Amazing Spider-Man #242

Issue Details

Synopsis

CONFRONTAIONS ! After intersession period, Peter Parker returns to the campus of Empire State University. He thinks about he hasn't spent much time here due to his careers as a photographer and Spider-Man, especially since he has been spending a lot of the time with the Black Cat as she recovers in hospital. With a new semester starting, Peter has come to see if the faculty will continue to let him study or kick him out of school. When Peter goes to check a bulletin board he is surprised to see that all the grades except those for biophysics have been posted. He is then confronted by Professor Morris Sloan who scolds Peter for taking an interest in his grades so late in the game. Sloan explains that he is behind in his grading ever since Debora Whitman quit being her secretary and returned home to the midwest. When Peter asks if he has heard from her recently, Morris informs him that he briefly spoke to her and that she had said she was doing well. Peter thanks Morris for the update and departs. Grabbing an issue of the Daily Bugle, Peter discovers that J. Jonah Jameson has been milking the recent capture of Doctor Octopus, going so far as using an old file photo of the villain Peter took. This gets him thinking of how Octopus was responsible for the Black Cat getting shot and being in the hospital. He hopes that the villain remembers that not only did Spider-Man defeat him once again, but also saved his life. Peter's thoughts are interrupted when Lance Bannon pulls his car up beside him and demands to talk. When Peter asks what he wants, Lance says that it is personal and asks him to get in. Peter obliges and after a long silence, he wonders what his rival wants to talk about.  Meanwhile, at a maximum security prison, the villain known as the Mad Thinker sits and ponders. Although he looks like he is lost in thought, he is actually transmitting his mind into an android body in one of his secret hideouts. The Think is amused that the authorities think he is harmlessly in prison, but this whole time he has been using the simulacrum to work on new strategies to defeat his foes. He goes over the footage of his battles with foes such as the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and the Avengers. He then pulls data from his base in New Hampshire where Spider-Man battled his androids. He is impressed by the wall-crawler's performance and wonders if the rumors about the hero having some kind of warning sense are true. Learning how to utilize this sort of ability could prove beneficial to the Mad Thinker as it would help eliminate the x-factor that always interferes with his plans. Estimating that Spider-Man will appear on the east side of Manhattan within the next three hours, he sends one of his Battledroids out to hunt the wall-crawler. Once the android is off on its mission, the Mad Thinker transfers his mind back to his real body in prison.   At that moment, at a Manhattan bar, Lance Bannon talks to Peter about the fact that his girlfriend Amy Powell has been pursuing him. Peter learns that Lance and Amy had an open relationship. Recently Powell has been asking Lance for a committed romance, but Lance can't find the courage to make that commitment. Now, he fears that he might be losing her to Peter Parker. Peter assures her that he has no interest in Amy and decides to call her to sort things out. Amy takes control of the conversation preventing Peter from getting into anything edgewise. To his exasperation, Peter is shoehorned into a dinner date with her later that evening. Peter is annoyed with being caught in a love triangle and tells Lance to meet him at his place at 7:30 so they can both meet with Amy and storms out of the bar.   Lance Bannon tries to follow after Peter, but Parker manages to slip away and change into Spider-Man. Web-slinging across the city, Spider-Man is attacked by the Mad Thinker's battledroid at a Con-Edison plant. At first, Spider-Man easily knocks down the android, but it responds by unleashing its hidden weaponry. As this battle rages on, a certain redhead comes to visit Peter Parker. However, she is told by Peter's landlady, Maimie Muggins, that Peter isn't around and that he keeps strange hours. As the woman walks away, Maimie takes a moment to criticize the young woman for calling on a single man, as that's not the way they acted when Mrs. Muggins was her age. Meanwhile, Spider-Man continues to battle the android. The Mad Thinker observes the battle and is impressed that the web-slinger is able to hold his own against an Android model that once almost defeated the Fantastic Four. Spider-Man is surprised to see police lining the area and, insult to injury, Lance Bannon is on the scene snapping photos. The wall-crawler lures the Android into the Con-Ed building where he relies on a cover of darkness to bombard his attacker by hurling junk at it. Since the battledroid can only see via radar, Spider-Man confuses it into walking near some massive generators and sends it collapsing down on the Android, destroying it.   With the battle over, Spider-Man's spider-sense warns him that there is a bomb within the Android that is about to blow up. Taking a shard of its cracked armor, Spider-Man quickly escapes the building just moments before it blows up. Still observing this situation, the Mad Thinker has confirmed the rumor about Spider-Man's early warning sense and decides to ponder things further. Meanwhile, Spider-Man returns to his apartment and changes back into Peter Parker. There he gets ready to meet with Amy Powell when there is a knock at the door. Peter thinks it's Lance coming to meet him but it turns out to be Amy Powell. Amy has decided to surprise Peter by changing the plans and having an indoor picnic at his apartment. When Peter tries to talk her out of staying, she tries to shut him up by kissing Peter. Suddenly, there is another knock at the door, and Peter fears that Lance Bannon will catch him in this compromising experience. Amy tells Peter to ignore the knocks when suddenly, the person unlocks the door. As it turns out, the visitor is none other than Mary Jane Watson, who has come to visit Peter and has come in using the spare set of keys he gave her to his apartment. Seeing Peter with lipstick all over his face, she asks him if she has dropped by at a bad time.