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Kevin McCluskey and Dave Scrimgeour    Writer- Gerry Conway Penciler- Alex Saviuk Inker- Andy Mushynsky Colourist- Bob Sharen Designer- Dawn Geiger Editor- Jim Salicrup Assistant Editor- Glenn Herdling Published March 28th 1989 by Marvel Comics. SynopsisDespite the traumatic beginning, Peter Parker settles into his life as a "mysterious unknown thrill-seeker," even if it has a detrimental effect on his love life, and the health of his beloved Aunt May. Mary Jane's life, on the other hand, only gets more arduous, as she finds herself trapped by the responsibility of being an aunt herself, and the death of her mother. In an attempt to escape the pressure, she flees to the relative safely of Forest Hills, where, at last, the stars align, and Anna and May's masterplan of a blind date between their niece and nephew respectively finally hits the jackpot.  Check Kraven out! Rockin' the Manolo Blahniks. Kev That splash page is outstanding. I mean, look at the NYC architecture in the background. Amazing stuff. Pun thoroughly intended. Dave Yep, it's a cracking opening page to ‘Encounters,’ the colours are superb, and it’s well detailed. It’s just a visually striking image (pun intended). The artwork back in the 80s was so distinct and colourful. I suppose because it wasn't digitally produced, so it lingers in the mind. Still some of the best, in my book. Again, there is already so much narrative on the first page, and it really is just these two characters recalling events in their life at certain stages. Kev Yeh. “After Uncle Ben died, everything changed.” There’s real tragedy in those half a dozen words. I like that there is an awareness of how “corny” some of the names of the Spidey rogues gallery are. I sometimes think that, as “serious” fans, we tie ourselves in knots trying to justify the names and origins of a lot of these classic characters, when we’re probably better served just leaning into the child-like silliness of it all. After all, that’s what hooked us as kids in the first place, right? Dave It's taking a story that was perhaps perceived to be aimed at kids at the time and turning it into a more mature audience target, especially with the amount of narrative going on regarding Peter’s and MJ's internal struggles. Kev I've found the MJ stuff to be particularly effective this time around. I said it when we discussed the first part, but I’ll say it again for this one; Conway is doing a stellar job of distilling over a quarter of a century of Spidey’s history into a punchy, easy to digest, immensely readable tale. “By then I was selling news photos of Spider-Man to Jonah Jameson at the Daily Bugle. Dave It's really an in-depth character study for each of them, and what each has to contend. "I'd hardly call Peter Parker a "geek," Mary, dear. He's a quiet, sensitive boy." "Yeah, so was my dad, save me from sensitive boys." I like that bit, the twist on the whole MJ arc with Peter. Especially the backstory with the abusive father being explored. Kev Definitely. MJ saying that she wants to be saved from “sensitive boys,” like her dad, who turned-out to be a drunken, abusive, arsehole had become lost to me due to the ravages of time and memory. I’d forgotten that her dad was a "sensitive artist" of a writer, so it’s understandable why her taste in men had seemingly gone in the opposite direction. Dave It's interesting how Peter is still drawn with a nod to his 60’s style comic look, with the tank top and everything, whilst MJ is a bit more modern looking. That top panel of her on page 26 is superb. It's kind-of nodding to the 60’s era at times, then giving us a 1989 look as well. The dynamic of the two styles works well together. And the panel on page 27, of Spidey webbing up Kraven in the trees, is another brilliant panel. It’s so rich and colourful in appearance. This story is constant with the narrative and dialogue though, it doesn't really ever stop on that account. Kev Absolutely. I don’t think Saviuk gets the credit he deserves for being able to straddle the line between the very distinctive styles of the '60s and the '80s. Pete’s on the Special K cereal. All he needs is a nice, tight fitting red dress. Do you remember, when we were young, it being marketed almost exclusively to women as a weight loss breakfast?  A bowl for breakfast, one for lunch, and a "proper" evening meal. That's how Pete keeps his schoolgirl figure. Dave Actually, I’ve just remembered that now, with the Special K cereal. Kev Ha, ha! “You’ll want a girl who’ll make a good housewife - - someone like Mrs. Watson’s niece!” Okay, May, you trad wife Boomer, you! Jeez. She’s been on the manosphere podcasts again. Andrew Tate would be proud. Except he would hate her, ‘cause she’s on old hag, and past her reproductive use to him. Dave That's got to be a nod to the old 60’s comic style and attitudes. After all, Aunt May is still dressed in the 60's look as well. Which seems purposely done to have her and Peter behind the times, whereas MJ is up to date, and modern and trendy looking. Kev Ha, ha! Definitely. That's