History ComicBook / LeeDitkoSpiderMan

* WhatAnIdiot: Spider-Man see's a man in a green halloween costume riding around on a mechanical broomstick. Said man offers him a job starring in a movie about Spider-Man, all the way the country (when he has school and his Aunt to worry about), involving "real" fight scenes done by former thugs ''whom he's met before''. There's making a rookie mistake, and then there's this.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Ditko confirmed that Norman Osborn was always intended by him to the Green Goblin and there are many hints to his appearance and identity. He appears early in the background of Jameson's gentleman's club via being seen interacting with him and is generally a MeaningfulBackgroundEvent as he's shown as a corrupt businessman who screwed over Mendell Stromm. In Issue #38, he wears a [[ColorMotifs green suit]] dresses himself up with a fake beard and siccs a mob on Spider-Man all hinting at his sneaky double nature, his access to scientific tech (like the Goblin glider and other gadgets) and a tendency to put on masks and disguises that only Goblin shares.

* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: Issue 14 has Spider-Man in California in a desert, ambushed by a crazy guy in a halloween costume (Green Goblin) and the Enforcers and they chase him into a cave, and just who happens to be living in that cave to the shock and horror of Spider-Man and the delight of the Green Goblin. The Incredible Hulk himself.

* RoguesGalleryTransplant: Dr. Doom fights Spider-Man early in the story. The first Marvel-wide villain Spider-Man fights (and indeed a battle that kind of established Doom's elevated status in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse) and the first from someone else's rogues gallery.
* SpoilerCover: Ditko's covers often outright spoil or ruin major plot points in stories. Like Issue 14 outright reveals that Goblin is a villain and Hulk shows up in the cave when in the story both are major twists, albeit it's kind of obvious that the Green Goblin is evil but the Hulk's sudden appearance isn't set up and it ruins a major surprise.

* WorldOfJerkass: Something that this period is fairly notorious for. Virtually everyone other than Peter, Aunt May, and a few other bystanders here and there are jerks including Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborn. The biggest of them all is of course J. Jonah Jameson.

[[Disney/{{Aladdin}} The ever impressive, the long contained, often imitated, but never duplicated]] original run on Spider-Man by its first creative team -- Creator/StanLee and Creator/SteveDitko. Beginning in 1962 and ending in 1966 when Ditko left the title.

Despite coming so early in the character's history, this is still the main and crucial foundation for the entire franchise. There aren't many new additions to the RoguesGallery beyond what's introduced in these opening issues, it has most of the supporting cast featured and/or mentioned. It's also been revisited by later writers such as Creator/JohnByrne's ''ComicBook/SpiderManChapterOne'' a streamlined SettingUpdate that mashed together Issue 1-20 before being cancelled. Kurt Buseik's ''ComicBook/UntoldTalesOfSpiderMan'' revisits this era by inserting many stories and plots of supporting characters in the style of this period. ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' is also based on this run of the ''Spider-Man'' comics and adapts many elements and plots from it.

[[Disney/{{Aladdin}} The ever impressive, the long contained, often imitated, but never duplicated]] original run on Spider-Man by its first creative team -- Creator/StanLee and Creator/SteveDitko. Beginning in 1963 and ending in 1966 when Ditko left the title.

Debuting in ''Amazing Fantasy #15'', the team worked on the major flagship title, ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' from Issues 1-38 and Two Annuals. Like all of Lee's works this was done in the Marvel Method whereby the artist (in this case Ditko) actually created the plots and stories from Lee's suggestions. Unlike Lee's collaboration with Creator/JackKirby however, Ditko actually got a credit for plotting near his final issues. Unlike other runs by later writers that are grouped under their names (like [[ComicBook/DanSlottSpiderMan Dan Slott]] and [[ComicBook/NickSpencersSpiderMan Nick Spencer]]), it's generally acknowledged that this run was a true collaboration between Lee and Ditko, with the former's great dialogue matching Ditko's intricate plotting and use of paneling, and his gifted eye for action, layout, and movement.

The Comics Journal's 210th issue published in February 1999 listed this entire series and run in its Top 100 Comics List, where it ranked as one of few superhero titles chosen (alongside Creator/JackKirby and Creator/StanLee's ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' Jack Cole's ''ComicBook/PlasticMan'', Creator/AlanMoore and Dave Gibbons' ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'')[[note]]And depending on how it's classified at times, Creator/WillEisner's ''ComicBook/TheSpirit'' and Chester Gould's ''ComicStrip/DickTracy''[[/note]]. In 2018, both of Spider-Man's original co-creators passed away within six months of each other.

