Featuring: Spider-Man
Release: June 1, 1965
Cover: 1965
25 cents
Written and edited by the toast of Marvel: Stan Lee
Plotted and drawn by the boast of Marvel: Steve Ditko
Lettered and bordered by the ghost of Marvel: Sam Rosen
20 pages
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|---|---|---|
| Amazing Spider-Man #28 | Reading order | Sgt. Fury #21 |
| Amazing Spider-Man Annual 1, Story C | Amazing Spider-Man Annual | Amazing Spider-Man Annual 3 |
“May the Vishanti watch over thee!”
“And may your amulet never tickle!”
This is a great comic, but it seems like they forgot to make a cover for it. It’s actually a decent picture by Ditko with the many Spider-Men of various poses and sizes. But a picture of Spider-Man and Dr. Strange would be in order. A missed opportunity as Dr. Strange gets so few cover appearances, sharing his title with Human Torch or Nick Fury.
Next week, we will read Strange Tales #136, except not the entire issue. We’ll skip the Dr. Strange story, just as we have skipped the Dr. Strange Stories from #130-135. And I appreciate your patience, I really do.
I decide what order to read these in based on when they came out and when the stories take place, sometimes heavily weighting either one over the other on a whim.
Because Dr. Strange appears in this story and an upcoming Fantastic Four story, and I judged there’s no room for him to do so after #130, we are holding off on the Dr. Strange stories until after these two guest appearances.
I’ve made no secret of the fact that I think Dr. Strange and Spider-Man are Marvel’s two best titles at the moment, courtesy of the fact that I think Steve Ditko is the greatest graphic storyteller of all time.
They finally meet. For sort of the first time. They had a brief meeting in the last Amazing Spider-Man Annual.
As far as Dr. Strange knows, this is the first meeting between him and Spider-Man. He and Peter Parker have briefly crossed paths, and it seems likely that Peter would remember the encounter while Strange would not.
We meet the villain Xandu, who is after the other half of the Wand of Watoomb.
It’s possible that movie fans have seen the Wand before. I think that’s the Wand that Wong is using as a weapon in the Dr. Strange film.
Dr. Strange reads what appears to be an ancient borscht recipe. Check out the cool statues.
Dr. Strange creates a multi-figured illusion. He pulled a similar trick in Avengers: Infinity War.
Dr. Strange is defeated by Xandu, too easily for my tastes. Luckily for him, Spider-Man stumbles across the scene.
Though Spider-Man is also defeated pretty easily.
Spider-Man is banished to an unknown dimension.
This is where Ditko shines, and where I think the recent Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness excelled, lovingly homaging these Ditkoesque landscapes.
In the end, Dr. Strange makes Xandu forget everything about what happened and sorcery, and removes evil ambition. This questionably ethical brainwashing is a pretty common solution amongst our heroes. It’s Professor X’s favorite technique. These people have either never read A Clockwork Orange, or took the wrong lessons from it.
The story feels much more like a Dr. Strange story than a Spider-Man story in many ways. Standard Spider-Man stories are as much about Peter Parker as Spider-Man. Yet he’s never out of costume in this issue and no members of his supporting cast appear.
Also, he usually stays on Earth and fights non-magical villains.
I accept this whole era as establishing the basis of what a Spider-Man story is and isn’t. So while this is different from any Spider-Man story so far, I consider it by definition to be a legit style for a Spider-Man story. It will be imitated many times. The idea is that Spider-Man is a fish out of water. We see him out of his element, in places beyond his understanding, and where his powers are of minimal usefulness. He’s got only his instincts and wisecracks to get him through.
We then get a villains gallery of all the villains we’ve met in issues 16-26, plus reprints of three classic stories.
Notice the robot he fought in issue 25 is just Jonah’s Robot. It will come to be known as a Spider Slayer.
Invocations:
- In the name of the All-Seeing Eye of Agamotto
- Vipers of Valtorr
- By the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth
- In the name of the Omnipotent Oshtur
- May the Vishanti watch over thee!
- And may your amulet never tickle! — Spider-Man
Rating: ★★★★☆, 70/100
Significance: ★★★☆☆
I read this story in Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus vol. 1.
Characters:
- Spider-Man
- Dr. Strange
- Xandu
Story notes:
- Xandu recruits two thugs from a barroom brawl and hypnotizes them to serve his will; grants them super-strength and immunity to pain.
- Xandu already possesses half of the Wand of Watoomb; needs the other half.
- Dr. Strange retrieved other half from another dimension.
- Xandu refers to Dr. Strange as the Master of the Mystic Arts.
- Thugs invade Sanctum Santorum.
- Wand allows Xandu to open doorways between dimensions, to travel to other worlds and times.
- Dr. Strange’s amulet will lead the way; he will use his Cloak of Levitation to fly.
- It’s interesting to note Xandu is no match for Strange as he’s a lesser mystic.
- Dr. Strange leaves physical body and enters ectoplasmic spirit form.
- Dr. Strange depowers the Wand of Watoomb with his amulet.
- Dr. Strange cleanses Xandu’s memory of events and removes his evil ambition.
- Villains gallery covers issues 16-26: Circus of Crime, Scorpion, Beetle, Jonah’s Robot, Crime-Master. Molten Man (introduced this same month) not included.
- Circus of Crime members: Clown, Cannonball, Great Gambonnos, Ringmaster, Princess Python. The Great Gambonnos have usually been referred to as the Great Gambinos.
- Reprints first story from ASM#1 and second from ASM#2, and as well as ASM#5.
| Previous | #378 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Amazing Spider-Man #28 | Reading order | Sgt. Fury #21 |
| Amazing Spider-Man Annual 1, Story C | Amazing Spider-Man Annual | Amazing Spider-Man Annual 3 |
