Amazing Spider-Man #5: "Marked for Destruction by Dr. Doom!"

Summary
JJJ, Jr. uses his own money to sponsor a TV program "in the public interest" entitled, 'Spider-Man...A Force for Good or Evil?"  The teenagers from Pete's high school are watching the program in a bowling alley, and one of them remarks that JJJ, Jr. is only doing it for publicity for his magazine.  Flash defends Spidey against Peter, who's saying JJJ, Jr. might be right in an attempt to throw the kids off his trail, and tells Peter to leave.  Jameson offers a thousand-dollar reward for Spider-Man's identity, something that piques the interest of Dr. Doom, who's also watching the program.  Doom decides that Spider-Man might be able to help him fight off the Fantastic Four and creates a device that uses an imprisoned spider to transmit a message to Spider-Man via "his own wave-length."  Pete does indeed "hear" the message and travels to its source, finding Dr. Doom in an abandoned warehouse.  Spidey confronts Doom, but Doom invites him to fight by his side, noting they're both outcasts.  (Thinking to himself while making his pitch, Doom exposits that he'll use Spidey to get what he wants and then "destroy with without a second thought!")  Spidey notes that JJJ, Jr. would "really have something to howl about" if he joined Doom, but rejects Doom's offer and instead tries to capture him.  However, he discovers that Doom was actually using a Doombot, and the real Dr. Doom opens a trap door underneath Spidey.  Pete manages to leap before falling into it and, in the ensuing battle with Doom, is thrown from a window into the water next to the warehouse.  Doom commits to finding out Spidey's secret identity to use him as bait for the Fantastic Four and escapes the warehouse, destroying it, before Spidey can return for Round #2.  Pete snaps some photos of the burning building to sell to JJJ, Jr., who buys them, but exhorts Pete to get photos of Spider-Man.  During this conversation, Betty Brant defends Spidey to Jameson, saying that some readers think he's jealous of him.  Pete comments (to himself) how he never realized how pretty she was, and Jameson dismisses the accusation, saying he's just trying to sell papers.  Meanwhile, across town, Flash tries out his Spider-Man costume, which he plans to use to scare Peter.  At his new HQ, Dr. Doom devises an instrument to track down Spidey via his Spider-Sense.  It does lead Doom to Pete, who happens to be walking on the other side of a fence from Flash, who's dressed as Spider-Man.  As such, Doom grabs Flash, leading his friends to wonder why he didn't scare Peter when they see Peter walking along the sidewalk normally.  A few minutes later, Doom takes over all local TV stations with a message for the Fantastic Four, showing an imprisoned Spider-Man who he commits to killing if the Fantastic Four don't respond in an hour.  Liz calls Pete worried, telling him that Flash disappeared after buying a Spider-Man costume to "play a joke on somebody..." and Pete puts two and two together.  After considering leaving Flash at Doom's mercy, Pete heads into the night to find him.  However, Aunt May refuses to let him go due to all the dangerous people on the streets, forcing Pete to remove the master fuse from their fuse box in order to force her to allow him go to buy a new one.  He changes into his Spidey costume and searches for a building with the power necessary to help Doom hijack all the local TV stations.  He finds Doom in an abandoned factory and, after a prolonged battle, manages to delay him until they hear the Fantastic Four's arrival.  Doom realizes he can't fight the Fantastic Four and Spidey at the same time and, despite having Spidey on the ropes, flees.  Pete also leaves, fearing for Aunt May, who he figures is beside herself in worry, leaving the Fantastic Four to rescue Flash.  The next day, JJJ, Jr. derides Peter for failing to get "one measley photo" and the day after that Pete is treated to hearing Flash tell everyone he held off Dr. Doom. 

The Review
We have a brief return to a fairly vicious Peter Parker here.  First, when Flash teases him on the opening page, Pete menacingly warns Flash in his thoughts to be careful, because one day he'll go too far and never know what hits him.  Just in case we misunderstand the threat, Peter ads, "There's even a limit to Spider-Man's patience!"  But, things get even darker when Pete is at first willing to let Dr. Doom kill Flash Thompson, seeing it as his way to rid himself of the bully.  He, of course, decides against it, but we're still seeing a Peter walking dangerously close to the Dark Side.  It almost makes you wonder if JJJ, Jr. didn't have a point about him.

Actually, Flash has a number of...colorful moments in this issue, calling Pete a "panty-waist" and telling him to leave the bowling alley because it's not a "knitting parlor."  He's a real gem of a guy.  In fact, pretty much all the teenagers are assholes in this issue, with everyone excitedly waiting for Flash to scare Peter half to death.  Maybe I shouldn't be so hard on Pete after all...

Speaking of JJJ, Jr., I wonder when "NOW Magazine" eventually disappears from his resumé.

