Web of Spider-Man in the 1990s
Web of Spider-Man met it’s death knell in the mid 90s and given the calibre of stories that were being written in that book it’s hardly a surprise. Of all the Spider-Man comics that were published in the 90s, Web of Spider-Man was easily the worst of the bunch. During this time the majority of issues were drawn by Alex Saviuk, who isn’t the worst Spider-Man artist just one of the most unremarkable. I’d put his skill on part of that of another long time Spider-Man artist, Ross Andru. Followed the Marvel style just enough to push out consistent artwork. Continuing as writer was Gerry Conway who continued to write for the title for another ten issues.
There’s not really much to talk about in those 10 issues either. After wrapping up the Acts of Vengeance arc in issues #60 and 61, issue #62 brought back the Molten Man. However, this time, he is looking to go straight and ends up getting a job at Osborn Industries thanks to is brother-in-law Harry Osborn. Surprisingly, this is something that would stick for the rest of the decade. Issues #64-65 was an Acts of Vengeance rehash with Spider-Man having to fight all the foes he faced during that event only this time without his cosmic powers, also he had to protect the Kingpin. Issues #66-68 was an odd three part arc that saw Harry Osborn become the Green Goblin again, only this time he tries his hand at being a superhero until Spider-Man shuts that down. It also involved Tombstone being exposed to a chemical that gave him rock hard skin. Issues #69-70 was an odd crossover with the Hulk which saw Spider-Man turn into a Spider-Hulk for the first time. It was as surefire sign that Gerry Conway was completely out of good ideas.
Immedately gone from the title was Marj Jane’s annoying cousin Kristy. After a quick bout of bulimia she got a job as Normie Osborn’s live in babysitter and just vanished off the face of the earth.
Danny Fingeroth and artist Dave Ross worked on the next two issues together which tied up a loose end involving Dominic Fortune trying to find his long lost lover Sabbath Raven.
The next five issues is part of a huge arc called Art Attack. The first part was written by John Byrne and the rest of the story by Tony Isabella. Alex Saviuk was back on as artist. The story was about Spider-Man (and various guest stars) going up against a group of criminals called Avant Garde, which includes the Painter of 1000 Perils, a one off Human Torch character that was last seen in Strange Tales. The whole thing doesn’t make much sense and involves the so-called “cockroach conspiracy”. Which the Unofficial Appendix to the Handbook to te Marvel Universe paints as a massive conspiracy masterminded by bugs that actually has some traction to it, but I’ll spare you the details.
Terry Kavanagh came on a regular writer for issues #77 to 80. His first two issues had Spider-Man fighting the new Firebrand, helping a charity for the homeless, guest stars Cloak and Dagger, and had some one-off Morlocks jammed in for good measure. If there’s anything interesting to say about this arc is that we find out that Victor and Rose Palmero, two former tenants at Aunt May’s rooming house, are now homeless. This story ends with May recognizing them and offering to help them out, only they are never seen again because they probably fucking killed themselves (apologies to Dashiell Driscoll) The next two issues was a story about cyborgs that was so nineties that you can bet anyone over 30 is yawning with boredom just reading this sentence. Kurt Busiek was a guest writer for the next three issues introducing readers to Bloodshed, reintroducing Man-Mountain Marko, and a new hero named Hypertron. None of these stories were the type of iconic stories Busiek was known for so don’t expect any huge game changers in these stories. They’re not bad, they’re just… insignificant.
Issue #84 saw Howard Mackie jump onto the title to tell a six part tale called The Name of the Rose. The intent here was to wrap up any lingering plot lines left after the previous decades gang war including the secrets behind the Rose and the Hobgoblin. Instead it was a garbled mess with so many twists you’re liable to snap your god damn neck reading it. You have the Kingpin retiring from his criminal empire and leaving it to his son. However, it’s not Richard Fisk here, but his best pal Alfredo Morelli disguised as Richard Fisk. There are two Roses, one a police officer on the take and the other Richard Fisk. Fisk then reinvents himself into a gun toting vigilante called Blood Rose in order to retake the criminal empire that is rightfully his. In the middle of this all you also have the Hobgoblin separated from the demon he was merged with during the Inferno event because it’s always great to have a spare goblin kicking around. It’s just a fucking mess.
