Comic Book / The Amazing Spider-Man (1963)

Only the first of many adventures for ol' Spidey^note Amazing Spider-Man Vol.1 Issue 1, Cover by Steve Ditko

The Amazing Spider-Man is a 1963 comic book series from Marvel Comics and one of the longest-running comics of all time.

Peter Parker, the titular Spider-Man, debuted within a short story in the fifteenth issue of Amazing (Adult) Fantasy (renamed "Amazing Fantasy"), one of Marvel's Anthology Comics, in 1962. Bitten by a radioactive spider, the shy teenager gained super-strength, agility, and the ability to cling to walls - and then used his scientific skills to create wrist-mounted 'web shooter' gadgets, continuing the spider theme. Initially using his powers selfishly to make money, he ignored a fleeing criminal he could have helped to capture - only for the same man to later kill Peter's uncle Ben in a botched burglary.

Now, as the costumed hero known as Spider-Man, Peter lives a double life. He's come to believe that with great power comes great responsibility, and he's constantly risking his life to defend New York from criminals and supervillains. But in his secret identity, he's seen as meek, and he's unable to tell his aunt May that he's really Spider-Man, or that he could have prevented Ben's death.

The series is one of the first comics set in the shared Marvel Universe, with guest stars such as the Fantastic Four immediately establishing its connection to other Marvel comics.

Until the launch of Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man in 1976, Amazing Spider-Man was the only regular Spider-Man comic. A third title, Web of Spider-Man, was added in 1985. However, the three titles remained only loosely linked, each with their own creative team and story arcs, until 1987's Kraven's Last Hunt event ran through all three of them.

In the wake of that story, the approach to the different titles changed dramatically, and Bat Family Crossovers between them became commonplace. At some points after that, they were essentially treated as a single series, telling the same story across all Spider-Man titles even when not badging it as a crossover.

However, even after the other comics were launched and crossovers became routine, Amazing Spider-Man was generally treated as the flagship Spider-Man title in which significant events and status quo changes would occur.

Villains Venom and Carnage both debuted in the title during this time, and Amazing Spider-Man was also the title that featured Peter's wedding to Mary Jane.

Peter's elderly aunt May eventually died in issue #400, a death that was not reversed until after the series ended.

The first issue was released in March 1963. The final issue (#441) was released in November, 1998.

The series was almost immediately relaunched, with a new The Amazing Spider-Man series debuting in 1999.

Notable creative runs include:

• The Amazing Spider-Man (Lee & Ditko) (1963-66)

Notable storylines created during this run includes:

• If This Be My Destiny...! (1965)
• Green Goblin Reborn! (1971)
• The Six Arms Saga (1971)
• The Night Gwen Stacy Died (1973)
• Nothing Can Stop the Juggernaut! (1982)
• The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man (1984)
• Secret Wars (1984)
• Alien Costume Saga (1984)
• The Wedding! (1987)
• Kraven's Last Hunt (1987)
• Maximum Carnage (1993)
• The Clone Saga (1994-1996)
• Identity Crisis (1998)
• The Gathering of Five (1998)
• The Final Chapter (1998)

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The Amazing Spider-Man (1963) provides examples of:

