Amazing Spider-Man Annual #4. Mysterio, the Wizard and the Human Torch

(Cover from 1967.)

"The Web And The Flame!"

Written by Stan Lee.

Pencilled by Larry Lieber.

Inked by Mike Esposito/T Mortellaro.

Lettering by Jerry Feldmann.

Well, there's an odd thing. I came to bury Caesar but might end up having to praise him.

Having read this tale many moons ago, I was under the impression that it's quite the worst Spider-Man story I've ever read but, reading it again for the purposes of this blog, I may have to admit it's not as bad as I recalled. It's not great but it is at least more fun than it once seemed.

In truth, my antipathy came mostly from the fact it's drawn by Stan Lee's brother Larry Lieber who doesn't even get a credit. It might be a sign of my ignorance but I tend to think of Lieber as the bloke who wrote stories when Stan was too busy to do them, rather than as an artist who drew stories when John Romita was too busy to do them. Looking at his work here, you can see why. Highly simplified and kinetic, it has that Jack Kirby vibe but Kirby's style was never suited to Spider-Man. It also has that John Romita vibe and it's obvious that one or two panels have been touched up by the great man himself. So, if you've ever wanted to know what would've happened if Kirby and Romita had ever got mixed up in the Fly Machine, this comic's the place for you. Lieber's art doesn't hurt your eyes as such but it is startlingly naive in its execution and lacks the polish and slickness you'd expect of a major comics publisher.

Having seen Spider-Man and the Human Torch fighting thanks to a misunderstanding on a film set, the Wizard decides it'd be a spiffing wheeze to sign them up to make a movie and turn them against each other in the hope they'll kill each other. This has the obvious flaw that the Torch is sworn never to hurt anyone with his flame, and Spider-Man's never shown any inclination toward murder, so there's no reason to believe either of them'll be willing to kill his rival.

Such logic has no place in the world of the Wizard off and so, to enact his mighty plan, he recruits the services of ex-Hollywood special effects man Mysterio (who he contacts by putting an ad in a newspaper, complete with his address so Mysterio can find him!). Needless to say, with such a high level of intellect behind it, the scheme goes belly-up and, in due course, the good guys polish off the super-creeps.

The thing that strikes me as clever about this tale is that the Marvel approach to super-heroes meeting (especially Spidey and the Torch) is that they meet, have a fight and then team up to take on their mutual foe but what happens here is that Spidey and the Torch meet, have a fight, bury their differences... ...and then, mere pages later, they fall out again and have yet another fight. I could put this down to a desire to break the mould of reader expectation but I suspect it was done purely because the story's forty pages long and Lee and Lieber got round the problem of filling extra pages simply by having everything happen twice. In this sense, it's a cheat but it does make a change from what we're used to and it also means the first half of this tale is at least lively.

The second half's lively too as, misunderstanding finally cleared up, our heroes pursue the wrong-doers, along the way having to see off a variety of traps, including a giant gorilla that's clearly blundered in directly from the pages of Fantastic Four #53. There's a bizarre sequence where the Torch and Spider-Man are trapped in a giant cage. The only problem with the thing being that it's suspended in mid air and doesn't have a bottom, meaning they could get out of it any time they wanted. Bafflingly, this doesn't occur to our heroes who seem to think they're in some sort of life or death peril from it. The Stan Lee school of science kicks in to give us a magnetically activated fluid that Spidey incorporates into his webbing in order to reverse a magnetic field and send flying rocks hurtling away from our good guys.

Basically, it's not a classic. A more cruel reviewer than I might say it's forty pages of padding and running around and serves no purpose whatsoever. They'd be right but it is at least action-packed padding and though I have to admit I wouldn't care if I never read it again, it's not quite the car crash I once thought it was.

Amazing Spider-Man #55. Dr Octopus

(Cover from December 1967.)

"Doc Ock Wins!"

Written by Stan Lee

Drawn by John Romita

Inked by Mickey Demeo

Lettered by Sam Rosen

Don't mess with Spider-Man when he's angry. Like Bruce Banner, you wouldn't like him when he's angry. And why's he angry? Because, thanks to Dr Octopus, his aunt's had yet another of her near-fatal attacks. Now, Spidey's after the metal-tentacled menace - and heaven help anyone who gets in his way. He kicks off by tearing apart the roof of a building, to reveal the presence, within, of two of Ock's henchmen. He promptly trashes them, and the Dr appears on a screen behind him, to taunt him. But our hero's in no mood to be taunted and wrecks the place.