I thought the switcheroo between Flash and Spidey was really, really cleverly done.  Seriously, I know these sorts of devices were used frequently in the '60s, but Lee really pulls it off beautifully.  Dr. Doom could've just happened to be by the school when Flash happened to be dressed as Spider-Man.  In fact, any number of writers, classic and modern, probably would've arranged for the issue to turn on that coincidence.  Instead, Lee has Dr. Doom create a device that tracks Spider-Man via his Spider-Sense.  It's a brilliant display of Dr. Doom's intellect and Flash Thompson's douchiness.

I also thought it was a great move to have Spidey use his webbing to convey the electrical current that Dr. Doom was using to electrocute him to Doom himself.  It shows how Lee never forgot how smart Peter is, something later authors often did.

This issue marks Peter noticing how pretty Betty Brant is.  Dun-dun-dun.  Betty also comments how, even though she's "only" JJJ, Jr.'s secretary, she thinks Pete's "wonderful."

"Let's face it!  You've struggled through one of the longest introductions you've ever read!"  Seriously, Stan's narration of these early issues are almost the highlight.  One more for the road:  "And now, settle back and prepare to witness the gol-dangest, ding-bustedest, rip-shortin'est super-characters fight you've ever seen!"

In terms of drawbacks or nitpicks, I'm not entirely sure how Dr. Doom knew Pete had a Spider-Sense.  It plays a key part in both his ability to contact Pete initially and to later track him, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't public knowledge at this point.  Also, why would Liz Allen call Peter Parker about Flash disappearing?  I mean, as Pete himself notes, it's not exactly like they were close...

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

Summary
Spidey observes three "punks casin' a jewelry store" and attempts to stop them from breaking into it.  However, since he stops them before they actually commit a crime, they call for the police, claiming that he's harassing them.  Spidey departs (having learned a valuable lesson) and the cop informs them, "If I were Spider-Man, I might have tackled you myself...'cause you got larceny written all over you!"  Fleeing the scene, Spidey observes someone escaping the police and attempts to stop him.  However, that someone is the Sandman, who, according to Spidey, is "wanted by police from Maine to Mexico."  Sandman easily evades Spidey and shoves him to the ground, tearing his mask.  Fearing someone will see his face and expose his identity, leading to his arrest and Aunt May's impoverishment, Spidey flees.  Sandman continues to the bank, where he steals money from the vault.  At home, Peter is sewing his mask and watching a news report on the Sandman, learning that he gained his powers in a nuclear accident after escaping prison and hiding in an "atomic devices testing center."  Pete goes by the "Bugle" to try to get an advance on his paycheck to create new webbing, but Jonah refuses, ordering him to get photos of the Sandman.  Going to school, a distracted Peter suddenly remembers his date with Liz Allen, but informs her -- to her anger -- that he'll have to postpone, since he'll need to pick up the Sandman's trail after class.  Meanwhile, Sandman is evading arrest (again) and decides to hide in the school, where he accidentally runs into the principal lecturing a class.  Pete, who had been delivering old bottles to the janitor, who was working on a "new king-size vacuum cleaner," overhears the commotion, changes into his costume, and fights Sandman, much to the thrill of his classmates.  Pete manages to lead him to the janitor's room and uses the "huge industrial vacuum-cleaner" to capture Sandman.  He realizes, however, that he forgot to snap photos of the fight.  So, he sets up his camera, he throws some sand in the air and pretends to punch it, and hopes that JJJ, Jr. will buy it.  He later delivers the canister to the police, who thank him, much to the fury of JJJ, Jr., who's come to the school on his suspicion that Sandman and Spider-Man are in cahoots.  Peter changes into his civvies and runs into JJJ, Jr., giving him the roll of film from his "fight."  Pete then tracks down Liz to tell her he can go on the date.  She says no, and Pete finally loses his cool when Flash teases him about it.  However, he remembers not to fight Flash, given that his Spider-Strength could seriously injure him, and accepts the humiliation of deciding not to fight him and being branded a coward, a tag already pinned on him when Flash noticed that he had been missing during Spidey's fight with the Sandman.  After hearing people on the street wondering if Spider-Man is a "neurotic," Pete resolves to keep fighting crime as Spider-Man, believing he was given his powers for a reason. 

The Review 
 "It'll be duck soup for me to get 'im."  Really?  "Duck soup?"  What does that mean exactly?  I'm going to ask my grandmother if she's ever said, "It'll be duck soup to whip up a batch of chocolate-chip cookies."  Along those lines, is "all hollow" and the same as "and how?"

We get a new variation on the "Oh, no, Spidey exhausted his Web-Fluid!" moment here when Peter tears his mask and is forced to repair it in secret.  I can't say I've seen this one too often, mostly, I guess, because Peter's stitching skills eventually improve.

