Spider-Man Family #6
It’s Not Easy Being Green
Thor helps nab a purse snatcher in park. The woman who he robbed thanks Thor with a kiss that magically turns him into a frog. Before Thor can touch his hammer he is caught by a man who needed one more frog for his collection and leaves the park. Watching this from a tree is Loki, who is pleased that everything is going according to plan. With his step-brother out of the way, Loki has no other obstacles in the way of his quest to claim as the throne of Asgard.
The following day, Peter Parker is web-slinging to school as Spider-Man because he is running late. He just barely arrives in time for the start of his science class where they are going to dissect frogs. These frogs are the ones his teacher collected in the park the night before. Peter is given the frog that was one Thor and when he tries to seal it in a jar with a cotton ball of ether to knock the frog out, Thor uses his relatively enhanced strength to break free from the jar. Realizing that this is no ordinary frog, Peter excuses himself from class to find out where it came from.
Through primitive communication, Thor convinces Peter (who changes into Spider-Man) to bring him to his enchanted hammer, Mjolnir. Touching the hammer doesn’t restore Thor back to human form, but transforms him into a frog version of himself. Now a little larger, able to speak, and harness the powers of the storm, Thor tells Spider-Man how Loki, who his hiding in Peter’s science class disguised as Flash Thompson. Spider-Man and Thor burst into the class and reveal Loki’s ruse. While Thor is busy with Loki, Spider-Man gets Mary Jane and Flash Thompson to safety. Spider-Man then helps Thor defeat Loki, who tells him that the only way to lift the curse is a kiss from a fair maiden. That’s when Mary Jane comes rushing back into the classroom wanting to kiss Spider-Man as thanks for saving his life. The web-slinger takes advantage of this situation and has her kiss Thor instead, restoring him back to human form. Thanking Spider-Man for his help, Thor takes Loki and hauls him off to Asgard for punishment.
Continuity Notes
This story takes place in an alternate reality. The Unofficial Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe designates this reality Earth-82618, although Marvel itself has yet to officially accept that reality number in print. The opening narrative states that this story was inspired by Thor #364-366 in which Loki turned Thor into a frog
Endangered
Spider-Man has teamed-up with Ka-Zar and is trying to capture Stegron the Dinosaur Man.[1] Ka-Zar assures Spider-Man that they will stop Stegron and commands his sabretooth tiger, Zabu, to attack the Dinosaur Man. However, Ka-Zar is upset when Zabu draws blood against his commands and the tiger is quickly separated from his prey so Spider-Man can web him up. As SHIELD arrives to take Stegron into custody, Ka-Zar tells Spider-Man that Zabu usually follows orders to the letter but lately the big cat has been depressed and he has no idea why. Ka-Zar then asks Spider-Man for a big favor. He says he is attending a climate change conference tomorrow and needs someone look after Zabu while he represents the Savage Land in the conference. Spider-Man is reluctant to accept the job, but when Ka-Zar offers to pay him, the web-slinger agrees to look after the sabretooth tiger since he really needs the money.
He takes Zabu back to Aunt May’s house where he keeps the tiger in the garage.After feeding Zabu some raw steaks, Peter decides to pass the time studying algebra for his classes. Zabu is well behaved, but even Peter is able to notice that the tiger is depressed about something. Going back into the house, Peter talks to Aunt May about how he is studying about endangered species. This gets May to thinking how the Bald Eagle was once an endangered species until conservation efforts were made to save it from extinction. She gets to talking about how May herself feels like an endangered species given how she has outlived almost everyone in her life from classmates in school to her husband, even Peter’s parents.[2]
Realizing that this is why Zabu is so depressed, Peter later goes out as Spider-Man and takes Zabu to the Museum of Natural History. There he has Zabu hang out among the mock-up sabretooth tiger habitat while Peter studies. He tells Zabu that he understands where he is coming from since he is an orphan himself and tells him to cut Ka-Zar some slack since he’s there for Zabu no matter what. When a security guard comes to look around, Spider-Man tells Zabu to keep still and they both quickly hide. When the guard is gone, Spider-Man tells Zabu they can hang out for another hour but then they have to go. Later, they sit on a rooftop to watch the sunrise, and Spider-Man and Zabu form a mutual bond.
The next day, Spider-Man team-up with Ka-Zar and Zabu again, this time taking down Sauron, yet another dinosaur-themed villain. With the battle over, Ka-Zar notices a difference in Zabu’s behavior and thanks the web-slinger for cheering him up.[3]
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Zabu, Stegron the Dinosaur Man, Sauron, Ka-Zar, Aunt May, SHIELD
Continuity Notes
1. Per the Marvel Chronology Project, this story takes place between the events of Amazing Spider-Man #170 and Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus: Negative Exposure #1, or “year four” of the Modern Age.
2. May briefly goes over the people she outlived over the years, she specifically references:
Uncle Ben who was murdered by a burglar in Amazing Fantasy #15.
Peter’s parents, Richard and Mary Parker, who killed in action while on a mission for the government in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5.
As for how old May is at the time of this story, in Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #2 May was about 70 years old during the 11th year of the Modern Age. Based on this, May would be about 63 at the time of this story.
3. Spider-Man makes a “Face it Tiger” joke, playing off the first words Mary Jane said to him in Amazing Spider-Man #42.
Topical References
Ka-Zar states that he is in New York to attend a conference on Global Warming. This should be considered topical as Global Warming is an outdated scientific term which has since been re-named Climate Change as that is a more accurate name for the phenomenon.
May states that when she was a child bald eagles were endangered species and that they were eventually brought back from the brink. She is referring to when the eagles were put on the United States endangered species list in 1967, they had recovered enough that it was upgraded to a threatened species in 1995, and was ultimately de-listed in 2007. References to May being alive during the period in which Bald Eagles were endangered should be considered topical.
