TITLE: Homecoming!

Summary

Spider-Man and most of New York City's most famous superheroes are missing, away on a remote planet fighting the now classic(?) Secret War. In the middle of Central Park, Spider-Man reappears through a teleporter with Dr. Conners, aka the Lizard. But instead of his usual red and blue costume, Spider-Man is clad in a new black outfit!

The rest of the superheroes follow shortly, and Spider-Man returns Dr. Conners to his family. Peter then returns to his apartment, and thinks about changing into his own clothes. Responding to his thoughts, his costume transforms into street clothes.

He calls his Aunt May to assure her that he is fine. He then plans to work things out with his girlfriend, Felicia Hardy, better known as the Black Cat. Felicia, however, has been dancing with the devil, and struck a bargain with the Kingpin to grant the Cat her own super powers.

Peter takes his first shower in days, and enjoys a much-needed pizza. Later, he develops pictures that he had taken during the Secret War, but decides to destroy the photos and negatives, once he realizes no one would believe that they are real. Moreover, he felt that no one should have to know what occurred on that planet.

Peter then tries to go to sleep, but ends up tossing and turning. He decides to go out and engage in a bit of web-swinging, and is amazed when his new costume quickly rushes to him. Peter is not used to his new costume, but decides that all is okay and takes off.

As Spider-Man is swinging about town, he runs into a teenage couple. The two are fighting over a sour date, and Spidey decides to butt in. They complain about their station in life, and Spider-Man picks them up and carries them into the night sky. He tries to convince them to enjoy every moment, as he too reflects on how grateful that he is back on earth.

Opinion

This issue was notorious not for the story, but for the black costume gimmick. Marvel's public relations worked overtime to promote the "event." Thanks to their efforts, even casual fans knew about the new look.

At the time, the costume's alien nature was not yet known. All readers knew was that Spider-Man's new costume had some pretty cool powers. The costume generated its own webbing, responded to Spidey's thoughts, and could assume the appearance of any clothing that he could imagine. Roger Stern had not yet made it known that the creature was an alien symbiote, which would later bond with Eddie Brock to become Venom.

The story itself is very forgettable, and is more of an excuse to show off the new costume. Yes, Peter is back on earth, and has a renewed appreciation of life. Aunt May is happy (due to her relationship with Nathan Lubensky), and barely noticed Peter's absence. Peter still has relationship problems with Felicia Hardy. Blah, blah, blah...

The art is decent, but unnoteworthy. Ron Frenz has always been a decent artist, but his drawings lack a certain appeal. However, the black costume looked cool, and was a complete mystery at the time.

On a side note, the comic's cover depicts Spider-Man carrying two teenagers. On the cover, the two teenagers are both white. In the pages inside, the male is of African descent, while the female is still white. While this was probably because the cover was finished before the interior pages were completed, it was at least somewhat interesting.

Conclusion

The introduction of the black costume was a media event, and brought national attention to Marvel Comics. Changing the appearance of one of Marvel's most recognizable icons was a big deal, and the symbiote saga was one of Spider-Man's best storylines of the Eighties.

While the story itself was weak, the issue is still sought after today. The symbiote would someday become Venom, arguably one of Spider-Man's most interesting arch-enemies. The issue is highly collectable, but readers will be less than thrilled with the actual story.