Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #58

Issue Details

Synopsis

RING OUT THE OLD, RING IN THE NEW! As Peter begins a new semester as a teachers assistant. Heading into class he runs into a new student named Greg Sallenger. Greg explains that he was in a hurry to make his next class, chemistry 101. He's not happy because he actually signed up for a computer course but an administrative mix up put him in chem. Peter brings him to the chemistry classroom, after telling him that he is the teacher. He tries to assure Greg that chemistry isn't all that bad. Meanwhile, the criminal known as the Ringer breaks into the Tinkerer's lab, which is still under investigated by the police. He is trying to steal his new suit of armor and weapons which he had paid for. After trying on his armor and testing out its weapons, the Ringer is interrupted by another criminal who comes crashing through the wall. The crook in question tells the Ringer to stay away from another crate. When the costumed villain tries to bind the crook in his rings, he easily breaks free and knocks the Ringer out. The man then takes the crate he has come looking for as well as the Ringer, who he intends to use both to destroy his enemies.   Meanwhile, Peter has finished his chemistry class and Greg Sallenger tells him how fantastic the lecture was. Greg thanks Peter for encouraging him to take an interest in chemistry and Peter looks forward to seeing him in class again. Parker then goes to the teaching assistant's office where Steve Hopkins is about to be reprimanded for the prank he pulled on Marcy Kane earlier. As Debra Whitman and Phillip Chang read out the charges against him, Professor Sloan enters the room with Marcy, who has her entire head covered in a veil. However, instead of any real punishment, they instead hit Steve in the face with a creampie. With Steve dutifully dealt with, Professor Sloan tells them that he is very proud of their work and invites them to celebrate with him. While everyone is talking among themselves, Peter pulls Debra Whitman aside and asks if he can meet up with her that evening to talk things out. Debra agrees that they need to sort things out and the pair makes a date.   Happy with how things are turning out for him, Peter celebrates by going web-slinging as Spider-Man. Meanwhile, the Ringer wakes up in the hideout of his kidnapper. The man tells him that he is going to fight Spider-Man for him. The Ringer doesn't want to tangle with anymore super-heroes after his past encounter with the Defenders. However, the villain has no choice as his captor has rigged a bomb on his costume and will destroy him should he refuse to follow his orders. The device will also measure Spider-Man's performance so it can be used to ultimately destroy the wall-crawler.   That evening, Spider-Man is web-swinging to get to his date with Debra when he is attacked by the Ringer. the Ringer. Spider-Man manages to fight off the Ringer and slip away in enough time to make it for his date with Debra. There the pair talk about their feelings, and Peter admits that he is gun-shy about romance, and was acting bullheaded when Debra was displaying interest in him. She wants to talk more about it, and Peter tells her that he has an errand to finish and tells her to meet him at his place in a half an hour.   This allows Spider-Man to go back out to find the Ringer, the two fight it out some more. Once the Ringer has been bested he tries to explain his situation. By this point, his captor has all the information he needs and detonates the device on the Ringer's armor. While the blast doesn't kill the Ringer, it reduces the device clamped on him to untraceable slag. Spider-Man then webs up the Ringer and drops him off at a nearby police station. Peter manages to return home in time to meet Debra and invites her in so they can talk about their lives over a bowl of popcorn.   Elsewhere, the man who kidnapped the Ringer -- the costumed villain known as the Beetle -- puts on a new suit of armor made for him by the Tinkerer. With the data the Ringer collected for him in hand, the Beetle vows to destroy Spider-Man once and for all.