Amazing Spider-Man #85. The Kingpin & the Schemer

(Cover from June 1970.)

"THE SECRET OF THE SCHEMER!"

Written by Stan Lee
Art by John Romita, John Buscema and Jim Mooney
Lettering Sam Rosen

What happens:

Following the Schemer's escape from the Kingpin's mansion, Spider-Man catches up with him and captures him. He takes him to the address of the mystery person offering the reward for his capture - only to discover it's the Kingpin. While Spider-Man's trapped in a net of the Kingpin's devising, the two crime lords square up to each other. That's when the Schemer reveals his true identity,

He's the Kingpin's son Richard who was so horrified when he found out his father was a criminal that he set out to destroy him. The shock of this revelation sends the Kingpin into a catatonic state from which he may never recover.

Verdict:

You do have to wonder about Spider-Man's intelligence. Right from the moment he arrives at the address where the offerer of the reward's to be found, he realises there's something wrong but doesn't for one moment suspect that the person offering the reward might be the Kingpin. Well, really, who else would be most likely candidate?

You also have to wonder about the intelligence of the Schemer who recognises the building at once - and clearly doesn't want to be there - but doesn't point out to Spidey who it belongs to.

You also have to question the intelligence of the Kingpin's wife Vanessa who recognised her son in the last issue but doesn't bother telling the her husband. In her case, she has an excuse - that she's trying to protect her son - but you can't help feeling that an awful lot of hassle could've been avoided if she'd just told him the truth.

On the other hand, you can't blame the Kingpin for not guessing who the Schemer really is. He has every reason to think his son's dead and it has to be said that the Schemer with his mask on bears no resemblance whatsoever to Richard.

While some might be disappointed that it's an issue where matters aren't resolved by Spider-Man himself, with the hero a helpless bystander as events unfold before him, it serves to highlight the strength of the strip - that it's ultimately more about human drama than straight super-heroics and it's this trait that makes the title special.

On the art front, we're back to having three artists working on the strip. You wouldn't have thought it'd be that difficult to find one permanent artist for what was supposed to be Marvel's flagship title but, for several years now, it seems to have been beyond them to manage it for more than a few issues at a time. In the past, Jim Mooney's inks have helped blur the distinction between the various artists' styles but, here, the frequent gear shifts between Romita's style and Buscema's hit you in the face. It doesn't mar the enjoyment massively - after all, they can both draw comics - but it is somewhat distracting.

Peter's personal life.

Gwen and her dad come round to Peter's flat, with Captain Stacy wanting to know how Pete gets his photos of Spider-Man. The captain clearly seems to be onto him and it appears, from the conversation Gwen and her dad have when Peter's in his dark room, that her dad's suggested to her that Peter might be Spider-Man. Gwen tells the ex-cop that he's, "way off-base."

Amazing Spider-Man #84. The Kingpin & the Schemer

("Look, Spider-Man, I can do that trick where you pull away the carpet, and all the furniture stays put. Oops; that's my career in magic over before it began." Cover from May 1970.)

"The Kingpin Strikes Back!"

Written by Stan Lee
Art by John Romita, Jim Mooney and John Buscema
Lettering by Sam Rosen

Money, and how to make it fast, that's what's on Spider-Man's mind because there's a five thousand dollar reward up for the Schemer's capture. And how our hero could do with that kind of cash injection. Of course, to get the reward, he first has to find the Schemer. It's a safe bet he won't be hanging out at his old HQ, the one Spidey trashed last issue, therefore our hero's going to have to start asking questions. Swinging over New York, he spots a likely candidate, a cheap crook if ever he saw one and swings down to lean on him a bit.

Trouble is, what looks like a cheap crook is in fact a cop - and he's looking for the Schemer too. So much for that idea.

But then, Spidey has an outrageous stroke of luck. As he's passing a building, his spider-sense starts to tingle. He looks in through the window...

...and wouldn't you know it, he sees one of the Schemer's hoods. He recognises him from the fight yesterday. There are ten million stories in the naked city, and Spider-Man has a remarkable knack for bumping into just the ones he needs.

But not in this case. When he leans on the crook, the crook says he doesn't have a clue where the Schemer is. Spidey believes him, so it's back to the drawing board.