a really good point, actually. In terms of fashion, she is definitely far more fashion forward than Pete is, that's for sure. Dave I like the classic Spidey hanging upside down pose. Kev I can never get enough of Spidey hanging upside down. Bob Sharen’s colours in this are absolutely fantastic. These pages are painted, right? Dave I’m guessing so. Wall art again. I haven't used that for a wee while, I don’t think. Kev First round of the We See The World In Ben-Day Dots drinking game. Take a shot, everybody. Pete always was a low-key hottie. Betty, Gwen, Liz Allen, MJ etc. etc. That’s a murderer's row of baddies wanting to try their hand at the ol’ Parker Luck. Dave And how he always has the worst luck for timing with these women. Even when it’s well intentioned by Aunt May setting him up with MJ, at the same time Betty shows interest, so in trying to not upset anyone, he ends up upsetting everyone without meaning to. And MJ doesn't want to see Pete at this moment as well anyway. I wonder if this version of MJ is based on someone Conway knew, or had some similar experience with? His depth of psychology into human behaviour is interesting, and seems knowledgeable. Kev Yeh, Peter’s reaction to MJ flaking on their blind date, “I’ll be big about it,” is very amusing. I notice Anna has made a hot toddy for herself as well. Any excuse, eh? You old lush, you. And if Anna and MJ are watching “Welcome Back, Kotter with that sweet Travolta boy,” that places this somewhere in the mid-to-late ‘70’s. Dave Yep, that would be the 70s, indeed. The first panel on page 29 is excellent also. Again, the contrast of colours between Molten Man and Spidey is eye catching, to say the least.  Alright, Pete, alright. We get it. You're a busy overachiever. Kev Saviuk's Molten Man is superb, yeh. Ah, now this is interesting, there is a two year time jump here, and notice how Saviuk has started drawing the webbing in what is considered a more Todd McFarlane-esque way? This would suggest that Pete updated the web formula at some point. I had never noticed that before. I always thought that Saviuk didn’t adopt that particular McFarlane-ism until a bit later on. Dave Even the pose is slightly MacFarlene-esque, with the hunching of the body. Kev That's true, actually, yeh. Dave You get the sense that Peter's life is so overwhelming at times, trying to juggle so many balls, that ultimately, once one drops, he loses his composure and the rest follow. Then we get the illness of Aunt May. This story is really a big recap of the life and times of Spidey in condensed form. Kev Definitely. And Conway does an excellent job of selecting the greatest hits. I’ve always enjoyed the fact that Peter is flawed enough to have an ego, and be a bit self-centred at times. It makes him a much more interesting, and relatable character. As I mentioned when we discussed the last part, I love him as an everyman. And, jeez, remember the days of being able to pick up the phone and get straight through to a doctor? Your family doctor, at that. Dave Pages 31 and 32 are quite cluttered in panels, but I do like the pose on 32 of Spidey. It’s very dynamic, and shows his spiral into a darker place again. Peter is so reflective of himself that he ends-up tormented by it.  Look at how a simple change in the mask's lens placement conveys Spidey's anger and desperation in this panel. Kev Peter’s guilt at potentially being the cause of both his Uncle’s, and now his Aunt’s deaths, is typical of the driving force of Spider-Man as a character. And, yeh, that middle panel, of Spidey, on page 32, is pure, classic Spider-Man to me. I love Doc Ock’s underwater base, and his henchmen’s outfits. And I also love the “stroke of luck” that the ISO-36 shipment is conveniently “arriving from the West Coast” just as all our characters need it. That's a lot of love I have for this book. It’s almost like Conway wrote it that way as a plot device. See? Embrace the silliness. But, as much as I love that panel on page 32, and believe me, I do, even that panel is surpassed by the bottom of page 34, with Comway and Saviuk’s version of the famous, Spidey-lifts-the-heavy-thing-off-of-him-to-free-himself-after-thinking-about-the-ones-he-loves bit. I mean, it’s been used in everything over the years. Even the live action movies. Why he didn’t just use his webshooters to reach the canister though, I’ll never know. I mean, he would still have to lift the heavy thing off of him to set himself free anyway, but still…..  "I am equal to the task, I won't hide behind the mask, what you see is what you'll get from me." Dave It's the very essence of Spider-Man as well, as he is always having to overcome the odds when no-one else can save him. The strength of his own character in hard times. Plus, the dialogue is written to evoke an empowering feeling, but the art of the panel is superb too. And yeah, I agree with the plot device. Just get straight into the convenient timing situation that any fictional story does. Kev I actually like it. Conway didn't have the real estate in a story such as this, where he's covering over a quarter of a century's worth of material, to dedicate pages to setting up a functional plot point like that. Peter sporting some lumps on his face after his battle to get the ISO-36 from Doc Ock and his henchmen is a nice touch. Props to Saviuk, Mushynsky, and Sharen for that. And the bottom tier of panels on page 35 is excellent. Particularly the last panel. More classic, Spidey melodrama. Dave The panel of Pete fighting the Master Planner’s henchman looks very 60’s-ish, however the bottom four panels of Pete leaving the hospital look more contemporary. Especially with him still being tormented, even though May is on the road to recovery. And then the story reverts back to MJ’s ongoing family problems. I like the Spidey vs Kraven panel on page 36 also. The artwork is consistently great, but especially so in those panels.  At least you aren't being overly dramatic, right Pete? Kev Absolutely. I can't speak highly enough about the art team on this book. It's absolutely gorgeous from top to bottom. Yeh, MJ’s two years seem a lot rougher than Peter’s in so many ways. Sure, her life isn’t constantly on the line, but the men in her life are just all kinds of awful. No wonder she’s reluctant to give Peter a chance. Dave It certainly plays off well against the fun loving carefree "mask" that she wears. It's really going into why she adopts this as her public persona. Kev Definitely. MJ’s partygirl persona is actually really understandable, and believable, when you take into account the sheer amount of trauma that it is masking. Not to mention her misconception of Spider-Man as a free spirit. Conway is doing an excellent job of portraying just how stifling and suffocating a woman’s life could still be in late 1970’s America. “Those words felt like a death sentence…” He really drives home how women are all too often expected to bear the emotional labour, as well as weather the physical brunt of being caregivers. As is the case here, with MJ’s mother, Madeline. “Worn down by worry, exhausted by giving…her heart finally gave out.” I’m really enjoying reading this element of the story as a middle-aged man, as opposed to a pre-teen. The mileage is giving me a greater, deeper appreciation of it. Dave Even on page 37, despite it all culminating in the death of her mother, the middle insert panel of Spidey is great. Then we get to see that MJ has finally had enough after the funeral, and returns home. Hard going stuff really. MJ has led a tough life.  "You go your way, and I'll see mine. Feels like wasted time.....How'd you like yourself, you don't know yourself." Kev It's heartbreaking, isn't it? You'd have to have a heart of complete and utter stone, not to feel for her by this point. I love that panel of MJ, at the bottom of page 38, catching her reflection in the mirror of her room at her Aunt Anna’s house. Saviuk, Mushynsky and Sharon all combine to capture the emotion in her face perfectly.  "In between, what I find is pleasin,' and I'm feelin' fine. Love is so confusing, there's no peace of mind." Dave Yeah, that bottom panel is great. I like all of page 38 though. First of all, the classic MJ pose, looking bright and exuberant as she arrives at Aunt Anna's door, enough to catch anyone's attention, for sure, but also how she quickly picks up that her aunt knows that she is hurting, and gives her enough space not to intrude. That’s a nice balance of the internal awareness against this image that she knows how to play up to. The character study of MJ is actually the real surprise of this story, it’s so excellently written. And Pete's is great as well, but it’s taking a bit of a backseat to MJ’s here. Kev Yeh, with Part 2 in particular, this has become an MJ story, hasn't it? Dave Definitely. And on page 39, MJ continues to style it well with the fashion, but also the internal monologues about Peter, such as, "Are you a fraud…like my father? Or are you just hiding yourself - - like me." Why am I so drawn to you? Why do you frighten me?" These are all very insightful. Kev Conway's wholeheartedly in their minds, alright. MJ’s concerns about Peter’s character, and whether he’s a fraud, or just hiding himself, are justified, I reckon. And the panel in which she expresses them, at the foot of page 39, is superb. You can tell we’re still in the late ‘70s/early 80’s here, if MJ is getting a gig as a dancer at a disco. “What’s more, using money saved the fast food jobs I’d worked after school……I managed a deposit a small studio apartment……in a lousy downtown Manhattan neighborhood.” Now if anything dates this story, it’s THAT. Try getting a deposit for a Manhattan apartment on a part-time waitress’s wage in 2026. Dave The juxtaposition to represent the changes in times is great. And, as usual, Pete is just complaining about his "rotten luck with women." Kev Oh, yeh. Must be an absolute nightmare having to choose between Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane Watson. My heart bleeds for you, Archie. Do you choose Betty, or Veronica? Dave I know, Pete would be worthy of a ‘Geraldo’ episode. ‘Peter and His Many Women Dilemma.’ I was trying to remember who was the talk show host of that time. Kev Ha, ha! That style of TV hadn't quite made its way over to the UK yet, had it? It'd take a few more years before those types of shows caught on in Great Britain. Dave And, to be fair to Pete, he is trying to balance a normal life, or an attempt at a normal life, against the moral duty he feels, and the guilt to use his great power responsibly. Kev Oh, for sure. I'm just being facetious. I think Spidey is at his best as a character when Peter Parker's life is at least half of the drama. And his love life, the more soap opera leaning elements, are often some of my favourite parts of it. Like I've said a few times now, I just love Peter when he gets to be that everyman character.  "You're a pretty young lady. You're a pretty young lady, Lord." Dave "Face it, Tiger… You just hit the jackpot!" I knew that line had to get used, but now there is a different context behind it, and so much character history has been shown to us. Yep, I think Part 2 is more MJ’s story. She’s resonating stronger here. Kev Yeh, Saviuk’s rendition of that panel is fantastic. Dave It’s such an iconic panel, it had to get put in. To be fair, I think Pete has hit the jackpot a few times before, but has just messed it up. Kev That'll be the “Parker Luck.” Dave I like the sudden jump to Doc Ock deciding he wants to live at Aunt May’s. As you do when you are an escaped convict. Kev Yep, afternoon tea with your new super villain lodger. Classic May. Although, it does say something about both the economy, and her financial situation within it, that she needs to take in a lodger at her age. They really did portray May as a dithering old codger back in the day, didn’t they? And now they have her as Marisa Tomei who. Does Otto just hate Peter so much because he essentially cock-blocked the Doc’s attempts to get with Parker’s elderly aunt? Dave Pete the cock blocker. He even manages to do it to himself. That could be the title of his TV special, ‘The Cock Blocker.’ Or maybe he just doesn't like Ock’s dodgy fringe. Kev Ha, ha! It could just be the fringe, yeh. All the Doc needs is a good barber. Dave It looks like one of those Lego pieces that you could change the colour of the figure's hair with. Kev Ha, ha! You're spot on. It's like a removable Lego wig. Dave I never understood why you would want to change the hair colour of a lego character. I've noticed that every time the story takes a time jump, the first panel is always an eye-catcher, and Ock at May’s door is another good one. Kev You're right; those establishing shots are always tremendous, aren't they? I love that panel at the top of page 44, of the abandoned atomic center. I think it's outstanding.  "Tonight, make it magnificent. Tonight. Make me tonight. Your hair is beautiful. Oh, tonight." Dave Ock's escape on the last page has similarities to the escape scene in Sam Raimi’s ‘Spider-Man 2.’ Kev For sure. The time period that this covers was clearly Raimi's preferred era of Spider-Man, wasn't it? Dave Oh yeah. Well, this has been another breakneck chapter that covered so much of a period of time, but wonderfully inserted so much characterisation of Pete and MJ, and their struggles, throughout it. So, what’re your thoughts on Part 2 then? Kev I'm going to be really boring, Man, and just say that I love it. All of it. I think Conway's handling of the gargantuan task of condensing all that ‘Spider-History' into 60-odd pages has been pretty masterful, to be honest, whilst Saviuk, Mushynsky, and Sharon have turned-in a beautiful book. And the appropriately named Richard Parker's lettering is fantastic. Never once is it confusing or intrusive, storytelling-wise. So yeh, "no notes" as the kids are saying these days. Actually, it’s not until the very last page of this part, in the last few panels to be precise, that there is perhaps my only bugbear with this book. But I shall save that for its full reveal, and for another time. Well, next month. I’ll save it ‘til next month. How about yourself? What're your thoughts on it? Dave It's been really good. There’s so much reading though, in terms of the narrative, which I understand, because it's essentially our two main characters reflecting on what was going on with them in their lives. Nonetheless, it is going at 100mph, which is necessary in order to condense it all down to the foundations. Like you’ve said on more than one occasion already, condensing all the years of these stories is a gargantuan task, and Conway adding in the new twists has been a refreshing touch, which has elevated the story even further. Kev Yeh, I agree, and I can't speak highly enough of it, to be honest. I've always held this one in high esteem and, if anything, this re-read has raised it in my estimation. Which is always a bit of a relief, because you never know if the comics you loved as a youngster are going to hold-up when re-evaluated through your cynical, world-weary, rapidly deteriorating, bifocal specs requiring, middle-aged eyes. (D) & (K) Next: 'Tentacles.' 
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