Issue(s): Web of Spider-Man #69, Web of Spider-Man #70
Cover Date: Oct-Nov 90
Title: "A subtle shade of green" / "A Hulk by any other name..."
Credits:
Gerry Conway - Writer
David Michelinie - Script on #70
Alex Saviuk - Penciler
Keith Williams - Inker
Dan Cuddy - Assistant Editor
Jim Salicrup - Editor

Review/plot:
How long has it been since we've had a generic green Hulk guest appearance?

Peter is sent to cover reports of a "wild beast" (actually the Hulk) roaming Connecticut. Betty Brant is sent along as a reporter.

Before leaving, Peter reconciles with Joe Robertson.

(The whole situation with Robbie and the faked photo makes me wonder about the long speculated idea that Robbie knows that Peter is Spider-Man.)

And someone else is tracking the "beast" as well: Armand Jones.

He is the brother of Ricardo Jones, the man who once built a device to transfer the Thing's powers to him. Armand is unaware that his brother eventually recanted and sacrificed himself in the Negative Zone. He assumes that the Fantastic Four killed his brother.

Jones shows up at the cabin where Bruce and Betty (Banner) are hiding first, and starts draining power from Bruce.

But it quickly gets out of control for Jones.

Then Peter, who left Betty Brant behind at a roadblock, shows up as Spider-Man.

Spider-Man is surprised to see the Hulk alive. Which is odd because Spider-Man has met the grey Hulk twice, and figured out that he was the Hulk the first time, in Web of Spider-Man #44. Maybe by "alive" he means "as the green Hulk"?

Armand Jones is killed during the fight.

And then Betty accidentally bumps Spider-Man with Jones' device.

Hulk then tries to drown Spider-Man in a lake, and succeeds as far as he knows.

But Spider-Man does survive to Hulkinue the story.

Peter makes it make to New York on his own, and puts Jones' device in a locker in Grand Central Station. He then goes to J. Jonah Jameson's office to deliver the photos he took and gets yelled at for abandoning Betty. And he has a little freakout.

And before you know it, he's turning into Spider-Hulk.

Peter eventually de-Hulks and does some research on Jones, learning how to use the device to cure himself. But it turns out that his locker at Grand Central has been broken into. So he Hulks out again and chases the thieves.

He eventually gets the device back and it cures him. But Spider-Man worries that he's ruined his newly restored reputation.

Also in these issues, Kristy is released from the hospital where she was being treated for bulimia. Mary Jane hooks her up with a part time job as an au pair for Normie Osborn. But MJ's mind is really on Jason Jerome.

Some fun stuff here. I like seeing classic Hulk again! And Spider-Man as the Hulk is fun for an issue as well. On the other hand, i'm not sure if we ever needed to see the long lost brother of the guy from This Man, This Monster, and man, the Hulk is a violent killer in this appearance, huh? Overall, this is wacky "not thinking about it too hard" kind of fun. On a more serious note, i like Betty potentially getting promoted to reporter, and i'm glad to see the Joe Robertson tension wrapped up. But mostly these issues are just goofy fun.

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: This takes place after Hulk #373, when the Hulk starts turning green and dumb again (temporarily) and has met up with Betty. The events of Web of Spider-Man #68 happened "yesterday". Kristy Watson is out of the hospital and working as Normie's babysitter in Spectacular Spider-Man #169, so this takes place prior to that.

As The Transparent Fox notes in the Comments, Carlos Lobo probably appears in a panel in issue #70.

References:

• Armand Jones is the brother of Ricardo Jones, the scientist from Fantastic Four #51 (incorrectly footnoted as #53).
  
• Hulk supposedly died in Hulk #345.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

On the next "Days of Our Lives," Mary Jane is torn between her love for Peter and her lust for Jason Jerome...

The Hulk straight up murders that guy.

Its interesting seeing these issues together, kind of a worst hits by Conway. It really feels like they have been running out of ideas with so many spidey comics on the market, so they decide to mess with the formula: Captain Universe Spidey, Hulk-Spidey, soon we'll have Powerless Spidey. It's like they felt they's run out of traditional stories to tell.

This just feels like a rehash of the Spider-lizard story from Mantlo all those years ago.

These are Gerry Conway's last issues of Web, though he'll continue on Spectacular for a bit longer.

It's been firmly established at this stage, or was starting to be anyway, that Bruce Banner had multiple personality disorder, and that that was why he wasn't the same man in a gamma-mutated body in the same way that the Abomination retained Emil Blonsky's intellect and personality, say, or She-Hulk was still recognisably Jennifer Walters. Plus, for a couple of years previous to this, there was the grey Hulk, who was a different personality to Bruce Banner, yes, and wasn't as smart as Banner, but he was quite intelligent in his own way, average human intelligence anyway, and also crafty and such. So why would this device make Peter Parker get dumb as well as green, and say stuff like 'Spider smash!'? This story is dumb and dated and a riff on the superior Spidey-Lizard storyline anyway as kveto says above.

This issue is why I can't take Pak's "the Hulk never killed anyone innocent" retcon. Even if Armand Jones doesn't count as innocent, it was pure luck that Armand and not Betty was killed.

The title to #69 probably refers to the Procol Harum song "A Whiter Shade of Pale"

Spider Hulk is one of the hardest to find and most expensive Marvel Legends figures.
I thought somebody would have been pointed this out already but you can see Jim Salicrup and Alex Saviuk in the second scan, last panel

I have the impression that Carlos Lobo appears briefly in the Grand Central Station scene, for a panel or so. It's not a mere cameo, I really think Conway was going somewhere with this. I guess he was simply booted off the title before he could follow it up with a storyline. I really like the Lobo Brothers and since Carlos survived the Gang War--as opposed to his brother Eduardo Lobo--it makes sense to bring him back. Ah, the road not taken...

Agree, TTF. I've added a scan of him in the Considerations and listed him as a Character Appearing.

Spider-Hulk would return to get his ass handed to him by Hulk-Thor in World War Hulks.

I never knew there was a Marvel Legends Spider-Hulk but nao I simply must have it.