In General

• Coming of Age Story: Comics scholars generally see Amazing Fantasy #15 to The Amazing Spider-Man #149 (the Lee-Ditko, Lee-Romita, and Conway-Romita era) as an extended coming-of-age saga where Peter Parker gets superpowers at age 15, briefly use them for profit, then after failing to help stop a criminal who later kills his Uncle Ben, making him commit so becoming a Superhero and learn responsibility by becoming the caretaker and provider for his Aunt May, working for a living, and going to high school at the same time. The "Master Planner" arc was the period in which Peter ended his youth and became a college-going young adult, he would later form a serious relationship with Gwen Stacy before additional tragedy ends up leading to a loss of innocence, where his adult social circle is marked by tragedy and broken friendships (Gwen and Harry respectively). Most notably, Conway's final issue in his run, Issue 149, has Peter finally passing his rite of passage when it ends with what is strongly implied to be him and MJ having sex together, finally losing his virginity and becoming a man.
• Darker and Edgier: The tone of the Spider-Man comics in the original 100 issues run of The Amazing Spider-Man was generally light-hearted and grounded but it could vary within issues to something comedic to dark, angsty, and violent stories. Gerry Conway's run on Spider-Man was significantly darker than Lee and Romita's (featuring major character death, psychological breakdowns, and breaking up of friendships), and writers after him also balanced extremes in Peter's life.
• Good Colors, Evil Colors: In the first 25 issues of The Amazing Spider-Man, almost all of the many classic villains debuted incorporate the color green. Chameleon, Vulture, Tinkerer, Doctor Octopus, the Sandman, the Lizard, Living Brain, Electro, the Big Man, Mysterio, The Green Goblin, and the Scorpion all had green as a part of their overall look (Kraven the Hunter was the most notable exception). Even villains Spidey fought from other comics like Doctor Doom, the Ringmaster and the Beetle all prominently sported green. The creators may have realized this eventually, as many of the classic villains who debuted in the next 25 issues (Crime-Master, Molten Man, the Looter, the Rhino, the Shocker, Kingpin) started to subvert the trend.

• Lighter and Softer: When John Romita replaced Steve Ditko, Peter Parker's existence became less of a Crapsack World as a result.
• Took a Level in Badass: Electro was given a major power increase in The Amazing Spider-Man #425 to allow him Magneto-esque control over electromagnetic energies.
• Token Motivational Nemesis: The nameless thief who took Uncle Ben's life isn't mentioned for over a decade until he returns and dies in The Amazing Spider-Man #200. His only identified name is 'Carradine'.

Lee & Ditko's run (Issues 1-38)

See The Amazing Spider-Man (Lee & Ditko)

Lee & Romita Sr.'s run (#39-109)

• 10-Minute Retirement: "Spider-Man No More!" Reaching breaking point with various crises, Peter gives up being Spidey and throws his costume in the trash. It doesn't take long for him to realize he can't turn away.
• Amnesiac Resonance: Due to a device of the week, Peter ends up getting amnesia, but it turns out the habit for endless sarcasm is apparently just inborn.
• "Ass" in Ambassador: Issue #62 has Medusa of the Inhumans travelling to New York to see whether mankind is ready to accept her people. This would be the surly, short-tempered, judgemental, openly prejudiced Medusa, who makes no attempt to actually be diplomatic, just assuming if she shows up and yells at random people this will get results (never mind these are Marvel civilians we're talking about). Predictably, she and Spider-Man end up fighting, and Medusa decides mankind's too insane and stupid for her people to get along with, and leaves in a huff.
• Diving Save: In Amazing Spider-Man #90, Captain George Stacy saves a child from falling rubble while Spider-Man is battling Doctor Octopus. He doesn't make it.
• Does He Have a Brother?: In The Amazing Spider-Man #59, Mary Jane Watson is saved for the first time by Spider-Man. Afterwards, she asks him: "Don't you have any brothers?", making her the first woman to flirt with him both in and out of costume.
• Driven to Madness: In The Amazing Spider-Man #66, Mysterio traps Spider-Man in an amusement park and uses his effects to nearly push Spidey into a nervous breakdown.
• Easy Amnesia: After Peter finds out the Green Goblin is Norman Osborn, Norman comes down with amnesia that makes him forget he's the insane supervillain... for a time.
• Everyone Has Standards: J. Jonah Jamesom may be a rude, blustering, tyrannical blowhard who treats everyone around him terribly... okay, he is, but he Hates Everyone Equally (except Spider-Man, who he hates slightly more), and refuses to endorse a D.A. candidate who is shady and connected to hate groups.
• Hidden Villain: "The Brainwasher", who is actually the Kingpin.
• Hypocritical Humor: In The Amazing Spider-Man #66, Spider-Man, of all people, tells Mysterio to Skip The Sarcasm.
• Keeping Secrets Sucks: Peter's secret identity plays havoc with his social life, and his romance with Gwen Stacy, but her... somewhat melodramatic reactions to events always convince Peter to never tell her the truth.
• Knockout Gas: Lampshaded in The Amazing Spider-Man #46, Just as Spider-Man is wondering where to start looking for The Shocker (A vibration based villain) He spots a cop in a police call box reporting strange tremors, causing Peter to say.

