Issue(s): Amazing Spider-Man #132, Amazing Spider-Man #133
Cover Date: May-Jun 74
Title: "The master plan of the Molten Man!" / "The Molten Man breaks out!"
Credits:
Gerry Conway - Writer
John Romita Sr. / Ross Andru - Penciler
Tony Mortellaro & Paul Reinman / Frank Giacoia & David Hunt - Inker

Review/plot:
Liz Allan returns...

...and so does the Molten Man. It's the sort of plot you'd expect, with Spidey having trouble fighting the Molten Man in the first issue but finding a way to beat him in the second.

I watch for how the Molten Man is portrayed because i know he eventually goes good. It's arguable that he's really being driven crazy by his powers in these issues and not actually evil, but only barely.

He is dissolving, and has a bag of isotopes that he intends to use to cure himself, but he continues the fight with Spider-Man and won't let Spider-Man help him, and he's eventually lost.

Mary Jane immediately recognizes Liz, which from the printed material shouldn't be possible as they never met, although they could have met off-panel (See Mark's comment below).

Robbie refers to Peter as a "freelance photog"...

...but i thought Peter was on staff at the Bugle as of Amazing Spider-Man #99. I suppose with JJ your job position is in constant jeopardy, but they made a big deal out of Peter getting a full-time job so you'd think it would have been clearer if he lost it. Actually the next issue, JJ refers to Peter as staff again. Staff freelance?

Here's the nice opening splash of #132 from JRSR.

And here's the spider-sense panels Matt refers to in the comments.

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References:

• Peter ran into Liz Allan once in the street after high school, in Amazing Spider-Man #30. The footnote incorrectly lists the issue as Marvel Tales #29, which actually reprinted ASM #39-40.
  
• The Molten Man previously appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #28 and Amazing Spider-Man #35. The footnote lists Marvel Tales #28, which reprinted ASM #35.
  
• Spider-Man is still wanted for the murder of Norman Osborn, who died in Amazing Spider-Man #122 or Marvel Tales #99
  
• Peter and Liz graduated from high school in Amazing Spider-Man #28 (and this time the footnote lists the actual ASM issue and not the Marvel Tales reprint. They keep me on my toes, that's for sure).

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: Marvel Tales #109, Marvel Tales #110

Liz Allan and Betty Brant actually met Mary Jane in ASM #25, but MJ's face was hidden from the reader.

The beauty of this two part story is that it bring together my two favorite artists of all-time - Ross Andru and John Romita Sr. Yes - in that order!

Forgive me if this is addressed elsewhere, but am I the only one bothered by the fact that Conway seems chronically unable to differentiate between Peter's Spider-Sense and, say, Daredevil's enhanced other senses? I don't have the issue in front of me, but I believe there's a line in #133 about how, after he douses Molty with the fire hose, his "Spider-Senses" (plural) will help him locate MM amid the steam. It's not the first such gaffe, but I don't have other references handy.

It doesn't seem too bad to me. Molten Man is a source of danger so Spidey should be able to use that to pinpoint him. But i'm used to Spider-Man just blindly swinging around the city when he's looking for someone, relying on his spider-sense to twinge when he gets close, so i may have missed it if Conway was unintentionally expanding on its usage here.

I've added the scans of that scene.

The prior instance was in the notorious #114. Again, I don't have it handy, but after my most recent reading I wrote, "I know the failure of his Spider-Sense to alert him to the 'danger' of Aunt May raised some eyebrows, but I was bothered more by the idea that his 'Spider-Senses' (note the plural) enhanced his hearing; perhaps Conway has been writing DAREDEVIL for too long?"

This was the first Spider-man comic that I bought in the little corner drug store when I first caught the comic collecting bug. Reading through it, I immediately realized that it was a lot darker than the Spider-man cartoon!

Mike, ASM 133 was my first off the rack. And, yes, the stark difference from the cartoons of the day was jarring.

I think this is the beginning of Liz's last name being misspelled as "Allen," something that will persist for a long time.

This is the story that reveals that Liz Allen is the Molten Man's stepsister, which is why he goes to Harry and Liz many years later once he's finally reformed. It's also meant to explain why Liz simply vanished from the comic after issue #28

Bit of trivia: ASM 132 is the Spidey issue on the Electric Company the episode he made his first appearance! (and of course ultimately leading to Spidey Super Stories, with memorable elements like the original Spider-Woman, the infamous Star Wars issue with Moondragon and, yes, the Thanos-Copter)

Mike and Jack, you think this is darker than the Sixties cartoon? Perhaps you never saw the Dementia Five episode. That freaked the hell out of me.

Rather oddly, Spider-Man deduces the Molten Man is the baddie in #132 after noticing the Molten Man's footprints burned into the floor....only the Molten Man's fiery powers are a new development Spider-man isn't supposed to know about.

Wasn't the direction of the AIM movement in Iron Man 3 a direct swipe of Mark Raxton's Molten Man Power?

The face mask (complete with goatee!) and green coat the Molten Man wears on the subway in issue #133 are the same as disguise he used in Amazing Spider-Man #35 during his robbery spree.

I dunno I thought it was kind of clever to make Liz and Molten Man related. It seems like something Roger Stern would have done. What with Liz giving Peter a good-bye just as she realizes he doesn't like her back in graduation...The same issue Mark gets his powers.