Hogan Reviews

Our next look at Marvel comics is, really, the big one as Spider-Man is undoubtably Marvel’s most popular hero. That being said his original run of comics, the first 10 of which are collected in a trade paperback I have (along with his debut issue in “Amazing Fantasy”) are all full of 60s charm and villain backstories we’ve seen 100 times since, often with these villains themselves in adaptations. Hell, Spider-Man’s debut story has been adapted so many times now that it’s going to feel redundant talking about it! Still, this is a look at major Marvel comic stories and I can’t miss out Spider-Man’s debut, so let’s start with that issue…

As mentioned “Amazing Fantasy Issue 15” (one of those comics that go for crazy sums of money nowadays!) has what is now the standard Spider-Man origin, but for the first time! Nerdy Peter Parker gets bit by a radioactive spider on a school trip, gains spider powers but uses it to make money wrestling rather than helping people until refusing to help a stop a thief leads to that thief killing his beloved Uncle Ben. Donning his Spider-Man costume Peter confronts the man, webs him up for the police and realises that, yes, with great power comes great responsibility. As over-done as it is, it’s still a great origin story and I can’t fault it for being unoriginal when it IS the original… The first actual issue of Amazing Spider-Man opens with the debut of J. Jonah Jameson and his attempt to de-fame Spider-Man, even in spite of Peter rescuing his son from his crashing space capsule, then the second story in the issue starts with Spider-Man breaking into the Baxter Building and fighting the Fantastic Four to try and get a job with them, only to leave disappointed when he finds out they’re a non-profit organisation and don’t take salaries. So criticism over the MCU Spider-Man teaming up with the more popular Iron Man for his first film should look that his first solo comic had a crossover with an established popular comic as well! He then defeats his first supervillain, which despite all the amazing rogues gallery he ends up with, is the Chameleon, who changes his look to try and get the better of the US for Soviet Russia, naturally. Oh well, humble beginnings I guess.

Not the most intimidating of foes for so early in Spider-Man’s run…

Issue 2 opens with a story focusing on the Vulture, who uses wings to swoop down and steal jewellery and the like (which made me laugh, there has to be easier ways of doing that…) but it also sees Peter and his Aunt May struggling to make ends meet so as Spider-Man Peter takes pictures of the Vulture and sells them, ironically, to J. Jonah Jameson, his alter ego’s worse fan. It’s obviously the classic set up, but it’s nice to see its debut. Spider-Man takes down Vulture in the sewers and sells the pics of the criminal being taken away for good measure. The second story of the issue has The Tinkerer debut and try to enclose Spider-Man in “Resisto-Glass” to suffocate him, but he escapes. The Tinkerer seems to be in league with aliens, to top things off, why not? Issue 3 is one big story that has the debut of Doctor Octopus, complete with his classic backstory of being a kind-hearted scientist using robo-arms to handle radioactive material only for a lab accident to not only fuse the four extra limbs to his body but drive him insane enough that he become a villain, soon taking over a hospital and taking hostages. Spider-Man arrives but is soundly defeated, though shortly after the Human Torch gives a rousing speech at Parker’s school he finds his confidence again and defeats Doc Ock in a rematch. It’s a great little origin story, complete with some top-class cheesy villain dialogue. For the record there are a few panels to tell us the Fantastic Four were too busy to help, which made me laugh…

Doc Ock being a bit of a dick.

Issue 4 is the debut of the Sandman, though this is obviously before he got any extra layers so he’s just a villain with sand powers (due to being on the beach during a nuclear test, naturally) It also sees Peter about to go out on a date with fellow student Liz but having to take a rain check to face his newest foe, and by the time it’s all over she’s with school bully Flash Thompson. He does at least defeat Sandman, funnily enough by hoovering him up into a bag, which is quite the embarrassing way to go… Issue 5 has Doctor Doom see all of the Jameson negative press about Spider-Man so offers him an alliance to takedown the Fantastic Four, only for our hero to naturally turn him down, leading to a brief fight, followed by an actual fight at the end of the issue when Doom accidentally kidnaps Flash who had dressed as Spider-Man to scare Peter. Doom flees when the F4 arrive (there is a lot of Fantastic Four crossover in these early Spider-Man issues…) Issue 6 has the debut of The Lizard, complete with backstory that he’s actually scientist Curt Connors who lost his arm in the war and used a serum on himself to grow it back like a lizard, only to create an insane alter-ego. Spider-Man helps him create an antidote and keeps Jameson off his case as the cost of a bunch of money (as they travelled to Florida together to get the scoop).

Wait, did Sandman just crotch-thrust Spider-Man to defeat him…? That’s one way to use sand powers, I guess…

Issue 7 is a rematch with the Vulture, not much new there, 8 is another double bill, with Spider-Man tackling the “Living Brain” (as apposed to the non-living ones?) which is an AI computer that goes on a rampage, and it also sees Peter and Flash get put in a boxing match to settle their differences, forcing Peter to try and pull his punches, then the second story is Spider-man coming across a party with the Human Torch at its centre and the two have a bit of a face-off that involves the Fantastic Four intervening again.  Issue 9 has Electro debut and the formula of “villain arrives, gives backstory, defeats Spider-Man, Spider-Man figures out way to counteract villain’s powers, defeats villain in a rematch” is in full swing (though has a nice side story of Peter caring for Aunt May while she’s ill), and finally Issue 10 is more personal focusing on Peter’s love interest at school Betty ending up owing money to a crime syndicate headed by “Big Man” and Jameson things Spider-Man is the leader, while Peter thinks Jameson is actually the criminal. Turns out it was someone working in the Daily Bugle office, but not J. Jonah. Peter also has to give a blood transfusion to Aunt May, much to his worry given the whole radioactive spider blood thing, and Jonah actually admits he hates Spider-Man because he’s “everything he’s not”, which was a good bit of growth… a little bit, but still growth!

Overall Thoughts:

“It looks different to us, kill it!” jeez, people nowadays… or um, in the 60s, which, well… yeah.

Overall then Spider-Man’s debut run was consistently fun, with only one or two more dull issues here and there but otherwise full of the best kind of 60s comic cheese. Spidey’s rogues gallery was already starting to fill up by Issue 10, and given most of them are still around today and how much of their and Spider-Man’s origins are still being used now just shows how well they nailed it right from the off.