  Spider-Man: Boy! if it had happened that easy in a movie, I'd say it was too phony!

• Let's You and Him Fight:
  • Ka-Zar appears in New York to hunt Spidey, who at the time has amnesia.
  • Issue #71 is Spider-Man versus Quicksilver.
  • Issue #86 has Black Widow attack Spidey to see who's stronger. Luckily for her, Peter's not feeling well. Nat flees, figuring that it was mistake to do so.
• Merlin Sickness: In The Amazing Spider-Man #73-75, the villain Silvermane (with the help of Doctor Connors/The Lizard) decodes a tablet that has the secret to eternal youth on it. Silvermane makes the potion and drinks it. However, in a cruel twist of fate, he promptly becomes a teenager, then a child, then an infant, then dies. Until he returns.
• Multi-Armed and Dangerous: In The Six Arm Saga, Spider-Man attempts to get rid of his superpowers... but the attempt failed rather spectacularly, giving him six arms.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: George Stacy's investigation into the Green Goblin has him show a slideshow of his findings to his local gentleman's club. One of the members is Norman Osborn, who doesn't quite remember being the Goblin. George's actions help kick the memories lose, thus causing the return of one of Peter's most dangerous enemies, and eventually the death of George's own daughter.
• Progressively Prettier: Romita Sr.'s arrival as the next artist on Spider-Man brought with him his expertise on Romance Comics. For Peter, that meant choosing between two gorgeous ladies: redhead bombshell Mary Jane (whom Romita Sr. introduced) and feisty blonde Gwen Stacy (before she mellowed out).
• Rogues Gallery Showcase: The Amazing Spider-Man #100 features Spidey briefly battling various enemies, who call him out on his various insecurities, usually one that they share, finally culminating in his speaking with the recently deceased Captain George Stacy.
• Spy Catsuit: Issue #86 features the first appearance anywhere of Black Widow's distinctive black catsuit look (as well as her being a red-head).
• There Can Only Be One: In issue #62, Adrien Toombs breaks Blackie Drago, who'd taken up the mantle of the Vulture in his absence, out of prison so he can kill him for stealing Adrien's name and costume. Spidey ends up having to save Blackie.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: MJ and Gwen Stacy's relationship is endless biting snark at one another.
• Wham Shot:
  • One of the more infamous in comic book history; through the Lee-Ditko run, Aunt May had tried to set up Peter with one Mary-Jane Watson, the niece of her friend Anna. Peter was dubious about this Mary-Jane person, what with Aunt May being more than halfway to the Moon a lot of the time, but come issue 42, he's finally unable to get out of meeting her. He opens the door to meet her... and finds MJ is gorgeous.
    Mary-Jane Watson: Face it, Tiger, you just hit the jackpot.

Gerry Conway's Spider-Man (#110-149)

