|
Post by crazyoldhermit on Mar 7, 2015 16:47:44 GMT
The Amazing Spider-Man #12 (May 1964) "Unmasked By Dr. Octopus" Script: Stan Lee Art: Steve Ditko Letters: Art Simek Cover: Steve Ditko Summary: The Bugle has run a new expose lambasting Spidey for letting Ock get away. Annoyed, Spidey goes to harass Jameson when he overhears his newest ex-secretary screaming about working for a tyrant. Luckily for Jonah, Betty shows up at that moment looking to get her old job back. Peter rushes up to the building to say 'hi' but gets kicked out ("This is an office, not a social club!"). Meanwhile, Ock has been going on a crime spree across the country, pulling increasingly outrageous heists. But from the sounds of it he's not really in it for the money. He's trying to lure Spider-Man after him but so far no luck. He decides to head back to New York and track him down. In New York Peter reads about Ock's misadventures and wishes he could head West to meet him. Aunt May notices a slight fever and warns him not to go out. He sees Flash angrily reading the Bugle and complaining about Jonah's anti-Spider-Man stance. He shows Peter a photo of a spider that they published to try and prove how dangerous Spidey is (?!) and Peter, trying to deflect suspicion from his identity in the most suspicious way possible, says spiders are icky and that he'd rather not talk about them. At the Bugle Betty gets a strange, silent phone call. It's Ock, confirming that Betty works at the Bugle again. He plans to use her as bait, figuring that since Spidey risked his life for her once he would do it again. Peter goes to the Bugle to pick Betty up but Ock busts in through the window and captures her. He tells Jameson and Peter that she won't be harmed if they publish a note for Spider-Man in their paper. He also wants a photographer sent to capture Spidey's ultimate defeat. Jameson sends Peter down to Coney Island to cover the event while Peter, feeling a little woozy, changes into Spidey and heads out to face Ock. Jameson decides to head down as well, unwilling to completely trust the story to Peter. At Coney Island Ock tells Betty that if Spider-Man doesn't show she will be killed. She secretly loosens her restraints and escapes as Spidey leaps at Ock. However, he finds himself without his powers and he is easily defeated. Ock removes his mask in front of Betty, Jameson and a police officer (who Betty had summoned) and reveals to the world that Peter Parker has just pretended to be Spider-Man in order to save his girlfriend. Jameson is outraged that Peter would play hero instead of taking pictures as told, the cop is mad at Jameson for withholding information for the sake of an exclusive story and Ock leaves disappointed. The cop takes Peter home and tells Aunt May he had fainted in the street. A doctor checks him out and finds he has a 24 hour virus. In his dream Spider-man berates him for being so foolish. When he wakes up the next morning his power is back. Aunt May confronts him about the Spider-Man costume the cop returned this morning and she'd heard about Peter's "stunt." She chews him out for being so irresponsible. Peter apologizes and says he'll take the costume out to be destroyed. At school Liz and Flash bug Peter about his heroism. Flash makes fun of him but Liz thinks it's wonderful. Flash tells Liz that Peter never counted on actually meeting Ock but Liz turns on him, tells him that Peter's brains are matched by his courage and dumps Flash for being a dumb coward. At his basement hideout Ock reads the paper and is furious to find that he has been made a laughing stock for being tricked by a teenager. Going on a rampage, he heads to the zoo and releases all of the animals. At school Peter is trying to escape Liz Allan, who is hopelessly infatuated with him, and is able to do so by turning around a corner and climbing up the wall. As Spider-Man he hears trouble and finds the escaped animals wreaking havoc on the city. He jumps on a lion, webs up a bear and bumps a gorilla off a flagpole (catching him with his web of course). With the animals taken care of he heads downtown, where Ock is on the warpath hunting for Spidey. From the Daily Bugle building Jonah and Betty are watching the action. Jonah wonders if it's just Peter Parker dressing up again but a busted water tower soaks Jonah and answers the question for him (only Spidey would have the nerve). Spidey lures Ock up on a tall industrial chimney and ties him to the structure. But Ock was too smart for it and used his arms to create slack that lets him remain free. He chases Spidey across the city with Spidey leaping and swing and Ock marching on his arms (it's an awesome visual). On a rooftop Spidey finds a deep air shaft. He jumps down and uses the vertical space to slingshot himself up and tackle Ock right through his arms. But a punch on the jaw isn't enough this time and the two struggle until they fall on a window cleaner's scaffold. The scaffold falls through a skylight into a sculptor's loft and starts a fire. Spidey tries to escape but Ock wants him to stay put, as he can't maneuver in the tight space. He doesn't care if he dies as long as he kills Spidey. Ock's luck runs out as a giant sculpture falls on him and traps him. He cries for help but Spidey can't reach him through the blaze. He pops in a fresh web cartridge, creates a web shield and leaps out the window. After changing back into Peter Parker he finds Liz and Flash. They watch as firefighters pull Ock out of the burning, injured but nothing more. Liz starts to ask Peter out but Peter declines, he already has a lady. He tells her that she can go out with Flash, they deserve each other. Flash gets mad but Liz tells him that they deserve it after treating him badly for so long. Meeting Betty at her front door, Peter can't believe how his luck has improved. He's got a steady girl, Doc Ock is behind bars and he was able to sell photos of the fight for a fortune (even though there wasn't really an opportunity to set up his auto camera). The captions warn that next issue things won't be so breezy for Pete. Observations: This one is a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, Ock's initial idea is rather silly. He knows Spider-Man hangs around New York, so he travels the country trying to lure him out? And then his plan is to use Betty as bait but he never bothers to figure out why Spidey would fight especially hard to save her. However, those lapses in logic are more than made up for by the ending, where he is so obsessed with killing Spider-Man that he loses all sense of self-preservation. Ock has always been unhinged but now something has snapped and it's quite effective. In Peter Parker's world there has been a seismic shift. Last issue had me wondering when a character would come along who liked Peter and Spider-Man. Well, now that he has a steady girlfriend, Liz Allan is all over him! And while he doesn't reciprocate, she doesn't take it personally because she had been rotten to Peter for years (although she had showed signs of softening in the past. And poor Flash now has even more reason to hate Peter. If the story has its hokey points, it's more than made up in the action department. Ditko really comes into his own here, demonstrated Spidey's agility in a way he hadn't before with more mind towards dynamic anatomy and motion. Spidey flips, bends, leaps and contorts gracefully, a far cry from the gawky spider poses from last year. This is the best fight scene so far, covering an industrial area and a bizarre Sculptor's studio. This is the first time it truly feels like we're seeing Spider-Man in action, with everything before being a prologue. Overall it's inconsistent, not fantastic, but glorious to look at. 4/5Other notes: - This issue wraps up the series' first two-part story, although it could be seen as a three-parter if you include Betty's plot in #10 as the first part. - First appearance of Betty's new haircut, which she still has to this day. - Peter is beginning to prepare for his term-end exams while Jameson says that it's mid-Winter and the rides are closed. Again, in line with the actual date of publication (March 1964). - The zoo featured in the story isn't named but the only one that would make sense geographically is Prospect Park Zoo in Brooklyn, around 10 miles from Forest Hills. It's still quite a stretch for the zoo animals to all make it to Queens but on the plus side Coney Island is also in Brooklyn, adding a bit of consistency to Ock's scheming. I'm not sure if this is the first time Brooklin has been featured but it's definitely the most prominent appearance so far. At this point I think the Bronx is the only borough that hasn't made an appearance. - This issue prints a letter from Dave Cockrum, who in 11 years would help revamp the X-Men. Here he sings praise for Electro's costume.