Meanwhile, across town, the establishment's still fretting over the nullifier. They can't risk Octopus having another go at stealing it and so they've brought in John Jameson to organise its protection. The only problem is, a spy of Octopus has infiltrated the meeting and is merrily making notes.

Back at Anna Watson's house, Aunt May's tucked up in bed, still convinced Dr Octopus is a good guy and that he was only defending himself against that horrid Spider-Man. When it came to the handing out of self-preservation instincts, she was clearly so far at the back of the queue that everyone had gone home when she finally reached the front, leaving her just stood there, on her own, in an empty building, going, "Hello?"

Downstairs, Mary Jane and Gwen Stacy turn up for a quick round of verbal sparring - Mary Jane wearing what seems to be a see-through dress, judging by her first panel. Pete, clearly no typical teenager, seems not to have noticed her exposed juggage and, instead, spends the scene worrying about the cost of repairing the hole in the living room wall.

Octopus, meanwhile, is worried about nothing. He's on the video-phone to his spy who's happily telling him about the security arrangements for the nullifier. Apparently, it's going to be taken to Tony Stark's factory, for safe-keeping.

Not if Octopus has his way.

Jameson and his convoy are already on their way to the factory but, suspicious of a parked utility maintenance van, they slow down as they approach it. The guileless fools, they're looking the wrong way as, unbeknownst to them, a tentacle's emerging from a man-hole cover behind them. Clearly, John Jameson's tactical masterplan for the safe delivery of the nullifier didn't include telling anyone to keep a look-out behind them. It's Octopus, of course. With no noticeable difficulty, he takes the entire convoy out, grabs the nullifier and he's off, in the back of the maintenance van.

Showing his usual uncanny knack of blundering into trouble, Spider-Man stumbles across the scene, realises at once what must have happened and, using an intuition that frankly borders on the psychic, decides that, now he's got it, Octopus'll head for the one place no one would expect.

Tony Stark's factory.

There, Octopus uses his newly acquired weapon to render the security guards' guns useless and declares that he can do anything with his nullifier. Anything!

Yeah? Well, not if Spider-Man has anything to do with it. The webbed wonder arrives and starts to fight Octopus. But he's being too tasty with his fists for Ock's liking and so, for no real reason, the evil-doer decides to fire the nullifier at him. The nullifier is, of course, a device designed to render any weapon useless, so there's no reason at all to think it'll have any affect on a man. But this is where Octopus hits pay-dirt because, not only does it have an effect, it has a dramatic effect. Spidey falls to the floor in agony, his radio-active blood affected by the machine.

Now, Spidey rises to his feet. But it's a very different Spidey. It's a Spidey who doesn't know who he is.

Octopus is no fool. Well, yes he is, he's proven it repeatedly in the past. But, for once, he shows some smarts and tells his foe that the reason he's wearing a mask is because he's a criminal and in league with Octopus. Well, he's not going to believe that, is he? Even without a memory, his moral compass will surely tell him that can't be so?

No it won't, and at the end of the tale, arch-fiend Dr Octopus has gained a new - if slightly bewildered - ally in his war on niceness.

Amazing Spider-Man #54. Dr Octopus. Aunt May's lodger

(Can it be true? Can Aunt May be dead? Readers can only hope.

From Nov 1967.)

"The Tentacles And The Trap!"

Written by Stan Lee

Drawn by John Romita

Inked by Mickey Demeo

Lettered by Sam Rosen

And so we kick off the tale with Aunt May finding the perfect lodger; Dr Octopus. She and Octopus are old friends. She first met him in Spider-Man Annual #1, where Octopus kidnapped her but she was so stupid that she never noticed. Of course, there is the little matter that she's now heard he's a master criminal, wanted by the police, but he easily talks her round, convincing her that he was merely trying to save the nullifier from that villain Spider-Man who was out to steal it. Aunt May, being even stupider now than she was on their first encounter, believes him and, hey presto, she and the absent Anna Watson have themselves a new lodger.

Now upstairs, Ock unpacks his bags and starts to make his plans. His thinking's clear. The police'll be looking for him. His secret hideout - whose location no one knows - isn't a safe place to stay, so, instead, he'll stay in a suburban house, with two women who might tell everyone who their lodger is, with neighbours who can see his every coming and going. Oh, and for that matter, his landladies might have friends and family who'll recognise him straight away and go to the authorities. It has to be said that, as masterplans go, this has to be the most block-headed in history.

