Marvel Tales #97

This November 1978 reprint showcase puts Spider-Man square in the middle of a two-front brawl, with the cover by John Romita depicting our web-slinger delivering a flying kick at the energy-blasting Smasher while the robed, masked Disruptor closes in from the right — the cover copy promising "a shock ending too!" The speech bubbles add a nice dramatic charge: one corner bystander insists Spidey doesn't need coaching, while the wall-crawler himself admits he needs help "or else!!" "Countdown to Chaos!" — crafted by the creative team of Stan Lee, Gerry Conway, and John Romita — sounds like exactly the kind of kinetic Spider-Man adventure that made Marvel Tales such a reliable destination for web-head action in the Bronze Age.