Speaking of the mask, I love how Peter tearing it sends him on an extended dream sequence where he imagines the consequences, including being run from town by JJJ, Jr. and Aunt May being forced to…sell shoelaces?  Did poor widows really sell shoelaces on the street for 10 cents in 1963 to make money?  Again, I think a call to my grandmother is in order.

Were nuclear test sites just, like, totally unguarded in the 1960s, except for cartoonishly large "Danger!  Keep Out!" signs?  It seems that way.

I believe we get Betty Brant's first official named appearance here.  I'm also pretty sure we get JJJ, Jr.'s first (and possibly -- hopefully -- last) appearance in his underwear.

I can't believe Peter actually had a date with Liz Allen!  I love that Peter has to cancel because he's got to pick up the Sandman's trail after class.  Peter's schedule:  "Finish chemistry homework, capture Sandman, work on science project."  Just your average high-school student!

I have to officially apologize to Mark Waid.  In my review for "Amazing Spider-Man" #624, I really take him to task for having Peter doctor a photo of Jonah fighting the Vulture, which ultimately leads Jonah to expose Peter as a fraud and end his career as a journalist.  I felt that Peter might not be committed to being a journalist, but he wouldn't go so far as to doctor a photo.  Well, I was totally wrong.  In this issue, we see Peter do exactly that, throw bits of sand around himself after his fight with the Sandman to get some photos, since he failed to do so after the fight.

Lee returns to ending the book on a somber note, with Peter yet again questioning why he continues being Spider-Man.  (The three stories in the previous two issues have ended more positively, with Pete celebrating the money he made from selling the Vulture photos, pondering the weirdness of the Tinkerer, and thanking the Human Torch for inspiring him.)  However, Lee puts a different spin on Peter's questions.  For the first time, I believe, we see Peter deciding not to give up being Spider-Man because he feels he's been given his powers for a reason.  Previously, he's been driven by a combination of seeking adventure and making money, along with a vague sense of helping people.  In fact, Peter even acknowledges that he might not be fighting crime for altruistic reasons, thinking, "Am I more interested in the adventure of being Spider-Man than I am in helping people??"  But, in the end, he says, "I must have been given this great power for a reason!"  It's an interesting shift.  Lee is having him grow up a little here, deciding that it doesn't matter if he's misunderstood, because he need to do the right thing.  That's the Peter we all know and love!

Amazing Spider-Man #3: "The Strangest Foe of All Time...Doctor Ocotpus"

Summary
Spidey breaks up a gang of small-time hoods trying to steal a safe from a warehouse, lamenting that fighting crime has almost gotten too easy.  Meanwhile at the U.S. Atomic Research Center, "Doctor Octopus," the "most brilliant atomic-researcher in our country today," uses a contraption he created, with four robot arms, to conduct research with volatile chemicals.  However, a radiation explosion causes him to suffer brain damage and fuses his arms to his body.  When a doctor tells Doc Ock he can't leave the hospital, he decides it's because they're jealous of his work (a response implied to be from the brain damage).  He uses his arms to free himself from his room and takes the hospital staff hostage.  Meanwhile, JJJ tells Peter he desperately wants photos of the injured scientist for "The Daily Bugle," but the hospital is closed to visitors.  Pete promises to get some photos, but, upon arriving, discovers Dr. Octopus is holding hostages.  He helps the hostages escape, but he's roundly defeated by Doc Ock in the process.  (Doc Ock -- or, at least, his arms -- exhibits super-strength, holding Peter at bay and rending his Webs.)  Ock hurls Peter from his window, declaring him no threat, and a discouraged Peter contemplates giving up his costumed identity for good.  Meanwhile, Doc Ock leaves the hospital and takes over the Atomic Research Center.  The governor asks the Fantastic Four to help, and, since they're busy with another case, they decide to send in the Human Torch.  But, the Torch is too exhausted from recent adventures and must wait several days before he can "flame on."  In the meantime (since he clearly has nothing better to do), he gives a lecture to Peter's high-school class about staying in school and never giving up the fight, noting that the FF has lost many a battle but always returns.  Inspiring Peter, Spidey decides to take on Ock again, creating a chemical compound that fuses together his arms.  Engaging in hand-to-hand-to-hand-to-hand combat, Peter despairs, until he realizes that he could use Ock's arms to get close to him and deliver "a smashing right."  He knocks out Doc Ock, delivers him to the Army, and finds a re-powered Johnny Storm in his hotel room to thank him for inspiring him.  Since the Torch isn't needed to take on Doc Ock, he gives a demonstration at Peter's school the next day, leading Flash Thompson to tell Peter he should watch a real man, like Torch or "Spider-Man."  The narrator notes that Peter never got a photo of Doc Ock, but he "couldn't care less."

