Spectacular Spider-Man #53
Toys of the Terrible Tinkerer
Peter Parker is walking back from a series of photo shoots that ended with his camera being broken. His thoughts are interrupted when he spots a woman trying to jump from an office building. The police are trying to talk her into coming down, but the woman is hysterical and rants about people taking the toys away. Deciding to get involved, Peter has no time to change into Spider-Man and slips into a nearby phone booth. He is spotted by the man responsible for the woman's episode above and he dismisses Parker as a reporter phoning in a story. Inside the phone booth, Peter puts on his web-shooters and uses his webbing to cover his face so he can go into action. Meanwhile above, the woman is afraid to go near the officer trying to talk her down because, in her mind, he appears to be a menacing toy soldier. Just as the officer grabs her arm, the ledge breaks sending both falling over the edge. Spider-Man swings in tries to catch them in his webbing. Unfortunately, their fall causes the webbing to snap, so the wall-crawler leaps down and gets a foothold on a flagpole and grabs them. However, they pull free from Spider-Man's grasp. The hero manages to save them, but he uses his webbing to create a net to catch them. With the disaster over, the man responsible slips away, cursing Spider-Man's interference.
Peter decides to investigate what caused the woman to jump and climbs into the office building, a savings and loan company. Inside, he sees that someone blew the safe open. His spider-sense warns him that whoever is responsible is still inside. Suddenly, a toy zeppelin flies into his field of view and blasts him with a blinding light. Spider-Man is then grabbed by a massive man who has great strength. Breaking free and fighting back, the wall-crawler recognizes his attacker as the Tinkerer's assistant, Toy. During the fight, Spider-Man is distracted by a toy jack-in-the-box that sprays gas into his face. This stuns him long enough for Toy to knock him out. Toy then takes the stolen loot and jumps out the window. When Spider-Man gets himself together he spots Toy flying away thanks to a helicopter rotor that springs from his backpack. The wall-crawler tosses a spider-tracer at his foe, and it attaches to the back of Toy's head. The fact that Toy doesn't seem to register it puzzles the web-slinger. Before he can figure it out, the police arrive in the room, prompting Spider-Man to make an escape. On the rooftops, Peter realizes that he has to wait for his makeshift web-mask to dissolve before he can go anywhere.
45 minutes later, the webbing dissolves and Peter changes into his Spider-Man costume. He then tracks the spider-tracer to a fix-it shop. Sneaking inside, the wall-crawler finds the Tinkerer's secret workshop. After looking around for a bit, his spider-sense warns him that the Tinkerer is returning and he hides on the ceiling. When the Tinkerer and Toy enter the room, the villain boasts about his thefts, which have become a necessity because his prices for super-villain tech got to be too high. That's when Spider-Man swoops in and attacks Toy. The Tinkerer is furious as Spider-Man has interfered in yet another one of his plots. Spider-Man is confused because as he has only fought the Tinkerer twice before. However, the Tinkerer explains how he was one responsible for setting his Spider-Mobile against the wall-crawler, and that he was involved in the feud between the Rocket Racer and Big Wheel.
The Tinkerer then activates all of his deadly toys and they begin attacking the wall-crawler. Trying to get away, he ends up landing in a massive claw game. Spider-Man leaps to safety, but is grabbed by Toy. When the Tinkerer tries to shoot Spider-Man with his weapon, the hero tosses Toy into the path of the blaster. The shot blows Toy open, revealing him to be a machine. Seeing his only companion destroyed breaks the Tinkerer's mind and taking the fight right out of him. Spider-Man is at a loss to explain how someone who would treat life so cheaply could have such a connection to an unliving machine.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Tinkerer, Toy
Continuity Notes
Reference is made to the Tinkerer's past exploits that were foiled by Spider-Man. These events happened in Amazing Spider-Man #2, 160, and 182-183 respectively.
