"Have Yourself a Sandman Little Christmas!"

[flint_marko]

This is from Marvel Team-Up #1, by Roy Thomas and Ross Andru.



It's Christmas Eve, and Peter is at the beach getting some photos of the "Polar Bear Clan" (a bunch of people who go the beach in the winter) when suddenly the Sandman emerges from the waters (his last appearance, in Incredible Hulk #138, had him getting sucked into a whirlpool the Hulk had created when the two were fighting underwater).

While the cops unsuccessfully try to arrest Sandman, Peter changes into Spider-Man and attacks.

But Sandman merges with the rest of the beach and disappears.

Not wanting to miss his date with Gwen, Spidey seeks out the Fantastic Four at the Baxter Building to tell them that the Sandman's back (at the time, Sandman was actually more a Fantastic Four rogue than he was of Spidey's) but the only one there is Johnny Storm, who explains that he's alone because he's got girl problems.

The two decide to look for the Sandman together, and their only lead is that he might be in New Jersey (the first time the Human Torch ran into the Sandman he was crossing the George Washington Bridge from New Jersey, and Spidey says that he first ran into him near the bridge as well).

After stopping a mugging and a truck that was sliding out of control on the ice, the two finally find the Sandman.








The two rush towards him, unaware that he had made himself paper-thin and was standing in front of a brick wall.

Johnny manages to flame on and destroy the rope, freeing them. He tells Spider-Man that it's "too bad the Sandman's long gone by now" but Spidey says he has a strong hunch that he isn't, and that he thinks the Sandman wanted them to escape from the water-tank.

Comments

[jlroberson]

An example of the kind of story Spidey is meant for. Nice.