|
|
|
Post by Ozymandias on Mar 7, 2015 17:30:17 GMT
And poor Flash now has even more reason to hate Peter. The transition from bully, to aggravated acquaintance, has been completed. Now he can pick on Parker, without looking bad.
|
|
|
Post by Ozymandias on Mar 7, 2015 17:55:27 GMT
Was the receiver truly forgotten or was there a scene where Peter upgrades the tracers to the frequency of his spider-sense? The closest I could find was Untold Tales of Spider-Man 23, where Busiek suggests he should do that. But in the main title, it seems like they didn't think it was much of a deal. Considering that, in the first issues, the spider sense had been used to pick up transmissions, on a given wavelength or frequency, this was nothing by comparison. In any case, the receiver was still being used in ASM #35, even though the last time we can see him carrying it while web-swinging, was in ASM #26, where it appears and disappears from panel to panel. Honestly, it's like playing "where's Waldo". By ASM #51, he's clearly using his spider sense to receive the signal. I think they just skipped on the receiver for convenience and aesthetics, without offering an explanation, as to how he was now picking up the signal, all by himself. It was stablished in ASM #267, though, that the receiver had better range.
|
|
|
Post by Ozymandias on Mar 7, 2015 17:56:25 GMT
The closest I could find was Untold Tales of Spider-Man 23, where Busiek suggests he should do that. But in the main title, it seems like they didn't think it was much of a deal. Considering that, in the first issues, the spider sense had been used to pick up transmissions, on a given wavelength or frequency, this was nothing by comparison. I wonder if thats something Stan pulled out of his ass or if he looked back at the old issues and said "Y'know, that would actually make a lot of sense." Looking at that first panel, drawn by Romita, where the spider sense reacts to the spider tracer, I'd say he just adapted to the story he was given. Lee was very busy at the time, promoting Marvel, he could only provide the artist, with a bare minimum plot. Details like this one were out of the question. To solve the enigma, we could always ask Romita himself, maybe his memory is better than Stan's.
|
|
|
Post by crazyoldhermit on Mar 8, 2015 2:30:57 GMT
The Amazing Spider-Man #13 (June 1964) "The Menace Of... Mysterio!" Script: Stan Lee Art: Steve Ditko Letters: Art Simek Cover: Steve Ditko Summary: Spider-Man leaps out a window with a bag of ill-gotten cash. He climbs a building and webs up the watchmen on the roof before swinging away and making a web parachute to drift to safety. The watchmen are confused about Spider-Man's turn to crime. The next day, people everywhere read the story of Spider-Man's crime and react in shock and disappointment while Jameson is ecstatic and wants his original Spider-Man editorials reprinted. Betty is in disbelief, as Spider-Man saved her life once (the other time he tried to rescue her she had already saved herself. Damsel in distress indeed). The kids at school are upset at being such fools, except for Flash who still believes Spidey could be innocent. And Peter Parker sits alone in a classroom wondering just what exactly happened, since the Spider-Man had his powers so it couldn't be an imposter. The only answer is that he is losing his mind, developing a split personality of evil. At home he's visibly worried and Aunt May asks if it's because their savings account is almost empty and it's getting harder to pay the mortgage (Jesus May, you're not making things better). He goes to bed but finds himself afraid to fall asleep, lest his other personality take over. The next morning he wakes up to a news bulletin saying Spider-Man struck again. Seriously freaked out now, Spidey visits a psychiatrist but backs out when he realizes he could spill his identity in therapy. When he gets to the Bugle Betty notices that Peter is bummed out and assumes it's because of financial troubles and says she wishes he could find another job. He snaps at her and tells her to butt out and goes to Jameson for a loan. Jameson tells him to butt out. He doesn't give loans, although he's willing to buy the secret of how Peter gets his pictures. Peter of course refuses and he heads out to work up some good pictures. As he swings around the city he's berated and chased by pedestrians who think he's a thief. Unable to get any photos taken he heads to school. Once there Liz Allan immediately finds him and shows off her new hairdo (which looks suspiciously like a fancier version of Betty's), which catches Flash by surprise. Flash is floored by her hair and tells her that "She's beautiful now." Oof. Even Peter feels sorry for him. Jameson is holding a meeting in his office when the door opens and smoke billows in. Standing before them is Mysterio, who gives Jameson a letter. He claims he will defeat Spider-Man and vanishes in a puff of smoke. The letter says Jameson should run a notice daring Spider-Man to meet Mysterio at the Brooklyn Bridge to learn the truth about himself. The letter dissolves into smoke and Jameson prints the message, seeing an opportunity for glory. The next day Peter reads the note and heads to the bridge. Once on top Mysterio appears in a cloud of smoke and declares he will destroy Spidey and attacks him. Mysterio is able to spin through the air, stick to walls and dissolve webbing before it even hits him. Mysterio blankets the area in smoke and beats on Spidey, whose spider sense is not responding. With no other choice, Spidey dives off the bridge and uses a diving bell made of webbing to stealthily swim to shore and get home. He may have gotten beaten up but he did get the answer to one of his worries. The public grants Mysterio a parade celebrating his heroism in defeating the menace. Flash thinks he's a phony and Peter agrees in the most passive-aggressive way possible. Flash tries to argue but Liz but Peter tells him he can have her. He heads over to the Bugle and finds Jonah presenting Mysterio to the staff. Once Spider-Man is defeated for good Mysterio will sell his secret identity to Jameson for an exclusive. Jameson introduces Mysterio to Peter and Peter takes the opportunity to slip a tracer on him. Eager to track down Mysterio Peter brushes off Betty, who begins to worry that he's interested in Liz Allan. He tracks the villain to a TV studio, who unleashes the smoke and beats him up some more. Spidey admits defeat but asks for an explanation. After all, he's been impersonating Spidey. Mysterio tells him the story: He was a stunt man who moved into special effects work, working as a prop builder and costumer. Using his skills he was able to replicate Spidey's powers, which would fool anyone from a distance. Then he had another brilliant idea: Create a heroic identity to defeat Spider-Man and operate as both hero and villain. His helmet has two-way glass, he has acid spray in his wrist to dissolve webbing, his boots have ports to release smoke and springs for jumping and he has sonar that lets him navigate through smoke and jams the spider-sense. Spidey reveals that he just recorded the idiot's entire confession. They fight but this time Spidey can handle it. Staying outside of the smoke cloud he punches into it until he hits Mysterio and knocks him into the next soundstage, where a cheesy sci-fi B-movie is being filmed. Amongst the lights, planets and aliens the two fight, with Spidey being able to overcome Mysterio's tricks and Mysterio's stunt training allowing him to take more punishment than most. Mysterio tries for the smoke again but Spidey punches the sonar jammer, which is concealed in one of the eyepieces on Mysterio's chest, and finish the villain. Retrieving his camera and escaping through the smoke with Mysterio he heads to the