Well, as this is getting him nowhere, he changes back into his street threads and pays a visit to Gwen who's still moping about his seeming reluctance to visit her in hospital. She's also giving him the third degree about exactly what happened last issue with the truck. She's been trying to work out how he came out of it without a scratch. Now he's worried. She's getting too close to the truth. Fortunately, our hero has a brilliant plan to fall back on. He drops his cocoa, declares that he's not feeling well and leaves. Hmn, yes, that'll stop the lovely Gwendolyne from ever making any further enquiries again.

As it turns out, the Schemer's hiding in his car which is buried under a handy snow drift. Personally, I have my suspicions about a master of a criminal empire who lives in his car. Regardless, he's fed up of waiting. He hits the heater. Instantly all the snow on the vehicle melts and he drives off. As the police are after him and the Kingpin's after him and Spider-Man's after him and there's a reward for his capture, you might think he'd want to keep a low profile but his car looks like something from Thunderbirds. He finds some of the Kingpin's men, smacks them around a bit and tells them to tell their boss that his day's as the city's number one crime czar are over. From now on, the Schemer's in charge.

Spider-Man's turned up at one of the Kingpin's warehouses. He's hoping he'll be able to learn something there. He overhears the men inside talking about the Schemer's car and how it can be spotted from half a mile away.

So, Spidey goes in search of that car.

He finds it. He has a fight with it. The Schemer drives it straight into the river - with Spider-Man clinging to it. The Schemer's OK. As it turns out, his car doubles up as a submarine. And then it doubles up as a plane as it shoots up out of the water and drives off.

As for the Schemer, he's through messing about. He's arrived at the Kingpin's house and, there, confronts the overlard of crime. Kingie's wife Vanessa intervenes. She tries to get the two of them to see sense and stop this idiotic feud.

But then she looks into the Schemer's eyes and she starts to act all funny. Before her husband can find out why, Spider-Man bursts in. He's had no trouble following the tracks left by the Schemer. Kingie and Spidey start fighting.

But then the villain spots something.

Vanessa's gone.

Losing interest in his fight with the arachnid avenger, he presses a button and steps into a glass elevator hidden in a cupboard. He departs, out to destroy the Schemer for taking his wife.

All of which leaves Spider-Man no better off than he was at the start of the story. He's still not got any money, he's still not got his man - and all he has to show for his endeavours are the usual lumps, bumps and bruises.

Amazing Spider-Man #83. The Kingpin & the Schemer

(Cover from April 1970.)

"The Schemer!"

Written by Stan Lee
Drawn by John Romita
Inks by Mickey Demeo
Lettering by Sam Rosen

There's trouble in town. A new crime lord's arisen and he's out to take on the Kingpin. Almost instantly, Spider-Man's onto him. This isn't down to any great awareness on the webbed wonder's part. He just happens to be around when a bunch of the Schemer's men attack a truck belonging to the Kingpin. The truck says "ACME" on the front, in big letters. So, at last we know who was supplying all those gizmos to Wile E Coyote for all those years. At last we know how Kingie made his millions.

Needless to say, Spidey makes quick work of the hoods but realises he's got a much bigger headache on his hands. He didn't think anyone would have the nerve to take on the Kingpin. This can only mean trouble.

The Kingpin's got troubles alright. However, it's not the attacks on his "business" that he's bothered about. He's more concerned about the disappearance of his son Richard in a ski-ing accident.

But was it an accident?

Kingie's wife's convinced that their son killed himself because he couldn't bear the shame of having discovered his father's a criminal. The Kingpin refuses to hear of it and, angered by his wife's words, decides that it's time to get back into action.

Again, the war between the two criminals impinges on Peter Parker's life. This time in a manner far more serous than before. After seeing Flash off at the airport, Pete and Gwen are minding their own business when a passing truck's forced off the road by a car. Swerving wildly, the truck topples over and the only thing that stops it from squishing Gwen flatter than the economy is Pete shielding her with his body. Not wanting anyone to see him supporting the weight of a truck, he grabs a snapped-off parking meter and jams it under the truck, to hold it in place while he and Gwen get out of there. Pete's fine but Gwen's not. She's been unconscious since he flung her to the ground to protect her.

That's it. This war between the Kingpin and the Schemer was a problem before but now it's got personal and he's going to end it whatever it takes.

What it takes is for him to follow the tracer he planted on the car as it sped off, and he soon locates the Schemer's HQ. He smashes in through the window and quickly disposes of the Schemer's goons. Now for their boss.

