Amazing Spider-Man #156
On a Clear Day You Can See the Mirage!
With the sun rising, Spider-Man rushes back to the apartment he rents as Peter Parker, in hopes of being able to get some sleep before serving as Ned Leeds's best man at Ned's marriage to Betty Brant. Arriving on the roof of the Chelsea Apartments Building, he is attacked by Peter's own landlady, Mrs. Mamie Muggins, intoxicated, wrongly believes that Spider-Man is a "pervert" and beats him away with a broom, only for Spider-Man to disappear by slipping away along the side of the building. This leads Mrs. Muggins to mistake him for a drunken hallucination, and Spider-Man mentally expresses hopes that she will not, as a result, wonder what Spider-Man was doing on the roof of Peter Parker's apartment. Reentering the apartment through the window, he there changes back to Peter Parker. Taking a one-quart carton of milk from the refrigerator, he no sooner has a mouthful of it past his teeth than he realizes that it is sour, and spits it out, dumping the rest down the sink of his apartment's kitchen.
Later that day, Peter is struggling with his bow-tie as he is preparing for Ned Leeds's and Betty Brant's wedding. Mary Jane Watson arrives and helps him out with it, and the two leave together. They arrive at Morgan's of Malverne where the wedding reception is located; the two witness the marriage of Ned Leeds and Betty Brant before all their friends.
The wedding is then crashed when a new costumed criminal, calling himself the Mirage, attacks the party to rob all the guests of their valuables. Peter manages to slip away, by snapping off the lights with a strand of webbing from one of his web-shooters and switch to Spider-Man. After a lengthy battle, Spider-Man is finally able to defeat the Mirage by dropping a chandelier on him.
After the fight, Spider-Man zips away and changes back to Peter Parker and returns to the wedding with an explanation of his disappearance. The wedding gets back in service and the priest marries off Ned and Betty. When they leave the wedding service, Betty tosses her bouquet, and it lands in Aunt May Reilly-Parker's hands. Returning him to her apartment, May finds that a Bowery Derelict is waiting for her inside it; however, before he can do anything, the bum reveals himself to be Dr. Octopus. The down-and-out villain asks May for her help.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Mirage, Betty Brant, Ned Leeds, Aunt May, Anna Watson, Mary Jane Watson, J. Jonah Jameson, Joe Robertson, Flash Thompson, Mamie Muggins, Doctor Octopus, Randy Robertson, Martha Robertson, Liz Allan, Harry Osborn
Continuity Notes
The narrative of this story points out that the mysterious Bowery bum was last seen in Amazing Spider-Man #152-154. He was also seen leaning against a lamp post last issue.
Liz Allan recounts how Peter Parker and Betty Brant used to be an item. The pair began dating in Amazing Spider-Man #7 but eventually they drifted apart and she started dating Ned Leeds in Amazing Spider-Man #18. Ned proposed to her in Amazing Spider-Man #30.