The Comics Journal's 210th issue published in February 1999 listed this entire series and run in its Top 100 Comics List, where it ranked as one of few superhero titles chosen (alongside Creator/JackKirby and Creator/StanLee's ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' Jack Cole's ''ComicBook/PlasticMan'', Creator/AlanMoore and Dave Gibbons' ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'')[[note]]And depending on how it's classified at times, Creator/WillEisner's ''ComicBook/TheSpirit'' and Chester Gould's ''ComicStrip/DickTracy''[[/note]].

Despite coming so early in the character's history, this is still the main and crucial foundation for the entire franchise. There aren't many new additions to the RoguesGallery beyond what's introduced in these opening issues, it has most of the supporting cast featured and/or mentioned. It's also been revisited by later writers such as Creator/JohnByrne's ''ComicBook/SpiderManChapterOne'' a streamlined SettingUpdate that mashed together Issue 1-20 before being cancelled. Kurt Buseik's ''ComicBook/UntoldTalesOfSpiderMan'' revisits this era by inserting many stories and plots of supporting characters in the style of this period. ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' is also based on this run of the ''Spider-Man'' comics and adapts many motifs and plots from it.

* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: Since this is Lee we're talking about [[JustForPun alliteration abounds]] not only in character names but in chapter titles, such as "The Grotesque Adventure of the Green Goblin".
* BigBad: For most of the early issues Dr. Octopus occupies this role consistently. He's the first villain to unambiguously beat up Spider-Man in a straight up fight and he's the mastermind behind the Sinister Six, and as the Master Planner he's the main villain in the major story arc of the entire run. However, the Green Goblin as the enigmatic and mysterious bad guy who keeps evading justice unlike Ock who gets sent to jail multiple times is clearly established as a bigger threat on the horizon.

** The tone of the stories are also quite tense. Since Peter Parker had no confidant to share his SecretIdentity with, he had a FriendlessBackground for most of the early issues, with only Betty Brant at the Daily Bugle being an exception. When Peter went to college, he had a reputation for being aloof and asocial. After Ditko left, it was greatly softened and Peter even had a regular circle of friends and a more stable social life. More modern and updated adaptations, especially ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' give him confidants and sidekicks to make his life more social.

** The few times we see Norman Osborn here, he's shown having a warm relationship with Harry Osborn, despite being a shady criminal and MasterOfDisguise. The issue after Ditko left, showed Norman having a cold relationship with Harry which started the friendship between him and Peter and Romita and Lee suggested that Norman went crazy because of his work and the Goblin formula. When Ditko clearly shows Norman behaving rationally and compartmentalizing the two sides of his life pretty well. None of Ditko's supervillains are shown to be psychopaths in the Modern Batman sense suggesting that the modern idea of Goblin as crazy and insane was a later invention.
* FalseFriend: Green Goblin's first meeting with Spider-Man happens this way. He flies a mechanized broomstick over Manhattan hoping to attract Spider-Man and then says that he actually wants to help him out by casting him in a Hollywood movie where he'd make money. It turns out to be a trap where Goblin and the Enforcers ambush him, and Goblin confirms that the real plan was to kill him to improve his street cred all along.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Ditko confirmed that Norman Osborn was always intended by him to the Green Goblin, and there are many hints to his appearance and identity. He appears early in the background of Jameson's gentleman's club, seen interacting with him and is generally a MeaningfulBackgroundEvent, he's shown as a corrupt businessman who screwed over Mendell Stromm, and in Issue #38, he wears a [[ColorMotifs green suit]] dresses himself up with a fake beard and siccs a mob on Spider-Man all hinting at his sneaky double nature, his access to scientific tech (like the Goblin glider and other gadgets) and a tendency to put on masks and disguises that only Goblin shares.

* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: Issue 14 has Spider-Man in California in a desert, ambushed by a crazy guy in a halloween costume (Green Goblin), the Enforcers and they chase him into a cave, and just who happens to be living in that cave to the shock and horror of Spider-Man and the delight of the Green Goblin. The Incredible Hulk himself.
* KarmaHoudini: Unlike all of Spidey's villains, Green Goblin is the only one who keeps evading justice. Spider-Man never defeats him in battle, he always escapes and Peter has no clue at all to his identity. This alone elevated him to a much bigger threat compared to the other rogues. Indeed, Norman Osborn wouldn't go to jail until ''ComicBook/ThePulse'', an issue that in real-time was published nearly forty years after his first appearance.
* TheRealHeroes: The doctor's internal thought bubbles at the end of Issue 33 feels that Peter Parker, the poor young kid caring for his Aunt is a much bigger hero than Spider-Man.

Despite coming so early in the character's history, this is still the main and crucial foundation for the entire franchise. There aren't many new additions to the RoguesGallery beyond what's introduced in these opening issues, it has most of the supporting cast featured and/or mentioned. It's also been revisited by later writers such as Creator/JohnByrne's ''ComicBook/SpiderManChapterOne'' a streamlined SettingUpdate that mashed together Issue 1-20 before being cancelled. Kurt Buseik's ''ComicBook/UntoldTalesOfSpiderMan'' revisits this era by inserting many stories and plots of supporting characters in the style of this period. ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' is also inspired by the aesthetic of this run and adapts many motifs and plots from the original.

