Issue(s): Marvel Team-Up #88
Cover Date: Dec 79
Title: "A child is waiting"
Credits:
Chris Claremont - Writer
Sal Buscema - Penciler
Eduardo Barreto - Inker

Review/plot:
Covering a celebrity gala for the Globe, Peter Parker sees Sue Storm receive a disturbing phone call and leave the party early. It seems some criminals have kidnapped Franklin with the intention of ordering Sue to make a hit on a rival crime gang (Morgan's Harlem gang).

With the criminals watching to make sure Sue doesn't contact the FF, Spider-Man takes it upon himself to help out. It's a well told but disposable story.

There's a cute bit where Sue and Spidey are in a car, and Sue makes Spidey drive. Peter Parker never learned to drive so once they lose the criminals that were pursuing them, Sue realizes that Spidey is shaking like a leaf.

There's another scene that relies on Sue being able to follow Spider-Man. In order to do this, Spidey has placed a Spider-Tracer on himself and given Sue the receiver. This doesn't really make sense because years ago Spider-Man realized that he can tune his tracers to a frequency that his Spider-Sense will pick up on, so he abandoned the tracer. There's no reason for him to have it with him in this story.

Janet Van Dyne and Henry Pym are also at the gala in the beginning of the issue.

Quality Rating: B-

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: Peter is still working for the Daily Globe. Since that happens circa Amazing Spider-Man #194 which leads to a set of stories concluding in ASM #200, i've placed this and a number of additional Marvel Team-Ups in a gap between ASM #200-201. Since Peter is actually hired by the Globe in Fantastic Four #207, this has to take place after the Fantastic Four return from their long journey into Xandarian space, between FF #214-215.

References: N/A

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Eduardo Barreto is primarily identified with DC.

I know we'd all prefer to forget the Spider-Buggy, but Spidey does have at least some familiarity being behind the wheel of a motorized vehicle.

I loved the Spider-Buggy, but Spidey never learnt to drive it properly!

@Ian Francis - What do you expect? Peter Parker grew up in Queens NY. No one around here knows how to drive properly!

Peter Parker got his first motorcycle in Amazing Spider-Man #41 (1967), so even scofflaw Peter would presumably have to have a driver's licence in order to drive one, and be able to drive well enough to at least pass the behind the wheel test. Things might be different in NYC though, since even the taxi drivers don't know how to drive there.