Featuring: Spider-Man
Release: April 8, 1965
Cover: July 1965
12 cents
Stealthily scripted by: Stan Lee
Painstakingly plotted and drawn by: Steve Ditko
Lovingly lettered by: S. Rosen
20 pages
| Previous | #371 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Sgt. Fury #19 | Reading order | Amazing Spider-Man #27 |
| Amazing Spider-Man #25 | Amazing Spider-Man | Amazing Spider-Man #27 |
The issue credits Ditko for the plot. Ditko has probably plotted most of these stories and has been largely responsible for the writing. But he has only so far been credited as the artist, with Lee taking the writer’s credit. Lee’s role is that of editor and making the final script off Ditko’s notes. Most of the storytelling is done through the art, which is entirely by Ditko, accompanied by notes as to what is happening and what type of thing each character might be saying.
The first page serves as a detailed teaser for the comic. Crime-Master is a new character to us, but we are told his identity will be a mystery. Green Goblin was introduced in issue 14; he’s yet to be caught, and his face has always been hidden from us, so his identity remains a mystery. Issue 10 revolved around the mystery of the Big Man’s identity. He turned out to be meek Frederick Foswell of the Daily Bugle. Ditko’s noting this plot will resemble plots we’ve seen, but also take its own twists. We now have three crime bosses or former crimes bosses with a secret.
The story picks up where the last issue left off. While the other titles are moving more and more toward long sagas, Spider-Man remains content with shorter stories. Last issue was a 1-part adventure. This one will take 2 parts. But the character soap opera binds the arcs together into an overarching story. In the last issue, Jameson got ahold of one of Peter’s costumes, and his Aunt May got the other one. So now Peter has no Spider-Man costume. The issue begins with him trying to find out where his Aunt hid the costume.
No luck.
I’ve spoken before of my lukewarm attitude toward Green Goblin in these stories. I enjoyed him for one issue, as a silly villain with a bag of tricks. With this added bit that his identity was a mystery.
He showed up again in issue 17, a great issue for leading to Peter Parker briefly giving up being Spider-Man, but any villain could have played his part.
Issue 23 is where I start to lose the character, despite it having one of the best covers yet, and the best depiction of the Green Goblin ever. As a guy flying around throwing halloween-themed weapons, he’s cool. But they tried to turn him into this mafia boss, which I just don’t get. Big Man fit the bill better, Count Nefaria even better. My view of what a crime boss should look like is influenced by the Kingpin, who we are still a couple years away from meeting, and also from the Godfather films, which are still several years away. But my view of someone who tries to organize crime into a racket is someone who does not look like Green Goblin.
Crime-Master fits the bill better.
The opening suggests they had a plan to rule the mobs together, but Crime-Master is betraying Green Goblin, and seizing power for himself.
Now they are enemies, both knowing the other’s secret identity.
I appreciate the lack of hand-holding here. There’s a whole backstory we get filled in on briefly. We’ve never met Crime-Master, but there’s an extended history implied here about his recent story with Green Goblin and their secret identities. The issue opens with the end of an alliance we’d never seen begin.
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a villain that looks as much like a Ditko character as Crime-Master. The suit. The hat.
We then see Crime-Master making his moves to take over the rackets, while Frederick Foswell is acting suspicious. He’d once been the Big Man. Could Foswell have reverted to his criminal ways? Could he be the Crime-Master? (As is common, I must warn that the character listing below hides all manner of spoilers.)
Peter and Betty rehash recent drama. He’s jealous of her relationship with Ned; she’s jealous of his relationship with Liz and Mary Jane… even though he’s never even met Mary Jane. And she’s angry that he sided with Jameson against Spider-Man last issue.
We get a bit of character development for the mostly one-note Flash Thompson. Flash had goaded Peter into a fight, but the Principal only saw Peter attack. When Flash saw that Peter didn’t try to name any names or blame anybody else, he decided to come forward and take responsibility for the fight.
At Jameson’s club, we see his friend he’d been talking to last issue. Still not named.
Peter solves his costume woes by buying a Spider-Man costume at a costume store.
I got a Spider-Man costume the same way once. Here’s a couple pictures of me as Spider-Man. Who wore it better?
This is a cool story in part because they have a good mystery going on I’m hesitant to spoil. Who is Green Goblin? Who is Crime-Master? What is Foswell hiding? Is he the Crime-Master? Let’s look at this page. Spider-Man puts a tracer in Foswell’s hat and follows it to this apartment. Then Crime-Master approaches. “There’s a light on inside! Someone is in there! So long as he lives, he’ll be a constant threat to me! Unless…”
Is it clear what is happening, how to interpret this scene? Is this the Crime-Master’s own apartment? And he’s surprised to find an intruder, as he deduces this intruder knows his secret? This is the conclusion Spider-Man comes to.
