Issue(s): Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #3
Cover Date: Feb 77
Title: "...And there was Lightmaster!"
Credits:
Gerry Conway - Plot
Jim Shooter - Script
Sal Buscema - Penciler
Mike Esposito - Inker

Review/plot:
The Tarantula is a prisoner of his former employer (and notice that the first kidnapping victim, the vice-chancellor, is not among the prisoners), but he's been imprisoned in full costume, allowing him to escape.

This might seem really dumb, but it turns out the mysterious employer just wanted to show off his super-powers.

Later, Spider-Man tries to stop the "Lightmaster" from kidnapping the city controller, but he fails.

So Spidey develops a mask with light filters...

...and, after doing some research in the Daily Bugle's archives, heads to the home of vice-chancellor Lansky, and confirms that Lansky is indeed the Lightmaster.

It's kind of cool to see a super-villain plot that isn't based on personal wealth or power. Lansky's goal was to prevent budget cuts from affecting his university. It does raise the question of why he kidnapped the chancellor, though. According to the chancellor's thought bubbles from last issue, he was equally opposed to the budget cuts.

In any event, now that he's had a taste of super-powers, the Lightmaster would prefer to just be a generic villain.

Spidey stops the Lightmaster by letting him electrocute himself, since he knows from having read Lansky's theories (Lanksy was a physics professor before becoming vice-chancellor) that solid light would have been a conductor of electricity.

There have been a few moments over the past few issues designed to show that Spider-Man is not loved by the public. That includes people blaming him for failing to stop the kidnapping of the vice-chancellor in issue #1, a scene in this issue where Spidey is encouraged by a crowd to jump off a ledge after his first failure to stop the Lightmaster, and this scene where after Spidey rescues a man from a mugging, the man half-expects Spidey to attack him instead.

Also in this issue, Flash Thompson goes near-catatonic after running into Sha Shan in a restaurant.

The theory that this book was meant as a plum for the current Editor In Chief (see Michael's comment for issue #1) seems to be borne out by the fact that this issue was scripted by second-in-command Jim Shooter and then starting next issue the book is written by Archie Goodwin just as the transition between Conway and Goodwin as EiCs is happening.

Quality Rating: C-

Historical Significance Rating: 2 - first (full) Lightmaster

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References:

• This storyline began in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #1.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

When Brother Power next appears, his appearance(and accent) inexplicably completely change.

Hard to believe Lightmaster never caught on after this "brilliant" appearance.