THIS HAS A LOT OF SPIDER-MAN COMICS (COPIED FROM http://www.spiderfan.org/)
OH AND ALSO ANYTHING THATS BLUE I PUT IN EXTRA (ALSO THE "MY COMMENT" ISEN'T BLUE BUT I PUT IT IN ANYWAY SO HA)
1962
AUGUST
AMAZING FANTASY #15
Background...
A brand-new Amazing Fantasy #15 Lookback!
Ah, who am I kidding? It's the same one we've always had only minus all the extra origin appearances and plus its own (totally obvious) web rating.
In Detail...
 | Amazing Fantasy #15 Summary: First Appearance and Origin of Spider-Man | |||||||||
| Aug 1962 : SMURF 000.500 : SM Title : Amazing Fantasy | ||||||||||
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Show/Hide Gallery (1 image)
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Stan begins the tale by telling us that "confidentially we in the comic mag business" refer to costumed heroes "as long underwear characters!" Steve's splash page shows a gang of happy teens on one side while a sad bespectacled young man stands apart on the other side. But behind this young man, a large shadow looms. A silhouette of a man surrounded by a web with a large spider hanging above him.
One member of the gang of kids says they need "one more guy for the dance" and suggests Peter Parker. A smug-looking teen wearing a blue and white striped sweater (who we later learn is Flash Thompson) scoffs that "that bookworm wouldn't know a cha-cha from a waltz" (your first outdated reference right there, folks!). An attractive blonde girl (who we later learn is Liz Allan) declares Peter Parker "Midtown High's only professional wallflower!"
So, Peter may not be the most popular kid in High School, but his Uncle Ben and Aunt May "thought he was a pretty special lad", joshing with him when it's time to get up in the morning ("Gosh, Uncle Ben, you're worse than a room full of alarm clocks!") and feeding him his "favorite breakfast... wheatcakes". ("Don't fatten him up too much, dear! I can hardly out-wrestle him now!")(Jay Gottfried recently pointed out, "That statement ["hardly out-wrestle him now"] has curious connotations for what happens later in the story, i.e., Peter actually turns to wrestling in his first professional stint as the Spiderman. Seems unlikely that this was a coincidence. Rather I like to think that this was a bit of story foreshadowing on the part of Lee and Ditko, and perhaps even more, part of the (subconscious) reason that Peter/Spiderman gravitates towards wrestling." Jay is an M.D., Ph.D. as well as a Professor at Northwestern University so I'd listen to him if I were you.)
The faculty at the school is also impressed with Peter. A bald mustachioed chemistry teacher who we one day learn is "Mr. Warren" (not Empire State University's "Prof. Warren", the man who eventually became the Jackal [Jackel-evil cloning beast from amazing spider-man #136?], but his brother, as revealed by Kurt Busiek in Untold Tales of Spider-Man '96) tells Pete to keep up the good work "and you're sure to rate a scholarship when you graduate". (And he's right, too.)
But Pete just can't receive any respect from his teen-aged peers. (Maybe it's that "blue pants, black vest, white shirt, red striped tie" outfit he wears all the time. Not the hippest attire, even in 1962.) When he asks a young woman named Sally for a date, she brushes him aside for the blonde "dreamboat", Flash Thompson. (From this one moment, Busiek created the character of Sally Avril for his Untold Tales. Are any of those great stories still a part of Spidey continuity?) Flash swats Pete down, with a stinging "Get lost, bookworm.", (What's the huge "T" stand for on Flash's sweatshirt, anyway? Thompson? Or is he a member of Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers?) and when our shy hero tries to get other kids interested in attending an exhibit at the Science Hall, he is laughed at. ("You stick to science, son! We'll take the chicks!", says one nameless mocker.) Peter, in tears and vowing that "someday they'll be sorry", goes to the Science Hall by himself. The title of the exhibit is "Experiments in Radio-Activity."
The demonstration begins. The group stands around a machine of undetermined size which has what looks like two red balloons positioned about a foot apart. The idea is to demonstrate the control of "radioactive rays" as they leap between the two balloons. But a spider descends between the two balloons just as the radioactivity is unleashed. The radioactive jolt kills the spider just as it "bites the nearest living thing" which just happens to be "you know who".
As a result of the bite, poor Peter feels light-headed and flushed. The man who led the demonstration (who also looks like Peter's teacher Mr. Warren) observes that the "experiment unnerved young Parker" but it did a lot more than that. Peter wanders out into the street feeling "as though my entire body is charged with some sort of fantastic energy". He is so absorbed in this sensation that he doesn't see the blue sedan barreling down on him. He leaps away at the last instant only to find himself able to stick to the wall of a nearby building. He climbs to the top of the building, then, onto the roof, where he crushes a "steel pipe as though it were paper". He quickly realizes that he has acquired all of the abilities of the biting spider. He returns to the street, trying to think of what to do with "this unbelievable ability which fate has given me".
Only minutes later, he stumbles upon a wrestling exhibition. The sign says, "$100 to the man who can stay in the ring three minutes with Crusher Hogan" (that's this weeks Super-villain, folks) and Peter decides this is a good way to test his power. He runs home and puts on some old clothes (well, he puts on a white turtleneck sweater but those pants and shoes look like the same things he's been wearing all along). Afraid that he may be "a laughing stock", he disguises himself by covering his head with what looks like a fishnet stocking. Minutes later, he is in the ring, challenging Crusher Hogan. The Crusher thinks he's got an easy mark but, when he moves in, his opponent leaps over his head. The masked man picks Crusher up with ease and scales one of the poles that supports the ring. Crusher, terrified by the whole thing, immediately concedes the match. The crowd loves every minute of it. "Greatest act I've ever seen!", says one. "That mask gimmick gives him just the right touch of mystery", says another. But one man, smoking a cigar and dressed in a purple suit with red bow tie and blue hat, thinks he has found just what he is looking for. As the masked Peter counts his winnings, the man introduces himself as a "TV producer" (who is eventually retconned into an agent named "Maxie Schiffman") and tells the young man that he would "be a smash on the Ed Sullivan show".
At home, Pete decides to really spice up the showmanship by creating a spider costume. Aunt May and Uncle Ben walk in with "some crackers and milk" but don't seem to notice the mask Pete is holding. Alone again, Peter tests his web and webshooters, which he has quickly whipped up. "Only a science major could have created a device like this!", he says, which is, I think, putting it mildly. He dons his costume, shoots webbing to the ceiling, climbs it, and uses his powers to stick up there. "Okay, world!", he says, "better hang onto your hat! Here comes the Spiderman!" (Yes, that's right. "Spiderman". No hyphen.) So ends part one of the tale, all done in six well-conceived pages.
Part 2
The tale is wrapped up in only five pages, but what a five pages it is!
The new mystery-man in the spider costume appears on TV. He is captured in a spotlight, climbing down a wall. Even the cameraman is stunned. "I'm seein' it with my own eyes," he says, "and I still don't believe it!" The studio audience is overwhelmed, too, as Spidey snuffs a candle and dangles from the ceiling with his web. The TV producer calls a halt to the act. "Don't show 'em too much", he says, "leave 'em beggin' for more!"
At the end of what seems to be Spidey's very own TV special, he is besieged by requests. Life magazine wants a picture spread. An agent wants to put him in the movies. A reporter wants an interview. The already jaded youth gives them the brush-off. "See my agent, boys!", he says, "I'm busy!" Then, still in costume, with his blue pants draped over his right arm, he steps into the most fateful moment of his life.
Out in the hallway, a blonde-haired man runs past Spider-Man with a policeman right on his heels. "Stop him!", the cop yells, "If he makes it to the elevator, he'll get away!" But Spider-Man makes no move to intercede and the fleeing man reaches the elevator and makes his escape. "Lucky that goon in a costume didn't stop me!", he gloats.
The cop berates Spider-Man for not tripping the crook up or holding him or something but the web-spinner thinks nothing of it. "From now on I just look out for number one", he says, "that means... me!"
Back at home, Aunt May and Uncle Ben present Peter with a surprise present... the microscope he always wanted. (May looks plumper than she ever looks again. I suppose Ben's death ends up taking its toll on her.) Peter is overwhelmed with gratitude. "I'll see to it that they're always happy", he thinks of May and Ben, "but the rest of the world can go hang for all I care!"
"In the days that follow, the Spider-Man becomes the sensation of the nation." Pete continues his amazing act while he garners headlines in the nation's papers. "Who is the Spider-Man?", asks the Daily Voice. "Spider-Man plays to packed house!", says The Viewer. "Spider-Man wins showbiz award!", says the Daily Chronicle (I'd like to hear more about that!) "Spider-Man slated for new TV series!", says another paper.
But, then, one evening, Peter Parker comes home to discover a police car in front of his house. The policeman at the car gives him the bad news. "Your Uncle has been shot... murdered!" (Is this the same cop who chased the burglar in the TV studio or is this another "Mr. Warren/Scientist" type example of Ditko drawing two characters who look alike?) The officer tells Peter that a burglar was robbing the house when Uncle Ben surprised him. The burglar killed Ben and fled to the "old Acme Warehouse at the waterfront" (where the Coyote gets all his Road Runner-killing products) where the police have him surrounded. "Your Aunt is next door, the neighbors are looking after her", the cop continues, but Peter isn't thinking of May. He knows the Acme Warehouse, knows that "a killer could hold off an army in that gloomy old place!" But it won't be so easy to hold off Spider-Man!
Quickly, he changes to Spidey and swings across town to the warehouse. Inside the warehouse, the burglar knows that the police don't dare charge him. "All I gotta do is hold 'em off till the moon goes down, then I oughtta be able to slip away in the dark!", he says. But a voice from above contradicts him. The burglar turns to see a costumed figure sticking to the wall ten feet above. Terrified, he turns to run, but Spider-Man leaps past him and blocks his way. He uses his webbing to gum up the burglar's gun, "then my fists will do the rest!" A strong right hand knocks the burglar unconscious.
A cap has concealed the burglar's face but Spidey's blow has removed it. The wall-crawler grabs his opponent by his jacket, lifts him up, and realizes, "It's the fugitive who ran past me! The one I didn't stop when I had the chance!"
Outside, the police decide they must risk charging the warehouse. (And the leader of the cops looks like the same man who gave Peter the news. Could he have possibly gotten there as fast as Spider-Man? And this man is referred to as "Captain". I think this argues for all these officers being three different men. He's also old looking, so he might be captain stacy.) But no decision is necessary. The burglar is delivered to them, hanging from a huge spider web.
"A short distance away", a distraught Peter Parker (with his mask removed so it can clearly be seen that the mask is sewn to the rest of the costume) knows that it's "all my fault! If only I had stopped him when I could have! But I didn't... and now Uncle Ben is dead..." So, the youth walks off into the night, finally learning that "with great power there must also come... great responsibility... and so a legend is born".
"Be sure to see the next issue of Amazing Fantasy", says the closing caption, "for the further amazing exploits of America's most different new teen-age idol... Spider-Man!" And, as we all know, "Amazing Fantasy" became "Amazing Something-Else"!
Now, for those who haven't ever seen an original or a Marvel Milestone Edition of this comic and have always wondered what the "important message" is that is referred to on the cover, here's your answer. It was an announcement that the magazine could no longer survive in its original format of five short weird Lee/Ditko tales per issue. It told the readers that "Spider-Man" would appear in each subsequent issue, that there may even be two Spidey stories per issue. It also informed readers that the contents page was being dropped to insert an extra page of story and that the word "Adult" was being dropped from the title of the comic. In other words, the whole message became moot as soon as the next issue became "Amazing Spider-Man".
Anyways, this isen't the last of the burgular, he comes back in amazing spider-man #200 and dies. Crusher hogan also comes back much later, and Im sorry to say but I don't know which issue. I'll try to tell you as soon as possible.
Overall Rating... 
What, you're not surprised, are you? It's Amazing Fantasy #15! Of course it's a full five webs!
My Comment:
1963
MARCH
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1
STORY 1:
Background...
Peter Parker has become Spider-Man, and his reluctance to act has lead to the death of his Uncle Ben. This story follows on from the tale of his origin in Amazing Fantasy #15.
In Detail...
 | Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #1 (Story 1) Summary: First Jonah Jameson, Second Spider-Man app. | |||||||||
| Mar 1963 : SMURF 001.500 : SM Title : Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) | ||||||||||
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In his bedroom, teenager Peter Parker removes the upper part of his Spider-Man costume (it looks like it is all connected together: the shirt with the gloves with the mask) and throws it against the wall in frustration. His Uncle Ben is dead... "all because I was too late to save him". (Actually, Pete, it's because you couldn't be bothered to stop the Burglar when he ran by you but who's counting?) "My Spiderman costume!", he cries, "I wish there were no such thing!" Then he thinks back to the day he was bitten by a radioactive spider, learned he had gained the spider's powers, put together his costume and went into show business. "But while I was busy showing off, an armed Burglar fired one fatal shot at Uncle Ben when he was surprised robbing our house." (Again no mention of the fact that he could have stopped the Burglar before. Is this out-and-out denial or what?) When he discovered his Uncle's death, he tracked the killer down, caught him and "turned him over to the police". (Need I say yet again that there is no mention of the Burglar running past him at the studio?)
Now dressed in his blue pants, white shirt, black vest, red tie and glasses, Peter Parker comes downstairs in time to hear Aunt May stalling off the landlord by promising to pay the rent next week. (The landlord is another of those bald, mustached Ditko men that all look alike. He could be Spidey's agent or Peter's High School science teacher or any number of others.) Pete knows that, without Uncle Ben, "we've no money to pay our bills" so he tells Aunt May he has to quit school and get a job. But Aunt May won't hear of it. Uncle Ben "always dreamed of you being a scientist some day". She can't let him give up that dream.
Peter tries to think of some way to make money. He knows that, with his spider-powers, he could become a world-class thief, robbing safes by clinging on walls outside windows, hanging on the ceiling unseen while some bald guy (who has a passing resemblance to the landlord) opens a safe, or webbing money bags right out of armored cars. But he also knows, if he is caught, "it would break Aunt May's heart". So, he comes to the conclusion that there is only one solution. He must go back into show business. He decides to call his agent tonight.
"A few days later at school" all of the kids are abuzz with the news that Spider-Man is performing again. The show is that very night and only costs a dollar. All of the teens decide to go except for Peter Parker. While busying himself with test tubes in science class, he tells the others that he can't go. They brush him off. "Aw, who needs that walkin' bookworm anyway?" one student says. But of course Peter Parker can't be in the audience. He is on the stage as Spider-Man putting on a show of web-shooting, wall-crawling, and ceiling-clinging for an astonished crowd (Took out the costume from the closet much faster then I expected him to). After the show, the agent (who looks like the landlord in a hat) tells Spidey he can't pay him in cash because he needs "a record for taxes". He asks him for his name so he can write a check. Spidey tells him he cannot reveal his real name. "Just make the check out to Spider-Man!", he says. The agent complies but warns the young man "you'll have a mighty tough time cashing it".
And, sure enough, when Spidey brings the check to the bank, the teller asks for some I.D. "What about my costume?", the hero asks. "Anyone can wear a costume", says the teller. He needs a "social security card or a driver's license in the name of Spiderman". Needless to say, our hero doesn't have anything like this.
But things are about to get worse. In a newspaper office, a man with a mustache, thick black eyebrows, and graying hair at the temples sits at his typewriter and writes an article that he hopes will run Spider-Man out of town. The next night, when Spidey shows up to do his act, the agent tells him there will be "no show tonight or any night". He shows the web-slinger a newspaper with the headline "Spiderman Menace". The article has gotten everyone so worked up that the web-slinger is likely to get tossed in jail. This baffles our teen hero. "What have they got against me?", he wonders, "What have I done?"
The writer of the article is Daily Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson and he is not content with running editorials. He gives lectures all over town denouncing Spider-Man for taking the law into his own hands and for being a bad influence on kids who will try to imitate him and make him a hero. Jameson calls for Spidey to be "outlawed". He believes "the youth of the nation" need to "learn to respect real heroes". Not "a masked menace" like Spider-Man "who refuses to even let us know his true identity" but someone like his own son, "John Jameson, the test pilot". And just to emphasize his point, JJJ holds up a headshot photo of his son in his test pilot helmet.
At a newsstand, Peter Parker can't get over it. "How do other superhuman guys like the Fantastic Four and the Ant Man get away with it?", he wonders. They always have money and nobody denounces them. The newsy is no help. He doesn't even believe Spider-Man exists. He thinks it's all a publicity stunt.
Peter buys a paper and combs the want ads. If he can't make money as Spidey, then he needs to find a part-time job. But he runs into nothing but frustration. Then, just after being rejected by an employer who "ain't lookin' for a school kid", Peter spots Aunt May on the street. He follows, spying on her, and sees her go to a pawnshop to pawn her jewelry. He realizes that she is desperate for money but is concealing it from him. "She's doing it all for me!" he thinks "and there's no way I can repay her!" In the midst of this frustration, a newsboy walks by hawking an Extra edition. The big news is that "John Jameson, son of the publisher" is going to orbit the earth in a space capsule. Peter seethes when he sees the paper. It is because of Jameson that he can no longer perform. He pounds on a wall in frustration. He's got to earn money somehow "even if it means the Spiderman will again stalk the city by night!"
Part 2
But, if Spider-Man does stalk by night, we don't get to see it. The next day, Peter Parker "having nothing better to do" decides to go out to the launch site to see the take-off of John Jameson's rocket. (Apparently, they blast these flights off from the heart of New York City.) J. Jonah Jameson accompanies his son to the capsule, telling John how proud he is. "Minutes later", the rocket is already launched and the capsule is separated. But shortly after that, "a small section of the forward guidance package breaks loose from the capsule and falls into space". Immediately the capsule starts going through erratic loop-de-loops. Inside the craft, John Jameson notices "this flashing red light! It can mean only one thing!" (Does this mean that, after all his training, John has to guess what a flashing red light in his capsule means?) Anyway, the red light and the erratic flight clues John in that his guidance system is shot and he cannot control his flight.
In mission control, a few uniformed bigwigs (and J. Jonah Jameson) figure out that "component 24-3B has broken loose". Without that part, the capsule's orbit will eventually deteriorate and the ship will crash. All the big brains work together to try to come up with a plan that will save John Jameson. What they come up with, believe it or not, is to drop a steel net on a parachute as the capsule flies by and hope that the capsule gets caught in the net. (Fortunately, this doesn't work and the net misses the capsule completely. Otherwise, the capsule probably would have taken the net along for the ride.)
But, luckily for the scientists, Peter Parker has "observed the entire dramatic event". (How? I don't know.) He knows that the only hope for John Jameson is... Spider-Man! The web-slinger tightrope walks on telephone lines and crawls on building walls until he is just outside the window at mission control. He arrives just in time to hear that the bigwigs have a spare guidance unit but have no way to get it to the capsule. Spidey leaps into the room and tells them he will get to the capsule if they give him the guidance unit. The man in charge decides to give it a try, since they have nothing to lose, but J. Jonah Jameson complains that the webhead is "just a publicity-seeking phony" who is "trying to grab a headline". Spidey is so determined to prove Jonah wrong that he races off without taking the guidance unit with him. (No, no, I made that up. He had it in the previous panel and he has it later so he must still have it even though I sure can't see it in this panel.)
The web-slinger's plan involves hitching a ride on a jet plane. He web-slings to "a nearby field". When a sentry calls on him to halt and identify himself ("Sure officer, its obvious that I'm Morgan Freeman"), Spidey yells out "No time for that now!" and webs the guy up. Soon after, he has explained the situation to a jet pilot who agrees to take him up. Once in the air, the jet quickly encounters the capsule but the spacecraft is moving to fast to catch. But Spidey doesn't intend the jet to do anything more than get him in position. He climbs out of the cockpit and balances on the top of the plane. He has one shot at this and he has to make it good. As the capsule passes, he shoots a webline at it. The webbing catches the capsule and the great speed of the ship yanks Spidey right off the jet plane. The wind resistance is so great that the webhead can just barely pull himself up by his webbing but eventually he reaches the capsule itself. But he must act fast. "The capsule is losing altitude dangerously." He's not sure he can attach the guidance unit in time.
Part 3
As the capsule rockets along, Spidey climbs to the nose cone and fits the guidance unit in "as smooth as silk". Once John Jameson has manual control, he releases the parachute and cuts the power. The capsule settles back to Earth, apparently landing just outside New York City. Moments before the capsule hits the ground, Spider-Man leaps off and runs away. He's not interested in the "big fuss" that will undoubtedly occur when the crowds arrive to congratulate him.
When he gets home, Peter Parker is feeling pretty smug. After performing such a grand rescue, he assumes he won't have any trouble getting performance gigs. "I'll bet even Mister Jameson himself would hire me!" he crows. But Pete is in for a shock when the next edition of the Daily Bugle appears. (And look! It's only five cents!) The front page reads, "This Newspaper Demands That Spiderman Be Arrested And Prosecuted! (In all capital letters, just like my website) , Editorial by J. Jonah Jameson."
And later, on television, JJJ goes on the attack once again, claiming that the whole affair was "a plot by Spiderman to steal the spotlight from my son". He accuses Spidey of sabotaging the guidance unit, he charges Spidey with breaking the law when he "commandeered a plane by force" at the military base, and he blames Spidey for bringing about "a grandstand play" that "caused an important missile test to fail and set our space program back by many weeks!" Jonah's conclusion: "Spiderman is a menace to America!"
All of Jonah's ranting has an effect. With poor Peter Parker eavesdropping, people on the street decide that "Spiderman oughtta be run out of the country." And it isn't too long before a Wanted poster is issued. "Caution: He is dangerous.", it reads. "Reward for his capture. Report him to nearest F.B.I. office."
Of course, Aunt May is sucked into all the hysteria, too. At home in Forest Hills, she tells Peter that she hopes "they find that horrible Spider-Man and lock him up before he can do any harm!", while her traumatized nephew wonders how he can prove he is innocent of the charges. What good are his powers if he can't use them? Will he be "forced to become what they accuse me of being? Must I really become a menace? Perhaps", he decides, "that is the only course left for me!"
And so, we leave Peter Parker for now, "with the fate of society at stake". What will his next move be? "Only time will tell!"
In General...
Milestones (Landmark events that take place in this story.)
- First appearance of J. Jonah Jameson.
- First appearance of John Jameson.
- First time Peter worries about money now that Uncle Ben is gone.
- First Daily Bugle headline that reads, "Spider-Man Menace".
- First time gullible old Aunt May gets sucked into complaining about "that horrible Spider-Man".
- Last chance to see Spider-Man live on stage with only a dollar admission.
- First time Spidey thought selfishly.
Overall Rating... 
A solid introduction of Spider-Man in his own mag. What makes it all work is not the rescue of John Jameson in his space capsule (though the Ditko drawings of Spider-Man snagging and hanging on to the capsule are first-rate), but the introduction of some key elements of the Spider-Man series: J. Jonah Jameson ruining Spidey's reputation (and show biz career) by publishing "Menace" headlines in the Daily Bugle and the sad sack nature of the character as exemplified by his fruitless attempt to get a check cashed that is made out in the name of "Spiderman". Two other scenes really stand out. 1. Pete spots Aunt May pawning jewelry to pay for the rent and gets so frustrated by his inability to earn money that he pounds on a brick wall in despair. 2. After rescuing John Jameson, Peter is almost giddy about the anticipated change in his reputation only to be shocked by a Jameson editorial demanding the arrest of Spider-Man, which ultimately leads to Spidey being wanted by the F.B.I! The stunned look on Peter's face as he reads the newspaper in the story's final panel perfectly sums up the whirlwind of emotions he has experienced as the good-hearted teenager does the best that he can only to learn that that often makes no difference to others.
So, four and a half webs. Not because the story has any flaws, particularly, but because there are other stories, deserving of five webs, which are just that much better.
My comment:
STORY 2:
Background...
Continuing our series of Spider-Man from the beginning, here's the second story from Amazing Spider-Man #1 (March 1963).
(This villain is technically not a Super-villain, but he's more Super-villain then a broken rocket ship or a burglar or Crusher Hogan, so I'm gonna treat him in Super-villain standards.)
In Detail...
 | Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #1 (Story 2) Summary: First Chameleon, Spider-Man meets FF | |||||
| SMURF 001.600 : Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) | ||||||
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With the populace of New York fleeing in panic below, the Amazing Spider-Man swings in and shoots webbing into the face of the Chameleon; a giant who looms over the skyscrapers ("How can you defeat a man who can change his identity before you can catch him??" Sounds better then it is). The overly-large disembodied heads of the Fantastic Four look on. What's that? Oh. Oh yeah, this is just a symbolic splash page. Never mind.
"We know him as Peter Palmer", our astute narrator begins, "but the world knows him as Spider-Man!" Peter is at home (I guess, but what's with the large spider under glass?) when he notices a magazine he owns which is all about the Fantastic Four (It looks like #7, "Prisoners of KURRGO, Master of Planet X" or something like that) . (He couldn't miss it. He's got it propped up against some books like he's displaying it.) This gives him an idea of a way to make money... by joining the Fantastic Four!
He makes his way to the Baxter Building, thinking "They'll probably jump at the chance to have a teenager with super powers working with them!" (Yeah, sure, Pete! The FF could always use another one of those!) Inside, he presses the button for the FF's private elevator but it doesn't work. He remembers that the elevator can only be summoned by "a special electronic beam" that only the FF members have. (Then why does it have a button you can push at all?) Pete is not about to let this stop him. He uses his spider-strength to force the doors open, but the elevator is parked right above him. There is no room to crawl around it so he has to come up with a different plan (If he has enough strength to bust open elevator doors, then shouldn't he punch threw the floor and ceiling of the elevator?).
"Minutes later, Peter Palmer reaches the roof of an adjoining building". (Again with the Peter Palmer!) Now he is dressed in his Spidey outfit. He shoots a web across to the Baxter Building, then "tight-rope walks" across it. Spidey thinks the FF is going to be really impressed by this.
Below in the street, a crowd gathers to watch (Almost all the men are wearing blue. Just saying.). Inside the building, an alarm goes off (How'd Spidey trip the alarm? Did he put his webbing on a sensitive spot on the building, or did a camera notice his presence?), letting the FF know that "someone is trying to break in". (And just when the Human Torch was having fun setting the Thing's newspaper on fire by the looks of things.) Mr. Fantastic (Reed Richards), the Torch (Johnny Storm), and the Invisible Girl (Sue Storm) go over to a machine with a bank of video monitors (so he tripped off a camera). They spot Spider-Man all set to enter the building. "Why didn't he phone for an appointment like anyone else?" asks the Torch. "Cause he's a teen-age cornball show-off just like the Torch" says the Thing (Ben Grimm) who is still reading his newspaper (Or white blank book).
(Everybody knows the Fantastic Four, right? Mr. Fantastic: can stretch his body into any shape he likes. The Human Torch: can burst into flame and fly. The Invisible Girl: can turn invisible. The Thing: real strong and real ugly. The concurrent issue to this story is Fantastic Four #12 in which the FF square off against the Hulk for the first time.)
When Spidey arrives at the building, he finds an open window. He thinks the FF are just careless but they are busy activating "defense measure B". The web-slinger leaps through the window, telling the FF they "shouldn't make it so easy for people to drop in". Then a transparent "plexi-glass cage" drops down from the ceiling and seals shut in front of him (Either it falls from the ceiling and closes, in which our panel is a shot of it midway closing, or it falls and you have enough room to squeeze through it). Spidey has the strength to pull the plexi-glass door open which honks off Reed Richards. "That device cost us thousands!" he whines, "If you wreck it..." (If you were concerned about it getting wrecked, you shouldn't have deployed it at all, Reed.) Just as Spidey exits the cage, the Thing steps up to teach "this squirt" some manners. He punches Spidey right in the jaw. "Oww!" says the web-slinger. "Ya big ape, who do ya think you're pushin' around?" The webhead scoops the Thing up and throws him. The big orange guy collides with the Human Torch. ("That's what I get for pullin' my punch," says Ben Grimm.) Mr. Fantastic stretches his hands out to the size of radial tires and tries to grab Spidey. The webster leaps up to avoid the hands, then sprays webbing all over Mr. F.'s arms. "Just consider this a little exhibition," he tells Reed. "He caught my hand in that net of his" thinks Reed. (It's called webbing, Reed. Get with it!) He is temporarily out of the fight.
Then the Invisible Girl tries her hand. She turns invisible, takes a nearby rope and makes a lasso, and tries to snag Spidey with it. But the web-slinger's spider-sense kicks in and allows him to evade the rope (not to mention that the Invisible Girl is invisible but the rope isn't). When he looks around to see who threw the rope and sees no one, he wisely deduces that the I. Girl tossed it. He grabs the end of the rope and pulls ("Well, I'll just give 'er a whirl for her money!" FIRST SPIDEY JOKE!!! Its bad, but It's still the first spidey joke). Since the Invisible Girl didn't have the sense to let go of her end of the rope, the pulling puts her into a spin. (No, I don't think this would happen, either.)
The Human Torch is next to step in. He flies around, creating a circle of flame around the wall-crawler. Spidey avoids this easily by leaping up to the wall, then up to the ceiling. When he returns to the floor, the fun is halted by Mr. Fantastic, who has freed his hand from the webbing and now spreads his body out so that he becomes a living wall (He looks so weird by the way). The Thing stands behind him, yelling for "another crack" at Spider-Man but Reed Richards only wants to know the reason for the visit. "It's about time someone asked me," says the web-slinger.
Spidey explains that he wants to join the Fantastic Four. He has shown what he can do. Now he wants to know what he would get paid. "I figure I'm worth your top salary," he says. But our hero doesn't get the response he expected. The Thing says, "That kook has rocks in his head." The Invisible Girl explains that the FF is a "non-profit organization" (Too bad for them, because recently, in FF#9, they had to sell everything for rent). Mr. Fantastic says, "We pay no salaries or bonuses". He tells Spidey that all profits go toward "scientific research". The Human Torch says, "You came to the wrong place, pal. This isn't General Motors." Finally one of the four (but we can't tell which because this panel is of another room entirely and the word balloon emanates from down the hallway.) mentions that Spidey is wanted by the police. "This isn't 'outlaws anonymous,'" they say which tics off the ol' web-slinger. He didn't think the FF would be "ready to believe the worst of anyone" just like everybody else. He exits out the window, vowing to make the FF "look like pikers" (This is about 4 or 6 months before they had to team Spidey with them a lot to keep the FF the #1 superheroes and Spidey the underdog hero. Not that they did it 4/6 months later.) The Invisible Girl tries to call him back. She thinks they could have helped Spidey in some way. The Thing is glad he's gone. Mr. Fantastic has a feeling "we'll be hearing more from that young man in the future." (Yeah, like 5 pages later!)
Now, let's turn our gaze to one of those many defense installations "at the edge of town". There we find the Chameleon who has captured and tied up a janitor. As the years go by, the Chameleon develops some pretty sophisticated ways of impersonating people, but here, in his first appearance, he is doing it with make-up, wigs, and masks. His face is completely concealed with a white mask that looks a bit like a bleached-out rugby ball. He wears orange goggles over the mask. His real prize is his "multi-pocket disguise vest"; a yellow garment that hangs down past his waist and is covered with pockets (I count eighteen) in which he stashes all his masks and whatnot. With the janitor safely bound and gagged, the Chameleon assumes his identity in order to get into a restricted area of the plant. Once there, he removes the dark hair and mustache of the janitor and puts on the white hair, white beard, white lab coat, and glasses of Professor Newton (Yes... Newton.) in order to get right into the lab. There, he steals some vital documents. He figures that the Iron Curtain countries will be willing to shell out lots of bucks for these stolen plans.
That night, back at his hideout, the Chameleon catches a news report on TV about Spider-Man's visit to the Fantastic Four. He looks at the headline of the Daily Globe, which reads, "Latest on Spider-Man, Grand Jury Requests Immediate Probe" and puts two and two together. The Chameleon realizes that Spider-Man must have visited the FF looking for a job since he is probably desperate for money now that the law is on his tail. He thinks he can use this information to "make a perfect fall guy" of the web-slinger. He still has to steal the second half of the missile defense plans he just ripped off. Now, he thinks he can use Spidey to keep the police off his trail.
The Chameleon, who must be a scientific genius in his spare time, reasons that anyone who has the powers of a spider must have a spider-sense that only he can tune into (Realized it almost before Peter did). So, he uses some gigantic machine with a microphone hanging off of it to broadcast a message to the wall-crawler, asking him to "meet me on roof of Lark building at ten tonight! It will be very profitable for you!" And believe it or not, this actually works! Peter Palmer (again with the Palmer) is checking out the spider exhibit at a "neighborhood museum" when he picks up the message. Pete decides he can't pass up any possible opportunity for some money (Again with money on his mind. I understand he has a good reason, but still.) . He leaves his street clothes on the roof of the museum and heads to the rendezvous as Spider-Man.
At the Lark building, shortly before ten p.m., the Chameleon slips into the employee locker room and overpowers the night shift elevator operator. Assuming that identity, the Chameleon relieves the day elevator man. Inside the elevator, he removes his elevator operator mask and blue elevator operator uniform. Underneath, he is wearing a Spider-Man costume. Seconds later, the Chameleon walks into an office and demands the missile plans. The man in the office is shocked to learn that Spider-Man is a traitor. The Chameleon bolsters this impression by shooting the man with webbing (With a web gun). Of course, it's not as strong as Spidey's real webbing and the Chameleon has to shoot his from a gun but he is fairly sure that the man won't notice these details. And he's right. As the Chameleon runs up the stairs, carrying the plans, the man in the office screams bloody murder that "Spider-Man's heading for the roof with stolen plans!"
The Chameleon has stashed a helicopter on the roof. He times it all out so that he will get away just as the real Spider-Man arrives. And he cuts it so close that the arriving web-slinger wonders about "that helicopter [that] must have left the roof I'm heading for".
The webhead swings down to the rooftop. He can't see anyone there and he can't figure out who sent for him. Just as he gets to the roof, two policemen come through the rooftop door. They tell him to "freeze" and demand the return of the stolen plans. Spidey doesn't know what's what but he can smell a frame-up with the best of them. He webs the doorway so the cops can't get through and swings off into the night, kicking himself for falling for the mysterious message. He doesn't get far before he realizes that the real thief must be the pilot of the helicopter. Using his spider-sense "to tune in on the ship", Spidey locates the helicopter "out towards the waterfront". That's where he knows he needs to be.
The wall-crawler knows the way "to catch me a speeding whirley-bird" is "to get a real fast start" so he attaches webbing to a chimney on his right and to a TV aerial on his left, stretches way back and shoots himself halfway across the city in a giant slingshot. At the waterfront, he discovers that the helicopter is already out to sea so he fashions a parachute out of webbing (Which has holes bigger then the webbing) and glides safely down to a conveniently placed motorboat. Apparently, the boat has the keys in it, is left unlocked, and is fully gassed up to boot, because Spidey swipes it with ease and rides out to intercept the copter. He is just in time. A Soviet sub is surfacing just offshore to meet the Chameleon. Thinking fast, the wall-crawler shoots webbing over the conning tower of the submarine. The Soviet sailors are unable to open the hatch. They realize that this means that they have been spotted. The order goes out to "submerge!"
Spidey, meanwhile, attaches a webline to the helicopter. (And the motorboat he swiped crashes right into the submerging sub!) The Chameleon tries to shake Spidey off by maneuvering his helicopter into all sorts of dangerous positions but it doesn't work. The webhead scales his webbing until he reaches the airship, rips the door right off (and which looks like its about to get ripped to shreds by the spinning blades), and utters those immortal words, "End of the line for you, Commie! Head this ship towards shore and I mean now!"
So, soon, the helicopter lands once again at the Lark building. All of this has happened so fast that the cops are still up there on the roof. Spidey leads out the Chameleon (who is dressed in a Spidey outfit with his white rugby mask and his yellow multi-pocket vest showing) and introduces him to the police as "the guy who stole those plans and impersonated me". But the Chameleon is not finished yet. He tosses down a smoke pellet, which obscures everyone's vision. He breaks free and runs for it. The police know that all of the exits of the building are guarded so they decide to search every room. The Chameleon, however, has the perfect way to escape. He slips into a storage room, and puts on the disguise of a policeman!
He enters a corridor, joining up with two cops and Spider-Man. While the cops start to split up to search, the Chameleon plans to walk right out the front entrance to the street. But, even though he manipulated Spidey before by taking advantage of the spider-sense, the Chameleon doesn't fully understand how incredible that power can be. For, Spider-Man suddenly gets a tingle, knows that the Chameleon is very near, and realizes that one of the cops "must be a phony". The Chameleon senses that Spidey is wise to him so he pulls a fuse (isn't it amazing how the fuse box is always right on the nearest wall whenever someone needs to create a blackout?) and the room falls into darkness. That doesn't stop Spidey's sense from locating the villain, though. The web-slinger plans to cover the Chameleon with webbing but, unfortunately, discovers his web fluid has run out. He knows he must block the exit before the Chameleon can get to it. He climbs the wall and when sees a silhouetted figure rushing for the exit he leaps on him. At that moment, the lights come back on. (How? I don't know.) All the cops see is Spider-Man grappling with one of their own. The Chameleon takes advantage of this by trying "one last desperate ruse". He yells out that he is fighting "the Chameleon disguised as Spider-Man again". Since he should be the only one, as far as I can tell, who knows he is called the Chameleon, this bit shouldn't have a chance of working, but it does. The cops grab Spidey, thinking he is the Chameleon. Spidey wrenches free, ripping a chunk of the Chameleon's cop uniform off as he gets away. He jumps out a window and scales the wall, which makes the cops realize that he was indeed the real Spider-Man. But the wall-crawler has had it. "Every time I try to help, I get into worse trouble", he says, "Well, they can catch that spy themselves now!"
And catch him they do, thanks to the web-slinger. One of the cops notices that the Chameleon's cop uniform, ripped by our hero, reveals a Spider-Man outfit underneath. So, the police lead the Chameleon away into custody.
But Spidey is unaware of this. He flees into the night, sobbing, wishing he had never received his spider-powers.
Back at the Baxter Building, the Fantastic Four read the newspaper and contemplate the web-slinger. The Invisible Girl wonders what will happen if Spidey ever turns against the law? The Thing wonders how strong he will be when he gets older. The Human Torch is confident that the FF will never have to worry about Spider-Man. "Won't we, Johnny?" says Mr. Fantastic, "I wonder..."
That's the end of the story but let's not forget "A Personal Message from Spider-Man". In it, he says, "Hi, friends! Hope you enjoyed this issue of the new AMAZING SPIDER-MAN! Beginning with our THIRD ISSUE there'll be a letters page for your knocks and boosts, called THE SPIDER'S WEB! So, send your letters along now... Don't miss my new and different adventures in issue #2, on sale the beginning of February 1963. Better ask your dealer to reserve your copy NOW, because judging by advance reports the demand will be greater than the supply! Yours for thrills and fantasy... Spider-Man."
The Chameleon returns in ASM #15 (August 1964) , in his first pairing with Kraven the Hunter. From there he and Kraven appear in Tales of Suspense #58 (October 1964). (Kraven gets immediately defeated by Iron Man. The Chameleon uses his powers of disguise to set up a battle between the golden Avenger and Captain America.) He then takes on the Hulk in Tales to Astonish #62 (December 1964) as a servant of the Leader. Spidey doesn't see him again until ASM #80 (January 1970)!
In General...
Milestones (Landmark events that take place in this story.)
- First meeting with the Fantastic Four (first meeting with any other super-heroes).
- First Chameleon (first battle with any costumed villain).
- First appearance of "Peter Palmer".
- First appearance of spider-sense.
- First use of webbing to make big slingshot.
- First use of webbing to make parachute.
- First time Spidey runs out of web fluid.
- First time Spidey calls an opponent a "Commie".
- First time Spidey steals a boat, rides it out to sea, and crashes it into a Soviet submarine.
- First Spidey joke, kid, or pun (I think)
Overall Rating...
Not as strong as the first story in the issue but still with some pleasures of its own. Two highlights stand out. 1. Spidey battles the Fantastic Four to prove he is worthy of joining the group, only to be told the FF is a non-profit organization. The hurt web-slinger departs in a hurry, vowing to "make you guys look like pikers". 2. At the end of the story, the wall-crawler runs away from a run-in with the police, unaware that his help has allowed the cops to capture the Chameleon. The common link is Spidey's youth, inexperience, and fiery teenage temper. The early Spider-Man is a frustrated hothead and these scenes are great examples of that.
Unfortunately, the rest of the story is fairly routine. The Chameleon isn't really much of a villain... at least, not yet. And I know it's early Silver Age stuff but there are still some pretty silly moments here. I mean, come on, really. The "multi-pocket disguise vest"? The long distance message the Chameleon sends to Spidey's spider-sense? The Soviet submarine in New York harbor? ("Forget the plans! We've been seen!! Submerge!" Hah.) It all adds up to a story worth three webs.
Average that in with the first story and the whole issue gets a rating of 3.75 webs. Round it up to four webs because Stan and Steve were just getting their feet wet.
My comment:
MAY
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #2
STORY 1
Background...
Last time, Spider-Man faced his first costumed opponent. This time he faces his first super-powered costumed opponent. (If you want to call an old, bald guy who flies around with wings "super-powered".)
In Detail...
 | Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #2 (Story 1) Summary: First Vulture & Terrible Tinkerer | |||||||||
| May 1963 : SMURF 002.500 : SM Title : Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
A new villain has been terrorizing New York City. He strikes soundlessly from the air and he strikes with no warning. In fact, just this moment, a man is carrying a briefcase filled with "a fortune in bonds" and this new menace, the winged villain known as the Vulture, swoops down and steals it from him. (For the one or two of you who don't know, the Vulture wears a green outfit with a white ruff around his collar. His wings are extensions off his arms so that he has to flap, I guess, to get started flying. He even has green tail feathers in this original appearance.)
At the offices of Jameson Publications (a white building with a marquee announcing it as the home of "Now Magazine" with "J. Jonah Jameson Publisher" modestly written across the building above the sign.), Jolly Jonah wants to "devote the next entire issue of Now Magazine to the Vulture". He holds a copy of the magazine in his hand (with a photo of Spidey on the cover and the one word copy, "Menace") and announces that he needs pics of the Vulture. So far no one has been able to snap pictures of the speedy villain. All they have, Jonah is told, is an artist's drawing. JJ won't stand for that. He demands photos of the Vulture "or I'll get some new editors".
At Midtown High School, Peter Parker is working hard in science class but Flash Thompson (Who left his shirt with a big "T" on it at home), Liz Allan, and others are glued to a copy of Now Magazine. Pete overhears Liz noting that "a photo of the Vulture would be worth a fortune" and he realizes that he has the ability to snap "hard-to-get photos" and that "magazines pay big money". Flash tosses the magazine to Pete, telling him to "take a look at what's goin' on in the outside world". Pete is so taken by his new idea that he ends up poring through the magazine to the detriment of his schoolwork. The beaker he has placed above his Bunsen burner overheats and overflows. Mr. Warren lectures him about ignoring "a delicate experiment right in the middle while you pour through a lurid picture magazine". The kids standing behind the teacher think it's all pretty funny.
