Peter doesn't look right in shades; that's somehow too cool for him.

It's probably past time I should've set up some kind of tag for Marvel's 1998 team-up annuals: we've blogged X-Men/Dr. Doom, Hulk/Sub-Mariner, X-Man/Hulk, and recently Generation X/Dracula. I hadn't had today's before, so had to hop on that: from 1998, Spider-Man '98, or from the cover, the Amazing Spider-Man with Devil Dinosaur and Moon Boy, "Duel with Devil Dinosaur" Written by Tom DeFalco, pencils by Tom Lyle, inks by Robert Jones.

I'm not sure from when exactly, but Devil Dinosaur and his simian companion Moon Boy have been trapped in the present for some time, long enough for Moon Boy to have learned (terrible) vernacular English from watching TV. Working with a science reporter, Peter Parker visits the research laboratory they've been staying, just in time for them to get a visit from Maynard Tiboldt and Zelda Dubois--better known as the Ringmaster and Princess Python! Somehow, they've gotten the legal paperwork declaring Moon Boy and Devil Dinosaur have been illegally detained by the lab, and should be allowed to go wherever they like, like say, the circus?

Peter of course recognizes the Ringmaster, and knows he's up to something, but confronting him the Ringmaster claims he just wants them for his show, even going so far as to suggest they only became the Circus of Crime because they couldn't compete with other, larger circuses. Peter gets a pass to the first show, noticing the Thing and Matt Murdock in the crowd, and makes sure he's wearing shades to protect himself from hypnosis. Um, citation needed, I'm not sure about that one! Also, Matt is probably there to keep tabs on the Ringmaster; but did Ben? Is he just there for the show, or the off-chance he'll get to punch out a dinosaur...? But the Ringmster doesn't hypnotise anyone, and it's a pretty decent show! Later at the Bugle, Ben Urich asks Peter if he could score more tickets, as he was working on a "busy night on the crime beat," with a number of unusual burglaries. Almost like an acrobat would've had to get in there...

Spidey pieces it together: the Ringmaster must have used hypnosis to get permission to put on his show, but the cops were maintaining a large presence around it, assuming Devil Dinosaur would go rogue at some point. So, less cops in the rest of the city, leaving openings for various Circus of Crime members to committ break-ins between their numbers. Spidey catches a couple in the act, then goes back to the show and fights the Circus and Devil Dinosaur for a bit; before Moon Boy recognizes Peter by his scent, and knows he's cool. After the Circus is wrapped up, Peter suggests a new home for Devil and Moon Boy: the Savage Land! Eh, I guess? Feel like it's blown up a lot.