Polite Dissent

This is the fourth in a series of Spider-Man public service comics¹ that take place in Canada and were originally given away free². The first two books dealt with drugs and featured Peter Parker visiting a Canadian science fair³. Next, Peter went to Toronto to catch a ball game and teamed up with Ghost Rider to stop a drunk hit-and-run driver. This final comic is the most forgettable of the bunch. The theme this time appears to be bicycle safety, although it only mentioned in two panels of the entire comic. While the comic does feature a super-hero team cameo, that team happens to be the Rangers. Once again American super-villains are an integral part of the plot⁴ and Peter just happens to be in the right place in the right time (and luckily criminals only victimize one city at a time in Canada).

As the comic starts, Peter is at the Calgary Stampede taking pictures for the Daily Bugle. Alongside him are Nobel Prize winning physicist Dr. Cargill and his wheelchair bound daughter Joline⁵. Performing at the Stampede are the Rangers, some of Marvel’s cheesiest heroes: there’s sharp-shooter Shooting Star, mysterious vigilante Phantom Rider, and the Texas Twister, half man-half cyclone. Appearing with the Rangers are the Right Riders, the safe-riding bicycle team from the previous issue. A watered-down version of the Frightful Four choose this moment to attack the crowd and kidnap Dr. Cargill.⁶

Peter rushes Joline to her father’s RV where she’ll be safe. He then changes into Spider-Man and rushes back to rescue the doctor. Meanwhile, the Rangers have taken on the Frightful Four and lost in record time. Back at the RV, Joline switches to a souped-up hovering wheelchair and becomes Turbine, Canada’s newest super-hero. She joins up with the Right Riders and together they rescue the Rangers and help Spidey capture the Frightful Four and rescue Dr. Cargill.

Yep, that’s all there is; that’s the story. No great morals or lessons learned, just American heroes and villains (and Turbine — Canada’s newst super hero!) duking it out in Calgary. Oh, and remember to wear your helmet kids!

Notes:
¹In all fairness, I should point out that this comic was not written by Dwayne McDuffie, the writer of the previous issues, but instead by Scott Lobdell. Mr. Lobdell wrote many fine comics during his tenure at Marvel. This is not one of them.
²Though we Americans had to pay for our copies
³We never did find out what Beth’s super-secret project was that all the villains wanted was.
⁴New motto: Canada — Where all the Super Villains are imported!
⁵Not Jolene, that’s entirely different.
⁶Why is the Wizard even considered a genius? This is one of the stupidest plans ever: Instead of surreptitiously breaking into Dr. Cargill’s house and kidnapping him, we’ll do it in broad daylight, in front of thousands of spectators and hundreds of police and at least one super-hero team. And then get beaten by kids on bikes.

Previous Issues:
The Amazing Spider-Man: Skating on Thin Ice!
The Amazing Spider-Man: Double Trouble
The Amazing Spider-Man: Hit and Run!