Exclusive Collector's Edition: Spider-Man (1980)

[vanhornluke]

Exclusive Collector’s Edition: Spider-Man (1980)
By David Anthony Kraft and Ed Hannigan

APPEARANCES:
Spider-Man, Absorbing Man (also in flashback), New Yorkers, Spider-Woman, guards (in flashback), Mary Jane Watson, construction workers

SYNOPSIS:
FLASHBACK:
The Absorbing Man escapes from his cardboard prison by throwing his apple at a guard and knocking his hat off. Picking up the hat, he touches the metal badge, absorbing its properties and smashing through the walls.
PRESENT:
Spidey webswings to an Acme Dingo Boots store for a date with Mary Jane (she wants to check out the latest boot fashions). While they are inside the store, he glimpses out the window Spider-Woman gliding over the neighborhood. Thinking something must be wrong, he makes up a lousy excuse about having forgotten his wallet at school and leaves, quickly changing into his costume. He catches up to Spider-Woman and asks her what she’s doing. She explains that she’s looking for the Absorbing Man, since he escaped from prison the previous day. Spidey offers to help, but she’s not interested, since she wants the reward money all for herself. Just then, the Absorbing Man tosses his ball and chain at them, thinking they’re both looking for him. A fight breaks out, but Spidey manages to stop him by knocking him out with a punch during the split second it takes for the Absorbing Man to switch from glass to steel. Since he needs to get back to MJ, he can’t stick around for the reward and allows Spider-Woman to turn the Absorbing Man in and collect it.

NOTE:
Obviously, this takes place during a period when Peter and MJ are dating. I would appreciate suggestions for where to place this story, since I don’t know this period of Spidey’s stories (or Spider-Woman’s) well enough to hazard a guess.

There’s an ad for Dingo Boots starring O.J. Simpson


Chronologies:

ABSORBING MAN/CARL “CRUSHER” CREEL
See above note

SPIDER-MAN/PETER BENJAMIN PARKER
See above note

SPIDER-WOMAN/JESSICA DREW
See above note

WATSON-PARKER, MARY JANE
See above note

[Michael]

And this gets difficult. Peter doesn't meet Jessica Drew until Spider-Woman 20 and Jessica loses her powers in Avengers 241. The problem is that Peter and MJ aren't really dating during this period. However, we placed Marvel Team-Up 79 during this period, so we can presumably place this story as well. The real problem is the Absorbing Man. He tries to kill himself at the end of his battle with the Avengers in Avengers 184, winds up on an island where he fights the Hulk in Hulk 261 and returns to the United States in Dazzler 17-19. Now you might try to place this after Dazzler 19, except that Peter and MJ's next meeting after that is Amazing Spider-Man 243- in which the dialogue makes it clear that Peter and MJ haven't seen each other in a really long time and at the end of that story Peter decides to drop out of school! This story seems to take place while Peter is in school.

[ShadZ]

It should also go during the period where Spider-Woman is trying to be a bounty hunter instead of a traditional super-hero. That began in SW 21 and went thru SW 35.

ShadZ

[Michael]

Which is unfortunate, since SW 21-35 take place after Avengers 184 and before Hulk 261, when the Absorbing Man should be on the island.

[vanhornluke]

Hmm, that's frustrating. If this just doesn't work with 616 continuity and MCP has to declare it non-canon, that should be okay, since I don't recall seeing any references to this story in the handbooks, unlike some of the other promotional comics.

[ShadZ]

I don't have access to the indicia of this one, but the cover says Collectors', not Collector's.

The cover can be seen here: https://www.comics.org/issue/1146604/cover/4/