Amazing Spider-Man # 18
Plot: Down on your Parker is now scrubbing dishes at a greasy spoon. Strapped for cash, this is evidently the only job he can get. He then calls his Aunt May to see if he can come visit and get a shower, etc.
Peter then goes to Aunt May’s house to find Anna Watson, MJ’s aunt. Peter tells them that MJ isn’t’ dead, and that everything is going to be all right.
We then cut to the Green Goblin coming back to terrorize Liz Osborne. He evidently wants Liz to show him some secret files from the Osborne corp.
Spidey then comes to the scene and saves Liz.
Likes:This was Byrne’s best looking issue, mainly due to the inking of artist extraordinaire John Romita Sr. Man is this guy an outstanding artists. He can turn Byrne’s sub-standard pencils, with hardly any backgrounds, into perfection.
Unfortunately, Romita’s inking of Byrne’s pencils is the only good thing about the issue.
Dislikes: When you have dialog such as “It can’t be Harry, I just ran into his holographic ghost” in the story, then you’ve got problems. There is no explanation to Goblins return, so the reader could care less. The battle of Spider-Man and the Goblin is anti-climatic and tries to set the stage to buy the Peter Parker book. The Goblin escapes, as Spider-Man tries to hold a transport tram from falling into the bridge.
I really didn’t like the out of character Peter Parker sleeping on the streets. He’s mumbling to his Aunt’s how Mary Jane isn’t dead, he’s a dish washer at a local greasy spoon, and he’s a bum that sleeps on the streets. Mackie and Byrne are taking this “down on your luck” superhero thing to a new level.
Rating: I’m giving this issue one and a half web heads out of four. Explain the Goblins motivation, advance the MJ plot, and stop going over the top with plots to crap on Peter,then you’ll have a decent comic.
![]()
![]()
Brad Douglas
View articlesBrad created the Crawlspace back in 1998 while attending college at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He’s the webmaster and writes front page news items, and also produces, hosts and edits the podcast. He’s been collecting Spider-Man comics since the age of three and is a life-long fan of the webhead. His website has been featured in USA Today, Entertainment Weekly and on Marvel.com and inside the comics themselves. The Crawlspace is one of the first Spider-Man fan sites to ever hit the internet. Millions of people visit the site every year.
Brad has interviewed several “Spider-Celebrities” over the years including co-creator Stan Lee. He’s also interviewed actors who have portrayed Spider-Man like Paul Soles (Voice Actor from the 67 Spider-Man Cartoon), Dan Gilvezan (Spidey Voice Actor from Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends) ,Yuri Lownthal (Voice Actor from the Spider-Man PlayStation game) and Nicholas Hammond (Spider-Man 1977 Actor).
You might be interested in …
Spider-Gwen (Vol. 2) #8 Review
“Yeesh. Cindy Moon, Earth-65’s own Bond villain.” As Jessica goes to check on her baby, Gwen and Cindy head to the Fact Channel offices to get a lead on Cindy-65 , unaware that they are […]
Spider-Men #5 & Series Review (Spoilers)
After a fantastic fourth issue, does Bendis manage to stick the landing? Well, Kind of…. Not really… Well I guess. Also, the identity of 616 Miles Morales can be found inside! Spider-Men #5 Story by […]
Invincible Iron Man #10 / Civil War II #1 “Mary Jane” Centric Review
You are desperately needed back at Stark Headquarters – FRIDAY to Mary Jane On the road to CIVIL WAR II! • It is Tony against some of his closest and dearest friends as the portents […]
Crawlspace Discord

Social
Recent Comments
John Jackson on Spider-Tracer: Boomerang’s 10 Best Costumes: “He also had a different costume in the Spider-Man Lifeline mini series designed by Steve Rude.” Oct 16, 08:54
Hornacek on Craig’s Critique: Amazing Spider-Man #1000 (Non-Legacy #36): “Ravaged” or “Well, At Least We Have These Backups”: “@Paul Penna: I just can’t imagine Cormac/Ravage being left around after this whole thing is resolved, to return periodically to…” Oct 11, 09:35
Paul Penna on Craig’s Critique: Amazing Spider-Man #1000 (Non-Legacy #36): “Ravaged” or “Well, At Least We Have These Backups”: “Wow! Poochie came from another planet? “If all he does is use his powers to erase people’s memories to make…” Oct 10, 15:11
Brad Douglas on Marco Speaks Spidey: Midnight Spider-Man #1 Review: “What happened to Aunt May? Is that who Ben was calling?” Oct 10, 00:55
Evan Berry on Marco Speaks Spidey: Midnight Spider-Man #1 Review: “Don’t forget Uncle Ben’s ongoing lawsuit against Oscorp for the wrongful death of Peter’s parents, and Oscorp’s potential ulterior motive…” Oct 8, 14:53
Hornacek on Craig’s Critique: Amazing Spider-Man #1000 (Non-Legacy #36): “Ravaged” or “Well, At Least We Have These Backups”: “@Paul Penna: “My guess, is that Cormac accidentally used his powers on his mother, accidentally erasing her memories when his…” Oct 7, 11:04
Brad Douglas on Spider-Variants of the Week 10/7/26: “This thing may have more variants than ASM #1000.” Oct 6, 18:48
Paul Penna on Craig’s Critique: Amazing Spider-Man #1000 (Non-Legacy #36): “Ravaged” or “Well, At Least We Have These Backups”: “My guess, is that Cormac accidentally used his powers on his mother, accidentally erasing her memories when his powers first…” Oct 6, 11:27
Hornacek on Craig’s Critique: Amazing Spider-Man #1000 (Non-Legacy #36): “Ravaged” or “Well, At Least We Have These Backups”: “@Paul Penna: I wouldn’t say I was liking Cormac before the Ravage reveal but his character was … “ok”. I…” Oct 4, 08:59
Paul Penna on Craig’s Critique: Amazing Spider-Man #1000 (Non-Legacy #36): “Ravaged” or “Well, At Least We Have These Backups”: “I’m surprised by how much I enjoyed Cormac Crane/Ravage. The story is well written, his powers are interesting and he…” Oct 3, 16:27

