Once I had enough obsidian mined, I went into the nether and build my next portal back. My second portal linked the nether to a spider dungeon. I survived (only 1 spider was spawned just yet), planted ...

Attempting to "kite" the creeper will just result in you getting your face blown off. Bow and Arrows also work, but since it takes 5 arrows to drop a creeper, you gotta constantly replenish your stock ...