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Amazing Spider-Man #27
WRITER:  Howard Mackie
PENCILLER:  John Romita Jr
COVER BY: John Romita Jr.
INKER:  Scott Hanna
STORY TITLE:  The Stray
REVIEW: 
ACT 1: The story begins in one of New York’s dark alleys, where two unknown individuals, named Mr. P and Mr. Q, are spying on someone walking nearby. It seems they have a task to perform but they both agree that the timing is not right and that they should wait.

ACT 2: Not far from there, Peter Parker and Randy Robertson are walking the streets of Manhattan, New York. Randy recounts the night he encountered the Green Goblin when Peter's spider sense suddenly kicks in. Pretending to have forgotten his wallet in the restaurant, he races out to face the danger, only to find that a little girl's cat, "Mister Mittens", is stuck up a tree. Our courageous hero climbs the tree in pursuit of the feline and finally catches it. Unfortunately, for both the little girl and Spider-Man, it is not "Mister Mittens". As Spidey realizes this, gunshots are being fired at him from everywhere. His spider-like agility permits him to duck and cover in a nearby alley. Consequently, he loses his grip on the cat that runs away.

ACT 3: The two men seen at the beginning of the story, Mr. P and Mr. Q, lurk from the shadows, discussing their missed target. They realized that achieving their mission would be more of a challenge than anticipated. Therefore, they both conclude that radical actions must be taken to acquire their target. As they open the side door of their vehicle, an arsenal of machine guns and other weapons are revealed to our eyes.

ACT 4: Meanwhile, Peter catches up with Randy who immediately notices a strange smell emanating from Peter's clothes (due to our feline friend!). Randy suggests that him and Peter go dig up some cologne because, as Randy explains, they "are doing the town tonight". Not aware they are being observed by the mysterious duo of Mr. P and Mr. Q (or so it seems), Peter and Randy pursue their route.

ACT 5: A short time later, Peter and Randy finally arrive at the underground club. After spraying Peter with "Howdy Sailor" cologne they've just bought, they make their way inside the club.

ACT 6: A dog that was sniffing at Peter's leg (and that ran away when it picked up the "Howdy Sailor" scent) makes its way into an alley only to encounter the strange cat seen earlier in the story. Barking and hissing is heard and then all becomes silent. The cat finally emerges victoriously from the alley wearing the dog's collar.

ACT 7: As they make their way into the club, they "surprisingly" run into Gloria Grant and Jill Stacy, who happen to be the only other two people in the club at that time. Peter gets noticed, or should I say, smelled right away by Jill and Gloria. Peter and Randy sit down at the same table and engage in a conversation with the girls. They actually try to engage into a conversation but since most of them feel uncomfortable, not much talking is done. Peter grabs Randy by the collar and drags him out to the bar to have a man-to-man talk. Randy explains to Peter that he is trying to make things work out with Gloria and that since Gloria had plans with Jill for that night, he invited Peter to tag along so he would be of company to Jill. Peter is not too please about the entire situation, believing that this "was a setup, a date". Furious, he runs to the bathroom.

ACT 8: Back at the table, Jill feels as uncomfortable as Peter does about the whole thing. Gloria tries to convince Jill that this is "just four friends having a good time". Jill does not appear to be persuaded at all.

ACT 9: In the bathroom, Peter ponders about the situation at hand. He doesn't know what to think of all this. He knows that every woman he has been close to, he's brought bad things along. As he is pondering, he notices the same strange smell that he picked up from the cat earlier that day. As he opens the window, the cat jumps inside the bathroom and coincidentally, his spider-sense kicks in. Looking out the window, he notices two men (Mr. P and Mr. Q) armed to their teeth, making their way to the underground club. He quickly changes to his Spider-Man costume.

ACT 10: The band suddenly stops their infernal racket when they see Mr. P and Mr. Q enter the club. Relieved that the music as stopped, Randy, Jill, and Gloria do not notice the two impressive figures standing behind them. As Randy turns around to investigate what the band is staring at, Spider-Man quickly grabs the two men and carries them outside.

ACT 11: A battle ensues between Spider-Man and his two adversaries. Using his spider-like agility, strength and speed, Spider-Man defends himself ferociously against their attack, while trying to gather information about the purpose of their presence at the club. The two men inform Spider-Man that he is of no concern to them; the explanation for their presence is that they must recover "an escapee, a heinous creature, a walking genetic time bomb". In addition, Mr. P specifies that the "gentlemen of A.I.M. sought our talents to track down this feline and end its life". Spider-Man is stunned to learn that they are looking for a cat and wonders if the cat was at all dangerous, and if so, then "why not leave it alone?" As he ponders about that thought, he loses focus and one of the men strikes him with a weapon. As he painfully tries to regain balance, Mr. Q races towards him to land the final blow. Just as he reaches Spider-Man, the cat jumps on Mr. Q, which creates a diversion, long enough for Spider-Man to shoot his webs into his adversaries faces and to knock them both out. He then sends the cat on its way home, as he advises the two miscreants to "give this poor kitty a break".

ACT 12: Later that night... Randy tries to apologize for the whole situation he's put Peter through when they were at the underground club. Peter explains that the whole thing made him uncomfortable and that it also made Jill uncomfortable. He also adds that Gloria did not look too please when Jill and her were put in that cab. Randy admits that he screwed up and that he will make it up to Peter. Peter then tells Randy that for starters, he can hold the door while he tries to find his keys. As Peter makes his way into the building, he puts his bag on the floor so he can reach for his keys inside his pocket. At the same moment, he picks up the same strange cat odor from before. He looks down and sees the cat lying on his bag. As he picks up the bag, Randy says, "Looks like we've got ourselves another roomie, Pete! PHEW! I think I've got another bottle of 'Howdy Sailor' upstairs!"