Issue(s): Spectacular Spider-Man #153
Cover Date: Aug 89
Title: "Siege"
Credits:
Gerry Conway - Writer
Sal Buscema - Penciler
Sal Buscema - Inker
Glenn Herdling - Assistant Editor
Jim Salicrup - Editor

Review/plot:
Spider-Man heads to the Kingpin's building and finds it under attack by guys in old-time gangster suits.

He doesn't immediately make the connection to Hammerhead, but that's partially because he's distracted by the oddity of J. Jonah Jameson flagging him down and waving him into the building.

Spider-Man's spider-sense is going off like crazy, but he actively forces himself to override it so he can hang there like a dope whle the Chameleon stabs him with a hypodermic needle.

The injected virus is so that Hammerhead can come in and get vengeance on Spider-Man.

Spider-Man gets knocked around but the virus doesn't affect him as much as expected, and Spidey manages to get in a couple of good punches before fleeing.

Meanwhile, in prison, Bruiser is out of solitary and training Joe in boxing while he explains why he made Joe his "special friend".

Tombstone decides that tonight is the night that he makes the final move against Bruiser.

Later, after Bruiser and Joe are coming out of the shower together and Bruiser is telling Joe he's got to forget about his "outside woman"...

...Tombstone and his gang launch their attack.

Joe gets Bruiser into a cell and patches him up, but Tombstone eventually makes his way in.

Tombstone kills Bruiser, and decides that's enough tormenting of Robbie for the night.

Also in this issue, Mary Jane gets home to find Kristy being taken to the hospital.

In Web #53, a narration caption said that Kristy was 16, but here MJ says she is 13. In response to people pointing out this discrepancy in a later lettercol, it's said that she really is 16 but everyone thought she was only 13 due to the effects of her bulimia.

Quality Rating: C+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: It's been multiple days, enough for Robbie to have been doing some serious physical training while Bruiser was in solitary confinement, since the last issue of Spectacular Spider-Man. But this story continues directly from Web of Spider-Man #53. And it continues directly in Web of Spider-Man #54.

References:

• The attack on the Kingpin's tower began in Web of Spider-Man #53.
  
• Hammerhead mentions his origin, from Amazing Spider-Man #114, saying that he knows nothing of his life before Jonas Harrow put a steel plate in his head.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Hurray, we're into another long stretch of comics I actually own! Can't wait till we get to the mid 90's and I actually own quite a lot of the X-Men and Spiderman stuff you'll be covering!