Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962)



"Spiderman"
Script: Stan Lee
Art: Steve Ditko
Letters: Uncredited
Cover: Jack Kirby

Summary: A group of teenagers at Midtown High need one more guy for the dance (which makes zero sense to me) and one fella suggests bringing Peter Parker. The other students scoff at the idea, Peter is a bookworm and a wallflower. Peter watches them dejectedly. His home life is a blend of sweet and humiliating. Peter is raised by his elderly aunt and uncle, who treat him like he's an infant and his Uncle Ben even comments that he can outwrestle Peter. At school Peter is an honor student with a gift for the sciences and his teacher promises a scholarship upon graduation.

But socially, Peter stinks. A girl named Sally rejects him for Flash Thompson, one of the athletic boys who mocked him earlier. Peter asks if anyone would like to attend a demonstration on radiation with him but they brush him off. As they drive off Peter swears that they will be sorry for laughing at him.

At the demonstration a spider gets dosed by the machine and bites Peter. Feeling ill, Peter excuses himself. A passing car almost hits him and he leaps up at a nearby building and sticks to the wall. He is able to scale the building in seconds and realizes he also has great strength and dexterity.

A few days later he finds the perfect opportunity to take advantage of his powers: A wrestling exhibition promising a $100 prize (Almost $800 in today's money) to anyone who can stay in the ring with Crusher Hogan. Creating a costume and disguise to spare himself humiliation if he fails, Peter takes on Hogan and effortlessly trounces him. A TV producer witnesses the event and promises to make a star out of him.

At home Peter designs a proper costume (keeping the mask for a mystery angle) and works up wrist-mounted devices to fire web lines (how he was able to create such a device is glossed over and the miracle webbing is completely unexplained). With the necessary equipment all set he figures Spiderman is a good enough name and is ready to put on a show.

His debut on television is a massive success. Agents beg for photospreads and interviews and offer movie deals. Peter tells them to deal with his manager. At that moment a cap chases a crook through the corridor. Peter does nothing to stop him and the crook escapes in the elevator. He tells the cop he's done being pushed around and he is only looking out for himself.

At home Uncle Ben and Aunt May surprise Peter with a new microscope (what bad timing, since Peter is currently making enough money to buy his own equipment without burdening them). Over the next few days Peter makes more appearances as Spiderman (making the front page of The Daily Chronicle, The Viewer and The Daily Voice) but one evening he comes home to find police parked in front of his house. Uncle Ben was shot and killed by a burglar, who is now holed up in the Acme warehouse. In tears Peter puts on his costume (which is really strange since he had been coming home from an appearance as Spider-Man, had previously remarked that he could wear his costume under his clothes and was not shown carrying the costume home) and heads over to the waterfront.

He infiltrates the warehouse and beats the burglar but when he sees his face the burglar is the crook he could have stopped. He webs up the burglar (greatly confusing the police) and mediates on his folly: With great power there must also come great responsibility.

Observations: What is there to say that hasn't been said already?

What's most interesting about the story is how unconventional it is. Yes there is a man in tights and yes there is a fight at the end but Spiderman (as he is so named here) is hardly a costumed hero. From the outset Lee and Ditko were making a superhero who didn't follow the rules and conventions. The term "superhero" has a very loose definition and here that is stretched to its breaking point. Most notably, he isn't at all heroic or even noble. Superman is Superman because he was raised to do the right thing. Batman decided to be Batman when he was eight years old. Even the Fantastic Four, upon getting their powers, immediately decide that they should be superheroes. This is not the case with Spider-Man. The first thing he decides to do with his powers is make money, not even considering the possibility of helping people. And while he does have a pretty big chip on his shoulder he is by no means a bad guy, he's just imperfect.

Another subversion is his powers. His powers suck. He has strength and can stick to walls and he has heightened reflexes (spider sense, which goes unnamed here) but he doesn't spin webs. Spider-Man can't spin webs! For years now Peter have said thats a flaw that needs to be fixed. I agree it's a flaw but no it shouldn't be fixed, it being a flaw is why it works. Spider-Man is an unconventional hero and what's more unconventional than a hero having to create his own powers to suit his gimmick?

When you get down to it, this really isn't a superhero comic. At this point in the game Marvel's hero mags were still very rooted in the monster comics of the 50s and this one, featuring no monster, instead feels more like an EC-style twist ending parable.

The "With great power..." element is the reason why this story remains possibly the most well-known origin story. If you strip the Spider-Man out of it the story still works. Spidey's "great power," in this particular situation, wasn't his superpowers. He didn't need super strength to beat up the burglar, he just needed to slow him down so the cop could catch him. Anybody could have done that (well, maybe not Aunt May). "Great power" doesn't have to be super strength or wealth or influence or anything like that, it can just be being in the right place at the right time. Great power is the ability to be good people and it is our responsibility to be so.

