The Amazing Spider-Man #144: "The Delusion Conspiracy!"

The Amazing Spider-Man #144

"The Delusion Conspiracy!"
May, 1975

Gerry Conway (Author)
Ross Andru (Artist)
Frank Giacoia & Dave Hunt (Embellishers)
Ray Holloway (Letterer)
George Roussos (Colorist)
Len Wein (Editor)

     The Amazing Spider-Man has just discovered that the city of Paris is
just as screwed up as his native New York.

     With J. Jonah Jameson kidnapped while on a business trip to France
-- and Robbie also kidnapped by a creep called the Cyclone, Spidey has to
pull his web-head up from under half a ton of debris.  Why would anyone
want to kidnap J.J and Joe Robertson?  He remembers the telegram that he
saw as Peter Parker, which demanded a large sum in the form of stocks.
Robertson had been called away to a mysterious meeting, but the
wall-crawler had followed his friend, just in time to battle his
abductors.

     THOM!  Their leader was the Cyclone, who managed to knock down part
of a building on Spider-Man.  When he came to, everyone was gone.  All he
has right now are the bonds at the hotel, a sore body, and a massive
headache.  It's been a busy time for Spider-Man, what with losing the
Spider-Mobile in the Hudson, meeting the new Mysterio, and finding that
his relationship with Mary Jane has gotten better.  With the way things
have been going lately, it's wonder that he's not stuck with the hotel
bill.

     The clerk gives Peter a message, which has him waiting in his room
for further instructions.  While waiting, he places a call to his Aunt
May, who's going out to see a movie with Anna Watson.  The call ends when
Peter learns that he has some visitors.

     Anna is impressed by the nephew's devotion to his aunt, as well as
how things are going with her niece.  May remembers the trouble they had
when trying to put the two young people together.  As the two ladies walk
out, they remember how Peter and Mary Jane grew closer after what
happened to poor Gwen Stacy.  May wonders why older people like them
continue, while a young girl who has just started to live is gone.  As
Anna tries to change the subject, May Parker seems something out of the
corner of her eye.

     The aunt of Peter Parker wonder if she's losing her mind, for she
cannot be seeing the girl who has just walked by in the snow.  After she
almost faints in Anna Watson's arms, May Parker can only wonder who would
be taking care of her delicate nephew.

     Peter is in for a rude awakening when he answers the knock at the
door.  The Cyclone's two henchmen deliver the message for him to bring
the money to Notre Dame tomorrow night.  In the morning, the freelance
photographer retrieves the attache case from the hotel safe.

     Fog is in the air, as Peter walks through the narrow city streets.
He is alone in his thoughts when he comes across a hardware store, and a
way to beat his new foe.  Peter is now excited as he makes his purchase
and pushes the equipment on a trolley.  The young man continues on his
way towards the cathedral at Notre Dame.

     In the evening, the web-slinger uses the time to swing his way
across Paris, and arrives at the cathedral.  The sight of the stone
gargoyles gives the web-head some food for thought.  At least they
haven't any problems to deal with.  There are times when he wishes that
all the bad things would vanish, but then if all of his problems went, so
would the good things.

     Especially a young lady by the name of Mary Jane Watson.  His
troubles await him in Notre Dame.  The Cyclone asks his two captives if
they are comfortable and J. Jonah Jameson has much to say on the subject.
The villain regards the two Americans as weak,while he as a European is
made of firmer stuff.  He was one an engineer at N.A.T.O. and had devised
the cyclone as an offensive weapon.  The engineer learned that N.A.T.O.
would only purchase their weapons from America and that his services were
no longer required.  Jameson is less than impressed by the story.

     The publisher gets a slap in the face for his trouble, but before
things can get any worse, the two henchmen spot the attache case
containing the stocks on a descending web-line.  Before the two can get
their hands on it, the case snaps shut, and is lifted out of their reach.
It is now Spider-Man who comes into view and the last thing they see are
two kicks from his webbed feet.

     Now on the ground, the wall-crawler confronts the Cyclone, who tries
to punch him, but is knocked backwards by two punches from your friendly
neighborhood Spider-Man.  As Spidey is about to express his disgust over
Cyclone hiding his victims in a church, the villain activates the control
on his belt.

     WHOOSH!  FFOOOSSH  SWOOM!  Now it is the web-slinger who is caught
in the vortex of the Cyclone.  (Holy Tunnel-Vision, Batman!)

     Grabbing onto a railing, the web-head attempts to reach the villain
at the eye of the storm, but is knocked away.  He now employs his
original plan and hopes that there's enough electricity in the cathedral
to pull it off.  WHUSH!  Spider-Man has three seconds before the Cyclone
can squash him.  SHOOM!  FOOM!

     The wall-crawler unveils his weapon of choice and the villain laughs
at the sight of the large fan.  Upon clicking the switch, Spidey watches
as the Cyclone is exposed to a vortex which is opposite to his own.  Now
it is he who is a straw in the wind and whose protests end upon crashing
against a nearby wall.

