Featuring: Spider-Man Release: March 10, 1964 Cover: June 1964 12 cents Author: Stan Lee Artist: Steve Ditko Lettered by: Art Simek 22 pages
I love the web dissolving on the cover.
Spider-Man has turned to crime. He commits a robbery and then gets away by crawling a wall and using webbing. He must be guilty. Jameson was right all along.
Of course, there was the time the Skrulls convinced everybody the Fantastic Four had turned to crime. Or the time Thor was framed by Mr. Hyde. Or the twotimes Wizard impersonated Human Torch to frame him for crimes. Spider-Man himself has been framed for crimes now by Chameleon and the Fox. And Jameson accused Spidey of being Electro and of being in cahoots with almost every other villain. So maybe the public shouldn’t jump to any conclusions.
Featuring: Spider-Man Release: February 11, 1964 Cover: May 1964 12 cents Written in the white heat of inspiration by: Stan Lee Drawn in a wild frenzy of enthusiasm by: Steve Ditko Lettered in a comfortable room by: Art Simek 22 pages
We’re reading this story an entire month early. A few reasons for this. One is that a lot of plot and thematic elements remain unresolved from issue 11. So these two issues read well together. The other is that I’ll be shuffling around a lot of Avengers-related comics due to chronological complications, including Spider-Man’s upcoming guest appearance in Tales to Astonish. I’ll be pulling that story forward, which also pulls this story forward.
Since the Dr. Octopus subplot remains unresolved from last issue, I think it’s best if Spider-Man’s guest appearances with Human Torch or Giant-Man don’t break up these issues.
Just keep in mind this comic was actually was published after a lot of the exciting events we are about to read, including the return of Captain America, the introduction of Black Widow, the epic Thing/Hulk showdown, and the introduction of Daredevil. But I think it reads better before all that. So here we are.
This is actually one of my very favorite Spider-Man comics. Let’s dive in.
We see a Daily Bugle article in an unusual level of detail. Spider-Man is blamed for letting Dr. Octopus escape by interfering in police business. Jameson’s articles are often over the top, but this seems a reasonable assessment to me. Spider-Man is a child who barged into a delicate hostage situation. One person was killed and the villain escaped. We know he did his best, but he is an amateur. Nonetheless, Spider-Man is outraged by the article. He should perhaps instead be remorseful about Bennet’s death. That’s what happens when you provoke a criminal into wildly firing shots.
Featuring: Spider-Man Release: December 9, 1963 Cover: March 1964 12 cents Written by: Smiling Stan Lee Illustrated by: Swinging Steve Ditko Lettered by: Sparkling Sam Rosen 22 pages
Warning that spoilers follow. You may not want to read this post until you go read the comic and learn the shocking identity of the Big Man! Otherwise it will be revealed unceremoniously in my character listing.
Once again, we see clever credits. Several comics released this month had them.
The Enforcers remind me somewhat of Dr. Doom’s henchmen we met in last month’s Fantastic Four. But the Enforcers are the better team of henchmen and will prove more enduring. In fact, Big Man is the “big” villain of this issue, with the Enforcers his henchmen. But the Enforcers will become the more famous villains.
Featuring: Spider-Man Release: November 12, 1963 Cover: February 1964 12 cents Written by: Stan Lee Illustrated by: Steve Ditko Lettered by: Art Simek 22 pages
We’ve had some great superhero battles in these pages. Put Spider-Man’s wits and abilities to the test against great foes. We get a new foe this issue.
But this issue also gets to the core of what Spider-Man is really about: balance.
His first appearance ended with the famous phrase about responsibility. That suggested he had a responsibility to use his powers to stop criminals and such. But this comic underscores other responsibilities. His aunt is sick and he has a responsibility to her. He also has financial responsibilities. He’s also a student, responsible for his studies. But what of his social responsibilities? What does he owe the kids in his class toward attempting to be friends with them? What about responsibilities to his romantic life? He’s also a photojournalist, and has a responsibility to journalistic integrity. He has a lot of responsibilities. How to balance them all? That’s the main theme of this series, and this issue is the best microcosm yet.
In fact, Stan’s opening hype seems pretty accurate to me for once. I’ll go ahead and call that my review.
There’s a lot going on in this issue, as my preamble may have implied. Let’s dive in.
Featuring: Spider-Man Release: September 10, 1963 Cover: December 1963 12 cents Written by: Stan Lee Illustrated by: Steve Ditko 21 pages
Spider-Man gets his first repeat villain. Stan claims readers demanded his return. But, well, Stan always says that.
Spider-Man is overconfident his same gadget will work, but Vulture had modified his wings to nullify Spider-Man’s gadget. Spider-Man is defeated in their first encounter and sprains his arm. He’ll have to fight Vulture again one-handed.
I’ll get that masked menace if it’s the last thing I do!