police department. Jameson shows up and finds that he has been humiliated once more. Back at his office he finds Peter's photos waiting for him. He writes Peter a generous check: Almost half of what the photos are actually worth. Spidey swings in and gets a taste of revenge, webbing Jonah to the ceiling. At school Flash's faith in Spider-Man is vindicated, although Peter says he still doesn't trust him. He swings away and enjoys his private joke. Observations: Mysterio makes for a pretty interesting villain. Visually he's the most interesting yet. Steve had been working on Dr Strange for a year by now and that experimentation spills over here. A lot of jokes have been made about fishbowl head but he really does look like a Master of Mystery. A lot of people criticize these old villains for looking corny and there's a temptation to cool them up with black leather and whatnot but the first reaction to Mysterio's costume in story is "What a get-up! He's cornier looking than Spider-Man!" They aren't trying to pass these heroes off as looking like total badasses, they're just fun characters that normal people like the Bugle staff think look ridiculous. His "powers" hit that right balance between ridiculous and genius. Mysterio's special effects are way more effective than they should be but it's a neat idea regardless. And as a movie lover it kinda makes me sad that there will soon be a day where Mysterio's origin will be dated. Mysterio comes from a time of rear projection, stop motion and rocket ships on strings and theres a cool "old Hollywood" vibe to him. His dual schemes are kind of odd. It's not uncommon for supervillains to start one way and change dramatically by their next appearance but here Mysterio pulls that act in one story. After an issue of real happiness Peter's personal life inches towards the precipice once more. His relationship with Betty has just started and it's already starting to hit the rocks as Betty proves to be prone to jealousy and insecurity, which does nothing to endear her to me. Liz starts making serious moves to win Peter over, show zero respect for his relationship (then again, Peter didn't exactly respect her and Flash's relationship) but Peter is smart enough to figure that it's just a crush and nothing more. Flash is cemented as Spidey's biggest fan as well as a bit of a schmuck rather than a bully, liking a girl who likes a guy who likes a different girl. Sucks for him. Jameson suffers yet another major humiliation, horribly misjudging Electro, The Big Man and now Mysterio. At this rate it's a surprise the Bugle is still in business. His self-reflection in #10 hasn't really changed much. In fact he's even greedier than ever, paying Peter only half of what his photos are worth despite knowing about his financial problems. It's hard to have sympathies for a character who admits their problems and desire to change and does nothing to do so. Overall it's a solid issue with a cool villain and a creative action set piece. 4/5- Mysterio isn't the first villain to impersonate Spidey. Chameleon did so way back in #1 - Jameson is still credited as being publisher of NOW magazine but the publication hasn't made an appearance in five issues now. - For the first time since ASM #2, the Parker family's money woes are brought up. In that issue Peter was able to pay the rent for an entire year with one assignment. Now their concern is paying the mortage and their savings are almost gone. It has been just over a year since that story so the money Peter set aside for it would be gone but Peter has been selling photos all year, including a batch of Spidey/Ock pics last month (even though Betty says he hadn't managed to sell photos lately). Of course, it's highly possible and likely that after the initial excitement of getting pictures of the Vulture wore off Jameson dropped Peter's rates. - While Spidey doesn't have a split personality this time, in twenty years the alien costume will take sleeping Peter out for nocturnal rides the exact same way he fears here. - Another major New York landmark is featured: The Brooklyn Bridge. As everybody in this thread knows, the Brooklyn Bridge factors into a very significant storyline down the road (yes, it's the Brooklyn Bridge and not the George Washington Bridge). - This is the second time Peter meets a supervillain as Peter Parker but only the first time he's aware of it when they meet, as he didn't know Foswell was The Big Man. - We find out how Spidey can see out of his mask: Two-way lenses! - Once again a villain finds out about spider-sense, even though the only villain he actually told about it is Electro. At least this time we see Mysterio actually figuring it out. - It's pretty funny when Spider-Man holds up a "miniature tape recorder" thats the size of a brick. A lot has changed in 50 years.
|
|
|
Post by Ozymandias on Mar 8, 2015 8:51:11 GMT
With #13, the creative team reached a new plateau. Looking ahead, some comics will be better than this one, some will be worse, but from this point forward, all of them will be better, than the ones that came before.
Before McFarlane, Mysterio was featured in ASM #24 (without the costume), 66-67, 141-142, 198-199 (he had been lurking for some issues), Annuals 1 & 4, and PPSSM #50-51.
|
|
|
Post by crazyoldhermit on Mar 8, 2015 15:58:46 GMT
The Amazing Spider-Man #14 (July 1964) "The Grotesque Adventure of the Green Goblin" Script: Stan Lee (The poor man's Shakespeare) Art: Steve Ditko (The poor man's Da Vinci) Letters: Art Simek (The poor man's rich man) Cover: Steve Ditko Summary: In a basement laboratory a man puts the finishing touches on a mechanical flying broomstick. Donning a green and purple elf costume and calling himself the Green Goblin he meets with The Enforcers at a sleazy hotel. Intimidating them by shooting sparks from his fingers, he offers them a chance to get revenge against Spider-Man. In Hollywood B.J., a studio executive, is trying to figure out how to create a followup hit their horror picture "The Nameless Thing From The Black Lagoon In The Murky Swamp." The Green Goblin comes in his window and offers him a movie starring himself, The Enforcers and Spider-Man, starring the real Spidey. B.J. likes the idea but doubts the Goblin could get Spider-Man involved. At school Liz is complimenting Peter on his perfect score on their exam. He credits his success to hard study but Flash says it won't do him any good and that he'd never want to be an egghead. Liz tells Flash that he never could be an egghead because he's so stupid and that it's the so-called eggheads who run the country. Peter and the other kids are impressed and Flash is humiliated. From one of the student's radios they hear a report of a man in green flying over Manhattan on a broomstick. Peter runs off to investigate. He spots the Goblin and slingshots himself onto the broom, encountering his most bitter enemy for the very first time. But Gobby doesn't want to fight, he has an offer for Spidey and tells him to meet B.J. Cosmos at the Ritz Plaza Hotel. Cosmos offers to pay Spidey $50,000 (almost $380,000 today). Spidey agrees on the condition that he does no interviews, does no publicity and is involved in no fake romances with starlets. Cosmos tells him to be at the studio in Hollywood by the end of the week. The next morning Peter goes to the Bugle and Jameson orders him to go to Hollywood and photograph Spidey on set. This is exactly what he was hoping for as it gives him an excuse and airfare to head West. And once he gets paid by Cosmos he won't have to work for Jameson again. Betty misinterprets his smile as excitement to go rub elbows with Hollywood beauties, glamorous girls like Liz Allan. Peter detects her jealously. Aunt May is reluctant to give Peter permission to go but Peter pleads with her, reminded her that