     As Spider-Man gets to his feet, J. Jonah Jameson wonders why it had
to be the wall-crawler who saved them.  Spidey is quick to point out that
he was there to save Robertson, not him.  Just as Jolly Jonah is about to
give him a piece of his mind, the voice of Peter Parker is heard from the
belfry, and the web-slinger takes his leave.  At the belfry, the
wall-crawler turns off the remote-controlled tape recorder, and knows
that the publisher now believes that he and the freelance photographer
were there at the same time. 

     Hours later, the three are on their way back to JFK International
Airport, with all suspicions from J. Jonah Jameson put to rest.  Mary
Jane Watson is not at the airport to meet them, so they take a cab, and
drop Peter off at his apartment house.  On the street, he sees Anna
Watson, who tells him that his aunt is in the hospital.

     The older woman points up the stairs towards his apartment, where he
runs, and comes face-to-face with a sight that he cannot believe.  Gwen
Stacy is standing at the door to his apartment and Peter's world has just
turned black.

     On the cover of The Amazing Spider-Man #144, the web-head coins the
famous, familiar phrase of "You can't be standing there!  You're dead!"
The reader sees a familiar boot and a hint of a green skirt, but nothing
more.  (Holy Comics Code, Batman!)

     For once, the web-head has made it out of New York, and into another
country.  His opinion of the French neighborhood makes him for an unhappy
tourist.

     A well-known letterer is Thom... Tom Orzechowski, who knew George
Roussos, but did not know at the time that the colorist had worked on the
Golden Age Batman.

     Spider-Man lost his Spider-Mobile in Amazing Spider-Man #141.

     Back in the 1970's, the term "hardware" had a completely different
meaning.

     "Cathedral Perilous!" was another story that took place in a
Cathedral, by Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson.  This story appeared in
Detective Comics #441.

     We never learned the name of the N.A.T.O. engineer who became the
Cyclone.

     Spidey's witty banter with the baddies and his unique manner of
startling them makes for a fun character.

     I assume that Cyc's costume protected him from those spider-strength
punches.

     The Cyclone may have left Spidey winded, but the web-slinger
introduced the villain to his biggest fan.

     The Cyclone was among the villains slain at the Bar With No Name by
the Scourge of the Underworld in Captain America #319.

     A new Cyclone appeared in Thunderbolts #3.

     Gwen Stacy plays a large role in the current issues of The Amazing
Spider-Man.

     Steve Chung
     "The Delusion Review!"

The Amazing Spider-Man #4: "Nothing Can Stop... The Sandman!"

The Amazing Spider-Man #4
"Nothing Can Stop... The Sandman!"
September, 1963

Script: Stan Lee
Art: Steve Ditko

The latest tourist attraction in New York is the costumed crime-fighter
known as Spider-Man. From the looks of things, J. Jonah Jameson is going
after the web-headed wonder in the pages of his newspaper. After
perusing the Bugle billboard, Spidey spots three thugs casing a jewelry
store, and watches as they move in after the proprietor has locked up for
the night. The three hoods are in for a surprise when pieces of webbing
falls around them. One of the thugs starts to panic when the
wall-crawler closes in, but another manages to keep his head. Instead of
fighting back, he threatens to sue Spider-Man for assault and battery,
and his crooked cronies will serve as witnesses. Since there is no law
against three citizens walking the streets at night, and since the
web-slinger swooped down to put a scare into them, it's obvious who the
menace is around here. Inwardly, the young hero realizes the mistake he
just made of not waiting until they had broken into the store. The three
hoods decide to yell for a police officer, with one appearing just
moments later.

When they tell the officer how Spider-Man attacked them for no reason,
the young hero decides to leave the scene. The police officer will not
be getting his report filled out, nor will he be privy to Spidey's real
name and address. The web-slinger has just learned that it's never a
good idea to charge into a situation without knowing what's happening.
On the other hand, he did stop the three hoods from breaking into the
store. The three citizens continue to jeer at the retreating figure,
until the beat cop tells them to move on their way, and admits that if he
were Spider-Man, he would have taken them on himself. On a nearby
rooftop, the young hero is looking up at the Bugle billboard, and knows
that it's Jameson who's been turning the public against him. He decides
to pay a visit on the Daily Bugle publisher, but Jolly Jonah is not in.
Just the same, Spidey decides to leave a small souvenir for Jameson to
remember him by. Once the deed is done, Spider-Man is about to swing
from a water tower, when he spots three police cars below. He watches as
a figure makes a frantic climb to the roof. Since he must be the one the
police are looking for, it should be a simple matter for Spidey to catch
him.

The Spider-Man beacon shines in front of the culprit, to let him know
what he's in for. On closer inspection, Spidey doesn't know what to make
of this particular rooftop dweller. He calls himself the Sandman. The
wall-crawler has heard of the Sandman, but thought that the reports were
exaggerated. If what they say is true, he's a wanted man from Maine to
Mexico. The Sandman pushes him to one side, intent on keeping his date
with a couple of bank robberies. When Spider-Man grabs him from behind,
the criminal begins to sneer, and slips through his fingers like soft
sand. While the young hero wonders how his quarry managed to do such a
feat, the Sandman reforms his human shape, and stands there when Spidey
punches his fist right through him. The blow does not harm the bizarre
criminal, and when he hardens his jaw, it is Spider-Man who hurts his
fist from the next punch.

