Cobwebs #50: Crawlspace No More!

Dear readers!  It is with great sadness that I begin this entry, for it will be my last post on the  Crawlspace.  I must give up the mantle of Dark Mark and move on with my life.  But enough about me, let’s dive into Amazing Spider-Man #50, where Peter Parker faces a bit of a crisis of his own in “Spider-Man No More”, a fitting issue with which to end my run here.

The year is 1967.  Gas is only 33 cents per gallon.  Going to the movies would cost you a whole $1.25.  Israel is fighting the Six Day War, America is sending more troops to Vietnam, the National Transportation Safety Board is created in response to Ralph Nader’s book, Unsafe at Any Speed, and the Beatles release Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.  Amidst all this, Stan Lee and John Romita Sr. produce one of the most memorable Spider-Man comics of all time – “Spider-Man No More!”  I’m sure fans at the time were on the edge of their seats thinking that this must be the end of their favorite wall crawling hero.  In fact, I know it to be true after reading a comment from a fan who was ten years old when this comic came out and he was indeed worried.

This is not the first time Peter Parker has quit being Spider-Man.  He quit briefly in #3 once he got his butt kicked by Dr. Octopus.  The quit only lasts for a few pages, though.  The Human Torch gives a speech at Peter’s high school and inspires him to continue on.

He does it again, with a bit more conviction in Amazing Spider-Man #18.  In this issue, he struggles with Aunt May’s sickness, paying for the bills, school work, and life in general.  This time it is Aunt May who gives him an inspiring speech to get him back in the swing of things.

So let’s crack open those CGC slabbed copies of ASM #50 and take a look at what makes this issue so special!  Don’t have the issue? No worries!  You can pick up a copy for only $2,000 at your local comic book store.  Or just go to Marvel Unlimited, grab Marvel Tales #190, or any number of places it has been reprinted for considerably cheaper.  The issue is written by Stan “The Man” Lee, drawn by Johnny “Ring a Ding” Romita, inked by Mike Dimeo (who is really Mike Esposito, but was working at the time for DC, so inked under this fake name Demeo (it is misspelled on the title page)), and lettered by Sam Rosen (who, along with Artie Simek did all of the lettering and logos for Marvel in the’60s).

The issue starts with a KRAK! WAP! And ZOK! Because Stan Lee wants to get us right into the action!  Spider-Man is easily handling a couple of thugs robbing a bank and finishes things off with a move that in real life would probably and these guys in the hospital with, at the very least a severe concussion, and at the worst, death (that looks like solid wood, folks – no sissy hollow core door for Romita!).

However, this move doesn’t impress the bank manager who thinks that Spider-Man may be more of a threat than the guys trying to rob them.  Then Peter Parker spends several panels so deep in angst that he would impress even the strictest of the CW Arrow script writers.

Aunt May, the old, lovable bat, is once again at death’s door.  To heap on the guilt, Anna Watson tells Peter that May was constantly calling for him but he was nowhere to be found.  Then we see that his Aunt isn’t the only thing he’s let slide.  His studies are rocky and so is his fashion sense! What’s up with that sweater???

He even turns down Gwen Stacy’s invite to a party at her house.  Life is not grand for the wall crawler.  He does make time to thought-bubble insult Mary Jane a little bit, though.

Then, as he sits at home thinking about how he is spending his time with his old, decrepit aunt rather than hot Gwen or even scatter-brained MJ, JJJ comes on the tube and offers a $1000 reward for the capture of Spider-Man.  Peter is beset by words of guilt (very similar to floating heads of guilt) and the patented Osborn crazy sweats over the thought that maybe he is the menace JJJ claims him to be.  He goes for a walk in the rain which results in one of the most famous panels ever in Spider-Man history.

Some kid finds the costume and runs it right to JJJ who is quick to take credit for running the webbed menace out of town and even quick to reward the boy for his efforts.  For the rest of the issue, we see several panels of JJJ gloating and getting plenty of press from it.

With all these iconic moments happening, it is almost easy to overlook a single panel that hallmarks the very first appearance of the one and only Kingpin!  He has his back turned to us while looking out on what will soon be his city.

Romita had some very specific ideas when he created the Kingpin.

“When Stan asked me to design the Kingpin of Crime, the last thing I wanted to do was to make him look like all the criminals we’ve seen in a thousand movies.  I didn’t want to do the standard guy with a mustache and a scar so I made him look like the furthest thing from that.  I made him four hundred pounds so that he’d blot out the sun.  Instead of being fat and flabby like Sidney Greenstreet, I made him look powerful.”

Romita goes on to say that he often had actors in mind when he created characters.  The Kingpin was facially a mash up of Edward Arnold and Robert Middleton.

A little bit later, we get a full frontal Kingpin and we can compare Romita’s choice of actors to his first drawing of Wilson Fisk.

