Amazing Spider-Man #298-301

Amazing Spider-Man #298-301

Originally released in 1988

Written by David Michelinie

Art by Todd McFarlane

Venom is one of the more popular villains/supporting characters out there, to the point where a Venom movie set in a universe where Spider-Man doesn't seem to exist was wildly popular and got a full trilogy, with the third one coming out this year.  Looking into his first appearance lets me see how he started, along with giving me a chance to look into the period of time where Peter and Mary Jane were married.

Spider-Man is trying to track down a gambling-themed mercenary named Chance, but Peter has bigger problems on his mind - money concerns.  Mary Jane is making more than enough for the two of them through modeling, but at this point, Peter's still a freelance photographer, with work being sporadic and not making him much off of it.

He gets a tip about a rumoured arms smuggling happening at the docks, and when Chance attacks, Peter is tempted to let Chance escape so he can get two separate stories out of this.  It's a brief lapse in judgment/morals that he's kicking himself over later, and he does step in, though Chance escapes regardless.

At this point, Spider-Man is wearing a cloth-based imitation of the black suit.  Before this, he had already discovered that the symbiote was alive and trying to bond with him, though apparently, he liked the look of it.

David Michelinie does a good job with writing the dynamic between Peter and Mary Jane, with the two of them confiding in one another and trying to help each other through their problems. We also get some nice moments between the couple and Aunt May, where May doesn't want to butt in to their lives as newlyweds, only for them to make it clear that they'd love for Aunt May to visit more often.

In contrast with his relationship with Gwen, where she hated Spider-Man due to believing that Spidey killed her father and Peter couldn't be truthful about his life as a result, it's refreshing to see Peter being completely open with Mary Jane, and Mary Jane offering an alternate perspective and trying to help him solve his problems.

Upon escaping, Chance returns to his employers, the Life Foundation, who have been gathering weapons to prepare for the collapse of society and set up a sanctuary for the ultra-rich.  The leaders of the Life Foundation turn against him, wanting to use Chance's weapons for themselves so there's no risk of the security guards trying to take control through superior firepower.

Once Spider-Man frees Chance, the two of them have to team up before Chance destroys the Life Foundation's base and agrees to take Spider-Man back to New York City.  Meanwhile, Mary Jane arrives home to find Peter sitting there in the dark.

...except it's not Peter.

The experience leaves Mary Jane panicking, and while Peter isn't as shaken up, he's still nervous.  He quickly figures out that whoever this was, they were using the symbiote - he thought it had been destroyed, but he was clearly mistaken.  On top of that, they know where Spider-Man lives, and presumably they know who he is.

He and Mary Jane had been planning to move into a bigger apartment anyway, but this speeds up the process.  While moving furniture in, Peter spots the person wearing the symbiote and follows them to a derelict apartment.  He figures he'll be fine - after all, his Spider-Sense will warn him about any danger!

It doesn't - since Peter used to wear the symbiote, his Spider-Sense doesn't consider any current user to be a danger.  Even when he's prepared for the symbiote, Spider-Man is forced to think on his feet, especially when his original plan has to be discarded because it turns out that it might have a strong chance of killing the symbiote's host.

Interestingly, Peter never even interacted with Eddie Brock prior to Eddie and the symbiote becoming Venom.  In the other adaptations that I've seen, that's changed so they have some kind of connection beforehand, whether it's as friends or rivals.

Peter can't rely on his Spider-Sense, and he's outmatched in terms of physical strength, so he has to rely on his experience and his knowledge of how the symbiote works.

Given the traumatic events that they had just been through, Mary Jane can't stand the sight of the black suit, and Peter agrees, destroying the replica that he'd been wearing.  Fortunately, Mary Jane had bought a replacement costume.

Spider-Man's return to his red and blue outfit feels like a triumphant end to the three hundredth issue, with Todd McFarlane dedicating a full page to Peter swinging through a wintery New York night in his classic outfit.

Issue 301 involves Silver Sable, a mercenary who started out hunting Nazi war criminals.  I don't know much about the character, but she seems to be an aloof ally of Spider-Man - they might not get along, but they ultimately realize that they're on the same side.

Sable's been hired to test the security of a business, while Peter is trying to find a better job.  He stops by Empire State University and gets pulled into explaining a concept in a physics class - I know that, at one point, he has a career teaching high school science, and it seems like a good fit given his knowledge, but on the other hand, his constant sudden/unexplained absences (when he has to rush off to be Spider-Man) justify why that wouldn't last long as a career for Peter.

While investigating the people who arrived at Sable's apartment, Peter discovers that one of them is the son of a Nazi and rushes to warn Sable that this supposed test is much more fatal than she's been lead to believe.  However, Sable doesn't believe him, so a fight breaks out between them.

Once the situation is cleared up and Peter returns home, he finds that someone has been trying to track him down all day due to the recommendation of Curt Connors, also known as the Lizard.

I really like this era of Spider-Man comics from what little I've read here.  It does a great job with showing how audiences can still relate to Peter's struggles as he grows and matures, and his relationship with Mary Jane helps with fleshing out both characters.  As well, reading this reminds me that I haven't read Kraven's Last Hunt, so I'll have to do that at some point in the future.  It's refreshing to see characters being so open with each other, rather than keeping secrets and not communicating with one another for the sake of drama.  McFarlane's art is dynamic and expressive, while Michelinie's writing feels natural while fitting the characters.