Not that Octopus cares. He's already planning his next attempt to steal the nullifier.

Peter, meanwhile, meets The Bugle's City Editor Joe Robertson for the first time. Robertson's curious as to how he keeps getting those shots of Spider-Man. Pete's not saying. The Silver Spoon long forgotten, he heads for the Coffee Bean where Gwen and Mary Jane both drool over him like he's made of purest chocolate. Sadly, he can't spend any time with them. He's heard about Aunt May having a new lodger and heads over to check him out.

When he gets there, his spider-sense is tingling. Concerned, he goes in...

...and, gasp, finds Aunt May and Dr Octopus sat there having tea together. He tries to warn his aunt about Octopus but, showing the stupidity that's become her hallmark, she refuses to listen. Left alone with Peter, the menace makes it clear what'll happen to his aunt if he blabs.

Right now, Peter can't do anything, not with Aunt May about but, once he's left the house, he hangs around till nightfall. Now in his Spider-Man guise, he decides to lure Ock out into the open. He shines his Spider-Signal in through the window of Octopus's room.

But, for once, Octopus plays it smart. He knows Spidey wants him to come out and fight and so, instead, decides to stay inside. He contacts his stooges and tells them to deal with the webbed nuisance. Almost instantly, they're there and attacking our hero. Needless to say, no matter how many of them there are, such minor hoods are no match for Spider-Man and he summarily disposes of them, just in time for the police to arrive and take them away.

But Spidey can't hang around. Octopus is too big a menace. He smashes into Ock's room and is promptly grabbed by the tentacles. Hit in the chin by one, he feigns unconsciousess and then attacks Ock.

And what happens next?

Aunt May happens next.

Hearing the commotion, she re-enters the house (having gone outside to see what all the fuss was about) and blunders in on Spidey battling Octopus. The shock's too much and she collapses in a heap. Octopus smashes out through the wall and leaves Spidey to worry about the old woman. Totally ignoring the existence of ambulances, he calls the always available Dr Bromwell who turns up and adjudges that she'll recover but another attack could kill her. That's it. Pete's going to get Octopus if it's the last thing he does.

Amazing Spider-Man #53. Dr Octopus

(Cover from October 1967.)

"Enter: Dr Octopus"

Written by Stan Lee

Drawn by John Romita

Inked by Mickey Demeo

Lettered by Artie Simek

It's the same old same old for Spidey as the latest edition of The Bugle makes him out to be a villain. After a quick dose of verbal sparring with J Jonah Jameson, he heads off to ESU where he's spotted arriving, by Gwen and Flash. Flash is still his biggest fan in the whole wide world. Gwen asks how he can be sure Spidey's not someone he wouldn't dislike in real life. Flash says there's not a chance of that. Is this a hint that Gwendolyne knows who Spider-Man really is? Harry, meanwhile, is not Peter Parker's biggest fan. He's getting fed up of his flatmate's disappearing acts.

Oblivious to all this, Spidey sneaks into the gym and changes back into Peter Parker, almost getting caught in the act by Professor Warren. Given what happens a few years down the line, it makes you wonder how it would've changed things had the Professor entered the gym a few moments earlier and caught him red-handed. That, of course, is something we can never know. While he's there, the prof invites Pete to a science exposition that's going on later that night. Pete, of course, would be delighted to go and the good news is he can take a guest.

No prizes for guessing who that guest might be as he bumps into Gwen Stacy and invites her along. There's time for a quick argument with Flash, who's understandably peeved about Peter stealing his girl. Peter says she was never his girl. Flash says she was. Peter and Flash threatening each other? It's just like the good old days.

And then Peter, Gwen and the prof are off to the show. It has to be said these early pages are beautifully drawn by Romita. By this stage in his run, he really has hit his stride and his pencils are complemented perfectly by Mickey Demeo's fluid inking.

The trio arrive at the exposition. It seems the show's centrepiece will be the demonstration of a thing called the "nullifier" which, Gwen explains, works by nullifying the homing signals of enemy missiles. I think this is the first time in the strip that it's been acknowledged that Gwen has an interest in and knowledge of science. She is, after all, meant to be a science student. Their arrival's not good news though because, the moment they get there, Peter's spider-sense starts to tingle.

But why?

Then he gets his answer. As soon as the guest speaker starts to do his spiel, a figure in the audience stands up and starts to lay on the sinister. Peter does what we can't do and recognises that voice.