As a side note, while researching for this article, I ran across someone from France saying that when the Kingpin appeared in the newspaper strips over there, he was call “Bill Bulky”.  Even though I could not verify this as true, I find it awesome I can only hope that some Spider-Man writer in the near future is reading this article and decides to have Spidey call him that. I also found an article in Amazing Heroes #148 that states supposedly Jack Kirby had something to do with the design of the Kingpin, but that is more of a side note and Romita’s interview doesn’t acknowledge that at all.  I’m going with Romita’s account here.

POP QUIZ

Why is the Kingpin bald?

A. radioactivity
B. he suffers from male patterned baldness
C. to control lice infestation
D. his mother would pull his hair as punishment as a child, so he shaved it as an adult

By the way, this isn’t just the first appearance of the Kingpin.  It is also the first appearance of Johnny Carson, Ed McMahon, Chet Huntley, and David Brinkley as characters who live in the Marvel Universe, but compared to the Kingpin, that’s hardly anything to get worked up over.

The thug (which is named Knuckles McNulty*) in the panel mentions Appalachin, which, if you are not versed in your criminal history, you may be thinking is just a mountain range.  But you’d be wrong.  First, that would be the Appalachian.  Appalachin is the name of a little town in New York (only had a population of 277 at the time) where 62 of the top organized crime bosses were captured at a summit meeting of crime bosses.  Pretty much all of them were released the very next day, but it still remains one of the largest crime meeting is history.

All these mobsters mulling around attracts the attention of my least favorite early Spider-Man character – Frederick Foswell, AKA Patch, AKA The Big Man.  Foswell works at the Daily Bugle because JJJ, in a rare instance of being a decent human being, gave him a second chance at life.  However, now that Spider-Man is out of the picture, he is thinking about returning to a life of crime. On top of that, he begins to piece together that Peter Parker and Spider-Man might have a little bit more in common than he originally thought.  Luckily JJJ doesn’t spill the beans, so unlike the Green Goblin, Foswell doesn’t completely connect the dots.

Kingpin is sending all of his goons out to rob people in broad daylight just to see if Spider-Man is really gone for good.  Unfortunately for everyone in New York, the FF, Daredevil, or the Avengers aren’t around to save them, so many of the robberies go off without a hitch and the police just don’t have the man power to stop them all.

Meanwhile, Peter’s life is picking up, although he still completely misses the flirt cues Gwen was laying on thick.

So if you’ve never thought the hot girl was all into you, then maybe, like Peter here, you were just missing the obvious cues.  Let’s go with that.

MJ flirts with Peter, but he turns her down to spend more time with Aunt May and then later goes home to study.  He does feel mildly guilty about ignoring a news report about a robbery.

The next day, Gwen has a date with Harry, Aunt May and Anna Watson are going to the movies, and Peter realizes that the world doesn’t revolve around him anymore.  He’s a little bummed about that and on the way home, he spots a robbery with some old security guard getting the beat down.  Instead of pulling a Spider-Man 2 and turning his back on the guy, he leaps into action.  The guy he rescues looks a lot like you-know-who.

By the way, I found a lot about the fact that if you have the whites above your iris you are probably psychotic, but the only thing I saw on the Internet about the whites above AND below was, “If you ever see someone with four-sided white (the iris has white all around it), don’t walk—run away!!!”

Cue a retelling of Amazing Fantasy #15 (which is slightly off as it makes it look like he chose to fight crime before catching Uncle Ben’s killer) and Spidey’s back!

Meanwhile, Foswell tries to convince Kingpin that he’s back as the Big Man and Kingpin better get in line.  To make sure Fisk understands, he’s brought, no not the Enforcers like you would think, but a gun along with him.  Fisk, however, is not having any of that and blasts the gun with a laser from his cane and Foswell realizes that he has made a huge mistake.  (Ha!  Get it?  Huge!)  Come on!  You go after the guy who has managed to get EVERY mob boss in town to back you and you think that he’s going to be intimidated by a gun?  Sheesh!

So Spidey swings by the Bugle to get his suit back and to give JJJ a hard time before going off to save the day.

How inspirational!

Speaking of inspiration, this comic seems to have done a little inspiring of its own over at the Distinguished Competition.  Spider-Man is cover dated July 1967.  This Superman comic is dated November of the same year.

Notice any similarities?  Then we have in September the following year –

Reed Tucker’s book, Slugfest: Inside the Epic, 50-year Battle between Marvel and DC, tells that the two companies were always trying steal each other’s ideas and concepts, so I don’t believe that these covers were coincidences.  He doesn’t mention this particular incident, but plenty of others.  It’s a good read, so I advise you to pick it up.

Not only that, but there is a barrage of cover homages to this issue ranging from the Hulk to Howard the Duck.

There are also some interesting letters in the letter pages.  There is one that complains that Romita doesn’t “get” Spider-Man like Ditko did.  However, the one of note is this one:

Dear Stan and John,

I thought I had left comic books somewhere in my past, but once again, I find myself reading them. It would surprise (shock!) many people back in the states to learn that so many service men read them. Especially the Marvel Comics Group which is sold in every P.X. I’ve been in over here. And it always makes us mad to miss an issue! We don’t have much time for reading here in Viet Nam although we usually are able to squeeze in enough time to read your Marvels. Spider-Man is, by far, my favorite, although all of your super-heroes are really something. We sure could use them over here, but I guess we’ll just have to rely on our own “talents”. It may be a coincidence, but we think of ourselves as “junior super-heroes”. If you get a chance, send one over here to give us a hand! But, to be serious for a second, thanks a lot for providing a lot of us with some good action-packed reading material. We really enjoy your series. They, like letters from home, help take our minds out of Viet Nam for a while.