• Cool Car: This trope was spoofed and subverted in The Amazing Spider-Man #126, in which a car company gave Spidey the Spider-Mobile for publicity reasons. It was a dune-buggy that could race up walls and came complete with web-cannons. Since Spidey can webswing and crawl up walls on his own, he saw no reason to take it except for the paycheck the company gave him for their product placement. The vehicle was destroyed in the same story.
• Falling into His Arms: In The Amazing Spider-Man #127, the Vulture snatches and drops Mary Jane Watson, but she's safely caught by Spidey.
• Guess Who I'm Marrying?: The Amazing Spider-Man #131 centered on the nuptials of the widow May Parker and one Dr. Otto Octavius.
  • Doc Ock was actually marrying May because she was the heir to a private nuclear reactor. He didn't even realize that Spider-Man was her nephew until after he unmasked in Civil War. Brilliantly, he then went into a rant about how stupid he was not to figure it out and how he should have kept up the marriage facade for far longer. It is however implied that he actually likes her.
  • An early continuity nod had Aunt May, shortly after learning Peter's secret identity, witness a fight between Spidey and Ock, and finally realise who Octavius was. However, this was a Retcon imposed by the Rule of Funny; in the Silver-Age stories Aunt May, despite her Cloud Cuckoo Lander tendencies, was quite aware of who Otto was. One could say it was a case of the Stockholm Syndrome at work as she first developed feelings for him when he charmed the socks off her while holding her and Betty Brant hostage. She found his polished manners much better than those of "that awful Spider-Man".
• Real-Place Background: Marvel actually got into trouble for this in The Amazing Spider-Man #138. Ross Andru, Gerry Conway's collaborator, was fond of taking photographs and inserting real architecture into his backgrounds. However, for one issue he used a real house in Queens and made it into the location of the Mindworm. Readers in that area however recognized the house and immediately went over and pestered the owners about its unintended celebrity as the lair of the Mindworm which led the owners to sue Marvel and settle, and after that Marvel saw fit to disguise their use of locations better.
• Unexpected Inheritance: In The Amazing Spider-Man #131, Aunt May inherits a nuclear power plant. This makes her a target for Doctor Octopus, who wants to get his hands on it and almost marries her to get it.
• Villain Over for Dinner: In The Amazing Spider-Man #131, Aunt May almost marries Doctor Octapus.

Wein and Wolfman's run (#151–180)

• Can't Default to Murder: In The Amazing Spider-Man #161-162, Spider-Man was forced to team up with The Punisher, Spidey enforced his No-Killing rule by making Frank use rubber bullets. Frank complied, both because they didn't have any time for arguing and because this was very early in Frank's history, before he became the Garth Ennis-molded Blood Knight he is now. Of course, a rubber bullet to the head or throat is just as lethal, and an experienced Marine like Frank could have swapped out magazines holding real bullets without Spidey ever noticing. Other heroes, such as Captain America or Daredevil, have also tried to make Frank refrain from killing when teaming up with him. He doesn't always comply.
• Furnace Body Disposal: In The Amazing Spider-Man #151, Spider-Man disposes of the body of the first clone of Peter Parker (created by the Jackal) by dumping it down a smokestack into an industrial incinerator.
• Psycho Psychologist: In The Amazing Spider-Man #180, Spidey furiously unmasks the Green Goblin to find not Norman Osborn, nor Harry Osborn, but rather Harry's psychologist Dr. Bart Hamilton. Under hypnosis, Harry had told Hamilton about his being the Goblin and where the Goblin's glider and costume were stashed, encouraging Hamilton to try a little supervillainy.
• Skyscraper Messages: In The Amazing Spider-Man #151, Shocker does this by blacking out various electrical grids to spell out his name as part of a scheme to extort one million dollars from New York City.

Dennis O'Neill's run (#207-223)

• Sibling Fusion: The Amazing Spider-Man #208 introduces twin brothers Hubert and Pinky Fusser. Both worked at the same company but in different professions; Hubert was a scientist while Pinky was a janitor. An accident occurs during one of Hubert's experiments causing the two brothers to merge together into a being known as Fusion the Twin Terror.

Roger Stern's run (#224-251)

• Her Code Name Was "Mary Sue": The Amazing Spider-Man #246 has a series of characters: Felicia Hardy, J. Jonah Jameson, Mary Jane Watson, and Spider-Man have a series of fantasies about their idealized realities. Felicia Hardy sees herself and Spidey as glamorous international spy-adventurers and Spider-Man is secretly Cary Grant. Jameson sees himself actually beating Spidey in a straight-up fight. MJ sees herself as a successful and famous movie star. Peter Parker sees himself saving Jameson with him admitting he was wrong, and then being invited to join both the Avengers and the Fantastic Four.