After school, Peter runs home and asks Aunt May for a camera. She opens a drawer and pulls out a miniature camera that belonged to Uncle Ben. She knows Ben would have wanted him to have it.
In his room, Peter changes into his Spidey suit. He works on figuring out how to attach the camera to his costume (When Aunt May first gave Peter the camera, he could put it in his hand. Now, with the camera on his desk, it's as big as his arm!) .
At his hideout, ("atop an abandoned silo in Staten Island"(Which looks like something else... sorry, sorry)) the Vulture reads in the paper that "the Park Avenue Jewelry Exchange is moving a million dollars worth of diamonds to their new offices across town". (Why do they advertise these things in the newspaper?) The Vulture knows that they'll be waiting for him to try something but he has an idea of stealing the gems that he thinks no one will expect. He takes to the air, heading for Manhattan to put the first part of his plan into action.
Spidey is also in the city now, testing his camera, (on roof corners? lovely scenery) when his spider-sense alerts him to a flying figure that makes no sound. He turns and sees the Vulture, but the Vulture (who is busy thinking about how smart he is) does not see him. Vultchy has rigged up some notes wrapped around rocks that he uses to taunt his enemies. He tosses them through windows at Jameson Publishing, a radio station and a police station. The note given to the police says, "I shall steal the diamond shipment from under your noses!" and is signed "The Vulture". (That cocky, son of a) In spite of this, the cops decide they must go through with the transfer of gems. "We can't let the city think that one criminal can make us change our plans!" one cop says. (except he's not one criminal. do you know any other common thug that can fly through the air, or any other pickpocket that can go from staten island to manhatten in a few seconds?) (Now, this is a common excuse in comics for not changing plans and I've never understood it. So what if the city knows they changed their plans because of one criminal? What's wrong with changing the date or the time of the shipment to fake out the Vulture? Or maybe setting a trap so that the Vulture encounters a SWAT team instead of a satchel of diamonds? Where is the shame in that?)
Outside, the Vulture is thrilled with his little act of vanity. "Now that I've warned them, my triumph shall be even greater after I've seized the gems" he thinks. He is so busy with his gloating that he doesn't notice Spidey coming up behind him busily snapping pictures. And Spidey is so busy snapping pictures that he doesn't notice a loose brick. He accidentally kicks it and the sound alerts the Vulture to his presence. While the web-slinger tries to line up a good picture, the Vulture does a loop-de-loop in the air, circling around behind our hero. While Spidey is still wondering where the Vulture went, the winged villain does a flip and kicks the wall-crawler right in the back of the head. Spidey is stunned by the attack. He drops his camera and goes limp. The Vulture, gloating over the ease of his victory, picks the web-slinger up and flies to a nearby rooftop water tower. He opens a hatch in the top of the tower and drops Spider-Man in. Now, with Spidey out ! of the way, the old meany figures, "the city will be mine!" Then, having "disposed of that temporary interruption" the overconfident villain flies away, ready to "carry out step two of my master plan".
But, inside the tower, Spidey has been awakened by the shock of hitting the cold water. (I can just imagine. Yeooww!) He doesn't feel like he's in any particular danger. He knows he can just shoot his webbing up to the top of the tower and climb out... except that he's been so concerned with his camera, he didn't keep track of how much web fluid he had left. Now the shooters are empty. The next plan is to try to climb up the wall of the tower but "it's too wet and slimy even for me to get a toehold on". So now what? The web-slinger knows he can't stay in there much longer. "I'll either drown or suffocate," he thinks. Then he uses his head and comes up with the answer. The web-slinger dives down to the bottom of the tank. He squats down and uses his extra-strong muscles to spring upward from the floor. Somehow his strength is great enough to allow him to be propelled through all the water, up into the air, and right to the hatch in the roof. (Donot try t! his at home.) After getting out o f the water tower, Spidey goes back to the roof where he was originally attacked and finds his camera still there and intact.
Back at home, Peter Parker (just hanging around his room in his Spidey costume with the mask off) develops his pictures of the Vulture... and they look great. Next, he has to decide to whom he should sell them. He picks up a copy of Now Magazine with the cover banner, "Spider-Man must be caught" and thinks about how much J. Jonah Jameson hates the wall-crawler. "I'd get a kick out of making him pay good dough for my pictures without knowing I'm the photographer" he thinks. Then he gets busy adapting his costume. Originally, the costume was only going to be used in his stage act but now that he has chosen the life of a super-hero, he needs to make some adjustments. He starts by adding "an extra web-fluid capsule" so he won't run out of webbing so often. Then he designs containers in his belt to hold even more web cartridges. He revamps the belt so that he can attach a miniature camera to the buckle (but he has to sell his photos first in order to get money to buy that! miniature camera). He puts the b elt on and is pleased to see that it all fits comfortably under his costume. Finally, working on a hunch as to the source of the Vulture's silent flying power, the science whiz whips up a "little device" which may be useful against the flying villain. (Actually, the caption does say it is "long hours later" by the time the device is complete. Pete is so whipped by the effort, he gets himself some "shut-eye" right after.)
The following day, J. Jonah Jameson receives a call from someone claiming to have photos of the Vulture. He tells the caller to come right over. Soon after, JJJ's secretary (who may be Betty Brant but doesn't really look like it) tells everyone that the boss is in an important conference. In that office, Jameson is raving about the quality of Peter Parker's Vulture photos. He wants to know how a kid like Peter got these shots. Peter tells Jonah that part of the condition of selling them is that he never has to reveal how he got them. Jonah tells Pete he can have his "little secret". All he wants is to put the pictures in the next issue of Now Magazine. They will be sure to make the issue a sell-out. He tells Pete he will "issue a check...immediately". Peter agrees but reminds Jameson that he doesn't want his name used. The credit should read "a Now Magazine Staff Photographer". (And who's this guy also in the office, standing behind J. Jonah Jameson. He looks vaguely like Norman Osborn. Is it possible?) Jonah puts his hand on Peter's shoulder and tells him he is in the market for any other great photos. In fact, he'd love some shots "of that public menace, Spider-Man". "Brother, wouldn't you be surprised if you knew" thinks Pete.
A day later, as school gets out, a bunch of the kids plan to head over to Park Avenue to see if the Vulture will try to steal the gems. (Man, everybody knows about this!) A brunette in Flash's group invites Pete and he agrees to come along but he is skeptical. "You don't really think the Vulture would dare try anything with all the police there, do you?" he says. "Don't be scared, bookworm", says Flash, "we'll protect you".
The foursome (Pete, Flash, Liz, and the brunette who is, perhaps, the character Kurt Busiek dubbed Sally Avril) arrives at the scene but it's "like a carnival". The press is everywhere and the area is cordoned off. The police are stationed on every nearby roof. "An armed helicopter" is stationed overhead. Pete realizes that, if he's needed, he won't be able to change to his Spidey duds in the middle of a mob... so he slinks away, looking like a complete loser. "Look gang!" says Flash, "Little Petey is chickening out!"
Then the cross town jewelry move begins. An armored car carries the gems. Squad cars drive on either side of it. The helicopter flies right above. The cops on the roof are actually hoping that the Vulture will make a try for the diamonds. They figure they've got him dead to rights. The armored car reaches its destination. Five uniformed guards armed with shotguns make a protective ring around the back of the car. The metal doors open and a man in a purple suit and hat walks out, carrying a small case filled with the jewels. Now, I don't know who designed this whole "jewelry switch" thing but maybe they should have found a place for the armored car to park that isn't a half-mile walk to the entrance. It's all well and good to have the helicopter and all the guys on the roof but what's the use when it comes down to two guys guarding the man in the purple suit on a long walk that just happens to go right over a manhole! For, while the guards are scouring the ai! r, the Vulture crosses them all up by popping out of that manhole at just the right moment, snagging the case with the jewels so quickly that the guards don't even have time to fire their guns and flying away through the sewer system. He indulges in his love for the theatrical by making his way to a subway tunnel and flying back up to the surface through a station.
Back at the scene, Peter Parker changes to Spider-Man. He marvels (no pun intended) over the way the Vulture has "fooled everyone... even me!" but he plans to do something about that. He climbs the wall of a nearby building, and then stands on the roof, holding his camera and listening to his spider-sense. Soon he gets a tingle that indicates that the Vulture is in the area. He looks to his left and sees the Vulture flying by. (So... what? The Vulture went through all of that subway stuff and then just flew back to the scene of the crime?) Swinging on his webbing, Spider-Man follows.
The Vulture, however, looks back to see if any cops are on his trail and spots the web-slinger. He does another one of those tricky maneuvers (this time around the corner of a building) that allows him to double-back and get behind Spidey. As before, the wall-crawler suddenly realizes that he's lost sight of his quarry but this time he feels "vibrations in the air behind me" and deduces that the Vulture has snuck around back. He leaps out of the way but not fast enough. The Vulture clips him with a wing and sends him tumbling off the roof. This time, though, Spidey is prepared. He shoots some webbing and snags the Vulture on his foot. Then he pulls himself up "hand over hand" (even though he's using one hand to hold onto his camera) and soon has his left hand around the Vulture's ankle. The Vulture is sure he can shake the webhead off but he doesn't know about Spidey's "little gadget" which the webster pulls from his belt and activates. Immediately it takes effect a! nd the Vulture "can't stay aloft". Spider-Man shoots his webbing at a building to halt his fall, and then watches as the Vulture helplessly spirals down to a roof. Just then, the police helicopter arrives on the scene. It lands right next to the Vulture who has the "wind knocked out of me" and can't even move. As Spidey takes pictures from a hiding-place, the cops pick up the no-longer-flying villain and whisk him away in the chopper.
How was this accomplished? Spidey explains it all to you: "The absence of noise gave me the clue! I suspected that he [Vultch] had discovered a way to harness magnetic power! That's why my gadget made him fall... it's an anti-magnetic inverter and it worked!" Ah yes! The old "anti-magnetic inverter" trick! Works every time!
The next day, Peter Parker offers more Vulture photos to J. Jonah Jameson. JJ wants to know how Pete got the pics but the teenager reminds him that, according to their deal, he gets to keep that secret. Jonah buys the photos and even gives a bonus! "Go out and buy yourself some twist records!" he says. Pete counts his money. Jonah may think he's just a typical teenage consumer but Pete has more important things to do with the cash. He goes home and tells Aunt May that he has paid the rent for a full year and plans to buy "the newest kitchen appliances you ever drooled over". Aunt May tells him that he's "the most wonderful boy in the world".
But in a nearby prison, the Vulture (still dressed in his winged outfit!) stands in a cell and curses the name of Spider-Man. He vows to "get free and... develop a flying power that [Spider-Man] cannot overcome!" Then the wall-crawler better watch out!
The Vulture is the first of Spidey's opponents to make a return appearance. He does indeed come up with a way to fly that can't be stopped by the anti-magnetic inverter. That battle takes place in Amazing Spider-Man #7 (December 1963) . Check out the already existing review.
In General...
Milestones (Landmark events that take place in this story.)
- First Vulture
- First Now Magazine
- Second time Spidey runs out of web fluid.
- First sale of photos to J. Jonah Jameson.
- First cheesy pseudo-scientific gizmo whipped up in seconds (okay... hours) by Peter Parker and used to defeat a major criminal.
Overall Rating...
If your hero's a teenager, then why not pit him against an old balding geezer? The Vulture was the perfect contrast to Spidey and, as drawn by Steve Ditko, had a wonderful resemblance to the bird from which he got his name. Fighting a foe that can fly truly messes up our young hero. The scene in which the Vulture dumps Spidey in the water tower and the web-slinger has to figure a way out is classic, as is the scene where the Vulture pops out of a manhole to steal the well-guarded diamonds. Unfortunately, the whole story is tainted by the anti-magnetic inverter... the machine Peter whips up so effortlessly, then uses to defeat the Vulture. What a letdown. Thud. Even Stan and Steve must have known that they cheated the reader with this one because they brought the Vulture back five issues later, put the kibosh on the inverter, and gave us and Spidey a much better fight.
Three webs.
My comment:
STORY 2:
Background... For those of you expecting the saga of Facade, sorry about that. The dreaded deadline doom took me by surprise and scuttled that for the time being. Instead you get one lousy ten-page story. Not even an entire issue! But with Spidey duking it out with the Z'Nox in the latest issues, it seemed like a good time to go back to the first aliens the web-slinger fought. Well... sort of. From Amazing Spider-Man #2, May 1963, here comes the Terrible Tinkerer. It all begins with an in medias res splash page. Spidey is being shot by a ray gun being held by the Terrible Tinkerer (a sixtyish bald man with an extremely large chin, rectangular-framed glasses propped up on his forehead, green slacks, a white shirt, and a brown tweed jacket), and thinking, "He looks so harmless, and yet the Tinkerer is one of the greatest menaces I've ever faced!" (Which can only be remotely true in the context of the times, since Spidey had only faced the Burglar, the Chameleon, and the Vulture up to this point.) In the splash page blurb, Stan warns that, although "Everybody loves a bargain... Sometimes it can be dangerous to accept a bargain which is too good to be true." Words to live by. And now, on with our story. It begins in the science lab of Midtown High School. Class has just ended, to the relief of a number of students, but Peter Parker is still working away with the test tubes and the bunsen burners. Mr. Warren, the Science Teacher, enters the lab with a pleasant-looking gray-haired man and introduces him to his top science student. The man is Professor Cobbwell and he is looking for a bright student to help him "with some research over the weekend". Mr. Warren wonders if Peter would like to be that student. Peter has heard of the Professor ("A chance to work with the famous electronics expert in town?") and is delighted to accept. The Prof offers Peter two cards. One has his address on it. The other is a chit to pick up a radio at a repair shop. The Prof asks if Peter would be willing to pick up the radio on his way over to the lab the next day. Peter is happy to do so. As soon as Mr. Warren and the Prof leave, Flash Thompson berates Pete for working over the weekend "while us other dumbheads waste time having dates and livin' it up." Pete tells Flash that being a dumbhead is "nothing to be ashamed of! You were just born that way!" (Hah! Take that, Flash, you dumbhead!) The next day, Pete prepares for his visit to the Prof's lab and decides to wear his Spidey suit, because "I feel almost undressed without it!" (And, since he wears it under all his other clothes, in a sense he is undressed without it. But I digress...) Soon, Pete arrives at "The Tinkerer Repair Shop". It is a strange little place with orange walls and a small turret that makes it look like a squat Medieval castle. Pete wonders, "What kind of kookie character runs it?" and he enters to find out. Inside, the shop has cracked yellow walls and shelves covered with clocks and radios. A gnarled man enters the room and introduces himself as the Tinkerer. Pete hands over the chit, and then stands back, hands in pockets, sizing up the strange repairman. He decides that the Tinkerer is "straight out of Grimm's fairy tales" but that he is "about as dangerous as a second-hand creampuff". As the Tinkerer leaves the room to retrieve the Prof's radio, Pete's spider-sense bleats at him but, after judging the Tinkerer as harmless, our hero ignores it. It must be the electric impulses from all the equipment that is causing the signal, he decides. It can't possibly be any real danger. But the Tinkerer is more than what he seems. The door from his shop leads to a large stone stairway which ends at a large metal door deep in some vast cellar twice as large as the repair shop up above. (Where do these guys get these places in New York with huge stone cellars? What agency do you call?) The little man opens the door and tells the others inside that Dr. Cobbwell's radio is being picked up. He adds, for the benefit of the reader, that it is one of the "special" jobs. It is further added, for the benefit of the reader, that this means that a "special device" has been put into it making it "much more than a simple radio". A number of these special radios have already been distributed to "special" customers, all unsuspecting. Stranger still, the cellar is filled with banks of immense machinery, covered with strange dials and TV screens. And stranger still, the other men in the room are green and scaly, with antennae on their heads, and faces that lo! ok like a Halloween pumpkin a mont h past its prime. They wear large purple girdles and tiny black muscle shirts that look like they've been washed too many times in hot water. The greenie who has been working on the Prof's radio declares the "special" adaptation finished. He reminds the Tinkerer that "our plan must be completely secret until we are ready to strike!"... presumably because they don't want people laughing at them too soon. The Tinkerer goes back upstairs and presents the radio to Peter. He informs the High Schooler that the cost of the repair is only a dime because "I like to give bargains! They bring me in lots of customers!" (And, you can't possibly draw attention to your secret operation if you charge people a dime for radio repairs, can you?) Finally at Cobbwell's lab, Pete presents the radio. The Prof confesses to being a cheapee who took his radio to the Tinkerer because his prices are ridiculously low. The Prof thinks no more about the subject and begins work, but Peter cannot get it out of his mind. Even as he occupies himself with a collection of wacky Ditko beakers and tubes, he thinks about the eccentric repairman. And then, suddenly, he realizes that the electrical impulses he sensed in the Tinkerer's shop are also now here in the Professor's laboratory. Pete looks around the lab. There are no "electrical gadgets" in operation and the Prof's radio is turned off. Pete is anxious to investigate further and he gets the chance when Cobbwell puts on his coat and announces that he must give a lecture at the institute. He will be gone for a few hours. As soon as the Prof leaves, Pete opens the back of the radio and peeks inside. He discovers that the tubes are different than anything he has seen before. He also discovers that the impulses he is sensing are coming from the radio. That's all he needs to know. Quickly, he dons his Spidey suit and swings over to the Tinkerer's shop. The shop is already closed for the day (What hours does the Tinkerer keep anyway?) so Spidey lets himself in by the skylight. (Which must be newly built! There's no sign of that skylight when Pete picked up the radio.) He senses the same impulses and follows them down the stone stairs into the "concrete-reinforced dungeon". Fortunately, the metal door has been left open, allowing Spidey to stop at the threshhold and eavesdrop. Inside the secret workroom, the Tinkerer stands with three of his alien buddies, reviewing the results of their scheme. They have put "electronic spy devices" in the radios of some of the most important people on Earth, with the idea of eventually attacking "this unsuspecting planet". In fact, at this moment, one of the aliens is "processing the latest pictures relayed back to us by our pin-point TV spy device which you planted in the radio of a military leader." And, sure enough, up on one of the screens is a scene from an office which the lea! der and a colonel are discussing " the defense of our eastern seaboard in case of a surprise attack by any hostile force". The Tinkerer and his green friend listen intently. They're not the only ones. Spidey has heard enough to realize that he is dealing with aliens who intend to conquer the Earth. One of those very same aliens spots him and sneaks up behind him but the ol' "spider instinct" kicks in and warns the web-slinger to leap away from a ray gun blast. His cover blown, he has no choice but to tumble through the door into the workshop. "A costumed Earth creature!", yells one alien, "Seize him!" But it isn't that easy. Spidey does a hand spring and vaults away from the greenies. Then he scales the wall to take a perch on the ceiling. (The greenies don't seem to recognize him but the Tinkerer does. "He is no ordinary Earthling!", he says, "He is Spider-Man!") Someone throws an "inverter mechanism" at Spidey to dislodge him from the ceiling. (Of course. There's nothing like an inverter mechanism when you want to dislodge Spider-Man from the ceiling.) With our hero now on the ground, three greenies pile on top of him, figuring th! ey can win by sheer weight of numb ers. But the wall-crawler shakes them off easily. Unfortunately, this attack has left him open to a ray gun blast from behind, administered by the Terrible Tinkerer! (Hey, what do you know? It's our splash page, finally!) With the wall-crawler now unconscious ("It would have killed any normal human..."), the greenies place him in a nearby "resisto-glass specimen cage" that looks like a giant snow globe. Since Spidey is "the only mortal on Earth who even suspects our presence here", they decide, "he must be destroyed!" The plan is to release all the air from the specimen cage through numerous tiny holes that circle the base of the globe. Spidey returns to consciousness, recognizes his danger, and knows he must escape from "this crazy little mousetrap". He notices that the control panel that can open the cage is positioned right in front of him. Setting his webshooter right in line with one of the tiny holes (Steve gives us a great diagram panel detailing Spidey's web cartridges, spray nozzle, palm release button, and safety catch), Spidey fires his webbing and hits the button on the control panel that opens the cage. The bottom springs open (even as the webline seems to completely disappear) and the webster is free. He knocks one of the greenies backward with a powerful punch and, like a Rube Goldberg cartoon, the punch sends the alien back where he bumps another alien where the impact sets off a ray gun where the jostling of the guns causes it to shoot right at the control panel where the ray causes the panel to catch on fire. Announcing that it will take months to repair the control panel, all the gre! enies take off like scared rabbits , leaving the Tinkerer to take the rap. The fire spreads throughout the room. Spidey, incensed, leaps at the old repairman. As far as Spidey is concerned, the aliens "were just doing their duty to whatever planet they were from!" But the Tinkerer is a traitor to the human race. Soon, the whole lab goes up in flames and Spidey becomes more concerned with saving the Tinkerer than with capturing him. He grabs the little man, but the Tinkerer puts up a struggle. The smoke becomes overwhelming, blinding and choking the webspinner. He cannot endure it much longer. So, giving up on the Tinkerer, Spidey heads for the skylight. Fire trucks will soon arrive on the scene "but the building is a total wreck! It'll be reduced to ashes in minutes." With nothing more to be done, Spidey leaves the scene. A bystander sees him go and wonders if Spider-Man is the one who set the fire. Somewhere on the outskirts of the city, a spacecraft lifts off and flies away. The inhabitants press a self-destruct button that will wipe out all the spy devices in all the radios so that they can not be traced. Then they vow never to return to Earth, since the people "will be on guard from this day on!" And back at Professor Cobbwell's lab, Pete examines the radio and finds it to now be completely normal. (But does it still work? After all, the Prof paid to get the thing fixed and he isn't likely to get his dime back.) The Prof returns from his lecture and excitedly tells Peter that he saw "a space ship of some sort fading into the atmosphere". When Pete asks for details on what it looked like, the Prof reconsiders his story and decides he must have imagined it. Peter knows how he feels. If he hadn't pulled the mask off the Tinkerer at the last minute... the mask that made the Tinkerer look human... he wouldn't have believed it either. He, like the Prof, decides not to mention it to anyone. "It would be too hard to explain how Peter Parker knows so much about the Spider-Man's adventures!" All right, as I'm sure you all know, in issues ranging from Amazing Spider-Man #160 (September 1976) to Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #50-51 (January-February 1981), to John Byrne's Spider-Man: Chapter One #3 (January 1999), the Tinkerer story has been retconned to wipe it clean of any real aliens. It turns out that the Tinkerer planted a mask of his face in Spidey's hands to confuse him. The aliens were all humans in disguise (including the man who eventually became Mysterio) and all the "Earthling" talk and "mortal" gab has been carefully sifted, remade to show that regular joes playing roles could have said these things in these situations. In terms of continuity, heck, I buy it. Why not? In terms of the original story, though, it's humbug. So, sure, when I read later stories that refer to it, Spidey fought fake aliens. But when I read the story from ASM #2, as far as I'm concerned, Spidey fought the real thing. In fact, I'd love to have a story that would retcon it all back! Any chance of that? Naw, I didn't think so. Milestones (Landmark events that take place in this story.) I have to admit it. I'm crazy about this story. It's just so lovably silly with its green scaly aliens and its huge dungeon hidden underneath a repair shop and its "special" radios with electronic spy devices that the Tinkerer pretends to fix, charging only a dime. Yes, maybe having dopey aliens like this in the continuity is a thing to be ashamed of, but I'm still sorry they were all retconned into two-bit crooks in disguise. Spidey's battle with the greenies is great fun, his escape from the glass enclosure is vintage web-slinger, and the final scene of Peter Parker holding the Tinkerer's mask is a hoot... BUT... looking at the story in the cold hard light of the 21st century, I can't, in all conscience, give it any more than... Two and a half Webs. My comment: In Detail...
Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #2 (Story 2)
Summary: First TinkererSMURF 002.600 : Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) Writer: Stan Lee Pencils: Steve Ditko Lettering: Art Simek In General...
Overall Rating...
JULY
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #3
Background... With Otto coming back from the dead, it seems as good a time as any to look back to Spider-Man's very first battle with Doctor Octopus. Only Spidey's fourth appearance in any comic anywhere. Stan Lee and Steve Ditko just getting warmed up. Amazing Spider-Man #3. Here and now. Our story begins with a symbolic splash page. Doctor Octopus, backlit by a bright yellow sun and extending his tentacles at the startled reader is called, "the only enemy ever to defeat Spider-Man!" "In this epic tale," the next blurb reads, "see the Human Torch!" and there is Torchy himself in a James Montgomery Flagg pose. For no particular reason, the hype continues with "Fantasy! Thrills!" Finally, Stan instructs us, "And now begin!" So, let's do that. Nighttime in a "lonely warehouse" and three thugs, straight from the Bowery Boys, are trying to lift a safe, only to be shocked by the appearance of "the most awesome image in crime-fighting". The Bat-Signal? No, the Spider-Signal! Spidey himself soon follows. One of the thugs, uttering words we will hear time and again over the years, yells, "Get im! There are three of us! He can't take us all!" He's wrong, of course, and all three hoods quickly end up in a dangling web package for the arriving police. The young Spider-Man regrets the ease with which he won his victory, then thinks the following famous last words, "I'm too powerful for any foe! I almost wish for an opponent who'd give me a run for my money!" Elsewhere, on the outskirts of town, at the facility apparently known as "US Atomic Research Center", Dr. Otto Octavius, known to his colleagues as "Doctor Octopus" is preparing to conduct another nuclear experiment. He is a stocky man with dark glasses and a bowl haircut and his most noticable feature is the mechanical contraption he wears around his chest. It is a device with four mechanical arms, which he controls with dials on the chest plate. This device allows "the most brilliant atomic researcher in our country today" to work with radioactive materials at a distance and is, of course, the source of his nickname. Sadly, the Doctor is too absorbed in his experiment to notice that "the radiation-meter has gone whacky" and the ensuing explosion (a great Ditko effect in red and black) sends his whole lab up in flames! Otto is quickly saved by two men in radiation suits but, even though he is still breathing "he's absorbed a great deal of radiation... poor guy!" (Somehow, "poor guy" seems a tad wishy-washy when talking about absorbing great amounts of radiation.) Hospital tests show "an uncertain amount of brain damage" and the doctors learn that Ock's tentacles have adhered to his body "in some strange way". It is days later when Octavius finally wakes up. His first thought is to return to his work but when the doctor orders him to stay in bed, Otto exhibits the first signs of his brain damage. He decides that the doctor is jealous of him and wants to keep him from his work. He then notices that the window has bars on it and the very thought that he must be free is enough for his mechanical arms to obey his will and pull the bars from their moorings. Ock realizes that the arms have become a part of him and he gloats, "With such power and my brilliant mind, I'm the supreme human being on earth!" At the Daily Bugle, publisher J. Jonah Jameson tells Peter Parker that he wants photos of the injured Dr. Octopus but that the Bliss Private Hospital is no longer allowing visitors. Peter guarantees Jonah that he will get his pictures ("I can't imagine how a teenager like you does it", JJJ says.) and he visits the hospital as Spider-Man. He begins by leaping the wall surrounding the hospital grounds. Then using "these suction fingers of mine", he climbs up the hospital wall. Peeking in the appropriate window, Peter sees that Octopus' room has been converted into a laboratory. The good Doctor is holding his doctor and two nurses hostage. When the imprisoned M.D. tells Otto he has no right to hold them, Otto flips out. Grabbing the doctor with his tentacles, he rants about how power has given him the right. Spidey decides to "join the party before he really hurts that fella". He comes crashing through the window and confronts the deranged physicist. Doc Ock attacks with two of his tentacles but a cocky Spidey leaps out of the way, declaring, "You don't think those dumb-looking flappers of yours can move fast enough to catch Spider-Man, do you?" But Spidey is in for a surprise. As he dodges the two tentacles, a third one snakes out and clips him on the jaw. Spidey manages to web two of the tentacles together but he has his hands full with the other two. While Octopus occupies Spidey, he also manages to snap the spider's web. Stunned by this turn of events, Spidey can't keep up and Ock manages to grab a hold of Spidey's arms and legs with his four metal arms. He holds Spidey up before him and gives him a demeaning slap across the face. Then, displaying complete contempt for his opponent, Ock tosses Spidey out the broken window, proclaiming, "You're no threat to me!" "Weak, groggy, just barely conscious", Spidey's fall is broken by a tree. But his spirit is broken as well. He cannot deal with the ease with which he was defeated. In anguish, Peter removes his mask while wondering (for the first of many times), "Is this the end of Spider-Man?" Meanwhile, Ock decides to get out while the getting is good. His hostages fled during his fight with Spider-Man and he is concerned that the police will soon arrive. Using his arms as great metal stilts, he walks back to the Atomic Research Center, where he climbs in a window, then hides on the ceiling so that the security guards will mistake his supporting arms as "an extra pipe or two". He soon finds himself at the "brain center of the entire atomic lab" (don't you love all these brain centers of radioactivity in early 60s comic books?). Snaking an arm in, he unlocks the door and tosses the workers out in the hallway. Now in possession of the "brain center", Doc decides, "Between my own super-strength and the atomic power which is mine to command here, I'm the strongest man alive!!" He demonstates that power by destroying half of the plant. Evacuation is necessary. The electronic barriers he has set up prevent machine-gun toting men from reaching his stronghold. With a wonderful Ditko leer, Ock cries, "I am now in complete control!" At home, a tortured Peter Parker thinks, "I'm a failure! Spider-Man is a joke... a nothing!" When J. Jonah Jameson calls inquiring of the Doctor Octopus photos, Peter tells him he couldn't get them and probably won't be able to get any other photos in the future. A worried Aunt May asks Peter what's bothering him but the somber teen can't tell her the truth of his troubles. At school, Peter still can't shake his depression. ("Looks like he lost his favorite test tube", Flash says.) The brunette of the group (who we now know, thanks to Kurt Busiek, is Sally Avril) tells Pete that the Governor has asked the Fantastic Four to try to capture Ock. Liz Allan adds that only the Human Torch is available and that (for some odd reason) he will be speaking at the student assembly before going off to tackle the mad scientist. ("Big deal", thinks Pete.) At the assembly, Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, tells the kids that he has used his flame so much lately that he must wait a few days before taking on Octopus. In the meantime, he gives a pep talk, finishing with, "Don't be discouraged if it sometimes seems tough! The important thing is never give up!" A startled Pete thinks, "it's almost as though he's talking to me!" and with new resolve, he decides he will "never say die". He races home, dons his Spidey duds and arrives at the Atomic Research Center. Using his webbing as a giant slingshot, he sends himself flying over the fence, over the sentries posted to keep the public safe from Ock. He lands on the roof and slips inside the building but his arrival is not the secret he thinks it is. Observing a bank of monitors that covers an entire wall, Octopus has seen Spidey already. Never straying from his control panel, Otto uses all six of his arms (the four metal and two flesh) to attack our hero with robotic arms and devices that hurl electronic bolts and who knows what else. (Man, it's amazing what those brain centers can control!) But Spidey evades the traps, then, realizing that Ock must be viewing him with a TV hookup, climbs along the ceiling to get out of camera range. This brings about the all-important step of getting Ock out of his bunker. He prowls the hallways, his arms fully extended, thinking, "He won't elude me now!" Elsewhere in the building, our science whiz hero has found the Chem Lab. Quickly mixing chemicals in various test tubes and beakers, Pete conjures up a mystery potion. He pulls some wiring out of the floor and uses it to tie four stoppered test tubes together. Then he does it again with three more test tubes. He ventures out of the Lab, holding a hoop of wire in each hand. "Now to find Doctor Octopus", he thinks, as his opponent creeps up on him from behind. Doc Ock quickly strikes with his indestructible arms but Peter's spider-sense warns him in time to evade them. He manages to loop one of his wires around two of Ock's arms before being clipped by a third one. The blow causes Spidey to drop his other device but he still leaps out of the way in time to watch. The chemicals in the test tubes succeed in their purpose. They fuse Doc's two arms together. But Octavius is not worried. He simply uses the fused arms as a club while trying to strike Spider-Man with the other two arms. Pete decides he must take a "desperate chance". "Moving like a person possessed", Spidey wraps his legs around one of the free tentacles and grabs the other in his hands. Then, with all of the arms occupied, Spidey has a clear shot at Ock's face with his webbing. Startled, his glasses covered with webbing, Octopus retracts his arms, pulling a surprised Spidey along with them. Ock finally succeeds in removing his web-covered glasses and, with Spidey pulled close and still grappling with the two free tentacles, the Doctor resorts to a left-handed punch in the jaw. Otto figures the wall-crawler to be helpless, unable to let go of the powerful arms, but he does not reckon with Spidey's amazing speed. Timing it to the split-second, Peter releases the arm and "lashes out" with a right-handed punch of his own. Since all of Ock's power resides in his metal arms, the swift blow quickly knocks him out. "Strange," Spidey thinks, "that an old-fashioned punch to the jaw defeated the most dangerous villain I've ever faced!" He wraps several layers of webbing around the two free tentacles of the unconscious Octopus, then alerts the guards outside with his spider-signal. The two sentries are led to a welcome sight; Doctor Octopus trussed up and hanging from a spider's web. Spidey has won but he has one more thing to take care of. Using his spider-sense to direct him to the correct room in a downtown hotel, Spidey peers through the window at the Human Torch. A doctor is there with Torchy telling him, "Good news, Torch! Your temperature is down and your virus is gone! By now, your flame should be working at full strength!" (Uh, Stan? What is all this about a virus? Didn't the Torch earlier say that he couldn't flame on because "I've used my flame so much recently, I have to wait a few days to get strong again!" Did hat start to sound like a flimsy excuse to you between pages 13 and 21? And what is the Torch doing staying in a hotel anyway? Doesn't he already live in Manhattan? Oh well.) The Torch flames on and declares himself ready to take on Doctor Octopus but Spidey leaps in and tells him that Ock is already captured. He then tells the Torch, "Thanks to you, Torch, Octopus is safely under wraps! And I owe you additional thanks because if not for you, Spider-Man might've been finished, too!" The Torch's puzzled reply: "Huh?" (You know, now that I think about it, at the time that this story took place, Johnny did not live at the Baxter Building but somewhere in the suburbs with his sister Sue. So, maybe we'll give Stan a mulligan on that "staying at the hotel" thing.) The next day, Johnny Storm returns to Midtown High to give the kids a flaming demonstration. Flash Thompson is all excited about it. He chides Peter Parker with, "Why don'tcha watch and see what a real man is like, Bookworm?" And Peter replies, "Someday I'll tell you why, loudmouth!" But, of course, he never has. The house ad for Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #1 tells us that it is "Action in the Spider-Man style". (Sgt. Fury? In the Spider-Man style?) The "Special Surprise Bonus Spider-Man Pin-Up Page" is signed "from your pal, Spider-Man". The letters page begins with the following note: "We regret that no letters can be answered personally but we will print as many as possible each issue and you may rest assured that either Stan Lee or Steve Ditko, or both, carefully read each and every letter received here at the Web!" In the letters themselves, Tom Jones of Aberdeen, Maryland says, "Dear Stan and Steve, The Amazing Spider-Man #1 was quite good as first issues go, and in comparison to other first issues edited by you two, it was great." (Friends, This is what is known as a left-handed complement. And, hey, no complaints from the left-handed amongst you. I'm left-handed too!) Phil Leibfred from Bronxville, New York says, "Here's to Spider-Man's running 50 years in his own comic." to which Stan replies, "Only fifty???" (And now that we have only 15 years to go to complete that 50, Stan's flippant comment is starting to look pretty good.) And Margaret Seth of Sciotoville, Ohio says, "Having read almost as many stories as you have written I feel my opinion is as good as the next fellow's. Meaning to say that your startling story in #1 copy of Spider-Man was terrific. But may I ask what in the world did you do to the second part? Is he so different that nothing can go his way? Your next issue is supposed to be great, but if more of your fans such as I feel this way after reading the first issue... well, I don't think I'd waste my good money on another copy like the first." (Hey, anybody out there want Margaret's copy of Amazing #1?) Milestones (Landmark events that take place in this story.) Oh, man. The very-cool origin of Doctor Octopus. Spidey getting slapped around by a contemptuous Ock. Otto sneaking into an atomic lab by posing as the pipes leading up to the ceiling. Peter Parker getting inspired to "never give up" by a school assembly with the Human Torch. A great final battle between Doc Ock and the web-slinger. Some of the moodiest Ditko Spidey art ever. It almost never gets any better than this. Five webs. My comment: In Detail...
Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #3
Summary: First Doctor OctopusJul 1963 : SMURF 003.500 : SM Title : Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) Editor: Stan Lee Writer: Stan Lee Pencils: Steve Ditko Inker: Steve Ditko Cover Art: Steve Ditko In General...
Overall Rating...
SEPTEMBER
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #4
Background...
He's beaten a non-super-powered burglar, tackled a master of disguise, bested a man who can fly, encountered an alien disguised as a repairman, and dealt with a man with metallic arms. But how will Spidey fare against an opponent who can change the consistency of his body? Find out in "Nothing Can Stop... the Sandman!"
In Detail...
 | Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #4 Summary: First Sandman, First Betty Brant | |||||||||
| Sep 1963 : SMURF 004.500 : SM Title : Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) | ||||||||||
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It begins with a very cool Ditko splash page. The Sandman stands in the center, his arms raised in triumph, his right hand holding up a bag of money with some bills drifting around it. The background is a split-screen. The left side is a street in Manhattan. Police line up by their squad cars and fire their guns ineffectually at the Sandman. The right side is the inside of a Midtown High School classroom. In the background, Flash Thompson, Liz Allen and two other kids watch as Spider-Man attacks the villain; his right arm half buried in the Sandman's chest after an ineffective punch.
And now our story...
Spider-Man is out on the town, hanging upside-down right by a billboard that advertises "The Spider-Man Menace! A New Series by J. Jonah Jameson. Starting today in the Daily Bugle." A big picture of Jonah's sour-looking mug accompanies the text. But then the web-slinger spies something more interesting. "Three punks casin' a jewelry store." He swings over to keep an eye on the situation. Sure enough, as soon as the owner locks up and leaves for the night, the three men sneak back to the store. Before they can actually break in, Spider-Man constructs about a dozens hoops out of webbing and drops them over the men, trapping their arms. "Who...?" asks one hood. "Well, it's not Dr. Kildare" (which was a hit show on TV at the time, starring Richard Chamberlain), replies Spidey. Two of the hoods think they've had it but the third one (Charlie) is smarter than that. He threatens to sue Spidey for assault and battery and he's "got witnesses to prove it!" ("Yeah, that's right!" says one of his two witnesses.) Charlie continues his tirade, stating that there is no law against the three of them walking the street at night. "You're a menace", he says, "just like J. Jonah Jameson says!" Spidey realizes the hood is right. Since he attacked before the men actually did something illegal, he has no evidence that they were doing anything other than taking a stroll.
But it doesn't end there. One of the other punks insults Spidey with, "Don't you feel like a jerk paradin' around in public in that get-up?" while the third one decides to call for a cop so he can "swear out a warrant against Spider-Man". Soon, all three men, facing in different directions are calling for the police. Eventually, a beat cop walks up and one of the hoods reports that Spider-Man "attacked us for no good reason". Spidey realizes it is three against one so he leaps up to the hood of a car, then up onto the wall of a nearby building. The cop tells our hero that he needs to fill out a report with his name and address on it. Charlie yells out, "Get 'im down from there! Shoot the bum!" Spidey must content himself with the knowledge that he did prevent a robbery. With the webhead gone, the three punks laugh it up big time. But the cop tells them to move along. "If I were Spider-Man, I might have tackled you myself 'cause you got larceny written all over you!"
Back up on the roof, Spidey looks up at the JJJ billboard and decides "it's all his fault". Because of the publisher's editorials "even cheap crooks now think they don't have to fear me anymore!"(ouch pete, we dont see that one to often.) Angered by the sight of Jonah's mug, Spidey decides to head over to the Daily Bugle and pay a visit. When he gets to Jameson's office window, however, no one is there. He opens the window, enters the room, and leaves "a little souvenir for him to prove I was here".
Soon after, Spidey is standing on the top of a water tower when he sees several police cars racing along below. Watching the action, the wall-crawler sees a man in a green striped shirt and tan pants scaling a ladder on his way to a roof. The web-spinner figures the least he can do is nab this guy for the police, so he shines his spider-beacon on him to shake him up, then leaps down to wrap things up quickly. But while still in mid-leap, he gets a good look at his opponent and is shocked by his decidedly sandy appearance. The green-shirted man introduces himself as the Sandman. Spidey has heard of him (but thought "the reports were just a gag") and knows that the Sandman is "wanted by the police from Maine to Mexico".
The Sandman is uninterested in having this conversation. He pushes Spidey aside, telling him "I got me a couple of banks to rob and I don't wanna work overtime!" The web-slinger refuses to get "the bum's rush" like this so he grabs the criminal from behind but, much to his surprise, the Sandman disintegrates out of his grasp into a pile of sand and regenerates himself a few feet away. Now feeling like showing off, the Sandman holds his ground and lets Spider-Man punch him. Spidey's fist goes right through the Sandman's body and comes out the other side. Spidey realizes the Sandman "isn't flesh and blood" but he tries again with a left hook to the jaw.
This time, however, the Sandman is rock hard and Spidey hurts his fist on Sandy's jaw. Finally, proclaiming "No hands!", the Sandman thrusts his waist out like a battering ram (Spidey notes that "He can change his body as easily as Mister Fantastic" who he met in ASM #1, March 1963) and knocks the wall-crawler over a skylight and onto his back. Spidey is already planning to retaliate with his webbing when he realizes his mask has been torn apart by his hard landing. He looks at it and realizes it will not hide his identity without some serious repair work.
In that instant, he imagines being maskless and capturing the Sandman only to have the villain tell him "Soon as the police grab me, I'll let 'em all know who you really are!" His imagination runs wild, picturing J. Jonah Jameson hounding him with "He must be expelled from school... driven from town" and Aunt May forced to sell shoe laces for ten cents apiece on the street. That does it. Spidey knows he can't stay and fight in this condition. He runs for it from rooftop to rooftop. The Sandman waves a fist and yells at him to come back and fight. "Ya blamed coward!", he calls, "The Amazing Spider-Man! Bah!"
With Spidey gone, the Sandman gets back to business. He jumps off the roof, turning to "small, weightless sand particles" as he falls. When the sand gets down to the sidewalk, he reforms into his human shape and continues on his way. (But what happened to all the police that were following him?) Sandy stops at a nearby bank, uses his ability to change his shape so that his right index finger takes on the shape of a key. He sticks it into the door lock and allows the sand to find the contours of the lock. It opens with a "click!". Inside the bank, Sandy flattens out on the floor, sliding under a steel cage door and avoiding the electric eye alarm. It isn't long before he has arrived at the door of the main vault.