Artwise, Ditko does a good job but the art is rough in places. Spidey is drawn in very angular, awkward, double jointed poses. It reminds me of the sort of thing Todd McFarlane would later get credit for. The costume is pretty much all there. The costume is red and black instead of red and blue and the spider on the back is colored blue. But aside from that and the inconsistent web pattern Spidey entered the world fully realized. Astonishing that it still stands to this day with only minor adjustment. The rest of the artwork is very moody and feels a little more cynical than the norm.

5/5, a perfect story.

Other notes:
- Spiderman is spelled without a hyphen for the first and (I believe) last time.
- While he instinctively leaps from a passing car this power is not expanded upon or named.
- First appearance of Peter Parker, Uncle Ben, Aunt May, Flash Thompson, Liz Allan (unnamed), Sally Avril (first name only)
- This story is unique because most superhero stories are set in a metropolis. This one is set in a suburban area.
- "Spectacular" is used for the first time in the series. Years from now it will be the title of the character's secondary book.
- The Daily Bugle is conspicuously absent from the newspaper montage.
- Steve Ditko drew a cover for this issue that went unused in favor of the Jack Kirby version. While the Kirby cover is iconic I don't believe it to be a particularly good drawing. The Ditko cover is much more dynamic and gives Spider-Man a more menacing aura. The cover finally saw print for the recent Superior Spider-Man series.

The Amazing Spider-Man #1 (March 1963)



Script: Stan Lee
Art: Steve Ditko
Letters: Johnny Dee
Cover: Steve Ditko

Summary:
"Spider-Man"

"Freak! Public Menace!" Right off the bat Spidey's life takes a turn for the worse. Coming home after the events of Amazing Fantasy #15, Peter wants nothing more to do with Spider-Man. However, his thoughts change when he sees Aunt May begging the landlord for an extension on the rent. Peter wants to quit school and start working but Aunt May won't allow it. Peter briefly considers a life of crime but knows it would only break May's heart and makes the more sensible decision to perform again.

At school the in-crowd invite Peter to attend Spidey's show. He of course declines and they take it as a snub. The show is a success and the promoter tells him he's gotta be put on the payroll and get a check. Peter refuses to divulge his identity (which at this juncture makes zero sense) and gets a check made out to Spider-Man, which he can't hope to cash. No matter, his career in showbiz is finished: J Jonah Jameson, publisher of the Daily Bugle, has written an editorial calling Spider-Man a menace. He leads a public speaking campaign to disparage the wall crawler as a bad influence and false hero for taking the law into his own hands (is Jameson referring to the burglar or does the story not directly follow AF#15?). He points out his own son, astronaut John Jameson, as a true hero. By the time JJJ is through the public despises Spider-Man and no one would support his live shows.

With no other recourse Peter hits the bricks looking for a job but has no luck: They want a man, not a boy. To make things worse, Peter sees Aunt May pawning her jewelry. Not wanting to trouble the boy, she is keeping their financial woes a secret from him. Overcome with desperation and rage at JJJ Peter pounds at a brick wall and says Spider-Man will stalk the city by night if he must.

The next day Peter is in the audience as John Jameson prepares to go into orbit. The launch is successful but theres a malfunction and the capsule goes out of control. Peter dons his costume and heads to mission control. He tells the man in charge that he will get the replacement part to the capsule. The air force officer relents despite JJJ's protests. Rushing to the airfield, Spidey webs up a guard and commandeers a plane. In the air Spidey is able to web over to the capsule and give Captain Jameson the part. Peter flees the scene feeling quite good about himself but the next day the Daily Bugle has a new editorial saying Spider-Man sabotaged the test to make himself look good. The public turns against Spidey completely and the FBI issues a reward for his capture. As Aunt May complains about that horrible Spider-Man, Peter struggles to understand his current predicament and wonders if he will have no choice but to become a menace.

"Spider-Man vs. The Chameleon"

Still suffering from money woes, Peter has the bright idea to join the Fantastic Four. After all, he'd be a natural fit on their team and get paid to be a superhero. A crowd of onlookers watches as he runs along a webline to the top of the Baxter Building (a photographer is in the audience and comments that he'll get a bonus for snapping a Spidey pic. Foreshadowing?). The FF are pretty confused by this (Reed's matter-of-fact "Why doesn't he just call and make an appointment" is hilarious and a great indicator of how odd the FF was) and are even more confused when Spidey drops in through the window and starts beating the team up! Reed is able to settle the scuffle and Spidey explains that it's been an audition. He wants to join and feels he deserves their top salary. The FF tell him that they're a non-profit organization and only keep enough money to cover their expenses, with the rest going into R&D (wouldn't Peter's rent be covered as an expense?). Furthermore, last they checked Spider-Man is an outlaw. Spidey is offended and takes off, promising to make them all look like small timers. Reed correctly assumes they will be hearing more about him in the future.

