Issue(s): Amazing Spider-Man #271
Cover Date: Dec 85
Title: "Whatever happened to Crusher Hogan?"
Credits:
Tom DeFalco - Writer
Ron Frenz - Penciler
Josef Rubinstein - Inker
Adam Blaustein - Assistant Editor
Christopher Priest - Editor

Review/plot:
This is the "Whatever happened to Crusher Hogan?" issue; Hogan being the wrestler that Spider-Man made his debut against in his first appearance. Well, the poor guy is now mopping floors at the gym...

...and telling the young guys how he's the one who gave Spider-Man his start, showed him the ropes, gave him his costume, etc..

He gets in trouble when he tries to warn an upcoming boxer named Bobby Chance that the gym owners Manslaughter Marsdale...

...and Madame Fang...

...are planning to kill him because he won't renew his contract. Spider-Man lucks onto the scene and in addition to defeating Manslaughter (who is immune to pain as well as possibly super-strong)...

...he kindly confirms Hogan's stories.

This could have been a nice feel good story, but DeFalco goes the Lee/Ditko down-on-his-luck Parker route and makes it so that while Spidey is helping out Hogan and Chance, he's supposed to be keeping an eye on Aunt May's boyfriend Nate Lubenski, who gets beaten up by some old criminal acquaintances.

Aunt May is really unforgiving about Peter's lapse...

...but i really don't see how she expects him to tail Nathan. She doesn't know that Peter's a super-hero.

Stan Lee never made it look this forced.

Even more depressing, i've learned that years later in Dark Reign: Zodiac #3, Marsdale will find Bobby Chance and beat him to death. Jesus, Joe Casey!

Manslaughter Marsdale had me thinking about sports in a world of super-powered people again; something that i guess is answered by the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation in the Thing title.

In the category of unadulterated insanity, there's whatever Mary Jane is wearing this issue.

It's for a gig she's got from Kingsley Limited. We see Kingsley (eventually to be revealed as the Hobgoblin) lurking up in his office building, getting nervous that "that young man from the Daily Bugle" is "snooping around here", after MJ and Peter return from a shopping trip to get some paint supplies to spruce up his apartment, at Mary Jane's suggestion.

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 3 - "Whatever happened to Crusher Hogan?", first Manslaughter Marsdale

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References:

• Spider-Man creates some web-bats to chase Bambi, Randi, and Candy off his roof so he can get through the skylight, and Maime Muggins hears the screams and bangs on Peter's door calling him a pervert and referencing the time in Web of Spider-Man #7 when she had to call the police because he was screaming in his sleep.
  
• Peter is still pondering whether or not to sell the gold notebook he got in Web of Spider-Man #6 from the building the Beyonder turned to gold in Secret Wars II #2.
  
• Crusher Hogan of course appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

It's interesting to me that Madame Fang never made another appearance, yet DeFalco would create an incredibly similar character, Madame Qwa, during his ASM run in the 90s.

I've often wondered if MJ "hooked up" with Kingsly. That would be some good grist in the mill for the hobgoblin/spidey rivalry.