Issue(s): Spectacular Spider-Man #139
Cover Date: Jun 88
Title: "Grave memory"
Credits:
Gerry Conway - Writer
Sal Buscema - Penciler
Sal Buscema - Inker
Glenn Herdling - Assistant Editor
Jim Salicrup - Editor

Review/plot:
A sniper nearly hits Spider-Man in the head. When Spidey catches the shooter, he finds that the shot was really meant for Joe 'Robbie' Robertson. The assassin was hired without knowing who his boss was, so Spider-Man leaves him webbed upside-down on a flagpole. Spidey was already on his way to to the Daily Bugle because Robertson had invited him (as Peter Parker) there. When Peter arrives, he finds Robertson isn't there, but he's left a tape recorder and some documents that say that Robertson is culpable in a string of killings. Spidey gets chased out of the Bugle office when J. Jonah Jameson and Kate Cushing come in, thinking they heard Robbie's voice, so Spidey has to swing around the city listening to the tape player in the rain.

He tells a story of meeting Tombstone in high school. Tombstone intimidated him into not publishing a story in his high school paper.

And then it happened again when Robbie was working for a paper in Philadelphia.

The idea is that the first attack on him in high school broke Robertson's spirit and kept him in terror of Tombstone. But Robertson now intends to confront Tombstone.

Meanwhile, the Kingpin's Arranger and Tombstone are beating up Roland Rayburn, the guy that we've seen unconsciously manipulating people with persuasion powers. They manage to bring out his powers.

Tombstone leaves when he gets the call from Joe Robertson.

Robertson brings a gun, but Tombstone says he's wearing kevlar under his suit, and the bullets bounce off. So Tombstone grabs Robbie...

...and breaks his back. Spider-Man had gone to the Arranger, who claimed that Tombstone wasn't "currently" working for the Kingpin but provided the location of Tombstone and Robertson's meeting. But he shows up too late.

You'd think Joe Robertson would be too smart to confront Tombstone alone, and it's unclear why he wanted to tell Peter Parker all of this instead of JJ or Kate Cushing (Spider-Man says that Robertson clearly wouldn't want them to know about this when he grabs the documents and leaves the office). I guess in any event we can say that fear is making Robbie irrational, since that's sort of the point of the story.

I'm partially of the opinion that we never needed to delve into Joe Robertson's past to find a Shameful Secret, but this is a decent build up issue with Sal Buscema in classic house style mode.

Quality Rating: C+

Historical Significance Rating: 2 - backstory on Tombstone and Joe Robertson

Chronological Placement Considerations: Next issue begins with Joe Robertson already bandaged up and in a hospital room, so it's not a direct continuation. Amazing Spider-Man #303 mentions Robertson being on "hospital leave" so this should take place prior to that.

References:

• Joe Robertson saw Tombstone resurface in Web of Spider-Man #36 and then again in Spectacular Spider-Man #137.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

I loved the whole storyline with Tombstone & Robbie. I was a little turned off with the later plot of the prison saga. But, I'll wait to comment until FNORD covers that later.

It's suggested that Robbie chose Peter because he was a freelancer.
One thing is not clear by the end of this story- who sent the hitman after Robbie? It couldn't have been Tombstone, since Tombstone was trying to keep Robbie alive by scaring him off. I guess we're supposed to assume it was the Arranger.

Like clyde, I also loved this storyline. Robbie was probably my favorite supporting character in comics at the time and I enjoyed seeing him get a story of his own.

Well, it's could be another clue that Robbie really knows that Peter is Spider-Man.

We got the "backstory" on poor Robbie alright.

What Midnighter said. I too, always thought that Robbie wanted to let Peter in on it because Robbie knows that Peter is Spider-Man.

Clutch, it took me a minute to realize what a horrible pun you made. ;-)