Amazing Spider-Man 14 -- Peter Parker Goes Green -- Betty Gets Petty

Another masterpiece from Fred Hembeck

President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964, abolishing racial segregation across the USA, casualty reports go over 1,000 in the Vietnam War and the Ranger Program sends back thousands of close up photographs of the moon.  Speaking of photographers and bad segues, it's another installment of Comics in the Classroom starring everyone's favorite tortured teen, the Amazing Spider-Man

This is an explosive Super Double Feature as it debuts the villain who will be torturing both Spider-Man and Peter Parker into the next century...................................The Green Goblin,

It also features a guest appearance by everyone's favorite emerald brute..............The Incredible Hulk

Before getting into the story I have a quick discussion with the students about the power of fanfare.  At the time of this publication, The Incredible Hulk comic book series was cancelled and poor Bruce Banner's alter ego was lingering in limbo.  Writers didn't know what to do with the character and many considered him a bad rip off of Dr Jekyl and Mr Hype or Frankenstein.  At that point Marvel tried to place the Hulk in the occasional cameo shot in other comics titles to see if a little boost could revive the angered soul.

Fans wrote in droves about how much they loved the Hulk's appearances in their favorite titles and soon enough, The Incredible Hulk was back on the shelves.  In a similar story relative to the student's modern entertainment, the popular animated show Family Guy was also canceled early in its run, leaving poor Seth McFarlane to wonder if he wasted all those hours in front of TV and Broadway musicals.  Fox didn't think the show had legs, until of course they looked at the DVD sales and read about 5 zillion message boards conveying their love and obsession for the show.  Once rejected and tossed by the networks, Seth McFarlane is now a billionaire who hosts the Oscars.  Yet another reason to love comics and the animation it inspires.

Our tale begins with a man in the shadows, plotting, scheming, and trying out an array of dangerous looking weapons before slipping on an outfit that makes him look like a leprechaun on steroids.  The Goblin jumps on his flying broomstick and makes off for a meeting at a sleazy hotel with................The Enforcers.

That's right, Marvel's version of the Keystone Kops make their return to comics as they have been recently let out of jail and instead of learning from their criminal ways and going straight, go right back into the life of sin. Headless since their leader, The Big Man, was caught and revealed to be mild mannered reporter Frederick Foswell, The Goblin takes advantage of this and convinces them t fall in with him, vowing to help them gain revenge on the man who put them behind bars, The Amazing Spider-Man

The Green Goblin's plan begins with him crashing the penthouse home of a Hollywood movie producer and coaxing him to finance a movie starring himself, the Enforcers and the real Spider-Man.  The producer agrees and I am left bitter and angry when I realize my years of trying to get a screenplay sold would've been shortened if I only had a flying broomstick, a Goblin costume and the balls to crash into a studio honcho's apartment.  Either way I let the anger go and finish my lesson.

Back on the other coast, Peter is starting to impress his fellow students with his smarts, as well as his improving physique, which is making Flash Thompson increasingly jealous.  Peter's joy is interrupted when a radio reports a flying Goblin across the New York skyline.  Peter jets off and changes into Spider-Man to investigate the situation.

In the story, Peter makes a reference to J Edgar Hoover and Khrushchev the Russian premier.  We do a quick side about world leaders in the 60's and I let the kids entertain the idea of both historical figures possible involvement in the assassination of President Kennedy.  After all this is a Comics class and conspiracy stories are always welcomed and encouraged, even if I am the one to poke the students into talking about it.

When Spidey meets The Goblin, he tells him Hollywood producer BJ Cosmos is looking to sign him for an exclusive action film and came to New York to finalize the project.  Spider-Man visits BJ at his hotel and the producer offers him 50 grand to star in an action flick.  Anxious to provide his Aunt May with a better life, Spidey signs on the dotted line and makes plans to head west.  Much to his satisfaction, Jameson also wants to send Peter Parker to Hollywood to get the exclusive pics on set.  Peter is basking in his good fortune when Betty Brant starts to show her possessiveness and jealousy over all the Hollywood beauties Peter may come into contact with, along with expressing her displeasure over the recent affections thrown to her boyfriend by Flash's ex, Liz Allen.  I have to calm the class down once our discussion veers off into the high school drama of relationships, cheating and petty jealousy.  That segue nearly takes up the entire class.

So while a naive Spidey thinks they hired incredible Enforcer look a likes, the movie crew heads to New Mexico to start shooting fight scenes.  Before the cameras are ready to roll, The Goblin and The Enforcers jump Spider-Man.  So The Goblin's plan all along was to get Spidey on camera in the middle of the desert and then go for the kill, even I couldn't sell this one to the students but we ride out The Goblin's plot for the duration, and especially because of the oncoming guest star.

Then it occurs to one of my students as a glowing light flashes across the classroom,

They wanted to get him out in the desert so Spider-Man is out of his element and doesn't have the advantage of sticking to walls or climbing over buildings.  A slow tear forms in my eye as I see my students deciphering clues on their own.  Not bad for special education :)

So once Spidey realizes he's been duped it's too late as Goblin and the Enforcers put the hurting to him gangland style.  Goblin is dropping pumpkin bombs all over the desert as The Enforcers take turns pummeling Spidey into exhaustion.  When they pile on him, Spidey uses all of his strength to knock them away before webbing up some tumbleweeds and using his strength to whip up an old fashioned dust storm so he could escape into a nearby cave underneath the cover of the smoke screen.

Hiding in the cave, things get intense when the fearsome foursome follow him inside and block off the escape with a large boulder.  Spider-Man uses his enhanced sight to stalk and take out the Enforcers one by one until it is down to him and The Goblin.  Goblin starts whipping multiple flash bombs all over the cave until Spidey ducks into a dank corner and runs head first into.................................

THE INCREDIBLE HULK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nothing like seeing everyone's favorite green monster hiding out from his latest path of wanton destruction.  Of course Spidey is caught off guard and The Hulk goes on a rampage, destroying the entire cave with his bare green hands while Spider-Man tries to elude his destructive rage and Earth crushing fists.

When Spider-Man decides to take it to The Hulk, he nearly cripples himself.  Instead he uses his intelligence and places himself in front of the boulder blocking the entrance to the cave.  The Hulk plow after Spidey and smashes through the boulder, freeing Spidey and The Green Goblin, who deserts the captured Enforcers.  When Spidey tries to catch the escaping Goblin, he is too worn out from his brawl with The Hulk and falls into a small lagoon.  The Goblin escapes and The Hulk wanders off into the unknown, more then likely to turn back into Bruce Banner in order to walk off to that piano music so familiar from the Bill Bixby TV series that my students would obviously not remember, making me feel very old :)

Spidey swings back to Hollywood, where his 50 grand is non existent due to no shooting on their movie.  Spidey learns just awful and frustrating the movie business can be.  All in all, a fantastic issue, probably the best we have read in class so far.  It always a blast during Comics in the Classroom.

Vocab Word Web

1- Grotesque

2- Legitimate

3- Publicity

4- Murky

5- Expansion

6- Glamorous

7- Sensitive

8- Lummox

9- Astonished

10- Studious

11- Articulate

12- Overestimate

13- Ember

14- Subtle

15- Disposal

16- Colossus

17- Baleful

18- Submerged

19- Dreaded

20- Undiminished