We get an action scene. Ditko keeps them interesting by contorting Spider-Man into a different Ditko-trademark pose each panel.
The gangs agree to a meeting with Crime-Master at the Waterfront. Spider-Man finds a clue to this in Foswell’s apartment, and a mysterious man named Patch tips the police.
We get quite the cliffhanger ending. Green Goblin captures Spider-Man and uses his victory to challenge Crime-Master’s attempt to lay claim to the mobs.
Lots of mysteries still to solve. We’ll pick up here with the next post.
First, a few ending notes.
This issue features not our first letter from future comics superstar Steve Gerber, a fairly prolific letter writer in those days.
Dear Stan and Steve,
You may think this is a crazy suggestion but it’s really just stupid enough to work! For the past three years you’ve been kidding your “teen-age” mags and kiddingly saying that PATSY WALKER and MILLIE THE MODEL are the only places you won’t find Spidey as a guest star. Well, why make those gals an exception? In this crazy Marvel Age of Comics I can think of nothing wilder than the Torch or Spider-Man mixing it up with Patsy or Millie! If you don’t pull a story like this you’re even more insane than I am for suggesting it! See what the other readers think!
Steve Gerber
Obviously, Spider-Man and Pasty would meet plenty often after she became the superhero known as Hellcat. I went to double check to see if Gerber was actually involved in writing Hellcat’s adventures. But I see she joined the Defenders in issue 44, 3 issues after Gerber left the title.
We still haven’t seen too many black characters in these stories, but starting with this issue, they’re making an attempt to not make every background character white. A Daily Bugle employee, a classmate of Peter’s, a member of Jameson’s club, and a police officer all appear to be black.
We first saw a black police officer in issue 18. And if you look closely, we’ve seen the odd black face here and there in the intervening issues. But this is by far the largest collection of black faces we’ve seen in any Marvel comic yet.
Roy Thomas will later note that Stan had given all artists explicit instructions at some point to include black people in the crowds. However, so far almost every black background character we’ve seen has appeared in this one title, which makes me suspect the idea originated with Ditko, and then got spread around the line by Stan.
Finally, I’d like to note we’re well into April 1965 without yet having taken our traditional trip around the newsstand. Let’s remedy that. Of course, all these walks around the newsstand are made possible by Mike’s Amazing World and the Grand Comics Database.
Goal is to just pick out a dozen covers with the intent of being representative of the different publishers and genres on the stands that month. (Of course besides the Marvel superhero titles we’ll be reading anyway.)
- Archie #155, Archie
- Strange Suspense Stories #75, Charlton, featuring Captain Atom
- Adventures of Bob Hope #93, DC
- The Flash #153, DC
- GI Combat #112, DC, featuring the Haunted Tank
- Girls’ Romances #109, DC
- Metal Men #14, DC
- Bewitched #2, Dell
- The Munsters #3, Gold Key
- Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories #297, Gold Key
- Little Lotta #60, Harvey
- Modeling with Mille #39, Marvel
Rating: ★★★★☆, 74/100
Significance: ★★★★☆
I read this story in Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus vol. 1
Characters:
- Spider-Man
- Crime-Master
- Frederick Foswell
- Green Goblin
- Aunt May
- Betty Brant
- J. Jonah Jameson
- Flash Thompson
- Seymour
- Principal Davis
- Liz Allan
Story notes:
- Full title perhaps: The Mystery of “The Man in the Crime-Master’s Mask!”
- Peter has no costume; he lost both last issue, one to Jameson, one to Aunt May.
- Bob Hope reference.
- Principal unnamed, but we know from before it’s Principal Davis.
- Spider-Man wears stretch store-bought costume.
- Spider-Man follows the tracer he placed on Foswell’s hat and discovers evidence suggesting Foswell may be the Crime-Master.
- Peter sees Betty reading a letter, perhaps from Ned Leeds.
- Jameson informs Spider-Man Smythe has his costume.
- Spider-Man finds a clue in a calendar in Foswell’s apartment, a section of the Waterfront marked off on a map of Manhattan.
- Gangs agree to hear Crime-Master’s proposal.
- Green Goblin tries to unmask Spider-Man but his mask is stuck on.
| Previous | #371 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Sgt. Fury #19 | Reading order | Amazing Spider-Man #27 |
| Amazing Spider-Man #25 | Amazing Spider-Man | Amazing Spider-Man #27 |
Spider-Man is entering his peak now. Issue 25 was such a change of pace, leaning into high comedy, that we were blindsided as we found ourselves immersed in a Warners noir crime drama. While Warners blinked, Ditko was showing young Tim Burton and Sam Hamm what Warners had neglected.
For myself, except for his first appearance and anything after issue 40, I loved the Green Goblin. And the Goblin was never better than in this Dashiell Hammett-esque tale of mood, mystery, and Peter saving his secret ID by gluing his mask to his face.