Tom DeFalco's run (#252-285)

• Big Damn Heroes: In The Amazing Spider-Man #261, Spider-Man appears just in time to save Harry Osborn from a fight with the Hobgoblin.
• A Day in the Limelight:
  • Tom DeFalco wrote The Amazing Spider-Man #259, focusing on Mary-Jane's backstory which had been hinted at earlier but never elaborated.
  • The Amazing Spider-Man #248 focuses on Tim Harrison, a terminally ill child who was a huge fan of Spider-Man.
• From Bad to Worse: Played for laughs in The Amazing Spider-Man #266, when after a few incidents, both the Toad and Frog-Man decide they want to be his sidekick. Just when Spidey tempts fate by saying things can't get worse, the Spectacular Spider-Kid shows up. Spidey concedes things are worse. It's left open as to whether their new super-team of The Misfits is yet worse.

David Michelinie's run (#290-388)

• Alas, Poor Yorick: The cover of issue #346 has Venom holding up a skull covered with shreds of fabric in a familiar pattern.

  Venom: Alas, poor Spider-Man - I killed him well!

• Art Evolution: Mark Bagley's issue as guest penciller, The Amazing Spider-Man #345, was rather rough and the proportions were off and Bagley didn't quite have the character design right. But by the time he'd grown into his role as a regular penciller, his work was so iconic that it was featured on just about every piece of Spider-Man merchandise.
• Cover Identity Anomaly: When Peter Parker's parents return from the dead, May realizes they're imposters when they refer to the wrong date for hers and Ben's anniversary, indicating that they somehow don't know about their secret wedding several months prior.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Doctor Doom delivers an incredibly one-sided one to Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man #350, where the Latverian tyrant wipes the floor with him, reduces him to a pulp, and basically forces him to bargain for his life or face certain death.
• Hit Them in the Pocketbook: Issue #350 has The Black Fox steal two very illustrious gemstones, the Trask Diamond and an emerald known as The Dragon's Egg. Unfortunately, the latter's proper owner wanted it back, as it was a token of his late mother. When Spider-Man successfully retrieved the Dragon's Egg, Doctor Doom was threatening to kill the Black Fox for his transgression, but Spidey successfully argued that the Black Fox was an elderly man who hadn't meant to steal from Doom. Doom considers this, and agrees, showing a modicum of mercy. However, he feels that The Black Fox still needs to be taught a lesson. He reveals that he took the Trask Diamond from where the Fox had hidden it.
  The Black Fox: But...That's for my retirement.
  Doctor Doom: Instead, it has bought a valuable lesson. Learn it well. This (the emerald) is a symbol of a bloodline. It has power. While this [crushes the Trask Diamond into fine powder] is the price of perfidy.
• I Lied: One case where this Trope actually saved a man's life: In The Amazing Spider-Man #318-319, the Scorpion was hired by Justin Hammer to kidnap General Musgrave, an Army Intelligence Officer at a ceremony. Spidey intervened, but it looked like Scorpion would get away with his hostage, until he found out Lance Bannon was taking some great photos of the fight, meaning the fight was helping J. Jonah Jameson (a guy the Scorpion absolutely hated). He changed his mind, and said he would kill Musgrave unless Jameson surrendered to him in an hour. Jameson refused to cooperate (mostly because he had been kidnapped and replaced by the Chameleon during this time) but when the hour was up, the Scorpion changed his mind again, and bolted, taking Debevick with him, leading to this:
  Musgrave : But you said you'd kill me!
  Scorpion: Seriously, General, I wear a tail, I call myself the Scorpion, do you really expect a guy like me to tell the truth??
• Post-Mortem Comeback: The entire robot-disguised-as-parents plan was set in motion by Harry Osborn (Green Goblin II) sometime before his death. It gets even better because while Harry eventually forgave Spider-Man and moved on, the last time he was seen (prior to One More Day) was here, on a videotape he'd made, gloating over an enraged Spider-Man.

J. M. DeMatteis' run (#389-406)

• 10-Minute Retirement: Inverted in the mid-90s story "Peter Parker No More", in which Spider-Man suffers a mental breakdown after one emotional hit too many, and decides to all but give up his civilian identity, spending all his time in costume.
• Tuckerization: DeMatteis based and named Ashley Kafka after a friend of his, Frayda Kafka.

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