The Review
I didn't realize Dr. Octopus' evil comes from brain damage related to the explosion that fused him to his arms.  I mean, I knew the arms got fused to him, but the brain damage part was new to me.

It's interesting to me that Pete is still motivated largely by money, even if his immediate concerns over HOW he's going to make money have been resolved.  On one hand, we do see him engage in some pretty basic crime fighting here, rounding up a group of guys stealing a safe from a warehouse.  But, in both his battle with Doc Ock in this issue and in his previous battles with the Chameleon and the Vulture, he first engaged the super-villain in his attempt to make some "dough."  I wonder how long before he becomes more of a "traditional" hero, acting completely selflessly.  (Of course, it's the fact that he's NOT acting completely selflessly that makes Pete more interesting than I imagined he was.)

Super-Man?  SUPER-MAN?  Yes, indeed, Doc Ock calls Spider-Man "Super-Man" at one point.

Lee really establishes Peter's pluck here.  First, we get the start of Peter bantering with his enemies (something I wondered when would happen last issue).  It's not great banter, but it's banter nonetheless!  It's mostly focused on how great Spidey is (similar to his proto-banter with the Vulture).  I was going to put that in the "different than now" category until I thought about it and realized even today most of Pete's commentary is how unlikely it is for a villain to beat him.  But, here, in the beginning, Lee uses it to establish how cocky Peter has gotten by his string of successes and decides to deliver to him Peter's first real defeat.  Moreover, Lee again excels here in showing us what I think would be a pretty normal teenage response to this sort of adversity, to become so discouraged he wants to quit.  But, he's inspired by Johnny Storm, learning that the FF has been defeated and had to get back into the game, and he uses his brains (again) to concoct a formula (on the fly, no less!) that helps him to defeat Doc Ock.

One of the best anachronisms of this issue?  A doctor makes a house call to Johnny's hotel room!  I'm not entirely sure why Johnny is staying in a hotel, but I'm pretty damn sure a doctor wouldn't be visiting him in it nowadays.  Also of note, Peter uses his Spider-Sense like a homing beacon here, using it to find Johnny Storm as he did to hunt down the ship with which the Chameleon intended to rendezvous in issue #1.  I wonder when his Spider-Sense will narrow to just being a early-warning system, as it (mostly) is today.

Amazing Spider-Man #2: "Duel to the Death with the Vulture!"/"The Uncanny Threat of the Terrible Tinkerer!"

Summary

A new costumed villain, the Vulture, is terrorizing New York, using a flight suit to commit his crimes.  JJJ is desperate for a photo of the Vulture, but his editor explains none of their phtographers can get one.  At his high school, Pete overhears a bunch of students talking about how much a close-up photo of the Vulture would be worth, making him realize that Spider-Man could get close enough to get a photo.  At home that night, he asks Aunt May for Uncle Ben's miniature camera.  Meanwhile, the Vulture leaves notes for the radio network, police chief, and Jameson Publications telling them that he plans to steal a diamond shipment from under their noses, reveling in taunting them.  As he delivers the messages, he's observed by Spider-Man, who's on a rooftop testing out the camera.  Pete tries to set up the camera to get a photo of the Vulture, but the Vulture sees him and, while Pete's distracted, manages to strike him from behind.  The Vulture then deposits Pete in a water tower and escapes.  Panicked after realizing his Web-Shooters don't have any Web-Fluid left, Pete realizes he can use his Spider-Strength to propel himself from the water tower.  At home, he re-designs his equipment for his "secret adventurer" career, adding an extra fluid capsule on his Web-Shooters and designing a utility belt to hold extra Web-Fluid cartridges and his yet-to-be-purchased special miniature camera (designed to fit on his belt buckle).  He then works on his hunch about how the Vulture manages to fly and works on inventing a device to negate that power.  The next day, Pete successfully sells his photos to JJJ, making him swear not to ask how he got them and not to use his name in the credit.  Pete and the gang go to watch the diamond shipment, to see if the Vulture appears.  He does, but from below (and not above, as the police were planning), striking from the sewers.  Pete uses his Spider-Sense to track him and eventually locates him.  They struggle mid-air, but Pete activates his device, causing the Vulture to plummet to a nearby rooftop, where he's captured by the police (and photographed by Pete).  Pete reveals to the reader that the silence of the Vulture's flying device made him realize he was using magnetic power, so Pete devised an "anti-magnetic inverter" to combat it.  He then sells the photos of the Vulture's capture to JJJ, and Pete uses the money to pay Aunt May's rent for a year and buy her new kitchen appliances.  Meanwhile, in prison, the Vulture swears he'll develop a flying power that Spider-Man can't overcome.

