5:35 PM
Brad
Cover Date: March 1963
Plot Overview: This issue picks right up where Amazing Fantasy left off. Aunt May is unable to pay the rent due to the loss of Uncle Ben's income. Peter decides to start performing publicly as Spider-Man again to bring in some money for the family. Unfortunately for him, J. Jonah Jameson publishes an editorial that declares him to be a public menace. Peter's performing career is over so he seeks a normal job to no success. Peter sees Aunt May pawning her jewelry and becomes enraged with Jameson for what he's done.
We shift scenes to a space launch. JJJ's son John Jameson will be launched into space. The spacecraft takes off but quickly runs into problems. The guidance system has fallen out and there's no way to replace it. Peter becomes Spider-Man and offers his services. Spider-Man and a pilot fly to the spacecraft and he successfully replaces the guidance system. John lands safely as a result.
The next day JJJ launches into another campaign against Spider-Man. He is accusing Spidey of sabotage so that he could look like a hero. The public buys into the campaign. The first story ends with Peter wondering what he was going to do now. He wonders if he'll be forced to become the menace that JJJ proclaims him to be.
The second story opens as Peter has an idea. He'll join the Fantastic Four and that will solve his financial issues. He breaks into the Baxter Building and has a brief scuffle with the members of the Fantastic Four. Things settle down and Spidey declares that he wants to join the group. The FF explain that they are a non-profit organization and they can't pay him to be a member.
The scene shifts as the Chameleon has a plan to steal missile defense plans. He's a master of disguise and he's going to use Spider-Man as a scapegoat so he can successfully pull off his crime. The Chameleon uses a special radio to contact Spider-Man. He tells Spidey to meet him at a certain time and he'll help him with his problems.
The Chameleon disguises himself as Spidey and steals the plans. He runs from the police and has it timed right for the real Spider-Man to arrive on the scene to take the fall. Spidey evades the police and figures out that the culprit escaped in a helicopter. Spidey brings the helicopter down and takes the Chameleon to the police. The Chameleon creates some confusion and disguises himself as a police officer. The police try to arrest Spidey but he goes after the Chameleon. The police defend the Chameleon thinking he is one of their own. Spidey leaves the scene but he actually tore part of the Chameleon's disguise. The police arrest the Chameleon as Spidey runs into the darkness wishing he never got superpowers. The issue ends with the Fantastic Four wondering if Spider-Man is a good guy or a bad guy.
My Take: The thing I really liked about this issue is the two stories built on each other and built on the story in Amazing Fantasy. You read the first part of this issue and the second part felt like it picked right up where the first part left off. You also felt like this was a direct continuation of Amazing Fantasy. What is happening with this issue is pretty unheard of at the time. DC at the time was essentially a giant reset being hit between issues. Nothing ever really built on anything else. The continuity you're seeing here was revolutionary for this time period.
The stories were pretty solid and the background cast has really started to develop around Spider-Man. JJJ is in the book and making his life miserable already and he has the beginnings of a relationship with the Fantastic Four. I liked the first story quite a bit. It really established the tone of what Spider-Man is going to be for the next several years. The second story was okay but I felt it was a little flat. The Fantastic Four part was cool but the Chameleon part was pretty generic.
The art was up and down for this issue. The art in the first story was really good, the art in the second story felt rushed. Steve Ditko did both so it's a little weird that the quality is so off from each other. Ditko also did the Hulk book that came out for this month so it might have just been a time issue. I imagine producing 46 pages of art is no easy feat for anyone to pull off.
Overall, it's really interesting that they really seemed to have Spider-Man nailed down from the start. This is issue 2 and most of the well known Spider-Man concepts are in there already. In contrast, the Fantastic Four is on issue 12 and it's still getting tweaked here and there.
Overall I'd give this ***1/4 out of *****.
Notes: There are a ton of notes for this issue. This is of course the first issue of Amazing Spider-Man. J. Jonah Jameson, John Jameson and the Chameleon all make their first appearances here. JJJ is one of the most important characters in the Spider-Man mythos as he's one of Spidey's chief antagonists. To this day JJJ still has it out for Spider-Man. The Chameleon is what I'd call a C list Spider-Man villain. He's not the first or the second name you would think of for a Spider-Man villain but he's well known. John Jameson will come and go as the series progresses but there are several storylines that will center around him.
This book also features the Fantastic Four appearing in the book. Depending on the publishing date this could be the first instance of Marvel characters crossing over with each other. The Fantastic Four met the Hulk this month as well. Either way, this appears to be the month where Stan and co. decided to really embrace the idea of a shared universe.
Next Issue: Journey Into Mystery #90
Posted in: Amazing Spider-Man,Aunt May,Chameleon,Human Torch,J. Jonah Jameson,John Jameson,Reed Richards,Spider-Man,Sue Richards,Thing
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