But the would-be crime lord has a trick up his sleeve. His desk is a death trap. When Spidey jumps onto it, what appears to be a light suddenly drops down and starts to crush the web-spinner. He has only once chance, if he can brace his arms, the "light" might just give way.

It does, and Spider-Man's free. Unfortunately, the effort caused an explosion and, in the resulting confusion, the Schemer got away.

Back in his civvies, Pete heads for the hospital where Gwen's being kept. Needless to say she's complaining about him not having bothered to visit her till now and, for once, it's hard not to sympathise. Clearly, in going after the Schemer, Pete was more interested in getting revenge than looking after the well-being of his girlfriend. Sadly, and worryingly, he doesn't seem to get it.

Capt Stacy seems to get it. He seems remarkably understanding towards Peter, bearing in mind that the boy didn't turn up to see his injured daughter, and, after letting slip a bit more than he should, Pete starts to worry that the captain might guess his secret. As the story ends, our hero can't help feeling that, somehow, his life's reached a turning point...

...and that, whatever it is, he won't like its outcome.

Amazing Spider-Man #70. The Kingpin

(A spider at bay. Cover from March 1969.)

"Spider-Man Wanted!"

Written by Stan Lee

Layouts by John Romita

Pencils by Jim Mooney

Inks by Jim Mooney

Lettering by Sam Rosen

A wise man - or maybe one completely ignorant about prisons - once said that stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage. It shows how much he knew because, at the start of this tale, the Kingpin's in a police cell, trapped behind bars.

Not for long he isn't.

After a quick bout of judicious bar twisting, he's free, stomping along the corridor, like a rhino and knocking out a couple of guards before setting off to get his tablet back from Spider-Man.

Right now, Spider-Man has problems of his own to worry about, as the police are still on his tail and he still has a priceless stone tablet to get rid of. Not only that but Gwen's in full-on nag mode and, once he's back in civvies, wants to know where he keeps disappearing to in times of trouble. He does his usual thing of completely failing to communicate with her (all he has to do is tell her he's off risking his life to get photos of Spider-Man) then she bursts into tears.

Back in costume, he decides to put the heat on the Kingpin by roughing up a few of his men.

Then he decides to rough up a few more.

Then he comes across a hold-up. Being the fine, upstanding citizen he is, he soon sorts that out.

But it turns out it never was a hold-up. It was all a set-up by the Kingpin to lure our hero out into the open. Of course they promptly have a fight. With a two-footed kick to the head, Spidey drops the crime-lord.

But, before he can move in to finish the deal, a car screeches to a halt between them.

It's driven by Ned Leeds, with J Jonah Jameson in the passenger seat. Jameson's out to thwart Spidey's plan. He doesn't know what Spidey's plan is but, whatever it is, he's going to thwart it. That's all the web-slinger needs, that blockhead getting in the way. As Spidey argues with Jameson, another car screeches to a halt. A door flies open and a woman's voice calls from within for the Kingpin to climb inside. He does, and the car shoots off.

Meanwhile, Jameson's giving Spider-Man a heavy dose of ear ache. Our hero decides that's it. If Jameson wants to call him a menace, he'll act like one, and he grabs hold of the man to give him a scare.

But, sometimes, you can give a man too much of a scare and the publisher promptly blacks out. Leeds tells Spider-Man that he can't feel a pulse. The publisher's had a heart attack!

Could it be true? Could Spider-Man have proven Jameson right? Has he finally become what the publisher said he was all along?

Has Spider-man finally become...

...a killer?

Amazing Spider-Man #69. The Kingpin

(Cover from February 1969.)

"Mission: Crush The Kingpin!"

Written by Stan Lee

Layouts by John Romita

Pencilled by Jim Mooney

Inks by Jim Mooney

Lettering by Sam Rosen

So this is it. Spider-Man's tailed the Kingpin and his henchmen to their secret lair. Finding a metal-shuttered window, he's about to enter.

But then...

...he hesitates.

He senses a trap.

Inside the building, surrounded by flunkies, the Kingpin sits waiting, ready for those shutters to open and for Spidey to come leaping in.

And it seems he's got his wish because, moments later, those shutters fly open and Spider-Man leaps in. Instantly, he's sprayed with bullets by the Kingpin's henchmen.