Like Reed Richards, the Sandman is able to change his form, and sends the
web-slinger staggering backwards. In the fall, Spidey's mask is torn,
and Peter knows that his secret identity is in danger. Even if he did
capture the Sandman, the criminal would tell the authorities everything,
and once the secret was out, J. Jonah Jameson would have a field day.
With her nephew in jail, Aunt May would have to support herself by
selling shoelaces for ten cents each. Peter is forced to flee the scene,
with the Sandman calling him a coward. With Spider-Man gone, he gets
down to business, and leaps off the roof. He turns into tiny, weightless
sand particles, and reforms on the sidewalk below. Now, it's time to
make a withdrawal from the bank.

At the bank, the Sandman reforms the particles of his index finger into
the shape of a key. Inserting the finger into the lock, the tumblers are
moved, and the door is opened. Now inside the bank, the bizarre criminal
slithers along the floor, beneath the electric eye beam, and fails to set
off an alarm. All that remains is to tackle the bank vault itself. Back
home, Peter Parker is hard at work on sewing his Spider-Man mask, and
realizes that he can't take it to a tailor shop. His task is interrupted
by a special television bulletin about the Sandman. Months ago, Flint
Marko was a prisoner at Island Prison. The inmate made his escape
through an unguarded drainage tunnel, and vowed never to be taken alive.
He remained on the F.B.I.'s most wanted list and managed to stay one step
ahead of the law. With the dragnet tightening around him, Marko hid at
an atomics devices testing center.

Flint Marko remained on the beach until the day of the nuclear test
explosion. The radiation caused his body's molecules to merge with the
sand beneath his feet. The escaped inmate was now virtually
indestructible. Hearing a knock at his bedroom door, Peter turns off the
TV, and hides his costume by throwing on a robe. Aunt May has brought
him some cookies and milk. Seeing her nephew clutching at his robe so
tightly, she figures that the poor dear must have a fever. When he
admits to feeling ill, Aunt May offers to bring up a thermometer and some
aspirins. While she's away, Peter tunes in to the news again. The bank
has been surrounded by police. The Sandman makes his exit from the bank,
with the bullets fired by the police failing to have an effect upon him.
While Aunt May pats his head, Peter hopes that he'll be able to sew his
mask, and catch the Sandman.

The bizarre criminal is making his way through the city, with the
authorities on his heels. After turning a corner, Marko drops his loot,
and wills himself to change. When the pursuing officers run past, they
pay little heed to the pile of sand in a vacant lot. The following
morning finds the Sandman still at large and Aunt May declaring her
nephew fit enough for school. Once she has left the room, Peter puts the
finishing touches on his mask, and puts on his costume beneath his
clothes. Breakfast is left for him by his aunt, and he tells her that
he'll be seeing Mr. Jameson later. Aunt May is familiar with the nice
man who publishes both the Daily Bugle and Now Magazine. She only hopes
that Peter doesn't exert himself or else he'll get another cold. After
promising his aunt that he won't exert himself, he agrees to take an
umbrella to school. At the offices of J. Jonah Jameson, the publisher
asks his secretary for the latest information on the Sandman and for the
file on Spider-Man. First the wall-crawler threatens the city, now the
Sandman. There must be a connection between the two of them, and what a
scoop that would be.

Now seated at his desk, J. Jonah Jameson notices the little gift left by
Spider-Man on the previous day. The Daily Bugle publisher is stuck to
his chair and can't get out. The webbing has given him a ringside seat.
He immediately tells Miss Brant to get him another pair of pants.
Outside the office, she spots Peter Parker, and asks the young
photographer to bring Mr. Jameson his pants. Inside the office, Jameson
is caught with his pants down, and asks if the freelancer has brought him
any more photos. Peter is asked to bring more pictures of Spider-Man, as
well as why he decided to stop by the office. When he asks for an
advance on his next check, he is reminded by the publisher that he is
only paid when he brings in exclusive photos, and not before. To J.
Jonah Jameson, teenagers are all alike, and don't know the value of a
dollar. Lacking the funds for new experiments for his webbing, Peter
must postpone his plans. Once he does get the photos of Spider-Man,
Jameson will run them with pictures of Sandman, and have a caption asking
the reader if they are the same man. After taking the bus, Peter arrives
at school, and overhears Liz Allen telling Flash Thompson how the poor
guy has got a date with her for tonight. Young Mr. Parker is thinking
about coming up with a way to pick up the Sandman's trail.