he's almost ready for college. She agrees to let him go. Out West Spider-Man meets with Cosmos, the crew, The Goblin and The Enforcers, who he believes are actors. They drive out to their desert location in New Mexico and while the crew are setting up the equipment the actors agree to go out and rehearse their fight scene. Of course, it's no rehearsal and Spidey realizes he's been duped. The Enforcers are as challenging as they were last time, keeping Spidey on guard but unable to land the critical strikes. But the presence of the Goblin complicates things and he is able to bombard Spidey with stun bombs from above while easily dodging his web. Using his web to whip up a dust storm to cover his movements he flees into a cave, not knowing that the Goblin is watching. Back home, Aunt May writes Peter a letter telling him to remember his vitamins. At a soda parlor Liz Allan asks if anyone has gotten mail from Peter. She and Flash argue over Peter, with Liz calling him a dreamboat and Flash calling him a coward. And at the Bugle Jonah is anxious to get pictures of Spider-Man and hopes Peter isn't wasting time dating glamor girls, which makes Betty even more insecure. In the cave Spidey catches his breath while Goblin leads the Enforcers inside. They push a boulder to block the entrance and make sure Spidey can't escape. However, the setting gives Spidey the advantage and he is able to stealthily web up Montana and Fancy Dan before flooring Ox with an uppercut. Gobby lets loose with the stun bombs, one of which hits... THE HULK. Interpreting this as another attempt to capture him, our favorite green misanthrope strikes out at Spidey. Gobby gleefully watches as Spidey tries to explain the situation but Hulk is too distrustful of humanity. Hulk starts tearing the cave apart trying to get Spidey. Webbing does nothing to him so Spidey decides to stand and fight. No good. The proportional strength of a spider is nothing compared to an A-bomb. Desperate, Spidey lets Hulk just graze him with a punch. Even such a light touch sends Spidey flying back into the boulder. Hulk runs in to kill him with a tackle and Spidey leaps out of the way, letting Hulk run right through the boulder. Spidey and Goblin both leave the cave and Spidey leaps onto the broomstick. He hangs on tight but Goblin tilts it so the jet exhaust blows on Spidey and forces him off and down into a pod. Spidey waits underwater as the Hulk searches for him before going back inside. Realizing that The Enforcers are still in the cave and will be killed if Hulk finds them he sneaks back in and retrieves them before heading out to meet Cosmos. But Spidey's luck turns again. Cosmos has heard that the Hulk is in the area and cancels the Spider-Man movie, seeing a Hulk movie as a better opportunity. He gives Spidey some expense money and sends him packing. Just so he has a little money to give to Aunt May Peter takes a bus home. The Goblin gets home ahead of him and changes into his civilian garb, lamenting the foiling of his plan. He wanted to get Spider-Man out of the way so he could form a global empire of crime. When he arrives in the city Peter can vaguely sense his presence but has no idea who he is. Observations: As a foreword, I am extremely biased in favor of this issue. Even though I admit to Spider-Man's superiority over all superheroes speaking personally he doesn't rank above The Hulk, whose stories usually lack that punchy greatness of Spidey's but wins my heart for his personality. And as far as supervillains go I say Green Goblin is #1. So it's hard to remain objective when three of my favorite characters end up in the same issue. The Goblin really makes this issue. Right away he shows more ambition than any prior villain. Not only does he start the story going directly after Spider-Man, he enlisted the help of previous villains to do so and was able to keep his hands from getting dirty. Spider-Man doesn't land a single hit on him and when Spidey finally gets his hands on him it's only for a moment. Gobby does what none of the other villains have been able to do: Escape Spider-Man in their first appearance. Gobby demonstrates exactly what the Vulture is missing: Offensive capabilities. He can fly, which is a huge advantage, but he can attack from a range and seriously use his power. Speaking of powers, there is no indication that the Goblin has any form of superpower. At this point he is just a guy in a costume with some weaponry. Ditko's artwork this issue is great. He was my favorite inker of Kirby's on The Hulk and while his version isn't as mean looking it's still quite good. The scene in the cave is very moody with some amazing backgrounds. And the design of the Goblin is crazy but in a good way, with a very Count Orlok look to his face. So what doesn't work? The Enforcers are total flunkies this time around and are little more than slightly higher grade cannon fodder for Spidey. The Goblin's Hollywood plan (two issues in a row where Stan and Steve have looked behind-the-scenes for inspiration) is ridiculous since Gobby makes four cross-continental trips just to ambush Spidey with a couple minions. And that rocket-powered broomstick just sucks. Picking this up in 1964 I'd give it a 3/5. The Goblin's plan is just too hokey, not enough justification for the setup even though the desert make for a great backdrop. Knowing that this is the first encounter between Spider-Man and his archnemesis, my favorite villain, bumps it up to a 4/5, with hindsight overcoming the weak plot. And the inclusion of the Hulk, my favorite Marvel hero, bumps it up more to a full 5/5 Other notes: - In #11 Peter began studying for his finals and now, three months later, he has aced them. - Spider-Man meets B.J. Cosmos at the Ritz Plaza Hotel. I can't find any record of a Ritz Plaza Hotel in New York, only one in Miami. There are two Ritz-Carlton hotels in Manhattan but I believe both came after 1964, making this a flub on Stan's part (unless Spidey actually swung to Miami). - Peter's objections to phony romances seem strange now but in 1964 the studio system still ruled Hollywood and they were prone to feeding the tabloids fake drama to get free publicity, including forcing actors and actresses to appear in public together. The idea was already sort of dated by 1964 and within a few years the studio system would completely implode and leave Hollywood in the hands of guys like Coppola, Scorsese, De Palma, Lucas, etc. - Peter tells Aunt May that he's a senior. This clashes with him completing his finals the day before, unless he means he's about to be a senior. - At this point the Hulk was in limbo. His own book had been cancelled the same month this one started and his stint in the Avengers lasted two issues. Since then he'd been making sporadic guest appearances. This was his final guest appearance before getting his own feature in October, co-headlining "Tales to Astonish." This was still a very rough, early days version of the character. At this point it had not yet been established that anger made Bruce transform and he still retained some intelligence. - Peter really is selfless, since a bus trip from Los Angeles to New York City takes about a week. The difference between airfare and a bus ticket is probably less than what Peter would get with a week of Spider-Man pictures. And wouldn't JJJ pay his airfare anyway? If not thats a huge level of cheapness.
|
|
|
Post by Ozymandias on Mar 8, 2015 16:47:20 GMT
And that rocket-powered broomstick just sucks. 37 years ago, when I first read it, that wasn't a big problem, but compared with the glider… it really sucks. The Hulk was my other favorite character, so seeing them together was a plus. I liked how they managed to stage a fight, without the Hulk killing Spidey, but at the same time, maintaining the power difference.
