Plot Details/Summary
The villain in this one was a man who had been born something of mutant (in a more traditional, non X-Men sense of the word). He looked rather freakish/monstrous, and possessed mental powers. There is some exposition in the story about everyone (including his family) fearing him when from the time he was a little boy, and something about him causing the death of one or both of his parents by mentally forcing them to run out in front of a moving car.
I don't recall how Spider-Man runs afoul of the villain, but I do recall the mutant having most of the townspeople under his mental control. He sends them to attack Spider-Man, swarming him. I think the cover of the issue might have a similar scene. I think Spider-Man also faces direct mental assault by the villain, but am not sure.
Spider-Man is saved when he recalls something the villain had said about the people "hearing his thoughts" or something like that. He claps the villain-mutant on the ears, deafening him and breaking his control on the townspeople. I believe the story ends with the villain whimpering and pitifully begging the people to listen to him. Something like that.
Publication Details
I read it in the mid-to-late 1970s, and I'm almost certain it was a regular Spider-Man comic, not a spin-off title.