When Liz asks him when he'll be picking her up, Peter has to make an
excuse, and Flash decides to take advantage of the situation. Liz fumes
when Peter tells her how he has to study for tomorrow's exam, and being
the top student in class, he of all people should be able to afford one
night to be with a girl. Flash smiles and wonders where Petey left his
galoshes. While wondering why he should continue to be Spider-Man if
everything turns out wrong, Peter is admonished by the teacher for
daydreaming. Elsewhere, the Sandman is turning his legs into sand to
evade capture. The authorities may not be able to hold him, but they are
starting to wear him down. Marko must find a place to hide out until the
heat's off. The high school looks like a likely spot and no one should
think of finding him there. In the hallway, Peter Parker has been
assigned to bring some old bottles from the lab to the boiler room, and
he fails to notice Flint Marko lurking nearby. The janitor tells the
teenager to leave the box there, then works on adjusting the new
king-size vacuum cleaner. Peter envies the custodian, whose only worry
is to keep the high school clean. One floor above, Flint Marko hears
someone approaching, and ducks into a nearby room.

Unfortunately for the Sandman, the room is full, and the school principal
is about to say a few words. When Principal Davis asks what he's doing
here, Marko decides that since he never graduated, he wants a high school
diploma. A guy like him oughta have the best of everything, including a
diploma -- or else. Nothing would make the principal do a thing a like
that. A diploma is something that must be earned, and Marko's threats
are going to make him violate his trust or his duties. The students are
impressed by their principal standing up to the Sandman, and admire his
guts. Indeed, Davis tells the students in his care to run home, and call
the police. He will hold Marko off until they're safely away. The
Sandman is determined to teach Principal Davis a lesson, but Peter Parker
had overheard everything, and makes a quick change of clothes to enter
the classroom as Spider-Man. Marko is caught off-guard by the opening
punch, while the students all agree that this is much better than
learning Calculus.

As they cheer him on, Spidey wonders how loudly they'd cheer if they knew
they were cheering "Puny" Parker. Impressed by the web-slinger's
entrance, the Sandman says that he's ready for him now, and he's not
going to get away this time. Realizing that a fight in the classroom
might injure one of the students, Spidey decides to take the fight
outside. His spider-sense tingles when Marko makes his body rock-hard
once more. The wall-crawler grabs his opponent in a wrestling hold
before Sandman can completely change his structure, and flips him over
his head. Marko has left the classroom headfirst, with Spidey determined
to hold him at bay until the authorities arrive. In the confusion, Liz
wonders what happened to Peter, and Flash figures that the guy must have
his head under a desk somewhere.

The Sandman has recovered and begins his assault. Spider-Man acts
swiftly to maintain Marko's attention upon him ,while the others clear
the building. With Spider-Man out of the way, Marko figures that no one
will be able to beat him. The web-headed hero needs more fighting room
and leads the Sandman to the gym. Standing atop the backboard, he sprays
Marko with webbing, and watches as he pours right through it. The
Sandman reforms on the gym floor, with the battle back on.

He'll be darned if he knows how he'll beat Marko. He needs to catch his
breath for a moment, but the Sandman's got him trapped in a corner. He
can't run and his punches aren't affecting him. Marko makes himself all
sandy again and catches Spidey's fist when it goes through him. With the
wall-crawler stuck, the Sandman makes his own head rock-hard, and
delivers some love taps. Only his spider-strength keeps him from
blacking out, and he must come up with something. Using every last bit
of his strength, the Amazing Spider-Man manages to flip Marko over his
head, and against an iron stairway post.

Now, countless grains of sand are on the floor, and Spider-Man is free.
He has already begun to reform into a solid mass. If there was anyone
who wanted to trade places with him, Peter would be hard up to refuse
them. Marko oozes his grains of sand over towards Spidey... like
quicksand. He then leaps forward, and starts to cover him in a sand
trap. While Sandman tries to render him helpless, the web-slinger bends
down, and tries to make him into the shape of a ball. Down the basement
steps they go.

In the boiler room, the impact enables Spider-Man to break free. Flint
Marko is done fooling around, but Spidey's just getting started. He has
an electric drill that will bore through anything. All Sandman has to do
is to make his body like sand again. He is unaware that this is just
what the wall-crawler wants him to do. The drill passes right through
him, then with incredible speed, the web-slinger drops the drill for the
large industrial vacuum cleaner. Flint Marko had wanted a diploma and is
about to get an education --- courtesy of your friendly neighborhood
Spider-Man.

The heavy canvas bag will hold Sandy for sure. Since he couldn't get any
pictures of the fight for Jolly Jonah, the web-head decides to take his
camera from his belt, and sets the time to automatic. A bucket of sand
will help for effect. A handful of sand is tossed into the air, with
Spider-Man diving through it, and giving the impression that he's
attacking the Sandman in his sand-grain form. Since this occurred a few
minutes ago, it couldn't be unethical, and is more like a reenactment.
Outside the high school, the authorities have surrounded the building,
and J. Jonah Jameson has arrived on the scene. He asks the captain why
they don't charge in, and arrest the Sandman. The Police Captain reminds
the publisher that they must make certain that the students are clear
before the shooting starts.