Is this it? Can this truly be the end of our hero?

Of course it can't.

Why? Because the figure that came through the window wasn't Spider-Man. It was a web dummy wearing his shirt. They've been tricked.

Now the real Spider-Man swings in and give the hoods a good hiding. That's them dealt with. Now for the Kingpin.

But the Kingpin's fast. He grabs Spider-Man and flings him at the web dummy. Spider-Man gets tangled up in it.

It's not over yet. Our hero can still keep dodging the Kingpin's fist-first lunges at him while he gets his shirt back on and frees himself.

Now Spidey's free of the webbing and they can finally settle which of them's the stronger. Well, were we ever in any doubt? It's Spider-Man.

At last, after a bit of mutual possum-playing, Spidey defeats his foe and, spotting a chance to line his pockets, the Kingpin's henchman Wilson goes off to nab the tablet for himself. The tablet's in a chamber that, due to the sheer weight of its door, only the Kingpin can enter. Wilson reasons that he can't move it himself but maybe if he uses explosives...

Maybe nothing. Spider-Man's followed him. After trapping Wilson in webbing, Spidey demonstrates that the Kingpin isn't the only one strong enough to open the door and helps himself to the tablet. Unlike Wilson and the Kingpin, he's got no intention of keeping it. The moment he spots a cop, he's going to hand it over.

That's the plan but, as John Lennon once said, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." When Spidey tries to give the tablet to the police, they start shooting at him. Unknown to our hero, when the cops nabbed the defeated Kingpin, the would-be crime-lord told them that he and Spider-Man were in cahoots.

That's it. Spider-Man's fed up of being blamed by everyone for everything. As the issue closes, he vows that, if the world thinks he's a menace, then it had better brace itself because, from now on, a menace is exactly what he'll be.

Amazing Spider-Man #68. The Kingpin

(John Romita's fourth consecutive classic cover, from January 1969.)

"Crisis On The Campus!"

Written by Stan Lee

Layouts by John Romita

Pencils by Jim Mooney

Inks by Jim Mooney

Lettering by Sam Rosen

The Kingpin's back. Just seven issues since his last appearance, he's plotting another scheme. Lee and Romita really are in love with him as a villain. They don't seem able to resist the temptation to use him at every opportunity. It's hard to blame them. He's such a great villain.

But first, to prove to new readers how strong and fast he is, he has to polish off a bunch of trained fighters. At one point he says that people think he's just a jolly fat man, which suggests he's never looked in the mirror. "Jolly" is the one word even the maddest of lunatics would never use to describe the permanently scowling crime lord. He also tells us Spider-Man's only escaped his clutches in the past through sheer luck. That's odd because it's always looked to the rest of us like he escaped through the Kingpin's sheer stupidity.

Regardless, what's his plan?

Simple. He wants to steal a priceless stone tablet.

At least finding it won't be difficult, because it's on display at ESU where, as fate - and Stan Lee - would have it, there's a riot brewing. The students are angry because the dean wants to use some spare buildings as a place for visiting VIPs to stay, and the students want them used as halls of residence.

The Kingpin decides the student protest is just the distraction he needs to facilitate his theft of the tablet and arrives at the scene, in his big car, with a handful of henchmen. This is where his plan seems to make little sense. He wants to steal something, so he decides to do it in the middle of a riot. That'd be a riot guaranteed to attract huge numbers of cops, reporters and possibly the National Guard. Now, I'm no criminal mastermind but it seems to me that a site crawling with cops, reporters and soldiers might well be the worst possible place from which to try and steal anything.

And there's another odd thing. Wherever the Kinpin appears in this story, people recognise him. As far as I can recall, the general public have never seen the Kingpin before, so how they all know who he is is a total mystery.

Anyway, making more noise than a charging elephant, the overlord of crime smashes his way into the hall where the tablet's displayed and starts throwing his weight around. Spider-Man shows up and they have the usual fight but, in no mood to mess around, Spider-Man flattens him with a flurry of punches. Refusing to take his lying-down position lying down, the Kingpin fires his cane blaster at our hero but our hero leaps out of the way, meaning the blast hits the wall behind. The wall starts to collapse...

...and Randy Robertson's in the way!

Spider-Man swings to the rescue, grabbing him and shielding him from the falling debris. Thinking Spider-Man finished, the Kingpin grabs the tablet and departs.

