiote then melted through the floor, leaving behind smoke, and a half naked Spider-Man. When he awoke, he wondered why the suit had saved him. The story is continued into next issue.

By Willi Gerrard