Once the school has been cleared, Jameson calls for the officers to go
after the Sandman and Spider-Man. As far as the police are concerned,
they are not after Spider-Man, and as far as they know, he's helping them
against the bizarre criminal. Jameson continues to believe that they are
in cahoots, and are about to divide their loot. Even so, the Police
Captain will handle things his way. The Spider-Beacon shines on the
ground before them, with its owner on the roof of the high school, and
offering the canister containing the Sandman as a gift. The Daily Bugle
publisher insists that it's a trick and they must capture Spider-Man
before he escapes. The Police Captain calls for him to come down and
give them a full report, while J. Jonah Jameson wants to know who he
thinks he is by taking the law into his own hands. The young hero knows
that nothing he does will ever satisfy Jameson, and he'd better watch his
step or else the crowd will turn against him. Not only that, the police
may lock him up, too.

The canister containing Flint Marko is lowered via a web-line, but
Spider-Man does not join them on the ground below. Inside the school, he
has got other plans, and changes back to Peter Parker before they find
him. Seconds later, he hopes that no one connects his absence with the
disappearance of Spider-Man. When confronted by the publisher for
exclusive photos, the teenager hands over the undeveloped film. The
smiling Peter is told that the cost of developing them will come out of
his pay. There's no sign of Spider-Man, but there's nothing against him,
and they do have Sandman in custody. Jameson is planning on running a
story on how the web-headed menace caused untold damage to the high
school and public property. He insists that if the police had handled
things, Flint Marko would have been caught with little muss and fuss. He
is convinced that Spider-Man is in it for the glory. The police officers
present are all aware that the publisher is only interested in airing his
own personal grudge.

Peter Parker is a happy teenager. He beat the Sandman, got the money he
needed, and there's nothing to stop him from dating Liz Allen tonight.
Flash Thompson sees that the student has come out now that the fighting
is over. When he asks Liz for a date, he learns that she's made other
plans. When Flash tells him to run along with his umbrella, Peter grabs
him by the sweater, and promises to wipe the smirk from his face right
now. This is what Thompson has been waiting for, but Peter remembers
that with his spider-strength, he'd pulverize him. Liz Allen watches in
disbelief as her classmate begs off, and Flash remains convinced that
Parker is chicken.

When one of the students grasps him by the arm, he notices that Parker's
got muscles like a weight lifter. Liz notes that it's a shame that he
doesn't have the courage to match. Flash smiles and tells her to go
since he's starting to get bored. Now even Liz Allen thinks that he's a
coward. When Flash taunts him from the car, Liz tells him there's no need
to be that cruel to Peter. When it comes to women, Flash Thompson will
never understand them. While walking home from school, Peter overhears
the comments from the neighborhood. The Daily Bugle editorial makes some
think that Spider-Man is bad as Sandman. One kid wishes to be
Spider-Man, while the other wants to be the Human Torch. One shopper
agrees with Jameson that Spider-Man has no business catching crooks by
himself. A reader wonders what would happen if Spider-Man turned against
society, while the other wonders what kind of person would wear a
costume, and run around after hoods. He's got to be some kind of
neurotic with delusions of grandeur. Now in his bedroom, Peter Parker is
bewildered, confused, and bitter. Could they be right? Is he some sort
of a nut, wasting his time in search of fame and fortune? Is he more
interested in being Spider-Man than he is in helping others? Why does he
do it? Why doesn't he give the whole thing up? And yet, he can't! He
must have this great power for some reason. No matter how hard it is, he
must be Spider-Man and hopes that some day, the world at large will
understand.

This story was reprinted in The Essential Spider-Man Vol. 1.

On the cover of The Amazing Spider-Man #4, the web-headed hero catches
the Sandman, and is surprised when the bizarre criminal slips through his
very fingers.

On the splash page, the police are opening fire against an invulnerable
Flint Marko, while Spider-Man wages a desperate battle in the heart of a
captive classroom.

By his fourth issue, we see that Peter Parker has still got a lot to
learn about being a costumed crime-fighter.

Spidey made certain that J. Jonah Jameson would remain glued to his seat
at the offices of the Daily Bugle.

The Spider-Beacon would be later known as the Spider-Signal.

As we see in this story, it's not unheard of for Spidey' mask to be torn
during the blaze of battle.

Thanks to his powers, Flint Marko has found the key to successful banking
and robbery.

Peter can spin a web, but not thread a needle.

His high school classmates are above needling "Puny" Parker.

One wonders if Flint Marko is any relation to Cain Marko, AKA The
Juggernaut.

Peter is determined to let a smile be his umbrella.

By the end of this story, Flint Marko learns what it's like to live in a
vacuum.

Principal Davis is a man of principles.

I like how Stan and Steve had him stand up to the Sandman, as well as
illustrating how important a high school diploma really is.

When battling the Sandman, Spidey was truly caught between a rock and a
hard place.

Flint Marko thought he knew the drill, but Spider-Man had things in the
bag.

Peter might have had a lot of sand if he used the bucket for snapping
pictures was slightly unethical.

For a moment, Liz Allen sees the "Tiger" in Peter that Mary Jane Watson
would come to know in the years to come.

Steve Chung
"Nothing can Stop... The Review!"

Amazing Spider-Man #12, "Unmasked by Dr. Octopus!"

