Love this issue, definitely the highlight of Kelly's Deadpool run.

Wait...

No.

What?

Not so much the first half, as almost all of it. But yeah, it sucks for all the reasons you've mentioned, except for the retcon part. The Chameleon isn't out of the story, just out of the flashback. How does he factor in, if it's the GG who's hiring Kraven? Go figure, that's Stan for you, I guess.

This is allegorical of Marvel Time rising, if we were compliant with real time, such an old man as Toomes should retire, but a clear statement in that regard, will be made in ASM #63.

One of Ditko's strongest suits were facial expressions, so I can't agree with that.

Keep dreaming.

You bet.

Don't you know, from the classic Superman pose, that any good superhero, always carries his costume under his civvies?

The concept is there, the execution will still be refined for more than a year.

The Amazing Spider-Man #50 (July 1967)



“Spider-Man No More!”
Script: Stan (The Man) Lee
Pencils: Johnny (Ring-A-Ding) Romita
Inks: Mickey Dimeo
Letters: Sam Rosen
Cover: John Romita

Summary: Spidey breaks up an office payroll robbery but is disappointed that the workers fear him thanks to the Daily Bugle. Ruminating on his bad rep, he heads home and Harry tells him Aunt May is ill. He races over to Forest Hills on his bike and Anna Watson tells him that if Dr. Bromwell hadn’t been passing by she would have died. Peter feels guilty for them not being able to contact him as Spider-Man and thinks about how awful he would feel if she had died before he could get to her. The next day he flunks his Chem exam because he’s distracted by his problems. Professor Warren tells him that his grades have been slipping, despite coming to the school with the finest science record he’s ever seen. Peter promises to buckle down. On the way out Gwen invites him to a party but he can’t attend due to Aunt May’s illness and his low grades.

At home he thinks about having to pass up Norman Osborn’s job offer because his duties as Spider-Man require him to keep his evenings open. He tries to distract himself from his problems by watching the news but he sees an editorial by J. Jonah Jameson declaring Spider-Man to be a mentally-disturbed menace. He puts a thousand dollar reward out for Spidey’s capture. Peter realizes just how much Jonah hates him, that he legitimately believes Spidey to be a threat to society. This unnerves him so much that he actually begins to wonder if Jameson is right. He realizes that he’s hungry for glory and excitement, thats the only explanation for him continuing to risk his life as Spidey. He walks outside and throws his costume into a trashcan, vowing to become a man.

The next morning a kid runs into Jameson’s office with Spidey’s costume. He can tell it’s not an imitation (no explanation how, although he did handle the costume before back in #25) and offers to give the kid a free copy of the paper as a reward while he demands they print an extra. Word of Spider-Man’s retirement spreads and Jameson appears on The Tonight Show showing off the costume and bragging about his big scoop while on “The David Susskind Show” a panel of experts agree that Spider-Man is a nut.

Elsewhere, a large, bald man named Kingpin orders a meeting of every mob in the city. Foswell picks up on the lead and as Patch tries to get into the meeting but he’s denied entrance. At the meeting, the Kingpin’s representative explains the situation: With Spider-Man gone the Kingpin is going to take over as the boss of all bosses. They gangsters present aren’t hip on the idea. Even though he didn’t get into the meeting Foswell has managed to figure out what its purpose was. As he goes to work the next morning he thinks about how he could use his Patch identity to rule the city and since he’s turned straight nobody would suspect him. Jameson shows Foswell Spidey’s costume in its display case and tells him he wants a follow-up on the Spidey story. Peter shows up and tells Jonah that he’s quitting the paper, which sends Jonah into hysterics about betrayal and makes Foswell suspicious.

Meanwhile, a crime wave in the Kingpin’s name rocks the city. Most of the crooks end up caught but the true purpose was to determine whether or not Spidey is truly gone. Since he’s made no appearance so far Kingpin decides it’s time to proceed with his master plan, his plan to run the city’s crime like a business.

The next day at ESU Peter offers Gwen a lift home. She shows him a letter from Flash, who claims that when he gets to Vietnam he’ll give the V.C. 24 hours to clear out. Peter asks Gwen if she’s attracted to Flash and she admits that it’d be hard to find a football hero like him repulsive. He asks how her party went and she says it was a disaster without him. He incorrectly assumes she’s joking, drops her off and rides off to Forest Hills to visit Aunt May. He’s so anxious to visit her that he doesn’t even notice Mary Jane is there wearing a very Jackie Kennedy leopard print outfit. She asks Pete for a ride but he declines to stay with Aunt May.

At nightfall he heads home to catch up on his studies and wonders if Gwen will notice the difference. He hears a news bulletin about the robbery of a welfare office and prepares to change when he remembers that it’s not his responsibility anymore. The next morning Harry discusses the crime wave but Pete (not wanting to be reminded of crime) changes the subject. He asks about Norman and tells Harry that when he’s finished some personal matters he’ll be ready to work for him.

At school he asks Gwen for a soda and a sandwich but she already has a date with Harry. Peter asks if they’re going steady and Gwen laughs at him trying to pin her with Flash and Harry. She asks why he hasn’t asked if she’s got a crush on him but he knows nice guys finish last. He heads over to check on Aunt May but she’s on her way to a movie with Anna. He realizes that his friends and family need him a lot less than he thought. As he rides home he hears someone cry for help on the roof of a warehouse. With no costume to change into he kicks off his shoes, climbs up the wall and quickly beats off two thieves. As the elderly watchman thanks him he slips off into the shadows.

At the end of a pier he thinks about how weak willed he is that he would revert to being a hero at the first chance he had. But he knows he had no choice, a man’s life was in danger. He realizes the watchman reminded him of Uncle Ben and remembers how his failure to act got Ben killed. A flashback to AF#15 plays and he once more knows that he can never give up being Spider-Man, no matter how unbearable a burden it may be.

