Off-beat Villain Hustles Up Some Fun
One thing I like about Spider-Man, is that nobody is too big or too little for him to fight. From Doctor Doom, to Electro, to Juggernaut and yes, even Slyde; nobody is off limits. That's one of the things I like about this issue.
Our story begins with our hero foiling a mugging on the subway. Did I mention it's Peter Parker and not Spider-Man? Luckily for him, the lights went out early in the fight and no one got a long look at him using his spider strength and agility. When the lights come on, the elderly couple who were being mugged, as well as the conductor, find the would be muggers webbed up on the ceiling and Peter is gone. I thought it was a decent fight, but what made it shine was the fact that it was Peter not in costume who did the saving, which was a nice way to mix things up a little.
Peter's feeling a little down on himself since he was not able to graduate with his college class due to a missed gym credit. He realizes it's bothering him more than he first thought it was. And just when he thinks it's gonna be another long night of hitting the books, he comes home to find his friends Flash, Harry, Betty, and Sha Shan among others giving him a surpise "ungraduation" party. They plan to take Pete out for a good time with some good ol' fashioned dancing. One of the things I liked most about this, was the use of his supporting cast. I felt that it was a weak point during the JMS run (He really only had MJ and Aunt May in the mix), and this perfectly demonstrates why his supporting cast is integral to any good Spider-Man story.
True to form, the old Parker luck rears its ugly head. From what I can piece together, in the previous issue (Which I have yet to read) MJ had asked Peter to join her for dancing at the same place and he didn't pick up or return her phone call (He was probably off saving the day again). Now that she sees him there, she clearly shows her disgust and gives him a cold shoulder. Pete tries to forget about it by dancing his troubles away when he and the gang are hypnotically attacked by the main villain of this issue, the Hypno-Hustler and his Mercy Killers; he is forcing them to turn over the hard earned cash, as he puts it. Together with his talented playing and the Mercy Killers' singing, their hypnotic music is too much for anyone to resist his demands, save for a one Peter Parker. A lot of people are probably wondering how he is able to fight off the hypnotic sound, but he mentions he hasn't felt anything like this since the Mindworm. My guess is that Peter was able to build up a small immunity after battling the likes of the Mindworm and who knows, maybe even the Ringmaster.
While fending off the effects of the hypnotic music, Peter is able to find a place out of sight and changes into his Spider-Man costume. He also takes a cue from Ulysees and uses webbing to cover his ears under his mask. Ingenius, I say! Way to go, Spidey. This also makes for an interesting battle. Spidey, as we all know loves to quip and taunt the bad guys with smart allec remarks. But since he can't hear, he has to trade quips with guess work and mouth reading. I thought it was a one of a kind thing to do on Bill Mantlo's (The writer's) part.
As the battle rages on, we find that Hypno-Hustler is well prepared and has spikes and gas in his shoes. Spidey manages to note this and suggests he might even be able to give lessons to the Tinkerer. Ready to put an end to this, Spidey in another clever act of ingenuity, leaps over the Hypno-Hustler and relieves him of his headphones and hynotic goggles. Without his ears covered, Hypno-Hustler falls prey to the singing of the Mercy Killers' singing and is in a stupified trance. With no other way to turn them off, Spidey webs their mouths shut and soon everybody wakes up to Hypno-Hustler and his Mercy Killers tied up nice and sound (Ha! Pun...) with webbing. Peter is back in the crowd sans costume and pretends to have been hypnotized just like everyone else. Luckily for Pete, when he begins to "guess" that Spidey arrived and saved the day (He gets more specific than I am), no one questions how Peter's hypothesis was so accurate.
For as much flack as this story and the Hypno-Hustler get, I thought this was a really fun tale. It had plenty of action and all in all, a satisfying story. The writing is what really pulled this off for me, not that I had any major problem with the art. This is a cool story, and while it may seem a tad dated at times, that shouldn't stop you from checking this out. I would not be against Hypno-Hustler returning to terrorize Spidey and the citizens of New York someday. Perhaps instead of having Spider-Man beat up on the same old bad guys like Electro or Shocker (It begins to drag down the threat of these villains when we see them get beat so easily for the umpteenth time, not that I hate seeing them, mind you) a writer will come along and give the Hypno-Hustler his due. C'mon, Big Wheel has had more appearances than this guy (As someone pointed out to me)! I, for one, would much rather see the Hypno-Hustler anyday.