Issue(s): Amazing Spider-Man #266
Cover Date: Jul 85
Title: "Jump for my love or spring is in the air"
Credits:
Peter David - Writer
Sal Buscema - Penciler
Josef Rubinstein "and co." - Inker
Christopher Priest - Editor

Review/plot:
Sometimes Spider-Man can be a bit of a dick. This issue has Spider-Man preventing the Toad from a suicide attempt, promising to be the Toad's friend...

...and then, several weeks later, rejecting the poor guy when he comes around to make good on the "friend" promise.

Now, this early Peter David story is partially played for laughs...

...especially when Frog-Man and the Steel Spider get brought into the mix...

...and there's a happy ending when the three eventually form a new team called The Misfits.

But another way of looking at it is that Spidey made his promise to the Toad prior to his break-up with the Black Cat, and post-break-up he's really not in the mood to take on a partner (he also didn't realize that the guy he rescued was the Toad at the time). That's fair enough, but the Toad is a perpetually mistreated character who also has shown the potential to be a dangerous super-villain, so it's really not fair to the Toad or a good idea generally to be so brusque with him after making promises. Toad really needs to be handled with kid gloves, and while Spidey does try to live up to being friends while rejecting the partnership...

...he's very snippy and sarcastic about it, and very quick to wash his hands of the whole affair and let the former member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants wander off with two misguided kids. I guess it's perfectly in character for Spidey, who doesn't have any psychological experience and has a hectic schedule and a lot of his own problems, but you'd think he would have tried a little harder.

In any event, a little too goofy for my tastes.

In other news, Peter and Bambi (of Bambi, Randi, and Candy) start to develop a little romantic thing.

Quality Rating: B-

Historical Significance Rating: 2 - formation of The Misfits

Chronological Placement Considerations: The beginning portion of this issue, when Spider-Man initially rescues the Toad, takes place before Spider-Man and the Black Cat's break-up in Peter Parker #100 (the MCP places it directly before). The rest of the issue takes place "several weeks later". I'm treating the initial portion as flashback.

References:

• The Black Cat and Spider-Man broke up in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #100.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Peter David didn't seem to pay any attention to the Toad's recent history, forcing Steve Englehart to do some quick reconciling of everything in the Vison & Scarlet Witch maxi-series.

"Jump..." is also a reference to the then-recent Pointer Sisters song.

Actually, it was Steve Englehart who didn't pay attention. What happened was this- in Avengers 137-139, the Toad attacks the Avengers out of lust for Wanda. He appears next in Marvel Two-In-One 68, and at the end of that story he seems to be reforming. Then he appears in this issue. Then, in Vision and the Scarlet Witch 6, which was published about eight months after this story and written by Englehart, the Toad is the villain obsessed with Wanda again. To his credit, Englehart realized his mistake, and quickly attempted to reconcile the two stories in Vision and the Scarlet Witch 11.

Peter David later stated that the robbery scene in this issue was first supposed to be a comic shop being robbed on "Secret Wars Day" because the cash register would supposedly be overflowing. He changed his mind before it saw print.

Do the Misfits show up as a team again?

Also, the Steel Spider sure cleans up nicely in the 90's, only to have his arm eaten by Venom in the 2000's...

I'm pretty sure they never team again...sadly.
Although we get a few appearances of the Legion of Losers later, and that's just as good.

They could have left out the use of 'The Spastic Three' as an alternative name for the Misfits in the last panel, as it is quite derogatory to the disabled. Although I'm hopeful no malice was intended.

Well, it wasn't considered derogatory at the time. Even now it's barely considered derogatory in the US; it's used to mean "random and unpredictable," with a negative connotation.

This issue was simply bananas. But it did make me chuckle quite a bit, so a solid B in my books.