But, of course, as always, he's underestimated his opponent. Spider-Man lives - and by the end of the tale, the masked webslinger's hot on his tale and determined to get that tablet back.

A landmark issue in more ways than one. It represents a genuine opening up of the Marvel mentality, with real world issues suddenly crowding in. One of them being the matter of race in America, with the presence of angry black characters, including Joe Robertson's recently introduced son Randy.

Despite Stan Lee's self-confessed prediliction for corniness, he actually handles this with surprising sophistication, resisting the urge to preach, or even to take sides, by showing us Joe Robertson's viewpoint, showing us his son conflicted over how to react to the scenario that's unfolding around him and showing us determined student activist Josh, who's got "Trouble" written all over him but seemingly more out of justified anger than genuine evil intent. That's not to say there's not a simplification of the issues involved - this is a comic book when all's said and done - but it's light years away from anything that could previously have been expected from a mere super-hero comic.

It also hands us the then-topical subject of student riots. For several years in the 1960s, the popularity of Marvel's comics had been growing among students, and, with this issue, Lee seems to have decided that a strip whose reader base was increasingly of university age could ignore their concerns no longer. It could be seen by cynics as nothing more than a token nod at the readership in order to boost sales but, nonetheless, it was a remarkable step for the comic to take. It could simply have done what comics had always done in the past and ignore real life, concentrating instead on pure escapism. This new approach was destined to continue in the future, ultimately leading to questions in Congress and a situation that would force a rethink on how the entire industry was regulated.

Amazing Spider-Man #61. The Kingpin.

(Vat's all, folks. Cover from June 1968.)

"What A Tangled Web We Weave--!"

Written by Stan Lee

Layouts by John Romita

Pencils by Don Heck

Inking by Mickey Demeo

Lettering by Sam Rosen

Mickey Demeo's back! Why this should give me such pleasure, I don't know but, in his previous run on the title, I did grow quite attached to his inking and it has to be said, it does work remarkably well with Don Heck's pencils. He's so much better than that awful Mike Esposito who's been inking the last few issues.

What's that? Mickey Demeo is Mike Esposito?

I'll get my coat. :(

The story kicks off with a symbolic splash page showing a group of Peter Parker's friends and loved ones battling to escape the sticky entanglements of his webbing. Although, bearing in mind Mary Jane's presence - and her activities on her last appearance - it could also be interpreted as them doing a very strange kind of dance. Either way, the message is clear, that being involved in the life of Peter Parker does not a happy bunny make.

One particular unhappy bunny is Gwen Stacy who, thanks to The Daily Bugle, has just discovered her dad's a thief. In time-honoured fashion, he decides to do a runner and she goes with him, declaring that wherever he goes she goes. Gwen's mother is nowhere to be seen. Were we ever told what happened to her?

The point does bring up another question, the matter of parents in Spider-Man. Peter Parker's an orphan. Harry Osborn's mother's dead. Gwen Stacy's mother appears to be dead. As she seems to have been brought up by her Aunt Anna, it seems reasonable at this time to assume that Mary Jane's parents are dead. Unless memory fails me, I'm fairly sure that John Jameson's mother's also dead. If Flash Thompson has parents, they're never referred to. In fact, throughout Stan Lee's writing of the 1960s, there seems to be a preponderance of dead or missing parents but nowhere is this felt more strongly than in the pages of Spider-Man. Is this coincidence? Was it a deliberate policy? Does it reflect on the inner psychology of Lee? Bearing in mind Batman and Superman's orphaned state, is it merely a convention of super-hero comics? Only Lee could tell us.

Back home, Peter realises what a total plonker he's been. By exposing Stacy, he's put the ex-cop's life in danger and, by leaving Gwen alone with a potentially violent brainwashing victim, he's also exposed her to terrible risk. There's only one thing for it. Unlike the police - who seem not to have thought of descending on the Stacy residence to arrest the man - Petey, in his Spider-Man guise, heads over there...

...just in time to see some of the Kingpin's goons leaving the place.

The goons have arrived too late. The Stacys are already at the airport, but they get no further as two more of the Kingpin's men apprehend them there. At first Gwen, not unreasonably, thinks they're cops but soon cottons on to the fact that they're not.