** Chaarcters look and act quite different, with Gwen Stacy starting out as a cold AlphaBitch. Peter Parker himself was drawn to look fairly plain whereas John Romita Sr. made him quite handsome.

** Reading this run today, it's quite striking how different it is from the later direction the stories went. The characters, for instance, look quite different. From her more recent depictions, you'd never guess that Gwen Stacy started out as [[http://www.superdickery.com/gwen-stacy-is-like-the-village-bicycle/ this]] kind of character. Likewise, her personality was also a good bit colder. Peter Parker himself was drawn to look fairly plain whereas John Romita Sr. made him quite handsome.
** The tone of the stories are also quite tense. Since Peter Parker had no confidant to share his SecretIdentity with (no Alfred, no Robin, no Ma and Pa Kent) which meant that he had a FriendlessBackground for most of the early issues, with only Betty Brant at the Daily Bugle being a partial aversion. When Peter came to college, he had a reputation for being aloof and asocial. After Ditko left, it was greatly softened and Peter even had a regular circle of friends and a more stable social life, and more modern and updated adaptations, especially ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' give him confidants and sidekicks to make his life more social.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Since Ditko recently confirmed that Norman Osborn was always intended by him to the Green Goblin. There are many hints to his appearance and identity. He appears early in the background of Jameson's gentleman's club, seen interacting with him and is generally a MeaningfulBackgroundEvent, he's shown as a corrupt businessman who screwed over Mendell Stromm, and in Issue #38, he wears a [[ColorMotifs green suit]] dresses himself up with a fake beard and siccs a mob on Spider-Man all hinting at his sneaky double nature, his access to scientific tech (like the Goblin glider and other gadgets) and a tendency to put on masks and disguises that only Goblin shares.

** From the way the aesop ComesGreatResponsibility is emphasized (with some liken it to Batman's "My parents are dead!"), it is often surprising how underplayed it is in the early stories. For one thing, the aesop was never spoken by Peter out loud nor attributed to Uncle Ben, it comes from the narrative captions at the end of ''Amazing Fantasy #15'' and later writers would {{Retcon}} this into a message Uncle Ben told Peter. For instance, Issue 1 of ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' has Peter trying to work as a kind of performing artist in New York and parlay his superheroics into some form of income, which belies the impression from later adaptation that Uncle Ben's aesop transformed him overnight into a monkish commitment to superheroism. In fact, for most of the run, Peter was constantly trying back and forth to sort out his life, with the basic impression being that Peter was always muddled and divided about how his life would be like.

* TheRealHeroes: The doctor's internal thought bubbles at the end of Issue 33 makes it clear that Peter Parker, the poor young kid caring for his Aunt is a much bigger hero than Spider-Man. This might seem obvious now but this was still the Silver Age when Superman was the real personality and Clark Kent was the loser and Batman was cool while Bruce Wayne was a not-yet super-rich lame guy.

* TheTeamWannabe: Peter Parker auditions for the Fantastic Four hoping they would take him in, mostly because he has bad publicity and they have the good kind and he thinks that being with them could help him out. Reed Richards firmly tells him that the Fantastic Four do not work that way, they're a family first and he needs better reasons to sign up with them then "improve my PR". Spider-Man sulks and this rejection stung him, leading to a tendency in a long time for him to be a lone-wolf informing his refusal to join the Avengers in a later issue when they asked him to, relenting only in ''ComicBook/NewAvengers''. In the MCU, with the Fantastic Four being AdaptedOut, the Avengers and Tony Stark take the role of the Four and Reed Richards respectively. On the other hand, Peter and the Fantastic Four became closer together over the years with Spider-Man occupying a "fifth beatle" status and then officially joining the Future Foundation during the Human Torch's brief death.
* TwoDecadesBehind: Both Lee and Ditko were grown adults when they wrote about Spider-Man and neither of them were in synch with emerging youth culture at the time (albeit thanks to the fame of Marvel Comics and his tour of the college lecture circuit Lee actually did become more in synch as time passed as is evident in the SettingUpdate during the Lee-Romita Sr. era). As such their portrayal of high school life and culture is still very pre-war in a lot of respects rather than the post-war baby boom era. The portrayal of Peter's dynamic with his Aunt and Uncle feels more like something from a story from the Great Depression than TheSixties.
* UnbuiltTrope: Quite a lot:
** For one thing despite being seen as the era that codified Peter Parker as the teenage hero and the high school era, very little of the story actually deals with high school stuff or shows stuff in class unlike movie adaptations or Ultimate Spider-Man. Most of the time you have Peter working at the Daily Bugle and trying to earn a living, or working as Spider-Man. This is mostly because teenage dynamics have changed a lot since TheSixties (and as mentioned above, Lee and Ditko weren't quite in synch with the times) and Peter as a loner hero and outsider is shown to not participate in stuff with his peers and being emotionally close to his Aunt and Uncle (who were basically his friends as much as guardians) he relates more to the adult world. The tragedy and craziness of being Spider-Man and losing Uncle Ben likewise leaves him no time to enjoy his youth.
** Spider-Man the proverbial ButtMonkey of later comics is shown to be rather quite skillful and competent here as well as quite the scientist and inventor. While Spider-Man does have a few defeats here and there, he generally acquits himself pretty well in combat, most notably wiping the floor with the Fantastic Four until they call a time out.
** The fact that you have real-time aging and progression as Peter grows from specky kid to high school graduate and college freshman and as he grows older, Peter believably ages visually. This is the last time this will ever happen to Spider-Man in his history with his major development happening on a slower pace after this.