Peter is given a chance by his professor to help a prominent scientist work on some experiments over the weekend.  Pete agrees, and the scientist asks him to pick up a radio he's sent to the shop for fixing on his way to the lab.  At the shop, called (originally) the Tinkerer's Repair Shop, Pete senses odd electric impulses with his Spider-Sense, but ignores it, figuring it was just the Tinkerer's testing equipment.  Meanwhile, in the Tinkerer's basement, where he's gone to fetch the radio, the Tinkerer is revealed to be in cohoots with aliens who are installing things into the radios of "special customers."  Pete is shocked when the Tinkerer tells him it only cost a dime to repair the radio, and the scientist confirms he sent it to there because he had heard of the Tinkerer's cheap rates.  Pete has trouble keeping the radio off his mind, and eventually realizes it's because it's still broadcasting those electric impulses.  When the scientist leaves to give a lecture, Pete opens up the radio and realizes it has some extra parts.  Heading to the Tinkerer's lab as Spider-Man, he observes the Tinkerer and the aliens discussing their plans, revealing that their "special customers" are leading military officials and scientists whose secrets they're trying to learn.  One of the aliens discovers Spidey, and a fight ensues.  The Tinkerer disables him with a ray gun and they place him in a "resisto-glass enclosure."  Spidey manages to escape by shooting a Web-Line to the control panel, releasing the latch before the aliens can siphon off the air in the enclosure.  In the ensuing fight, one of the aliens accidentally blasts the control panel, and a fire starts.  Pete tries to save the Tinkerer, but he escapes.  A space ship is later seen leaving the Earth, with the aliens saying they can "never again return."  Back at the lab, the scientist returns, telling a de-costumed Pete that he thought he saw a flying saucer.  Pete reveals that, in the fight with the Tinkerer, he pulled off his mask (implying that the Tinkerer was an alien).

The Review

Last issue, I wondered when Pete would start snapping photos to make ends meet and, to be honest, I'm surprised it happened this soon.  (Interesting enough, it's for NOW Magazine, a publication of Jameson Publications, and not "The Daily Bugle.")  I'm assuming that the focus on Pete making cash to help Aunt May is going to diminish over the next few issues as a result.  I'm pleased with that, because I'm also assuming it means Peter is going to be less angry.  It's been hard to see him so angry and frustrated all the time, so, hopefully, the money will help ease his mind.  But, I have to wonder why Aunt May didn't ask where a teenager like Pete is pulling down enough cash to "pay the rent for a full year and [buy her] the newest kitchen appliances[!]"  I mean, he's a handome boy in a big city, so I think I'd be a little concerned by his late night disappearing acts... 

Before he resolves the money issue, though, we still get a pretty angry Peter again in this issue, with him telling "Moose" that "at least my brain isn't muscle-bound, like that fat head of yours!"  Quite a zinger, Petey.  However lame, this comment made me wonder when we're going to start to see Spidey's trademark combat wit.  We see some light banter with the Vulture in this issue, but it's mostly just the two of them bragging about who's the better acrobat.

In other notable occurrences, for the first time, we see Spidey run out of the Web-Fluid.  Oh, how many times we'll see this scene over the next 50 years!  That said, I thought it was interesting how Lee has Pete refine his equipment, based on his fight with the Vulture.  (I wonder if we ever see the belt-buckle camera, because I don't remember it.)  I like how Lee, from the start, focused on how clever and smart Peter is.  Along those lines, we also see him build a device to negate the Vulture's ability to fly, having intuited by the lack of sound that the Vulture's device was based on magnetic power.  Dan Slott has re-introduced this sort of ingenuity back into Pete's repetoire, but it's nice to see that he had it back in his first days as well.  I wonder at what point he'll stop making these sorts of devices and just rely on his established equipment.  (It's probably around the time the stories start to stagnate.)  Continuing on the idea of firsts, I think it's also the first time we see the stylized lines above Peter's head to indicate his Spider-Sense (which are still called his "spider senses" or "spider's sense").

The villains in this issue are also top notch.  The Vulture is pretty much the same here as he always is, over-confident and attention-seeing.  I was pretty impressed by him appearing from the sewers to swipe the diamonds.  Also, who knew the Tinkerer started as an alien?  I'm going to have to do some Wikipedia research to see where that story went.  You can see Lee's storytelling getting stronger in this issue.  I was all ready to get angry over the question of how the Tinkerer was getting "special customers" to bring their radios to him to fix, but Lee anticipates that question, telling us how the Tinkerer only charges a dime.  I wish some current authors would re-read these issues and learn what it's like to construct a believable plot...even one with aliens!  I will say, though, that Pete didn't seem all that surprised by the presence of aliens.  You'd think in those early days of costumed heroes, aliens would still get at least a raised eyebrow!

Amazing Spider-Man #1: "Spider-Man: Freak! Public Menace!"/"The Chameleon!"