In the Kingpin’s office Foswell introduces himself as the Big Man. He can’t stand to watch another man pick up where he left off and with Spider-Man gone he is back to run things. He offers to make Kingpin a lieutenant, an offer he doesn’t take kindly to at all. Kingpin uses the disintegrator ray in his cane to destroy the gun Foswell has concealed in his hat and has him taken captive.

As the sun rises Peter climbs up the wall of the Bugle building and slips into Jameson’s office. When Jameson arrives for work he finds Spider-Man sitting behind his desk. He insults Jameson and leaps out the window proclaiming Spidey to be back in action.

Observations: After a trio of unspectacular (if enjoyable) issues it felt like Stan and John were starting to wind down and lose steam. Nope. For Spidey’s fiftieth issue they deliver their best issue yet and hands down one of the best issues (perhaps even the best) in the run yet.

This is really what defines a Marvel comic. Here you have a story where the hero is in costume for only four out of the twenty pages with the rest focusing on his personal life. The negative aspects of being Spider-Man overwhelm him and he quits. He has several seemingly good reasons to quit and the kicker is him realizing Jameson could actually be right about him! Spider-Man has been plagued with self-doubts for his entire run so far and those issues have been bubbling to the surface lately as seen in #43, 44, 45, 46 and the third annual

A more conventional story would find the hero being unsatisfied by his costumeless life but here Stan goes for a mix. His academic career benefits and he accepts a job offer that will surely be more rewarding (financially and intellectually) than what the Bugle can offer but his social and family lives don’t benefit at all. In the end not being Spider-Man has some advantages but the real lesson Peter learns is that he isn’t missing that much. It’s not long before Peter actually has to avoid hearing from crimes to keep himself from acting on his heroic instincts.

That brings us to the ending. The last time Peter quit he was prompted back into action by a pep talk from Aunt May about resilience in the face of opposition. Here he learns, or relearns, a much more valuable and permanent lesson. For the first time he recalls the part he played in Uncle Ben’s death and that lesson on power and responsibility. For the past 50 issues he has been Spider-Man because it’s the right thing to do but only now does he truly associate it with Uncle Ben’s murder. Uncle Ben has been dead for around three years now and it’s not something he spends much time thinking about but now it’s in the forefront. I think this is the moment where Peter finally became the Spider-Man who truly appreciates responsibility.

Gwen Stacy and MJ feature in the issue as well. Gwen is now openly flirting with Peter, even going so far as to (sorta) confront him about his lack of interest in her. She also has her first thought balloon since #41. That balloon had Gwen realizing Peter was starting to notice her. Since then we’ve been in the dark about what's going on with Gwen and now we know that she is legitimately interested in Peter. Peter takes a pretty big step in imagining married life with Gwen. While he considered proposing to Betty, that was a desperate move to keep Ned from swooping in and stealing her from him. Peter is more mature now and the idea of marriage carries more weight, even if his relationship with Gwen is nothing more than a flirty friendship. MJ only has one scene in the issue and while she appears as ravishing as ever Peter hardly notices her. Stan was telling Jazzy John to make Gwen outshine MJ but Johnny just couldn’t do it so I reckon the other option was to make Peter lose all interest in her and push her into the background.

And even after all that I still haven’t touched on the villain of the issue. The Kingpin is the most successful villain introduced by Stan and John, largely due to the efforts of Frank Miller, but here he makes for an effective crime boss. He is the third “boss of all bosses” character so far and his design really shows the difference in Ditko and Romita’s styles. Ditko’s crime bosses were mysterious men with strange masks while Romita’s boss is the image of opulence. Ditko’s bosses reflect the lack of morality in their lives while Romita’s boss shows the great wealth and stature he has. Ditko’s objectivist leanings made him reluctant to portray villains in a positive light or as actually benefiting from their lifestyle. Romita has no objections so he makes it very clear that the Kingpin lives comfortable. I’m also happy to see Foswell brought into the fray. Since this is their third attempt at such a character the repetitiveness is alleviated by bringing in the original to sort things out. Foswell hasn’t been a crook in 40 issues and he’s been reformed for 27 issues so seeing him go back to a criminal lifestyle is surprisingly disappointing.

This issue isn’t just a classic, it’s the classic. 5/5

What is Norman Osborn scheming?
Will Gwen and Peter hook up? - The ingredients are all there and it’s just waiting to happen.
Is Peter's spider sense failing?
Will Peter meet Mary Jane?
Where is Betty?
Who is the Green Goblin?

Other notes:
- First appearance of The Kingpin
- Second time Spidey quits
- Thanks to cellphones it would be no sweat getting ahold of Peter when Aunt May falls ill nowadays.
- Jonah’s reward for Spidey’s capture is around $7,000 today.
- Johnny Carson, Ed McMahon and David Susskind have cameos
- First time Spidey has to take his shoes off to climb walls?
- Fourth time Spidey’s origin is told (after AF#15, ASM#1 and ASMA#1)
- The shot of Peter at the pier was painted and used during the retelling of Spidey’s origin in the 1967 cartoon and also used as the title card background in seasons 2 and 3.
- Yes, Mickey Demeo is actually misspelled that way.
- The cover to this issue is one of the most famous (and best) Spidey covers ever but the interior splash of Peter walking away from his thrown-out costume is probably even more famous. That image was used in Spider-Man 2, which followed the basic gist of the story with some changes I felt were detrimental.
- The cover was painted by Dean White for the Marvel Masterworks paperback:

Her intentions were clear but the ernestness in her little thought balloon makes it clear that it isn't just oneupmanship with MJ or the old "I must have him because he ignores me!" bit from the Ditko era.