It's Doc Ock.

And he's after the nullifier!

Mayhem breaks out. Everyone flees. Ock polishes off some security guards, and then Spidey joins the fray. For some reason, the quality of Demeo's inks deteriorates noticeably during this sequence. But then they take the fight outside and it's normal service resumed from Demeo. Gwen, meanwhile, wants to know what's happened to Pete. So much for the earlier hint that she might know Spider-Man's real identity. Spider-Man, meanwhile, is gunking up Ock's glasses with webbing.

But Octopus is no fool. From the roof of the building, he drops the nullifer. If it lands on anyone they'll be killed! Abandoning his scrap with the villain, our hero deals with the machine, catching it with his webbing. But, when he returns to resume his fight with Octopus, the man's gone. Happily, Spidey had time to plant a tracer on him and can catch up with him later.

Back in his Peter Parker guise, our hero reunites himself with Gwendolyne. who's so glad to see him that she doesn't do the usual and demand to know where he disappeared to. He opines, "She's the only girl who's never asked me for explanations." Seemingly, he 's forgotten all about the fact that Mary Jane's never asked him for explanations.

Saying goodbye to Professor Warren, the pair enter the Coffee Bean. It seems that this, and not the Silver spoon, is now the gang's chosen hangout. Aunt May and Anna Watson enter. They've decided to take in a lodger. Pete says it's a great idea. Mary Jane says it's a great idea. That's that sorted then.

Meanwhile, Octopus has discovered the spider-tracer our hero planted on him and is using it to set a trap. In a waterfront shack, he's created a booby-trapped dummy of himself. In the dark, Spidey'll think it's the real thing and come blundering in, only to be blown to pieces by a bomb planted by the multi-armed menace.

Following the signal from his tracer, Spider-man shows up.

But the Dr hadn't counted on one thing. The spider-sense that led him here now warns him of the danger. Playing it safe, Spidey fires a ball of webbing at the figure and, boom, the whole place goes up. Doc Ock's convinced he's killed Spidey and sets out to enact the next part of his heinous plan, finding somewhere to live.

But what's this? In the final panel? Doc Ock and Aunt May?

Together?

Could this be the start of a deadly new alliance?

Amazing Spider-Man #52. Kingpin. Fred Foswell dies

(Two enemies united in peril. From Sept 1967.)

"To Die A Hero!"

Written by Stan Lee

Drawn by John Romita

Inked by Mickey Demeo

Lettered by Sam Rosen

This issue kicks off with a great splash page, as J Jonah Jameson's bundled down some cellar steps, with the unconscious Spider-Man being carried before him. John Romita's use of angles here is excellent.

It soon becomes clear what the Kingpin's plan is. He's going to manacle his two captives to a couple of iron plates on the floor (see front cover) and then flood the room with water. Why he doesn't just shoot them is a whole other matter but that's master criminals for you. Never kill someone quickly when you can do it in the most convoluted way possible.

Jameson and Spider-Man are left alone as the Kingpin savours his moment of triumph. But, as you always knew he would, Spidey wakes in the nick of time. Quickly assessing the situation, he breaks the manacles that hold his wrists. But what good will that do? demands JJ. They're still trapped in a room that's filling with water. Spidey has a plan. He starts shooting webbing into the air.

Back at The Bugle, Ned Leeds is worried. Leeds is a character who could hardly be said to have pulled his weight since his introduction all those issues back. He's barely had anything to do since then but he's determined to get to the root of this mystery. First Fred Foswell goes missing and now Jonah. There's something up and he's out to discover what.

But who's going to fill in for Jonah in his absence? Cue Joe "Robbie" Robertson, making what I believe is his first ever appearance in the strip. Leeds tells fiancee Betty Brant that he's off. She begs him not to. She can't bear the thought of him dying. Yeah, build his confidence up, love. Frankly, she can be a bit of a pain in situations like this. You can't help but feel Peter had a lucky escape when his relationship with her broke down.

Meanwhile, Spidey's still firing webbing into the air. Maybe he'd be better firing webbing into the nozzles that all that water's coming in through but no, he has more extravagant things in mind. Exactly what isn't clear yet but, by the end of the page it is. He's surrounding himself and Jonah with an air bubble, using his webbing to keep it in.

