Saturday 9 January 2010

Amazing Spider-Man #156. The Mirage

Amazing Spider-Man #156, Mirage, wedding of ned leeds and betty brant
(Cover from May 1976.)

"On A Clear Day, You Can See... The Mirage!"

Words by Len Wein.
Pencils by Ross Andru.
Inks by Mike Esposito.
Lettering by Gaspar.
Colours by Glynis Wein.



If Crowded House were right and some people always take the weather with them, Peter Parker always brings his luck with him.

The trouble is, it's never good.

If there're two events the man should avoid, it's parties and weddings. Every time he attends either, all hell lets loose. Admittedly, the last wedding he "attended" was the marriage of Dr Octopus and Aunt May. This time, it's the wedding of Ned Leeds and Betty Brant.

Ned and Betty's wedding goes better. It doesn't end in a nuclear disaster, and the bride and groom actually manage to get married.

Of course it's not all good news because they pick the very day a brand new super-villain - The Mirage - decides to start hitting nuptials. If their bad luck is that kiss-of-doom Peter Parker's there, their good luck is Spider-Man's also present, so, at least there's someone handy to clear up the mess the walking car-crash that is Peter Parker's brought down on them.

As for the tale itself, it's just a bit of froth really, with some nice little bits of characterisation before Peter and Mary Jane get to the wedding, and a villain on a par with the Cyclone for memorability.

The Mirage really shouldn't be able to give Spider-Man - armed as he is with a spider-sense - any real problems... ...and still, he does; until Spider-Man resorts to the somewhat extreme measure of bringing a giant chandelier down on him. I wouldn't want to be our hero when the insurance company get their hands on him.

Main event of the story is we finally find out who the drunken vagrant is who's been fleeing a pursuer unseen for the last few issues.

It's Dr Octopus!

But wait. Isn't he meant to be dead?

And if he's not, who's been hounding him?

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