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #12; May 1964; Marvel Comics Group; featuring "Unmasked by
\Dr. Octopus!", written by Stan Lee and drawn (and possibly plotted or
co-plotted) by Steve Ditko. (The story has been reprinted several times; I'm
reviewing it based on the black & white reprint in ESSENTIAL SPIDER-MAN vol. 1.) On
the cover, Dr. Octopus holds a helpless Spider-Man in his metal arms and rips
off his mask to expose the face of Peter Parker, as Peter's boss J. Jonah
Jameson, his girlfriend Betty Brant, and some cops watch in shock.

Review by Bill Henley

The splash page consists of a figure of a despondent-looking, unmasked Peter
Parker/Spider-Man, surrounded by vignettes of the villainous Doc Ock, a
gloating J. Jonah Jameson, the rest of the supporting cast (Betty Brant, Aunt May,
Flash Thompson, Liz Allan) and some escaped zoo animals. The story picks up
from the previous issue, in which Spidey traveled to the wilds of Philadelphia
to battle Dr. Octopus but failed to capture the cephalopod crook. J. Jonah
Jameson, naturally, makes this failure the main "Daily Bugle" headline of the
day. JJJ has his own problems, as the latest of a series of replacement
secretaries quits in a huff-- "You don't need a secretary-- you need a PSYCHIATRIST!"
Fortunately for JJ, his former secretary, Betty Brant, has returned to New
York and is masochistic enough to ask for her old job back. Swinging by the
Bugle office as Spider-Man, our hero observes Betty's return and changes to Peter
Parker, eager to meet Betty and console her after the traumatic events of
last issue (in which her brother Bennett was killed during the battle with Doc
Ock). JJJ throws Peter out of his office since he doesn't have any new photos
to sell-- "This is an OFFICE, not a social club!"-- but a smiling Betty invites
Peter to call her later at home.

Meanwhile, Dr. Octopus is on the rampage elsewhere in the country, committing
spectacular crimes in city after city. His goal is not merely to amass
ill-gotten weatth, but to lure his archfoe into his multi-armed grasp; "I KNOW I'm
stronger than he is! I know that I'll defeat him when next we meet! But so
long as he lives, I'll never be truly safe! I've GOT to force him to fight me
again! But whey hasn't he followed me?" Well, if Spidey were a DC hero, he
probably would have. Superman would have flown to wherever his enemy was
rampaging in a matter of minutes, the Flash would have run there, and Batman would
have traveled cross country in his Batplane or Batmobile. But as for
Spider-Man, well.... he's sitting at his living room table doing homework as Peter
Parker, as his Aunt May clucks that he feels a little feverish. He's well aware
of Doc Ock's out of town rampage, but "I haven't the money for the fare, and
my end term exams are coming up soon, and Aunt May would never let me go
ANYWAY!"

The next day at school, Peter Parker's classmates are reading JJJ's latest
anti-Spider-Man screed, and it occurs to them to ask "bookworm Parker, " the
science geek, what he knows about spiders. Not wanting to hint that he knows a
lot more about spiders and Spider-Man than anyone suspects, Peter pretends an
aversion; "I HATE spiders! They're such ugly, icky things! I'd rather not
even TALK about them!" This inspires a certain amount of merriment about Peter
Parker's "rugged, fearless he-man" nature, which in turn inspires some
thought-balloon moralizing by Peter; "Someday everybody will realize that it's only
the people who are inferior THEMSELVES who keep picking on others!...How about
that? I'm beginnin- to sound like a teen-age Billy Graham!" (Speaking of
Peter's teen-age status, while Lee and Ditko managed to make Peter Parker a
believable teenager in many respects, I have to wonder if even the geekiest teen
even in the early 60's actually wore the kind of suit-and-vest ensemble Ditko
draws Peter wearing to school.)

"Not long afterwards, Betty Brant receives a mysterious phone call", and is
distraught when she recognizes the voice on the other end as that of Dr.
Octopus. Soon after that, the not-so-good doctor makes his appearance in person,
bursting through a window into J. Jonah Jameson's office while Betty and Peter
Parker are present. Doc Ock seizes Betty in two of his arms while holding JJJ
and Peter at bay with the other two. "I can't fight back now-- it would give
my identity away!", Peter thinks, with his face symbolically half-masked as
Spider-Man. Ock issued his demand; to keep Betty from being harmed, Jameson
must print a notice to get Spider-Man's attention and then send the webslinger to
Coney Island (and not for a fun time on the roller coasters). As Doc Ock
carries Betty away, Peter shouts a promise that Spider-Man will save her. But
will he be able to keep that promise? As he confronts JJJ in his Spider-Man
identity, pretending to be learning for the first time about Ock's threat, and
then heads for Coney Island (where the amusement park is closed for the winter),
our hero realizes, "I feel kind of woosy-- my head is warm-- maybe I AM
getting ill, as Aunt May said!" On the way to Coney Island, Spidey realizes he is
not sticking to walls as well as usual. But of course, with Betty's life at
stake, this does not prevent Spidey from keeping his appointment with Betty and
Doc Ock. Also on hand for the confrontation will be JJJ, who has decided to
see whatever happens for himself.

