Featuring: Spider-Man
Release: September 8, 1964
Cover: December 1965
12 cents
Written by: Spidey’s godfather, Stan Lee
Illustrated by: Spidey’s big daddy, Steve Ditko
Lettered by: S. Rosen (Spidey’s second cousin on his uncle’s side!)
22 pages
| Previous | #264 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Strange Tales #127, Story B | Reading order | Tales to Astonish #61 |
| Amazing Spider-Man #18 | Amazing Spider-Man | Amazing Spider-Man #20 |
The conclusion of the “End of Spider-Man” trilogy sees Spider-Man’s triumphant return.
Recall the story so far. Spider-Man had been in a battle with Green Goblin when he learned Aunt May had been hospitalized; he ran away from the fight, provoking the whole town to talk about what a coward he is. In the next issue, he ran away from a fight with Sandman, fearing injuries to himself would leave nobody to look after Aunt May. A confluence of factors convinced him to retire the Spider-Man persona before Aunt May gave a well-timed speech which inspired him to change his mind. Now, he wants a rematch with the Sandman.
We tried to read Amazing Spider-Man #17-19 together, but Human Torch had at least one Strange Tales adventure in the middle, and Dr. Strange was involved in a two-part story in that same title, so we took a brief detour before wrapping up Spidey’s mini-saga.
That said, all the in-story information tells us is that Human Torch is weary from a battle he just had. That could be anything, one we saw or didn’t. However, if we trust Stan’s editor note, then Johnny is referring to Strange Tales #127. That doesn’t really make much sense, as that battle was in Utah. So why would Human Torch be in New York flying to his own house commenting on how he’s still exhausted from a battle in Utah. Did he not nap on the plane ride home?
Sandman and the Enforcers capture the Human Torch. Montana’s rope seems like a poor weapon against the Torch’s flame, but maybe it’s specially treated. Most likely, Human Torch’s weariness from the battle with that mystery villain in Utah is the only reason he was beaten.
This is our third time meeting the Enforcers. Unlike most of the villains we’ve met, the Enforcers are content to be henchmen. They worked for Big Man, then Green Goblin, and now Sandman.
Last issue, I had some confusion about Anna Watkins. A lot of the details about her life were suspiciously similar to Mrs. Watson, to the point where I wondered if they were meant to be the same person, and the name was a typo. We get a little more reinforcement of that theory when Aunt May notes Mrs. Watson had been taking care of her. We only saw Mrs. Watkins caring for her. Perhaps Watson and Watkins took turns, or…
Last issue, we saw Betty on a date but didn’t learn her date’s name. He’s Ned Leeds, a Daily Bugle reporter with the City desk; Betty has been seeing a lot of him. Peter takes it well. Betty had hoped seeing her with Ned would make Peter jealous, a common tactic amongst the ladies of these comics. Always backfires. She and Ned are going out again tonight; Peter can take her out tomorrow.
When I picture J. Jonah Jameson, he’s shaking his fist out the window at Spider-Man just like this. He’s had a rough day. Spider-Man’s triumphant return made his recent headlines and editorials seem false. He even had to cancel a planned lecture on the topic of Spider-Man’s cowardice.
I don’t have much too intelligent to say about them, but Ditko’s action scenes are getting continually better, and they’ve been superior to the action scenes from every other artist since day 1.
Spider-Man and Human Torch defeat the Enforcers, but get in each others way and let Sandman escape; however, they tired him out enough that the police could handle him.
This is mostly a back-to-basics issue. Nothing as earth-shatteringly good as the last two chapters, but that works. The goal is to indicate a return to the status quo after two hectic issues. Spider-Man is back and there are super-villains to fight.
The story ends with a mystery man tailing Peter. He reports to a mystery boss. He’ll be the subject of next issue. This is new, though. Taking a page out of the end of this issue to set up the next one. The comics are fast becoming less episodic in nature.
We end with a pose to match the cover.
Notes on the reading order
These past few posts bring home the various things I am trying to reconcile when deciding on a reading order. They are:
- Publication date (courtesy of Mike’s Amazing World)
- Keeping story arcs together
- Keeping all stories within a single issue together
- In-story chronology (what the Marvel Chronology Project is tracking, though I go off my own notes.)
When these are in conflict, I make choices. These are similar to the goals of the Complete Marvel Reading Order, though I have come to different conclusions based on different weighing of the priorities.
Here, we saw two story-arcs to read together, Amazing Spider-Man #17-19, and the Dr. Strange Stories from Strange Tales #126-127. We wanted to keep the Human Torch and Dr. Strange stories from each issue of Strange Tales together. We wanted to be aware of publication dates, noting we’ve crept into September while still not done with August. We also wanted to respect Human Torch’s chronology, including the note that his adventure in Strange Tales #127 preceded his adventure in this issue, and (based on tone), likely preceded the tragic events of Fantastic Four #32…
Rating: ★★★½, 65/100
Significance: ★★★☆☆
I read this story in Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus vol. 1. You can also find it in Marvel Masterworks: Amazing Spider-Man vol. 2. Or on Kindle.
Characters:
- Human Torch
- Sandman
- Spider-Man
- Montana
- Fancy Dan
- Ox
- J. Jonah Jameson
- Aunt May
- Flash Thompson
- Liz Allan
- Betty Brant
- Ned Leeds
- Mr. Fantastic?
- Mysterious stranger following Peter
Minor characters:
- Mr. Wormly
- Rock Gimpy (gang leader Spider-Man took out)
Story notes:
- “Spider-Man Washed up”– Jonah’s editorial on the Spider-Man Myth.
- Jameson suddenly cancels lecture on proving Spider-Man a fraud.
- Second appearance of Ned Leeds; first where he is named.
- Fantastic Four almost appear, but we just hear the dialogue and see the outside of the building. I’m going to guess the one voice belongs to Mr. Fantastic.
| Previous | #264 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Strange Tales #127, Story B | Reading order | Tales to Astonish #61 |
| Amazing Spider-Man #18 | Amazing Spider-Man | Amazing Spider-Man #20 |