The goons take them to the Kingpin's secret lab, which it's already been revealed is in Norman Osborn's chemical plant. Osborn, who's been having troubling flashbacks to the death of the Green Goblin, has almost accidentally stumbled on the lair but has been fobbed off by Kingie's science stooge, the worryingly named Winkler. Now, Gwen and the Captain are tied together under a huge vat of lead just asking to be dropped on them. Why he doesn't just shoot them is anyone's guess but that's criminal masterminds for you.

Spidey smashes in through a window and confronts the villain. How did he know where they were? Back at the Kingpin's club he checked out the site of the now-removed brainwashing machine and found a manufacturer's tag associated with Osborn's company. The usual fight breaks out. This time our hero's shown some foresight and put a gas mask on under his spider-mask, to make sure the Kingie's trick tie-pin can't work on him.

And that's when Norman Osborn finally stumbles on the Kingpin's lair. Spotting Winkler waving a gun around, he rugby-tackles the scientist but that makes Winkler accidentally fire the gun. The bullet hits the brainwashing machine. The machine explodes. The explosion snaps a cable and that vat of molten lead, begins to fall.

And Gwen and her dad are sat right beneath it!

Spidey swings to the rescue and gets the two captives out of the way. How Osborn survives the floor being flooded with boiling lead isn't revealed. Meanwhile, Spidey goes in pursuit of the Kingpin but, too late, the corpulent king of crime has fled in Osborn's private helicopter that just happened to be sat on the roof. Finally showing some appetite for their job, the police turn up and, irony of ironies, Gwendolyne helps to give the web-slinger some good PR by telling everyone of his part in the rescue.

So, Gwen Stacy, who just a few issues back hated Spider-Man and loved Peter Parker, is now a confirmed Spider-fan and hates Peter Parker. Clearly, it's not entered her head that Peter's grapple with her father in the previous issue might have had anything to do with her dad's brainwashing. Gwen, who just months earlier was quite the spunky, feisty, lively romantic counter-foil - MJ with a brain - is rapidly becoming the character Gerry Conway was so happy to get rid of.

I have to admit that, despite all this action and drama, my favourite scene this issue is one that's technically irrelevant. In it, Mary Jane and Harry go to the club to collect her pay for her previous night's work; only to find the place shut down and abandoned.

Leaving aside how great her hat is, and that we finally get the pleasure of seeing Mary Jane being unhappy, it's the little scenes like these - that, in strict terms, aren't really necessary to the story - that give the strip its distinctive feel and make it quite unlike other super-hero titles of the time.

It's interesting too what's happening with the art. Thanks to the credits, it's a little vague as to who's doing what by now. John Romita seems to be doing the layouts, with Don Heck doing the actual pencilling but some of the faces are clearly being drawn by Romita, and, in at least one panel, the whole figure of Spider-Man seems to have been done by him. It's a strange confusion of roles and styles that, involving various other artists, would affect the strip for a surprisingly long time to come. It wouldn't be true to say the title suffered because of it but it is odd that, for a lengthy period, what had become Marvel Comics' flagship title seemed incapable of settling on a single artist.

Amazing Spider-Man #60. The Kingpin

(The Kingpin decides to stand in for Spidey's dad and give him the good swing-around he never had as a child. Tomorrow, if he's lucky, he'll be taking him on the roundabouts. Cover from May 1968.)

"O, Bitter Victory!"

Written by Stan Lee

Layouts by John Romita

Pencils by Don Heck

Inking by Mike Esposito

Lettering by Sam Rosen

So now Spider-Man's in trouble. The Kingpin has a hold of him and is swinging him round and round and round.

Luckily Spider-man has a plan - to crash into something. Upon release, he crashes into the control panel of Kingie's brainwashing machine and sends it kaput. Flames burst forth. Smoke's everywhere. Confusion reigns. In that confusion, our hero escapes.

But not without a cost.

As a result of the explosion, he's suffering from double vision. He's in no state to return to the fray. The Kingpin, on the other hand, is suffering from nothing. Spider-Man's act of sabotage came too late to save Captain Stacy from a good brainwashing, and now Kingie can proceed with the next part of his plan - to send Stacy off to await his next set of orders.

Making his way back into the club's main hall, the brainwashed cop assures MJ, Gwen and Harry there's nothing to worry about, and everyone except Pete gets on with enjoying the evening. Where's Pete? He's gone back home to get some rest so he can be fully fit to fight the Kingpin next time round.

