Web of Spider-Man #13

Web of Spider-Man #13 (1986)
by Peter David & Mike Harris
cover by Mark Beachum

As a tribute to Peter David after his passing, I feel obligated to review my favorite Spider-Man story.

Obviously, a statement like “my favorite Spider-Man story” inevitably brings up comparisons with several Spider-Man masterpieces, so I should probably qualify it a little better.

There are a lot famous Spider-Man stories that you’d expect to find in such a list… If This Be My Destiny, Kraven’s Last Hunt, The Child Within, The Death of Jean DeWolff, Parallel Lives, The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man, Nothing Can Stop The Juggernaut, Amazing Spider-Man #400, The Conversation… those are all up there, obviously.

But all of these come with an asterisk: they work best within their respective run or they build on something that came earlier, rather than stories you can read on their own.
The exception is “The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man”, which of course IS a masterpiece… but it’s a different kind of story, plus it doesn’t hit me as it did other people because I read that story much later, while this one was in my formative years as a reader.
So I should qualify that I consider this “my favorite standalone Spider-Man story”.

But I’ve rambled long enough… appropriately for a Spider-Man story I guess… so let’s move into the underappreciated classic of “Point Of View”.

Which begins in an unique way. Instead of regular narration boxes, we read excerpts from a newspaper explaining what happened: a guy sees Spider-Man swinging above him and decides to run into traffic.

Of particular importance is the perspective that the eyewitnesses give of Spider-Man’s attempt to save the guy’s life.

The guy is still hit by the truck, although he survives thanks to Spidey slowing it down.
The comic is not exactly subtle in showcasing the enormous difference between the eyewitness account and the actual events

I never noticed this guy’s shirt. Is it a reference to something, or is Mike Harris just being random?

Various Spider-Man adaptations (the worst offender being the Raimi movies, despite their quality) have given the general audience the perception that Spider-Man is a goody-goody who never loses his temper unless you threaten his loved ones.
But treat civilians callously in his presence and he’ll prove you wrong.

Naturally, when J. Jonah Jameson gets pictures of the incident by a random kid who just happened to be nearby with a camera, he couldn’t be happier.

An important part of the story is that, at this point, JJJ is only the publisher of the Daily Bugle.
The city editor is Kate Cushing (whatever happened to her, she was an awesome character), and most importantly the editor-in-chief is Robbie Robertson.

Despite that, the paper goes with Jonah’s idea of a front page.

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Three things of note about that first page. Yes, three separate tangents for a single panel… it’s my favorite standalone Spider-Man story, OF COURSE I will talk to death about it!

The first is the inside joke you probably spotted, making fun of Tom DeFalco…

…but for what, exactly? He wasn’t editor-in yet: we’re still in the Jim Shooter era.
But he WAS the regular writer of Amazing Spider-Man, so I wonder… is it just an innocent joke, or was there a bit of resentment from Peter David?
It certainly doesn’t come across that way in his autobiography, but who knows.

Second, this is a VERY rare case where we can actually read the article: usually, whenever comics show a first page, it’s just gibberish.
It’s an editorial by J. Jonah Jameson that SEEMS to be the same narration that started the comic… but there are a few differences here and there.
So I wonder: were we reading a draft? Or was that the article from a different newspaper?

Third: the newspaper is dated January 30th 1986, which was indeed a Thursday.

Which I guess was a slower news day in the Marvel Universe when compared to real life.

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The guy hit by the truck becomes an instant media sensation.

Not to mention JJJ’s dream come true.

Jonah being Jonah, he immediately spins things into his own narrative.

I’ve always loved this little gem of a subtle joke.

The opening narration is not the only one showing the different points of view, as we then follow a couple of bystanders being interviewed…

…and more importantly, the media imposing its own narrative.

We then see Spider-Man stopping a couple of bank robbers, doing his thing.

However, civilians are even less thankful than usual.

That’s it! Spider-Man isn’t going to stand these insults without a fight!

A fight he’s going to lose, but a fight nonetheless!

I would say that this is a rough period in Spider-Man’s life, but that wouldn’t really narrow it down.

Precisely the worst possible moment to see the interview that the media chose to run.

Even Mary Jane isn’t able to calm him down. At this point she knows his secret identity; we’re a couple of years before their marriage.

I’ve always thought that Peter Parker’s tastes in media should always be like ten years outdated… and he kind of proves me right for being a fan of Network.
To be fair, given the subject matter, I would’ve been fine if he saw it in 1976.

Meanwhile Ben Urich… Daily Bugle journalist and eternal Daredevil supporting character… confronts the guy “assaulted” by Spider-Man.

The guy just thought that Spidey was after him for being a conman.

While Ben Urich is a quintessential Daredevil character, I always love it when he pops up in Spider-Man stories.

Spider-Man wasn’t kidding about being mad as hell.

This is far from being the first time Spider-man loses his temper against Jonah, as acknowledged.

Although he wasn’t THIS mad back in Amazing Spider-Man #70.
Even though Jonah did inadvertently help Kingpin get away that time.

This confrontation is long overdue. Especially when Spidey points out that he’s saved not only Jonah’s life, but those of his friends and family soooooo many times.

Spider-Man is truly scary here, but we break the tension a little thanks to the shenanigans of Jonah being stuck in the office thanks to Spidey’s webs.

It’s a well-known trope that Spider-Man is terrifying when he gets serious enough to shut up. But there’s something equally jarring with JJJ being at a loss for words.

It’s very, VERY easy to believe Spidey is about to punch that moustache into orbit.

Jonah manages to get out of this by making Spider-Man doubt himself… or by capitalizing on his refusal to give JJJ a win.

Spider-Man leaves, and once the door is unlocked Jonah has a little heart-to-heart with Robbie.
Despite his bravado, you can definitely tell the incident has shaken him.

Robbie Robertson, carrying the journalistic integrity of the Marvel Universe on his shoulders since 1967.

The entire relationship between these two in three panels.
No notes.

And so we close the story with Jonah reflecting on how both him and Spider-Man would rather see each other as caricatures rather than the much more complex characters that they truly are.

Title drop!

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Historical significance: 0/10
Probably forgotten by everyone except me.

Personal significance: 10/10
Well I wouldn’t be talking about it otherwise. While it’s not the first good JJJ story I ever read, this one is definitely responsible for making me dismiss any story or interpretation that sees him as two-dimensional comic relief or as a straight up villain.

Silver Age-ness: 0/10
Nothing silly happens, plus you wouldn’t see this kind of story in any part of the Silver Age.

Does it stand the test of time? 10/10
If anything, this story works BETTER in 2025 than it did in 1986: it’s really ahead of its time for its examination of how much public opinion can be manipulated.
It also has an unusual structure that helps it stand out, and the end is appropriately left to interpretation.
Did Jonah get away with lying through his teeth or does he sincerely regret his actions?
We never get to read his thoughts, a great little detail that enhances the chance of interpretation.
We also have a VERY human Spider-Man, because while at the end he takes the high road who would have blamed him if he snapped?
I know the story has its detractors who think the story is attempting to say both sides are equally valid… but I think they’re reading this wrong.
“Point Of View” is not about whether Jonah is right or not about Spider-Man being a dangerous criminal. In fact it never attempts to convince you about anything but Jonah being dead wrong the entire time. And it’s not trying to make Jonah some kind of hero for issuing a retraction.
It’s a story that makes you think how easily public perception can be manipulated, and how even if you think you’re above it all… it can still affect you.
Then again, I can’t think of another story that gets even better by being divisive than “Point Of View”.