|
|
|
Post by crazyoldhermit on Mar 8, 2015 23:45:04 GMT
The Amazing Spider-Man #15 (August 1964) "Kraven The Hunter" Script: Stan Lee (because they couldn't get Mickey Spillane) Art: Steve Ditko (because Picasso was out of town) Letters: Art Simek (because his name fits this space) Cover: Steve Ditko Summary: Plans to rob a bank are spoiled by Spider-Man busting up the meeting. Three of the crooks are trapped in their apartment but the fourth is able to leap out the window. Sneaking around a corner the crook evades Spidey by releasing a chemical gas to change the color of his clothes and further disguising himself with a hat and cane. At his lair he removes his old man mask and reveals himself to be the Chameleon. Chameleon knows he can't stop Spider-Man himself but realizes he has a friend who would love to kill Spidey: Kraven the Hunter. The next week Jameson and Betty meet Peter at the dock to cover Kraven's arrival. His arrival is big news, as he is a legendary hunter who has single handedly beaten all big game there is. Unfortunately, Peter arrives at the same time as Flash and Liz. Betty assumes they came together and gives an oblivious Liz an icy greeting. The drama is interrupted by Kraven's arrival. At the same time some animal cages break open and Peter runs off to change but before he can jump in to help Kraven easily recaptures them all using his own great strength and mysterious drugged darts. Realizing he's not needed Peter changes back and joins the crowd. Jameson is happy to see him and wants to go back and develop the pictures but since Peter ran off to do Spidey stuff he didn't take any. Jameson blows his top while Liz adjust "Petey's" tie, infuriating Betty even more. Jameson asks Kraven what he's doing in New York and Kraven tells him he's here to hunt the most dangerous game of all: Spider-Man. Jameson tells him it's illegal (although he does like the sound of it) but Kraven doesn't care. Jameson and Betty leave as Peter tries to explain the situation with Liz. At his hideout Chameleon provides Kraven with all of the information known about Spider-Man. Kraven thanks him and brews up a strange potion that he stole from an African witch doctor, one that increases his strength and speed. As Spider-Man interrupts a robbery Kraven watches from a distance, studying Spidey's moves and way of thinking. Once Spidey finishes up Kraven leaps down and attacks him. He strikes with his nerve punch, a punch so powerful it can kill a rhino, but Spidey blocks it with his shoulder. Though partially crippled Spidey manages to get an advantage until Kraven scratches him with a drugged dart. Preferring to prolong Spidey's suffering Kraven leaves him dizzy and disoriented. At home Peter is regaining movement in his shoulder but his hands are shaking from the frug. At the Chameleon's hideout Kraven is overjoyed to face such a powerful opponent. The next morning Peter still has the shakes. Even worse, Aunt has set him up on a blind date with the neighbor's niece. He heads out to the Bugle to hand in the photos he took last night. Betty is very pleasant with him, even calling him Petey. But Peter hates being called that and Betty gets mad again. He didn't tell that "empty-headed blonde schoolgirl" not to call him that. He tries to explain that he doesn't care what she calls him because she doesn't mean anything to him but the message doesn't get through. He's distracted from this by an unusual sight: Kraven in Jameson's office. Kraven swears to him that Spider-Man's days are numbered and doesn't give Jameson the assurance that he won't break the law. At school Peter is all thumbs in science class due to the poison. His breaks some test tubes and gets reprimanded by Mr Warren. Flash believes that his threats are finally starting to get to him. Peter sees the headline in the paper: "'Defeat Of Spider-Man Imminent' Says Kraven." At home he considers what would happen to Aunt May if he was killed as Spider-Man. He then has the idea to plant a tracer on Kraven but he can't even web sling because of his shakiness. He searches the city on foot until his spider sense detects Kraven's presence. He sees the hunter head into a park, although his spider sense tingles in an unusual way. He follows Kraven into the park but it's an imposter, the real Kraven follows behind. Once deep into the park Kraven springs his trap, dropping a metal net on Spidey. Spidey breaks free but the other Kraven (three guesses as to who it is) beats a jungle drum to disorient him. Kraven slaps two large iron cuffs on him, one on the wrist and one on the ankle. They're magnetized and pull his arm and leg together. They also have bells inside so he can't be stealthy. Spidey has no choice but to run. He stumbles across the power main for the park and destroys it. Hidden in the dark he webs up the cuffs to mute the bells and uses his spider sense to lead him to the hunter. But it's not the real Kraven, it's the Chameleon in disguise! The real Kraven is tracking Spidey but in the dark he is at a disadvantage. Spidey is able to herd Kraven into a large spider web. He takes the key for the cuffs and by this point the exercise has worked the poison out of his system. As he leaves the park he sees the cops arresting the Chameleon and he snaps a pic. The picture of the Chameleon is big news, as nobody even knew he was in the country. Jameson rewards him with his crappiest payment yet, a goddamn chocolate bar. Betty apologizes to Peter for her behaviour and invites him on a date but Peter has to decline: He has the date with Mrs Watson's niece (which he doesn't want to break for Aunt May's sake). Betty assumes it's with Liz and is heartbroken. At home Aunt May tells him his date is benched with a headache. He tries to call Betty but she doesn't want to hear it. Frustrated he calls Liz but she's gone out dancing with Flash Thompson. It's just not his night. At the docks a cop marches Kraven and Chameleon on a steamer bound for South America. They swear to return and destroy Spider-Man, who watches the ship sale over the horizon and, unaware of its cargo, wishes he were on it. Observations: This issue caps a sort of mini trilogy: Three self-contained stories that introduce three classic villains to the mythos. Kraven is a villain I didn't appreciate until relatively recently. As a kid he was just the boring Russian guy with a weird costume. But now I rank him up as one of my favorites. I'm a fan of stories set in the darkest jungles of Africa. The Johnny Weissmuller Tarzans are some of the most fun movies ever and I love the idea of the great white hunter tracking down Spider-Man. He isn't motivated by pragmaticism or revenge, he is in it for the thrill. In particular I'm a fan of the version from the 90s cartoon, who is a very intelligent and cultured man who, aside from his first appearance where he is insane, isn't even a villain (he even quotes Francis Bacon to The Punisher). His powers and techniques and imagery are very cool and this issue does a good job of showing Kraven actually hunting Spider-Man. It's actually kind of similar to Bane the Batman villain: A highly intelligent and methodical man physically enhanced by chemicals researches and stalks the hero and temporarily cripples him, doing so not for any material advantage but as a personal quest for glory. On the other side of the mask Peter's life gets more complicated. Liz has moved up to public displays of affection (including the first use of her pet name "Petey"), infuriating Flash and Betty. Betty again acts quite awfully but recognizes it and apologizes for it, while Peter has no excuse for not telling Liz to back off. I have to say I don't understand this 1964 brand of courtship. There doesn't seem to be real commitment between Peter and Betty besides their own feelings and when Betty blows Peter off he tries to run to Liz. Is that cheating or is that just how things worked pre-revolution? And of course, mention has to be made of the first mention of Mary Jane Watson (who isn't named in this issue). This is one of the more dated stories in the mythos, as most old folks would at least be aware of the fact that their adopted son has a girlfriend and would respect the relationship enough to not set them up. I don't know how old Aunt May is meant to be but it's safe to say she was born in the Victorian era, which would make the massive cultural gap all the more believable. Jameson once again strikes up a deal with a villain but this time he wants to be sure that there is to be no breaking of the law. He may be cheap enough to consider a chocolate bar bonus pay but he stands firmly on the side of the law and won't allow his hatred of Spider-Man to cross that line. Overall the issue introduces a very cool new villain, brings back an oldie and further shakes up Peter's world. It's simple but fantastic. 5/5Other notes: - The Chameleon disguises himself by using a gas to change the color of his clothes, an idea later reused by Ditko for The Question. - The Chameleon being able to evade Spider-Man with such a simple disguise is one of the more awful inconsistencies in the spider sense's capabilities so far. It's never been consistent but in the very same issue the sense is activated by Spider-Man being in the same neighborhood as Kraven. - Kraven travels from Africa not by plane but by ship. Another sign of how much the world has changed in 50 years. - First use of the phrase "Friendly neighborhood Spider-Man" (I think) - Spider-Man turns two!
|
|
|
Post by Ozymandias on Mar 9, 2015 9:00:13 GMT
Liz has moved up to public displays of affection (including the first use of her pet name "Petey"), infurating Flash and Betty. Betty again acts quite awfully but recognizes it and apologizes for it, while Peter has no excuse for not telling Liz to back off. I have to say I don't understand this 1964 brand of courtship. There doesn't seem to be real commitment between Peter and Betty besides their own feelings and when Betty blows Peter off he tries to run to Liz. Is that cheating or is that just how things worked pre-revolution? And of course, mention has to be made of the first mention of Mary Jane Watson (who isn't named in this issue). This is one of the more dated stories in the mythos, as most old folks would at least be aware of the fact that their adopted son has a girlfriend and would respect the relationship enough to not set them up. I don't know how old Aunt May is meant to be but it's safe to say she was born in the Victorian era, which would make the massive cultural gap all the more believable. Peter has always been a jerk to women, with the exception of MJ, who was an even bigger jerk to men. To get an idea of how things "worked" in the early 60's, I'd recommend watching the earlier seasons of Mad Men. Aunt May trying to hook Peter up, with the niece of her friend, could simply be her ignoring his wishes. Or maybe she disapproved, on that relationship with an emancipated woman/girl (irrespective of how old she was). Some may think that "born in the Victorian era" is too much, but the truth is that, at this point in the series, Ditko drew her as a very frail and brittle lady, easily into her 80's. Looking at AF #15 and the first issue of ASM, there's a clear difference. Maybe he was trying to emphasize the emotional stress she was under, but the end result was that he depicted a very old woman.