Six issues in, and we meet Spidey’s fifth iconic villain. We’re only short one because he fought Dr. Doom last issue.
We learn newspapers around the nation are printing stories about the Lizard menacing the Flordia Everglades. I imagine the headlines read something like: “Florida Man sees human lizard in swamp.” Of course, not the Daily Bugle headline. That focuses on Spider-Man.
Notice that Spider-Man is also lowering the payment with his web.
The Lizard is a great villain. His character has a lot in common with the Hulk, except it’s much better. They both draw from the Jekyll/Hyde trope. Unlike the Hulk, which never settled on anything in the comic, the Lizard as a character is very clear. Dr. Connors is a good guy. When he first transforms into the Lizard, he has his own mind, but feels it slipping fast. Soon, the Lizard personality is entirely in control. The Lizard has plans to lead an army of reptiles to conquer the earth and destroy all humans. Once cured, he is back to being a decent man.
Featuring: Spider-Man Release: July 9, 1963 Cover: October 1963 12 cents Written by: Stan Lee Drawn by: Steve Ditko 21 pages
The opening page tells us the names of many characters, two named for the first time. We learned last issue that Peter’s blonde classmate was named Liz. We now get the full name: Liz Allan. Last issue, we met Jameson’s secretary Miss Brant. We learn on that first page her name is Betty.
We’ve now seen plenty of crossover amongst the heroes of the titles; now they’re starting to share villains. One week earlier, Thor brought his archfoe Loki along with him for Avengers #1. Now, the Fantastic Four will lend their favorite villain to Spider-Man. Of course, they’ll also be showing up to lend a hand.
Because they’re borrowing a villain, this is the first issue of Amazing Spider-Man where Ditko doesn’t create a timeless villain. He’ll get back to that practice next issue.
Perhaps for that reason or others, this is one of the weaker Spider-Man stories yet. Of course, a weak Spider-Man story is still on par with the best of the other titles.
They summarize Doom’s most recent appearance in Fantastic Four, showing tight continuity. Also taken from Doom’s previous appearance is his use of robot doubles.
You teen-agers are all alike– You think the world owes you a living! Now go out and get me some shots of Spider-Man, and don’t come back till you do!
The covers so far have mostly been single images. Here, the cover is itself a comic. It’s not a common artistic choice, perhaps because it forces the images to be smaller. But it effectively shows off the range of Sandman’s powers.
Lee and Ditko share the credits for this issue with a simple “By”, rather than breaking up who did the story and who did the art.
In 4 issues, this series has introduced:
Chameleon
Vulture
Tinkerer
Dr. Octopus
Sandman
That’s 5 enduring villains, and at least 3 iconic ones.
What do I do now? I’ve never been beaten before! But this time my spider powers were not enough! Is this the end of Spider-Man?
I read this story in Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection vol. 1: Great Power.
I’m going to go ahead and confess that I don’t know what the title of this comic is. I often don’t. Many times, the title is in quotes to make it clear. Even though what’s in quotes is often preceded by the name of the title hero with a “versus” or a “battles” after.
For example, Fantastic Four #15 had the opening text: “The Fantastic Four Battle… The Mad Thinker and His Awesome Android!” With the latter part in a much bigger font. Online sources vary.
This is even more confusing because the arrangement of the different pieces make the order unclear.
Possible titles:
Doctor Octopus
Spider-Man Versus Doctor Octopus
The Strangest Foe of All Time… Doctor Octopus
Spider-Man Versus the Stranges Foe of All Time… Doctor Octopus
The internet generally doesn’t agree on which of the above makes sense. For my part, I’m trusting the table of contents in the collection I’m reading this in.
The title page describes Doctor Octopus as “the only enemy ever to defeat Spider-Man!” Not sure that’s accurate. Vulture and Tinkerer both handed Spider-Man initial defeats last issue before Spider-Man was able to come back and win in round 2. Which is basically what’s going to happen in this issue.
Featuring: Spider-Man Release: February 12, 1963 Cover: May 1963 12 cents Story: Stan Lee Art: Steve Ditko 10 pages
I read this story in Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection vol. 1: Great Power. Scans are taken from Marvel Tales #139, a 1982 reprinting.
Spider-Man meets his 2nd elderly super-villain in a single issue!
OK, now I’ll have to admit that not every Spider-Man story is a masterpiece. But even at their worst, they’re a cut above. When the issues have an “A” and “B” story, it seems like the effort went into the “A” story.
Even here, we see a lot of the greatness at play. Steve Ditko’s art, of course. But also the coherence of the story, tangling together Peter Parker’s story seamlessly with Spider-Man’s.
The name “Cobbwell” brings to mind “cobweb”. Coincidence? Probably.
There is some type of rule that each of these superheroes must fend off an alien invasion by their second issue. It’s very out of place here.
