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| 'Spectacular Spider-Man' #133 |
This week’s “Comic Book of the Week” is “The Spectacular
Spider-Man” #133, which was published by Marvel Comics in December 1987. This
issue was titled “I Am Spider!” and was the third and final installment in an
ongoing series. This issue's creative team included Ann Nocenti, writer; Cyndy
Martin, penciller; Joe Rubinstein, inker; Rick Parker, letterer; Janet Jackson,
colorist; Jim Salicrup, editor; and Tom DeFalco, editor in chief. Bill
Sienkiewicz was the cover artist for the issue, which sold for 75 cents at
newsstands.
This 32-page issue begins in a mental hospital called
Pleasant Valley, where a drugged Peter Parker is strapped into a wheelchair and
connected to an IV pole. Other patients in the room are having an art therapy
session led by several counselors. As Parker comes out of his drug-addled
stupor, he remembers that he was locked in the institution after he tried to
break out Vicky Gibbs, a mother of two who’s also married to mobster Frank
Gibbs.
Parker watches from his wheelchair as one of his fellow
patients, Zero, is led off to a shock therapy session as punishment for leading
an “uprising” the day before. Parker actually started the incident when he
tried to rescue Vicky. In an effort to make things right, Parker teams up with
a counselor named Mary and talks her into weaning the other patients off their
heavy medications.
From there, the scene shifts to a messy, big city apartment,
where Vicky’s kids are alone and unsupervised. Their father, Frank, comes home late at night to the big mess and wants to know why the kids aren't in bed. They get into a big
argument, and Frank tells them that he has to work for the mob to pay for
Vicky’s medical care.
He explains that his bosses considered her too much of a
risk and had her put away. If Frank tries to rescue Vicky, the mob will kill
her, and they’ll have to move and assume new identities. In the end, for his
children, Frank agrees to rescue Vicky.
From there, we go to the offices of the Kingpin, the mob
boss behind the shady mental hospital and the woes of the Frank Gibbs family.
Enter the Kingpin’s right-hand-man, Oswald Silkworth, aka, the Arranger, who’s
there to give the Kingpin an update on Pleasant Valley, which he describes as
their “holding tank for people, who, for various reasons, we can’t quite
dispose of.” He also mentions that one of the doctors there is running a
program to develop assassins for the mob.
Silkworth tells the Kingpin that one of the patients is now
claiming to be Spider-Man, which has resulted in several riots. The doctor
wants permission to “pick” Spider-Man’s brain, which Kingpin grants. Silkworth
informs the doctor, who is in the middle of running a patient named
“Brainstorm” through one of his assassin program sessions.
The next day, Parker’s back to his old self, but he’s still
pretending to be a patient. Mary’s worried that as the other patients come off
their meds they’ll become more aggressive and unruly. Just then, one of the
inmates starts a huge fight, the diversion Parker’s been waiting for to rescue
Zero and Vicky.
Parker breaks out of his restraints, and Mary tosses him his
black Spider-Man costume, which Parker just drapes over his shoulders. As
Parker collects Zero and Vicky, they find their path to freedom blocked by two
uniformed security guards, the head doctor and the assassin, Brainstorm. The
security guards out with their guns and start blasting away and then Parker
finds himself shut up in a room with Brainstorm.
Parker and Brainstorm trade blows while the head doctor
watches from a window in the door. Parker eventually gets the best of
Brainstorm by knocking him out cold. Just then, Frank Gibbs shows up with his
own gun and takes the head doctor hostage. While Frank holds a gun to the doctor’s
head, he frees his wife, Vicky, and they all walk out the front door with
Parker.
They get into Frank’s car. Parker’s driving and Vicky’s up
front. Frank and the doctor get in the back seat. They plan to drive the doc to
an isolated area, put him out, then call the cops to tell them all about the
illegal stuff that’s been going on at Pleasant Valley.
The next day, Parker returns to Pleasant Valley disguised as
a newspaper photographer. He’s accompanied by investigative reporter Ben Urich,
and when they arrive, they’re herded into a press conference that's already underway. When they arrive,
Silkworth’s at the podium telling a large group of reporters that the
hospital’s financial backers were appalled to hear the reports of abuse and are
conducting their own investigation into the allegations.
Silkworth also remarks that the head doctor was responsible
for the illegal, unethical and abusive practices at the hospital, and that the
doctor has pleaded insanity and his being held without bail. All this makes
Parker mad because the Kingpin’s obviously going to get off free and the doctor
is going to be made the scapegoat.
The issue ends with a scene in the Gibbs family car. They’re
riding through the desert, eating fast food and trying to figure out where
they’re going to begin their new lives. From the looks of things, they were
going to pick a spot that’s no where on the map, but they are happy nonetheless.
This comic (unless I’ve sold it) and others are available
for purchase through Peacock’s Books on Amazon.com. If you’re interested in
buying it, search for it there by title, issue number and date of publication.
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