Writer: Michael Straczynski Artists: John Romita Jr.(p), Scott Hannah(i), James Sinclair(c) Publisher: Marvel
Plot: Spidey brings down the stealer of children from previous issues.
And the hilarity continues. Spidey has a long history of teaming up with Dr. Strange. In each foray, Spidey always seems out of his depth. Peter is afterall more prone to fight street-crime, but being a hero, he never backs down from an antagonist beefed up by supernatural power or high-science gadgetry.
As with past encounters involving Dr. Strange, Spidey is hopelessly lost. He's in fact as lost as we would be if placed in his situation, but his experience as a super-hero allows him to roll with the punches; the punches in this issue tend to go through things, but still...
The speedy conclusion to the mystery of the disappearing street kids suits Spidey's abilities as well as his Bugs Bunny type nature. Spider-Man like his namesake is a trickster hero. The villain of the story has just the right amount of intelligence to comprehend his power, but it doesn't save him from his own arrogance that allows him to fall victim to the mistakes most villains make. Underestimate a trickster at your own cost.
Michael Straczynski understatedly plays up his introduction of totem mythology in the Spider-Man mythos. Not only does the Wall-Crawler encounter something strange in the neighborhood he visits, he is also referenced a little differently by the cranky Sorceror Supreme. The indication is that Dr. Strange knew all along about Spider-Man's special nature and responsibly kept it to himself. This scene exemplifies how continuities when written well can beautifully mesh.
John Romita Jr. exquisitely captures the everyday nature of Spider-Man and his normal place in the Marvel universe. Later, when rendering the more mystical plains, he out-Ditkos Ditko.