|
|
|
Post by crazyoldhermit on Mar 9, 2015 16:08:58 GMT
The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 (1964) "The Sinister Six!" Script: Stan Lee Art: Steve Ditko Letters: Sam Rosen Cover: Steve Ditko Summary: A team of specialists has managed to remove Ock's arms from his body. However, he still has a mental link to them. He summons them to his cell and escapes. Spidey reads about the escape in a newspaper he steals directly from JJJ but his reading is interrupted by Thor almost flying into him. Across town Ock meets with Electro, Kraven and Mysterio. Since individually the villains almost beat Spider-Man Ock is going to run all of them (plus two more who aren't present) against Spidey to beat him with numbers. And he has the plan to do it. The next day Peter's spider sense is set off by a man on the street. He's kept from investigating by Flash Thompson, who wants to fight Peter for walking Liz home from school. Peter dodges Flash's punch and Flash flies right into a stranger... Except that stranger is Dr Strange in his astral form. He admonishes Flash for his ignorance and walks off. The teenagers are completely freaked out, they believed Strange to be a myth. Strange's distraction allows Peter to change into his costume and pursue the mystery man but when he catches up to him his body disappears, leaving his clothes in a weak. Unknown to him, it's Sandman and he escaped down a sewer vent. He sneaks through the tunnels towards Ock's secret meeting. When Peter swings home he sees a light in the attic window. Looking inside he sees Aunt May crying over her and Uncle Ben's wedding photo and other mementos. Standing on the edge of a building Peter loses himself in the memory of his uncle's death once more. But he loses his balance and just barely manages to hang onto a flag pole. His powers are gone! The Fantastic Four pass by in the Fantasticar but don't bother to help him because he's always been a lone wolf and they assume he's just showing off. Spidey manages to get inside the building and head out the front door. He walks home and goes to bed, relieved to no longer have to keep his Spider-Man secret from her but also confused about what to do with himself. At Ock's lair the final guest has arrived, the Vulture. They all disagree about how best to tackle Spidey but Ock has a plan. He makes them all draw numbers and that is the order Spidey will face them. Each card also has a location listed with each location being ideal for the villain. The next morning Peter is still feeling depressed. Aunt May suggests he should stay home but he heads out anyway. She wishes he would confide in her and wonders if he's having problems with Betty. At school Peter is a no-show and Flash brags about scaring him off. May calls the school and finds out Peter played hookey. Realizing how bothered he must be she is sure it has something to do with Betty. Peter is actually wandering the docks ruminating about his life. He realizes that he'll no longer get work as a photographer but wonders if he can finally tell Betty his secret. His navel-gazing is interrupted by Giant Man and The Wasp stopping some crooks. Peter doesn't want to be around criminals and leaves. May meets Betty outside the Bugle. Electro and Sandman were planning on taking Betty but decide to grab both. Jameson watches the abduction from his window. At Ock's lair Betty asks what they want while Aunt May seems rather taken with Ock. In his office Jameson tells Peter about the abduction. Vulture shows up and tells Jameson to put a notice in the paper for Spider-Man to meet Electro at the Stark Electric Plant. Peter realizes that Betty was captured because twice now he has risked his life to rescue her. Knowing it will take hours for the next edition to hit the streets and desperate to have his secretary back Jameson calls the Fantastic Four to ask about Spidey. They haven't seen him since yesterday but Reed is concerned and calls The Avengers. Cap can't help since he's never even met Spidey while his teammates are all out. The Human Torch draws a signal in the sky and the X-Men see it but Professor X tells them to ignore it. At home Peter faces a dangerous situation. His powers are gone but he has to try and save Betty and Aunt May. He dons his costume, preferring to die a man facing his challenges rather than live as a coward. He breaks into the Stark Electric Plant (having to sneak under a chain link fence) and faces Electro. Electro carries a card with the location of the next villain. To get it Spidey will have to beat him. Charging himself with an enormous amount of electricity he throws a bolt at Spidey, who is able to dodge it. Realizing his powers have returned (it was psychosomatic, brought on by his melancholy) he dodges Electro's attacks and ties a a length of wire to his ankle and uses his web to turn off the main power. He leaps at Electro and is impervious to his attacks due to his grounding with the wire. Finishing Electro with one punch, he retrieves the card and leaves Electro in the care of Iron Man. The card leads Spidey just across the bay from the World's Fair. Kraven is waiting for him with three leopards. Rather than waste time fighting Kraven and his critters Spidey outmaneuvers him and steals his card. He heads to the next location but is ambushed by the Human Torchy. Spidey puts up a fight but Johnny talks him down. He tells Spidey that the whole city is looking for him and that he's here to help. Spidey apologizes for his rudeness but insists it's a personal matter he will handle alone. Ock watches the ongoing events with disappointment in Electro and Kraven. He brings coffee and treats to Betty and May, who continues to be completely oblivious to the situation. Elsewhere, Spidey has reached the third location and finds the X-Men waiting for him. They immediately attack him and they fight. Spidey busts up Beast pretty bad. So bad that he breaks apart and is revealed to be a robot. Using his spider-sense to guide him he destroys the robots and finds the hidden room Mysterio is watching from. He busts in and Mysterio sets off his tricks. Mysterio gets dropped but the card drops on a burning section of the floor (ignited by the fake Cyclops' eye beams) and he only barely manages to save the card, having to use his spider-sense to read the damaged message. JJJ is growing more and more distressed. He sees a spider outside his window and demands it gives him the message from Spider-Man, unaware of his incredulous staff. The fourth location is a walled in court. Spidey sees the note on a post but before he can grab it Sandman rises up from the floor. He lets Spidey pass through him to get the note but doing so activates the trap: An airtight metal cell forcing Spidey into close quarters with Sandman. But thanks to his spider-sense Spidey is able to dodge his blows while Sandman, who only has a normal lung capacity, runs out of air. With Sandman unconscious Spidey pries the door open and escapes. At his office Jonah discovers that his staff have collected the newspapers of the distinguished competition. Why? They've been printing Extras all day chronicling Spider-Man's battles! And since JJJ had ordered his staff not to disturb him they haven't published any of their own. Realizing he's been scooped out of his own story Jameson loses it. Meanwhile, Ock is starting to second-guess his plan and comes up with a Plan B, as the only thing standing between him and Spidey is the Vulture. Vulture faces Spidey and proclaims himself to be the most dangerous of all. Vulture tells him that Spidey must remove his web shooters or Vulture will simply fly off. Spidey agrees