Cover date: April 1972
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: John Romita
Inker: Frank Giacoia
After capturing Spidey last ish, the diabolical (and I mean that!) Professor Smyth returns to his hide-out to put his insidious plan in motion. With Spidey out of action, and Smyth’s spy scanners positioned throughout the city, the local mobs can rob banks of millions, and be one step ahead of the cops. There is just one slight flaw in his genius plan; he keeps Spider-Man alive. Duh!
As you can guess, Spidey escapes Smyth’s Spider Slayer and puts a stop to his shenanigans.
Meanwhile, Flash Thompson catches up with Gwen and reveals to her his dark secret. That will have to wait until next ish, however, as Flash is taken away by some men in uniform and the next issue blurb promises a startling Spidey special...
Quite frankly, that will be a relief after the last three boring issues of Spider-Man’s rematch with Professor Smyth and his Spider Slayer; Stan Lee appears to be just going through the motions where Spider-Man himself is concerned, only showing some interest when writing the occasional snippet of soap opera involving Spidey’s supporting cast.
Is it just a coincidence that the two titles Stan Lee is currently writing, Fantastic Four and Spider-Man, are both in the doldrums? Could both comics use a fresher voice?
Yes, a fresher voice is needed. Some titles, most notable The Avengers, really took off when Roy Thomas took over.
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