Amazing Spider-Man 18 -- Spidey Wusses Out -- Melodrama Ensues

November 1964 -- President Johnson is re-elected, 2 stage escalation bombing begins in North Vietnam and the St Louis Hawks Bob Petit becomes the first NBA player to score 20,000 points.  It's a wild month for sports and science as we begin another wonderful session of Comics in the Classroom.

The fallout from last issue carries over as the battle between Spider-Man and The Green Goblin is the number topic all over New York, with villains, superheroes and pedestrians all still astounded that Spider-Man ran away from the fight like a coward.  Unable to give the reason why, lest giving up his secret identity, Peter Parker considers hanging up the tights for good as his guilt over not being there for his Aunt May is taking its toll on our web slinger.

While Peter worries over having enough money for May's medication, J Jonah Jameson is basking in his glow of claiming Spider-Man was a fraud from the beginning.  The whole city turns on Spidey, with the exception of his most loyal fan, Peter's high school nemesis Flash Thompson, who constantly defends his hero at the expense of being mocked by his fellow classmates.

While trying to avoid all confrontations, Spider-Man desperately tries to figure out ways to make money, trying to sell his webbing to an adhesive company or trying to sell his image for trading cards, all paths to nowhere.

Peter tries to add some positive vibes to his love life by trying to reconcile with Betty Brant, but she's pulling such melodrama over seeing Peter with Liz Allen at the dinner club last issue that she won't even answer his calls, leaving the class to debate whether or not Betty is capable of being the "Bond Girl" in our master script.  After too much of Betty's prancing and whining, I'm almost inclined to agree.  Reading these old stories from the 60's written by the legend Stan Lee is an honor in itself, but during Betty's constant mistrust of Peter Parker, you just have to fight the urge to have Peter grab Betty by her shoulders and shake the stupidity out of her and scream,

"MORON, I AM SPIDERMAN, NOW STOP GIVING ME CRAP AND JUST KISS ME DAMMIT!!!"

Going for a swing around the city to cure his depression, Spider-Man shoots mask first into The Sandman, who is itching for a brawl.  Rife with worry about his Aunt May, Spider-Man eludes The Sandman, who continues to pursue and taunt him for being a coward.  Even the TV cameras and bystanders start taunting Spider-Man as everyone is getting in on the act of catching him constantly retreating from trouble.

J Jonah Jameson continues to barrage the public with pictures and footage of Spider-Man fleeing from danger, and the public won't let up as Peter Parker nears a nervous breakdown.  His old nemesis and sometimes ally, Johnny Storm aka The Human Torch, flashes rapidly out of Fantastic Four headquarters with a mission to find Spider-Man and once and for all get to the bottom of the sudden change of character.  The Torch even writes a huge message in flames across the Manhattan skyline, begging Spider-Man to meet up with him at the spot of their last encounter, which ends up being a reference to another Marvel title called Strange Tales.  This leads to a quick reminder of how Marvel used their characters to cross pollinate with each other across other titles in order to increase awareness and sales for their lesser popular titles.  Can't fault the publishers for getting greedy, and of course many of the students point out that Marvel Studios is currently using the same tactic in their unbelievable line up of blockbuster movie franchises, dropping Easter eggs and several references and hidden messages in each film.

The Torch sits atop The Statue of Liberty for hours, anxiously awaiting for his friend and competitor to appear, which much to his disappointment and confusion, he does not.  The Torch isn't the only one who is depressed over Spidey's apparent retirement as Flash Thompson, determined to prove that Spider-Man is still out there and still a hero, foolishly dons a Spidey costume and sets out into the community to rebuild his hero's reputation.  When he runs into a trio of car thieves, Flash does his best to impersonate Spider-Man, but nearly beaten to death in the process and just barely rescued by the cops.  Peter tries to comfort Flash but is blown off, and to make matters worse, on his way home from school Peter spots Betty Brant on a date with another guy.

Fully depressed and content to ditch Spider-Man forever for an attempt at a normal life, inspiration comes from his Aunt May, who makes a miraculous recovery and gives Peter a firm monologue about the ability to use spirit and gumption to overcome any obstacle.  With his aunt's words lighting a small flame inside him, the final spark comes from another J Jonah Jameson editorial in the Daily Bugle in which the publisher claims the entire Spider-Man ordeal was just a big hoax and publicity stunt played upon the unsuspecting public.  With his heart on fire, and adding to his anger of losing Betty, Peter digs his suit out of the trash and is determined to swing back into the hearts and minds of the public, accepting his destiny as a costumed adventurer and a full fledged superhero.

With references to actor Peter Sellers, Russian premier Krushchev and even The Cardiff Giant, as well as editor's notes referencing other issues in the Marvel Universe, this was definitely one of the odder and intriguing tales in the life of our beloved Arac-Knight.  All in all another fun filled day in the annals of Comics in the Classroom.

Vocab Word Web

1- Cringe

2- Preconceived

3- Valiant

4- Furtive

5- Jittery

6- Generous

7- Hypocrite

8- Redeem

9- Morosely

10- Respite

11- Adhesive

12- Evaporates

13- Popularity

14- Cowardice

15- Jovial

16- Impersonate

17- Gumption

18- Sympathy

19- Sensitive

20- Invalid