Certain their captives must be dead by now, the Kingpin's lackeys open the cellar door, to find their "victims" cocooned in a large orb of webbing. Quick as a flash, Spider-Man leaps out of the cocoon and, with one blow, knocks them both out. Another lackey runs in, gun in hand. Spidey takes him out. Now for he and Jameson to depart the scene. Jameson's in a panic over it all but there's no time to worry about that now because more goons are on their way.

Spidey gets Jameson to flee while he deals with them.

Jameson promptly runs head first into a steel pipe and knocks himself out. Unaware of this, Spider-Man goes in search of the Kingpin.

He finds him, just as the villain's about to beat Fred Foswell to a pulp. Foswell's had a fit of conscience and won't be any part of cold-blooded murder. That makes him useless to the Kingpin and that means it's curtains for the man who only last issue was planning to be criminal overlord of all New York (presumably, one with a, "no hurting people," policy. Clearly, this was going to be a caring, sharing brand of criminal underworld).

But that's enough excitement for now. Time for the strip to cut away to a happier scene as Flash Thompson's back. Down at the Silver Spoon, he shows everyone his new uniform and it seems that Mary Jane's no longer going out with Peter Parker.

Back at the Kingpin's, Spider-Man's tangling with the corpulent crime lord. Our hero clogs his tie pin with webbing, to stop him firing any more gas. Foswell grabs a gun and flees as the pair grapple. Spider-Man's clearly getting the upper hand and the Kingpin unknowingly copies Foswell's example and scarpers. I like the fact that the Kingpin's always boasting about how hard and unbeatable he is but, whenever a fight gets tough, he always does a runner. It makes hm seem all the more unadmirable. Spidey follows him but a gas bomb delays him and the villain gets away. Spider-man goes in search of Jameson. Jameson meanwhile has recovered from his knock out and is running around in a panic. He's spotted by two goons who go after him. He's doomed.

No he's not.

Foswell's found him.

Foswell, who doesn't seem able to decide what side of the law he wants to be on, tells Jameson to get behind him. He'll hold the goons off for as long as he can.

As it turns out, he can only hold them off for one panel. That's how long it takes the former Big Man before he gets shot. Hearing the gunfire, Spider-Man rushes to the scene and takes out the thugs.

But it's too late for Foswell. He's on the floor, dying. By the time, Spider-Man gets there, Foswell's dead, his life sacrificed to save the boss who gave him a second chance. At last we see why Foswell's been getting so much panel room over the last two issues, bearing in mind that his presence seemed so irrelevant to proceedings. The whole story has been set up so the ex-criminal can go down in a blaze of glory and show that even the baddest of men might, somewhere within him, retain a spark of nobility.

The cops arrive. Jameson declares to Leeds - who's still not got round to doing anything much - that Foswell will get a hero's write-up in The Bugle, and Spider-Man departs cursing the fact that Jameson never writes him up as a hero.

Amazing Spider-Man #51. The Kingpin

(The Kingpin gets his first cover. From August 1967.)

"In The Clutches Of The Kingpin!"

Written by Stan Lee

Drawn by John Romita

Inked by Mickey Demeo

Lettered by Sam Rosen

The Kingpin's in a good mood, though you'd never know it to look at him. The scowl simply never leaves his face. Unlike most of Spider-Man's foes, there really is something genuinely sinister about him. Whether it's the scowl or the bald head, the bulk or the big, fat, black eyebrows, or the combination of all those things, you really do see him as someone who could kill.

After smashing a scale model of Manhattan (does he have scale models of Manhattan built specifically so he can smash them?), the Kingpin declares that, with Spider-Man out of the way, he can at last fulfill his ambition to rule the underworld. His first task is to get his new lackeys to rob a service station. Needless to say, they fail miserably, as Spider-Man appears and gives them the battering they're asking for. In the melee, two crooks known as Big Turk and Shorty escape and the police show up just as Spidey's about to extract info on the Kingpin from one of the defeated hoods.

Meanwhile, the Kingpin's decided that Foswell might be of use to him after all.

One man who won't be of use to him is Big Turk. He and Shorty barge into the Kingpin's office. The Kingpin lied to them. Spider-Man's not out of the way. That does it. Big Turk doesn't work for anyone who lies to him and he's going to finish off the Kingpin. No he's not because the Kingpin flings off his jacket, gives Big Turk a good finger crushing, flings him across the room and the humbled crook's back in line. The Kingpin sends him away, telling him to await his next orders. Foswell's impressed. For a man who seems totally irrelevant to this story, Foswell seems to be getting an awful lot of panel time.

If the Kingpin's happy, J Jonah Jameson's not. Back at The Bugle, he wants news, news about the crime wave, news about Foswell.