The next day, knowing something has to be done about Captain Stacy, Peter goes round to confront him and, in an act of self defence, ends up knocking him to the floor - just in time for Gwen to walk in and find him standing over the fallen pensioner.

Now, this is where Pete's total cluelessness about how to deal with people kicks in because, we can all see that it's right here that he should tell Gwen that Spider-Man's told him her dad's been brainwashed by the Kingpin. She won't believe him of course but it does mean that, when she notices her dad's acting oddly (ie, being evil) that the penny'll drop and she'll see that Pete was in the right all along.

Needless to say, showing the same failure to communicate that's repeatedly wrecked his love life for years, he keeps his silence, causing Gwen to throw him out and to declare to herself that she can never forgive him.

There's only one thing for it, Spidey's going to have to get some evidence that the captain's under the influence. He follows him and, hey presto, the ex-cop goes down the police station - where he practically seems to live despite being retired - and tries to steal some documents. Spidey gets it all on camera and, the next day, it's splashed all across the front of The Daily Bugle. Well, it makes sure everyone in the whole of New York knows there's something going on...

...but, if Gwen felt like she could never forgive him before, how's she going to react to him having been the one to dob her dad in?

Oh, Peter, if only you'd just learn to pass-on information, like other people do...

Amazing Spider-Man #59. The Brainwasher/Kingpin

(Cover from April 1968.)

"The Brand Of The Brainwasher!"

Written by Stan Lee

Layouts by John Romita

Pencils by Don Heck

Inked by Mike Esposito

Lettering by Artie Simek

At last Mary Jane gets her first ever cover and, after being criminally underused for the last few tales, she finally gets a pivotal part in a story.

But first there's other matters to be dealt with.

For a start, Peter Parker still hasn't come up with an explanation as to where he's been for the last few issues. A quick visit to the cop shop soon puts that right as he tells the assembled investigators that he was kidnapped by Spider-Man, who'd lost his memory, and that he'd been released the moment Spidey got his marbles back. In one fell swoop, Petey's explained his own absence while portraying Spidey as a no more than a confused and bewildered innocent.

That's not all that happens while he's down at the station, because one of his interrogators is none other than Gwen's dad George Stacy who, despite being retired, seems to spend all his time at the police station, doing police work, and being called Captain. It's the first time the pair have ever met but won't be the last. Pete also learns that a person unknown has been releasing criminals. Clearly things are afoot in the world of crime.

Things are also afoot in the world of Mary Jane. When we join her, she's using those feet to dance on a table as she finishes off her last rehearsal before starting work on her new job at the happeningest club to have opened in New York in many a year. Her dodgy boss tells her - and us - that her job is to dance for the punters and to take their photos - but only of people sat at tables with a star on them.

After she leaves, we're told by the man of mystery behind the plot that the camera she's been given is nothing less than a brainwashing machine, designed to get hapless punters under the Brainwasher's control just long enough for him to give them a mega-dose of his big brainwashing machine. Not that he has a one-track mind or anything.

Oblivious to all this, the gang turn up for the big opening night and to give Mary Jane moral support.

Not that she needs it. She's merrily dancing away like a mad thing, pausing only to take the required snaps. And, with the sort of bad luck that seems to befall anyone who finds himself trapped within Peter Parker's inner orbit, despite being retired, Captain Stacy just happens to be on the Brainwasher's hit list. MJ snaps his map and, suddenly feeling dizzy, the ex-cop sets off outside to get some fresh air.

Peter's suspicious. What's the deal with only people with a star at their table being snapped? He has to find out. Making his excuses, he sets off to see what's going on and, in the corridors, blunders into a bunch of petty crooks. He disposes of them with ease but finds himself in a room where Stacy's got his head under a huge hairdryer. And it's a safe bet he's not there for a Marcel Wave. He's about to be brainwashed - big time!

Spidey demands that the shady scientist operating the equipment tells him what's going on. The scientist declares that it's not a secret - even though it clearly is. Presumably there was nothing in the club's promotional material along the lines of, "Come to our club and get yourself brainwashed." Regardless, the scientist blabs his mouth off and says it's all the work of the Brainwasher.

The Brainwasher? Demands our hero. Who's he?

Suddenly someone's grabbed him by the arm. It's the Brainwasher.

No it's not. It's not just the Brainwasher.

It's the Kingpin!