Summary
In the first story, Peter wishes he never became Spider-Man as a result of the death of Uncle Ben and worries about how he and Aunt May are going to pay their bills.  He tells Aunt May he's going to quit school and get a job, but she insists he continues his studies, because Uncle Ben wanted him to become a scientist.  Pete ponders turning to a life of crime, but realizes Aunt May would be devastated if he were caught.  Later, he continues his public appearances, but can't get paid because the producer writes him a check for tax reasons and the bank won't cash a check to "Spider-Man" without proper ID.  (His costume doesn't count.)  The next night, the producer tells Pete that he's got to cancel his public appearances, because of an article written by JJJ calling him a menace has turned the public against Spider-Man.  (JJJ tells people they should respect his son, John, a test pilot, instead of "selfish freaks" or a "masked menace.")  Reading the piece, Peter wonders how other superheroes ("like the Fantastic Four and the Ant Man") don't have troubles and "make enough dough."  While trying (and failing) to get a part-time job, he watches Aunt May pawn her jewelry.  He becomes irate when he sees an article about JJJ's son planning to orbit earth, blaming his troubles on JJJ, but decides to attend, "having nothing better to do."  When the launch goes wrong because a guidance unit on John's capsule malfunctions, Pete dons his Spider-Man costume, gets a spare unit from the military officials, and convinces a pilot to fly him to the falling capsule.  He then replaces the unit and John is able to release the chute.  Pete leaves the scene ("I'd just be embarrassed if everyone wants to congratulate me and make a big fuss about what I've done!"), but is later shocked when JJJ accuses him in a front-page "Daily Bugle" editorial of sabotaging the capsule to make a hero of himself by saving John.  The public continues to turn against Spider-Man and the FBI makes him a wanted man.  At home, Aunt May hopes that the authorities "find that horrible Spider-Man."  Peter laments that everything he does with his powers turns out wrong and wonders if becoming a menace is the only option for him.

In the second story, Pete decides to resolve his money problems by joining the Fantastic Four.  After getting caught sneaking into the Baxter Building, he "fights" the FF to prove how fit he is to join, but its members inform him, after the fight, that they're a non-profit organization, with all their money going to create "the most effective super-crime-fighting apparatus."  Meanwhile, Chameleon steals military plans from a defense installation, planning on selling them to an "Iron Curtain" country.  Seeing a TV report on Spider-Man trying to join the FF and a newspaper article on him being wanted by the FBI, Chameleon figures out Spidey is having money problems.  He sends out a message over the radio waves that Pete's "spider senses" can hear telling Spidey to meet on top of the Lark Building at 10:00 pm, saying it will be very profitable for him.  Pete hears the message and makes his way to the building.  Meanwhile, Chameleon disguises himself as an elevator operator to break into the Lark Building and later changes into Spider-Man to steal the missile-defense plans.  Chameleon escapes in a helicopter, and the cops try to arrest Spidey as he arrives on the roof.  Realizing what happened, Pete uses his "spider's senses" to "tune in" on the ship with which the helicopter is trying to rendezvous.  Spidey successfully prevents the ship (a submarine) from emerging by webbing up the hatch and boards the helicopter, capturing Chameleon.  Pete delivers him to the cops, but Chameleon escapes, and another round of confusion follows, with the authorities thinking Spidey is Chameleon dressed as him again.  Pete flees the scene and the cops eventually capture Chameleon, who has changed into a cop costume, after they see his Spidey costume under a tear in his cop costume.  Dejected, Pete sobs that he wishes he never got his super powers since nothing turns out correctly.  Meanwhile, the FF ponder what would happen if Spidey turned to crime, with Sue noting how confused he seems.

The Review
I have to say, I'm really fascinated by the two stories in this issue.  I'm mostly intrigued by the extent to which Lee portrays Peter as struggling for money and considering a life of crime.  In fact, this entire first issue is consumed by it.  In the first story, we first see Peter contemplate robbing a bank to make some cash, discarding the idea only because it would devastate Aunt May if he got caught (not necessarily because it's wrong; I'll turn to that twist in a minute).  Everything goes from bad to worse when he loses his sole source of income, public appearances, because of JJJ's public crusade against him.  This desperation to make money results in him trying to join the FF and, in the second story, falling prey to Chameleon's plan.  Lee also combines this financial desperation with a deeper emotion, namely Peter's frustration over everything he does as Spider-Man not going the way he wants it to go.

