Amazing Spider-Man # 220
Writer: Michael Fleisher
Artist/Letterer: Bob McLeod
Colorist: Bob Sharen
“The Nursing Home Caper (Aunt May backup story)”
Writer: Mike W. Barr
Artist: Win Mortimer
Letterer: Jack Morelli
Colorist: Don Warfield
Cover Date: September 1981
Rating: 08/10
Kicking off my stint of Moon Knight reviews, I’ll start with one of his earlier appearances with Amazing Spider-Man # 220.
The story finds Moon Knight stopping a theft that involves two million dollars worth of gold but after attacking the thieves, he takes off with the gold as he’s in some sort of competition to be accepted into The National Syndicate Directive. The leader of this syndicate points out that the competitors are to steal the most gold. Then at a swanky gala where Moon Knight (Now using the persona of Steven Grant) and his girlfriend Marlene get a close look at the royal treasures of Malta, the heat gets turned up so to speak as a group called The Rat Pack shows up to steal the treasure and this is when Spider-Man and Moon Knight cross paths; Soon after the Syndicate tells MK that in order to gain acceptance into their organization, he has to eliminate Spider-Man.
This was a great team-up between Spidey and MK, but the only problem I had was that it’s too short because this premise is exciting enough to entice the readers who bought this issue at the time and could have definitely benefited from the extra pages, the backup story (Featuring Aunt May) could have been used as an extra feature for an ASM or Marvel Team-Up annual instead of taking up space for a story that could have been great if it just had some time more time to develop but the creative team for this issue, Michael Fleisher and Bob McLeod, did the best they could with the pages they were given to produce this story and this issue showed me how sensational McLeod’s pencils and as time went on he’s been known for excelling in both his penciling and inking, making him a well-known name.
The backup story with Aunt May finds her foiling a robbery at an event at the retirement home she frequents. It works well as a b-plot for a sitcom rather than a comic book but this is the first Aunt May story where she takes center stage so it’s cute and fun in its own way. The Spider-Man/Moon Knight team-up story had a chance to be dynamic instead of being filler material but as time went on, we were treated to many great Spider-Man/Moon Knight stories so this one could be relegated to an issue that you can read to pass some time or to own for anyone who’s the ultimate Moon Knight fanatic.
Well, that’s it for me this week. I’ll continue with another Moon Knight review for next week so be on the lookout for that (And that will include either MK’s own solo series or guest appearances); Thanks for sticking around and I will see you all next time.
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