Issue(s): Spectacular Spider-Man #159
Cover Date: Dec 89
Title: "These shattered senses (or: A tale of the Brothers Grimm)"
Credits:
Gerry Conway - Writer
Sal Buscema - Breakdowns
Michael Esposito - Finishes
Glenn Herdling - Assistant Editor
Jim Salicrup - Editor

Review/plot:
The Wizard breaks the Brothers Grimm out of jail (and this time he doesn't neglect to explain where he got the costumes).

The Wizard promises to destroy Iron Man if they'll kill Spider-Man. These Brothers Grimm did debut in Iron Man, but they fought Hawkeye most recently and i didn't think they had a particular grudge against Iron Man. Maybe getting broken out of prison with their costumes returned sweetened the deal. Also, the Wizard neglected to tell them that anything weird was going on with Spider-Man at the moment.

Dr. Doom knows that Spider-Man has extra powers, and he keeps sending spy cams to observe Spider-Man, but Spider-Man keeps accidentally destroying them with his webs.

The Brothers Grimm attract Spider-Man's attention by raising Madison Square Garden from the ground. Spider-Man first thinks it's Graviton, and then the Wizard, so he's surprised when it's two guys that he's never heard of.

The Grimms' weird magic abilities are potentially a match for Spider-Man even with his own enhanced powers

But in the end he scares them off when he's able to catch Madison Square Garden.

Spider-Man still tracks them down and defeats them, while learning to deal with his enhanced powers.

In a subplot, Stuart McPhee and Cynthia Bernhammer go to the White House to see about getting a presidential pardon for Joe Robertson. And it also turns out that the feelings between Cynthia and Nick Katzenberg are mutual (U-N-Me Babe).

Another subplot has J. Jonah Jameson aimlessly wandering the campus of ESU, hoping to bump into Peter Parker. When he does, JJ says that he's going to start a new photojournalism magazine to compete with Thomas Fireheart (aka Puma), who recently bought the Daily Bugle away from him. He invites Peter to join him (at reduced salary for the first year, of course), but Peter gets a splitting headache thanks to his Unipower-enhanced spider-sense and has to run away without answering. This development does put a wrinkle into the idea that JJ is still publishing Morgana Blessing's book in Doctor Strange because he still owns Now magazine. Maybe he somehow retains rights to just the book publishing arm.

The issue ends with Peter alone eating a TV dinner because MJ had to work late and was then going out with the girls.

Solid, fun, traditional comic booking from Conway, Buscema, & Esposito.

Quality Rating: C+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: Spider-Man has had his new powers for the "last couple of days". This takes place after Amazing Spider-Man #327. Web of Spider-Man #60 is next for Spider-Man.

References:

• Spider-Man references fighting the Trapster (last issue; also when he got his powers), Titania (Web of Spider-Man #59), and Magneto (Amazing Spider-Man #327) since getting the new powers.
  
• When Spider-Man first sees Madison Square Garden floating into the sky, he thinks it's the return of Graviton, who he fought in Amazing Spider-Man #326.
  
• But then he recognizes the Wizard's anti-gravity pods. He fought the Wizard in Amazing Spider-Man #213, and this time remembers that he fought the Trapster at that time, too.
  
• Stuart McPhee's brother, Bruiser, died in Spectacular Spider-Man #153. Stuart is feeling guilty for rejecting his brother after Bruiser's criminal activities paid for his education.
  

Crossover: Acts of Vengeance

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

This issue has a nice old-school feel to it. Quite an enjoyable read.