In what's presumably meant to be the Silver Spoon (although that doesn't seem to be what it says on the sign), Pete's gang see him zoom past on his motor-bike and Mary Jane's noticed that Gwen fancies our hero, even if Pete and Harry haven't. Who says Mary Jane has a head full of candy floss? Then again, who says she's got a head full of anything? Certainly not Stan Lee. Nine issues since her intro and she still hasn't had a single thought bubble yet. This might not sound significant but it increasingly becomes so.

Peter's got thought bubbles though. He's up to his armpits in them because, with the sort of luck only he seems to have, he's come across a group of suspicious looking characters entering a swanky private club, and his spider-sense is going ten to the dozen. A quick peek in through the window tells him what he suspected. Those men are crooks and they're threatening the manager. Crash, Spidey smashes in through the window and proceeds to bash the crooks around.

But they're nothing if not prepared and one throws a stun grenade at him. The crooks flee before Spidey can fully recover - but not before he can throw a spider tracer at one of them. The grenade, however, has damaged the structure of the building - that's one fragile building - and he saves the club from collapse just long enough for its occupants to escape. And now he's on the trail of the Kingpin.

At The Bugle, Jameson's confronted by armed hoods who take him, blindfolded, to meet their boss who orders him to stop printing his stories about the crime-wave. This is one of those moments where Jameson shows his more admirable side - yes, he does have one - and he refuses to back down. Nobody tells J Jonah Jameson what to publish. This has always been one of the plusses to the strip, that it would've been easy to portray Jameson as a two-dimensional fool, just there for laughs and aggravation but, every so often, we're given a glimpse of something nobler in his character. His willingness to give Foswell a job after his release from jail having been one of those moments.

Spider-Man's outside. A quick look through a window tells him all he needs to know. The Kingpin's got Jameson - and Foswell's back in the land of crime. Spidey lures the bad guys out onto the patio, with his spider signal and quickly disposes of the lesser crooks.

Now for the Kingpin.

But the Kingpin's a tougher foe than expected. He's got bulk and strength all right but, somehow, he's also got speed. Still, Spidey's got the upper hand and he prepares to wrap up the fight.

That's when the Kingpin shows that crooks can't be trusted because he shoots gas from his tie-pin, gas that floors our hero. Foswell's amazed. Jameson's in despair. It's what he always wanted, Spider-Man defeated - but not when he was about to rescue Jameson. Is it the end for Spider-Man? Who can know but it doesn't look good.

The tagline reads, "Next: to die a hero!"

And Spider-Man's the only hero in sight.

Gulp.

Amazing Spider-Man #50. Spidey quits

(Bright red for a hero feeling blue. From July 1967.)

"Spider-Man No More!"

Written by Stan Lee

Drawn by John Romita

Inked by Mickey Dimeo

Lettered by Sam Rosen

One of the all-time classic tales starts out like it's going to be just another one off the production line, as Spider-Man foils the attempted robbery of an office. Wasting no time at all, he quickly disposes of a group of minor criminals.

But then his real problems start because one of the office workers he's just saved clearly sees him as being as big a danger as the crooks he's just swatted and, when he gets home, Peter discovers his Aunt May's had another of her turns and has had to take to her sick bed. Because of his heroic derring-doings, he wasn't there at the time.

Feeling guilty, our hero goes back home. He's got an exam tomorrow but can't concentrate on revision because of what's happened with his aunt. The next day, Professor Warren gets his first scene of note as Peter miserably fails his exam, prompting the prof to take him aside and remind him he can't let his grades keep sliding forever. Next, Gwen invites him to a party she's throwing. He'd love to go but, with the need to revise and his concern over his aunt, he can't make it. Back home, he switches the TV on, to try and take his mind off his woes. But his woes just leap out of the TV at him, as J Jonah Jameson's indulging in another of his rants about what a menace Spidey is.

So far so normal.

But this is when things suddenly change, because this is where Peter decides that JJ might be right. Maybe he is nuts. Maybe he is a menace to society. Maybe his presence does nothing but make the lives of those around him worse. Walking alone in the rain, trying to gather his thoughts, Peter comes to only one conclusion.

Spider-Man must die.

In a magnificent full-page panel, Peter walks away from a dustbin, his costume hanging discarded from it. The world will never again hear from Spider-Man.

