Issue(s): Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #22, Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #23
Cover Date: Sept-Oct 78
Title: "By the light of the silvery Moon Knight!" / "Guess who's buried in Grant's tomb!"
Credits:
Bill Mantlo - Writer
Mick Zeck / Jim Mooney - Penciler
Bruce D. Patterson / Mike Esposito - Inker

Review/plot:
Spider-Man meets Moon Knight for the first time, and after a Misunderstanding Fight...

...they team-up against Cyclone.

This is the arc for outrageous French accents. We of course have "Frenchie", Moon Knight's pilot. And then there's Cyclone, who, explaining why he's been recruited by the Maggia:

Certainment, mes ami! Zee Maggia is truly international in scope! So why should zee greatest villain on zee continent not be imported as a membair?!

Moon Knight has a secret war room for his attacks on the Maggia. His computer screen demonstrates a giant, and probably highly inaccurate, Maggia org chart.

Moon Knight is clearly a character that someone saw potential in, because he's been getting a decent number of appearances since his first in Werewolf By Night (two issues of Marvel Spotlight, a run in the Defenders, and now this), but it's interesting to see that he's very specifically focused on the Maggia in this arc, which isn't really how the character wound up.

Issue #22 has some early Mick Zeck art, which looks very different than his later style as seen in Captain America and Secret Wars.

In terms of sub-plotting, Peter and Betty Brant go on a date (but she's really still in love with Ned Leeds)...

...Flash Thompson and Sha Shan seem to be getting along, and the White Tiger is full of angst.

They're not really sub-plots in the traditional sense. It's more like, in the middle of the big fight scenes, we stop in and get a few panels of dialogue or thought bubbles from other characters, seemingly at random.

It's a weak arc. The Misunderstanding Fight is poorly set up, the interaction between the two characters is fairly generic, and at the end, Spider-Man tells Moon Knight, "So your hunt with the Maggia goes on! As for me -- after this haul, I hope I never hear from them again!". Some super-hero!

Quality Rating: C-

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: Takes place soon after Marvel Team-Up #72. As Mark notes in the comments, Gena Landers and Betrand Crawley appear in this issue, although Crawley seems a bit off model.

References:

• This arc starts with Peter Parker returning home from visiting Aunt May at the hospital, but prior to that he was in New Jersey fighting Whiplash with Iron Man in Marvel Team-Up #72.
  
• Peter re-plastered his bathroom ceiling after it collapsed in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #20, but it collapses again after a shower in this arc.
  
• Betty Brant recently returned to Peter Parker's life in Amazing Spider-Man #182.
  
• Frenchie says, "Zee Maggia has obviously retrieved much of Conquer-Lord's files!", which is a reference to Marvel Spotlight #28-29 (incorrectly footnoted as Marvel Premiere).
  
• When Cyclone attacks Spider-Man, he says "Zees will pay you for zee defeat I suffered at your hands in Paris, mon enemi Spider-Man!", which is a reference to his only prior appearances in Amazing Spider-Man #143 and Amazing Spider-Man #144.
  
• Holly Gillis, the White Tiger's love interest, is feeling guilty for toying with his emotions in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #19-20.
  
• Moon Knight decides that working with Spider-Man is even harder than his stint with the Defenders, which ran from Defenders #47 to Defenders #51.
  
• When Moon Knight shows Spidey his big Maggia org chart, Spidey thinks to himself that it's out of date since Silvermane is in the hospital as of Amazing Spider-Man #180 and the Kingpin is thought dead as of Amazing Spider-Man #164.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

I understand he's supposed to be kind of in the mood, but that is still some really strange pencilling on Flash.

Did we ever find out who was The Big M in that Maggia panel?

Jay, the Masked Maurader (next issue)

Gena and Crawley from Moon Knight's regular series should also be listed as characters appearing.

Thanks, Mark. Looks like Crawley doesn't actually appear on panel (unless i missed it) but i saw that he is said to be in the diner when the Maggia were threatening Gena.

Crawley is there; he's wearing his hat but his flies are absent.

That clean cut looking guy in the purple suit? I've added some scans in the Considerations. I mean, based on the script and the circumstances i agree it's supposed to be him, but i never would have come to that conclusion on my own.