Elsewhere, a masked criminal named The Chameleon has infiltrated a military complex. Using a series of disguises contained in a ridiculous "multi pocket disguise vest" he is able to steal US plans to sell to Communist countries (gotta love that Cold War). At his hideout he sees the news that Spider-Man tried to join the Fantastic Four. Realizing Spider-Man would make a perfect fall guy for his recent and upcoming theft, Chameleon sends a message to Spider-Man via his spider sense (the first time this power has been named) to meet him on top of a building at 10pm with promises of riches. Peter, ever the sap, heads there while The Chameleon robs the place disguised as Spider-Man. Chameleon takes off in a chopper as Spidey shows up and finds the cops waiting for them. Realizing he's been set up he webs up the cops and creates a web slingshot to fling himself skyward in the direction of the helicopter (detected using his spider sense), then makes a web parachute to descend to the harbor safely. A Commie sub has surfaced in the harbor (!!!) to pick up The Chameleon but Spider-Man commandeers a speedboat and webs up their conning tower, forcing them to submerge. Spidey webs up to the chopper and forces The Chameleon to pilot it back to the building. But Chameleon activates a smoke bomb and disguises himself as a cop. However, Spidey uses his spider sense to detect the crook and grabs him (as he had run out of web for the first time), tearing the front of his jacket off. Chameleon claims that Spider-Man is The Chameleon and in the ruckus Spidey says screw it and leaves, just as The Chameleon is identified. Not realizing he managed to save the day, Spider-Man runs down an alleyway wishing he'd never gotten his powers as the Fantastic Four express admiration for his powers and fear that he could turn rogue.

Observations: The world of Spider-Man gets fleshed out as Peter still tries to figure himself out. J. Jonah Jameson proves to be a classic from his very first panel, a full-fledged character from the beginning. Is there any other civilian character in comic books as great as JJJ? Not an ally, not a villain, just a supporting character. I doubt it. JJJ's completely unfair and heavily biased campaign against Spidey is classic media watchdog behaviour. He claims it's for the children's protection but there is clearly a level of envy in the attention Spider-Man gets. Considering at this point Spider-Man is just a TV star the story takes on an interesting bent: JJJ hates that a phony celebrity gets more attention than real life heroes. Even if Jonah is a nasty piece of work, the sentiment is felt strong today (just look at the backlash against the Kardashian dames).

Spider-Man's heroism is handled in an interesting way. His lesson about power and responsibility has clearly resonated with him, as he is reluctant to become a criminal and he leaps into action to save John Jameson and stop The Chameleon without hesitation, but at this point he also looks at being a superhero as another avenue to make money and there are no scenes of Spidey hunting down crooks. Peter is undergoing an identity crisis and the other characters are starting to wonder about him and that temper of his. Jonah has a point about the potential danger Spider-Man could present.

This issue also establishes that Spider-Man lives in New York and not just any New York, the Marvel Comics version of New York! In fact, this is one of two issues that established that version of New York. Not only is this the first meeting between Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four, over in their mag they were meeting The Hulk. With these two issues the Marvel Universe was truly born.

Spider-Man: 4/5, a fun introduction to the series
Spider-Man vs The Chameleon: 3/5, very cheesy even by Silver Age standards but the scene with the Fantastic Four and the historical significance bump it up.

Other notes:
- First appearance of J. Jonah Jameson, John Jameson and The Chameleon
- The Daily Bugle previously appeared in Fantastic Four #2
- This is the issue with the infamous "Peter Palmer" blooper
- Ditko is starting to play with the possibilities of spider webbing, having Spidey create tools with it
- Chameleon has no way to know about Peter's spider-sense. In fact, we barely knew about it: it was only present in one panel in AF#15. The power gets a pretty good introduction here, even if it comes off as a bit magical.
- The Fantastic Four apparently know Spider-Man is a teenager. No explanation given.

I was not aware of that. Very cool.

I think it's one of the things that made the Marvel universe feel special. There were only a few superheroes and most of them lived in the same area. They'd bump into each other, they'd socialize and we got more moments showing the public's relation with them like people saying they're Human Torch fans vs Spidey fans or Flash Thompson telling JJJ to pick on "those nutty X-Men." It sounds incredible but it really added a feeling of realism that just isn't there when there are thousands of supercharacters out there and theres a cataclysmic event every other week.

Yes, his decision wasn't so much a done deal, as a process.

I have my own theory about the spider-sense.

One of the reasons why the OMU (as defined by Tony Lewis) thrived and died. Also why I would disagree with you on "The life story of one man (except when when it was two) told continuously over 50 years chronicling his development from boy to manhood", maybe that would hold true for the first 30 years.

I don't know if you followed my link in the previous post, but you get to the same conclusion I reached. As for such a power not being common among spiders, read my second point in the what made Spider-man so popular thread.

Indeed, but if we went with Mantlo's interpretation (PPSSM #28, page 10, panel 1), it would certainly go there if "trained", even as it is.