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 Spider-man #3, "Spider-man versus the strangest foe of all time… Doctor Octopus".
This week I’m putting to the test the idea that these stories are representative in nature because I'm choosing February 1966's Amazing Spider-man #33, "The Final Chapter". This is the third and final chapter in the Doctor Octopus Master Planner story arc and while it's one of the most acclaimed stories in Spidey's history, it's one of my least favorites. I feel better saying that after speaking with a friend about this choice and saying that I don't get it and never have. He said there was nothing to get, it was one of Spidey's greatest defining moments in the middle of a bland and boring story.
We have Doctor Octopus, disguised as the Master Planner, Aunt May dying of a radioactive blood problem and when we open this chapter Spider-man is pinned under some debris from the fight. The experimental isotope that can potentially save Aunt May is laying on the ground just out of reach. Hurt and bone weary, on the edge of exhaustion, Spider-man tries and fails to lift the debris off of himself. And then he digs down deep. He just won't give up. Ever. Even as he lifts the weight off of his back, he has to fight his way out of the complex and get the serum to Dr. Connors.
He does. This may be one of the dumbest Spider-man comics in my opinion, but it's also a great portrayal of how he just won't quit. Spider-man may be delirious and half conscious, he may be swinging his fists through empty air because he doesn't realize that everyone else is already out of the fight, but he'll continue to struggle forward and won't ever stop. That's a huge part of who Spider-man is and why he's so Amazing!
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.