At Coney Island, while Doc Ock boasts that he will deal out "Spider-Man's
greatest humiliation," and Betty (not altogether a passively helpless damsel)
tries to free herself from Ock's ropes with her fingernaiils, our hero approaches
the scene more wobbly than ever. "Can hardly stand-- my feet feel like
rubber! Of all the times for me to get a virus attack...But I CAN"T let it stop
me!" Betty succeeds in freeing herself and makes a run for it just as our sick
little superhero arrives on the scene. Desperate to keep Ock from recapturing
Betty, Spidey grabs Ock from behind and delivers what he hopes will be a
knockout punch to the jaw. But no such luck; "My spider-strength is GONE! He
hardly FELT it!: The suspicious Ock wonders if his archfoe is pretending
weakness as some sort of trick. "What are you trying to do-- frustrate me? Fight
back, do you hear? Don't water down my victory by making it too easy!" Holding
our hero in the grip of his metal arms and delivering punch after punch with
his real fists, Dr. Octopus has our hero at his mercy and delivers to coup de
grace of pulling off his mask to reveal-- "I should have KNOWN! It's NOT
Spider-Man! It's that weakling brat, Peter Parker!" Betty Brant, JJJ, and the
cops who Betty has called to the scene come to the same right-but-wrong
conclusion, assuming that since he learned of Octopus' threat against Betty, Peter the
impulsive, non-powered teenager tried to save her by dressing up in a
Spider-Man costume. Betty and even the police are impressed by Peter's "courage",
but JJJ is only irritated (his usual condition), especially when the police rip
into him for failing to report Doc Ock's threat so that they could set a trap
for him. Shortly afterwards, a "nice policeman" delivers Peter to his Aunt
May's tender care, and a doctor reassures her; "It's just the 24-hour virus! It
makes one weak as a kitten for a day, but then it passes!" Peter's sleep is
troubled by a dream of his costumed self berating him; "What ARE you? Some
kinda NUT or something?? You should have your HEAD examined for appearing as
Spider-Man when you were so weak!" But the next morning the doctor's
prognosis is borne out, as Peter awakens in fine fettle and able to flip out of bed in
a somersault; "I've got the old spider-strength back! The old ZINGAROOO!"
He doesn't escape the house before receiving a stern talking-to front Aunt May
about his stunt with the costume of "that dreadful Spider-Man". But at
school the reaction is somewhat different. While Flash and some others sneer at
Peter's attempt to "show off", Liz Allan, the classmate who once disdained puny
Peter, lashes out at Flash, saying Peter has demonstrated courage as well as
brains far exceeding that of Flash, a hero only on the football field. And
meanwhile, somewhere in hiding, Dr. Octopus tears apart newspapers which depict
his "battle" with young Peter Parker as a fiasco for the archvillain. Goaded
into total fury, Doc Ock leaves his hideout and goes on the rampage around New
York-- starting by breaking into the zoo and freeing the most dangerous
animals (lions and tigers and bears, oh my!}

Finding himself pursued by the suddenly worshipful Liz Allan, Peter Parker
takes the interruption of the zoo animals' rampage almost as a relief. Seeing a
lion threatening passers-by, Spidey leaps on its back to wrangle it and
deliver it into the nets of the police; "I've never fought anything like THIS
before-- but there's always a FIRST time!" He webs up the claws of a girzzly bear
and then battles a gorilla on a precarious window ledge. Meanwhile, Dr.
Octopus himself is still on the prowl, screaming for the real Spider-Man to come
and face him. And face him he does, using his webbing to halt a giant
advertising sign Ock has toppled toward bystanders. But now, even with his full
powers restored, can Spider-Man defeat his most dangerous foe (the Green Goblin
hadn't been introduced yet, and even then would take a while to eclipse Ock as
the head of Spidey's rogues' gallery) in a really major snit? "How am I gonna
figure out a way to defeat him once and for all? Well, one thing's for sure--
I'd better come up with an ANSWER pretty darn fast!" For a moment our hero
thinks he's found that answer; when Ock pursues him up a smokestack, Spidey
swings around and around the stack, pinning Ock to the smokestack with his
webbing. But Ock is not without his own resourcefulness, and he uses his arms to
push himself away from the stack, causing the strands of webbing to go slack
before they can tighten completely. The chase resumes, with Ock taunting Spidey
that the webslinger's greater agility is outmatched by the greater strength and
endurance his mechanical arms give him. "Guess you're right, Ock! If all
that BOASTING doesn't tire you out, nothing will!" Spider-Man takes momentary
refuge in an airshaft, but then hurls himself upward for some close-in fighting
with Doc Ock. "Buddy boy, you're not fighting a weak IMITATION of Spider-Man
now-- you're fighting the REAL THING!" He delivers a mighty punch to Ock's
jaw, but it's not enough to put the villain out for the count, and as they
grapple on the rooftop, they both fall through a skylight into a sculptor's studio
loft. As they continue to battle, amidst giant stone heads and winged angel
figures, they knock over the sculptor's cleaning fluid and a fire is ignited,
threatening both combatants' lives. "Are you so filled with hate that you're
willing to DIE rather than stop our battle?" Apparently so, as Ock continues
to lash out-- until one of the giant statues falls on him, pinning him to the
floor. Selflessly, Spider-Man is prepared to risk his own life to save his
archfoe. (Interestingly, soon after this when Steve Ditko left Marvel and
started creating his own heroes-- Mr. A for Wally Wood's WITZEND magazine and the
Question for Charlton-- he distinguished his harder-edged heroes by having them
*refuse* to save villains who whose lives were endangered, arguing that
there's no reason to risk the life of a good and innocent man to save someone
committed to evil who brought about his fate by his own actions.) A collapsing
floor and outbreak of flame prevents Spidey from reaching Ock, and he realizes;
"I've been so worried about Doc Ock, I forgot about MYSELF! This is no bed for
roses for ME, either!" Especially when he discovers that his webshooters are
empty. Fortunately he manages to refill the cartridges quickly and then uses
his webbing to create a fireproof shield that lasts long enough for him to
escape the building. Spidey resumes his Peter Parker identity just in time to
exchange sneers with Flash Thompson ("Get lost, Parker! [Doc Ock] is still at
large! You might SEE him and faint dead away!" "Why don't you slither back
to the rock you crawled out from under, Flash!") and witness the capture of
the no-longer-at-large Dr. Octopus, alive but weakened and ripe for capture by
firemen and police. Ock mutters that it was the fire that beat him, not
Spider-Man, but the cops aren't having any, pointing out that Spidey has beat him in
the end each time out, fire or no fire. Liz Allan catches up with Peter and
tries to invite him to a party, but Peter brushes her off, "I've got a date
with a certain little brunette tonight-- even though she may not know it yet!"
After Peter suggests that Liz return to Flash "even though I know how boring
it must be to have to use all those one-syllable words when you TALK to him!",
Flash is outraged, but Liz admits, "We RATED that, after the way we've always
treated Peter!" And so, as Peter reflects that he even made a profit by
having his automatic camera snap pictures of the fight with Octopus for JJJ, the
final caption reads, "Fooled you, eh? See, we don't ALWAYS have unhappy
endings! Like anyone else, our web-spinnin' hero has his ups and downs! But if he
thinks things are going to STAY rosy, it's a good thing he doesn't suspect
what's in store for him next ish!"

