Kingpin Defeats Spiderman

ASM. 163 & 164. This is the first time, I believe, when Spiderman fights a villain and loses, outright. I mean, he's lost an encounter here and there, but then manages to come back and defeat the person. Here, he loses the fight with Kingpin (which is done poorly), gets hooked up to some machine that permanently damages and threatens his very life. He's then thrown on a street curb by Kingpin's men, who have, on their own terms, disposed of him. They ended the battle. They were done with him. He should have simply died hours later. However, thanks to Dr. Connors, he delays his death and manages to reverse the effects of the machine in the next encounter with Kingpin. But the point still remains the same: he didn't escape, he didn't subvert the enemy's will, etc., during the first encounter -- he simply lost, flat out. The only reason why he didn't die sooner was because the Kingpin chose simply to be done with him, and returned him to his familiar streets, dumping him out of a car. Major butt kicking.

The interesting point here is how the post-Stan Lee writers continue to imagine Spiderman's powers differently from the way Lee did it. He sometimes isn't as fast or strong, and his spider sense often doesn't operate the same way. This isn't due to anything in the plot, it's just the writers really don't know well, or haven't accepted, the way Lee did things In the Romitta Sr. period.

Harry Osborn and Liz Allen Are Engaged

ASM 166. Another marriage in the works. Harry looks to be completely recovered from his insanity. He sees a therapist and shows no signs of what drove him to jealousy, drugs and eventually to become the Green Goblin, after his father's death.

Jonah Jameson Confronts Parker With Secret Pictures

ASM 169. Jameson received pictures of Spiderman disposing of the body of Peter Parker. What he didn't know was that the body was really a clone of Parker by the Jackal. So, he thinks the current Parker is really Spiderman in disguise, hiding under, and using, Parker's identity. Pete gets out of the situation by convincing him the photos are fake and were concocted from other, innocent photos. Of course, unbeknownst to Jameson, Spidey had stolen ( borrowed ) Jameson's photos so Parker could create the false duplicates used to snow Jameson in the first place. Short story: Parker knew the accusation was coming.

Spider-Man Recklessly Endangers the Life of Liz Allen

ASM 173. The Molten Man has returned. True to form, Spider-Man goes straight into the fight, not realizing, once again, how collateral damage can cause more harm than good. It was this exact lack of foresight that caused the death of Captain Stacy. Parker's innocence is what causes his recklessness. And it almost causes the death of Liz Allen. Luckily, she survives.

Liz Allen Leaves Harry Osborne?

ASM 173/174. Liz Allen was always ashamed that her stepbrother became the Molten Man. She always tried to help him and felt morally guilted when her efforts did nothing to either help cure him or stop his crimes. Finally, when it appears that her stepbrother dies after a public fight with Spider-Man -- a spectacle that she was directly involved in -- she withdraws from her circle of friends, out of embarrassment. In short, she runs. And this means that Harry Osborne, already insecure in the way he was behaving in their relationship, is abandoned, too. This causes Harry to grow unstable.