It'll hear from his costume though because, the next morning, a child rushes into The Daily Bugle offices. He's found something. It's Spider-Man's costume. J Jonah Jameson's delighted. It can only mean one thing - the end of Spider-Man.

The news soon gets out - mostly because Jameson makes sure it gets out, plastering it all over his newspaper and plugging his scoop all over the networks. And he's not the only one delighted because the criminal underclasses are too - none more so than a mysterious figure stood with his back to us, at a window. Who is he? We don't know but he says his name's the Kingpin and, when it comes to crime, he's ready to take over.

Patch, the informer, is interested. A whole bunch of underworld types are headed for a meeting. He wants in. They want him out and make sure he stays that way. At their meeting, the underworld types discuss whether they should let the Kingpin take over. Elsewhere, the thwarted Patch resumes his true identity of Bugle newshound Fred Foswell and discusses with himself whether he should be the one to take over.

While Foswell thinks, the Kingpin acts. All over town, he's staging a string of robberies to see if Spider-Man deals with them. He doesn't. Now the Kingpin's certain he can take over.

And what of our story's central character? In his own way, he's as delighted as the Kingpin. Freed of his responsibility to save the city from every crook who so much as spits on the pavement, he can concentrate on his studies, he can visit his Aunt May, he can be with his friends. As it happens, Aunt May and his friends don't actually need him but what does he care?

Well, this makes him care. This is when the fickle finger of fate, or rather the fickle finger of Stan Lee, steps in. On his way back to his pad, he spots a security guard being attacked. Given no choice, he discards his shoes, clambers up onto the roof and rescues him, departing before the guard can properly see his face.

But there's something about that guard that's rung a bell.

It takes him some time but at last Peter realises what it was. The guard reminded him of his Uncle Ben, which now brings flashbacks to the string of events that led him to become a battler with evil and it makes him realise that, in the end, he can't dodge his responsibilities. He was given his powers for a reason and that reason was to protect those who can't protect themselves.

Fred Foswell's one of those who can't protect himself. The former criminal's decided that, if anyone's going to be in charge of organised crime in this city, it should be him. Showing the self preservation instinct of a lemming, he goes to the Kingpin's office and tells him he's going to be running things from now on but he's a generous man and would be willing to let the Kingpin be one of his lieutenants.

The Kingpin, about as impressed by this ludicrous offer as anyone would be, fires his cane to disintegrate Foswell's concealed gun and has one of his goons grab the would-be Napoleon of crime. Exactly why Foswell thought he could take over organised crime in the city just by saying he was is anybody's guess but it's easy to see why his previous attempt to do so, back when he was The Big Man, failed so miserably. Frankly, on the strength of this, he hasn't got two brain cells to rub together.

Across town, Peter Parker scales a wall. It's a wall of The Daily Bugle's offices. He enters the window and retrieves his costume from the glass case JJ's put it in then waits for everybody's favourite publisher to return. When he does, Spider-Man gives him a good taunting, leaps out the window and delares Spidey to be back in action. This really is one of the classic yarns of the era - classic enough to inspire a movie - blessed with a striking cover that demands you buy it, full of memorable imagery and - with Spider-Man only appearing at the very beginning and end of the tale - proof that a super-hero comic doesn't have to just be men with muscles hitting each other, that internal conflict and character can drive such a story as compellingly as a big punch-up. It's a shame more comic book writers didn't learn that lesson.

Amazing Spider-Man #49. The Vulture vs Kraven

(The Summer of Love completely bypasses Kraven and the Vulture. Cover from June 1967.)

"From The Depths Of Defeat!"

Written by Stan Lee
Drawn and inked by John Romita
Lettered by Sam Rosen

For the second issue running, a man lies dying. For the second issue running, that man's having flashbacks. Clearly, however, Spider-Man's had a slightly more interesting life than the Vulture because, where that feathery fiend had flashbacks only to his battles with Spidey, Spider-Man's flashbacks include his friends, his Aunt May, his boss, the Vulture and Kraven the Hunter. Quite why he'd be having flashbacks to Kraven the Hunter is anyone's guess but Kraven features in this issue and so flashbacks to him, he must have.

But, it seems we've been misled because, suddenly, our hero, still lying on the snow-covered rooftop where the new Vulture left him, starts to move. The freezing weather that should have finished him off has in fact revived him. Cagily, our hero starts to move and, even more cagily, he makes his way down a nearby ladder.

Making his way home, he rips off his mask, just as he hears flatmate Harry Osborn about to enter the room. Quickly, he leaps into bed, pulls up the sheets to cover his spider suit, and poor old Harry's left suspecting nothing.