And back at his Forest Hills home, Peter Parker is up in his room, doing his best to stitch up his mask even though he is "all thumbs". He stabs his finger with the needle and wishes he could ask Aunt May to do the sewing for him. Pete is watching TV as he is doing these repairs (Hey look! Pete has a TV in his room!) and a special report comes on that is all about the Sandman. It recounts his history, telling Pete (and us) that the villain, "known as Flint Marko", was "an inmate at Island Prison" just a few months ago. One night "the most incorrigible prisoner at that maximum security jail" escaped by crawling through a drainage tunnel which led to the water. From that point on, he was on the run, guns blazing as he fled, landing at the top of the "F.B.I. list of most wanted criminals". But the police were getting closer so "he hid in the one place where no one would imagine a man would hide - an Atomic Device Testing Center!"
There he stayed, living on the beach, until a nuclear test took place. Suddenly a mushroom cloud bloomed right behind him, but instead of dying Marko discovered that "the molecules of his body merged at that radio-active instant with the molecules of the sand under his feet" turning him into a living pile of sand. The TV report continues but Peter hears Aunt May coming so he clicks off the set, grabs a robe and puts it on to cover up his Spider-Man costume. His Aunt barges right in without knocking, carrying a tray of milk and cookies, but when she sees a startled Peter clutching his robe closed and looking agitated, she jumps to the conclusion that he must have a fever. She feels his forehead to check and Peter decides to roll with the excuse. He tells her "maybe I am a little ill, Aunt May".
In spite of Peter's protests that he'll soon be fine, May runs off for some aspirin and a thermometer. While she's gone, Peter turns the TV on again and sees a live report of the Sandman's departure from the bank. The police have the place surrounded but their bullets do not even faze the villain. Sandy defiantly stands in the bank's doorway holding up one of those big bags with the big dollar sign on it that we know all banks use to carry their currency. But then Aunt May comes back and Peter must go to bed. He holds the blankets up to his chin and thinks about how Spider-Man could stop the Sandman... if only he could get his mask sewed and get away from Aunt May.
Back in the city, the Sandman takes off running, carrying his moneybag, with the police on his heels. He rounds a corner into a vacant lot, out of sight of his pursuers, puts the moneybag on the ground, turns to sand on top of it and waits. All the police see is an innocent mound of sand and they run right by it. The Sandman has made his escape.
The following morning, Aunt May is still pestering poor Peter about his health. She pulls out the thermometer and takes his temperature... which is "perfectly normal". She goes downstairs to fix Peter a good breakfast and pack him off to school. As soon as she leaves, Pete sits up in bed. He has, apparently, stayed in his Spidey suit and robe all night long and, even though he "was up half the night workin' on" it, he still hasn't had time to finish sewing his mask. But now's his chance! He gets it done and decides to wear his costume under his clothes today. (What's this? No shower, Pete?) By the time he's dressed and downstairs, Aunt May has his breakfast ready. She tells him she must go out but wants him to "eat every drop" of his food. And, since it "may rain today", she makes sure that Peter is carrying an umbrella.
At the Daily Bugle/Now Magazine offices, J. Jonah Jameson walks in wondering if there's any connection between Spider-Man and the Sandman. "What a scoop it would be if I proved there is!" He sits in his chair and finds that "little souvenir" that Spidey left the day before. It is a nice chunk of Spidey's adhesive webbing and JJJ finds himself stuck. (Which would be fine but isn't Spidey's webbing supposed to disappear after an hour?) Jonah stands up and the chair comes with him. He orders his "gawking" secretary Betty Brant to fetch another pair of trousers for him.
Jonah's secretary has made one previous appearance in ASM #2 (May 1963), first story, page 8, panel 3. She looks a bit like Betty but somehow older in Ditko's admittedly sketchy illustration. She is also wearing glasses, which Betty Brant does not do. In Untold Tales of Spider-Man #12 (August 1996), Kurt Busiek established that Betty's mother was Jonah's secretary until she was attacked by Blackie Gaxton's thugs who came to her home in search of her son Bennett. (Don't worry, we'll get to the Blackie Gaxton-Bennett Brant stuff in ASM #11, April 1964.) The assault left Mrs. Brant with brain damage and Betty was forced to step in and take her mom's place with JJJ. So can we agree that the woman in the previous appearance is Mrs. Brant and this moment with Jonah webbed to the chair is Betty's very first appearance?
Betty gets the fresh trousers and runs into Peter on her way back to Jameson. (Now, I don't want to get too picky here but Stan does clearly state that Jonah arrives at work "a few minutes later" than Peter leaves his house. JJ removes his hat and coat, loosens his tie and sits down. Could Peter really have traveled from his home in Queens to the offices in Manhattan in such a short period of time? Erm... no.) Betty asks Peter to take the trousers since Jonah is "in such a bad mood, I hate to face him". Peter, who has forgotten his little present until this moment, is happy to do so. He enters the publisher's office. Jonah is standing behind his desk in his boxer shorts. Peter hands him the fresh pants and JJJ berates Parker for not bringing in any good pictures lately.
When Peter reveals that his reason for visiting is to ask for an advance, Jonah blows a gasket. "What do you do with money, eat it?" he bellows, then chases Peter out, telling him "get me some shots of Spider-Man and don't come back till you do!" Peter, who wanted the money "for new experiments with my webbing" admits defeat and leaves the building. "Once I get those pix of Spider-Man", says Jonah to himself once Peter is already down at the street, "I'll run them next to some pix of Sandman with a caption reading: Are they the same man? What a feature that will make!"
Peter takes a bus to school, still carting his umbrella with him. Flash Thompson is hanging around with Liz Allen on the school grounds and he can't believe that she has agreed to a date tonight with "Puny Parker". "Well, the poor guy has asked me so many times, I just didn't have the heart to refuse him again" says the compassionate Liz.
Liz, by the way, has been around since Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962), but I'm pretty sure this is the first time she is actually given a name. Hang on a second and let me look through the back issues to be certain that I am right...... Okay, I'm back and I'm right. Er... yeah, you're right, you caught me, I never went to look at all, I just said that I did. Even so, I'm still pretty sure this is the first time Liz is called "Liz". At this point, her last name still hasn't seen the light of day.
Peter gets off the bus, his mind occupied with his plans to track the Sandman after school, and Liz asks him what time he is going to pick her up. Of course, Peter has forgotten all about his date with Liz. He decides he must break the date but he doesn't dare tell her the real reason why. So, he tells her that he has to "study for tomorrow's exam" (which, come to think of it, Liz should be doing, too) but Liz will have none of it. "You're the top student in the class!" says the spurned Liz, "If you can't spare one evening for a date, then I'm sorry for you! Goodbye!" Flash Thompson has been digging every minute of this. He gets in a last gleeful shot. "Hey, dig the crazy umbrella", he says, "How come you left your galoshes home, skinny?" And in class, Peter gets so absorbed in the troubles of maintaining a secret identity (and wondering if he should have his head examined) that the teacher yells at him to "stop daydreaming in class!" The poor guy just can't win.
Not far away, the Sandman is finding the police to be a little more trouble than he thought. The cops are everywhere, keeping Sandy on the run. One officer leaps at the villain's feet, only to come up empty as the Sandman turns his legs to sand. But more try to grab him. Sandy is forced to assume the shape of a snake in order to evade their clutches. Finally, he finds himself alone but he knows he needs a good place to hide before the cops catch up with him again. There is a High School across the street and the Sandman decides "Nobody'd ever think to look for me in there!" He slips into the nearly empty hallway of the school.
Everyone is in class except for one student who is being punished for not paying attention. The student is Peter Parker, the punishment is to carry some "old bottles from the lab to the boiler room", and I only have two questions to accompany this. First, why doesn't Pete's spider-sense go off with the Sandman standing right behind him? Second, why would you punish someone who is not paying attention in class by sending them on a job that takes them away from the class? Well, there are reasons, my friends, from Stan Lee's viewpoint if not necessarily from the teacher's viewpoint. So, anyway, Peter arrives at the boiler room and the janitor tells Pete to set the bottles down because he's busy adjusting... ahem... "this new king-size vacuum cleaner".
Meanwhile, the Sandman is still creeping around the hallway, looking for an empty classroom in which to hide. But he hears someone coming and decides to duck into the nearest door. And wouldn't you know it? It's the classroom that Peter has just left! The Sandman is disappointed to see that "the blamed room is packed!" Not only that, but Principal Davis has wandered in to say a few words to the students. The Principal recognizes the Sandman right away and, identifying himself, confronts the bad guy. When the Sandman learns that Davis is the Principal, he declares, "I never graduated school! Mebbe this is my chance to get a diploma!"
He tells the Principal to "write me out a diploma... or else!" but Davis will not back down or give in. "A diploma must be earned!", he says, "Your threats can't make me violate my trust or my duties." The students are all impressed to see the Principal stand up to the Sandman but the Sandman himself just rears back and prepares to punch the guy out. Luckily for Davis, though, Peter Parker has returned from his task, overheard the events inside, and changed into his Spidey duds. Leaping into the classroom "like a tornado", Spider-Man lands a solid haymaker right on the Sandman's jaw. An admiring student declares, "This sure has studying calculus beat all hollow!"
The students crowd around ready to watch the fight. Flash Thompson yells out, "Go get 'im, Spider-Man!" and Spidey wonders if the cheering would continue if they all knew it was "Puny Parker" for whom they are cheering. The Sandman has recovered from the punch. He's ready to take the wall-crawler apart. Spidey is concerned about the well being of his fellow students. He decides he must get the Sandman away from the crowd. First he considers trying to knock the villain out with one punch but his spider-sense tells him that the Sandman has made his body rock-hard. Instead, the web-slinger grabs the Sandman behind the head, before Marko can react and change back to soft sand, then flips Sandy overhis head. The villain smashes right through the door and lands out in the hall. (Inside the classroom, Liz wonders where Peter went. Flash replies that "that coward" is "probably hidin' with his head under a desk somewhere". Both seem to have forgotten that Peter was sent out to take the bottles to the boiler room.)
The Sandman recovers quickly and attacks the web-slinger. He turns his hands into big sandy blocks and tries to pound Spidey into mush. The webhead evades these blows. As the students evacuate the building, Spidey springs backwards into a classroom. The Sandman fills the doorway, still using his hands as piledrivers. Spidey knows he needs more space in which to operate and, suddenly... don't ask me how... he goes from the classroom to the gymnasium. Now that he has the extra space he craves, the wall-crawler stands on the top of the basketball backboard and sprays his webbing down so that it completely covers the Sandman. Thinking he has defeated his foe, the web-spinner leaps down to the gym floor but the Sandman escapes by turning to sand and "pouring right thru [the] web". Spidey is "trying to sound confident" but he is running out of ideas.
He grabs a transom and kicks his way out through the double doors. The Sandman expands his hand to gigantic proportions and makes a grab at the web-slinger, aiming too low to succeed. (And it occurs to me that this panel, with the Sandman's distorted hand, looks very much like Ditko's later Shade, the Changing Man (June/July 1977-August/September 1978). What is it with Steve and these distorted figures?) In the very next panel, however, the Sandman has managed to corner the wall-crawler. Again he resorts to the piledriver fists while he loosens up the coherency of his torso so Spidey's punches go right through him without effect. And just when you think the Sandman is too ham-headed to come up with anything new, he adds a wrinkle. While Spidey's arm is thrust all the way through him (and sticking out his back!), he hardens his body. The webster is stuck. While Spidey tries to dislodge his arm, Sandy uses his "rock-hard head" to head-butt him. Spidey goes down on one knee and the Sandman uses his leverage to push the wall-crawler way back. If he didn't have spider-strength, our hero would "be out for the count".
Instead, using the last of his strength, Spider-Man uses the leverage against Marko. He flips Sandy over his head and smashes the bad guy's head into an "iron stairway post". The villain falls apart into "countless grains of sand". (Now, wait a second. Spidey was trapped in a corner. The Sandman was rock-hard. Spidey flipped him over. Suddenly, they're only a couple of feet from a stairway that appears out of nowhere. The post is made of iron, even though it looks like yellow-painted wood. And Sandy's rock-hard body completely disintegrates into sand. Sounds like Spidey got a little help from Stan and Steve.)
Spider-Man is free but the Sandman is already reforming. The top half of his body sits upright on the ground while he oozes the bottom part of his body over Spidey's legs, imitating quicksand. Then, as the web-slinger is occupied with trying to free his feet, Flint stretches up and tries to engulf the web-slinger. Soon Spidey is covered in sand up to his neck, but in spite of his distressing circumstances, he comes up with a plan. Intentionally letting himself get completely engulfed in the sand, Spidey bends down and forms himself into a ball. He finds the basement stairs and rolls down them. The Sandman comes along for the ride, contemptuous of Spidey's escape attempt. ("You're just prolongin' the agony, lamebrain! This ain't gonna help ya!") But when they reach the bottom of the stairs and arrive in the boiler room, they collide with a brick wall and the impact jars the Sandman loose. Sandy coalesces into his human form and springs to the attack. Spidey grabs an electric drill from the janitor's workbench and orders the Sandman to keep his distance. Flint turns to sand and scoffs at him. "That dumb thing can't hurt me", he says. Little does he know he is playing right into the wall-crawler's hands. Spidey shoves the drill right into the Sandman but it goes right through. "How'd a nut like you ever get to be a super-hero, anyhow?", says the floating silhouette of sand. He's about to find out. "Moving with breath-taking speed", Spider-Man drops the drill and grabs the vacuum cleaner that the janitor was adjusting earlier. He turns it on and trains the nozzle on the swirl of sand. In an instant, the Sandman is sucked into the vacuum cleaner and, just like that, the battle is over.
It is only afterwards that Spidey realizes he didn't have time to get pictures for J. Jonah Jameson. And so, with a complete disregard for journalistic integrity, he decides to fake them. He removes his camera from his belt, props it up on a table and sets the timer to automatic. There is a bucket of sand ("For Fire Only") in the boiler room; Spidey grabs a handful and tosses it into the air. He leaps through it and punches it, as if he is fighting the Sandman in his pure sand form. "Since this really happened a few minutes ago, it can't be unethical", says the self-deluded super-hero, "it's like shooting a re-take of a movie!"
Outside the school, the police have thrown up a cordon. And who should barge his way up to the front lines but Jolly Jonah himself. JJJ rags on the police captain, asking, "Why don't you charge in there and overpower the Sandman?" The captain replies that he must make sure all the students are safe before he sends his men in, shooting. And these guys mean business! One panel gives us a nice close-up of a machine-gun in a policeman's hands. Soon, the school is cleared out and Jameson tells the captain to get moving "before [the Sandman] and Spider-Man escape". The captain tells Jonah that he believes Spidey is "helping... to battle Sandman" but JJ sneers at this. "For all we know", he says, "they're planning to loot this entire city together." Seconds after those words are spoken, the spider-signal shines down at JJJ and the captain's feet.
Up on the roof, standing right next to the American flag, Spidey rests his hand on the vacuum cleaner and tells the police that the Sandman is safely trapped inside. Only Jameson doesn't buy it. ("It could be a trick! You've got to capture Spider-Man! Hold him until you find the Sandman!") The captain is on Spidey's side but he still wants the wall-crawler to come down and give a full report. JJJ has questions, too. "My papers want to know more about him! Why is Spider-Man allowed to roam the city at will ... taking the law into his own hands??"
Spidey knows that he can never do anything to satisfy Jameson. He's also afraid that Jonah might incite the crowd into convincing the police to arrest him. He imagines being in the hands of the cops as a satisfied Jonah unmasks him. That's enough to convince him. Instead of joining the crowd, he uses his web to lower the vacuum cleaner. And with Jameson screaming that "As a taxpayer, I demand he be apprehended!" the wall-crawler goes back into the school, uses his spider-powers to quickly get downstairs, find his clothes and change back to Peter Parker. Not a moment too soon. Seconds after re-assuming his civvies, a hand drops on his shoulder. It is Jonah Jameson wanting to know if Parker managed to get any photos of the battle. Peter tells him that he did. He hands over the film, explaining, "I didn't have time to have it developed!" (No d'uh, Pete!) Jameson is cool with that. "I'll take the cost of developing out of your pay", he tells the High Schooler.
The police have also entered the building but can find no trace of Spider-Man. The captain isn't worried about it. He has nothing against Spidey anyway. Jonah overhears this and goes on his toot again, declaring that he will write an editorial about the destruction caused by the battle between Spidey and Sandy... damage that would not have occurred "if Spider-Man had let the police handle this" so that "Sandman could have been starved out of there and captured with no fuss, no damage". The captain tells JJJ he can publish what he wants but that "the police appreciate Spider-Man's help".
Peter isn't worried about any of this. He grins from ear to ear. After all, he "polished off Sandman, got the money I needed, and now there's nothing to stop me from dating Liz tonight!" Pete joins up with the gang ("Well, well, look who's here! Mr. Bookworm of 1963" says one student.) He tells Liz that he can take her out tonight after all but a haughty Liz informs him that she has made other plans. "Meaning yours truly punk", says a triumphant Flash Thompson, "Now run along and find your umbrella." For a second, Peter loses his cool. He grabs Flash by the shirt and cocks his fist, declaring "I'm gonna wipe that stupid leer off your face right now!" Flash is unconcerned. In fact, he's been looking forward to this fight. But, in that moment, Peter realizes what he is doing; realizes that he could "pulverize" Flash if he let himself go, so instead he begs off, claiming "I've got more important things to do". "Sure, things like chickening out of fights and hiding whenever there's trouble," says Flash. The rest of the gang thinks Flash is a riot. Liz puts her hand to her mouth, shocked by Peter Parker's cowardice.
Outside the school, the ribbing continues. One wise guy pretends that he is going to help Puny Parker across the street, then is surprised to discover that, under his jacket, Peter has "got muscles like a weight lifter". Liz and the others drive off with Flash in his car. Peter is left standing on the corner, holding his umbrella. When Flash lets go with one last insult ("So long, Brain Wave! Don't let any kindergarten kids run away with your books!"), Liz tells him to lay off. "Women!" Flash replies, "I thought you were mad at 'im!"
So, Peter walks home from school, eavesdropping on the comments of those around him. One man comments on Spidey's capture of the Sandman but others have listened to J. Jonah Jameson. "Who knows when Spider-Man may turn against society?" "What would make a guy wear a goofy costume and run around chasin' crooks?" "He must be a neurotic of some sort! Probably has delusions of grandeur!" Even the kids are against him. One asks, "Don't you wish you were Spider-Man?" while the other replies, "Nah! Give me the Human Torch any day!"
At home, alone in his room, Peter Parker wonders if the people are right. "Am I really some sort of crack-pot wasting my time seeking fame and glory?" he asks. He doesn't know the answer. But he does know he must continue. "No matter how difficult it is, I must remain as Spider-Man! And I pray that some day the world will understand!"
In the letter's page, Gary Anderson of East Northport, New York is confused by something. He read ASM #1 and notes, "In the first half of the book, Spider-Man's secret identity is Peter Parker, but in the second half, his secret identity is Peter Palmer! Which name is right?" He is answered, "Gary, literally hundreds of puzzled fans have called our attention to that king-sized error! We don't know how it happened, but to set the record straight, Spider-Man's real name is Peter Parker, and we're gonna do our best to see that it stays that way!" I mention this letter because of a recent hub-bub in which several readers have written to PPP, concerned that their copies of ASM #1 were reprints because they had the "Peter Palmer" error. This letter should ease everyone's fears once and for all. The original issue HAS the Palmer mistake. Any issues that have "Parker" in the second story are the reprints.
Elsewhere in the Spider's Web, Arthur Davis Jr. of Roanoke, Virginia wants to know whatever happened to Amazing Adult Fantasy. The answer: "Judging by your mail, those who read the mag LOVED it... but, judging by our sales, not enough readers BOUGHT A.A.F.! So, just for kicks, we decided to create a new super character (SPIDER-MAN) and throw away all the rules, making him as original and as different as we could. We planned to present him in the final issue of AMAZING ADULT FANTASY, just to satisfy ourselves. But, the rest is history! His surprise appearance jolted readers everywhere, and we were deluged with letters demanding that he be given his own magazine. So there you are... AMAZING ADULT FANTASY has now become AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, and a new super hero sensation has joined the Marvel galaxy of stars!"
Rick Wood of Memphis, Tennessee likes Spidey just fine but thinks, "Such quotes as, 'My spider instincts sense danger behind me!', 'That tingle I feel, my quarry is close,' 'I can still sense him in the dark" - all imply some vague power which has no reasonable explanation, and which is unnecessary to the story. Most super-heroes have such unexplained instincts which save the writer the trouble of thinking up a more reasonable and clever way out of plot difficulties, but I just hope you keep Spider-Man out of this rut!" (Stan's reply: "Aw, come on now, Rick! WHAT rut? How many OTHER super heroes do you know with spider instincts?)
And Bill Schmuck of Victoria, British Columbia says... well, who cares what he says? I just mentioned him because I want to make fun of his last name! (Sorry, Bill!)
Finally, in the "Special Announcements Section", Stan proudly proclaims that "effective with this issue, the Amazing Spider-Man will be published MONTHLY!" and suggests that, "due to the unusually large demand for Spider-Man", the readers reserve their copies in advance. The section concludes with, "Yours till Peter Parker picks a peck of pickled peppers!"
The Sandman was judged popular enough to re-appear only a few months later, in Strange Tales #115 (December 1963) versus the Human Torch. Spidey had a one-panel appearance in that issue. Check out a quick recap in the "Spider-Man Cameos" section. Flint Marko joins the Sinister Six to challenge Spidey in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 (1964) and pops up again in ASM #18-19 (November-December 1964), but after that he disappears from Spidey's life for over seven years, becoming a member of the Frightful Four and battling the Fantastic Four and the Incredible Hulk instead. He meets Spidey again in Marvel Team-Up #1 (March 1972), but doesn't face off solo against the webhead until four years later (ASM #154, March 1976). He has made occasional appearances in the wall-crawler's mags since then. In his most recent appearances, Sandy has a chunk of his body eaten up by Venom and is slowly dissolving as a result of this attack. He resorts to eating bags of cement to try to keep himself together only to end up (in Peter Parker: Spider-Man Vol.2, #22, October 2000) merging with a Long Island beach. I have no doubt that the Sandman will, one day, appear again.
In General...
Milestones (Landmark events that take place in this story.)
- First appearance of the Sandman.
- First appearance of Betty Brant.
- First appearance of Liz Allen's first name.
- First appearance of Principal Davis.
- First time Peter blows off a date because he plans to go out as Spider-Man.
- First torn mask.
- First pricked finger trying to stitch up torn mask.
- First prank on J. Jonah Jameson.
- First time (in comics history?) that a villain is defeated with a vacuum cleaner.
- First time Peter violates his journalistic integrity by taking pictures of a simulated fight after the actual battle is over.
Overall Rating...
The Sandman is pretty cool and Ditko's drawings of the different shapes he assumes are great but the issue doesn't quite reach the heights of other first-time villain appearances, such as Doc Ock, the Green Goblin, and Kraven the Hunter. Even with the great torn mask scene, the defeat of the Sandman with a vacuum cleaner, and Spidey's simulated fight with actual sand, I can't give this issue more than four webs.
My comment:
OCTOBER
AMAZING SPIDERMAN # 5
Background... Dr. Doom has been around longer than Spider-Man. Considered by many to be the greatest villain in the Marvel Universe, Dr. Doom is the creation of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. He first appears in Fantastic Four #5 (July 1962) with a time machine and a cockeyed scheme to steal Blackbeard's treasure. Over the next year, Doom faces the FF four more times. He teams up with the Sub-Mariner (FF #6, September 1962), swaps bodies with Reed Richards (FF #10, January 1963), tries to conquer the micro-verse (FF #16, July 1963), and concocts an elaborate death trap (FF #17, August 1963). With his plans thwarted by the Fantastic Four, Dr. Doom escapes capture by leaping out of his airship to his apparent death. But Doom has survived worse scenarios than this. So it is no surprise to see Doom turn up two months later. What is a surprise is the comic in which he makes that return: The Amazing Spider-Man. We begin with a splash page that introduces us to most of the players for this issue... including a last name for Liz at last. (Spelled "Allan" in this issue.) Then we jump to a television program entitled "Spider-Man... A Force for Good or Evil?" In beautiful black and white, the show is hosted and sponsored by publisher J. Jonah Jameson so we know which way the evidence will be slanted. (And if you're not sure, Jonah spells it right out for you at the start, blurting out, "I say that Spider-Man belongs behind bars!".) A gang of teenagers in a local bowling alley is watching the program. Among them are Peter Parker, Flash Thompson and Liz Allan. Flash declares that he thinks, "Spider-Man's the coolest". Peter decides to "talk against Spider-Man" in order to allay any suspicion. He tells the gang "Jameson may be right". After all, nobody knows a thing about Spider-Man. Flash contemptuously declares that Peter would "faint if [he] ever caught sight" of Spidey. Liz speculates that Spidey is "real handsome under that silly mask". (And she actually sighs after saying this!) Flash suddenly tells Pete to "get lost". ("This is a bowling alley, not a knitting parlor", he says.) A seething Peter Parker goes but thinks, "there's even a limit to Spider-Man's patience". Jonah's TV show continues (as JJJ offers a thousand dollars to "anyone who can disclose Spider-Man's true identity".) In another part of town, a man encased head to toe in armor, wearing a green tunic and hooded cape, watches the program and wonders if Spider-Man is the answer to his problems. As he stalks through a room filled with elaborate machinery, Dr. Doom thinks back on his battles with the Fantastic Four. Always, they end in stalemate. Alone, Doom has not been able to win. But if he had an ally... someone like Spider-Man... "even that accursed quartet would not be able to save themselves from my wrath". He thinks back to his last encounter with the FF, when he was forced to leap from his airship and disappear into the clouds. Now, he reveals that he waited until the clouds hid his actions, and then activated a "jet powered flying belt" he had concealed beneath his cloak. It was an easy matter to fly to one of his many hideouts. Seconds after deciding to contact Spider-Man, Doom already has a method mapped out, complete with a very large spider trapped in a big glass container that looks a bit like a toy top with big screws hanging off of it. (Wow! He had a giant spider all prepared just in case he happened to see a show on TV that would give him the idea of contacting Spider-Man. The guy really is a genius!) Using the same method devised by the Chameleon back in ASM #1 (March 1963), Doom deduces that Spidey has "the sensory powers of a spider" and uses his imprisoned arachnid and a "spider-wave transmitter" to stimulate the ol' spider-sense. The way it works is, Doc holds an orange thingamabob up next to the spider in the jar and yells "Calling Spider-Man! Calling Spider-Man!" into it. Don't laugh! This actually works! Because Peter is home, standing on the wall, dressed in his whole Spidey suit except the mask and gloves, and spinning webs all over the place (yeah, Aunt May won't walk in, so why not?) when he hears that "Calling Spider-Man!" as plain as day. "Who can it be?" he wonders, as he snags a glove off his table with some webbing and puts his mask on, "How could anyone have figured out a way to reach me through my spider's sense?" (Yeah, after all, it's only the second time it's been done in the first five issues!) He leaves the house and webslings over the city, following "the sensory impulses to their source!" Soon after, Spidey arrives at his destination. He peeks through a window and immediately recognizes Dr. Doom. In the very next panel, our hero is inside the room and clinging to the ceiling. (What? Did he teleport in?) He asks Doom why "someone with your talent" has bothered to contact him. Doc presents his idea of a team-up. "Together, we could rule the world!" he says. (Just like Pinky and the Brain!) He presses his case by comparing Spidey's sorry lot with the success of the Fantastic Four. They get to bask "in the limelight, while you are shunned and hunted", he tells the web-slinger, but secretly he is thinking that he will bend Spidey to his own purpose then "destroy him without a second thought". Spidey has descended to the ground and he muses over Doom's offer. "Wouldn't that be a gasser?" he says. Doom takes this as a "yes" but he is mistaken. Once Spidey gets over being amused by the idea, he turns the Doctor down. "I need you like I need another nose", he says. Doom is not amused. He warns Spidey that a refusal will make them "deadly foes". Spidey responds by covering the Doc with webbing... or so he thinks. A door slides open in a nearby wall and the real Dr. Doom appears. The webbed-up Doc turns out to be a robot. Now, Doom initiates his attack. A trap door opens up beneath Spider-Man's feet. Any normal person would have fallen right in. But "a feller with the reflexes of a spider" is able to brace his hands on the floor by the opening, leap high in the air, and come down right on top of Dr. Doom. The Doctor's (armor-augmented?) strength is enough to fling the web-spinner away from him. He follows this up with a ray blast from his "finger gun" (which is just what it sounds like). The nimble wall-crawler leaps away from the blast and intentionally tumbles backwards out of a window. It turns out that Doom's hideout is right on the waterfront. When Spidey breaks through the window, he twists about and lands safely in the water. Doom watches him float away. He decides to let the webhead go for now but vows, "he shall still serve my purpose". How? First he plans to learn Spidey's true identity. Then he will capture him and use him as bait to trap the Fantastic Four. Still scheming, Dr. D. heads for his helicopter. Meanwhile, Spider-Man (who never had any intention of letting Doom get away) doubles back and climbs a piling under Doc's hideout. This time he plans to seize the element of surprise. But, when he reaches the roof, the whole building explodes. Spidey realizes that Doom is probably miles away by now. He leaps to safety, pulls out his camera, and takes some pics of the burning building for J. Jonah Jameson. A crowd gathers and sees him as he leaps away. One bystander, of course, announces that it must have been Spider-Man who blew up the building. The next day at the Daily Bugle, JJJ agrees to buy the pictures of the fire but tells Peter he really wants shots of Spidey so he can pin the fire on him. Peter, deciding to "needle the ol' windbag" tells his boss that the public is tiring of the attacks on Spidey and wonder, "what your real motives are". Betty Brant, Jonah's secretary, agrees. "I've heard some of our readers mention that they think you're jealous of Spider-Man for some reason", she says. Pete is surprised to hear that he has an ally in Betty. He suddenly realizes how pretty Betty is, as well. Jonah tells Peter and Betty that his only motivation is "to make money". "The more I attack Spider-Man, the more people read my papers!" Peter doesn't buy this explanation. As far as he is concerned, his boss is just a "big blustering phony". Elsewhere, Liz Allan and five of her nameless friends are all smiles over an impending practical joke. They are face-to-face with Spider-Man, who intones, "Where is Peter Parker? I want him! Bring him to me!" Spidey isn't Spidey, of course. He removes his mask to reveal Flash Thompson underneath. The costume was put together by "the gals" for one purpose. To scare Peter Parker. "This'll teach our bookworm buddy to knock Spider-Man!" Flash says. In another of his hideouts, Dr. Doom has "devised an instrument which will react to a spider's impulses the way a Geiger counter reacts to uranium". His plan is to fly around town in his helicopter, waiting for the spider-detector to find Spidey in his real identity. (Because God knows there aren't any other spiders in the city that might set off a spider-detector.) Now all the coincidences start to come together. Peter Parker is spotted by two of Flash's pals as he walks along on Front Street. They race off to tell Flash they have located Pete. Meanwhile, up in the air, Dr. Doom's helicopter draws near. His detector starts to register positive. The two boys find Flash, who is waiting nearby in his Spider-Man uniform. So, Peter walks on the sidewalk, right next to a high wooden fence. Flash, in his Spidey suit, is walking along on the other side of the fence, ready to jump out at Pete at the point where the fence ends. Up in the air, Dr. Doom pinpoints the spider impulses. He looks at his view screen and pays no attention to Peter Parker walking on the sidewalk. No, he sees Spider-Man walking in the grass alongside the fence. "Strange", he thinks, "he's wearing his costume in broad daylight!" (That's not strange, Doc. What's strange is that you manage to leave your helicopter hovering ten feet off the ground with a rope ladder hanging out of it and nobody ever notices.) So, Spider-Flash has reached the end of the fence with Peter just on the other side. He is about to jump out and scare Puny Parker. Then, he happens to look over his shoulder and sees Dr. Doom coming towards him, pulling a gun out of a holster. The gun contains a "fast-acting sleeping gas". He sprays it on Spider-Flash's head and the costumed teen collapses in a heap. As Stan puts it, "And so, Doctor Doom makes his first careless mistake... not suspecting that his Geiger-like device had reacted to Peter Parker's presence, rather than the imitation Spider-Man's." Pete is so caught up in his own thoughts that he never even notices anything. Dr. Doom slings Flash over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He carries him back to his hovering ship, speculating, since he was so easy to trap, "Spider-Man possesses less super-powers than people think". Across the street, Liz and the gang wait in vain for Flash to jump out. Peter walks by and is gone. They are all disappointed. "Maybe Flash's costume tore or something", suggests Liz. Peter gets home and finds Aunt May watching Ed Sullivan on TV. Suddenly, the picture goes out, turning into a series of wavy lines. (As someone who grew up in the sixties, I can tell all you younger folks that this sort of thing used to happen all the time with television. I can remember many a time, watching some show, only to have the picture go out or the sound disappear or a signal fade away, followed by a card coming up on the screen asking us to "Please Stand By".) Aunt May is worried that her picture tube is broken (and she just had it fixed last week). Then, an announcer comes on, informing the audience that "there is nothing wrong with your sets' reception". It turns out that "some strange force" is taking over the transmission. Pete doesn't seem to be buying it. He fiddles with the knobs on the set. But just then Dr. Doom's image appears on the screen. He is broadcasting a message to the Fantastic Four. He gestures behind, showing that Spider-Man is his prisoner. He demands that the FF disband within the hour or he will kill the wall-crawling wonder. Aunt May is relieved that the prisoner is only Spider-Man. After all, he's "probably as much a menace as Doctor Doom". (And who cares if he gets snuffed, right Aunt May?) Peter is just confused. He knows that Doom doesn't have the real Spidey captured. So, what's the trick? Just then the phone rings. It is Liz Allan, calling from a pay phone, still surrounded by all the nameless kids. Liz is so worried about Flash that she tells Peter everything... except on whom they were going to play the prank. Peter, who can figure out for himself who the intended joke victim was, cavalierly tells Liz that there's nothing he can do to find the phony Spider-Man. "Flash doesn't exactly head my list of favorite people, remember?" he says before hanging up. Realizing that Doom has captured Flash by mistake, Pete takes time out to gloat. He knows that the FF will never agree to Doom's terms. All he has to do is stay out of it, Doom will murder Flash, and Peter will never have to be bothered by his loud-mouthed enemy ever again! But, he knows he's just kidding himself. He can't let anything happen to Flash Thompson. He'll have to change into his Spider-Man suit and go into action himself. So, Peter tries to slip out of the house by telling his aunt that he has to do an errand only to have May forbid him from leaving. With Dr. Doom and Spider-Man and who knows whom else out and about, she wants her nephew "home where it's safe". Pete knows May is fragile and the doctor has suggested she be spared worries, so he agrees to stay home tonight. But, he knows he can't really stay so he resorts to some subterfuge. He goes down into the cellar, telling May that he is checking to see that the cellar windows are locked. While down there, he removes the master fuse from the fuse box, which sends the whole house into darkness. Pete uses his spider-sense to find his way back upstairs. Aunt May has used her Aunt May-sense to already find a candle and light it. She tells Pete that they must have blown a fuse and that they have no more fuses in the house. Peter tells her he must go to the store for some new fuses. But once he leaves the house, he hides in the bushes and changes into his Spidey things. He checks his equipment by shooting some webbing and shining his "Spider-Man light beam" on the wall. And he's off! At the Baxter Building, the FF discuss their options. Time is running out and they can't let Spidey come to harm but... they can't give up either. The Thing is annoyed by the whole business. "Blasted amateurs!" he says of Spidey, "Always gummin' up the works!" Now in the city, Spider-Man deduces that Doom must be near an area "where some enormous dynamos may be located" in order to interrupt all the television signals. He swings by the phone company (with a giant stone rotary telephone on its roof) and the "broadcasting company building" but doesn't get any tingle from his "spider-instinct". He continues on and covers half the city before he feels "hostile emanations" from an abandoned factory. Sure enough, Dr. D. is inside the factory. He watches his captive over a black and white TV screen. The man in the Spidey suit tells his captor that a mistake has been made, that he's not really Spider-Man. Doom is disgusted by Spider-Man's cowardice. On the roof, Spider-Man reasons that the factory will be set up with "a zillion traps" in preparation for the arrival of the Fantastic Four. But it is just possible that Doom hasn't set up a trap in a large air vent... since it isn't an entranceway any FF member would ordinarily use. It is a very tight fit but the wall-crawler manages to make his way down. It leads both to Doc's location and to "The gol-dangest, ding-bustedest, rip-snortin'est, super-characters fight you've ever seen!" according to Stan. The web-slinger hangs from the ceiling behind Dr. Doom. He announces his presence by shining his spider-signal. (Good thing he tested it on the wall of his house! Oh, and he's upside-down while his spider-signal is rightside-up.) Doom doesn't understand how Spidey can be there when he already has him as a prisoner. Our hero explains that he is the real one and that Doom captured "a phony Brand-X in there". Doom can't believe Spidey was foolish enough to show up and place himself in danger. He shoots a finger-blast but Spidey leaps down to the ground and evades the shot. More finger-blasts follow but they are blocked by a "web column" that Spidey whips up to act as a shield. From his place of safety, Spidey concocts a "web ball filled with web fluid". He flings this at Doom. It connects with Doc's hand and the webbing blocks up the finger blaster. The wall-crawler follows up his attack. Taking inspiration from the Human Torch ("but I use web-balls instead of fire-balls"), he throws eight spheres of webbing at the master villain. Doom reaches his control panel and pushes some buttons. Suddenly, Spidey senses danger from above. He quickly makes a shield out of webbing and is protected from a gush of "falling liquid" that turns into ice on contact. ("It might have frozen me solid!") A second web shield helps him to get away from the ice attack. He again faces Doom, who has had time to bring out his next weapon. As Spidey puts it, the device consists of "iron globes, revolving at great speed around a magnetic core" (so it looks like a giant model of an atom). Doc is happy to have Spider-Man there since he's been looking for a guinea pig on which to test this weapon. At the flip of a switch, the globes start to expand their orbit, pushing Spidey into a corner. He shoots webbing at the globes but this is ineffective. Soon, he is forced within the orbits and must use all his speed and agility to evade the balls. Just when he thinks he can't dodge any longer, he gets an idea. The balls may be resistant to his webbing but perhaps not the base of the nucleus. He shoots webbing at the base, gumming up the works. The depowered iron globes all fall to the ground. Without getting a chance to catch his breath, Spidey must immediately deal with the next threat. Doom has shot "liquid heat" (which just looks like fire to me) up from the floorboards. The web-slinger must quickly cling to the wall to get away from it. He somersaults to the top of the wall, leaps and clings to the ceiling, and jumps out of harm's way. But he lands just where Doom wants him: a "steel section of flooring" that the evil Doctor immediately electrifies! Spidey is stuck to the spot as Doom increases the current. A normal man would be unconscious by now. A normal man also wouldn't have any web-shooters. The wall-crawler fires a stream of webbing at Doom. The webbing carries the electric charge with it. It strikes Dr. Doom on the elbow. The metal of Doc's armor then magnifies the conveyed current. The villain is forced to turn the current off to escape from his own trap. Before Doom can hit another switch, Spidey covers the entire weapon's console with webbing. The web-spinner thinks he has deprived the Doctor of his "kookie gadgets" but he has forgotten about the Dr. Doom robot. The mechanical Doom duplicate sneaks up behind Spidey and grabs him by the arms, giving the real Doom time to get to yet another weapons console and flip yet another switch. This time, a cool-looking Ditko machine pops out of the wall. It looks like a big blue ball and it fires yellow ray blasts. The robot tries to hold Spidey in the path of the rays but it is not able to withstand the spider-strength. The webhead flips the robot over his head and tosses him at the real Doctor Doom. Both Dooms go tumbling onto the floor. Spidey lifts up the base of the "iron-globe-magnetic-core" machine, raises it over his head, and aims it at the blue-ball machine. But Doom reaches up to yet another switch, flips it, and alters the direction of the blue ball's yellow ray. As Spidey throws the iron-globe-base, it is struck by the ray and is vaporized. The wall-crawler is shocked to realize that the weapon is "some sort of disintegrator". He doesn't have any defense for a weapon like that. By now the blue ball is shooting out five different disintegrator rays. Spidey dives around them, hoping to reach the control panel to shut them off. But Doom steps in and punches Spidey in the snoot before he can get to the controls. Suddenly one of the yellow rays strikes Dr. Doom but he is unaffected. "Did you think I'd expose myself to my own weapon without taking precautions??" says Doom. "I'm insulated against these bolts, they cannot harm me." Then he charges Spidey, trying to push him into the disintegrator rays. So, let's see. Doom is "stronger than [Spidey] suspected", "he seems to be tireless", and he is unaffected by the disintegrator. What can Spider-Man do? Well, "exerting every last bit of power contained in a super-human body", he gains the leverage and manages to shove Doom up against his control panel. This impact turns off the disintegrator. All of the rays fizzle out into nothing. But the battle isn't finished. Spider-Man is now "on the verge of exhaustion". Dr. Doom socks him in the jaw with an armor-covered fist. With Spidey on his heels, Doom covers his own eyes and throws a handful of little glowing flakes. The light burst blinds the web-slinger. Now our hero must rely on his spider-sense. Doom expects an easy target. He picks up a nasty-looking metal club and swings it at his opponent's head. But Spidey ducks away from it. Doom tries to bring the club down on the top of the webster's head but Spidey avoids that as well. The wall-crawler's eyes are starting to clear... things are looking up... then he slips on some of the iron globes, still laying about after the webbing-up of the base of the magnetic machine. Spidey is helpless on the ground. Doom rushes up to pummel him with his club. But before he delivers the fatal blow, Dr. Doom glances out a nearby window and sees the arriving Fantasti-Car, carrying all the members of the Fantastic Four. Feeling that he cannot battle Spidey and the FF at once, Doom beats feet out of there. He knows that he would have "finished off Spider-Man forever" if given a few more seconds, but he doesn't worry about it now. For revenge on the web-slinger, "there is always another day". Spider-Man gets to his feet, his vision now returned, in time to see Doom leave. For an instant he wonders why, then he looks out the window and sees the FF arriving, "just like the cavalry in a T.V. western". He is looking forward to seeing "their eyes... pop" when they learn that he "found Doom first". But then Spidey remembers that he left Aunt May at home, sitting around in the dark. So, as the Fantasti-Car prepares to land, Spider-Man slips out the window and climbs down the wall unseen. "Can't waste a second", the webhead says, "Got to rush back home!" Inside the abandoned hideout, Flash Thompson (still in his Spidey suit but without the mask on) wanders the hallways. (How did he get out of his cell? Well, with Doom's departure, "the electronic circuits have been destroyed". ) Flash realizes he was "a lunkhead... to dress as Spider-Man". He promises himself to "never ask for trouble again". But Flash isn't quite out of the woods yet. Behind him, a voice yells, "Look! It's Spider-Man!" and a big rocky orange hand grabs him by the scruff of the neck and yanks him into the air. The Fantastic Four have arrived and the Thing dangles Flash Thompson in front of him. The Human Torch immediately realizes that this is not the real Spider-Man. "I've seen Spider-Man close up", he tells the others, "that guy isn't even a reasonable facsimile". The Invisible Girl asks the Thing to put Flash down since, "The poor boy looks terrified!" And Mr. Fantastic finds webbing strewn around the place and correctly deduces that "the real Spider-Man was here!" But in the meantime, the real Spider-Man has crossed town, changed back into his blue suit, glasses, and yellow tie, and come back to a still-dark but now empty Forest Hills house. He calls for Aunt May but no one answers. Then May shows up in the doorway herself. She "got nervous in the house alone" and went to stay with the neighbors until Peter got back. When she asks Pete if he bought the fuses, he realizes he forgot all about them. "I'll tell her I was too scared to walk the dark streets alone!" he decides. (So, then what? They sit in the dark all night? Hey, Pete! The fuse never blew at all, remember? You pulled it! Just tell Aunt May you bought some and stick the old fuse back in! She'll never know the difference!) Next day, at the Daily Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson berates Peter Parker. The news is that "a teen-ager named Flash Thompson escaped from Doctor Doom" last night with the help of the FF. "And not one measley photo from you!" Peter tells JJJ he was home last night. "I've got to sleep sometime", he says. And Betty Brant whispers to him not to feel badly. "I may only be J.J.'s secretary," she says, "but I think you're wonderful!" Later on the school grounds, Peter is walking on air. He never knew Betty felt that way about him. He thinks she is pretty swell, too. Ahead, a crowd has gathered and Pete wonders what it could be. At least it can't be Flash Thompson this time. "He must be the most embarrassed kid in school by now!" he decides. But when he rounds the corner, he sees that it isFlash, bragging about his experiences. "Naturally I wasn't scared of that crumb, Doctor Doom! He couldn't keep me a prisoner for long! When he saw I escaped, he was so worried that he ran out before I could get my mitts on him!" The other kids ooh and ah. Liz turns to Pete and says she wouldn't blame him for being jealous "of a real he-man like Flash". Peter leans up against the side of the building and tells himself, "I might as well face it. I've got nothing but luck... and it's all bad!" It only takes the armored villain four months to return in "The Master Plan of Doctor Doom!" (FF #23 (February 1964)) Over the ensuing years, the good Doctor manages to take on just about everybody in the Marvel Universe from the Avengers to the X-Men to Master of Kung-Fu to the Micronauts to the Dazzler but his battles with the wall-crawler have been few and far between. In Daredevil #38 (March 1968), Dr. Doom temporarily takes over DD's body which leads to Fantastic Four #73 (April 1968) in which the FF battle Daredevil thinking he is possessed by Dr. Doom.. Daredevil enlists the aid of Spidey and Thor who the FF believe are two of Doom's robots but, by the time the web-slinger arrives, Doom is long gone from the encounter. In Marvel Team-Up #43-44 (March-April 1976) Doom teams up with Spidey, Moondragon, the Vision, and the Scarlet Witch to battle the Dark Rider. In Amazing Spider-Man Annual #14 (1980), the Doctor teams with Dormammu but never directly encounters the web-slinger or his ally Dr. Strange. Doom figures prominently in the Acts of Vengeance Marvel-wide storyline, appearing in such issues as ASM #327 (Mid-December 1989) and Spectacular Spider-Man #159-160 (Mid-December 1989-January 1990) but the closest he comes to facing the cosmic-powered Spider-Man is when he sends out the robot T.E.S.S.-One to fight. It is not until ASM #350 (August 1991) that we are treated to a Doom-Spidey battle to compete with ASM #5 and it, like its predecessor ends in a stalemate. Doom has just made a very recent appearance in the pages of Spider-Man. In ASM (Volume 2) #36 (December 2001), Doom stands with other villains (Magneto, the Kingpin, Dr. Octopus, and the Juggernaut) at the ruin of the World Trade Center. The most dangerous villain in the Marvel Universe looks about at the death and destruction... and sheds tears. Milestones (Landmark events that take place in this story.) Sure, it's fun to see Spidey battling for his life against a much more powerful opponent, but Dr. Doom has never really been a good fit for the web-slinger. I love the Ditko contraptions and fight scenes but somehow the whole issue seems dated this time. Yes, I know it came out forty years ago but it seems more dated than the other early issues of Spider-Man. Maybe it's that Doom becomes so much more intimidating in later years and here seems like just an armoured version of the Wizard. Three webs. My comment: In Detail...
Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #5
Summary: Spider-Man Meets Doctor DoomOct 1963 : SMURF 005.500 : SM Title : Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) Editor: Stan Lee Writer: Stan Lee Pencils: Steve Ditko Inker: Steve Ditko Cover Art: Steve Ditko In General...
Overall Rating...
NOVEMBER
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #6
Background... The Lizard doesn't fit into this month's theme of copycats though he's certainly been the inspiration for other imitations. Stegron the Dinosaur Man, the Iguana, the Spider-Lizard, and the homicidal Lizard (retconned into a duplicate spawned from the original) all owe their existence to the scaly guy in the white lab coat introduced by Stan and Steve back in 1963. Here is his first appearance. Three guys are hanging out in the Florida Everglades when a human-sized Lizard accosts them. This creature is green and scaly and has a tail but it also wears a black turtleneck, purple pants and a white lab coat. And it talks! (It even uses snazzy words like "Begone!") It tries to chase the men away, claiming the swamp as its own. One of the trio picks up a rifle and shoots the Lizard but the bullets have no effect. At least not the effect he's looking for. All they do is tic the Lizard off. He rips a huge tree out of the ground and threatens the men with it. The three men run for their lives. After this encounter, the story of a human-sized Lizard sweeps the country. Even in New York, it is the main story in the newspaper. As a newsy hawks papers on a street corner, a web sneaks down from above and snags the top newspaper on the pile. (A second web leaves some money behind, in case you were wondering if Spidey was copping the paper without paying.) Spider-Man wants to read about the Lizard for himself. And there it is... a huge headline in the Daily Bugle that reads, "The Bugle Challenges Spider-Man to Defeat the Lizard!" Our hero's reaction to this? "What kind of cornball gag is this? Every publicity-mad nut and his brother try to challenge me to something or other!" But this doesn't mean he's uninterested. He decides to swing over to the Daily Bugle, change back into his civvies, and see if Jolly Jonah Jameson will send him to Florida to take photographs of the Lizard. But, at the Bugle, he runs into a problem. Jonah tells him that he never intended his "challenge" to be anything other than a gimmick to sell papers. He declares that "The Lizard is probably just a phony anyway" and tells Peter, "I'm not paying you to waste time." Pete tries to sweeten the pot by implying that Spidey may actually appear in Florida to fight the Lizard. Jameson scoffs at the possibility. "If there really is a giant Lizard down south, Spider-Man will never tackle him" he says, "He'd rather stay here, fighting two-bit hoods and making a rep for himself." Disappointed, Peter leaves JJ's office. Outside Jonah's secretary Betty Brant tells Pete she thinks he should be sent to cover the story. "It might be a real scoop!" she says. Pete thanks her for seeing things his way. "I sure wish you were the publisher, instead of just being his secretary," he says. Pete figures he should learn more about lizards, just in case he faces the Lizard, so he heads down to the Natural History Museum to scope out the dinosaur exhibit. (And check out the casual look! Pete still has his blue slacks and jacket but his white shirt and red tie are replaced with a black turtleneck. The first time we've seen Peter Parker out and about without his tie!) Flash Thompson and Liz Allen are there too. Flash complains about the arrival of "bookworm Parker" but Liz tells him to "hush". She wants to hear the tour guide's lecture. While the guide explains that dinosaur hides "were so thick... no gun smaller than a cannon could injure them", Pete's spider-sense tingles. He looks behind him and sees two men coming from another room. He can sense that these fellows have stolen something. (The fact that one of them wears a green suit with a loud red tie while the other wears the same tweed hat that all of Ditko's burglars seem to wear may be the tip-off.) And he is right. The men have stolen "the idol's ruby" and are now trying to "scram". But they don't like the way the kid with half a Spider-Man mask on is looking at them. (Okay, okay, I'm just kidding. Pete isn't wearing half a mask, of course. It's just that very nifty special effect Steve Ditko whipped up to show us that Pete is using his spider abilities even when he is dressed in his civvies. It is this odd image that, growing up with these early issues, has stuck with me more than anything else.) Red Tie thinks Pete is harmless but Tweed Hat reaches for his gun. Then Peter sneaks off into another room, so the crooks decide he's not worth worrying about. Little do they know, Pete has snuck off to switch to his Spider-Man costume. (And look where he's changing! Some room with... stuffed gorillas in it? Or Bigfoot? Or what?) While Peter is gone, things come to a head. A museum guard who witnessed the theft tries to apprehend the men but they each pull a gun. Red Tie grabs a hostage... Liz Allen! Spidey watches all this perched on the wall in the other room, leaning down and peeking through the connecting archway just below him. The crooks hold off the guard and the others as they take Liz with them and carefully back out of the room. But when they pass through the archway, Spider-Man leaps down and quickly separates them from Liz. With a quick one-two, he punches the two bad guys into unconsciousness. Then he picks Liz up in his arms. When Liz gushes that he saved her from the gunmen, Spidey tells her, "The pleasure was all mine, blue-eyes." He sets her down and swings away, returning moments later in his regular clothes and glasses. As Pete enters, Flash is still trying to snap Liz out of her swoon. "All I can remember are Spider-Man's strong arms around me!" she sighs. As Liz goes on ("He saved me! He called me blue eyes!") Flash turns to Peter and says, "Competition like you I can handle, Parker! But what do I do about Spider-Man?" Peter only has one word of advice... "Worry!" Just then, a young boy walks by listening to a transistor radio and Pete overhears a news report about Spider-Man avoiding a confrontation with the Lizard. (Hey, remember the old transistor radio that people would hold up to their ears as they walked along? It usually had a leather case with holes in it where the speaker was so you could listen to it right through the case! Cool, huh? Those were the days.) As far as Pete's concerned, that news report "settles it!" He's got to find some way to get down to Florida to face the Lizard. Not long after, J. Jonah Jameson is busy working at his desk when the spider-signal shines right down in front of him. When Jonah reaches for his intercom to contact Betty Brant, a stream of webbing blocks his way. Immediately, Jolly Jonah gets up and runs for it but another web stream snags his back and lifts him off the ground. Spider-Man enters the room from the window and dangles from the ceiling. He attaches the end of his web so that JJJ is dangling from the ceiling, too. Then, he sets his plan in motion. He informs Jonah that he plans to "accept the Lizard's challenge". (Well, it's not strictly the Lizard's challenge. He's not down there calling out Spider-Man. He's just kicking people off his lawn.) "If you want to see what I can really do," Spidey adds, "You'd better send a photographer to Florida to cover the story." Then he takes his leave, (telling Jonah "my web [will] loosen in a minute") hoping that he has said enough to get Jonah to send Peter Parker to Florida, since he doesn't have enough money to get there on his own. As soon as Spidey leaves, Betty Brant walks in and sees Jonah hanging from the ceiling. He tells her to call Peter Parker. He also tells her to hurry up and put some soft cushions under him before the webbing dissolves. On the roof across the way, Spidey changes back to Peter Parker. Even from over there, he can hear the "whump!" of Jonah's tumble. "Never mind those *!?+! cushions!" he hears the editor say. (That must be the fast-acting-dissolves-in-five-minutes webbing.) Five minutes later, Pete is standing at Betty Brant's desk. He is just on the verge of asking Betty for a date (and Betty is on the verge of accepting) when Jonah comes out of his office and yells at Peter to "get in here!" In the office, JJJ tells Pete that he has decided to send him to Florida to get pics of Spidey and the Lizard. Pete is very happy to hear it. He's less happy about the rest of the news. "It's such a big story", Jonah has decided to go with him! "Besides, I can use a trip to Florida", says JJ. Peter is suddenly less enthusiastic. He wonders how he'll ever get away to change to Spider-Man with Jonah around. Hesitantly, he tells Jameson he must first get permission from his Aunt May. So, Peter heads home and asks May and she turns him down flat. She won't let Pete near Florida with that "horrible Lizard running loose down there". But when Peter tells her that J. Jonah Jameson will be coming along, May quickly changes her tune. If that "nice man [Peter does] part-time work for" is going along, May is sure "he'll take good care of [Pete]". She gives her consent. The next day, Jonah and Peter board a plane for Florida. Pete has brought along "clippings about the Lizard and maps of the area where he's been seen" and he studies these on the plane. One of the clippings is a feature on Dr. Curtis Connors who is mentioned as a "Reptile Expert". Pete notices that Dr. Connors lives near the Everglades and may be a good person to look up. When they arrive in Florida, Peter tells Jonah he must go buy "film and equipment" (Equipment? Didn't he even bring his camera?) and that he will meet his boss in the hotel. A grumbling Jameson wonders why Pete didn't "buy that junk in New York instead of doing it here on my time?" Because if he had, he wouldn't be able to sneak off and change to Spider-Man, that's why! Freshly changed, Spider-Man makes his way to the area frequented by the Lizard. He notices that the police have roadblocks up but this has no effect on him. He simply webslings overhead and no one even notices him. No one fully human, that is. Not far away, in the swamps, the Lizard watches Spidey's arrival, recognizes him as a threat, and plans an ambush. The wall-crawler has left his webs and is slogging along in the swamp on foot. He doesn't like the feel of things. "It's too quiet here!" he declares, "Unnaturally quiet!" As he walks by a pond, his spider-sense tingles but he doesn't see anything around that could trigger it. Then, a scaly green hand emerges from the pool, grabs Spidey by the foot, and pulls him into the water. As he is pulled to the bottom of the pool, Spidey sees that his opponent is a large reptile in a lab coat. "It's him!" he thinks. He's found him. "The Lizard!" First, though, the webhead must shake loose of the Lizard's grip and free himself from drowning. He grabs "a glob of mud" from the bottom of the pond and shoves it into the Lizard's face. The creature releases him. The two opponents surface simultaneously. They face off against each other. The Lizard warns Spidey that "the swampland is mine" and tells the web-slinger that he has doomed himself by ignoring this proclamation. Spidey scoffs at him ("Every time I turn around I get doomed by someone else!"), then must leap up in the air to avoid a swipe by the Lizard's tail. (The swipe is powerful enough to chop down the tree just behind the wall-crawler.) Spidey has time to register two impressions. One is that the Lizard is fast. The other is that the Lizard doesn't seem to be wearing a disguise. "That grotesque form is really him!" In retaliation, the web-spinner grabs the Lizard by the tail but, with a flick of that big green appendage, the reptile-man flings Spider-Man high over the trees and nearly half a mile away. The high branches break Spidey's fall and, from that height, he can see a house in the distance. He figures it must belong to Dr. Connors so he travels over there to see if he can get advice and to warn the Doc that the Lizard is nearby. When Spidey arrives, he peeks in a window. Inside is a woman sitting on a bed and crying. He hates to interrupt but he still has to warn the household about the Lizard so he pops in the window and tells the woman he is there to help. He explains that he wished to talk to her husband but now thinks everyone in the house must leave to save themselves from the Lizard. "You don't understand" says the woman as she dabs a tear from her eye, "My husband, Dr. Curtis Connors isthe Lizard!" And so Mrs. Connors tells her story, as Spidey stands there holding a framed picture of Curt that is inscribed "To my wife. Love, Curtis." (Note how Mrs. Connors, later Martha, never gets a first name through this entire story) Her husband Curtis was a surgeon "during the war" (World War II? Korea?) where he lost his right arm. After that time, he began studying reptiles and became "one of the world's leading authorities". He studies how certain reptiles can regenerate a lost limb and he decides to dedicate himself to developing a serum that will duplicate this ability in humans. "Oh Curtis, if only you could!" says a grinning Martha. Curt gets to work in the lab. His young son Billy comes in and asks him what he's working on and Curt tells him "something to make you proud of me". Months of work go by and Curt creates a serum that successfully regenerates a leg on a rabbit "within an hour". Rashly, he immediately decides that the next step is to test it on a human. And who better to test it on than himself? In Martha's presence, Curt downs the serum. Right away he feels a "strange sensation" in his right shoulder. Then, almost instantly, he grows a new arm. It is, he decides, "the greatest medical feat of all time!" And it almost immediately goes wrong. The new hand suddenly goes green and scaly, then the rest of Curt goes green and scaly. An alarmed Martha can't quite tell what is going on and Curt tries to keep it that way. He tells her not to look at him. Then, "trembling, sobbing, like a man possessed" he leaves the lab and runs out into the night. The next day Curt, now in the form of the Lizard returns to his lab and tries to create a serum that will make him human again. But it is too late. His mind is "too dulled, too changed" for him to succeed. In the end, he writes a note to his wife and son asking them to "leave, never come back" and he returns to the swamp. Just as Martha finishes telling this story, Billy calls out for his mom. She thought he was taking a nap but his voice comes from somewhere outside. The web-spinner leaps out the window, hoping that his spider-sense will lead him to the boy. Not far away, the Lizard has just peeked out from behind a tree to encounter Billy which is why the boy is running and calling for help. As opposed to his other meetings with humans, the Lizard is positively gentle ("I... I did not mean to frighten you!" he calls) but Billy doesn't notice this and in his haste the boy runs right into the path of a dangerous snake. But then Spider-Man swings down and scoops the boy up in his arms. This enrages the Lizard. ("No one can take him from me!" he yells.) Spidey places Billy up on a branch of a tree for safekeeping and returns to the ground to take on the Lizard. He starts by punching Liz in the puss with a right hand, only to discover the reptile's "skin is hard as a dinosaur's armor". Spidey realizes that he almost broke his hand with the punch and the Lizard barely felt it. He next tries to subdue the creature with his webbing but Liz snaps it with his tail "as if it were made of paper". At that moment, Martha comes out and calls for Billy. The sound of her voice does something to the Lizard. He turns and leaps back into the swamp. Martha arrives on the scene with Billy walking behind. (I guess Billy must have climbed down from that tree all by himself.) In Billy's presence, she asks Spidey "My husband! Did you see him?" and Spidey replies that he did but that "he gets less human each minute". (I mention Billy's presence because, by the time of the Lizard's next appearance inASM #44-45, January-February 1967, it is assumed that his parents don't know that Billy knows his dad is the Lizard. This moment and another a few pages further on show that, at least at the start, the whole Connors family was in on the secret.) Spidey puts Billy up on his shoulder and carries him back to his house. He asks Martha for access to Curt's research notes. She gladly agrees to this. Back at the lab, Spidey examines the notes. ("It's a good thing I'm a science major in High School," he thinks. Do they have majors in High School?) Within hours he has whipped up a compound in a test tube. He has a pellet that he drops into the solution. If the liquid turns green, he will know that he has succeeded in creating an antidote. (Hey, don't look at me! I'm not a science major in High School!) And, yes, the solution turns green so Spidey knows he has created a liquid that will restore Curt to normal. The only question is, how is he going to get the Lizard to drink it? While Spidey is wondering, Martha calls out for him to "look!" The Lizard stands in the doorway of the laboratory. He has decided that Spidey is "the only one who does not fear me" and therefore reasons that the destruction of Spider-Man will convince all of mankind to "tremble" before him. Spidey gives the test tube to Martha, instructing her not to spill it as he dodges an attack from the Lizard's tail. In quick succession, the Lizard lifts and throws a "huge oak desk" at the web-spinner, then batters at him with his tail. In "a few savage seconds" it is over. Spider-Man is buried under the rubble of the desk while the Lizard takes his leave. He declares that he will give his serum to all the crocodiles, alligators and other lizards in the swamp, thereby creating a "mighty lizard army". (I've never understood this. Curt's formula turns a human into a lizard. That doesn't mean it's going to make a lizard more human. Shouldn't it make a lizard more of a lizard? That won't create any sort of "army" that I can see.) But the Lizard has mistakenly assumed that Spider-Man has been eliminated. With Martha lifting wooden beams off the pile, a still-alive Spidey manages to free himself. (Where did these beams come from? The whole room didn't collapse on him, Steve!) Once Spidey is out from under, Martha tells him about the "mighty lizard army" plan that the Lizard blurted out. Spidey knows that "mankind wouldn't stand a chance" so he must stop the Lizard before he makes the first "super-lizard". ("Otherwise they will multiply too fast to ever be checked!" he adds. Huh? Multiply how?) Martha hands the antidote back to Spidey. She and Billy accompany him to the swamp. There Spidey makes some water-skis out of webbing so he can travel the swamp itself. He either finds a pole or makes one out of webbing (the two panels showing the pole don't make this clear) so he can propel himself along. From the shore, Billy sobs and calls out, "D-don't hurt him, Spider-Man! He's still... my father!" (Which is the other panel that clearly demonstrates Billy knows his father is the Lizard and that his mother knows he knows since she is standing right next to him when he says this.) Spidey uses his spider-sense to track the Lizard and his webbing to keep the swamp snakes at bay. Soon, he comes upon an "abandoned Spanish fort"... a large imposing structure made of big blocks of stone. He scales the wall and peeks over into the courtyard. What he sees makes him wonder if he isn't already too late. The Lizard is standing amidst four alligators that "seem to be obedient to him". He tells the gators that they will be the first to become super-reptiles. The plan is to take his serum and spill it into the "murky waters" of the pond within the fort. Liz tells the gators to follow him inside the fort where he will prepare the serum and they tag along obediently. (Spidey eavesdrops on all this and is relieved to hear that he is still in time.) But, before the Lizard and friends can get inside, the mortar on the tower crumbles under Spider-Man's weight and the web-spinner makes an awkward entrance. The Lizard is surprised to see Spidey still alive but he recovers quickly and orders his alligators to "get him"! The gators move in, with mouths open wide, trying to chomp on the web-spinner. Spidey responds by leaping out of their way and scaling the wall of the tower. But the Lizard is doing the same thing. "He forgets there are three thousand different kinds of lizards on Earth and I have the power of all of them." Liz thinks. Using the power of the gecko, he is able to cling to the wall and beat Spidey to the turret on top. Suddenly, Spidey is caught between the Lizard above and the alligators below. And suddenly the tower is only about ten feet high since the attack of the Lizard's tail from above and the gators tails from below leave very little room in between for the wall-crawler. With the wall crumbling under the beating it is taking from these tails, Spidey knows that he can't stay in one place. He attaches a web at his feet, jumps away from the wall, and slingshots around to a window to the left of the tower. The Lizard crawls through an opening that connects the turret to the room into which Spidey has gone. Now the two face off once again. Spidey tries his webbing again and again the Lizard snaps it. His goal being to make the Lizard forget about preparing his serum, Spidey taunts him by saying, "You may be stronger than me, Liz but I still say you're too slow to keep up with me" and somersaults through an open metal door that leads inside the tower. When the Lizard follows, Spidey leaps over him back to the door. His plan is to get out of the door and bolt the door, locking the Lizard within but he discovers that the alligators have joined the party and are waiting right on the other side of the door. So Spidey is forced to close the door trapping himself inside with the Lizard. (He bolts it with a big two-by-four fitting into some slots and announces that it's a "good thing this door bolts from both sides!" Yeah, sure is, Spidey!) Now he is trapped inside with the Lizard with no way to escape. The walls of the room go all the way up to the top of the tower, so Spidey begins by scaling the wall to the ceiling. The Lizard climbs up after him. Then, just as Lizzie pounces, Spidey attaches a webline to the ceiling, dangles down, and grabs the Lizard by the tail. He pulls the Lizard from the wall and lets him fall. Then, in mid-air, using his spider-speed, the wall-crawler lets go of his webline and pulls the test tube filled with serum out of his belt. He then allows himself to fall, aiming himself at the Lizard. Lizzie has landed on his feet, unhurt on the ground. Suddenly, the web-slinger lands on Liz's back. Spidey grabs the Lizard around the neck and forces the serum down the reptile's throat. But it doesn't seem to work. Instead, the Lizard flings him off his back and starts attacking with his tail. The wall-crawler tries to spin some web with which to escape but Lizzie's tail is "like a runaway sledgehammer". Spidey gets the stuffing knocked out of him. He dangles upside down, caught in his own web as the Lizard moves in for the kill. But then Spidey's antidote starts to kick in. The Lizard grabs his head in pain. The scales start to fade from his body. Then, right before Spidey's eyes (in a great one-panel transition by Ditko) the Lizard turns into one-armed Curt Connors again. Spidey frees himself from the webbing, takes Curt by the shoulder and promises to take him home. As they leave the fort, the alligators are already scattering. Without the Lizard's control of them, they have lost their focus. Spidey uses his webbing to "keep them at bay" and soon after he and Curt are back at the Connors' home. Martha gives her husband a big hug, welcoming him. (But they don't bother to wake up little Billy, asleep in the next room.) Curt decides he has "tampered with forces of nature which must not be tampered with" and he burns his notes right on the spot! (In fact, it looks like he just builds a big bonfire on the floor.) Then he prepares to face the penalty for his crimes. But Spidey steps in and tells him he has broken no law (Can't jail anyone for terrorizing a few swamplanders, right?) and no one has been harmed. He suggests that the whole thing be kept a secret "among the three of us" (and Billy, too, Spidey). The Connors thank him profusely and that is the end of that. But the next day, J. Jonah Jameson receives a report from the police in the lobby of the hotel. They have been looking for Peter Parker for over a day and have no sightings. But, even as he reports to Jonah, the officer sees a young man answering to Peter's description. Sure enough, here comes Peter with a handful of photographs. Before Jameson can read him the riot act, Pete holds the photos out and tells the publisher that he has pix of the Lizard. When Jameson asks him where he got the photos, Pete says he bought them from "an old Indian guide" that he met "at the edge of the Everglades". An angry Jonah tears the photos up into little pieces. "Can't you even tell a fake photo when you see one??!" he bellows. Then he shakes his fist at Peter, declares, "There is no Lizard" and demands to know why Peter didn't get any shots of Spider-Man. "You and your big talk" he says, shaking a finger at Pete, "You promised me sensational photos and all you bring me is a batch of worthless fakes!" With that, Jonah declares the trip over. He orders Peter to go upstairs and pack. (Which should be easy because Peter never unpacked! He never stayed at the hotel!) On the plane back home, Pete asks Jonah for the money he was promised. "I figure you owe me for your plane fare down here and half the hotel bill", JJJ replies. Back at home, Peter kicks back in a big yellow armchair and prepares to relax. But Aunt May tells him not to get too comfortable. She has plenty of chores for him after his "nice rest in Florida". First, Pete wants to call Betty Brant and ask her for a date. He picks up the phone, and then remembers Betty is working late with Jonah Jameson. So, Pete decides to call Liz Allen instead. When Liz answers, she gives Pete hell for tieing up her phone. She is waiting for a call from Spider-Man. "After him rescuing me the other day and calling me "blue eyes", I'm sure he'll call" she says and she hangs up on Pete. "Only a guy with my nutty luck could end up being his own competition" Pete says. At the Daily Bugle, Betty Brant tells Jonah Jameson that he has gotten a letter in the mail from Spider-Man. She reads it to him. "Roses are red, violets are blue, I'm still at large, so phooey to you!" Jonah gets so mad that little lines radiate out from his head. "Well, don't just stand there!" he yells, "Tear it up! Burn it! Ohh! I'll get that masked menace if it's the last thing I do!" The letters page covers comments concerning ASM #3 (July 1963). Phil Castora of Burbank, California says, "If you can keep up the good work, in a few years you ought to be able to publish it oftener than monthly." (Just keep reading, Phil.) Dave Bibby of Verona, New Jersey says, "At first, I thought Doctor Octopus looked too crazy but he turned out to be a great foe. Maybe he should return in a future issue." (You keep reading too, Dave.) And, Mrs. Ruth Green of Central Point, Oregon identifies herself as the mother of some Spider-Man fans who has taken to the ol' web-slinger herself. "I'm not one to interfere in the hopes of others", she says, "but I noticed in your fan mail that they are already searching for a secret pal for Spider-Man or trying to push him into the Fantastic Four. He does a mighty fine job alone! Come on, you kids, why not let Spider-Man live his role alone like Richard Diamond??" (Everybody remember Richard Diamond? Of course you do!) The Lizard and Connors family have returned for dozens of appearances but a few years pass after their introduction before any of them are seen again. Curt Connors returns first, as a professor at Empire State University in ASM #32, January 1966. The Lizard, Martha Connors and Billy Connors all return in ASM #44, January 1967. Milestones (Landmark events that take place in this story.) This is fun stuff. Stan and Steve provide us with one good scene after another as we jump from Liz Allan's sudden crush on Spider-Man to Spidey hanging J. Jonah Jameson from the ceiling to the wall-crawler meeting the Lizard in the swamp to the origin of the Lizard to the tense and powerful battle between Spidey and Lizzy in the old Spanish fort to Peter Parker covering up the truth of the Lizard by pretending to buy photos from an old Indian guide. The story of Curt Connors creating a serum out of lizards in order to grow a new arm is particularly ingenious especially for a comic book published in 1963. The good-evil dual nature of Curt and the Lizard also makes for terrific conflict as Spider-Man must protect the Connors family from the experiment gone wrong (an excellent metaphor of the conflict between a patriarch's family and his work) as well as protect the Lizard himself. So, if all of this good stuff is going on, why only four webs? Because the whole idea of High School science whiz Peter Parker stepping in to whip up a quick antidote takes a lot of the fun away from things. And, let's face it, as good as this story is, it's just a bit behind such stories as the first Doc Ock, the fist Green Goblin and others that deserve the full five webs. My comment: In Detail...
Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #6
Summary: First LizardNov 1963 : SMURF 006.500 : SM Title : Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) Editor: Stan Lee Writer: Stan Lee Pencils: Steve Ditko Inker: Steve Ditko Cover Art: Steve Ditko In General...
Overall Rating...
DECEMBER
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #7
Background... After highlighting Blackie Drago in a previous Looking Back, it only seemed fair to finally present the original Vulture in a feature of his own. But which story to pick? His first appearance in ASM #2? It only filled up half the issue, sharing space with the tale of the Terrible Tinkerer. The story of the Vulture regaining his youth in ASM #386-388? Puh-leeze. The various one-shots in Spectacular Spider-Man and Web of Spider-Man? Eh. The mysterious appearance in ASM #127-128? It wasn't even really him! ASM #63-64? Great issues, possibly the best the Vulture has ever been in, but... he shares the spotlight with Blackie Drago. (We'll do this one later, OK?) As you can see, the Vulture may be considered one of Spidey's best villains, but he has actually appeared in very few memorable stories. So, what's a "Looking Back" person to do? How about the SECOND appearance of the Vulture? It's a full-length story. It's got a first-class super-hero battle. And it's got that great Steve Ditko art. Amazing Spider-Man #7. The cover promises, "Here is Spider-Man as you like him... fighting! Joking! Daring! Challenging the most dangerous foe of all, in this... the Marvel Age of Comics!" Well, I don't know about that "most dangerous foe" stuff but the rest of it sounds good. Shall we? The story begins with a quick recap of the Vulture's first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #2. Spider-Man only managed to defeat the Vulture when he deduced that the villain's wings "were operated by a unique form of magnetic power". With that knowledge, he created the anti-magnetic inverter. This device knocked out the Vulture's flying ability, causing him to spiral to the ground "into the waiting arms of the police". Now, months later, the Vulture is a model prisoner at the state prison with access to the Machine Shop. But unbeknownst to the prison guards (and only comic book prison guards are as thick as this), the Vulture is using his privileges to create a new flying device. He secretly tests it in his cell and, on the following day during exercise period in the courtyard, he easily flies over the prison wall to freedom. Over at Midtown High School, Flash Thompson is taunting Peter Parker by tossing him a volleyball and asking if "you can toss that big, bad heavy ball all the way back to me?" Pete would love to throw it back with all his spider-strength behind it but, before he can do a thing, he hears a radio report (from a passing student with a transistor radio) of the Vulture's escape. He decides he must again feign illness so that he can sneak away and change to Spider-Man, but the timing is terrible. Flash is openly contemptuous and a fuming Peter later proclaims, "This double identity jazz is for the birds! I can't take much more ribbing as Peter Parker! Sooner or later, someone's gonna lose a mouthful of teeth!" (Nope, Spidey's not "joking" yet, kids.) Before venturing out, Spider-Man checks his equipment. He has his anti-magnetic inverter (which, he thinks, should end the fight quickly), his camera loaded with film and his web-shooters ("the coolest thing I ever dreamed up") filled. He waits twenty minutes in his Forest Hills home until his spider-sense tells him no one is around to see him leave. (Even so, a small boy spots him swinging through the neighborhood, only to be shot down by his smugly superior parents who tell him, "what would Spider-Man be doing here in a quiet residential neighborhood in Forest Hills?".) Soon, the overly-confident web-slinger reaches the heart of the city. Apparently he doesn't find the Vulture any time soon for the caption in the next panel reads, "While hours later, in another part of the sprawling metropolis..." The Vulture is trying out his "new modified wings" when he is spotted by a police helicopter. The chopper tries to keep up but the Vulture's maneuverability is too much for it. The winged felon quickly zips into an open window, which just happens to lead to a jewelry showroom. Taking advantage of his luck, the Vulture robs the jeweler, then evades police radar by flying low right over the street. The pedestrians are so close, they can almost touch him but they can't do a thing to slow him down. The cops don't dare risk shooting at him for fear of hitting an innocent bystander. There is only one person who can handle the Vulture and his spider-sense at last leads him to his foe. Spidey moves in to get in range of his anti-magnetic inverter. The Vulture hovers in one spot, letting the webhead get close. Unbeknownst to our hero, the Vulture has changed his flying device so that the inverter will no longer work on him. He allows the webster to get even nearer. Then, Spidey triggers the inverter in his left hand while he snaps a photo with the camera in his right hand. (Why did the Vulture think Spidey was snapping a picture? For his photo album? Couldn't he have figured out by now how Peter Parker gets those shots? Or maybe he was too busy faking the young wall-crawler out to bother to think about it.) The Vulture spirals toward the ground, just as he did when the two met before. "It worked", Spidey says, "I'm almost disappointed! It was too easy." But the Vulture is faking. He allows himself to fall, certain Spidey will follow, until he is out of the wall-crawler's sight. Then, knowing that Spider-Man will walk out over the ledge of a nearby building, he quickly swoops back up. Peter's spider-sense goes off but he is so convinced of victory that he ignores it. This leaves him wide-open for the Vulture's unexpected attack and, as Vultchy says, "Even you cannot ward off a double upper-cut while you're completely off-balance." (Whoosh! Who can?) Stunned by the attack, Spider-Man is unable to put up any fight at all as the Vulture continues to pummel him. Dazed, beaten, a falling Spidey tries to snag a building with his webbing... but misses. A second try falls short. Desperately, he spins in the air, trying to slow the rate of his descent, then lands hard on the roof of a nearby building. The Vulture flies off, proclaiming "Spider-Man is finished!", without checking the web-slinger's body. (Somehow I remember Blackie Drago doing the exact same thing at the end of ASM #48. Is this just one of the requirements for being the Vulture?) He perches on a flagpole, malevolently gazing down at the horrified crowds. A shaken cop says of Spidey, "He'll sure be missed... whoever he was!" But, thanks to his spider-strength, Peter is not dead. He struggles to rise before anyone can discover him and feels a sharp pain in his right arm. Although it "feels like it's broken", Spidey is thankful he landed on it, rather than on his head. Holding his injured arm, Peter slips away, eventually making his way home, where he sneaks in a rear window. By this time, he has decided that his arm is not broken but sprained. Still, it continues to hurt and he figures he "won't be able to use it for days". Wearily, in the shelter of his own room, he removes his Spidey mask. But the dangers aren't over yet. Aunt May is just outside his door calling, "Peter, is that you?" and it is clear she hasn't got an ounce of respect for his privacy. May walks right on in. But Peter is not there. At least, not that she can see. As May talks to herself about her nephew's fragility, the subject of her monologue clings to the ceiling, hoping that his Aunt does not look up. May leaves, allowing Peter to change to his civvies. It takes him nearly a half an hour because of his injured arm. Then, he sneaks out the window again so he can make his entrance as Peter Parker, hoping he can come up with a good excuse about his injury. He tells Aunt May that he hurt himself in a schoolyard volleyball game and she carts him off to the doctor, who assures all concerned that it is indeed a sprain. He tells Peter and May that all should be fine in a few weeks. But Peter can't wait a few weeks. Not with the Vulture at large in the city. The next day, at school, Peter, wearing a sling, is ridiculed by Flash. "Well, well!", says the bully, "Where's your purple heart medal, Petey boy? How'd big brave Peter hurt his poor little arm? Did you try to turn too many heavy pages at one time, bookworm? Or did you drop a nasty little test-tube on it in the lab?" Liz Allan laughs along with the gang and says, "Look at Peter blush!" But Peter isn't blushing, he's livid with anger! It takes all of his restraint to keep from clobbering Flash Thompson. (Spidey still isn't joking, yet, gang!) Meanwhile, in an abandoned farm silo on Staten Island, the Vulture sits back, wingless, having a brew (well, OK, he's drinking something. It could be a beer he's having.), relaxing, saying, "This is the life! No more Spider-Man to worry about!" He's all set to pull off his next heist and he knows just what it will be. "One of the biggest payrolls in New York is at the office of J. Jonah Jameson!", he thinks. "He publishes the Daily Bugle and Now Magazine." (Hey, remember Now Magazine?) The Vulture dons his wings and sets out. At the Daily Bugle, Peter is flirting with Betty Brant. She can't believe that anyone could sprain their arm playing volleyball and asks for the truth. "Okay", Pete says, "It happened in the air, while I was fighting the Vulture for dear life!" "Oh well", Betty replies, "Ask a silly question!" The conversation is interrupted by JJJ summoning Pete into his office. Inside, Jonah tells Peter he will only pay ten dollars for his Vulture photograph. Parker only manages to get the cheapskate to go up to $12.50, when the Vulture himself flies through the window. "If you'll pay for a mere photo of me", he says, "what will you give for the Vulture in the flesh?" Brandishing a gun, the Vulture demands all the money in Jameson's safe. But he doesn't reckon with Jonah's legendary stinginess. As Pete puts it (discreetly in a thought balloon), "Jameson is such a skinflint, he'd probably rather get shot than part with his dough!" And Pete is apparently right for Jameson tries every argument in the book to dissaude the Vulture. He even offers to give the villain publicity instead. A frustrated Vulture calls out, "All I want is money, mister!! Your money!" In the midst of this verbal skirmish, unnoticed by the two participants, Peter Parker sneaks out of the room. He changes into his Spidey suit but his arm is still so sore that he has to concoct a subtle, barely visible sling of webbing to support it. He exits the room by the window, walks on the ledge to the adjoining room, then leaps into the fray! The Vulture is stunned by Spider-Man's appearance. "You're still alive??!!" he cries, then turns his gun on the web-slinger, proclaiming, "Even you can be stopped by a bullet!" But Spidey webs the gun barrel closed. "Bah! Guns aren't my style, anyway!" Vultchy says as he shoves JJJ into Spidey's way, "What does the mighty Vulture need a weapon for! I've got my wings!" "You'll have a harp, too, by the time I get through with you!", Spidey replies. (I think the "joking" part is about to begin, people.) Using Jameson as a shield, the Vulture blocks Spidey's way, then heads out to the hall (sending Betty Brant scurrying, her work papers flying; in fact papers fly all over the place all through this fight sequence) looking for room to spread his wings. Spidey leap frogs Jonah telling him that it is a "private battle between the Vulture and me". But Jameson is afraid they'll "wreck the place" and he tells Spider-Man to leave it to the police. Peter decides there's no time to wait. He leaps out of JJJ's office, sending Betty ducking once again (and there go those papers all over the place). Jonah storms out of his office right behind, shaking his fist and screaming for Betty, who has now stationed herself on the floor, behind her desk "where it's safe". Meanwhile, the Vulture, looking for a window to fly through, is caught in the Daily Bugle's newsroom. He and Spidey tussle some more, resulting in the toppling of a big stack of Jonah's ledgers and files. ("Aw, go slide down a barbed-wire fence", says Spidey to Jameson's whining.) The Vulture finds the stairwell and flies to a lower level (Papers flying everywhere, of course.) and Pete follows by lowering himself on his web. ("Who's chasing who?" says one stairwell denizen. "The place is haunted", says another.) The Vulture soon makes it to the press room. He has plenty of room to fly amongst the huge machines with their great rolls of newsprint. His confidence returns and he boasts, "I'll destroy Spider-Man forever now, if he's fool enough to follow me here!" But Spidey surprises the villain by leaping onto his back. ("It's you again!" says Vultch. "Well, it sure isn't the Lone Ranger!" Spidey replies. Yes, the "joking" is officially taking place.) The Vulture flies upside down, boasting "I'll shake you off like a dog shakes a flea!" "I think your modesty is what I like best about you!" says the Web-head. (My favorite wisecrack of the fight.) The Vulture responds by trying to fly Spidey into the press rollers. He then, unexpectedly, changes his direction and flies up to the ceiling where Spidey thumps his injured arm. A jolt of pain goes through the Web-spinner causing him to fall off his opponent. He uses his web to snag the ceiling just before falling to his death into the rollers below. But as he is swinging to safety, the Vulture cuts the web, forcing Spidey to take a superhuman leap to escape harm. Finally, the Vulture finds an open window and flies through it. Spidey is right on his tail but as he leaps through the window, his spider-sense warns him that the Vulture is waiting just above. It's a trap but Spidey decides, "I'll let him spring it". The Vulture grabs our hero by his good arm and hauls him high up into the sky, bragging all the way. ("Are you sure you were never vaccinated with a phonograph needle?" Spidey asks.) The flying villain admires Spidey's flippancy in the face of certain death but the wallcrawler isn't done yet. He uses his free arm to web the Vulture's wings down. They are pinned to his body leaving him incapable of flight. With the tables turned, the "fearless" Vulture falls completely to pieces. "I don't want to die!" he moans, "Save me! Sob.Do something!" "I can't", Pete replies, "I'm too busy admiring your tight-lipped courage!" But, of course, Spidey is doing something. Sitting again on the Vulture's back, he spins a parachute out of his webbing. Once they get back to building level, he attaches the parachute to the Vulture's back and leaps off, adhering to a nearby wall. "You haven't heard the last of me, Spider-Man", vows the Vulture. "You mean you're gonna flap your lips till the bitter end?", says Spidey. Spidey is preparing to leave but J. Jonah Jameson calls out to him from his office window. Thinking he's going to get an apology and a reward (it's only issue #7 so Pete hadn't learned what to always expect from Jameson), he webslings over to chat. But Jameson is only interested in telling him that he is being held responsible for all the damage in the Daily Bugle building. ("Say, what are you?" Spidey says, "A professional nut?") But Jameson is just getting warmed up. "Sooner or later I'll learn who you really are! And when I do, I'll get what's coming to me! In spades!" Pete decides to give him what's coming to him right now. He webs up the lower half of Jameson's face, shutting him up for the next hour. After that little escapade, Spidey sneaks back into the Bugle building, reclaims his clothes, and changes back to Peter Parker. Now back in his glasses and sling (but a black turtleneck with his blue suit instead of a tie!), he comes upon Betty Brant, still hiding behind her desk. Peter asks if he can join her and Betty happily assents. She asks him where he was while the fight was going on and he tells her he was hiding in a closet. "Maybe that's why I like you so much, Peter", she says, "At least you don't pretend to be what you're not." Just then, JJJ runs by grunting and mumbling and trying to get the webbing off his face. Betty wonders aloud what's wrong with him and Pete replies, "Wrong? It's an improvement." "Peter, sometimes I get the feeling that's you're laughing at a secret little joke that's all you own." "If you keep using that cool perfume, Betty", says Pete, "I may break down and tell you about it some day." A flattered Betty tells Peter "that's the closest thing to a romantic remark I've ever heard you say!" "Gosh", says Pete, putting his arm around her, "I can be more romantic than that! Here, rest your head on my shoulder, blue eyes! And let's enjoy the silence!" "But what will Mr. Jameson say?" Betty asks. "Nothing, baby", Peter replies, "for at least an hour." A cornucopia of great glimpses of the past in the letter section.: Joe Finley of Sparta, Tennessee says, "Nothing Can Stop the Sandman" (in ASM #4) was more than a well-written, well-drawn story of a battle between a super-hero and a super-villain. It was, in my humble opinion, the most reasonable account ever written of a day in the life of a super-hero... Other episodes like his problems with the torn mask, J. J. Jameson's hate for him, and his girl troubles all made for the best portrait of a super-hero's life ever written." Sidney Wright of Worcester, Massachusetts says, "I think Peter Parker should have a girl friend who sticks up for him when he's being bullied; and I don't mean some chick who's homely, wears specs and a sack dress, with black-and-white saddle shoes, or is as science-minded as he is. I mean a doll with a good figure, get-up-and-go, who digs jazz and rock-and-roll. You follow me?" Stan responds, "No, Sid, but we'd sure follow her! Paul Gambaccini of Westport, Connecticut writes, "Originally, (meaning Amazing Fantasy #15) he (Spidey) was a run-of-the-mill deadbeat, typical of the baleful boredom which sometimes prevailed in your comics. The Ditko art, pitifully primitive, lacked imagination, and made one believe that Steve was a doting, senile old codger who you kept on your staff becasue you didn't have the heart to fire him. But no longer! The plots now ring with originality, and the villains are as vibrant as life. And Ditko - now I picture him as a lively, eager 25 year old!... And it's not the same old Stan Lee either - whose claims of "We're superior! We're different! We're the best! We're too great for words!" were trying to promote his own work (sort of like most of your competitors). I don't know if their stuff has deteriorated or whether you have improved that much, but the competition now seems like echh!" And Stan... who would eventually take Paul's term for the competition and call them Brand Echh... what does he reply? "We don't feel it's fair for you to knock any other group of magazines while boosting ours. After all, it's just a matter of taste." Larry Rothenberger of Wausau, Wisconsin would like "Spider-Man talking with the spiders like the Ant-Man does with ants, and the Wasp does with the wasps." Stan says, "And we suppose you'd like to see Iron Man talking with pieces of Iron?" Bob Jennings of Nashville, Tennessee thought issue #2 was "a great surprise to me after reading the sorry mess you had created in #1" but he was disappointed by #3 which he thought looked as if Ditko had done the art "with a rat's tail, blindfolded perhaps", to which Stan replied, "You know we don't draw with rats' tails - they're too expensive!" Finally, at the end of the section, Stan presented a "difficult announcement": "We want to ask your permission to discontinue this letters section!... Suppose all the mail for all the Marvel Mags is sent to FF? That'll give Spider-Man two extra pages for longer stories, features, or what-have-you! We'll do nothing till we hear from you, so let us know! But, as a special favor, we hope you'll tell us you don't mind." Do you kind of get the feeling that Stan lost this battle, gang? Milestones (Landmark events that take place in this story.) Longer, stronger, funnier, more action-packed, more satisfying than the previous Vulture appearance. Four webs. My comment: In Detail...
Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #7
Summary: Second VultureDec 1963 : SMURF 007.500 : SMURF 007.530 : SM Title : Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) Editor: Stan Lee Writer: Stan Lee Pencils: Steve Ditko Inker: Steve Ditko Cover Art: Steve Ditko In General...
Overall Rating...
NO MONTH ISSUES
FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL #1
STORY 2:
Sorry about there is no story 1. We don't show it do to the fact that spider-man's not there (except for the cover) and no one did a review. The forth paragragh will tell you what you missed. Continuing our look at Spider-Man From the Beginning, we can't ignore this six page story from Fantastic Four Annual #1 (1963) which retells and expands the story of Spidey's first meeting with the FF from Amazing Spider-Man #1 (March 1963). It was released at the same time as last month's feature, Strange Tales Annual #2 and is likewise written by Stan Lee, drawn by Jack Kirby and inked by Steve Ditko. The cover promises that, "Spider-Man Waits Within These Pages!!" So let's see if we can find him. Hmmm. The lead story is a 37-page account of the Sub-Mariner's attack on the surface world. The final 13 pages reprint the origin of the FF from Fantastic Four #1 (November 1961). In the middle are pin-up pages of the "Fantastic Four's most famous foes!", "Questions and Answers about the Fantastic Four", a cutaway examination of the Baxter Building, and... ah, here it is... right in between the Puppet Master and the Impossible Man... "The Fabulous Fantastic Four Meet Spider-Man!" In an "Editor's Note", Stan explains that this story originally appeared as a "two-page episode". After receiving "countless requests asking us to re-do this famous encounter", the decision was made to devote "more space" to the incident. And so we begin with a peek inside the FF's headquarters. Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic) is busy performing an experiment. He holds a long-necked beaker in his left hand and fiddles with something that looks like an i.v. with his right. Behind him, Sue Storm (The Invisible Girl) is turning a dial on a large machine. To his left, Ben Grimm (The Thing) is reading a newspaper and Johnny Storm (The Human Torch) flies into the room. And outside, Spider-Man tightrope walks on some webbing he has strung up to connect with the wall of the Baxter Building. It has just occurred to him that he "can probably earn a fortune" if he joins up with the Fantastic Four. He figures he can impress them by demonstrating the ease with which he can break into their headquarters. But inside the building an alarm goes off. The FF check their "viewplate" and get a good picture of the impending intruder. Spidey knows nothing about this. He only knows that the window has been left open (back in the days when office buildings were built with windows that could be opened) which will make it "a breeze" for him to break in. From his balanced spot on the tightrope webbing, he fires his web-shooters and attaches a web right above the open window. Then, he uses that web to swing right into the window itself. As he does so, he gives out a "greetings" to the FF and tells them they "shouldn't make it so easy for people to drop in on ya". Of course it isn't that easy. As soon as Spidey lands, a big metal tube drops down from the ceiling. Then a Plexiglas cage drops down from the big metal tube. Perhaps Reed should have designed the Plexiglas to descend in one big piece. Instead, it comes down in two sections and closes in the middle, like the closing of the stage curtains at a play. It is a simple matter for the webbed one to use his spider-strength to push the two pieces apart and free himself. (Reed yells, "That device cost us thousands! If you wreck it..." at Spidey. Well, jeez, Reed, if you're worried about the price, then maybe you shouldn't be making a cage out of it. Are you going to whine to Dr. Doom or the Sub-Mariner when they wreck your big fancy machines?) Just to shut Reed up, the Thing steps over to Spider-Man and punches him right on the jaw. Spidey's response? "Oww! Ya big ape, who do ya think you're pushin' around?" Then he picks the Thing up and throws him across the room. "That's what I get for pulling my punch on accounta his size!" declares the Thing. From one end of the room, he leans down and pulls up a section of the metal floor. Then he "cracks the whip" with it, sending an undulation through that section which tears loose as it goes. It looks like this wave of metal will either trap or crush Spider-Man against the wall but the web-spinner has "got stunts of [his] own". He crawls up the wall to evade the mass of flooring. While Spidey is up there, the Thing throws a big hunk of machinery at him. (I've looked and looked at this panel and I can't figure out where the heck this chunk of metal comes from. It looks a bit like an oversized magnet with tubes coming off the end of it.) Whatever it is, the web-slinger manages to evade it. Then he tries a new trick. He takes one end of his webbing and plugs it into an electrical socket. The other end is balled up so that it looks like a gray balloon. He swings the webbing over his head like a lasso and throws it at the Thing. The webbing opens into a big net that settles over the Thing and the socket turns it into an "electrified web". (Somehow, it stands up over the Thing like a big domed cage instead of settling down on top of him.) The current is not enough to injure the Thing but "enough to keep you out of my hair for a few minutes". Next up is Mr. Fantastic, who stretches and expands his hands in an attempt to capture Spidey. He tells the webster that they "don't want to fight any strangers". Spidey leaps over the outstretched hands, shoots webbing onto Mr. Fantastic and tells him, "Who's fightin'? Just consider this a little exhibition." The webbing settles down onto Reed Richards' left arm and torso, temporarily trapping them. But the pliable Mr. F. squiggles through to escape, turns himself into a giant steamroller wheel and barrels down on the wall-crawler. ("Man! You come on like Gangbusters!" Spidey says.) The web-slinger responds by creating a pillar out of webbing that goes from floor to ceiling. He clings to this pillar while Reed steamrolls into it. It is the webbing that turns out to be the stronger of the two, as Reed crumples against it. Mr. Fantastic returns to his human form but with his hands formed into a couple of huge ping-pong paddles. "I've decided that what you need is a good paddling!" says Mr. F. And so, Reed Richards tries to bop Spider-Man with his paddles ("Easier said than done, daddy-o! You've got to catch me first!" sayeth the webster.) but the ol' webhead is too fast for him. From his perch up on the wall, Spidey shoots webbing down on Reed's arms, pinning them together. So much for Mr. Fantastic (though you'd think Reed could free himself easily since he just squiggled his whole body through the previous web job). At that moment, the web-spinner's spider-sense warns him of danger nearby. It could just be that coil of rope that looks like it is floating in air. Actually, Sue Storm is holding it in her invisible form. Sue tosses the rope but misses. Spidey deduces Sue's location and swats her so that she spins like a top. Falling near some heavy-duty equipment, Sue decides to use the "built-in stun-gun which Reed developed to stop intruders". She pushes a button on the wall and a gun pops out and fires at Spider-Man. Again, though, the webster is ready for it. He concocts a shield out of webbing and ducks down behind it. The shield effectively absorbs the stun-gun's blow. Sue isn't finished, however. She opens a hidden door in another wall to reveal a "wind-tunnel fan". She turns it on and the force of the wind forces Spider-Man up against a wall. While pinned there, Spidey dribbles his webbing down to the ground and along the floor to the other side of the room where it tangles up the fan and the Invisible Girl. (And I don't even want to guess how he pulls off this one, unless he was wearing that living symbiote costume way back when.) Now the Human Torch steps in. He thinks he has Spider-Man trapped in a circle of flame but the wall-crawler jumps over it to the wall and then leaps to the ceiling. The Torch counters by using his flame like a blowtorch. He cuts the ceiling around Spidey in a circle. The section of ceiling to which the webhead is clinging starts to fall to the ground. The Torch follows this up with a slew of "low-intensity fire-bombs" (which are actually just seven different blobs of flame in the shape of torpedoes) that he flings at the web-slinger. Spidey responds by forming a baseball bat out of his webbing and swatting the fire-bombs back where they came from. "I got news for you" he tells the Torch, "you're a crummy pitcher!" It is at this time that Sue (who apparently got disentangled from the webbing even though she had said "It'll take a week to untangle this mess!") pulls the webbing out of the electrical socket, cutting off the current to the net that has the Thing trapped. Once freed, the Thing goes over and uses his strength to snap the webbing that traps Mr. Fantastic's wrists. And with that, Mr. F. decides to "put a stop to all this". He expands his body into a wall (with the Thing behind him, yelling "Gimme another crack an 'im!") and asks Spidey what this is all about. The webhead replies that he wants to join the Fantastic Four and was giving a demonstration "of what I can do". Now he wants to get down to cases. "How much does the job pay?" he asks, "I figure I'm worth your top salary." But Sue Storm explains that the FF is "a non-profit organization" and Reed Richards adds that "any profit we make goes into scientific research". Besides, the FF want to know, isn't Spidey wanted by the police? Spidey figures enough is enough. Even as the FF call to him to come back, he web-slings away, angry that the Four are "just like all the rest... ready to believe the worst of anyone". He doesn't need the FF and he vows to make them "look like pikers". "But will they ever meet again?" Stan asks. "We wouldn't be at all surprised." So, what's the difference between this story and the pages from ASM #1? Essentially, there are 25 extra panels that extend each battle Spidey has with each FF member (seven panels added to the battle with the Thing, six with Mr. Fantastic, seven with the Invisible Girl and five with the Torch) but let's look at it panel by panel. (I'm going to mostly focus on the story content here. Kirby's artwork is at times nearly identical to the Ditko work from ASM #1, at times similar but with variations, and at times totally new.) This story's splash panel of Spidey approaching the Baxter Building is an amalgam of page two, panels 1-8 of the original story. Spidey's words are a mix of panel 6 with some new dialogue. Page One panel 2 of the story is identical to page two panel 9 of the original. Page One panel 3 combines page three panels 1-2 of the original (with the Torch's line "Why didn't he phone for an appointment like anyone else?" and the Thing's reply "Cause he's a teen-age cornball show-off just like the Torch" cut out. Also gone is the line "Activate defense measure B, just to be safe" as the webhead jumps in). Page two panels 1-5 are nearly identical to page three panels 3-7 of the original. There are a few minor variations. The Thing says "Nuts!" in the FF Annual and "For cryin' out...!" in ASM. Also, in ASM #1, the Thing lands on the Human Torch. In the Annual, he lands on the other side of the room, leading to page two panels 6-8 and page three panels 1-4which are original. Page three panels 5-6 in FF are identical to page three panels 8-9 in Spidey. The webhead's fight with Mr. Fantastic frompage three panel 7 to page four panel 4 is original. Page four panels 5-6 are the same as page four panels 1-2 in the original with two very minor differences. ("While invisible, I'll try to get this rope..." in FF, "While invisible, I might be able to get this rope..." in ASM. "I'll give her a spin..." in FF, "I'll give her a whirl..." in ASM.) Then, the battle with Sue from page four panel 7 to page five panel 4 is original. Again, just minor dialogue variations from page five panels 5-6 in the Annual to page four panels 3-4 in Amazing. (Annual: "The party's over, you animated insect! I'll settle you now!" "The Torch! He's got me in a circle of flame!" ASM: "That's it, you animated insect! Fun's over! I'll settle you now!" "He's got me in a circle of flame!") Then original stuff from page five panel 7 to page six panel 3. (Including Sue pulling the plug and the Thing breaking the "handcuffs", none of which appears in the original.) The rest of the story (page six panels 4-8) are identical to the original (page four panels 5-9) except some very minor dialogue (FF: "I want to join the Fantastic Four, so I thought I'd give you a demonstration of what I can do." ASM: "I came up here to join up with you! I wanna be a member of the Fantastic Four! So I thought I'd give you a demonstration of what I can do!") and, of course, Stan's closing caption about how they'll probably meet again! Milestones (Landmark events that take place in this story.) If you're grading this book on the Spider-Man story alone, then it's pretty much unnecessary. About the only thing to recommend it is the great Kirby-Ditko art. I'd give it one web. But the book as a whole, what with the double-size Sub-Mariner story, villain pin-ups and Baxter Building plans, is five webs. We didn't cover all of those goodies here but there's no reason why we shouldn't include them in the rating. My comment: Background...
In Detail...
Fantastic Four Annual #1 (Story 2)
Summary: Retelling of FF meet Spider-Man from ASM #1 (Story 2)SM Guest : Fantastic Four Annual In General...
Overall Rating...
STRANGE TALES ANNUAL #2
Note: This is listed in alfabetacal order, so, even though this came before FF annual #1, its after it. Background... A Spidey and Torch story written by Stan Lee, drawn by Jack Kirby, and inked by Steve Ditko. What more could you ask for? In the early 1960s, after the success of the Fantastic Four, Marvel Comics began converting their horror/monster comics over to super-heroes. Amazing Fantasy got Spider-Man, Tales to Astonish got Ant-Man, Tales of Suspense got Iron Man, Journey into Mystery got Thor and Strange Tales got solo tales of the Human Torch. The Torch stories began in #101 (October 1962), were joined by Dr. Strange stories in #110 (July 1963), were turned into Torch/Thing duo stories in #121 (June 1964) and were replaced by Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD in #135 (August 1965). This second Annual (Strange Tales Annual #1 featured reprints of old Atlas horror tales) appeared when the Torch was still the major star of the magazine, sometime around #113 (October 1963). (An approximation because the indicia of the Annual lists no month; only a year.) (Actually, the Overstreet Price Guide dates the issue at July 1963 and calls it Spider-Man's fourth appearance, which places it just after ASM #2, May 1963. The best evidence for this is an ad in the Annual for Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #2 which is cover-dated July 1963. I, however, took a look at the pages in Amazing Spider-Man #4, September 1963 and Amazing Spider-Man #5, October 1963 which advertised the Annual and the Special Announcements Section in ASM #5 which promoted it and decided that the story takes place just after those issues. That's why it is appearing here in our chronological "Lookback From the Beginning", just following the battle with Dr. Doom.) One thing Overstreet and I agree on... This is Spider-Man's first cross-over appearance. he Dazzling Human Torch, on the Trail of the Amazing Spider-Man! The cover features Spider-Man hovering over the Human Torch, who is trapped in a giant web. Spidey is missing the spider insignia on his costume but give Jack a break, huh? He was busy co-creating the Marvel Universe. He couldn't get everything right. In the back yard of his home, the Human Torch is going through his daily workout, assisted by his sister Sue Storm, the Invisible Girl. (Bet you thought the Fantastic Four only lived in a skyscraper in Manhattan, didn't you? Not in the early days. Johnny and Sue had a home in the suburbs.) He successfully flies through an abstract sculpture that Sue rotates with a crank (sounds vaguely risqué, doesn't it?) to make it difficult to maneuver through. He flies through the tread of a tank without "touching a rivet". (What? Don't you have a tank in your backyard?) Sue warns him about getting overconfident. "Remember the tank wasn't moving.", she says. Then Sue aims a hose at him and Johnny tries to avoid the rushing water. (He gets sprayed a bit and Sue lectures him again. One mistake "could mean your finish in a real battle", she reminds him.) Finally, he kneels in front of a thick steel vault door and shapes his flame into a key that opens the lock. Sue tells! him it is time to knock off for the day. The siblings enter the "living-dining area of their modern split-level home in Glenville, Long Island" and prepare to settle in for a "lazy leisurely Saturday afternoon". Johnny heads for a nap but the latest issue of "Live" magazine is sitting on the couch and "the whole blamed issue. is devoted to that swell-headed Spider-Man". This burns Johnny up. Why does Spider-Man get so much publicity? Johnny rips the magazine apart, tossing pages all over the room. "When I do somethin' sensational, the Fantastic Four gets the credit", he whines. But Spidey gets all sorts of write-ups for the tiniest things. Johnny's tantrum bugs Sue. She turns invisible and tells him that she'll "simply fade away" if he's going to throw a fit. But Johnny can't stop. He's so annoyed that he "flames on". "I'd give anything", he says of Spidey, "for a chance to prove he ain't so hot!" Meanwhile, there's a newly discovered Da Vinci painting at the Museum of Art and two men are thinking about stealing it. The larger man doesn't think it can be done. But the smaller man with the slightly pointed ears and long nose, wearing a monocle in his right eye, smoking a cigarette in a holder, and wearing a brown hat and green jacket is the Fox. He tells his associate that his plans are already made. The painting will belong to him before morning. When his friend warns him that the cops aren't his only problem ("You've still got the Fantastic Four to worry about and maybe even Spider-Man!"), the Fox tells him "I've arranged things so that Spider-Man will help me! Just wait and see!" Here, now, the plan. That night, outside of the museum, a "master wire" is cut with a pair of wire cutters, cutting off power "within a three-block radius". Inside the museum, the guards realize that the lack of electricity means the lack of burglar alarms. They call the electric company right away for assistance. Minutes later, three "repairmen" in coveralls arrive, carrying tool boxes and spools of wire. The guards show two of the men to the main fuse box while the third stays behind, ostensibly "for additional equipment to arrive". The men fix the power outage and leave in their truck but they take a little something extra with them. Because, as must be obvious, the trio consisted of the Fox and his two men, and while the guards were distracted, the Da Vinci painting was cut from its frame and stolen. But that's not all. The Fox has planted what "looks like part of a giant spider's web" under the frame. When the guards find it, they jump to the conclusion that t! he culprit was Spider-Man. Within the hour, an extra of the Daily Chronicle is out with the headline, "Spider-Man steals Priceless Painting!" (I guess Jonah Jameson got scooped!) At the Fox's hideout, the three men stretch out the canvas and admire the stolen painting. Then they settle in to "watch Spider-Man lead the police a wild goose chase!" Elsewhere in the city, perched at the top of a very tall chimney, Spider-Man looks at the newspaper and wonders how he can possibly clear his name this time. He figures his only chance is to catch the real criminal but he has no clues and he doesn't dare go to the police. It occurs to him that the Human Torch is "a teen-ager like me!" Maybe he can convince the Torch of his innocence and the two of them can work together to catch the real thief. Spidey knows that Johnny Storm lives in Glenville, so he hitches a ride on the back of a Long Island Distributors truck and web-swings off again when he arrives at his destination. He pokes around, looking for Johnny's house, and finds it just as Sue is driving off to join Reed Richards and Ben Grimm in the city. Before she goes, she reminds Johnny that his dinner is in the fridge, to put the cat out before bed and to remember to turn off the TV. Feeling henpecked, Johnny is relieved to hear the phone ringing inside so he can g! et away from his sister. Sue drives off. Johnny answers the phone. It is the local chief of police informing him that Spider-Man has stolen the Da Vinci. This conversation takes place just as Spidey peeks in from outside. Johnny hears something over by the window and tells the chief he has to hang up. He looks over and sees a shadow "on the pane". Yelling "Flame On!", Johnny becomes the Human Torch. He notices that the figure outside is starting to open the window. So, he flies out, through the now-opened window, and tries to grab the intruder's legs as he goes by. But he misses, because the "intruder" has spider-speed at his command. Spidey tells the Torch that he wants to chat but Torchy is too busy attacking. The web-slinger swings up to the roof and swings over the chimney, as the Torch tries to pelt him with flame balls. Spidey tries to reason with him, in his own inimitable style ("You some kinda nut or something?") but Johnny is convinced that the web-slinger was trying to sneak up on him and is up to no good. The webhead attempts to avoid the flame by diving into a nearby swimming pool. (Is this Johnny's pool? Looks very nice.) But the Torch retaliates by shooting flames off his right hand into the water, trying to bring it to a boil. Holding his breath underwater, Spider-Man creates a big "soggy-wet waterball" out of his webbing. He surfaces and throws the webbing at a surprised Human Torch, then he gets out of the pool and follows up his first attack with a second waterball. But Johnny manages to dodge and fights back by creating four "fire images"; exact duplicates of himself made out of flame. (Johnny used to make all sorts of wacky things out of his flame back in the good ol' days.) The idea is that Spidey will wear himself out trying to figure out which is the real one. But the wall-crawler doesn't fall for such "cornball tricks". He zig zags through all five of them, amazing the Torch. "Holy heat waves!", he thinks, "I never saw anyone move so fast!" Spidey, realizing that the Torch must have heard about the police blaming him for the theft of the painting, keeps running right through a nearby woods, zig-zagging around all the trees. He arrives at a construction site and plans a little surprise for the Torch "in case he's dumb enough to still be followin'". He grabs a metal pipe and attaches it to the muzzle of a cement mixer. Then, as the Torch flies into view, he spins the mixer with his bare hands "at super-speed", and fires the cement out of the pipe like a cannon shot. With a "Whap!" the cement completely engulfs the Torch. It hardens on him and the FF member falls from the sky. "So long, stupid!", says Spidey as he makes his escape, "By the time you get outta that, maybe you'll have learned better than to fight with Spider-Man!" Johnny isn't covered for long. Chiding himself for under-estimating his opponent, the Human Torch increases his body heat until the cooked cement crumbles off of him. "I guess I'm the only guy who ever baked himself out of a fix like that", he says. Exhausted from the battle, Johnny flames off and leans up against a dump truck. Then, he starts walking home, nervously aware that the web-slinger could be anywhere "watchin' me with that blasted spider vision of his!!" (Spider-Vision???) And, sure enough, there's Spidey, clinging high on the wall of the building that Johnny walks by. The Torch decides he has rested enough to "flame on" once again. He scouts the area from the air but doesn't see Spider-Man because the webhead has slipped through the window of "Carson Chemical Laboratories". By a happy coincidence, the lab is deserted and none of its equipment or materials is locked up. Spidey removes his mask (which, in this story, is actually connected to his costume so that it looks like a hood when removed) and sets to work creating a web "which will hold the Torch long enough for me to reason with him". Thanks to the "addition of these ice-cold silicone crystals which I can manipulate under the microscope" (Don't ask me. That's what it says!), Spidey whips up a fresh batch of webbing, loads it into his shooters, and tests it by firing out a stream and hitting it with a hammer! He declares his new invention to be "perfect!" because it is "cold enough to douse Torch's flame" (because it is made with "ice-cold silicone crystals" don'tcha know?) and tough enough "to withstand a hammer blow". Then he puts his hooded mask back on, as shown in a very cool illo by Kirby. "Exactly one block away", Stan tells us, "at the corner of Madison Avenue and 63rd Street"... (exactly when did they get back to Manhattan from Long Island?), the Torch hangs out with three cops and chats about Harleys. Johnny knows the cops by name (he calls one of them "Pete") and he is friendly enough with them to invite them to his garage later on, so this must still be Glenville, which makes me really confused. Would there really be a corner of Madison and 63rd in little Glenville? Anyway, the chat ends when the spider-signal appears on the side of the building across the street. This startles the cops enough that one of them actually draws his gun. Maybe that's why Spidey (who is standing on the roof of the building across the way) rags Johnny with "S'matter Torch? You need a bodyguard?" This gets Johnny so mad that he flames on, flies up to the roof and calls Spidey a "masked meathead". Spidey shoots out his webbing, does a backflip, and avoids t! he attack. And away we go! Spider-Man webslings through the town, staying just above the heads of the gawking crowds so that the Torch doesn't dare throw fireballs at him. He runs up the side of a building, which the Torch considers "a corny show-off trick". Johnny has no trouble flying right behind him. Outside of town, Spidey sprints along on the telephone wires, luring the Torch into his trap. The web-slinger has strung up some of his "ice-silicone web" which is so cold it can't be seen with the naked eye (and, apparently, light enough to just hang suspended in the air, as it appears to be attached to nothing.). He leads the unsuspecting Torch right into it. Much as tries to melt his way out, the Torch is trapped long enough for Spidey to talk to him. Spidey explains that he didn't steal the Da Vinci painting. He tells Johnny that he was framed "and no pun intended". He adds that the reason he stopped by Johnny's "pad" was to ask for help. But Johnny isn't buying. "Do ya think I was born! yesterday??" he says. Spidey tells the Torch to "clam up and listen". Meanwhile, the icy web puts out Johnny's flame, turning it to vapor. Then, the cold temperatures freeze up the vapor and, next thing he knows, Johnny is covered in snow. Spidey knows that it will all soon melt and Torchy will get his flame back, so he talks fast. He tells Johnny to use his head. After all, why would he come looking for the Torch if he really stole the painting? Why wouldn't he "cut out" while he could? Spidey explains that he thought the Torch would "get a kick" out of teaming up but now he's "thru beggin'". Then, deciding "I probably made a mistake comin' to you in the first place! All you care about is headlines! You probably don't wanna share the publicity with me!" Spidey swings away on his web, intending to work alone. The Torch can hardly believe what he's been hearing. "He called me all the things I was callin' him!" he says. Maybe, he thinks, that means Spidey is innocent after all. He increases his body heat "till it reaches cosmic blast intensity" (I don't know what that is but I'm surprised it doesn't blow up the whole town) and frees himself from the icy web. Then he makes his way to the office of the local police. In that office, Deputy Police Inspector Rudd is on the phone with his Chief, promising to get a lead on Spider-Man, when a flaming hand reaches out and offers him a light for his cigar. (And I'm confused again because it looks to me like we're back in Manhattan.) Rudd accepts the Torch's offer of a light and explains that the Chief is screaming for his scalp because Spider-Man has stolen another painting. "They found another piece of his web right at the scene of the crime" he says. The Torch now knows for certain that Spider-Man is being framed because, as he tells Rudd, "he was playin' footsie with me a half hour ago". In that case, Rudd decides to take a look at some mug shots (all on little three by five cards in this pre-computer time and neatly filed in a cabinet). "After long minutes" of looking, he comes upon a card of the Fox and he wonders why he didn't think of him before. "This has all the trademarks of one of his capers!" he declares. (The card, by the w! ay, is shone to the reader and it tells us that the Fox's real name is Reynard Slinker... another one of those monikers that seem to have heavily influenced his direction in life... that he is five feet three inches tall and weighs 165 pounds. A veritable gold mine of information for this month's Fox Spotlight Profile. (And, yes, 165 pounds does seem a bit excessive for such a skinny-looking five foot three inch guy, doesn't it?) That's all the lead the Torch needs. He asks Rudd to have his men "block all the arteries to and from the city" (Um... so are we in Manhattan now or what?) then he creates a huge flaming message in the sky, a la the Wicked Witch's "Surrender Dorothy" in the Wizard of Oz. Torchy's message says, "Spider-Man... Let's work together" (and he even put in the three little dots of the ellipsis!). Down in the crowd, the Fox and his men see the Torch's message and decide they don't want any part of this team-up. "A wise general knows when to retreat!" the Fox tells his boys. The plan is to "leave town for a while for our, eh, health!" Soon after, the Human Torch gets his response when the spider-signal is projected in the sky over the Statue of Liberty's torch. He flies out to Liberty Island and finds Spidey waiting for him on top of Lady Liberty's head. They have a short conference in which Johnny explains that the real thief is, most likely, the Fox. He even has a photo of the crook to show Spidey, ("Owww... it's still steamin'" says the webhead.) though who knows where he got such a thing, unless he copped the mug shot from right under Rudd's nose. Torchy further explains that he got a "list of places" from Rudd where the Fox "was seen recently". (Now hold on a second! In one panel, Rudd pulls the mug shot. In the very next panel, the anxious Torch flies out the window, ready to pursue this lead. When did Rudd find the time to give him a list of frequented locales? Did he yell them out the window as the Torch zipped away? Did he wad them up and throw them at Johnny's head? What?) The two he! roes return to the city and check out the first place on the list... a subway station, through which hundreds of thousands of people must pass on a regular basis. But if you think it's pretty unlikely that our heroes will happen to find the Fox in that station at just that time, then you don't know that we're at the bottom of page thirteen in an eighteen page story. (Ur... you did know that, didn't you?) Spidey swings down underground (and I'll bet he didn't pay, either), then webslings along the tunnel, enjoying the gaping looks he gets from the waiting passengers. Now, it sure looks like Spidey could go swinging through and never notice anything suspicious but he is hailed by a little gray-haired lady who, you know, actually looks a little bit like the Fox in disguise. (Oh yeah, he's got the granny dress going, the shawl, the hat, the big green satchel, the whole bit!) Wouldn't the smartest thing to do be to play it cool and not blow your cover? Yeah, but then you wouldn't be the Fox! He has other ideas. "Yoo hoo, young man!" he calls out to Spidey, "Would you help a little old lady, please?" And since Spidey was raised right by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben, he agrees to help out even though he's "busy right now, ma'am". The "old lady" asks Spidey to hold her green carpetbag while she tries to find her subway tokens. (Spidey never should have fallen for this because they're already at the track past the point where the tokens are necessary.) The webslinger holds out his arms, takes the bag, and finds himself covered in "some sort ! of super-glue" which oozes out of the bag, and ties up his hands. Next thing he knows, the old lady is pulling a gun! If the Fox had chosen to shoot right away, it is just barely possible that he might have been able to plug the web-slinger. But, no. The Fox must remove his hat and gray-haired wig and introduce himself to his intended victim. By the time all that is done, it's too late. A spout of flame strikes the Fox's gun, "melting it instantly". The Human Torch has arrived on the scene. Weaponless, the Fox jumps down to the track and runs into the tunnel. The Torch stops and helps Spidey by burning the glue off of his arms. ("Take it easy, Torch! Those are my hands in there!" says the webhead. "Anybody ever tell you that you complain a lot for a super-hero?" says the Torch.) Now freed from the carpetbag, the wall-crawler follows the Fox into the tunnel. He runs on the trestles in between the rails. The Human Torch flies along overhead. It is the Torch who notices that a train is barreling down on them from behind. He yells, "Move, chowderhead!" at the web-spinner but Spidey is absorbed in something he has noticed on the tracks. Just as the train arrives, Spidey drops down to take a closer look. The train passes over him (scaring the heck out of the Torch), but Spidey barely notices. He has found a trap door. Once the train goes by, he opens it up. "This must be," he tells the Torch, "the entrance to one of the Fox's secret lairs!" The two heroes take the stairs down from the trap door into "some cozy set-up". Below the subway, the Fox has an office with a desk, wood paneled walls, fine paintings, a lamp, a phone, even a big ashtray. (Which makes you wonder... if the Fox can afford to build a secret hideout like this, why is he bothering with stealing paintings?) Spidey notices that the stolen Da Vinci is not in the room. Nor is the Fox. "But he can't have gotten far!" Still, they have no more clues to follow. So, Spidey tells the Torch that their only option is to rely on his spider-sense. (You mean, that power that didn't work when the "old lady" handed you the green carpetbag, Spidey?) Torchy is agreeable to this and Spidey suggests they "head for the Bowery" since they "might as well start with the crummiest part of town!" (An unimpressed Torch says, "Spider sense! Big deal! I'd have thought of that myself!") Minutes later, the two heroes walk the streets of the Bowery amongst men who are so down-and-out that the Torch thinks they won't bother to notice "a couple of clowns like us". (Too destitute to notice a guy covered in flame and a guy in a spider suit? I'm still trying to figure out the logic behind that.) They walk around for a half an hour, waiting for the spider-sense to tingle. Finally, they come upon a wooden cigar store Indian, his left hand upraised and holding a tomahawk, his right hand upraised and shading his eyes, standing on a yellow base that says "El Hempo Cigars" on it ("El Hempo", eh? This is just tobacco, isn't it, Stan?). At that very moment, Spidey's senses are triggered. The Torch can't believe that the wooden Indian can be hiding anything. "The only thing that joker's got is termites!" he says. But Spidey grabs the Indian's right hand and pushes down on it. With a "creakk" the Indian's yellow base slides to the left, revealing an opening under the sidewalk. Then the heroes must dodge hot lead in a hurry. A machine gun pops up out of the hole and starts spraying bullets at them. Within seconds, the good guys have avoided being shot, climbed down the stairs into another secret hideout, and taken care of the two occupants of the room. (Spider-Man webs up the machine gunner. The Torch emits a cloud of smoke to "knock the fight outta" the other hood.) The twosome turn out to be our old friends... the guys who helped the Fox steal the paintings. They tell our heroes that the Fox grabbed the paintings and deserted them. Now, they hope that Spidey and the Torch catch "the rat". They volunteer the information that the Fox "high-tailed it for Central Park". The Torch wants more info than that. After all, "Central Park's a mighty big place". But Spidey tells him they don't need more than that. "Did you forget" he asks the Torch, "about my spider sense??" Off they rush to Central Park, with Spidey webswinging right next to the flying Torch. ("Y'know, you handle those webs of yours pretty smooth for a guy who can't fly" says Johnny. "And you fly pretty good yourself for a guy with no webs" says Pete.) Soon they are soaring above the stone steps leading to Bethesda Fountain. The webslinger tunes into his spider-sense and it leads him to a water fountain, which he deftly twists to the side, revealing another entrance to an underground lair. This one leads to another well-furnished room with bookcases, an armchair, a coffee table, and a vase but it, like the other lairs, is deserted. The twosome scope it out and Spidey comes upon a ladder (which is actually just a pole with footrests) that leads up to the roof. He deduces that this is a "hidden exit". He pushes open a slab of concrete and finds himself emerging from the grass right near one of the Park's pathways. On the path, a short man with a pencil-thin mustache and ! a tan beret stands next to a large telescope bearing the sign "See the Moon and Planets... 10 cents." A cop stands next to the man, telling him he'll have to "take that gadget outta the park" if he doesn't have a license for it. The man starts to comply but Spider-Man tells him to "hold on, Mister!" In response the man leans down and presses a button on the side of his shoe. Tiny wheels pop out on the bottom of each shoe. Tiny jets pop out behind. Instantly, the man takes off like a rocket, vowing that nobody can catch him. But the web-slinger takes off running, around trees, over rocks and right in the man's path. He grabs the skater by the lapels of his jacket and lifts him into the air. (The man is amazed that the webster can move so fast. "They don't call me Spider-Man for nothin', chum!" says our hero in response. Do spiders run fast?) Spidey grabs the man by his nose and pulls and, sure enough, he is wearing a mask. (And what I love about this is that it'! s one of those plastic face-only masks held on with an elastic band ar ound the back of his head like the kind we used to wear as kids on Halloween.) Behind the mask is... surprise!... the Fox! (Why is the Fox hanging around in Central Park pretending to sell views of the moon and planets when he could be well on his way out of the city? You're askin' me?) The Fox is astonished. No one has ever out tricked him before. Spidey is unimpressed. "You're lucky I don't mop up the place with you" he says. The web-slinger leads his prisoner back to the scene of his flight. The Torch is there, pulling the eyepiece off the telescope. (But the cop is gone. Where did he run off to?) Johnny has figured out that the telescope is a phony... "just a hollow pipe". And inside, rolled up safely? "The stolen Da Vinci painting!" Spidey and Torchy each grab the Fox by the back of his jacket and lead him away, bickering as they go. "I needed you like a hole in the head" Spidey says to the Torch. "In your case, kiddo, a hole in the head would be an improvement" the Torch says to Spidey. The Fox can't wait till they get to the cops. "C'mon, lock me up" he says "so I can stop listenin' to you two nuts!" There are actually 51 more story pages in this 72 page Annual in the form of 10 short stories reprinted from Strange Tales, Strange Worlds, and Worlds of Fantasy. Here they all are with the endings all spoiled (SPOILER WARNING!!) in a couple sentences or less. I Was the Invisible Man!. A scientist starts a crime wave when he discovers how to run (invisibly) at the speed of light. But the process prematurely ages him and he ends his days sadder but wiser. I Was a Prisoner on the Planet of Plunder!. Agent Rick Dugan is sent to investigate how the cargos of inter-galactic space ships are getting plundered with the pilots remembering nothing. The culprits use sound waves to do the hypnotizing but Rick captures them anyway... because he's stone-deaf! I Am Robot. A scientist creates a robot and attempts to prove it is not a threat to humans by having the machine take care of his son. When aliens try to kidnap the son, the robot thwarts them, sacrificing himself, though it appears that he attacked the son himself, thereby making the scientist think he has failed. Worlds Within Worlds!. A scientist tries to prove there are whole universes within a drop of water and, surprise! inside that water drop is the universe that has our Earth! I Was the Man who Lived Twice!. The black sheep of a gypsy clan lives to middle age as a failure because he refuses to do the things necessary to build a good life. A fountain of youth turns him back into an infant again giving him a second chance to live his life right. I Fly to the Stars!. An inter-stellar pilot gets a six-month job and tells his fiancée he must break off the wedding plans. He never bothers to tell her that six months in flight equals fifty years passing back on Earth. Prison 2000 A.D. A prisoner in that strange future year of 2000 A.D. thinks he escapes the dreaded punishment room, steals a space ship, becomes a Robinson Crusoe on a strange planet and eventually teams up with a beautiful woman and other colonists. In reality, he is serving his sentence in the punishment room, scientifically induced to dream he is free. I Am the Scourge of Atlantis!. The survivors of the destruction of the continent of Atlantis, cut off from the rest of the world for millennia, decide to attack the surface world. They find out that there have been many changes when they learn they are the size of ants and their fearsome weapons would fit on a charm bracelet. Nightmare Planet. A planet "2000 times larger than our sun" with beings just as large is traveling past the now-demilitarized Earth. Fearing destruction, an army is put together and sent to the planet where they find that the huge beings move at such a slow time rate that they will never notice the Earth at all and the assembled army is unnecessary... but the people back home still feel safer with the military around. (!) (Check out the full-page ad for Fantastic Four Annual #1 (1963), directly preceding the next story, that promises an appearance by Spider-Man. Hmmm. We may have to look into that.) I Captured the Abominable Snowman!. A petty crook goes to Tibet to find the Abominable Snowman only to learn that an "Ancient One"-type can transfer the curse of the yeti to anyone he feels is deserving of punishment. The redeemed snowman is changed back to human and the petty crook becomes the yeti in his place. This is already the fourth time Spider-Man and the Human Torch have shared space in a comic (the others being ASM #1, March 1963, ASM #3, July 1963, and ASM #5, October 1963) in just a little over a year of the wall-crawler's existence. In the following year, the heroes will appear together five more times. (Fantastic Four Annual #1, 1963,Strange Tales #115, December 1963, ASM #8, January 1964, Strange Tales #119, April 1964, ASM #17, October 1964.) Their latest appearance together, as of this writing, is Peter Parker: Spider-Man #37 (January 2002). One of our intrepid editors, Byron, is busy counting up the meetings in between and will soon have a complete report for us. The Fox has all the makings of a one-shot villain... which he was for over thirty years. But then Tom DeFalco brought him back from oblivion in Spider-Man Unlimited #5 (May 1994) where he was defeated by Spidey and the Human Torch once again. Almost as easily as the first time. Sorry, Reynard! Milestones (Landmark events that take place in this story.) These early Spidey-Torch team-ups are always fun with the all the sarcasm and insults and oneupmanship and I love the Kirby-Ditko art team. But the truth is the Fox isn't much of a villain and, once you get past the Spidey-Torch fun, it's not much of a story, either. I would recommend it to anyone who has never had a chance to read it but, when I compare it to the classic early Spidey tales that came out at around the same time, I can't give it a higher rating than three webs. My comment: In Detail...
