Issue(s): Web of Spider-Man #104, Web of Spider-Man #105, Web of Spider-Man #106 (Nightwatch story only)
Cover Date: Sep-Nov 93
Title: "Deathmask" / "Acid test" / "The killing ground"
Credits:
Terry Kavanagh - Writer
Bill Wylie - Penciler
Tim Tuohy - Inker
Eric Fein - Editor

Review/plot:
Nightwatch is returning from Maximum Carnage, looking forward to taking his "cursed costume" off when he notices a disturbance at the Museum of Natural History. Investigating, he finds a group of mercenaries who have already killed some security guards. He stops most of them...

...but their leader has already acquired an ancient mask.

When Nightwatch catches up with him, he uses the mask to protect his face while jumping out a window...

..and becomes Deathgrin.

I see you flipping back to the cover. No, you didn't accidentally pick up a Speedball comic. (Ok, this is still a Nightwatch story taking up space in a Spider-man comic, but that's not what i meant.)

Deathgrin has all sorts of powers. Petrified skin, acid blood, the inability for me to take him seriously.

Nightwatch chases him around town for a while and eventually punches him in the face.

The end? Not hardly!

Well, it's the end of Deathgrin, anyway. How does the eventual retcon about Nightwatch work? Do i get back the time i spent reading and reviewing this story? Where do i apply for that?

Quality Rating: D

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: The main story in issue #106 takes place separately from the one in #104-105, while these back-ups all are one story. So i've placed this in a separate entry. Also, a footnote confirms that it takes place before Infinity Crusade, and it seems to take place directly after Maximum Carnage.

References:

• A footnote says that Nightwatch is trying to get home to take off his costume directly after his fight with "Carnage and his gang" in Maximum Carnage chapters 10 (Web of Spider-Man #103) through 14 (Spider-Man Unlimited #2). Be aware that Nightwatch actually only appeared in 3 of those 5 chapters.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Given Nightwatch's Spawn-like qualities, Deathgrin seems like a counterpart of Spawn's enemy the Violator, a demon who masdquerades as a homicidal clown.

This is supposed to be funny, right? Anyway, I now know that the best way to deal with a ruptured gas main is with guns. I also have learnt that the ancient Macedonians were buried in novelty hockey masks which only didn't turn their corpses into super powered zombies because they had a different diet in those days. This is the most educational thing I've read in ages!