I said a while ago I had some thoughts about why Spider-Man, in particular,
took off as Marvel's top solo hero of the Silver Age and became the first hero
since the original Captain Marvel to go head-to-head with Superman and Batman
for the title of top costumed hero. This early issue exemplifies several of
the factors that did it. The talent of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko (and later
John Romita Sr.) had a lot to do with it of course. So did the strong lineup of
villains, like Dr. Octopus, that Lee and Ditko came up with. I referred a
minute ago to Captain Marvel, and in one way Spider-Man followed in the footsteps
of the Big Red Cheese. It's been noted, by Jules Feiffer and others, that
Cap became even more popular than Superman for a while during the Golden Age
partly because of his unique wish-fulfillment factor for kids. He wasn't an
adult hero, or a kid hero-- he was a kid who *became* a super-powered adult,
feeding the fantasies of every kid who ever wanted to grow up right away.

Spider-Man captured that wish-fulfillment aspect for a somewhat older and
more sophisticated set of readers. He didn't, of course, magically transform
from a kid into an adult. But when geeky teenager Peter Parker put on his
costume and full-face mask, he became Spider-*Man*, not Spider-Kid or Spider-Boy.
He wasn't a sidekick or a kid version of an adult hero or even a junior partner
like Johnny (Human Torch) Storm of the FF. He didn't take orders from a
mentor or boss; he might make plenty of mistakes, but at least they were his own
mistakes. He functioned as an adult, and defied various adult authority
figures, including JJJ as well as the villains. That must have been tremendously
appealing to a teenage and late pre-teen audience, in a way that the DC (and
even other Marvel) heroes of the time were not.

Another way in which Spider-Man distinguished himself from his DC rivals was
his power level. At the time, DC heroes tended toward one of two extremes.
Either they were so powerful that they were all but omnipotent and needed
special "weaknesses" in order to face any sort of challenge at all (Superman,
Supergirl, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter). Or else they were not super at all
(Batman, Green Arrow) or just barely super (Aquaman, the Atom). Spider-Man
struck a happy medium between these extremes; he was super, but not *too* super.
He was super enough to allow for spectacular action scenes and the vital
wow-I-wish-I-could-do-that wish fulfillment aspect. But he wasn't so super as to
be invincible. He could be killed by a bullet if he didnt dodge fast enough;
he could meet a villain stronger than he was and capable of beating up on him
(he wasn't by definition the strongest being in his whole world, like
Superman); he could even be felled by something as mundane as a virus, as in the above
story. Though super, he still had to win most of his victories by his own
wits, courage, and perseverance, and not just by out-supering the opposition.
This gave stories like ASM #12 a kind of crackling tension and suspense that
most DC superhero stories inevitably lacked. (The more sophisticated reader
doubtless knew that Spidey would win out in the end because he was the star of
the comic book....but it was easier to suspend disbelief and forget about that
with Spidey than it was with Superman.)