and Vulture sprays oil at his feet, using the wind from his wings to blow Spidey off the ledge he's standing on. Vulture lassoes his ankle but Spidey leaps at him, unties his ankle and lassoes him. Climbing on his back he orders Vulture to tell him where Betty Brant is and fly him back to where he left his web shooters. He looks the codger tied to a flagpole. Ock tells Betty and May that he will be leaving for a short time but he'll be back. Betty is terrified but May is just appreciative of his manners. Outside, Spidey scopes out the lair. It's an old castle imported from Europe. With fully charged web capsules he's ready to go. He breaks into the building and sees Ock without his arms. He takes the opportunity to attack but the arms, remotely controlled, attack him. Spidey defeats them by punching Ock, who momentarily loses control of the arms when he's stunned. The arms are soon functional though and attack once more. Spidey escapes down a hallway while the arms return to their master, who is watching Spidey on a video feed. Ock springs a trapdoor that drops Spidey into a giant boil of water. Donning scuba gear Ock goes in to finish him but Spidey releases all of his webbing, which entangles the arms like seaweed. He pulls Ock out of the bowl and restrains him. Spidey finds the captives. Betty is relieved to be rescued while May is disgusted by Spidey's costume and lack of manners. Spidey tells them the police are coming and May admits she has no idea whats going on. Spidey heads home and changes into his civvies. When the cops bring May and Betty to Forest Hills they're both happy to see him. May is especially happy to see that Peter is out of his slump (although she admonishes him twice for using slang) and the trio enjoy some happy times. Human Torches flies by Jameson's office to ask if he's seen Spidey, as he wants to congratulate him on his victory. By this point Jameson looks like a madman and tells Torch that they all should be outlawed. Finally, we see the Sinister Six in a jail cell telling Ock that they'll never listen to him again. "Gallery of Spider-Man's Most Famous Foes" This is a fourteen-page pinup gallery showcasing every villain Spidey has faced so far. "The Secrets of Spider-Man" This is a nine-page feature giving a top-to-bottom rundown of Spidey's powers, abilities and equipment. There are an additional five pinups: A Spider-Man solo shot, a pinup of Betty Brant and J Jonah Jameson titled "Peter Parker's Favorite Heel and Heart-Throb," a pinup of Midtown High showing off the science lab, Flash Thompson and Liz Allan, a cutaway diagram of Peter's house an a pinup of Spidey with the Fantastic Four and Hulk (drawn in "the somewhat different Ditko style"). "How Stan Lee and Steve Ditko Create Spider-Man!" The finale is a three page comic showing the creative process behind the series which portrays Lee in a hilariously awful light. Whew. Thats a lot of comic for 25 cents. Observations: What a whopper. First you have a 41 page lead feature. It has everything. Aunt May and Betty Brant in peril, Spider-Man loses his powers, six Spidey villains, a guest appearance from the Human Torch, cameos from Thor, Dr Strange, the Fantastic Four, Giant-Man, Wasp, Captain America, Iron Man and The X-Men (with plugs for each of their books, natch), a retelling of the origin story and a subplot of Jameson losing his mind on the worst day of his life. It's wall-to-wall candy. Everything that made Silver Age Marvel awesome is in this book. Everything that Marvel currently is not is encapsulated by this book. The story is dramatic, funny and exciting. You feel for Peter when he's having a down day (and even Aunt May when she secretly mourns Ben), you laugh at Jameson going nuts and you're with him when he triumphs against six of his baddest bad guys. Ock's scheme isn't perfect. The obvious approach would be to attack Spidey all at once rather than sequentially. And maybe it's my bias cropping up against but putting the fate of your scheme in the Vulture's hands (wings?) is foolhardy. But hey, this is really like six comics in one. The only character who feels a little shafted is Kraven. Last issue he was truly deadly. Here Spidey doesn't even give him the time of day and how he ends up incarcerated at the end is anybody's guess but since he was the star of the previous issue I give that a pass. Aunt May's characterization turns a corner with the serious implication that she is going senile. Theres just no other explanation for her obliviousness. She reminds me of Aunt Bethany ("Is your house on fire Clark? Is Rusty still in the Navy?"). As great as the story is, this is really a showcase of Steve Ditko's talent and skill. The main feature has six stunning full page splashes, one for each villain, and they're gorgeous. The entire back half of the issue is built on Ditko's diagrams, pinups and demonstrations. I have no idea how he was able to turn out work this good while simultaneously drawing Dr Strange and Spider-Man. And that cover is just a killer. Ditko's draftsmanship ticks upwards once more. The three page story with Stan and Steve is impossible to take at face value in light of their professional breakdown. I don't really want to get into a Stan vs Steve debate (they get ugly) but the story portrays Stan as a glory hogging, impossible-to-please bigmouth who dumps the entire workload on Steve. Decades after leaving Marvel Ditko released a comic criticizing Lee for his statements regarding the co-creation of Spider-Man and the impression of Lee he gave was very similar to that of the comic. This is easily a contender for the best Spider-Man comic ever. 5/5Other notes: - Third appearance of Doc Ock and Vulture, second appearance of Electro, Sandman, Mysterio and Kraven. - Sandman, Electro and Kraven have kept busy since their last appearances. Sandman battled the Human Torch over in Strange Tales, Electro battled Daredevil in the second issue of his book and Kraven battled Iron Man in Tales of Suspense (which explained how he returned to America). - Peter says Uncle Ben died "months ago." If the universe was progressing completely in real time it would actually have been two years ago. If Amazing Fantasy #15 took place immediately before ASM #1, as I interpreted it, it would have happened about a year and a half ago. - Peter's powerless walk home takes an hour while swinging would have taken only three minutes. This clocks Spidey's swinging at around 60mph, more if you take into account the more direct route able to be taken by air. This means that from his home in Forest Hills Spidey can reach Manhattan via the Queensboro bridge in around 7 minutes and probably faster if he takes a direct rule. - The 1964 World's Fair and the Unisphere are shown as Spidey faces Kraven on the shore of Flushing Bay. A very dated reference. Coincidentally, the World's Fair site would later be the site of the Flushing Meadow Zoo, the only zoo that would have truly made sense in ASM #12. Kraven, zoo... Theres something there. No? Nevermind. - The logo is given a four color treatment for the first time (blue, green, red and black). The word "Amazing" is moved down closer to "Spider-Man" to accommodate for the banner. In a few years this change would become permanent.
|
|
|
Post by Ozymandias on Mar 9, 2015 21:42:24 GMT
- Peter says Uncle Ben died "months ago." If the universe was progressing completely in real time it would actually have been two years ago. If Amazing Fantasy #15 took place immediately before ASM #1, as I interpreted it, it would have happened about a year and a half ago. I don't see a problem here, "a year and a half" is also "months".
