Issue(s): Amazing Spider-Man #207
Cover Date: Aug 80
Title: "Mesmero's revenge!"
Credits:
Denny O'Neil - Writer
Jim Mooney - Penciler
Pablo Marcos - Inker

Review/plot:
Mesmero offers Spider-Man a partnership in his hypnotizing/vaudville stage show act.

Mesmero is going after critics of his act. It's quite a step down from having defeated all the X-Men, and it seems unnecessary for a guy with the power to make anyone do whatever he wants. Spider-Man very surprisingly agrees to join the act even though Mesmero is a known criminal, but Mesmero double-crosses Spidey almost immediately.

Peter cuts a date with Debra Whitman short to investigate Mesmero, and later stands her up because he's stuck in Mesmero's trap.

J. Jonah Jameson arrives at the Bugle to take back control now that he's free of Dr. Harrow's control.

Not a particularly intriguing plotline, but it's told competently enough, and the down-time scenes are nice.

Cool opening panel.

In fact, Mooney's art has a nice classic house style throughout.

Quality Rating: B-

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: After this issue it is again safe to place generic JJ/Robbie appearances, since things are back to normal at the Daily Bugle. This should therefore be before Captain America #250, which has JJ and Robbie together at the Bugle.

References:

• Spider-Man remembers that he "heard that Mesmero had trouble with the X-Men a few years ago". There's no footnote, and no telling which Mesmero encounter Spidey actually heard about, but the most recent was Uncanny X-Men #111. Spidey says that as long as Mesmero isn't currently on anyone's active bad guy list, he's ok joining a business venture with him. Which sounds like rationalizing to me, but Peter needs the money.
  
• Spidey rescues a brainwashed critic from jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge. The scenario causes Peter to think back on Gwen Stacy's death from Amazing Spider-Man #121.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Denny O'Neil begins his 2nd stint at Marvel(he was briefly there in the mid-1960s)and he stays there most of the decade. His Spider-Man work is mostly forgettable and he is most notable here for his post-Frank Miller Daredevil run.

Denny O'neil was ok with characterization and downtime stuff, he tried to use less common villains, both good things. it was just that his plots were so dense sometimes and hard to believe (like spidey teaming up with mesmero or the hydro-man searching for spidey by visiting EVERY water tap in NY)

Just another heads up, you don't currently have this after Captain America #250.

Ummm....I meant "before".

Thanks again, Erik.

While I'm not a huge fan of O'Neill's run, I do like the way this issue shows why a guy like Mesmero can't just go into entertainment or do the Killgrave thing and use his powers quietly to enrich himself: he's an egotist and a sadist, so he ruins his stage act by humiliating the guests and going full supervillain the moment anyone criticizes him.

Of course, this also makes him look like a pretty incompetent villain, but I suppose that's what he is.

This issue was originally announced with Dr. Strange as a guest star.