In both his depiction of Pete's worries over making money and his frustration over his public image,  Lee shows an amazing insight into the teenage mind.  Lee suggests that it's Peter's frustration over the public constantly accusing him of being a bad guy that might actually drive him over the edge and inspire him to begin committing crimes.  Pete wonders, "must I be forced to become what they accuse me of being??  Must I really become a menace?  Perhaps that is the only course left for me!"  Later, at the end of the second story, after the police try to arrest him thinking he's Chameleon and he's forced to escape, he sobs in the alley, crying that, "Nothing turns out right…[Sob]…I wish I had never gotten my super powers!"  It's a really sad moment, and Lee does a great job of reminding you Pete's essentially just a boy, completely overwhelmed by the adult situations in which he finds himself.  As mentioned above, he discards the idea of robbing banks only because Aunt May would be devastated.  Here, Lee also gives us a typical teenager's world view, where he's not really considering the ethical and moral consequences of his actions, but more the immediate and personal ones.  Lee also underscores Pete's adolescence by showing Sue Storm's concern for Peter in the next panel, having her note what a menace such a strong and confused teenager could be.  Sue, in fact, is probably the only character at this point who has shown any sympathy to Spider-Man.

Reading these issues, you realize that Pete really struggles here with issues similar to the ones that lead his enemies into lives of crime.  How many times has Hydro-Man or Sandman or Shocker committed a crime because he desperately needed cash?  I don't think it ever dawned on me that Pete could've turned to a life of crime, but reading these issues you realize what great work Lee does with Pete here in building a hero, by having him consider not being one.

Continuing the discussion of differences between what I thought Spidey's origin was and what it actually is, when we hear Peter in the modern issues discuss his regret over the death of Uncle Ben, it usually centers around him not stopping the thief who would eventually shoot Uncle Ben.  However, in this issue, Pete doesn't actually mention that aspect of the story while he's reviewing the events of "Amazing Fantasy" #15; instead, he laments that he wasn't home when the burglar arrived, because he was busy "showing off" at a personal appearance.  I don't think I knew that Pete was at a personal appearance when Uncle Ben got shot, and it does really add some complexity to the guilty that Pete has carried with him all these years.

Looking at firsts, we see JJJ here for the first time.  We don't really get too much detail on why he thinks Spider-Man is a public menace, other than the fact that JJJ seems annoyed that people would respect Spidey and not JJJ's son, John, the test pilot.  I'm intrigued to see how Pete eventually gets the idea to go work with JJJ, because, in these issues, JJJ is the epitome of everything that goes wrong in Pete's efforts as Spider-Man.  We also see Peter's Spider-Sense, I believe, for the first time, though it's less well defined than it is in modern comics.  He uses his "spider instinct senses" in a pretty standard way in his fight against Invisible Girl, but he later uses them to hear radio waves along certain frequencies.  He also uses them to locate the ship with which Chameleon is trying to rendezvous, but I'm not entirely sure whether it's supposed to be because he hears the radio frequency or something else.  Finally, we also get our first costumed villain, Chameleon.  We don't get much background on him, other than the fact that he's trying to help "Iron Curtain" countries.  But, I have to say, I'm surprised that Chameleon has the honor of being the first costumed villain.  I thought it would've been Doc Ock or someone similar.

As an aside, I loved how Pete's producer had to pay him with a check so he'll have a record for tax purposes and the bank won't cash a check made to "Spider-Man" without proper ID (and doesn't accept his costume as "proper ID").  It's probably the last time such reality entered comic books!

Finally, to do some nitpicking, I'm not entirely sure why John couldn't eject from the capsule in the first place.  Why did he need the guidance unit to activate the chute?  Also, Pete's trouble to get a part-time job comes in part because a manager tells him he doesn't want a boy but "a man" for the job.  Really?  Teenagers didn't work in the '60s?  Pete appears to be applying for a job to be a bus boy, and I'm pretty sure a teenager can wash dishes just as well as someone with more chest hair.  Also, last but certainly not least, who knew that, for an issue, Peter Parker was Peter Palmer!  (Don't believe me?  Check out this link to see it for yourself!  http://comiccoverage.typepad.com/comic_coverage/2009/08/superbloopers-tangled-in-the-web-of-alliteration.html)  But, given that Stan was in the middle of creating, you know, every Marvel superhero, I'll let him off the hook for these errors!

Amazing Fantasy #15: "Spider-Man!"