Strange Tales Annual #2
Summary: Spider-Man & Human Torch Team-UpJul 1963 : SMURF 005.800 : SM Guest : Strange Tales Annual Editor: Stan Lee Writer: Stan Lee Pencils: Jack Kirby Inker: Steve Ditko In General...
Overall Rating...
1964
JANUARY
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #8
Background... A banner just below the logo dubs this the "Special Tribute to Teen-agers Issue" and the cover is dominated by a come-on for the Spider-Man/Torch battle, which takes place in the six-page back-up feature... as if Stan and Steve had little faith in their seventeen-page lead. But don't skip ahead to the Torch story just yet. (That Lookback won't appear until next month anyway.) The main adventure has plenty to offer. Where else can you see Peter Parker duking it out with Flash Thompson and Spider-Man taking on the menace of the Living Brain? The splash page gives us a glimpse of things to come, with Spidey leaping onto the back of a rampaging robot; green with glittering gold dials and eyes, rolling on ball-bearing feet, waving ball-bearing hands so frantically that orbits of swirling air appear everywhere. Surely one of Ditko's coolest robot creations. After that glimpse of the robot in action, the story begins with the robot at rest. It is the Senior Science Class at Midtown High School and Mr. Warren, the science teacher, asks two suspicious-looking workmen to wheel the machine to the center of the room. (What makes the men look suspicious? What makes any Ditko character suspicious? One wears a tweed hat and has a pencil-thin mustache. The other wears a workman's cap with the bill pushed straight up in the air and has a loutish expression on his face.) The robot is so wide it just barely makes it through the doorway. Flash Thompson thinks it is "a creepy-lookin' gizmo" but science whiz Peter Parker counters with "That gizmo happens to be one of the scientific marvels of the age, loudmouth". Never one to take criticism well, Flash shoves Peter in the back of his head jarring Peter's glasses loose. The glasses hit the ground and the lenses shatter. Flash doesn't even bother to apologize. He just tells Pete "it was an accident". "Don't make a federal case out of it," he says. But Peter has had enough of Flash's bullying. He calls Flash a "clumsy meathead" and doesn't back down when Flash starts to threaten him. Liz Allen has to step between the two boys and remind them that they're "still in class". Flash challenges Pete to face him after class. "You've got a little surprise coming!" Pete replies. Back with his own private thoughts, Pete vows to be "through pretending to be a pantywaist". Oh, and almost as an afterthought, he thinks, "I don't need those specs anyway!" Thus, are his eyeglasses banished from the series, never to return again except in flashbacks. (And we can assume that it was his spider-powers that corrected his eyesight, though, as you can see, it is not specifically stated here.) Mr. Warren calls the class to order. He introduces the students to Mr. Petty of ICM, "the International Computing Machines Corporation". Mr. Petty is a slight meek-looking man with thinning gray hair and horn-rim glasses. The two sleazy workmen stand alongside Mr. Petty. Just behind Mr. Petty is ICM's "newest electronic computer" which they somehow figured would be even cooler if they designed in the form of a robot and gave it the ability to wander all over hell. Or as Mr. Petty puts it, "We built our computer in the form of a human body in order to dramatize its powers!" He further notes that "It is the greatest mechanical brain ever built" and tells the students that they call it "The Living Brain". Mr. Petty points out the ball-bearing rollers that serve as the Living Brain's feet and the pincers that extend from the ball-bearings on his arms that serve as his hands. But he emphasizes that the most amazing thing about the robot is its "ability to think" with "more knowledge than any other brain on earth, human or mechanical." Mr. Petty sums up by saying that the Living Brain can "answer any question which is fed to it" and asks Mr. Warren to pick out a student to assist in the procedure. Mr. Warren chooses Peter Parker, of course. (And Flash shoves Pete in the back, calling him "a professional teacher's pet"). Mr. Petty instructs Pete in the operation of the Brain. He complements Pete on how quickly he picks up the instructions. "Thanks, Mister Petty!" Pete replies, "I've read a lot about electronic brains! I've always been real interested in them!" (Now, you have to admit that Flash has a point with this "professional teacher's pet" stuff.) Mr. Warren asks the class to think up a question for the Living Brain. And off to the side the two suspicious workmen are very impressed by the whole scene. "It's smarter than any real person" says lout-face, "It can figure out horse race winners, elections, anything! We could get rich if we owned it!" The kids try to decide what to ask the Living Brain and no one can think of anything... except for Liz Allen. She pulls out a copy of Now Magazine with Spider-Man on the cover. She wants to ask, "What is Spider-Man's real identity?" All the other students think this is a great idea, except for Peter Parker who breaks out in a sweat. "What if the Brain is smart enough to answer that?" he worries. Mr. Petty seems to think the Brain may actually be able to answer this if he is "fed enough information about Spider-Man" so the class calls out everything they can think of while Peter is forced to enter the info into the Living Brain. (So, really, Pete can stop worrying. First, these are the details he is given: 1. "He's about five feet ten inches tall!" 2. "Weighs about one-hundred sixty pounds!" 3. From Flash: "He's been sighted in the Forest Hills area a lot!" 4. From Liz: "He's the most wonderful, heroic, glamorous man in the whole world!" and 5. "If you ask me, he's neurotic nut!" That should narrow it down to about a couple of thousand guys. And barring that, why doesn't Pete just feed false information into the Brain? Who's going to know? Pete, buddy! For God's sake, stop sweating!) So, anyway, Pete translates all the facts into mathematical symbols and enters them into the Brain. Mr. Petty tells him to stop being so nervous. After all, the Brain has "a very good chance" of solving the problem. This, of course, is what is making Pete so nervous. He sweats some more as he imagines a ticker tape exiting the machine reading, "Parker is Spider-Man" (as if the Brain would have a clue as to who Peter Parker is). Then he imagines the angry face of J. Jonah Jameson, the gleeful face of the Vulture, and the shocked face of Aunt May upon hearing the news. But, within seconds, the daydreams are interrupted by a signal from the Brain. It has finished its calculations and the ticker tape spills out of the Brain's torso. A terrified Pete pulls the tape out of the machine but he isn't able to read it. The tape is filled with "mathematical code symbols" which is the language the Brain uses. Mr. Warren tells Pete to translate the code overnight which makes Pete sigh with relief. This gives him "time to try to think of something." (So, in other words, the Living Brain is so fast it can answer the hardest problems in seconds... except that someone must translate the answer overnight! I love it!) On the other side of the room, the two workmen decide to steal the Living Brain so they can make a fortune and skip the country. (Now, you don't suppose either of these two idiots is going to translate code, do you?) Back at the Brain, Flash Thompson tries to grab the ticker tape out of Peter's hands. Pete puts out his left arm and holds Flash back. Mr. Warren approaches and tells the two teens to "break it up". He tells the boys that he's been watching them for some time. "If you both are such enemies, I suggest you settle your feud once and for all in the gym!" he says. Both Flash and Pete readily agree. After class, the two enemies hit the gym and get suited up in boxing shorts and boxing gloves. (There is a wonderful Ditko drawing of a bare-chested Pete in boxing gloves with the "half-Spidey mask" look extending down his arm with webs.) The other kids stand around and taunt Pete, telling him he is going to get clobbered. (One of these guys even looks a bit like Harry Osborn but I wouldn't mark it down as a first appearance.) Pete has other worries. He wants to make sure he pulls his punches enough so that Flash Thompson isn't completely flattened. Flash, meanwhile, is surrounded by his usual sycophants who tell him not to end it too soon. Flash promises he will take his time enjoying it. Liz begs him not to be too rough. The gym teacher agrees to referee the fight. He looks over at Peter, friendless, "not one student rooting for him", and wishes that somehow Parker could win the fight. But that's too much of a miracle to even think about, he decides. So, the young men get into the ring and the fight begins. Pete is so fast that Flash doesn't stand a chance of hitting him but unfortunately his reflexes are so good it just looks like he's constantly staying out of range. "Parker's a coward!" concludes one student after watching Pete's reflexes at work. Even Flash thinks Pete is just avoiding him. "C'mon and fight, Chicken Parker!" he yells which forces Pete to realize that he has to throw a punch. He pulls that punch as much as he can but even with "only the smallest fraction of my power into that blow", he still knocks Flash right out of the ring. The bully lands on top of a handful of the spectators, his head reeling. The kids aren't even sure what just took place. "It happened so fast," says Liz, "it was like a blur to me". Pete stands in the ring, one glove up to the side of his head, shocked. It's exactly what he feared. "Even though I hit him as easy as I could it was still too hard!" As Flash starts to get up, one of his toadies suggests that he must be "clownin' around". Desperate to save face, Flash agrees with this assessment. "Just trying to have a few laughs before I clobber him!" he says but inside he is shaken. He climbs back into the ring, dukes up, but still wonders exactly what occurred. "It musta just been a lucky punch" he thinks but still can't figure out how he was knocked right through the ropes. "I probably tripped", he concludes and then hangs onto that theory for dear life. "Sure, that must be it! I just tripped over the ropes!" Upstairs, Tweed Hat and Lout Face have finally found themselves alone wilth he Living Brain. It is time to swipe the machine and get out of Dodge. But they haven't bothered to keep track of Mr. Petty, who enters the room at that moment and demands to know what they are doing. Lout Face responds by socking Petty in the jaw, knocking him out. But his sudden attack startles Tweed Hat, who stumbles back into the Living Brain. His collision with the Brain's control panel causes a short circuit and suddenly the Brain is moving on its own, swinging its clublike arms so swiftly that they are just a blur. (That's the problem with all these thinking machines. One little short circuit and they go on a rampage.) The Brain bears down on the two creeps. There is no way Tweed and Lout can get near the control panel to shut the Brain off, not with those dangerous arms swinging, so they run for their lives. At first, it is as if the Brain is specifically after the two men. It "keeps blocking the exits" as if it doesn't want the men to leave. But then, the Living Brain takes a turn and rolls right into a class-in-progress! In the gym, the fight goes on. The students yell at Flash to stop kidding around and end it already! Flash plays along but still can't lay a glove on Peter. Pete, meanwhile, has finally figured out how to hit Flash "without splattering him all over the gym". He plans to just flip his wrist instead of swinging with his whole arm. He even warns Flash in advance, telling him, "Here it comes", but, as luck would have it, somebody enters the gym at that moment yelling "Help! The Brain is out of control! Help!" and Flash turns his head to look at the yeller. Pete has already started his blow and can't stop in time. (Though, really, how hard can it be to stop a flick of the wrist?) He is forced to follow through, even though Flash's head is turned. Flash is immediately knocked unconscious (with the sweetest little smile on his face) and the students heckle poor Pete. "Booo! You hit him when his head was turned! It was a foul!" yells a kid in a red tie. "That was a crummy thing to do, Parker!" yells a kid in a purple shirt. Just then, another student rushes in to tell everyone "the Living Brain is running amok". Pete picks Flash up and carries him to the locker room. ("Just had the wind knocked out of him" Pete concludes. Yeah, Pete! If his wind is in his head!) There he changes into Spidey and goes after the Brain. (Where was that Spidey suit while he was boxing? Didn't the other students wonder why he had a Spidey suit under his clothes when he changed into his boxing trunks?) So, "exactly thirty seconds later", Spider-Man runs up the banister of a stairway. He assumes that the only way the Brain could go on a rampage is if someone tampered with it but he still doesn't think "an electronic thinking machine" could be that much of a problem. And then he sees it. In a crowded hallway, a gang of kids runs for their lives as the Living Brain waves its arms and chases after them. Spidey tells the kids to keep running. Then, he leaps up to the ceiling, adheres by his hands, waits for the Brain to pass under him, and jumps on the robot's head. But the Brain, who "can think, in its own fashion", just reaches up with its swirling arms and swats Spidey away. The wall-crawler somersaults in the air and lands on his feet behind the Brain. He realizes he must make sure all the students escape safely before he tackles the Living Brain again. Spidey gets ahead of the Brain and, clinging to the wall, ushers the students to the exit. With everyone safely out, he is free to concentrate on the Brain. First, he shoots some webbing so that it forms a wall across the hallway. The Brain runs right into it and is stopped cold. But then the robot uses its amazing electronic brain. It grasps the web, testing its strength. In seconds, it completes its analysis. ("I hear his gears moving," says Spidey, "as though he's deciding how much pressure to apply!") Having come up with the answer, the Brain plows right through the webbing as if it was paper. After viewing this display of the Brain's reasoning powers, Spidey decides he must learn more about this mechanical thinking. He runs behind the Brain, letting the machine hear him, waiting to see the response. The Brain turns at the sound of the footsteps and extends its arms, trying to strike Spidey. The web-slinger dodges the attack but has now put himself in a bit of a pickle. The Brain recognizes him as an enemy and is now chasing after him! The webster runs for it but the Living Brain is even faster. It zooms past the wall-crawler and out-maneuvers him. Before Spidey knows just what is happening, the Living Brain has trapped him in a corner. Spidey realizes, "He really is the fasting thinking machine on earth!" The Living Brain moves in for the kill. Spidey knows that he may not be able to outthink the Brain but he can still take him by surprise with an unexpected move. At the last instant, he leaps clear over the robot and bounds down the hall, bouncing from wall to floor. But he also knows that the Brain will remember the move he just made and he won't be able to fool him with it again. So, he tries to vary his leaping as he makes his way down the hall since the Brain will anticipate any repeated action. When he gets to an intersection of corridors, Spidey comes upon more high schoolers still in the building. They tell him that the exit door is jammed, preventing them from getting out. Spidey goes with them to the metal door and, as one kid puts it, "[pulls] that lock apart like it was paper". The students all escape and Spidey turns around to face the Brain. The problem is the robot is nowhere in sight. Spidey cautiously makes his way down the corridor. He knows the robot has planned a trap but he doesn't know when it will be sprung. Then, as he passes a classroom, the door flies off its hinges and knocks him to the ground. The Living Brain comes out of the room and rolls onto the fallen door which is now resting on top of Spider-Man. But, the Brain still hasn't exactly gauged the wall-crawler's strength. "It thinks this will stop me", Spidey thinks, as the Brain rolls off the door and down the hall. Spidey knows that his re-appearance will just add more data to the Brain's file on him. "Once it sees me again, it'll realize the extent of my strength and it will fight harder than ever!" The wall-crawler starts to rise when Tweed Hat and Lout Face, running over the top of the door, knock him down again. They conveniently blurt out that "we caused all the trouble by messing up [the Brain's] controls when we tried to steal it", allowing Spidey to overhear and confirming his belief that the Brain would never go berserk on its own. But the Brain is still the prime menace. Finally, Spider-Man gets up, tosses the door aside, and gets back to his pursuit. Carefully, he works his way down the hall. Now that he knows that "messing up" the controls caused the problem, he figures he can end it all by getting to the control panel. But even as he rounds a corner, the Brain rushes up and grabs him; each of Spidey's wrists held by one of its pincers. The robot's lightning-fast brain can second-guess anything Spidey tries in order to escape but it must be suffering a short-circuit when it decides that the best way to dispose of the web-slinger is to throw him against the wall. This frees Spidey's hands and allows him to shoot webbing up into the corner of the opposite wall, stopping him from colliding with the wall at which he was thrown. From there, Spidey leaps up and clings to the ceiling, just out of reach of the Brain's whirling arms. But that Living Brain is always thinking! It rolls over and rips another door off its hinges, then swings it like a fly swatter, trying to dislodge the ol' wall-crawler. This forces Spidey off the ceiling and over to one of the walls. The Brain has completely demolished the door he was using and he rolls down the hall with the intention of grabbing another door. Spidey decides he must take action now. Once again dangling from the ceiling, he shoots a web at the back of the Brain and tries to halt the robot's forward motion. (Actually, let me digress for a moment here to note that, in this sequence, it looks like Stan and Steve had different ideas. The illustrations clearly show the Brain using the door as a swatter, in an attempt to actually whack Spidey when he's on the ceiling. Stan uses the word "swatter" but his text has Spidey commenting that the Brain is "trying to dislodge me by hitting the walls". Later, when the Brain retreats, Steve's illo (on page 14, panel 3) shows the the robot heading right for another door after having shattered the first door. Spidey snags him with the web to keep him from reaching the door. But Stan's text has Spidey saying, "If I hold tight enough, he won't be able to reach the wall to pound any more!") Whatever the reason for Spidey's plan, it doesn't do any good. The Brain first exerts a tremendous pull, and then starts spinning around so swiftly that it forces Spidey to spin as well. The intense spinning soon knocks Spidey from the ceiling. He falls to the floor, looking defenseless, but the Brain just turns and leaves. ("He feels there's nothing I can do to stop him! I'm not worth bothering about any more!" determines Spidey.) Unfortunately, two students have snuck back into the school to see what's what. The Brain spies them and barrels down on them, with those arms waving menacingly once again. The two teens see the Brain coming and they run for it. One of them ("Charlie") trips and can't get up. His friend stays to help, putting them both in danger of being clobbered. The Brain is only a few feet away. But then Spider-Man runs up from behind and leaps on the Brain's back before it can get to the students. He leans over the Brain's head, blocking the robot's vision, as he reaches down for the control panel on its chest. With its attention diverted, the Brain rolls right by the two students, heading down the hall so fast that Spidey can't reach the controls. The wall-crawler knows that this is the showdown. "If I fall off, I'm done for! And If I stay on here, I'll soon be a sitting duck for him!" He must reach the controls now, especially since the pre-occupied Brain is heading right for a stairway heading down! With only seconds to spare before the robot gets to the stairs, Spidey finally reaches the switches on the control panel. In an instant, he figures out which is the "main cut-off switch" and he shuts the Brain down. Unfortunately, those ball-bearing feet are still rolling right toward the stairway. Spidey has maneuvered around so that he is facing the Brain, right side up, but he's stuck; his legs pinned down by the robot's arms. He can free himself given time but he runs out of time. The robot reaches the top of the stairway and it and Spidey go sailing off into the air. Still, the wall-crawler has one final trick up his sleeve. He shoots a webline at the bottom of the stairway one floor above. Clinging to that web, he and the Brain go swinging right through a window in the wall just opposite the top stair off which they flew. The webbing holds even with the extra weight of the robot. They reach the end of the arc, and then swing right back in again, ending up where they started; at the top of the stairs. Now, with the Brain sitting stationary on the landing, Spidey fiddles with the control panel again, getting the robot to lower its arms, thereby freeing himself. But "at the other end of the hall", a recovered Mr. Petty is calling for help in apprehending Tweed Hat and Lout Face. The two lugs run down the stairs and head to the gym, hoping to lose any pursuit in the locker room. (What a plan. You've gotta love these guys.) Just moments before, in that locker room, Flash Thompson regains consciousness. He gets dressed, all the time trying to come up with an "excuse for not beating puny Parker". One of his shoelaces gets a knot in it, so he bends down, right in front of the locker room door, to fix it. Just then, Tweed Hat and Lout Face come racing in and tumble right over the stooping Flash. And, as Mr. Thompson so eloquently puts it, "They plumb knocked themselves out!" Flash is still puzzling over this when several students come in and proclaim, "Flash caught both of those guys!" When he is asked how he did it, the modest Flash replies, "You know me! I just up and let 'me have it!" Having changed out of his Spidey duds nearby, Peter overhears Flash's boast and this gives him an idea. He enters the locker room and tells the kids that he just realized that Flash was the only one who was not around when Spider-Man fought the Brain. "And you knocked these two burly guys out as easy as pie!" he adds. "And you're just about Spider-Man's size!" Then Peter serves up the clincher. "And you tried to get the Brain's answer to Spider-Man's identity away from me!" he says, "It all ties in, doesn't it?" Annoyed, Flash barks out that he is not Spider-Man. But one of the others pipes up and points out that Flash would, of course, deny it even if it were true. From there it takes on a life of its own. Students crowd around and bolster the theory by conjecturing that Flash lost the fight to Pete on purpose to preserve his secret identity. Flash gets so confused, he can't even come out with a complete sentence, which tickles Pete to no end. And so, a very happy Peter Parker walks home from school, whistling a tune. He figures all he has to do tomorrow is tell the class that he lost the ticker tape with Spider-Man's identity on it "during all the excitement". On top of that, he "managed to wallop" Flash without revealing his secret. "All in all", he decides, "it's been a mighty pleasant day!" So, did the Living Brain actually come up with Spider-Man's true identity? No mention of it is ever made. But wouldn't you think Pete would be curious? Wouldn't you think he'd translate it just so he could see for himself? That is the last anyone sees of the Living Brain until Web of Spider-Man #35 (February 1988), twenty-four years later. Once again billed as a "Special Tribute-to-Teen-agers Issue!!" Web #35 is a winning follow-up to ASM #8 complete with an Alex Saviuk-Keith Williams cover that imitates the original (only with Spidey in his black costume and no Human Torch). The story deals with Peter Parker's first day back at Midtown High School as a substitute teacher. There, he meets Steve Petty who is a young science-whiz tormented by bully Jake Dorman, in almost the exact same ways that Pete was tormented by Flash Thompson. Jake even breaks Steve's glasses when he pushes him just as Peter's glasses were broken by Flash. But whereas Pete had his Spider-powers, Steve is an ordinary kid except... he just happens to be the son of our old friend Mr. Petty of ICM (who, we learn, was only a public relations man and is no longer with the company) and he has an old obsolete robot given to the school by his father with which he has been tinkering during off hours. Finally fed up with the bullying, Steve snaps. But unlike Peter, who was mature enough to realize that he couldn't use his powers against an ordinary teen like Flash, Steve has no qualms about using his power against Jake. And so, he animates the robot and the Living Brain roams the grounds of Midtown High School once again. Spider-Man saves the day, of course, but he cannot save Steve, who feels betrayed by Peter Parker and has reached the point of no return. He dons an exo-skeleton suit (in Web #36, March 1988) that overloads and turns him into the creature called Phreak-Out. Embittered, he tracks down Peter's apartment and kidnaps Mary Jane. But things work out well for Steve after his defeat when he learns that Jake Dorman and his girl friend Ronda are on his side in a crisis and deep-down inside consider him to be their friend. Milestones (Landmark events that take place in this story.) Sure, the Living Brain is silly but Ditko makes him look great. The looks on Flash's face when he's first clobbered and later unconscious are worth the price of admission alone. And how about Tweed Hat and Lout Face in their own mini-series? A solid three and a half webs. My comment: In Detail...
Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #8 (Story 1)
Summary: First Living BrainJan 1964 : SMURF 008.500 : SM Title : Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) Editor: Stan Lee Writer: Stan Lee Pencils: Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko Inker: Steve Ditko Cover Art: Steve Ditko In General...
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AVENGERS#3
Background... The shortest Spidey appearance yet! The first time he appears and has nothing to do with the story. The Hulk, volatile and unstable, has angrily quit the Avengers and the group doesn't dare let him go off on his own. Tony Stark, in his guise of Iron Man, uses an "image projector" to travel the city, asking other super-heroes if they have any leads on the Hulk. One of the heroes questioned is Spider-Man, who is in the midst of webbing up three goons toting tommy guns. A ghostly image of Iron Man hovers nearby, startling the webhead. "Sufferin' Spider-webs!" he says, "I must be workin' too hard! I'm seein' things!" "Don't be alarmed!" Iron Man replies. "I'm just trying to find the Hulk." Snide teen-ager that he is, Spidey counters with "Look, do I tell you my troubles? I've got my hands full right now! Why don't you try the missing persons bureau??" An angry Iron Man leaves, saying, "Thanks for nothing, sonny!" If you're only interested in it for Spider-Man, it's not worth your time but if you're looking for a classic Lee-Kirby battle royale between the original Avengers and the Hulk and Sub-Mariner, you can't beat it with a stick. Four and a half webs. My comment: In Detail...
Avengers (Vol. 1) #3
Summary: Spider-Man CameoJan 1964 : SMURF 008.700 : SM Cameo : Avengers (Vol. 1) Editor: Stan Lee Writer: Stan Lee Pencils: Jack Kirby Inker: Paul Reinman In General...
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FEBRUARY
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #9
Background... There were more classic Spidey villains introduced in the first twenty issues of Amazing Spider-Man than there were in the next one hundred. A clear testament to Steve Ditko's influence in both character design and style. Here's Electro's debut. John Byrne tried to change it. Mark Bagley calls it "terrible". Cut it out! Both of you guys! Electro's original costume is cool. So is the first story that features him. Is there any better way to start a Spidey adventure than with a Steve Ditko symbolic splash page? This one uses a web as a background. Our hero is depicted "half and half"... his left side in Spidey costume (with spider-sense warning lines radiating from his head), his right side in Peter Parker clothes. His head is approximately in the center of the page. Above him, like a vengeful God hurling lightning-bolts is Electro... hurling lightning bolts. On our left a head shot of a smiling Betty Brant and a placid Jonah Jameson look upon the Peter Parker half in contrast to a spurning Betty Brant (her back turned and arms crossing her chest) and a finger-pointing angry JJJ on our right side reacting to the Spidey half. An ailing Aunt May is also on the Peter side. She lies in bed and stretches out a hand, pleadingly. Flash and Liz and the other kids are gawking at Peter too. The Spidey side includes a puzzled contemplative cop and four witnesses with expressions ranging from excitement to outrage. Four guns are being fired at Spidey from the lower right corner of the page. Two of them have hoodlums attached to them. One just has a disembodied hand and sleeve. One is just the snub of the weapon. There it is. Everything you need to know. In one symbolic illustration, Ditko spells out the whole story. Stan just uses the other twenty-one pages to elaborate a little bit. Let's get to it. Spider-Man is in a rush. He leaps past a "startled group of pedestrians" on his way to the rooftops. A few blocks away, two policemen are in a shoot-out with four gunmen who fire away from behind their overturned car. The cops know the odds are not in their favor unless help arrives. Suddenly, Spider-Man swings overhead. The four thugs take one look at him and decide to surrender while they can. They throw down their guns and let the police capture them... only to be surprised by Spidey swinging right by them. The web-slinger is so absorbed in his own business that he never saw the gun battle at all. Soon after, in Queens, Spidey runs along the sidewalk, putting his Peter Parker clothes on as he goes, since it is "too dark for anyone to see me" except for one startled cat. (Though it can't be that dark when he has just passed a lit lamppost.) By the time he passes through his front door, he is just removing his mask. "Now to rush upstairs", fully-clothed as Peter. The reason for the haste is worry over the health of his Aunt May. Peter has just gone out to fill a prescription and figured he could do it faster as Spider-Man. ("Because I know how badly you [May] need this medicine." he thinks.) His Aunt, laid up in bed, is surprised at how fast he has been. She takes her medicine then drops off to sleep. Apparently, Peter's worry leads him to carelessness for he sits in a chair by May's bed with his jacket open and revealing his Spidey shirt underneath. He has no shoes on either, revealing his Spidey socks (or whatever those things are). He watches her sleep, not daring to tell her "how ill she really is", and decides to stay put in case she wakes up and needs him. On the other side of town, a man puts a green and yellow costume on over some wiring he has placed on his chest and torso. He dons a mask that looks like lightning bolts firing off of his face and stands between two dynamos, feeding on the electricity they give off. Now fully charged, he snaps his fingers, giving off an electric spark. He declares himself "ready to try out my new power and the world is about to meet Electro!" Electro decides to begin his life of crime with an immediate challenge. He watches as an armored car filled with gold pulls up at its destination. When two guards get out, open the back, and start pulling out sacks with dollar signs on them, Electro steps out and tells them he is taking the gold. One guard pulls a gun but Electro fires a lightning bolt from his left forefinger and disarms him. He tosses an electric shock at the other guard that is attracted to the man's metal watchband. Shocked, the guard drops the bag of gold. A third guard comes out of the truck but it makes no difference. Electro simply encircles the three men in a "ring of electricity" where he promises to keep them until they give up the gold. "Do as he says, chum!" says one guard with alacrity, "That guy is a lot more than we can handle." (Do these guys give up in a hurry or what?) The next morning, worried over his Aunt's condition, Peter calls the doctor. (Back in the days of such things as house calls.) The doctor tells Peter he made the right decision. Aunt May is worse. "We've got to send her to the hospital!" says the doctor. Aunt May doesn't want to go. She's worried about how Peter will take care of himself without her. Pete tells her not to worry about it. "The important thing is for you to get well!" he says. At school that day, Peter is treated to the "usual taunts of his classmates" ("Hi, bookworm! What's new in dullsville?" says Flash. ) but he doesn't even hear them because of his preoccupation with Aunt May's condition. As he leaves school for the day, Flash tries to catch up. He is having second thoughts about Pete. ("Maybe I've been too rough on Parker! He's more of a man than I thought!" he thinks, "I still remember that last fight we had", when Peter clocked Flash in the boxing ring in ASM #8, January 1964.) But Peter doesn't even slow down on his way out of school and this is interpreted as the "cold shoulder" by all the kids who witness it. Flash is angered by this treatment and forgets all about his new attitude. "That's what I get for startin' to soften up!" he says, "Puny Parker always was a big zero and he always will be!" So, Peter arrives at the hospital where the doctor tells him they are "not quite ready to operate yet". (Operate? Who said anything about an operation?) Peter goes to May's room to visit and finds the visitor's chair already occupied. Betty Brant has come by to give her regards and best wishes. (It seems to me that this is the first time we've actually seen Betty and May meet but it is clear by the dialogue that they know each other. Aunt May says, for example, "Isn't it sweet of Betty, Peter? She came to visit!") Betty asks Peter if he minds and he tells her that, on the contrary, he appreciates it. Betty steps aside while Pete takes May by the hand. May, ever worried about her nephew, tells Pete that he looks pale and asks if he is eating enough. Peter tells her she should just worry about herself. After visiting hours, Peter and Betty leave the hospital together. On the steps, Pete asks Betty if she minds if he does not see her home. He tells her he has "something important to attend to". Betty says she understands but, after Peter leaves, stops to ponder the situation. Peter is always "so calm and easygoing" but she gets the feeling that "he's like a smoldering volcano inside" and decides, "It's as though he carries a deep secret within him... one which no one can ever share." Meanwhile, Pete has already changed to his Spidey duds and his scouring the city looking for crimes. The truth is Aunt May's operation will cost more than they have. Pete hopes to be able to take photos and sell them to J. Jonah Jameson "for as much as he'll pay". But then it starts to rain (complete with a nice foreshadowing lightning bolt from the sky) and Spidey must give up the idea since he crummy little camera "isn't good enough to take clear pictures in the rain". He walks along a rooftop ledge, getting soaked, kicking himself for being a lousy super-hero. "I can just see the headlines now!" he thinks, "Spider-Man calls off fight against crime due to rain! Phooey!" Back home, Peter wrings out his wet costume in the bathroom sink, strings a clothesline up in his bedroom and hangs his red-and-blues on it. Only after he does this does he realize that he has left the shades up, giving the neighbors a chance to see his Spidey suit hanging there. That night, he tries to study but he keeps reading the same page over and over. He can't stop thinking about Aunt May and how they have no money for the operation. And all this just as midterm exams are coming up. "What a life!" Pete says. The next day, J. Jonah Jameson is at a bank in Forest Hills asking a bank employee for some "figures". The employee tells Jameson he can have those "figures" by tomorrow but JJ insists on having them now. Since Jonah is "one of [their] biggest depositors" the employee promises to do what he can. "That's more like it!" says Jonah, "When I give an order, I expect people to hop!" Just then, in the same bank, a guard notices lightning flaring up from behind a door in the rear. He immediately deduces that someone is breaking into the bank and he acts quickly... but not quickly enough. At the same time as he touches the alarm, a lightning bolt snakes out and hits the alarm box as well. The jolt knocks the guard out and silences the alarm. Then Electro emerges into the bank, right in the office where JJJ and the employee are having their discussion. (And they appear to be the only other people in the bank aside from Electro and the guard. No one else ever makes an appearance.) Electro immobilizes the two men with his electric bolts, which hit their tiepins, belt buckles and metal tipped shoelaces. When Jonah tries to protest, Electro calls him by name ("Well, if it isn't J. Jonah Jameson!") and ridicules him. Jonah, who is too dim to realize that he is a public figure, decides that Electro must be someone he knows since "he knew who I was!" Electro goes to the bank vault, circumvents the time lock using his electric powers and fills a bag full of money. (This bag also has a dollar sign on the outside of it.) He leaves the bank, telling the only two men there (JJJ and the employee) not to sound the alarm. The employee cries out that "He's escaping with a fortune!" Outside, Electro scales the wall of a nearby building by "holding on to the iron beams... by means of electric rays, using them like a magnet". In the aftermath, the police interview the employee and the eyewitnesses. The employee describes the robber as "very confident... never seemed to doubt his power". Jonah puts two and two together. He only knows one person who is "so powerful, so confident, who can climb sheer buildings, and who knows me!" That person is Spider-Man and just as Jonah thinks of him, he sees the web-slinger swinging by overhead. That cinches it for JJJ. "Electro is Spider-Man!" he declares, "He hid the money, changed his disguise and he's leaving now!" Immediately, Jameson goes to the investigating officers to tell them his discovery but they want proof. "It can't be anyone but Spider-Man!" says Jonah, "That's proof enough!" One cop starts to waver but the other stands firm. "Don't let Jameson influence you," he tells his partner, "He'd accuse Spider-Man of anything." And sure enough, the next edition of the Daily Bugle hits the street with the headline, "Electro is Really Spider-Man!" The usual pack of Bugle-reading boneheads falls for the story hook line and sinker. "Holy smoke!" says one, "Do you think the Bugle's accusation is true?" "It must be" says another, "How could they print it if it weren't true?" "Spider-Man mustbe Electro" says a third, "Why would Jameson's paper print it if it isn't true?" "I've read the paper from front to back," says the only reasonable person on the street, "They still offer no definite proof." A blonde-haired woman in a red outfit and hat doesn't even hear this objection. "If Spider-Man isn't Electro" she says, "why doesn't he catch him?" Back at the hospital, Peter Parker reads the paper and crumbles it in frustration. Just then a nurse enters and tells him the doctor wants to see him. Pete enters the office. The doctor tells him that they are almost ready to operate, then reminds the teen that "the specialist we had to engage charges a fee of one thousand dollars". (But if Aunt May has Medicare, he charges a fee of fifty thousand dollars. No, no, sorry. I just made that up.) Pete tells him to proceed with the operation. He will get the thousand dollars somehow. He first stops at the Daily Bugle and asks JJJ for a loan of the money. But when Jonah asks the reason for it, Pete won't say. ("It's a personal matter, Mr. Jameson! But it's very important.") Jonah figures Pete just "saw a hot-rod you want to buy!" He goes on to tell his photographer that he never lends money but "if you can bring me photographic proof that Spider-Man is Electro, I'll gladly give you the money!" This reminds Pete that there is a "big reward for Electro's capture". If he can stop the villain, he'll have plenty of money for the operation. And so, Spidey prowls the city at night, looking for the master of electricity. Soon after he begins, he notices a person "prowling in the dark" on a rooftop and he swoops down to investigate. But when he gets closer, he sees that it is just "a guy with a telescope, star-gazing". The hours go by as Spidey criss-crosses the city without success. At one point, he notices a light flashing from an otherwise dark building. He clings to the wall and peers in the window only to find "another false alarm... workmen making emergency repairs on a power line". Again, he continues the search until his spider-sense starts to tingle. He follows the direction of the alarm and looks through a window to see Electro in a nearby deserted apartment, "using his electric power like a mine detector". By sending out an electric bolt from each hand, Electro has discovered "a hidden safe". The villain opens the safe and pulls out a pile of jewels and currency. Spidey lets him complete the robbery. He figures to follow Electro to his hideout, defeat him, recover the stolen loot and earn the reward. First, he takes a couple of pictures for the Bugle, which, unfortunately, does him in. For while he is exposing his position by snapping off photos, Electro spots him in a mirror on the wall. When the hotwired heel exits the building, he confronts the web-slinger. Spidey is standing on top of a water tower when Electro appears and he just barely leaps away from a lightning bolt directed right at him. As he is falling, the wall-crawler shoots his webbing at Electro's face, blinding him. The webhead thinks the battle is already won but Electro's power allows him to burn the webbing right off. When Spidey grabs Electro from behind with the intent of bringing him in, he is shocked right into unconsciousness! Electro looks down at the fallen hero (who still has smoke coming up from him), assumes he is dead, and actually expresses a tiny bit of remorse ("I didn't mean to do that but it was his own fault! He didn't give me a chance to explain the danger of touching me!") before reverting to standard super-villain type ("With him out of the way, no single human is strong enough to challenge me!"). Electro flees the scene not knowing that "Spider-Man's spider-induced strength enables him to survive a shock that can kill an ordinary human". Soon after, Spidey regains consciousness, with a pounding headache. With Electro gone, Spidey is desperate. He sets his camera up on the water tower, takes some pictures of himself, then goes home and superimposes them over pictures of Electro, doctoring them so that it looks like Spider-Man is changing into Electro. (Ah, the depths you can reach when in desperate need of money for an operation!) The next day, J. Jonah Jameson happily writes a thousand dollar check for the purchase of these photographs. Peter is racked with guilt over what he has done. "I've never cheated anyone before!" he thinks, "It feels terrible." As he leaves, Betty Brant asks him why he looks so worried but Pete tells her he's fine... except, he thinks, he's "just feeling awfully ashamed of myself". The extra edition hits the streets with the headline "Proof That Spider-Man Is Electro", highlighting Peter's phony photos. Again, the idiots on the street buy right into it, except for one guy who wonders "Why should Spider-Man take another identity! Nobody even knows who Spider-Man is!" This appears to be a minority opinion. Back in his hideout, Electro reads the paper and crows. Not only is Jameson off track about Spidey being Electro but Electro is the only one who knows that the wall-crawler is dead! (He thinks.) All of this spurs Electro to cast his mind back to his origin. He was "an ordinary electric lineman named Max Dillon". And, oh yes, Max was a bit of a jerk. The flashback begins with Max's boss asking him to climb up a "high tension pole" to rescue Harris, a co-worker, because Max is the "best pole man". But Max refuses to do it unless he gets paid extra. He calmly smokes a cigarette as Harris dangles alongside live electric wires until the boss agrees to pay him an extra hundred dollars. So, Max goes up the pole, anchors himself up there, and lowers an unconscious Harris with a rope. The boss thinks "Dillon is a rat" and he would "bounce him in a second" except that he's the best man they have. Sometime later, Max is working alone up on a high-tension pole when lightning strikes in "a million to one chance". The bolt knocks Max from his perch all the way down to the ground. This should have killed him but "due to the way [he] had been grasping the electric wires, the two bolts of current cancelled each other" and Max survives. His clothes get all torn up but he feels stronger than ever. In fact, he is glowing all over with power. Back at the company locker room, Max comes in contact with some wire clothes hangers and his fingers begin to spark! He realizes that his body is now charged with electricity and the hangers are serving as a conductor. He hurries home and begins experimenting. He hooks up a wire harness to help conduct the power and starts throwing lightning bolts in his basement. The more he practices, the more accurate his throws. Then, he takes all of his money and uses it to buy "a rundown house and equipped it like an electricity lab". He builds dynamos that he steps into to increase his power. When he runs out of money, he designs a snazzy costume, calls himself Electro and goes out to steal some more. Now, Electro begins his latest plan. He goes to the West Side House of Detention, a holding tank for prisoners who are waiting to be transferred "to the federal pen". He figures to release the cons and "get them to join me to be my flunkies". Once Max is in, he cannot allow the arriving police to rush in while he's occupied so he sets up an electrical barrier until he can finish the job. On his way to the hospital, Peter overhears a bulletin coming from a squad car, ordering cops to the detention center to take on Electro. Pete decides to take on the villain but not until he has first visited Aunt May. When he arrives, the doctor tells him that the operation is set to begin soon and that May has been asking for her nephew. She wants Peter to be nearby until the operation is over. Pete realizes that he can't run out on his Aunt. Electro will have to wait. He goes to see Aunt May in her room and takes her hands in his. He tells her everything will be fine and he promises, "I'll be right here all the time". As the transporters take Aunt May down for surgery, Peter stands in the corner of the room praying that she will come through it all right. Just then, Betty Brant enters the room, telling Peter that she has come to sit with him. Pete realizes that "I haven't many friends but one wonderful one like Betty makes up for all I haven't got!" So, as the operation begins, Betty and Peter sit quietly in the hospital waiting room, "sharing a bond which needs no words to explain". And over at the House of Detention, J. Jonah Jameson has made the scene. He is reveling in the fact that Spider-Man has not shown up to challenge Electro, proving (He thinks.) that the web-slinger and the electrician are one and the same.Inside the detention center, Electro opens up all the cell doors and the prisoners run for the exits. Electro tries to stop them ("I opened the iron gates for you! I give the orders! You must obey me!") but most of the cons don't pay attention. While one recognizes Electro and thinks that "Maybe he's got a plan", another decides to "Ignore that nut! He must be from the psycho ward". The group that decides to flee walks right into the arms of the police outside. The cops don't even bother with weapons. They just wade into the cons with their fists and take care of them in a hurry. Just then, at the hospital, the doctor enters the waiting room and tells Peter that the operation was a success and that his Aunt is calling for him. (Good old Aunt May. Just out of surgery and already calling for Peter! Did they even anaesthetize her at all?) Pete rushes into his Aunt's room and takes her hand. Knowing that her beloved nephew is with her, May lets the sedatives take effect and dozes off with a smile on her face. The doctor tells Pete that his Aunt will sleep till morning, then tells Pete to go get some rest for himself. Pete agrees to do so but first goes back to the waiting room to talk to Betty. He puts a hand on Betty's shoulder and tells her "Aunt May is going to be all right". (Okay, let's review for a moment. Aunt May can't get out of bed so Peter gets her some medicine. The doctor comes and says she must go to the hospital. The hospital says she must have an operation that can only be done by a specialist who charges one thousand dollars. As soon as the operation is over, the doctors sedate May and declare that she will get better from here on in without any worry of complications. So, just what the heck was wrong with Aunt May to begin with? This wasn't some scam to fleece the Parkers, was it?) Betty tells him she must get back to the office to hold down the fort since JJJ has gone to the House of Detention to cover the riot. Betty begs Peter not to go down to the detention center to take pictures since "it could be dangerous". When Pete protests that the dangerous photos bring him the most money, Betty turns away. "I was afraid of this" she says, "You're beginning to enjoy the danger, the excitement! Just like someone else I once knew". Soon after, Pete ditches Betty and completely ignores her request. (Not to mention the doctor's order to go get some rest.) He changes into his Spidey suit and heads down to the House of Detention to face off with Electro. First though, he stops at a conveniently deserted store and picks up a few items that he thinks will help him defeat Electro. (And he leaves money on the counter for them, of course! What do you think? He'd do something crooked like... I don't know... sell JJJ some fake photos?) Over at the scene of the riot, old hatchet face himself is nearly swallowing his cigar with glee. Still convinced that Spidey is Electro, JJ deludes himself into thinking that he'll win a Pulitzer for his scoop. "That fool Parker doesn't know it, but I'd have paid twenty thousand dollars for those pictures!" he says. But then a bystander with a funny-looking green hat points up in the sky. Jonah looks up. His cigar falls out of his mouth and his covers his face with his hands, as he sees Spider-Man swinging by. The dream of a Pulitzer fades away. Instead, "I'll be a laughingstock!" he declares, "And all because of Peter Parker!" Spidey's swing takes him right through a window of the detention house; shattering the glass as he enters. Once inside, he pauses for a moment and pulls out the items he bought at the store. A pair of rubbers (as in galoshes) for his feet and rubber gloves for his hands. Perched in the stairway above the action, he sets up his automatic camera and prepares to enter the fray. Downstairs, Electro rounds up the remaining convicts. He points out that all the prisoners who fled were swiftly recaptured and he promises to free all the men who agree to work for him. One con speaks for all of them when he says, "We're with you, Electro! Just get us outta here!" But just as Electro begins to outline his plan, he is interrupted by the light from the spider-signal, which casts down right at his feet. Electro can hardly believe it. Spider-Man is dead! He killed him himself! But then the wall-crawler leaps down the stairs and wades into the convicts. Effortlessly, he casts the men aside on his way to Electro. When the master of electricity throws a lightning bolt at him, Spidey pulls out another of his purchases... a handful of metal ball bearings... and tosses them in the air. The bearings attract the electric bolt, taking it away from Spider-Man. The wallcrawler boasts that "anyone with any knowledge of science knows that anything metal can act like a lightning rod" and then proves it by picking up a steel chair (there just happens to be a steel chair lying around) and throws it at Max, deflecting yet another one of his electric bolts. But Electro isn't worried. "My current is inexhaustible," he promises, "and you'll soon run out of things to throw!" Spidey has no intention of sitting around throwing things, however. He takes advantage of the distraction caused by the chair and uses his spider-speed to get right next to Electro before the villain even knows he's there. With rubber gloves on his hands to act as insulation, he is free to punch Electro right in the snoot. But as Electro falls backwards from the blow, he lands on the metal bars of a cell door. The flash of electricity that springs up from this contact temporarily blinds Spider-Man. The blaze of electric current makes Electro feel stronger than ever. Spidey knows he must keep out of Electro's reach until his sight returns so he pulls out some more ball bearings and drops them on the floor. Electro obligingly steps on them and goes tumbling. But Spidey doesn't get a breather. One of the freed convicts tries to sneak up behind the web-spinner and brain him with a two-fisted punch. This poor slob doesn't reckon with the webhead's spider-sense, however (and Spidey spills the beans about it by saying, "Didn't think anyone would be dumb enough to try to sneak up behind a fella with a spider-sense!"... Wouldn't you think this is an ability that he'd like to keep secret?) and his punch misses the wall-crawler entirely. He doesn't get a second chance. Even though the webster pulls his punch, the convict is still knocked clear into next week. The other cons, meanwhile, race up the stairs, trying to get to the roof. Spidey leap-frogs over all of them, gets to the top of the stairs first, and disarms the lead convict by kicking the gun out of his hand. The cons take one look at this and run back downstairs again. They know that they are no match for Spider-Man. ("We didn't realize how soft we had it in our nice quiet cells!" one says.) When they get to the bottom of the stairs, they find the police waiting for them. Just like that, all of the cons are rounded up... but Electro is still at large. Spider-Man finds this out for himself when he is attacked by two bolts of electricity. The webhead uses his great agility to evade the bolts but then is faced with a further complication. Electro has gotten a hold of the gun that Spidey kicked away from the convict. "And now we'll find out whether a bullet or an electric bolt can get you first!" he says. But the web-slinger has no intention of being an easy target. He finds a bucket of sand (set out in case of fire) and kicks it at Electro. The master of electricity fires a bolt at the sand and fuses it into glass. While Electro is distracted, however, Spidey shoots his webbing and clogs up the barrel of the gun. Quickly, Electro retaliates by ripping "some highly charged power wires from the wall". (Yeah, you gotta watch out for those conveniently placed power wires!) He whirls three of them above his head like a trio of lariats. Spidey backs away. He is able to deflect the wires a bit with his rubber gloves but he knows that "if one touches my body, it's curtains for me!" The web-slinger continues to retreat until he bumps up against something. He turns to see what it is and is thrilled to discover that he has encountered "a water main with a fire hose attached!!" (Who says the webster's luck is always bad?) Instantly, Spidey recalls that "water and electricity just don't mix!!!" (Yes, that's right. That statement gets three exclamation points!) He leaps in the air to avoid the power wires, even as he turns the spigot to start the water running. Then, he grabs the fire hose and points it at Electro. As soon as the water hits him, Electro is short-circuited and knocked unconscious. (So does this mean that Electro hasn't bathed since he got his powers?) As the villain lies in the middle of a big puddle of water, Spidey muses over the ironies of life. "Here's one of the most powerful criminals of all time" he says, "And what finally beat him?? Just a dousing from a plain, ordinary water hose!" With that the wall-crawler decides to unmask his opponent to see who he is. He almost expects to reveal a face that is familiar to him and is disappointed to learn that "this guy I never saw before". Still, Spidey is sure that the police, who are on their way in, will identify Electro soon enough. The webhead leaves Electro for the cops and goes to retrieve his hidden camera. If the pictures come out as he hopes, "it'll be the scoop of the year!" Back at the Daily Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson paces his office, worrying over the fool he has made of himself and blaming Peter Parker for it. Just then, Betty Brant enters to tell him that Peter is waiting outside. JJ goes into an immediate rage and orders Betty to let Peter in. "I'll make mince meat of him!" yells JJJ. When Peter cheerfully enters, Jonah threatens to sue him for selling fake pictures before he fires him for fraud. Pete tells JJJ to relax. First, he tells Jonah, he can't be fired because he is a free-lancer. And second, he fans out a whole new set of action photographs. Jameson takes the pictures away from Peter and looks at them. He immediately realizes that these shots of Spidey fighting Electro are "the real thing" and are "worth a fortune!" Suddenly, Jonah is all smiles, putting his hands on Peter's shoulders and pretending that he wasn't actually angry. JJJ offers to take these new pictures from Pete and forgive him for the doctored photos. This is just what Pete wants. Now he can forgive himself for selling the faked shots. He agrees to the deal and crafty ol' Jonah rubs his hands with glee. "I'm robbing him!" he thinks, "I'll make a fortune with his pictures but I deserve it 'cause he's a fool!" And, as soon as Pete leaves the office, Jameson is barking out orders on his intercom. "Send all department heads in here on the double!" he yells. With this new set of photos, he's "going to put out an extra!" Outside of JJ's office, Betty Brant does her filing, intentionally turning her back on Peter. Angrily, she takes Peter to task for ignoring her request and taking pictures of the riot at the House of Detention. Peter tells her that taking crime photos is his job. "I like you better than any girl I've ever known!" he says, "I wouldn't do anything to hurt you! But you can't stop me from doing what I have to!" Hearing that, Betty hangs her head and decides to come clean. She tells Pete that she quit High School last year to take her job at the Bugle because of "someone I once knew" who reminded her of Pete. "But I don't want to be hurt again!" These obscure comments not only inform the reader that Betty is a teenager even though she is JJJ's secretary (and therefore not too old a love interest for Pete) but also succeed in confusing the hell out of our hero. "Okay, Betty!" he says (completely misinterpreting), "I get the message! So I'm not Mr. Perfect! Sorry to have bothered you!" With that, he turns and walks away, ignoring Betty's call to him to "Wait!" "Minutes later..." according to the caption (I knew Spider-Man was fast, but not this fast!), Pete has gone from the Bugle to Aunt May's hospital room. May is sitting up in bed, looking very spry. She tells Pete that the doctors will let her go home in a few days. Then she asks where Betty is. "She's such a sweet girl", May says. Pete sloughs this off by saying that Betty is busy today but sends her regards. And, moments later, as he walks out of the hospital (head down, hands in his pockets), Pete is still thinking about Betty. He admits that he "got more of a shock out of Betty flaring up than I did out of Electro" but he never really meant to walk out on her. Now realizing how much he likes her, Pete decides he must go back and apologize, but it turns out he doesn't have to bother. Betty has come to him. She runs up behind him, apologizing to Pete for what she has said. And, as the streetlights come on in the dusk of Manhattan, Peter and Betty walk side by side, "each groping for the right words to say, each feeling the first pangs of that emotion we call love". (Enjoy it while you can, you two!) We haven't seen the last of Electro, of course. Or of Aunt May in the hospital. Or of JJJ believing that some villain is Spider-Man in disguise. Electro's first return is outside of the spiderverse in Daredevil #2, June 1964 DD beats him by dropping a huge theatre curtain on him and getting the cops to hose him down to short-circuit him. He joins with the Sinister Six in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 (1964) only a few months later. Aunt May's next hospital stay interrupts Spidey's battle with the Green Goblin in ASM #17 (October 1964). And Jonah accuses Spidey of being the Big Man in the very next issue (ASM #10, March 1964) as already chronicled in a previous lookback. So, not only do they all come back... they all come back in 1964. The mysterious "someone" who hurt Betty in the past turns out to be her brother Bennett. That story appears in ASM #11, April 1964 and in our installment next month. Milestones (Landmark events that take place in this story.) This issue introduces some classic Spidey touches. The crooks that give up even though the web-slinger doesn't notice them. Spidey getting caught in the rain. Aunt May needing an emergency operation. JJJ publishing an edition declaring, "Electro is Really Spider-Man!" Electro, as drawn by Ditko, is extremely cool, too, what with the garish costume and the spray of lightning bolts that shoot out from his fingers. And, how can you resist a battle in which Spider-Man defeats his foe by using rubber gloves, ball bearings and a fire hose? All great stuff and yet, somehow, when stacked up against the other early classic issues, this one doesn't quite measure up. (Though it's still better than most of what we've gotten over the last dozen years.) Nothing I can really put my finger on but call it four webs, okay? My comment: In Detail...
Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #9
Summary: First ElectroFeb 1964 : SMURF 009.500 : SM Title : Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) Editor: Stan Lee Writer: Stan Lee Pencils: Steve Ditko Inker: Steve Ditko Cover Art: Steve Ditko In General...
Overall Rating...
MARCH
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #10
Background... Congradulations for ASM turning double digest. nowadays, that complement could be better because ASM is nearly 700 comics and maybe a dozon spider-seires going over 100. oh well... One of the best Spider series of late has been Untold Tales of Spider-Man. (I'm not giving away any secrets here, folks.) Most of the credit for its success must go to writer Kurt Busiek and artist Pat Oliffe but there is more to it than that. The stories brought back a lost time, when Spidey's life may not have been happier but was certainly simpler. No clones, no robot parents, no "I am Spider!". Another charming aspect of the series for the old-timers was the way Busiek deftly intertwined his tales with the early stories told by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Reading Untold Tales makes you want to go back and look at those early tales again. So, that is just what we have done. (And it's a true shame that Untold Tales is getting the axe, though without Busiek to guide it, this may be for the best.) One of Spidey's greatest, most overlooked foes is actually three foes. Montana, Fancy Dan, and the Ox. Collectively known as the Enforcers. This threesome has taken a lot of flak from fans over the years. They have been seen as dopey, as somehow unworthy to be Spidey villains. While it is true that they are not as flashy as the Green Goblin or the Scorpion, it is also true that they are, as a group, one of the best foils for Spidey's talents. There is nothing like a Ditko action scene of Spidey trying to simultaneously dodge Montana's lariet, Ox's bulk, and Fancy Dan's judo. Unfortunately, time has left the Enforcers behind. The Ox was actually killed off in the ill-conceived Daredevil #86 (April 1972) while the other haven't been seen in quite some time. (Except for in the pages of Untold Tales.) This issue, Amazing Spider-Man #10, is the first appearance of the Enforcers. It also features the mystery of the Big Man in the underworld leader's only appearance. (Well, almost his only appearance. There is that little matter of... well, let's let that go until later, OK?) This issue's cover also boasts the line, "Learn why J. Jonah Jameson really hates Spider-Man!" Well, what are you waiting for? Let's find out! The splash page informs us that Peter Parker possesses "the power of countless spiders". I'm not sure what it means, but it sounds good. Our story begins with the villain known as Montana informing his boss, the mysterious masked Big Man, that all is set. Since Spider-Man has been seen heading "this way", it is time to put "operation hi-lift" into practice. Nearby, a burglar with a bag of jewels is evading police by climbing out onto a building's flagpole. He is only waiting for the arrival of our hero. When Spidey DOES arrive, he makes a grab at the burglar only to see the crook soar into the air. It seems that the bad guy has an invisible cable wrapped around his waist and he is connected to a helicopter which is above him, hidden in the clouds. The Big Man and Montana are riding in that helicopter and, at the proper time, they yank their associate up into the air to join them. (And they don't cut him in half while they're doing it so they MUST be good.) Spidey, swinging on his web, uses the flagpole to build up steam, then shoots himself up to the hidden chopper. But prepared for his "clumsy attack", the 'copter sprays him in the face with a chemical foam. The Webhead must save himself by fashioning a web parachute. Below him, the crowd scoffs, "He's just a big clown!" Precisely the Big Man's plan: to get the word out about how he made a fool of Spider-Man. The villains return to their hideout. Waiting for them are all the bosses of the different New York gangs. The Big Man tells them he has called this meeting to let them know that he is taking over ALL the rackets. "From now on, the Big Man is head of the crime syndicate", he says, and to quell any objections, he introduces his trio of Enforcers. (Let's take a moment to give brief descriptions of our resident evil-doers. The Big Man appears to be a husky man in a wide-lapelled green suit. He has a purple ascot wrapped around his neck and wears white kid gloves, a brown fedora, and a stark-white mask which presents a sombre, large featured, statue-like face. Montana is tall and thin with a purple suit, white cowboy hat, and string tie. But his most obvious accoutrement, of course, is his lariat. The Ox is a large man with a bowl haircut. He has a jowly face and beady eyes and he wears a yellow pullover, small black vest, and brown pants. Fancy Dan is short and slight, wearing a purple suit, green tie, and yellow boater. He uses a cigarette holder. Let's face it. Those were the days for the well-dressed, stylish villain. (Compare these outfits to someone like Fortunato and you can't help but admit ol' Fortunato is a slob.) The mob bosses all decide to give the Big Man the air, but the Enforcers have a little something to say about that. First, Fancy Dan, a black belt in judo, uses his fine footwork and fighting skills to stymie the hoods. Next, the Ox steps up and absorbs all the bosses' blows without flinching. With one blow of his own, he takes out half his opponents. Finally, Montana uses his abilities with a lasso which "resembles a living thing, completely obedient to its master's will", to rope and subdue the rest of the gang men. After the defeat, the Big Man tells the bosses that they will receive instructions soon. Then he callously dismisses them. Elsewhere, at Forest Hills Hospital, Peter Parker is visiting his Aunt May, who is recovering from the operation she had in Amazing Spider-Man #9. He runs into Flash and Liz there. Liz plans to visit Pete's Aunt but Flash will only admit to tagging along with Liz. An anonymous doctor approaches Peter and tells him his Aunt needs a blood transfusion. He has hopes that Pete and May's blood type will match. Peter, knowing that his powers are derived from irradiated blood, tries to back out, but Liz is enraged at this and Flash is contemptuous. Knowing it is the right thing to do, Peter agrees to the transfusion. He gives his blood more concerned that it will temporarily weaken his Spider-powers than that it will have any negative effect on May. (But it does have a negative effect, big-time, come Amazing Spider-Man #31-33.) After the transfusion, the doctor tells Pete to take it easy for a few days. Pete hopes Spidey won't be needed during that time. (Hah!) The transfusion does the trick. In a very short time, Aunt May is well recovered and ready to leave the hospital. Peter tells her that their next-door neighbors the Abbotts are taking a trip to Florida and they want May to accompany them. Though she frets about Peter--"I put your nose drops in the medicine chest", is one of her reminders to her nephew--May agrees to take the trip. At the same time, a crime wave explodes in the Big Apple. The Big Man has organized the city's mobs into a well-oiled machine which seems "to strike everywhere at once". Using their pooled resources, the mobs pull off elaborate coups such as heisting an entire mail car off a train by lifting it with three synchronized helicopters. Of course, any mobsters not joining the Big Man are persuaded to change their minds by a visit from the Enforcers. As much as Spider-Man patrols the streets, as much as the overworked police manage to catch the "small fry", still "the crime syndicate higher-ups remain in the shadows". J. Jonah Jameson is patrolling the streets as well, convinced that there is no Big Man and that Spider-Man is behind the whole thing. Back at the Bugle, JJJ calls slight, balding, mousey reporter Frederick Foswell into his office and tells him to write an article claiming Spider-Man is actually the Big Man. Foswell reminds Jonah that he has no proof of this and that he already looks like a fool for claiming that Spider-Man and Electro were one and the same. (Jonah made this claim in ASM #9.) Jameson tells Foswell to do as he says, or "I'll fire you and see to it that no paper ever hires you again." The milquetoast reporter agrees to do as Jonah says. As Foswell leaves Jameson's office, Betty Brant is leaving the building for the day. When she gets out on the street, she pauses, hoping Peter will pass by. In this moment, a stoolie points her out to the Enforcer,s who accost her and tell her she must pay off the rest of the money she owes. Betty protests that she already paid her entire loan off, but Fancy Dan says, "Sure, but you forgot the interest, the Big Man doubled it since yesterday." Peter shows up and steps in to defend Betty but the Ox puts him in a vise grip. "We're too gentlemanly to threaten a female," says Fancy Dan, but the trio is willing to lean on Peter to turn Betty to their point of view. With Pete unwilling to reveal his identity by fighting back, Betty is forced to tell the thugs that she will get the money. The Ox sends Pete sprawling as the Enforcers take their leave. Peter asks Betty how she got involved with them. Betty, afraid to tell her boyfriend that she borrowed money from a loan shark, fearing that Peter will then try to help her and get hurt for his troubles, lies by saying it was a case of mistaken identity. Peter, knowing that is a lie, asks Betty to level with him. Instead, she flees in tears, thinking she can't get "the dearest, most wonderful boy I've ever known" involved. Misunderstanding, Pete thinks, "she can't care for me if she won't confide in me". Angry and hurt, Peter becomes Spidey and tracks down the stoolie that fingered Betty for the Enforcers. He discovers the man is too frightened of the Big Man to talk. The only way around it, Pete thinks, is to make him more terrified of Spider-Man. He blindfolds the stoolie with webbing. When the hood can see again, he notices he is in a giant spider web with Spidey and a giant gruesome spider waiting behind. What the hood doesn't know is that the spider is a dummy made of webbing and two-by-fours. Terrified, the stoolie spills the Enforcers' address (it's 15 Oak Street, for all you trivia buffs). Spidey swings over to investigate, but he is lassoed in mid-air by Montana while still outside the building. He is pulled through a window into a room where the Big Man and the Enforcers await. Spidey frees himself and evades Montana's next throw as he hits the Ox in the solar plexus. Fancy Dan, however, avoids Spidey's attack, which allows Montana to rope Spidey's wrist in mid-punch. The Ox lands a haymaker, but Peter leaps back from the blow and flips backwards through Montana's rope. Fancy Dan gets a judo chop in, and Ox another punch, and Spider-Man realizes that he is still weak from the blood transfusion--too weak to continue to fight. So, hurtling Fancy Dan and again jumping through Montana's lasso, Spidey dodges the Ox, then leaps up and knocks out the ceiling light. Using his spider-sense to escape in the darkness, Pete is surprised to see J. Jonah Jameson walking by outside. He follows his boss, wondering if Jonah and the Big Man are one and the same. Back at home, Peter (who has taken to hanging out in his Spidey suit with Aunt May off in Florida) calls Betty to ask her about JJJ. Betty, concerned that Pete will grill her on her connection to the Enforcers, cuts him off and hangs up on him. She decides right then that she must leave town and Peter; "Never see him again." The next day at the Bugle, Peter is shocked to learn that Betty is gone. Jonah is his usual gruff self, only seeming to care about the difficulties of training a new secretary. This coldness makes Peter suspect him all the more. Out in the city room, Parker asks Foswell if he really believes that the Big Man and Spider-Man are the same person. Foswell tells him, "I'd say that Peter Rabbit was the Big Man if he (Jameson) told me to! You don't work on this newspaper and argue with ol' prune face." At home, Peter is so troubled by the notion that JJJ may be the Big Man that he wracks his brain to come up with a plan to discover the mob boss's identity and secret headquarters. He finally decides that the best way to go about it is to allow Peter Parker to be kidnapped by the underworld. At school the next day, Peter loudly announces to all the kids that he knows the Big Man's identity and is going to tell it to the police. His old enemy, Flash Thompson, of all people, pulls him aside and tells him to be quiet about it. "Your life won't be worth a nickel if the Enforcers find out." But it is already too late. Even as they speak, a crusty-looking, middle-aged mob stoolie (apparently hanging around the schoolyard inconspicuously) plans to relay the information to the Enforcers. When Montana informs the Big Man that a kid named Parker is bragging about knowing his identity, the crime boss says, "Peter Parker? How did he find out?" Montana asks, "You mean you know him, boss?" and the Big Man, amazingly, replies, "Of course I know him!" The Enforcers are sent out to pick Peter up. At police headquarters, Spider-Man tells the cops to be on the alert for a signal from him that will reveal the Big Man's secret headquarters. Then, as Peter, he aimlessly wanders through the bad sections of town until the Enforcers drive up to take him for a ride. In the car, Fancy Dan tells him, "So you know who the Big Man is, eh? Well...wise guy...he knows you.", which shocks Pete into suspecting Jameson all the more. The Enforcers drive up to their secret headquarters, "a large indoor auto parking building" and lock Peter in a windowless room. Changing to Spidey, Peter climbs up the wall to reach the air vent in the ceiling. He makes his escape from the room. Elsewhere in the building, the Big Man is preparing to have a meeting with every racket boss in town. When Spidey arrives on the scene, he is so surprised to see a roomful of criminals that he doesn't heed his spider-sense and allows a thug to sneak up from behind. He ends up in a brawl with every one of the hoods. Spidey tries to evade all his opponents by leaping into a nearby convertible (it's a parking garage, remember?) but the Ox lifts the back of the car and shakes him out. Spidey then leaps over his foes while the Big Man rolls oil drums down at him to ruin his balance. It takes more than that to spoil our hero's spider-agility. He rides one of the drums like a log-roller right through the heart of the mob. Montana manages to lasso Spidey's left foot, but the Web-Spinner flips in mid-air and shoves the oil drum at the cowboy. The drum strikes Montana allowing Spidey to get free. Peter proceeds to web up a handful of the criminals but the others get the idea to throw tires at him. Using his agility, Spidey dodges around and even through the tires. The Big Man tosses oil on the floor in front of him, but the Webhead glides through it like an ice skater, taking out bad guys as he goes. Fancy Dan attacks with a judo flip but Spidey sticks to the wall and turns the flip back on the black belt. As the frantic fight continues, Spidey begins to wear out. He needs to signal the police...but how? Taking the Spider-light from his belt, he attaches it to the tip of his web-shooter and fires it outside. It sticks to a wall and the shining signal is spotted by a cop on his beat. The word gets around the precinct station, "It's the Acme garage!" (which must be owned by the same guy whose warehouse was used by the Burglar in Amazing Fantasy #15) and the rest of the police come running. "Give 'er the gas!" The Big Man can tell Spidey is tiring. Just as the police arrive, the crime boss empties his gun at the wallcrawler but misses with every shot. Still, Spidey is too winded to track down the Big Man before he escapes. The police round up the Enforcers and the mobsters and Spidey realizes that he can still catch the Big Man if the mob leader is really who he thinks he is. "It's gonna be a real pleasure to bring him in!!", he says as he hightails it to the Bugle building. Spider-Man adheres to the wall right by J. Jonah Jameson's office window. Inside, JJJ is pacing nervously. What Jonah is actually worried about is that his claim of Spider-Man being the Big Man seems to be crumbling before his eyes but Spidey, observing outside, thinks he's nervous because he is the Big Man and his crime ring has been broken up. Just as Spidey is about to enter, Foswell comes in, followed immediately by a policeman. The cop says they have tracked down the Big Man and are ready for the arrest. Spidey can hardly believe that his suspicions have been confirmed. But it isn't Jameson who is the Big Man, but Frederick Foswell. "We found all the evidence we needed in your car", the cop says, "which we saw speeding from the garage." A second cop provides the "special built-up shoes", "oversized padded jacket and a small amplifier to disguise your voice" which turned little Foswell into the Big Man. Foswell immediately confesses, and Spidey can only scratch his head in wonder. As for JJJ, he can't let go. "Spider-Man was in league with you, wasn't he?", he asks Foswell. "Admit it! If he wasn't, I'll be a laughingstock again." Foswell, led away in handcuffs, is unconcerned with Jonah's reputation. The police leave with their prisoner...Spidey takes his leave from the window...and J. Jonah Jameson is left alone to do some soul-searching. "All my life", he says, "I've been interested in only one thing - making money! And yet Spider-Man risks his life day after day with no thought of reward. If a man like him is good...is a hero...than what am I? I can never respect myself while he lives! Spider-Man represents everything that I'm not! He's brave, powerful, and unselfish! The truth is, I envy him! I, J. Jonah Jameson - millionaire, man of the world, civic leader - I'd give everything I own to be the man that he is! But I can never climb to his level. So all that remains for me is - to try to tear him down - because, heaven help me - I'm jealous of him!" And back at home, Pete has a letter from Aunt May but still no word from Betty. He won't accept that she just wants to break up with him. He fears she's in trouble, if only she would let him help her. And in a small town in Pennsylvania, Betty sits alone in a hotel room, crying, wishing she could get help from Peter but not willing to risk his life. "No one else can help me", she says, "Except someone like Spider-Man...but what chance would I ever have of receiving aid from him?" In the letters page, James Smith of Lancashire, England says of Amazing Spider-Man #5, "It was the poorest Spider-Man episode to date." (Bet you wouldn't say that now, James!) Don Foote of Johnstown, New York says, "I have been reading your Marvel line ever since you started including super-heroes. All your efforts are good but Spider-Man is the best. Naturally, I've a run of Spider-Man since Amazing Adult Fantasy #15 and have enjoyed them all. (Ah, but do you still have a complete run, Don?) John F. Leber of Allentown, Pennsylvania says, "one thing I love about Steve's art is he really gives the fans (the beady-eyed little rascals) something to gawk at! What with Liz and Betty cavorting around in every issue!" (Can you tell this guy hadn't seen John Romita's work yet?) The letters page closes with Stan saying, "remember, whether you chose our titles, or some of the many fine magazines provided by our competitors, a comic magazine is still your best 12 cent entertainment value!" (Ah...12 cent value! Kinda gets you...right here.) Finally, let's follow up on that one other appearance by the Big Man. Frederick Foswell never took on the identity again (though he did assume the identity of the stoolie known as Patch for a time). Ultimately, Foswell died a hero, saving J. Jonah Jameson from the Kingpin in Amazing #52. But the Big Man did show up again. It was in Marvel Team-Up #39-40 (November-December 1975) written by Bill Mantlo with art by Sal Buscema, with the Human Torch and the Sons of the Tiger as guest-stars and the Big Man, Enforcers, the Sandman and the Crime Master as the villains. By the end of the story, the Big Man has been gunned down by the Crime Master and revealed to be Janice Foswell, Frederick's previously unmentioned daughter. Her killer reveals himself to be Nick Lewis Jr., the previously unmentioned son of the late original Crime Master. It also turns out that the two had previously fallen in love with each other but their thirsts for vengeance result in tragedy. As Spidey says, "It isn't very pretty". (It isn't very likely either, but there you have it.) Now, some may think, what with Hammerhead, Fortunato, the Kingpin, and the Rose, that there have been too many mob bosses in Spider-Man books as it is, but wouldn't it be nice to bring back the Big Man and the Crime Master? After all, if someone can assume the identity of the Kangaroo for goshsakes, there must be an enterprising crook out there who would love to wear the padded suit and statue-like mask. Milestones (Landmark events that take place in this story.) Three of the best Spidey battles ever are in the Ditko-drawn issues that feature the Enforcers. Used properly, the Enforcers combine strength, speed, agility, and roping into a coordinated whole that tests Spidey's abilities to their limits. Just because they are treated as a joke now doesn't mean the Enforcers weren't amongst Spidey's greatest villains then. This first appearance is a prime example. How can you be a Spider-Man fan and not thrill to the dodging, twisting, leaping, punching, barrel-rolling, and tire-evading Spidey must perform to handle the Enforcers, the Big Man, and the rest of the mob? Add to that the excitement of Spidey's first gang war, the mystery of the Big Man (and the fact that Spidey is so convinced that the Big Man is Jonah Jameson that he is amazed when he turns out to be Frederick Foswell) and JJJ's confession of jealousy as he explains to himself why he hates Spider-Man, and you have one of the best issues of all time. A sure-fire Five Webs. My comment: In Detail...
Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #10
Summary: First Enforcers, First Big ManMar 1964 : SMURF 010.500 : SMURF 010.700 : SM Title : Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) Editor: Stan Lee Writer: Stan Lee Pencils: Steve Ditko Inker: Steve Ditko Cover Art: Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko In General...
Overall Rating...
APRIL
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #11
Background... Let's say you are Stan Lee or Steve Ditko. You've recently completed ten issues of the Amazing Spider-Man. You started with two stories per issue but quickly moved up to full-length adventures. Now, you're ready to feature the same villain in two consecutive issues for the first time. Which villain do you choose for this honor? Stan and Steve chose Doctor Octopus. He made his first appearance in ASM #3 (July 1963) and it took everything the wall-crawler had to defeat him. Now he's back. This month's cool Ditko splash page has a tearful Betty Brant pounding her fists on Spider-Man's chest and screaming, "I'll hate you till the day I die!" Spidey does nothing to defend himself. And behind them looms the oversized shadow of Doctor Octopus. Peter Parker sits in a chair in his bedroom at home. He is still dressed in his entire Spider-Man costume minus the mask and the gloves because he is too forlorn to get up and change. What has brought about this sorry frame of mind? Betty Brant, the girl for whom Peter has "been carrying a king-sized torch", has left town without explanation. (At the end ofASM #10, March 1964.) Peter has tried to forget her but he can't. Instead, he decides he will never stop looking for her. A sudden Special Bulletin on the radio disturbs his introspection. Dr. Octopus has served his time in prison and is due to be released today. (This is news deserving of a special bulletin?) Peter immediately recalls his previous battle with Doc Ock in ASM #3, July 1963. It was a battle he nearly didn't survive. Now, desperate at the thought that he may have to take on Octopus again, the teenager dons his mask and gloves and scales the outside wall of his suburban home, with the intention of doing whatever he can to prevent Otto Octavius from being released. The Amazing Spider-Man swings over the rooftops until he arrives at Municipal Prison. There he creates a tightrope out of webbing and walks across it, above and out of sight of the revolving searchlight in the prison wall. The Warden is having a fairly quiet evening in his office until he is interrupted by the spider-signal shining on his wall. Spidey enters through a window, perches on the wall, and tells the Warden that Ock "must not be set free". But the Warden does not take kindly to such undemocratic, strong-arm tactics. He angrily tells Spidey that Octavius has "served his time" and "no masked adventurer dictates the law while I'm Warden here!" Then he points at the window and orders Spider-Man out. Meanwhile, in a cell that has been specially reinforced with cement and steel, Doctor Octopus waits for his release. He is glad that he did not try to escape because he was able to use his prison time to improve his "dexterity with [his] extra arms". And, to prove this, he holds out a pack of cigarettes with one tentacle, pulls a smoke out of the pack with a second tentacle and lights it up with a third. With this kind of ability, he is sure that he will "never be captured again". In the meantime, Spidey has returned to his home in Forest Hills. In a caption, Stan tells us that "Spider-Man changes to his everyday identity as Peter Parker" but, again, all he has done is remove the mask and the gloves. (How lazy is that? And with Aunt May out of the hospital and hanging around the house and everything!) Realizing that the Warden is right and that "a man can't be kept in jail longer than his sentence", Pete has come up with an alternate plan. Using a magnifying glass and an exacto-knife, Pete tinkers with a device that he has perched on some flypaper sitting on top of a candlestick holder. (Well, that's what it looks like, anyway.) He is whipping up a "little gizmo" that will help him keep tabs on Doc Ock. A close-up shows us that the device is built to look like a live spider but that its abdomen is stuffed full of "transistorized circuits". It sends back a coded message to a "small portable receiver" that Pete holds in his hand. No matter where the spider is, it can transmit its location back to the receiver. Yes, that's right. It is the very first spider-tracer and Pete plans to attach it to Doc Ock... if he can figure out when and how to do it. Well, what better place than the prison at the time of Otto's release? Just a few short hours later, Doc strolls out of the prison gates wearing a spiffy purple suit, with a porkpie hat and carrying a satchel in one of his tentacles. The guard tells him to keep his nose clean but that's not on Ock's day planner. He marches right out to a yellow sedan that is waiting for him. Spidey, just on the scene and perched in a tree, can see that a woman is driving the car but he can't see her face. Then, Octopus gets in the passenger seat clearing Spidey's line of sight and revealing the driver to be... Betty Brant! Betty takes off so fast (and the web-slinger is so stunned by her presence there) that Spidey cannot keep up. He runs after the car and notices that something that "looks like a road map" has fallen out when Octavius opened the car door. Then the wall-crawler revs up and flings his new spider-tracer. It lands on the roof of the car. Since Spidey had the foresight to coat the device with a "special adhesive", he knows it will stay on the car as long as necessary. (But why didn't it stay stuck to his hand?) The car leaves Spidey in the dust. It isn't long before Spidey starts to wonder if it really was Betty Brant at the wheel. "Maybe she's on my mind so much that I'm imagining her I see her!" he says. He reaches down and picks up the object that fell out of the car. It turns out to be a map of Philadelphia. He has also noticed that the car had Pennsylvania license plates. Well, what else do you need... a flashing neon sign reading "Philly"? Spidey has a pretty good idea of the destination of the yellow sedan. And in the Philadelphia Courthouse, two men meet inside a jail cell. One, the prisoner, is Blackie Gaxton, a mobster who, with thick black hair, a black mustache, and heavy black eyebrows, fits his nickname well. The other is his attorney. A young good-looking man with blonde hair named Bennett Brant... the brother of our very own Betty. As the men talk, we learn that Betty has gone to pick up Dr. Octopus at the request of her brother. Bennett has made this request because he is following Blackie's orders. He is following the orders because he has a gambling problem and is deep in debt to Blackie as a result. Blackie reminds him of this by pushing him up against the wall and saying, "You know what my boys do to welchers, don't you, Brant?" The mobster promises to cancel Bennett's debt "as soon as Dr. Octopus springs me from jail". Then he tells his lawyer to "get lost". As he leaves the jail, Bennett hangs his head in shame. He was "top man in his class at Law School" and has ended up "a spineless flunky, a stooge for the most ruthless mobster in the East". He got involved with Blackie because he "wanted easy money" and has learned, too late, that "it's the hardest money anybody ever earned". Bennett is no happier when he returns to his apartment and finds Betty together with Dr. Octopus. Ock uses two of his metal arms to grab Betty by the wrists while he surrounds her with the other two. He is in a foul mood because Betty hasn't said a word to him since she picked him up in New York. "You don't think Dr. Octopus is good enough to talk to you, eh?" he says. Betty just wants him to stay away. She has picked him up, as promised, and now just wants to leave. She is relieved to see Bennett show up but her brother turns out to be pretty ineffectual. Ock uses a tentacle to grab Bennett by the label and he slaps him in the face with one of his real hands. He refers to Bennett as "a weakling lawyer who can't make a move without Blackie Gaxton's okay", then orders Bennett into the next room to talk business. Before Bennett follows Ock into the room, Betty buttonholes her brother to ask if he can now leave and start fresh somewhere else. Bennett tells her that he must stay until Ock has actually broken Blackie out of jail. Betty worries that Bennett will be an accessory to the jail break if he stays around but Bennett hasn't the courage to leave now. "If only I hadn't got you mixed up in all this", he tells his sister. Once Bennett joins Ock in the other room, Betty sits down and cries. She has given all the money she had to help pay Bennett's gambling debts "but it wasn't enough". Now, she has run away from Peter "because I didn't want him to know about Bennett". Betty despairs over what will happen next. Back in New York, Peter has come up with a line to feed to Aunt May. He tells her that he wants to spend the weekend visiting Philadelphia so he can "see the historical sites". May thinks this is a splendid idea and appears to have no qualms about sending a teenager away for the weekend all alone. (In fact she begs off joining him because "I've got so many things to do here at home!") Somehow, Pete scrapes up enough money to take a jet from New York to Philadelphia. Soon after, Spider-Man is swinging above the streets of the City of Brotherly Love. He hopes to find Betty and Ock and "be back in New York in time for class Monday morning". He starts by swinging around the city with his portable receiver looped around his neck. After covering half the city, he has not gotten a signal from his tracer but he's brought plenty of web fluid with him and he continues the search. Finally, the signal goes off, so Spidey knows that the car is somewhere nearby. Having narrowed things down, Spidey changes back into his Peter Parker duds so he can search the neighborhood without attracting attention. That's when he sees Betty Brant ahead of him on the sidewalk. He runs up to join her, declaring, "I've found you at last!" (Hmmm. Doc Ock appearance. Peter goes to another city to try to find his ladylove. This is sounding familiar.) Now, Mary Jane may be a bit tough on Peter when he comes out to LA to see her in the recent books, but Betty is thrilled to see Pete back in this, our featured lookback issue. The two teens hold each other (at arm's length... this is a family publication!) by the shoulders as Betty tells Pete that she was a fool not to have confided in him. "I need you, Peter!" she says now, "I don't know where to turn!" Betty spills the whole story to Pete, explaining that she had to drive Doc Ock to Philly in order to protect her brother from Blackie Gaxton. Pete tells her that he has some good news. He has learned that Spider-Man is in town to keep tabs on Ock. He assures Betty that her problems will soon be over with Spidey on the case. And then he takes a look at her big smile and decides that "once we're back in New York, I'm gonna tell Betty that I'm Spider-Man!" Just then, on the other side of town, Doctor Octopus uses his metal arms to cross from one roof to another. He is heading for the jail and he is already making plans to "make myself the king of crime" once he is paid the one hundred thousand dollars promised to him for busting Blackie Gaxton out. In seconds, Otto is outside of Blackie's cell. He uses two tentacles to support himself while he uses the others to rip away the iron bars in the window. Blackie climbs out the window and steps onto two tentacles which support him like a step ladder while Ock gets away, heading toward a payday at Blackie's "getaway ship in the harbor". Later, Spidey swings over Philadelphia, heading for the Courthouse. He assumes that Doc will try to spring Blackie from there rather than wait until the mob boss is moved to the state penitentiary since "it'll be a much tougher job". But Spidey is already too late. He reaches the roof of the Courthouse just as the alarm is sounded. Two guards are perched on the roof with a spotlight. When they see Spider-Man land, they wonder if he had a hand in Gaxton's escape. The guards shine the spotlight right in Spidey's face. He knows that he must flee or else be arrested for abetting the escape, so he shoots webbing to cover and blot out the spotlight and leaps away in the darkness. Then, as he swings through the city, he realizes that "with Octopus and Blackie on the loose, I'd better get back to Betty" since "she might be in great danger!" But, once again, our hero is destined to be too late. Three goons have shown up at Bennett's apartment and ordered him and Betty, at gunpoint, to join them at the boss' getaway ship. Bennett realizes he was a fool to ever think Blackie would just let him walk away. "You can say that again, Mouthpiece!" says one thug. And so, Bennett and Betty are taken down to the docks where they are forced to board a "dingy tramp steamer". One goon informs them that they will wait there "until a launch comes to pick us up" in which they will "skip to some foreign country". Moments after Betty and Bennett board, Blackie and Ock arrive on the scene. Octavius shoves Blackie along ahead of him. He doesn't intend to let Gaxton out of his sight until he gets his money. Blackie assures him that the dough is "aboard this ship". It isn't long before Spider-Man comes on the scene as well. "Good thing they used the car which had my gizmo on it", he thinks... but who used it and whose car is it? Let's see. Betty used it to pick up Ock in New York but it isn't Betty's car, is it? Is it Bennett's car? Why would they drive Bennett's car to the getaway ship? And if it were Blackie's car, would they let Betty drive it to New York? Well, it's a good thing they use it, anyway, because Spidey is able to trace the signal right to the steamer. On board, in Betty's presence, Bennett pleads with Blackie to make good on his end of the bargain. In his desperation, Bennett grabs Blackie by the shoulder, saying, "You've got to let us go!" Blackie doesn't think so and he gets so annoyed that he socks Bennett square in the jaw. Betty holds her hands up to her face and screams. Spidey hears the scream and hurries to board the ship but "in his haste to reach Betty's side" he lands on a big coil of rope that is sitting on deck. He skids as he lands and sprains his right ankle. Reaching down to test it, Spidey realizes that he "can't put any weight on it". He is in that vulnerable position when two gunsels show up and order him to his feet. "We're takin' you to the boss!" The goons bring a limping Spidey into a big room that holds all of our characters. Spidey has his hands up while a thug holds him at gunpoint. Blackie is frightened when he sees Spidey. He thinks the web-slinger is too dangerous to have around. But Doc Ock is thrilled to see his old enemy. "I've been waiting for a chance to have my revenge on him!" he says. In the meantime, though, he also announces that he is taking over the whole gang. "Now that I know the money is on board the ship, I need you no longer", he tells Blackie. Spidey thinks this is a perfect time to make his move. With his arms still raised, he shoots webbing up to the roof. Dangling from the strands, he spins around and uses his left leg to kick the guns away from two different bad guys. He drops one web strand and uses his free hand to punch a third goon, who obligingly falls into a fourth goon. One of these falling thugs falls into Doctor Octopus. They both go flying out of the room and down a flight of stairs. (Well, actually, Spidey says, "I didn't mean to knock them into you." and Ock says "Clumsy fools!" which implies that both men fall and knock Otto out of the room. But Ditko's drawing only shows one so we'll go with that.) Still dangling from his web and still protecting his ankle, Spidey knocks out two more of Blackie's boys. He leaps down from his perch and goes for Blackie himself. Blackie, meanwhile, gets down on the floor and goes for a stray gun. "Even Spider-Man can be stopped by a bullet!" he yells. Spidey orders Betty and Bennett to "keep under cover" until he can disarm Blackie, but they don't, of course. Spidey leaps on Blackie and the gun goes off in the struggle. Bennett thinks the shots are going wild and decides to become a hero by standing between Betty and the gun. (And we know Bennett has gone all heroic because some strands of his blonde hair suddenly hang down in a spit curl across his forehead giving him that movie star look.) Betty insists that she is all right and that Bennett doesn't need to get in the line of fire. Then she yells at Spidey, begging him to stop struggling with Blackie... but too late. Bennett catches a slug in the gut and tumbles to the floor. With that, Spidey stops the struggle and looks over at the fallen lawyer. He doesn't understand why Bennett didn't take cover as ordered. But Bennett thinks it may be "better this way" since he was "no good to anyone". He tells Betty (with his dying breath) that now, "you can wash your hands of all this". But Betty doesn't look at it that way. All she knows is that her brother is dead and Spidey's interference may have caused it. Crying, she runs up to Spidey, pounds her fists on his chest, and says, "It's your fault!... I hate you, do you hear? I hate you!!" Then she falls to the floor, wishing that Peter were there to help her. But, she knows, "everything's too late and Bennett is dead because of Spider-Man!!" For a moment, Spidey stands, frozen in indecision. He wonders how he can ever convince Betty that he is not responsible for her brother's death. Then, he notices Blackie escaping from the room and he knows he must put off the soul-searching until later. "His heart filled with a burning rage", Spidey follows Gaxton, leaping away from gunfire, even as he vows, "There's no place on earth you can run to now!!" Out on the ship's deck, Blackie finally runs out of bullets. (And Spidey knows it because he's been counting the shots.) Blackie helplessly backs up against a big metal pipe as Spidey marches down on him, but is momentarily saved by two of his men who jump on the web-slinger from behind. Spidey is so enraged, however, that nothing is going to stop him... not his sprained ankle, not Blackie's goons. He carries the two thugs along with him, reaches Blackie, lifts him up with one hand, rares back, and gives him a bigtime punch which sends all three opponents flying across the deck. But let's not forget about Doctor Octopus. He is still down in the hold and when he hears the action on deck, he scatters thugs with his tentacles in his hurry to get in on the action. Elevating himself out of the hold with his metal arms, Ock sees Spidey punching a goon and calls to him, "This is the wrap-up, Spider-Man! The moment I've waited for since you sent me to jail last year!" This is the moment Spidey has dreaded. He remembers that Ock almost beat him when they fought one-on-one. Now the web-slinger is fighting everyone on the ship! One thing he knows for sure. He must keep out of reach of Ock's arms. So, he grabs a rope hanging from a mast and swings over Otto's grasping tentacles. The Doctor manages to grab the rope that Spidey is using anyway, but the webhead is able to use his momentum to leap over and cling to one of the ship's smokestacks. Spidey leaps down from this perch just in time. Ock is very fast when he propels himself with his tentacles and he is upon the web-slinger in a hurry. Spidey needs a breather. He leaps down to a "walk under the upper deck", a corridor he hopes will be too tight for Octavius to follow. But he doesn't take two things into account. One is that two of Blackie's goons are down there. The other is that his landing will re-injure his ankle. So, one-legged, he knocks out the hoods with quick punches from each hand, reaches the end of the corridor, and flips himself back up to the deck, hoping to catch Ock from behind. Too bad this is exactly what Octopus expected. When Spidey reaches the deck, Otto is waiting for him. He grabs Spidey's left arm with a tentacle. "Now I've got you!!" he declares. Fortunately for the wall-crawler, there is a rope pulley right next to him. He grabs the rope with his right hand and flings the whole thing at Ock. It acts like a bola, looping around two of Doc's arms, forming a knot that knocks Otto off-balance. ("What a boy scout I'd make!" says Spidey.) Octavius is forced to let go of Spider-Man to keep himself from tumbling. The web-spinner takes advantage of the moment by diving down into a dark hold. Ock tears the rope pulley away from his tentacles and follows. Spidey runs through the engine rooms but Otto starts to gain on him. He tries to halt Octopus by spraying webbing across an entire hatchway but the metal arms rip it away with ease. Shortly thereafter, Ock catches up to Spidey on a gangway. He stretches his arms on either side of the webster, trapping him. Luckily for our hero, there is a chemical foam fire extinguisher within reach. He grabs it and sprays it in Otto's face, blinding him. But he knows this is just a temporary measure. "I'm not doing Betty or myself any good this way," he thinks. He must find a way to beat Doctor Octopus. In the meantime, he uses the cover of the chemical foam to leap between Ock's arms and make his escape. Next stop: "find Betty and make sure she's all right". Back in the big stateroom, two hoods decide to grab the hundred grand, which is just sitting in a suitcase waiting for Doctor Octopus, and beat it. At the last second, they decide to take Betty along with them as a hostage. One of them grabs her by the wrist and starts to drag her out the door. But Betty resists. "I don't care if you shoot me" she says, "I won't go with you!! Do you hear me..? I won't!" And she doesn't have to go with them at that because Doctor Octopus enters the room at that moment and knocks out the thugs with a couple of headshots from his tentacles. Of course, that means that Betty will just have to go with Doc Ock instead. This is finally too much for Betty. She faints. The fainting suits Ock just fine. Now he'll "be able to carry her without her screaming". He grabs the suitcase full of cash with a tentacle just in time for the arrival of the cruiser that was supposed to be picking up Blackie Gaxton. "Only", Doc says, "They'll pick me up instead!!" Except that Spider-Man chooses that moment to arrive and to jump on Octopus' head. Ock drops Betty and the money as he busies himself with flinging Spidey away. Otto decides to "leave the girl behind" so that he can concentrate on Spider-Man. He reasons that he will have the upper hand if he can get Spidey to follow him onto the arriving launch since "he won't have as much room to maneuver there". (But what happens to the case full of cash? Does Doc forget it and leave it on the deck? It doesn't appear in any more of Ditko's panels.) Spidey, meanwhile, is all too aware that his bad ankle "keeps slowing me down". The launch pulls up alongside the steamer. Ock uses his arms to swing down to its surface, baiting Spider-Man to follow him "if you dare!" Spidey knows it will be harder for him to dodge the metal arms on the smaller boat but he "can't quit now", so he swings down to join Octavius. Inside the launch, the pilot panics as he watches Spidey meeting Octopus on the roof of the passenger section. He immediately bails out, diving into the river. "I agreed to pick up Blackie Gaxton not to take two battling furies aboard" he says. And so the battle begins aboard a speeding boat with no pilot. Spidey tries to work his way inside on Otto but he can't get past the tentacles. Ock notices that the web-slinger is beginning to tire and he presses his attack. As they grapple, they are distracted by an approaching Police Launch. The cops are trying to hail them. They have noticed that the boat is out of control and they issue an order to "stand by" while they come "aboard to investigate". (But how can the boat stand by for boarding if it's out of control, hmm?) This warning only increases the urgency of the two battlers. Both decide they must finish their opponent off before the police arrive. But then, the fight is ended for both of them as the pilotless boat rams right into a wooden piling "hurling the two battling super-foes into the sea!" Spidey is unhurt by the crash. In fact, he thinks it "happened just in the nick of time" since he was slowly wearing down in the battle. He stays underwater until he swims under a nearby dock, avoiding the police in the process. Soon, he is out of the water and perched on the side of a wall on a waterfront building, unseen by the cops. He looks around but sees no sign of Doc Ock. He is certain that Otto has survived and has escaped and he decides this is "just as well" for now. "Next time we meet" he thinks, "I don't want to be held back by a useless ankle". Down on the docks, the police have things well in hand. With guns drawn, they lead a parade of thugs, hands held high, off to jail. At the head of the line is Blackie Gaxton. Betty is also there, weeping into a handkerchief. One of the policemen assures her that she has been cleared. Blackie has, believe it or not, "admitted you [Betty] were just an innocent pawn in his jailbreak scheme". So, all is well once again... except that Betty's brother has been killed in the action. Spidey watches all this and then sits on the roof, shoots out some webbing, and wraps it tight around his sprained ankle. This gives him enough stability so that he can walk without a limp. His next step is to change back to Peter Parker. (And look! There are his clothes all neatly folded right next to him on the roof! How did they get there? Didn't Spidey swing in from across town while following his spider-tracer?) He knows the first thing he must do is to comfort Betty. He also knows he "can never tell her that I'm really Spider-Man. If I do, I'm sure to lose her forever." And so, back in some room with a frilly lamp, a potted bush with red flowers, candlesticks, and fancy orange draperies (is this Bennett's place or are we back in New York at Betty's?) Peter comforts Betty by holding her by the shoulders again. Betty tells him that Bennett was "always so weak" but she loved him. "At least he ended like a man," she says. She turns away from Peter, a tear in her eye, as she tells him that she initially blamed Spider-Man for Bennett's death. She now knows it wasn't Spidey's fault but "still, I never want to see Spider-Man again! I couldn't bear being reminded of Bennett!" Peter says he understands "and I'm sure Spider-Man would too, if he knew". And so, our hero leaves Betty for the night as he walks down the street of the city carrying the burden of Spider-Man along with him. In the letters page, Paul Feola of San Antonio, Texas raves about ASM #8 (January 1964). "Wow, what a way to kick off the 1964 season of comics" he says. But Dan Fleming of Ottawa, Kansas, thinks, "In this second story, ("Spider-Man Tackles the Torch") Spider-Man acted a little snobbish and somewhat of a fink". That's just what I thought too, Dan. And finally, Gunter Nautsch of Peterborough, Ontario thinks "that you should write an issue with a Spider-Man Jr. in it". Stan's reply to that: "Holy smoke, fella - at least let Pete get married first!" I love the way Ditko draws Doctor Octopus. With his glasses obscuring his eyes, his hair in an unruly burr cut, and his face in a perpetual grimace, he is a genuinely frightening sight. His tentacles emerge from his sides as though they are actually a part of his body. They never look like devices. Rather, Ock looks like a strange amalgam of man and machine. No one has ever made Otto look nastier. Ditko's Ock will be back in the very next issue. Blackie Gaxton gets carted off to jail and is never seen again. (Though he's mentioned in Untold Tales of Spider-Man.) . Speaking of "never seen again", Betty's wish that she never see Spider-Man again is doomed to failure. She sees plenty of Spidey again next time. Milestones (Landmark events that take place in this story.) Those were the days! Doc Ock was so tough he even scared Spider-Man. The web-slinger is actually glad that the runaway launch crashes because he is losing the battle. Ock is never really quite as intimidating again. This issue, likeASM #10 before it, features a great multi-page battle in a confined space between Spidey, a super-villain and a horde of ordinary bad guys. Ditko's Spider-Man at its best. Full marks, except for the introduction and same-issue death of Bennett Brant, which is used solely as a device to prevent Pete from revealing his identity to Betty making it feel more like a gimmick than a genuinely tragic moment. Four and a half webs. My Comment: In Detail...
Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #11
Summary: Second Doctor OctopusApr 1964 : SMURF 011.500 : SM Title : Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) Editor: Stan Lee Writer: Stan Lee Pencils: Steve Ditko Inker: Steve Ditko Cover Art: Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko In General...
Overall Rating...
DAREDEVIL #1
Background...
Whatdoyamean he's not in the issue? He's on the front cover, isn't he?
Okay, it's true. Spidey doesn't really make an appearance in this issue. He's on the cover just to draw in new readers. "Remember when we introduced Spider-Man," reads a caption box shaped like an arrow and pointing right at a mug-shot of the ol' web-slinger. "Now we continue the mighty Marvel tradition with... Daredevil!" Inside, the cover of Amazing Spider-Man #1, March 1963 is reproduced on the splash page with the caption, "Remember this cover? If you are one of the fortunate few who bought this first copy, you probably wouldn't part with it for anything!" followed by a caption congratulating the reader on picking up the first issue of Daredevil. So, is this enough to warrant a cameo lookback in PPP? Well, it's by Stan Lee and Bill Everett and it's the origin of Daredevil. I think we might as well take a quick look.
In Detail...
 | Daredevil (Vol.1) #1 Summary: Daredevil Origin (Spider-Man Cover Appearance) | |||||||
| Apr 1964 : SM Cover : Daredevil (Vol.1) | ||||||||
| ||||||||
In Fogwell's Gym on the Lower West Side, four hoods are playing cards and waiting for the arrival of their boss, the Fixer, when a man (dressed in a yellow and red costume with a big "D" on his chest) enters the room. He uses acrobatic moves and a billy club to easily beat up the men. He announces his name as Daredevil and tells his opponents he is there to take care of the Fixer.
Flashback to 1950 when Matthew Murdock is eight years old. (Meaning he is 60 now and still in great shape!) He promises his father (who is the boxer Battling Murdock) that he will shy away from physical activity and concentrate on his studies so that he can become a lawyer instead of a pug like his old man. As he grows up, the other kids make fun of him and mockingly call him Daredevil because "they think I'm a sissy". But young Matt secretly trains on his own.
As the years go by, Battling Murdock gets down on his luck. He is forced to sign a deal with The Fixer, a crooked boxing promoter. The Fixer promises him that his fights will be legit, however, so Murdock is happy to sign.
But elsewhere in the city, a blind man is crossing the street just as a truck from the Ajax Atomic Labs carrying radioactive materials loses its brakes! Matt Murdock is standing on the corner and he leaps into action, pushing the blind man aside. "But a cylinder fell from the truck" striking Matt in the face and the cylinder's contents are radioactive. Matt is blinded by the accident but discovers that the radioactivity has increased his other senses to an amazing degree. He even seems to be more athletic than ever!
Let's rush through the rest of it. Matt goes to college. His roommate is Franklin "Foggy" Nelson. Battling Murdock starts winning fight after fight. When the Fixer finally orders him to take a dive, he goes out and wins the fight instead. In revenge, the Fixer gets his gunman Slade to murder Murdock. Matt and Foggy graduate law school and start up their own office. Foggy hires a secretary with a big blonde bouffant hairdo named Karen Page. Matt creates his Daredevil identity and goes to Fogwell's Gym to avenge his father's murder by getting the Fixer (and ending the flashback). The Fixer and Slade arrive. Daredevil tackles them. They escape into a subway station. Daredevil runs them down. The Fixer, while running away, drops dead of a heart attack. Daredevil captures Slade and bluffs him by telling him that the Fixer has talked and blamed Slade for Murdock's murder. Slade spills his guts ("I only pulled the trigger but he gave the orders!") within earshot of the arriving police. Matt returns to his law office, hopeful that his dad is now resting easier, wherever he may be.
In General...
So, it doesn't really have an appearance by Spider-Man. It's still a classic in its own right. Five full webs.
Overall Rating...
My Comment:
STRANGE TALES #119
Background... Spidey drops by to give the Human Torch a bit of advice... for all the good it does him. A communist agitator called the Rabble Rouser uses his way with words to convince crowds that the Human Torch is a menace to society, then employs his "will-sapping wand" to make sure they stay that way. As the Torch watches the action from the thirty-fifth floor of the Fantastic Four's headquarters, Spider-Man swings by. "Hi, Smokey-Boy!" he says, "I just heard the Rabble Rouser! You sure aren't on his most popular list, son!" He lands on the ledge and adds, "I'm an old hand at having people pan me, so I thought I could give you a few tips on how to keep it from getting your goat", but the angry Torch shoots flames at him and says, "When I need help from you, sonny boy, that'll be the day. Now crawl back under your stone before I really lose my temper." But things get worse for the Torch. The Rabble Rouser convinces the mayor to ban the Torch's flame in the city. The Torch angrily flies across the river to New Jersey. With the Torch safely out of the way, the Rabble Rouser (who aspires to "become another Castro!") uses "a modified version of a Red prototype sub-surface vehicle" to travel underground, emerge through the street right in front of a motorcade and kidnap the visiting Prince Nagamo, "one of America's staunchest allies". The Torch, back in the city, witnesses this abduction but dares not break the law by flaming on. Soon, however, the mayor himself appears, and gives the Torch emergency permission to flame on. The Torch flies underground and tracks down the Rabble Rouser. He destroys the "sub-surface vehicle" but is so weakened in the process that he is easy prey for the Rabble Rouser's will-sapping wand. The RR convinces the Torch that he cannot flame on. But, just as he has the Torch in his power, the Rouser is distracted by a rock thrown at him by Prince Nagamo. The Torch uses the moment to karate-chop the Rouser's hand, knocking the wand away from him. In the ensuing fight, the Torch picks up the wand and uses it to convince the Rabble Rouser that he is "loyal to America". In the aftermath, Prince Nagamo recommends to the city that the Torch be allowed to use his flame again. This motion is passed. With his flame returning, the Torch heats up his hand and melts the Rabble Rouser's will-sapping wand. "So ends the menace of the Rabble Rouser's powerful mesmerizer," he says, "and good riddance!" A wonderfully dopey Silver Age anti-Communist tract. They don't make them like this anymore, people. Three and a half webs. My Comment: In Detail...
Strange Tales (Vol. 1) #119 (Story 1)
Summary: Spider-Man CameoApr 1964 : SMURF 010.900 : SM Cameo : Strange Tales (Vol. 1) Editor: Stan Lee Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Dick Ayers In General...
Overall Rating...
MAY
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #12
Background... Last issue, Spider-Man assisted in the capture of Blackie Gaxton and his gang but Doctor Octopus got away. So, what happens next? What's the Ditko symbolic splash page look like this time? Well, Peter stands in the middle with his head lowered in shame. He is dressed in his Spidey suit except for the mask, which he holds loosely in his right hand. There are four scenes surrounding him. In the upper left is Dr. Octopus with his metal arms extended. In the upper right is a trio of "wild beasts on the rampage"... a bear, a lion, and a gorilla. In the lower left is a shot of four disembodied heads. Betty Brant looks worried, Aunt May looks pleased, Flash Thompson sneers, and Liz Allan looks at Pete with admiration. And in the lower right is J. Jonah Jameson banging out another anti-Spider-Man screed on his typewriter. Now why don't we get to it? The final edition of the Daily Bugle declares, in its headline, that "Dr. Octopus escapes from Spider-Man!" The article claims that Spidey's interference prevented the Philadelphia police from capturing the super- villain. Photos of Spidey (captioned as an "overrated crime-fighter") and Doc Ock (captioned as "still at large!") balance the page. Spidey reads the article and is so angered by it that he decides to go to the Bugle offices to pay Jonah Jameson a visit. (His right ankle, sprained in the last issue, must have healed up already. The injury isn't mentioned at all.) He peeks in the window just in time to see Jonah's fill-in secretary go ballistic. "I quit!" she yells, "Nobody could work for a tyrant like you!" When Jonah complains that he needs a secretary, the fed-up temp retorts, "You don't need a secretary, you need a psychiatrist!" She drops her papers on the floor in her rush to get out of there. Jonah picks up the papers and actually starts doing the filing himself. At that moment, Betty Brant enters the office and contritely asks for her job back "if you still want me". Jonah jumps all over the offer. "If I want you??" he bellows, "Don't just stand there, girl. Get to work!" Seeing Betty enter the office, Spidey decides to sneak away, change back to his Peter Parker duds and meet up with her. He barges in, telling Betty he is glad to see her but is immediately booted out by Jameson. "This is an office, not a social club," says the gruff publisher. Betty cheerfully tells Peter to call her later at home. Meanwhile, the fugitive Dr. Octopus travels all over the country committing various crimes. He leaps onto the top of a speeding armored car and rips it open with his arms. He clings to the bottom of a helicopter in order to rob it. He reaches down from above a bank entrance to snatch away a bag full of cash. Still carrying the moneybag, Ock pauses on the top of a red water tower. He is convinced that he must continue to stage elaborate crimes "so that Spider-Man will read about my exploits and try to attack me again". The sole reason for the crimes is to force a battle with the web-slinger because "so long as he lives, I'll never be truly safe". But, so far, Spidey has not risen to the bait. Ock finally decides that the wall-crawler will not follow him to other cities, no matter how many opportunities he gives him. Doc knows he must return to New York and find the webster himself. Spidey, of course, would like nothing better than to "head out west where Doc Ock was last reported" but he doesn't have enough money to get out there and his "end term exams are coming up soon". And it's nearly impossible to shake Aunt May, anyway. In fact, even as he does his homework and thinks about fighting Ock, May comes up behind him, puts her hand on his forehead and declares, "You feel a little warm, Peter! You'd better stay in tonight, dear! You may be getting a cold!" The next day, Peter walks to school and comes upon Flash Thompson, Liz Allan, and the gang reading the latest edition of the Bugle. Flash notes that the Bugle "even has a picture of a spider trying to show how dangerous they are, and claiming that Spider-Man must be dangerous too!" (Real professional reporting on the Bugle's part.) He sees Peter coming and asks him what he knows about spiders. Pete doesn't want to awaken any suspicion so he pretends to hate spiders. "They're such ugly, icky-looking things!" he says, "I'd rather not even talk about them!" Needless to say, this does not endear him to Flash. "Know what I like about you, Parker?" says Flash, mocking, "You're such a rugged, fearless he-man!" The kids all head off to class. Peter, who brought it on himself with the "ugly icky-looking" shtick glowers at Flash and tells himself that "someday everyone will realize that it's only the people who are inferior themselves that keep picking on others". This thought makes him feel like he's "beginnin' to sound like a teen-age Billy Graham!" Back at her desk at the Bugle, Betty receives a mysterious phone call. She says "hello" and asks, "who's there" but the caller hangs up after only asking if he is speaking to Betty Brant. In fact, he uses one of his tentacles to hang up the phone because the mysterious caller is Doctor Octopus himself. He is just making sure that Betty is back at the Daily Bugle. Since Spidey risked his life in Philadelphia to protect Betty (in ASM #11, April 1964), Ock is fairly certain that the web-slinger will do it again. Now he knows where to find her. It will be easy to abduct her and use her as bait. Betty, too, hangs up the phone. She may have recognized the voice on the other end of the line and fear crosses her face at the thought of it. As quitting time nears, Peter shows up to "call for Betty". Jonah gruffly tells Pete to "stay out" unless he has photos to sell but Betty tells him she will be ready to go as soon as she finishes a letter. She never gets the chance. Doctor Octopus springs through an open window and puts three of his metal arms into action, snagging Betty, Pete and Jonah around their waists and hoisting them into the air. ("Don't just dangle there, Parker" says Jonah, "Tell him who I am!") Peter (with one of those great Ditko half-Spidey-mask images on his face) chooses to preserve his secret identity by not fighting back. He listens as Octopus issues his orders. Otto tells Jameson to put an item in the paper asking Spidey to contact the Bugle. Jonah is, then, to tell Spidey that Ock has Betty held hostage at Coney Island. Spider-Man is to come alone but Doc grants Jonah permission to send a photographer "to take pictures of the defeat I shall hand Spider-Man". Then, Ock releases the two men by flinging them away. Jonah hits the wall and Pete hits the file cabinet. As they land, JJ says that Pete is the photographer he chooses to send. Pete wonders how he can go as both Spidey and the photographer. And so, Octopus exits out the window, carrying Betty with him. He adds that "the police must not be told... or else!" Pete yells to Betty, reassuring her that Spidey will save her. Jonah declares his intention to put out an extra edition. He hopes that Spider-Man will see it. Once the extra is out, Jonah orders Pete down to Coney Island. He tells him to bring plenty of film and adds, "If you botch this assignment, I'll have your hide". Peter tells Jonah that "nothing could keep me away" but he suddenly realizes that he is feeling "kind of woosy". He feels his forehead and finds that it is warm. "Maybe I am getting ill, as Aunt May said", he thinks. But Pete puts that concern aside and goes through the motions of pretending Spider-Man knows nothing of what has transpired. He changes into his Spidey duds, shows up at Jameson's office, and clings on the wall while holding a copy of the Bugle in his right fist and shining the spider-signal right at JJJ. He asks JJ why he has been summoned and listens as Jonah explains that Betty Brant has been kidnapped by Otto Octavius. Then, off he goes to Coney Island. On the way, he notices that he is "not clinging to the wall as well as usual" and worries that he "must be sick". Meanwhile, Jameson decides to disobey Ock's orders and go to Coney Island himself. He knows Pete is his best freelancer but he "can't take the chance of him muffing this job". The only trouble is that it is mid-winter and all the amusement rides are closed... meaning the area will be deserted. So, Jonah must make sure Ock doesn't see him skulking around. In spite of this worry, he grabs his hat and goes. And, at Coney Island, Stan and Steve have one of their occasional disconnections. Stan's caption reads, "And, atop the highest roller coaster at the amusement park" while Steve's drawing clearly shows Betty and Ock atop the Ferris wheel. Otto thinks Spidey has had time to see the newspaper so he grabs Betty and sets her on the ground as bait. Ock leaves to scout around. Betty's hands are tied behind her back but she thinks, with her long fingernails, that she can loosen the knot and free herself. Just then, Spidey enters the park, walking slowly, propping himself up with the scaffolding of the roller coaster. He is suddenly so weak that he "can hardly stand". His "feet feel like rubber". There is no doubt that he is sick but he has to ignore it. All he wants to do is lie down for a while but, instead, his spider-sense tingles and he spots Dr. Octopus just ahead. "I've got to go thru with it now!" he declares. Suddenly, Betty frees herself from her bonds and runs for the street. Ock sees her and turns and chases her, metal arms extended, ready to punish her for her escape. With Otto reaching for Betty, Spidey knows he must act immediately. He jumps on Doc's back which allows Betty to get away. Spidey knows he can't last long so he tries to knock Ock out with his first punch. Unfortunately, the illness has so weakened him that his spider-strength is gone. Otto barely feels the "weak meaningless punch" and he is pretty indignant about it. "What sort of stunt is this, Spider-Man?" he bellows, "I know you can hit harder than that!" Octopus doesn't know what the web-slinger is up to but he doesn't really care. He wraps his tentacles around Spidey and starts punching him with his two flesh and blood hands. Spidey has never felt such powerful punches. "I'm reacting like an ordinary teen-ager" he realizes. Ock, meanwhile, is outraged by it all. "What are you trying to do, frustrate me?" he screams. "Fight back, do you hear!! Don't water down my victory by making it too easy!" But Spidey doesn't even fight back and Otto can't understand it. "You're like a human punching bag!!" he says, "What's happened to you??" Just like that, it's over. One extra blow knocks Spidey into unconsciousness. Otto uses three tentacles to stretch Spidey out in front of him and uses the fourth to remove the web-slinger's mask. When Ock sees that the webster "doesn't even struggle as I try to remove his mask" he knows "there can be only one answer". But before we get to that, what about the rest of our cast? Well, Jonah has shown up, Betty has called the police and returned to the scene, and two cops have already appeared! All four of them are on hand to witness the unmasking. Octopus snatches Spidey's mask away and reveals Peter Parker's face underneath! This confirms just what Otto has come to believe. It isn't Spider- Man he's been fighting at all. "It's that weakling brat, Peter Parker" who has donned a Spidey costume in a misguided attempt to rescue his girlfriend. Betty is stunned to see Peter's face under the mask. He put on his brave masquerade just for her! "He might have been killed!" Jonah thinks Pete was acting like a fool. "I ordered him to take pictures of Octopus, not try to be a hero!" Jonah's comment strikes a chord with one of the policemen. (In fact, we only see one cop for the rest of this scene.) "You mean" he says to JJJ, "you knew Octopus was here?" (Yeah, he knew Octopus was there but he also knew that Spider-Man had contacted him and was on the way over. So doesn't Jonah ever wonder why Spidey never appeared and a disguised Peter Parker showed up instead?) Otto has no time for these silly details. "Take your puny hero," he tells the others, and he contemptuously tosses Peter's unconscious body at them, knocking JJJ to the ground. Then, he uses his tentacles to climb the roller coaster tracks and get away. He was sure Spidey was going to show up. "Perhaps the police scared him off!" he decides. It has been a minor setback. "I'll find him sooner or later" he says, "I'll never rest till I've smashed him!" With Jonah still on the ground, the cop comes up and berates him. "Next time you withhold information from us, it'll go hard with you!" he tells the publisher. If the police had known of Ock's planned appearance ahead of time, they would have "set a trap... and caught him by now". Jonah gets to his feet, retrieves his hat and looks down at the fallen Peter Parker. Betty Brant is holding Peter's head up ("You dear, foolish, wonderful boy!!" she says, "Why did you do it!") and the cop is assuring her that he'll get Pete home safely. Jonah decides not to "yell at Parker now in front of the police. They're angry enough at me now!" And so, one panel and several hours later, Peter is home in bed with Aunt May hovering over him and a doctor in attendance. The police have brought Peter home as promised and have told Aunt May that her nephew "fainted in the street". This, of course, doesn't explain how the police had clothes for him when they took him out of his Spidey suit (we see him now in pajamas) but I won't spend any time worrying about it if you won't. The doctor tells May that Pete has a twenty-four virus and will be fine in the morning. That night, Peter dreams that Spider-Man is giving him a talking to for appearing as Spidey when he's down with a virus. "You know that viruses are the one thing even your spider strength can't resist", Dream-Spidey says. In the morning, Peter gets out of bed and does a back flip. He feels "like a zillion bucks again". Now that the virus has passed out of his system, he has "the ol' zingarooo". Then Peter notices (and dons) his Spidey suit. He realizes that the police must have sent it home and that Aunt May must have seen it. Sure enough, May comes up and sticks her finger under Peter's nose while she gives him a lecture. When the police returned the costume, May heard "what really happened" at Coney Island. "How could you possibly take such a chance, impersonating that dreadful Spider-Man!!" she asks. Peter calmly lies right to her face, telling her that he will "never do it again" and that "I'm gonna take that silly costume out and burn it". He carries a bundle with him as he leaves and he hopes May doesn't realize that he stuffed it full of old rags (which he just happens to leave around in his bedroom, I guess) since he has the costume on under his clothing. The word has already gotten around at school and Flash Thompson, predictably, gives Pete the business, calling him "the big hero!! Fearless Parker in the flesh!!" Liz, on the other hand, is dazzled by the incident. She tells Pete "it was the most wonderful thing I've ever heard of". When Flash tries to dampen Liz's ardor by saying "Everyone knows Parker never expected to really bump into Octopus! He was just tryin' to show off for kicks", Liz wheels on him and yells, "As far as I'm concerned, Peter Parker proved he has enough courage to match his brains! And as for you, my dear ex-boy friend, you've got neither!!" A stunned Flash backs off and Pete wonders, "what changed Liz Allen?? She never even knew I was alive!!" At his hideout, Doc Ock has read all the newspapers and is so mad that he has torn them all up. The papers have had a field day, saying Ock "was fooled by a teen-ager" and the Doctor believes "they're making a laughing stock" of him. Time to draw the real Spider-Man out of hiding and regain some measure of respect. First, he uses his tentacles to snap a wood piling in two, and then emerges from his basement locale. "I'm thru with hiding out!" he declares and it's a good thing since he snaps the iron bars off his ground level window when he goes. First stop, the zoo, where Ock set the animals loose, just to be ornery, I suppose. Lions and leopards head for the city as people run for their lives. The police arrive and bravely capture some of the wild beasts in nets but they aren't able to stop all of them. Not far away, Peter Parker tries to shake Liz Allan who is herself being followed by Flash. Liz calls for Peter to wait up. "I'll walk home with you!" she says, "I want to ask you something." (And I think they're taking the long way home since it looks like they have walked over to Manhattan.) Flash calls after Liz, reminding her that they had a date to go bowling. Pete rounds the corner of a building and, in that split second of not being seen, uses his spider-powers to leap, swing around a flagpole, and land on the roof. Liz is so angry at losing Peter that she turns on Flash and tells him to stop following her. Flash can't understand it. "Puny Parker" has never been Liz's type. "You used to say so yourself" he says. "Well, perhaps I've grown mature enough to realize a boy needs more than a football letter to really be a man" she replies, even as Pete, now in his Spidey costume becomes aware of some commotion ahead. He arrives in time to see a lion perched on top of a low roof, preparing to leap down on some pedestrians. Spidey swings down, catches the lion between his legs even as the cat leaps, and flings him into a net being prepared by the police. The cops thank Spidey for his help, remarking that "we've had our hands full with these escaped beasts". That's when Spidey realizes there are more. Then he sees one... a grizzly bear, up on his hind legs and heading toward three terrified people. Spidey jumps down between the bear and the bystanders. He quickly webs the grizzly's paws together and jaws shut. Then he sees a gorilla perched on a building ledge high above him. As he leaps up to attack, the gorilla jumps down and meets him halfway. This is so unexpected that the webhead loses his balance and starts falling... only to save himself by swinging on another of those flag poles on the side of the building. ("If I'm ever elected President" he says, "I'm gonna declare a National Be Kind To Flagpoles Week!") Spidey gets to his feet, balancing at the end of the pole. The gorilla clambers onto the flagpole too, and marches out to the end to meet the web-slinger. Spidey can't go any farther back so he does a forward flip over the gorilla... who is so surprised by this move that he falls off the flagpole. The wall-crawler shoots his webbing down and snags the gorilla. Then he gently lowers him into the net set up below by the police. With Spider-Man's help, all of the animals have been caught. "That Spider-Man is a poor man's Frank Buck!" says one cop, which is a reference that has been mostly lost in the mists of time. (Frank Buck was a big game hunter, specializing in collecting animals for zoos and circuses, known by the slogan "Bring 'Em Back Alive!" which was also the title of his first book.) So, the animals "are all accounted for" but what about Doctor Octopus? Well, Ock is elsewhere in the city, rampaging through the streets, tipping over cars and screaming for Spider-Man. He knows he is endangering himself by remaining so long in the open and he figures he "can't stay ahead of the police forever", so he resorts to desperate measures. He climbs up the side of a building and uses his tentacles to topple a large red sign that reads, "Leedit, Inc.". But a spray of strong webbing snags the sign before it can cause any damage in its falling. J. Jonah Jameson and Betty Brant watch the action from the window of the Daily Bugle. Jameson observes that Spider-Man has "finally come out of hiding". "Unless" he adds, "it's that idiotic Peter Parker again!" The web- slinger makes a prodigious leap from a roof to the top of a water tower, as he confronts Doctor Octopus. Ock retaliates by smashing the tower with his metal arms. Spidey leaps away and all the water splashes down, soaking JJJ as he leans out his window. Jonah shakes his fist and bellows, "That's the real Spider-Man, all right! Parker would never have had the nerve to soak me that way!" The battle moves elsewhere, with Spidey on the run and Octavius in pursuit. Spidey scales a tall yellow smokestack, as he tries to figure out how to defeat Ock "once and for all". He reaches the top of the stack, turns and looks down, only to see Otto right behind him. Two tentacles secure Ock to the smokestack while two more reach up to Spider-Man. Octopus thinks Spidey is "completely trapped" but he hasn't accounted for the nifty things the wall-crawler can do with his webbing. Spidey attaches one end of the web to the top of the tower, leaps away from Ock's reach while holding onto the other end ("Geronnnnnimo!!" he yells), then swings around and around the smokestack encircling Doctor Octopus with the webbing and tying the villain to the chimney. But Ock uses his arms to push himself away from the chimney, stretching out the webbing before it can tighten up around him. When he leans up against the smokestack again, the webbing is now so loose that it simply falls away from him. "And so" as Stan puts it, "the fantastic chase begins again". Spidey keeps up a rapid pace, somersaulting and swinging on billboards and light fixtures in the city. But Ock keeps up with him. As the Doctor notes, "Though you are more agile, I can cover more ground with less effort and I'm virtually tireless!" Spidey replies, "If all your boasting doesn't tire you out, I guess nothing will!" Spidey momentarily perches on the top of another chimney but this time Otto flanks him by swinging around a water tower and approaching from the front. The wall-crawler tries to leap backwards but he is still clipped by a hard punch from one of the tentacles. Desperate to avoid the deadly arms, Spidey does a backward handspring and intentionally plunges down the building's airshaft. He shoots two long streams of webbing up at the entrance to the shaft while he dangles far below, hoping that Otto hasn't noticed where he has gone. But no such luck. He sees Ock's arms hovering above the entrance to the shaft and knows that Otto is preparing for the kill. That's when Spidey realizes that "this is my chance to attack... now, when he thinks I'm trapped!" So, with his webs stretched tight, Spidey gives a tug and slingshots himself up and out of the shaft. He takes Otto by surprise, getting past his tentacles and grasping him by his shoulders. He throws Ock across the roof, leaps on top of the reeling villain and delivers "a good old-fashioned punch in the jaw". But Doc shakes it off and starts flailing with his tentacles. Spidey must back off and keep moving to keep from being clobbered by the four, fast-moving arms. At last, he decides his only chance is to dive right through the arms to get to the man himself. But he is too slow and is wrapped up in Octopus's tentacles. Suddenly, we switch to a crowd scene below with lots of exposition, as if Steve got tired of drawing the action or started to run out of pages. The bystanders report that Ock tries to push Spidey off the roof but that Spidey hangs on to Ock as he falls. The result is that both go tumbling. The two men land in a painter's scaffold hanging onto the side of the building but the force of their fall snaps the cable on one side. The scaffold swings free and crashes through the skylight of the building next door. The skylight leads to a sculptor's studio, filled with huge statues of a winged man, a warrior with sword and shield, and a giant head half-covered by a sheet. Fortunately, the studio is deserted. Unfortunately, the force of the scaffold entrance has knocked over the sculptor's cleaning fluid, which has in turn started a fire. Ock could care less about this. All he knows is, he has at last found a place in which Spidey can't out-maneuver him. Spider-Man swings on the shoulder of the warrior statue, trying to avoid Ock's arms. He tells Doc that they'll both be trapped in the flames if they continue their battle. Ock knocks a chunk of stone out of the torso of the warrior in response. He tells Spider-Man that the building is deserted. (How does he know this? Because he's a scientific genius, that's why!) They are the only two people endangered by the fire. "Only one of us will survive!" he proclaims. The flames grow higher and the statue of the giant head topples over. (Who is the poor sap sculptor who put in all the work that is being obliterated in such a cavalier fashion?) Spidey tells Otto that he is in danger of being trapped under "some falling sculpture" and the old wall-crawler must be psychic because a huge statue of some guy in a helmet falls over and lands on Octopus in the very next panel! Even with his powerful arms, Octavius can't free himself from the statue. Spidey rushes over to assist his enemy but the floor collapses from the fire and the weight before he can get there. In seconds, the flames rise up to the roof forcing Spidey back. And the wall- crawler, who was confident he could escape at any time by leaping out a window, finds himself backed into a corner with the fire surrounding him on all sides. What can Spidey do? Well, first he can create a shield out of webbing, but when he presses his shooters, he discovers he is out of web fluid. Fortunately, he has spare cartridges in his belt... if he can load up before the fire gets too close. Time is running out. Every second counts. Smoothly, Spidey loads up his web shooters ("Good thing I've practiced this so often... could do it in my sleep!" he says) and hits the release button with his middle finger. He creates a "flame-proof umbrella" to hold over his head. Then he shoots out circular web stepping-stones as he goes to protect his feet while he runs through the fire. It isn't long before he reaches a window and leaps to safety, clinging to the wall of the building across the way and swinging down to the street from there. As the fire engines arrive on the scene, Spider-Man "ducks into a nearby doorway" and changes back to Peter Parker. And, yes, it's time for that old familiar question: "Where did he pick up his clothes?" The last time he had them was when he snuck up to a roof to get away from Liz Allan and Flash Thompson. Though, actually, maybe the fight never strayed from that vicinity because Liz and Flash are on the scene even as Peter shows up. (Though I find it hard to believe that a huge artist's loft is in the same block or so as the Daily Bugle building.) Liz tells Pete that he missed all the excitement. Flash tells him that Doc Ock is "still at large" and that Pete "might see him and faint dead away from fright". Pete tells Flash to "slither back to the rock you crawled out from under". Just then, a fireman comes out of the smoke with a beaten Doctor Octopus in tow. He passes the villain over to the police. They put the handcuffs on him and lead him away. Ock is so whipped that his tentacles hang down uselessly at his sides and all he can do is mutter about how "Spider-Man didn't beat me! It was the fire!" "Sure, sure" says one of the cops, "Every time you've met Spider-Man he's stopped you cold! But next time'll be different, we know!!" With all the excitement done, Liz finally has the opportunity to ask Peter her question. She tells him she is having a party this evening and she wants to know if he will come. But Peter turns her down. "I've got a date with a certain little brunette tonight" he says, "Even though she may not know it yet". He walks away from his schoolmates, suggesting that Flash go to the party in his stead. "Although I know how boring it must be to have to use all those one-syllable words when you talk to him!" he adds. "You deserve each other!" Flash is ready to retaliate but Liz shuts him up. "We rated that, after the way we've always treated Peter!" she says. (Hey, easy for you to say, Liz. You aren't the one who has to swallow the insult about the one- syllable words!) And to top it all off, Pete had his automatic camera clicking pictures during the fight with Doc Ock and "ol' tightwad Jameson paid [him] a bundle for the pix". So, just for a change, our hero has himself a bona fide happy ending. The Spider's Web features a letter from future comic artist Dave Cockrum, then of Fort Collins, Colorado. Dave thinks, "This Electro is one of the sharpest villains to come along in anybody's mag! The uniform is really flashy - nice and colorful which is what I like." Take that, John Byrne! John Rochrig of Peoria, Illinois is unclear on the concept, asking "Why whenever Peter Parker gets the spider sense we see half of his spider mask on his face? And why doesn't anybody else notice it?" And in the Special Announcements Section, Stan assures the fans who are worried about Betty being too old for Peter that she "is actually a few month YOUNGER than our hero. She had to leave school and take a job because she needed the money, and she intends to complete her education at night when she gets the chance. She only SEEMS older because Pete is a high school senior while she is a working girl." Finally, in his preview for the next issue, Stan promises, "the most rootin'-tootin' swingin' wind- dingin'est arch-foe you ever did see!" In other words, the first appearance of Mysterio. Which pretty much wraps everything up except to add that Doctor Octopus appears again in just a few months when he organizes the Sinister Six in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 (1964). Milestones (Landmark events that take place in this story.) The unmasking scene is clever and fun (Don't you love Doc Ock removing the mask and yelling, "I should have known! It isn't Spider-Man! It's that weakling brat, Peter Parker!") but it climaxes on page eight and the rest of the issue doesn't rise up to that. The scenes with the escaped animals are more weird than interesting and Ock is just a little less menacing than he was last issue. And what's the deal with Doc allowing himself to be led off in handcuffs like a whipped dog? All the early Spideys are good but this one is a bit less good than most of the others. Three and a half webs. My Comment: In Detail...
Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #12 May 1964 : SMURF 012.500 : SMURF 012.650 : SM Title : Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) Editor: Stan Lee Writer: Stan Lee Pencils: Steve Ditko Inker: Steve Ditko In General...
Overall Rating...