Meanwhile, flashback gate-crasher Kraven's annoyed. When isn't he annoyed? His wonderfully silly TV (framed by bamboo, to let us know it's a jungle TV), is now labelling the Vulture the deadliest menace in town. Kraven hits something and smashes it. It's not fair. He defeated Spider-Man before the Vulture did. He should be considered the biggest menace in town.

Frankly, it doesn't reflect well on a man's psychology that he wants to be considered the biggest menace in town. And, just to prove how big a menace he is, he heads down into his cellar and does what we all do when we're a bit fed up. He beats up a tiger.

Having been flung around a bit, the tiger walks off, frankly not looking that bothered about its ordeal. maybe it's a bit on the docile side, or a bit lazy, or maybe it's just got bored with its, presumably, regular flingings around. Kraven doesn't care. He's got a Vulture to pulp. It does pose the question of why we've never seen Kraven go after a fellow super-villain before. After all, if he fights the deadliest prey of all, then you'd have thought super-villains would have been high on his hit-list.

Back at the Parker pad, Aunt May decides to turn up and be annoying, fussing and fretting over Peter, who's still in bed and still in his spider suit. Not convinced our hero isn't doomed, she calls Dr Bromwell, and Peter is stuck in bed until he gets there.

Across town, the Vulture decides he's going to attack a helicopter. He does this by flinging himself at it. Now, if you or I flung ourselves at a moving helicopter, we'd break every bone in our body but, in this case, the impact does our villain no harm at all while sending the chopper spinning out of control.

The pilot manages to regain command of the whirlybird but the Vulture makes it clear that, if they don't hand over the bagfull of diamonds that're on board, he'll fling himself against the craft again - and this time bring it crashing down.

Again, this raises the question of strength. How can the Vulture, just an ordinary man with wings, possibly have such an impact on a great mass of metal like a helicopter? The only conclusion you can draw is that his Vulture suit must contain some kind of exo-skeleton that boosts his strength and durability but, if it does, no mention's ever made of the fact.

From a lofty perch, Kraven squats watching.

Back at the Parker residence, Pete's still in bed, and Gwen and Mary Jane arrive to cheer him up. Gwen and Mary Jane then leave without ever having seen him. The two women, previously seen as rivals, now seem to be genuine friends, indulging in friendly teasing and banter with each other.

It does come across that Gwen seems to be slightly the older of the two. If she's eighteen, like Pete, how old would that make Mary Jane? Sixteen? I'm not sure the issue of Mary Jane's age is ever explored in the strip at this time but, if she's a couple of years younger than the others, it might explain her seemingly less mature mindset.

Is our hero ever going to get out of bed this issue?

Elsewhere, it's time for action as, flying high above the city, talking to himself, the Vulture finds his ankle suddenly snared by a rope. It's Kraven! The attack's begun! Kraven leaps at the man-bird and they go crashing through the skylight of an exhibition hall.

Hearing of this on his dinky little radio, Peter Parker can stand no more. He doesn't care if the doctor's on his way, he's got to risk it. He's got to climb out of bed and deal with the pair.

Fortunately, he's now completely over his virus and, within moments, he's at the exhibition hall, where Kraven and the Vulture are still going at it. He gives them something else to think about by launching himself at the pair. In the next couple of pages, Romita's gift for simple but effective composition really shows through in a series of beautifully conceived panels. Romita was never the flashiest of artists but he knew how to tell a story in pictures.

Spidey tangles with Kraven. Kraven repeats his trick of a couple of issues ago and tries to zap him with his nipple lightning. This time, however, Webhead's ready for it and leaps over the twin blasts. The Vulture's not so alert, gets the blasts full force and hits the ground, taken out of the fight. Spider-Man's on Kraven, knocks him to the foor and tears apart Kraven's wiring, wrecking his nipple-zapping capability. Kraven doesn't care. He knows he has the strength to whup Spider-Man.

No he doesn't, because Spidey lets him have it, whumping him in the solar plexus with a punch that we're reminded once wobbled the Hulk.

After a moment's pause, thump, Kraven hits the floor.

Spidey ties the two unconscious wrong-doers together with webbing, gets a snap with his trusty camera and heads back home.

He gets there just in time for the arrival of Dr Bromwell who declares him to be in perfect physical condition and, for once, a Spider-Man tale ends on a happy note.

It won't stay happy.