Summary
Peter Parker, who the narrator tells us is "far from being the biggest man on campus," tries to get some of his fellow students to go to a science exhibition with him, but they tell him to take a hike.  ("You stick to science, son!  We'll take the chicks!")  At the exhibit, he's bitten by a radioactive spider and soon realizes he's developed super powers, being able to cling to walls and walk on cables "as effortlessly as the spider itself can glide along its web."  To test his powers, Pete dons a mask and enters a wrestling contest with Crusher Hogan.  Defeating him easily, Peter makes $100 and meets a TV producer who tells him he'll be a "smash on Ed Sullivan's show."  Peter constructs his Web-Shooters and gets himself a costume, calling himself Spider-Man.  He then begins to perform in a series of televised events.  One night, after such an event, he fails to stop a thief who ran past him, telling the police officer who asks him why he didn't trip him, "that's your job!"  Aunt May and Uncle Ben later surprise Pete with the microscope he's always wanted and Spider-Man's career continues to go well.  One night, on the way home from a personal appearance, Pete learns (from the same cop, seemingly, who tried to catch the thief earlier) that Uncle Ben has been murdered by a burglar.  The cop tells Pete the thief is hiding in the old Acme warehouse at the waterfront and Pete dons his Spider-Man costume to go get him.  He finds him hiding and realizes that it's the thief he failed to stop the previous night.

The Review

As anyone who's read this issue before knows, despite being the start of the Spider-Man mythos, it's really not all that exciting.  Lee gives us Spider-Man's origin story in just 11 pages.  In fact, Peter doesn't get bitten by that famous spider ("whom fate has given a starring, if brief, role to play in the drama we call life!") until page 3, so the entire origin story really happens on just nine pages.  Pete gets his Spider-Powers, becomes a professional wrestler, fails to stop a thief, and suffers the loss of Uncle Ben.  Talk about concise!

Beyond the origin story we all know, I found certain parts of this issue interesting for being different from my normal understanding of Spider-Man's origin.  First, in my review of "Amazing Spider-Man" #661, I criticize the author for having the Avengers Academy kids gush over Spidey's professional wrestling career, saying that it lasted "five minutes."  Um, I might've been wrong about that.  In this issue, we see several newspaper headlines saying that Spider-Man played to a packed house, won a "showbiz" award, and was slated to star in his own TV series.  Apparently, he really did have something like a career.  I mean, it clearly didn't last for years or anything, but I guess he would've been sufficiently high-profile as a "celebrity" (if not necessarily a wrestler) for the kids to remember him before he took up superhero-ing.

Second, Uncle Ben never says "with great power comes great responsibility."  The narrator does, saying, at the end of the issue, as Spidey silently walks into the night after discover his role in Uncle Ben's death, "with great power there must also come -- great responsibility!"  I assume, at a later date, Lee gives us a flashback of Uncle Ben saying it to Peter, but I thought it was interesting that it doesn't happen here.  Speaking of Uncle Ben, I was surprised to see that he only has two lines in this issue.  That's it.  He wakes up Peter for school ("You're not fooling' me, Petey.  I know you're awake -- and it's time for school!") and tells Aunt May not to feed Peter too much ("Don't fatten him up too much, dear!  I can hardly out-wrestle him now!")  Not bad for a guy who becomes one of comicdom's most beloved figures!  Also, wheatcakes appear in this issue!  It's what Aunt May was feeding Peter (his favorite breakfast) when Uncle Ben tells her not to overfeed him.  Who knew wheatcakes were so steeped in history?

Finally, we have some non-standard depictions of Spidey here.  First, we have the famous Web-Pits, and I wonder when they actually disappear.  But, also, when Spidey is holding the thief, he actually has pupils, which Ditko seemed to add to stress how shocked he was.  In terms of the more standard aspects of his Spider-Powers, we get his ability to stick to walls and his Spider-Strength.  Lee doesn't specifically mention his Spider-Sense, though I think it's implied when he leaps away from the car that almost hits him, the event that makes him realize he can cling to walls.

Looking more thematically, I was surprised just how angry Peter is in this issue, even before Uncle Ben's death.  When he received his microscope from Uncle Ben and Aunt May, he thinks, "They're the only ones who've ever been kind to me!  I'll see to it that they're always happy, but the rest of the world can go hang for all I care!"  He tells the cop who berates him for not stopping the thief, "Sorry, pal!  That's your job!  I'm thru being pushed around -- by anyone!  From now on I just look out for number one -- that means -- me!"  Lee makes it pretty clear just how alone and isolated Peter is at the start of the issue, with the kids (and even the scientists) making fun of him.  (It's pretty bad when a bunch of scientists call you a wuss, which they do when he gets light-headed after getting bitten by the spider and has to leave the exhibition.)  But, I didn't realize just how dark Peter's thoughts were.  In a post-Columbine world, it's an interesting insight to see, and sets up later discussions (particularly in "Amazing Spider-Man" #1) about whether Pete will eventually turn to a life of crime.

I want to note that Lee's narration is really great.  Although the issue doesn't really conform to modern standards of dialogue and flow, it's through the narrative bubbles that we get most of our insight into Peter and the troubles he faces and life he leads.  The narrator tells us that Peter is "far from being the biggest man on campus" and that Aunt May "thought the sun rose and set upon her nephew."  Lee gives us the insight we need to understand just how powerful of a character he and Ditko created.