Issue #90 was a special issue as it was published on the 30th Anniversary of Spider-Man. It actually has an interesting story that looks in to see what happened to Maxie Shiffman, Spider-Man’s old agent when he was in showbiz. It’s an interesting look into the life of a character that would otherwise have been written off as a bit character.
Issues #91-93 was a three parter involving the Foreigner an team of super-powered assassins. It’s not a great story, but it is distinct as it is the arc where Betty Brant goes from secretary to investigative reporter. Issue #92-93 was a two part Hobgoblin story guest starring Moon Knight which led into Spirits of Venom, a cross-over with another Mackie written title Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance. This cross over appeared in issues #95 and 96 of Web of Spider-Man. It has Ghost Rider and Blaze, Venom, Demogoblin and Hobgoblin. It’s jam packed full of 90s ridiculousness.
This was followed with a four part follow up to Name of the Rose arc called My Enemy’s Enemy. It has Blood Rose and the New Enforcers and robots. Issue #100 is a special holofoil cover that celebrates Spider-Man wearing a special suit of spider-armor which he never wears again. If that’s not 90s enough for you this story also crammed in a new character Nightwatch a new mysterious high tech character. It was a blatant attempt at creating a character to compete with the type of heroes that were being published by Image Comics at the time. Some people would even go so far as to say that the character is an imitation of Todd McFarlane’s Spawn, at least in appearance if not substance.
By this time Terry Kavanagh was back on the title and the next three issues were part of the 14 part Maximum Carnage storyline that crossed over into every Spider-Man title in publication at the time. These issues in and of themselves were not pivotal to the story but nothing over impressive. It was an excuse to cram Nightwatch into a story that was already bursting to the seams with guest stars. This was followed by a 3 part story that tied in with the infinity Crusade story arc as well as a second story focusing entirely on (you guessed it) Nightwatch. The Infinity Crusade story arc was interseting in that even though Spider-Man was enlisted by the Goddess along with other spiritually minded/religious super-heroes, Spider-Man’s usual instances of self-doubt come into play in the story which is only other purpose was to cram as many X-Men characters as possible in non-X-Men books. Issues 107-109 introduced a new villain called Sandstorm which also guest stars two other sandbase characters, Sandman and Quicksand. This leads to another three part arc about the Lizard returning from issues #109-111. Kavanagh decided there weren’t enough mysterious gun-toting mercenaries in the Marvel Universe and created a character named Warrant. He was a bounty hunter who also sought to discredit Ashley Kafka for some reason. Thankfully the character was such a 90’s comics equivalent to a liquid shit and was promptly flushed away to that limbo where utterly unworkable characters go to die.
Issue #112 was part of the Pursuit event which crossed over the main Spider-Books. This was followed by a four part arc about a villain stealing a suit of cyborg armor from issues #113-116.
I can’t believe I am saying this, but when the Clone Saga started hitting Web of Spider-Man with issue #117 it was actually a refreshing change from all the bullshit that was being written prior. I don’t really have much to say about the Clone Saga that hasn’t already been said elsewhere on this site, so I’ll refrain from repeating myself here. All I can say is that there was a point when all of the Spider-Books were renamed to a Scarlet Spider equivalent in 1995. It was a point where they were transitioning Peter Parker out as Spider-Man and replacing him with Ben Reilly. Where most of the titles only changed for two issues, Web of Scarlet Spider lasted for four. For some reason they wanted to do a story where a villain masquerades as the Scarlet Spider to ruin that identity for Ben Reilly, forcing him to take on the identity of Spider-Man.
Ultimately, Web of Spider-Man was not brought back at the end of Web of Scarlet Spider. Instead, Marvel cancelled it in favour of a new title, Sensational Spider-Man, which was the flagship title that was supposed to sell Ben Reilly as the new Spider-Man. That, however, is a story for another time.
