Featuring: Spider-Man
Release: July 7, 1966
Cover: October 1966
12 cents
Stan Lee, writer
John Romita, artist
M. Demeo, inker
Art Simek, letterer
20 pages
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|---|---|---|
| Daredevil #21 | Reading order | Amazing Spider-Man #42 |
| Amazing Spider-Man #40 | Amazing Spider-Man | Amazing Spider-Man #42 |
I realize now– we never had anything in common! It’s just that she was the first girl I ever thought i loved!
One of the great things Ditko did was come up with a seemingly endless stream of memorable and enduring villains for Spider-Man to fight. A good many were animal-themed: the Chameleon, the Vulture, Dr. Octopus, the Lizard, the Scorpion, and the lion-themed Kraven the Hunter.
Romita needs to score with a bold new villain in that vein. The Rhino suffices.
For much of the Ditko run, Aunt May had been trying to set Peter up with Aunt Anna’s niece, Mary Jane Watson. Peter never made time for that date, and we’ve still never even seen Mary Jane’s face. Now we learn Mary Jane is moving out of Aunt Anna’s to get her own place.
A lot of teenagers in that neighborhood living with elderly aunts. I wonder how long she’d lived across the street from Peter without him ever even glimpsing her.
This will all lead to a classic comedy of errors born out of poor communication in the coming issues. Anna thinks May should move in with her. But May can’t leave Peter. Peter wants to move out and get his own place. But he can’t leave May. And neither can effectively communicate, apparently.
Anna explicitly describes Peter as 19. I think the continuity would all hang together better if he were still 18.
The important thing is that Peter is going to buy a motorcycle. He asks Jameson for a financial reference. Jameson obliges, good-hearted man that he is. And realizing that if Peter is in debt, he’ll need to work more, taking pictures of Spider-Man.
We haven’t seen John Jameson since Amazing Spider-Man #1, when Spider-Man rescued him. It’s odd that Jameson’s vendetta against Spider-Man seemed to begin with Spider-Man saving his son’s life. John points this out to his father.
He’s been continuing to work as an astronaut and his last mission led to him being covered in some space spores. Perhaps setting up this issue’s plot and maybe next issue’s as well.
And then we meet.. the Rhino!
The Rhino easily gets past the guards at the Southern border and illegally makes his way into America. Perhaps Donald Trump was right about everything.
And then… Peter sees Betty Brant.
Quick recap on Betty. She and Peter met in Amazing Spider-Man #4, and they grew closer until they seemed ready to be a couple in issue 9. Her brother’s death in issue 11 lead her to her not wanting to be with someone who leads a dangerous life like a crime photographer. And also the incident left her wanting nothing to do with Spider-Man. In issue 18, we met Ned Leeds, a more stable rival for Betty’s affections. It all came to a head in issue 30, when Ned proposed to Betty; she realized she preferred Peter, but Spider-Man came between them. Betty disappeared suddenly in issue 34, with neither Peter nor Ned knowing where she had gone. Last issue, we learned she’d headed to the Midwest for time to think. But now realized she must return to New York and to Peter and Ned. And here she is.
They have coffee, but the conversation is strained. What spark they once had is gone. I know that feeling.
And then Ned shows up. Coincidence? Stalking? But Ned and Betty hit it off immediately. Perhaps they were meant to be together all along.
This was the closure Peter needed. And the closure we the audience needed.
Now we can focus on the blooming relationship between Peter and Gwen. As well as any other women who might show up in the coming issues.
The Rhino is heading to New York. And Spider-Man realizes he will have to fight him. As there are no other New York superheroes–such as Daredevil, the Avengers, the X-Men, or the Fantastic Four– who could possibly stand against the Rhino.
At school, Peter is working on a problem in Advanced Calculus. He’s an accelerated student at university on a scholarship, so it’s not clear what Calculus is referring to. Perhaps Partial Differential Equations? Or maybe they are using the word Calculus to refer to either Real or Complex Analysis?
I really appreciate that the action doesn’t start until page 12. Stan had to joke about it a bit at the beginning. But Romita is coming from a background in romance comics and in advertising. The character drama is really his strong suit. And I appreciate Stan letting him flex it. If anything, it’s the first 10 or so pages of soap opera that first sell me on John Romita as a Spider-Man artist.
The Rhino has captured John Jameson and it’s up to Spider-Man to save the day. If he saves his son twice, surely the senior Jameson will recognize Spider-Man as a hero and give up his crusade.
Asked for comment, Jonah responded, “Don’t call me Surely”.
The battle between Spider-Man and Rhino comes down to a battle of speed vs. strength.
“I wonder if he was bitten by a radioactive Sherman tank!”
