Sometimes, the story titles to 1970s comics sound like Mad Magazine satires.
In this story, titled, “All the Kingpin’s Men,” Kingpin literally beats the hell out of Spider-Man. I have always had trouble accepting that this very large, very fat man is capable of the speed and strength to take down Spider-Man, who has held his own against much, much more powerful guys.
Notwithstanding that he hits him with a crate, Spidey gets the upper hand soon after, and then Kingpin cheats.
That’s more like it.
Kingpin then steals Spider-Man’s “life force” to revive his son, Richard Fisk. Spidey then gets help from Dr. Curtis “Lizard” Connors, who puts him in an “enervator” machine to revive him from losing his life force.
Yes, the enervator is also the machine that Tony Stark used to revive Happy Hogan. It turned Hap into Freak—a monster. But it works on Spidey. In the end, Kingpin “dies” and Richard Fisk drives off with his mother, Vanessa.
But the real star is Peter Parker’s apartment, which hosts a part for all his friends to bring him furniture. Look at that fun, detailed picture. He’s got these rose-printed curtains, a patchwork quilt on his daybed, a lava lamp, what appears to be a fishbowl, a huge wooden indian, and a giant stuffed dog. And a hanging plant that’s already dead. Oh, and a picture of a swordfish. Clearly, these people were just unloading their garbage.