|
|
|
Post by crazyoldhermit on Mar 10, 2015 2:03:10 GMT
The Amazing Spider-Man #16 (September 1964) "Duel with Daredevil" Script: Stan Lee (Master of the spoken word) Art: Steve Ditko (Dean of dramatic drawings) Letters: Sam Rosen (Sultan of sparkling spelling) Cover: Steve Ditko Summary: Aunt May is bugging Peter to go on a date with Mary Jane Watson. He tries to explain that he has a girlfriend but May isn't as old fashioned as she seems and encourages adultery. Unable to get any studying done with May nagging him Peter heads out to find some action as Spider-Man. He finds four robbers huddling around a blind man. He obviously can't see them but he could identify them by their voices and must be silenced. Luckily Spider-Man is there to save the day. He webs up the crooks, warns the would-be victim about being in bad neighborhoods at night and leaves. Of course, the blind man is none other than Matt Murdock aka Daredevil, the Man Without Fear. He changes into his costume (still the very cool yellow one. Well, I think it's cool anyway) and swings over to his office while filling in readers on the nature of his powers. In his office he's greeted by Foggy Nelson and Karen Page. They invite him to see the circus but he declines, preferring to stay and work. Foggy tells him he can't let his handicap make him a recluse, although Matt's real reason for staying away is some issue with his feelings for Karen. It turns out the circus is run by the Ringmaster, an old Hulk villain, who is falsely advertising the circus as featuring Spider-Man to ensure a sold-out crowd. Seeing the ad, Peter decides to attend as Spider-Man since it's for charity and it could turn the public tide in his favor. he goes to the Bugle and lets Jameson know that he won't be available to take pictures that night. Jameson doesn't care and he tells him not to photograph Spider-Man anymore, he's done with that phony. Betty pulls him aside and invites him and Aunt May over for dinner. As Peter declines she sees his circus ticket and she assumes he doesn't want to go with her and is taking another girl. Finding out that Spider-Man will be at the circus Matt decides to go. Outside the circus Matt and Peter pass each other, with Pete recognizing him and wondering why his spider sense tingles. Behind the big top he changes and heads up to the top of the tent. The crowd calls for him and he reveals himself (Matt already detected him from his heartbeat, which he conveniently failed to notice when he was near Peter earlier). He puts on a good show and is happy to do Spidey stuff without being attacked. He's also pleasantly surprised by how much the public loves him. The Ringmaster didn't expect Spidey to show up but he takes advantage of the situation by hypnotizing the wall crawler. Then he hypnotizes the entire crowd and sends his clowns out to rob them. The only man who isn't hypnotized is Matt, who changes into his costume and faces the Ringmaster. Or rather, faces Spider-Man! Spidey and Daredevil fight and are evenly matched, with Spider-Man being stronger while Daredevil is faster and more intelligent (since Spidey's brain is fogged by hypnosis). Daredevil manages to get his hands on the Ringmaster's hat and de-hypnotizes Spidey. Spidey thanks him and excuses him from the battle. Matt happily rejoins the crowd and enjoys the "show." Spidey battles the circus folk and trounces them with props and rigging and all sorts of fun. The Ringmaster tries to hypnotize him but Spidey closes his eyes (which aren't visible behind his mask) and knocks the crook out. Matt applauds and cheers from the audience but Spidey can't tell where the voice is coming from due to the echo. He realizes that only a blind man would be safe from the hypnotism but of course Daredevil couldn't be blind, right? Spidey uses the hat to de-hypnotize the crowd, who believe they have just seen an amazing show. Outside Matt detects the Ringmaster being carried away and can't help but offer his business as a final (secret) insult. Spidey swings away thinking how odd it was that in an otherwise crappy day he had the most fun fighting for his life. Observation: This is a bit of a strange issue. Spidey teams up with another hero and they battle yet another hero's villain. It's been preceded by a string of classics so I might be judging it harshly but this is pure middle-of-the-road to me. Yes it's the first Spider-Man/Daredevil team-up and the two characters have had a special relationship for 50 years now and it's fun to see, but it feels more like an advertisement for Daredevil (who was only three issues into his own series) rather than a Spider-Man issue. The villain seems picked at random from the dead-end files (the villain from The Incredible Hulk #3? Sounds good enough I guess). Peter's drama with Betty feels manufactured this issue. He has to decline her invitation for dinner because he's committed to appearing at the circus, except he doesn't have any obligation to attend. The only things that stand out are the first naming of Mary Jane and Spidey realizing the public loves him (which comes into play in the coming issues). It's well known that Steve Ditko hefted a significant amount of creative control on this run, especially in the later years, and there are issues that feel like Stan stories (ASM #5) and issues that feel like Steve stories (ASM #9). This one feels like a Stan story. The old story has been "Stan would give a one line plot description and the artist ran with it." Well thats what it sure seems like here. "Spider-Man teams up with Daredevil to battle the Ringmaster at the circus." It's mostly action and it's fantastic action courtesy of Ditko's increasingly impressive artwork (he's putting more into the anatomy of the figures than Kirby ever did. It's not on the level of Jose Luis Garcia Lopez but it's still quite good, especially for the era) but at this point the series rates higher than protracted fight scenes with no plot. 2/5Other notes: - First team-up with Daredevil - Daredevil assumes Spider-Man to be 17 (confirming that he was born in 1947 as I assumed earlier) and reaffirms that he is 5'10". - Spidey's costume started as black with blue highlights but over the last several issues it's become more and more blue. By this point it's completely blue.
|
|
|
Post by Ozymandias on Mar 10, 2015 8:43:10 GMT
This is a bit of a strange issue. Spidey teams up with another hero and they battle yet another hero's villain [..] it feels more like an advertisement for Daredevil (who was only three issues into his own series) rather than a Spider-Man issue. Peter's drama with Betty feels manufactured this issue. He has to decline her invitation for dinner because he's committed to appearing at the circus, except he doesn't have any obligation to attend. […] at this point the series rates higher than protracted fight scenes with no plot. I don't see why, a particular combination of partner and villain, has to be more weird than another. It doesn't really matter "whose" villain the Ringmaster was, the MU was constructed by constant interaction between the characters. That's something we've praised before, and yes, it was done for marketing purposes, but it was always done with that goal in mind. Likewise, Peter taking a rain check, on account of his activities as a certain wallcrawler, isn't completely different to other similar situations. Agreed, this time it isn't certain danger, but rather curiosity, that prompts him to be a jerk. Bottom line, he was a jerk. No plot, you say? On the contrary, this was quite an original one, compared (for example) to the annual's. And it was much more credible too. All in all, this is for me, one the best Lee-Ditko issues, the start of their golden age, which would last until #30.
|
|
|
Post by Ozymandias on Mar 10, 2015 8:47:17 GMT
I don't see why, a particular combination of partner and villain, has to be more weird than another. It doesn't really matter "whose" villain the Ringmaster was, the MU was constructed by constant interaction between the characters. That's something we've praised before, and yes, it was done for marketing purposes, but it was always done with that goal in mind. No plot, you say? On the contrary, this was quite an original one, compared (for example) to the annual's. And it was much more credible too. All in all, this is for me, one the best Lee-Ditko issues, the start of their golden age, which would last until #30. It's weird because it moves the story away from Spidey. Instead of working alone to defeat the villain he works with another hero. Instead of facing one of his own foes he faces a forgotten leftover from the Hulk mag. Instead of continuing the forward momentum of the series by building and expanding Spidey's world (as seen in the preceding trio of villain introductions) or working to create new situations within that world (as in the annual or in the trilogy that follows) it grinds the story to a halt to advertise another series. As for the plot, it's barebones. The Ringmaster robs the circus. Spidey tries to stop him and gets hypnotized. Daredevil is in the crowd and he fights Spidey and Ringmaster. Unhypnotized, Spidey beats Ringmaster. The End. Betty is barely featured, Flash and Liz don't show up at all and the issue could be skipped over completely with no interruption to the story (and in the wider scope of history all you'd miss is Daredevil and Spidey's first meeting). The idea of Spidey being brainwashed was a good one, especially at this juncture where Spidey is still popular, but it was poorly utilized. The parts [of the plot] you're leaving out, are actually the ones I liked: - They advertise Spidey as part of the show, to get a good crowd
- Spidey actually shows up, but no matter, The Ringmaster reacts accordingly
- DD also shows up, and he can't be hypnotized, so The Ringmaster uses what he has at hand, namely Spidey, to stop him
- DD realizes he's outmatched, and takes advantage of the lag between The Ringmaster's orders and Spidey's execution, to break his control over him
- Seeing how Spidey's more than capable of moping the floor with those circus guys, he sits back and enjoys the show
The fact that the confrontation between DD and a puppet-hero, isn't the result of some "evil mastermind" plan, but just a coincidence, makes it much better for me.
|
|