The Rhino seems a better match for Thing or Hulk, but I appreciate Spider-Man against a foe who physically overpowers him. If you’ve followed my reviews, I tend to feel positively about a hero vs. a more powerful villain, and negatively about a villain vs. a more powerful hero. (See Cobra vs. Thor.)
The police can’t get the suit off Rhino, so have to lock him up in the suit. We have often seen Spider-Man villains get locked up in their super-powered costumes, usually with no explanation.
The battle between Spider-Man and the Rhino is exactly the photos Jameson wanted, and will help Peter with his financial woes… except that he forgot to take pictures!!
The gang checks out Peter’s new wheels. Harry is impressed. Flash seems to be, but can’t say so. Gwen thinks Peter is really seeing her for the first time. Now that his mind is clear of Betty, perhaps he is. Perhaps this is the start of something between them. Now that there are no other women to get in the way.
Meanwhile, Peter is invited to dinner at Anna Watson’s house. Mary Jane will be there.
May thinks the bike is a real pussywillow. Anna says the kids say “pussycat”, not “pussywillow”. I’m not up on current slang, myself.
Pay close attention to how Romita draws Peter, Gwen, and the rest. He’s still going off Ditko’s models, but is slowly making the characters his own.
The Rhino has shown up twice now in movies, first portrayed by Paul Giamatti in Amazing Spider-Man 2, 2014.
And more recently by Alessandro Nivola in Kraven the Hunter, 2024.
In terms of the confusing continuity related to the upcoming AIM/Secret Empire arcs, the important thing to note in this issue is that Peter bought a motorcycle. That’s why we are reading this three-part arc now, after the Daredevil/Owl arc and before Hulk fights Boomerang.
Rating: ★★★★½, 80/100
Significance: ★★★★☆
Jack Kirby’s Thor run has generally been on fire for a while, including Thor #129, where Thor travels to Hades to save Hercules. Unfortunately this comic makes no more room for that one on the Best We’ve Read page.
I read this story in Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection vol. 3: Spider-Man No More.
Characters:
- Spider-Man/Peter Parker
- Rhino
- Aunt May
- Anna Watson
- J. Jonah Jameson
- Colonel John Jameson
- Betty Brant
- Ned Leeds
- Harry Osborn
- Gwen Stacy
- Flash Thompson
Minor characters:
- Mr. Kraft (motorcycle salesman)
Story notes:
- Mary Jane has moved out of Aunt Anna’s and into her own apartment; Anna suggests May sell the house and move in with her.
- Anna notes Peter is almost 20, indicating he is 19.
- May can’t leave Peter alone; he needs her. Anna thinks Peter should learn to be more independent.
- Peter wants to buy a motorcyle; he’ll need a reference to finance it and calls J. Jonah Jameson.
- John Jameson wonders why his dad is so hard on Spider-Man when Spider-Man had rescued him a few years back. Jonah claims it was a publicity stunt, that Spider-Man probably sabotaged the capsule himself.
- John recaps the events of Amazing Spider-Man #1.
- Jonah has a picture of Spider-Man to throw darts at.
- John came home to tell his dad about space spores from his last mission; the information has just been declassified. The space spores seemed to cling to his body but eventually tests showed they went away. He’d been under guard for 6 months to prove there was no effect.
- The space spores gave America information it may need to win the space race.
- Peter runs into Betty on the street. She just got back to town a few minutes ago.
- Peter runs into the Jamesons and Jonah reminds him to get pictures of the Rhino.
- Peter is worried May will be concerned about his motorcycle, but she has other things on her mind.
- Peter has a term paper due and wonders if he’ll ever be able to get his own apartment.
- Jonah visiting his son in hotel room when Rhino breaks in.
- Spider-Man comes across Rhino with a captured John.
- Punching Rhino nearly broke Spidey’s hand.
- Nickname: “Rhiny”.
- Other countries will pay Rhino for Jameson.
- Spider-Man takes out the Rhino, perhaps because he was a normal dude and only the suit was invulnerable.
- The police refuse to arrest Spider-Man even though Jonah insists he’s a fink.
- Police can’t get suit off Rhino and have to lock him up wearing it.
- John defends Spider-Man but Jonah won’t have it; John reminds him about his blood pressure.
- John is returning to the Cape.
- Spider-Man notes we didn’t learn the Rhino’s origin or weaknesses.
- The motorcycle will let Peter (as opposed to Spider-Man) get places in a hurry.
- With his thoughts of Betty gone, Peter is more interested in Gwen.
- May is concerned the motorcycle will affect Peter’s sinuses.
| Previous | #555 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Daredevil #21 | Reading order | Amazing Spider-Man #42 |
| Amazing Spider-Man #40 | Amazing Spider-Man | Amazing Spider-Man #42 |
