Issue(s): Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #41
Cover Date: Apr 80
Title: "Meteor madness!"
Credits:
Tom DeFalco - Writer
Jim Mooney - Penciler
Jim Mooney - Inker
Mark Gruenwald - Assistant Editor
Denny O'Neil - Editor

Review/plot:
Bill Foster is visiting ESU to deliver a "Balanced View" on nuclear energy. But the lecture is interrupted by the Looter, who is after some electronic equipment.

You have to love this guy's dedication to his helium balloon...

...which maybe seemed cool in 1966 but is now just hilarious. I like to imagine him very slowly floating away.

"Can't risk a shot... the crowd might panic."
...
...
"Ok, i'm gonna shoot him."

These particular cops will blame anything on the crowd, though.

"Dude, can i bum a smoke?"
"Oh, no, sorry. The, um, the crowd, you know?"

Stepping back a second, here's Spider-Man and Giant-Man's first meeting.

That Ray... Jay... thing is apparently from a stand-up comedian's routine that was later used in a beer commercial. I have a friend who used to say that all the time and i never knew what the hell he was talking about.

Anyway, the Black Giant-Man thing is pretty funny. Not sure if it indicates Tom DeFalco's disapproval of the name change.

Some additional focus on Foster: even though above he says he's no engineer, he does mention that he has a few science degrees.

I wonder if the "slang" is something he uses as a cover for his secret ID. We're also reminded that he is still slowly dying of radiation poisoning (yeah, how's that balanced view of nuclear energy now?!).

When Spider-Man catches up with the Looter, we get this intentionally funny little sequence showing that the Looter's grasp on science isn't all that firm...

...and then he eventually starts growing out of control...

...and explodes.

I'll eat a helium filled balloon if this issue wasn't originally intended for Marvel Team-Up.

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: The MCP places this between Amazing Spider-Man #202-203.

References:

• Spider-Man and the Looter last met in Marvel Team-Up #34.
  
• The Looter first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #36.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

The "Ray...Jay" thing. God in heaven, am I really that old? LOL I remember as a kid may dad would laugh his ass off at those commercials. I never knew why because even back then I thought they were kinda lame.

Even back in Looter/Meteor Man's first appearance, it was made abundantly clear that Fester had no idea what he was doing. I seem to recall some dialogue along the lines of "So what if I failed science in school! I have as much chance to discover the secret of the universe as anyone!"

Fester definitely does seem to have Delusions of Eloquence, as TV Tropes puts it, as well. That might just be DeFalco's writing, though.

Mooney drew himself into the story as a college professor.

The Simpsons got a lot of mileage out of the "Ray...Jay" thing in the Krusty Komeback special episode, which is where I first encountered it