In a completely selfish hope that Marvel Comics' new high end collectible Wolverine Adamantium Edition may be followed by a Spider-man Web Slinging Edition I’m taking the opportunity to highlight the stories that I think are representative of what makes Peter Parker “Amazing”. I’m sticking exclusively with the mainstream Spider-man most people know of and worked hard to keep the page count as close to 720 as possible. I’m also working in publication order so that we can see the character growth and development as it happened. Last week I chose Amazing Fantasy #15, "Spider-man".
This week I’m presenting Amazing Spider-man #3, "Spider-man versus the strangest foe of all time… Doctor Octopus", from July, 1963. Now here’s a great story that shows the learning curve in a new-to-superheroing spider-career. Spider-man’s just caught a couple of safe crackers and is feeling pretty good about himself while elsewhere, Dr. Octavius is the victim of an accident during one of his own experiments at a U.S. Atomic Research Center.
Flash to a boastful Peter who tells Jonah Jameson that he can bypass the security at the hospital to get photos of the injured doctor. As Spider-man, he does successfully sneak into the hospital to find Dr. Octopus, as he’s been renamed after the accident, holding the staff hostage. Well Dr. Octopus is no safe cracker and Spider-man finds himself soundly and humiliatingly beaten. The good doctor returns to the research center as a despondent Peter returns to school. For the first time he feels he’s in over his head and that he can’t go on as Spider-man and it happens to be the day that Johnny Storm of the Fantastic Four is coming to the school to give an assembly speech. It’s an uplifting, inspirational speech that makes clear to Peter that even the Fantastic Four haven’t won every battle. That you have to get up and keep trying, that you have to live up to your responsibility.
Spider-man heads to the research center and confronts Doctor Octopus and does win the battle.
I like this for the reason that Peter relies on the Human Torch for his ‘pick me up’ establishing a greater shared world and what will become a long standing friendship between the two characters. It shows that Spider-man won’t win them all but he will collect himself and return with a vengeance (and usually a plan) further building on the idea that Peter is the brain behind the super hero.
Michael R. Murray has been buying and collecting comics for over 35 years. At one point his collection included two copies of Amazing Spider-man #1, and one copy each of Amazing Fantasy #15, Fantastic Four #2, Avengers #4, Showcase #22, and dozens more high grade and key issues. The collection has grown to include original art pages, as well as statues and busts, with the current emphasis on collecting original drawings from appropriate artists on the inside of his hard covers. His personal collection of graphic novels consists of over 2,000 hard covers and trade paperbacks. He has attended all of the Boston and New York Comic Cons and experienced Philadelphia, Chicago, and San Diego. He has championed comic books in the local schools and was very proud that both of his children read at least three years above their grade levels, due nearly exclusively to comics. He’s quick to point out that none of this makes him an expert, but that his love of comics is most enjoyable when he can share it. Follow on Twitter at mycomicstore001 or like his Facebook page.