* TheTeamWannabe: Peter Parker auditions for the Fantastic Four hoping they would take him in, mostly because he has bad publicity and they have the good kind and he thinks that being with them could help him out. Reed Richards firmly tells him that the Fantastic Four do not work that way, they're a family first and he needs better reasons to sign up with them then "improve my PR". Spider-Man sulks and this rejection stung him, leading to a tendency in a long time for him to be a lone-wolf informing his refusal to join the Avengers in a later issue when they asked him to, relenting only in ''ComicBook/NewAvengers''. In the MCU, with the Fantastic Four being AdaptedOut, the Avengers and Tony Stark take the role of the Four and Reed Richards respectively. On the other hand, Peter and the Fantastic Four became closer together over the years with Spider-Man occupying a "fifth beatle" status and then officially joining the Future Foundation during the Human Torch's brief death.
* TwoDecadesBehind: Both Lee and Ditko were grown adults when they wrote about Spider-Man and neither of them were in synch with emerging youth culture at the time (albeit thanks to the fame of Marvel Comics and his tour of the college lecture circuit Lee actually did become more in synch as time passed as is evident in the SettingUpdate during the Lee-Romita Sr. era). As such their portrayal of high school life and culture is still very pre-war in a lot of respects rather than the post-war baby boom era. The portrayal of Peter's dynamic with his Aunt and Uncle feels more like something from a story from the Great Depression than TheSixties.

The Comics Journal's 210th issue published in February 1999 listed this entire series and run as in its Top 100 Comics List, where it ranked as one of few superhero titles chosen (alongside Creator/JackKirby and Creator/StanLee's ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' Jack Cole's ''ComicBook/PlasticMan'', Creator/AlanMoore and Dave Gibbons' ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'')[[note]]And depending on how it's classified at times, Creator/WillEisner's ''ComicBook/TheSpirit'' and Chester Gould's ''ComicStrip/DickTracy''[[/note]].

* ThirteenIsUnlucky: Issue #13 has Peter's first confrontation with the Green Goblin, his greatest enemy and the man who would make his life a world of pain for years to come. [[FromBadToWorse It's also Spider-Man's first run-in with the Hulk. In a cramped cave]].

The Comics Journal's 210th issue published in February 1999 listed this entire series and run as in its Top 100 Comics List, where it ranked as one of few superhero titles chosen (alongside Creator/JackKirby and Creator/StanLee's ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' Jack Cole's ''ComicBook/PlasticMan'', Creator/AlanMoore's ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'')[[note]]And depending on how it's classified at times, Creator/WillEisner's ''ComicBook/TheSpirit'' and Chester Gould's ''ComicStrip/DickTracy''[[/note]].

* ThirteenIsUnlucky: Issue #13 has Peter's first confrontation with the Green Goblin, his greatest enemy and the man who would make his life a world of pain for years to come. It's also Spider-Man's first run-in with the Hulk. In a cramped cave.

* ThirteenIsUnlucky: Issue #13 has Peter's first confrontation with the Green Goblin, his greatest enemy and the man who would make his life a world of pain for years to come. It's also Spider-Man's first run-in with the Hulk. In a cramped cave.

** The fact that you have real-time aging and progression as Peter grows from specky kid to high school graduate and college freshman and as he grows older, Peter believably ages visually.

-->-- Issue #33

[[Disney/{{Aladdin}} The ever impressive, the long contained, often imitated, but never duplicated]] original run on Spider-Man by its first creative team -- Creator/StanLee and Creator/SteveDitko.

!! Tropes

Debuting in ''Amazing Fantasy #15'', the team worked on the major flagship title, ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' from Issues 1-38 and Two Annuals.