Cpl. Leonard R. St. Clair, 2164081 USMC, “I” Co.
3rd Bn., 1st Mar. Div.
FPO, San Francisco, Cal. 96602

 

Stan Lee’s response:

In that case, Len, even if they serve no other purpose, we’ll still keep turning ’em out to the best of our agonizin’ ability! Unfortunately, we can’t actually send any of our costumed characters to the field of battle, but we can always do the next best thing — so watch for the first ish of the complimentary subscription which we’re winging your way, with our sincerest best wishes to you and your battle-honed buddies. May you all successfully and safely complete your tour of duty, and soon be able to latch onto your favorite mags merely by walking to the corner newsstand.

The reason this letter is of note is not because I am a patriotic guy, but because of the letter pages in Amazing Spider-Man #53.  There is a blurb from Stan Lee, that, by the way it is written, I assume he (or people who work under him) contacted the military to find where to send the subscription and told them about a letter that would be printed:

NOTE: We recently received a letter which affected all of us very deeply. We are printing it, in its entirety, with no comment–save one–

Dear Stan,

Since all of us in the headquarters section of India Company are Spider-Man fans, we regret to inform you that Corporal St. Clair, whose letter will be printed in SPIDER-MAN #50, was killed in action on 28 February, 1967. He was a squad leader in our 3rd Platoon when his patrol was ambushed southwest of Da Nang. Your comic SPIDER-MAN is the most sought after piece of literature and art work in this company. Keep up the good work; you’re a real morale booster.

India Company 3/1 3rd Bn., 1st Mar.
1st Marine Div. (REIN) FMF, FPO,
San Francisco, Cal. 96602

Stan Lee’s response:

God rest you, soldier. And God bless you all. As a mark of respect to Corporal St. Clair, and all others who have given the last measure of devotion for their country, we are omitting our usual “coming attractions” paragraph this issue. We prefer, instead, to express the fervent hope that the day will soon come when men in every land will walk together in peace — and brotherhood.

Corporal St. Clair has a memorial page that you can visit and pay your respects to a Spidey fan of old.  Click here.

You know, when I was putting those images of the Kingpin and his inspiration up there, I am reminded of Brad Douglas, known to many of us as Uncle Brad.  He put his faith in me by giving me this opportunity and by tricking me into reviewing Amazing Grace all those years ago.  I can’t let him down!  And what about poor Bogenrieder?  I can’t let him face the horrors of ASM alone!  Plus, who will put up a Cobwebs Final Exam in June if I quit?  What would my son Grant think of me? And perhaps more important than the admiration of my own flesh and blood, JR just referenced me in the latest reviews podcast (#lifegoals).  No.  I cannot turn my back on the Crawlspace.  I cannot abandon my responsibility!  I will remain DARK MARK and keep up the good fight!

At least until BD wises up and fires me.  Until then – Make Mine Crawlspace!

 

Sources:

“The Amazing Spider-Man.” Comic Book Realm, 2018, comicbookrealm.com/series/113/0/marvel-comics-the-amazing-spider-man-vol-1. Accessed 15 Apr. 2018.

“Amazing Spider-Man #50.” Marvel Comics Chronology, Super Mega Monkey, www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/amazing_spiderman_50.shtml. Accessed 15 Apr. 2018.

Beebe, Reed. “Friday Flash-Fact: The Inspiration for the Kingpin.” Nothing but Comics, 5 Sept. 2014, nothingbutcomics.net/2014/09/05/friday-flash-fact-the-inspiration-for-the-kingpin/comment-page-1/. Accessed 14 Apr. 2014.

“CPL. Leonard Ray Saint Clair.” Combat Wife, Our Marines, www.combatwife.net/memsaintclair.htm. Accessed 15 Apr. 2018.

DeFalco, Tom.  Comics Creators on Spider-Man. Titan Books, 2004.

“Edward Arnold >> Photos.” Famous Fix, 2018, www.famousfix.com/topic/edward-arnold/photos. Accessed 14 Apr. 2018.

“The Flash Vol 1 182.” DC Database, Fandom, dc.wikia.com/wiki/The_Flash_Vol_1_182. Accessed 14 Apr. 2018.

Lee, Stan.  “The Amazing Spider-Man #3 (1963).” Marvel, 13 Nov. 2007, marvel.com/comics/issue/6704/the_amazing_spider-man_1963_3. Accessed 14 Apr. 2018.

Lee, Stan.  “The Amazing Spider-Man #18 (1963).” Marvel, 13 Nov. 2007, marvel.com/comics/issue/6571/the_amazing_spider-man_1963_18. Accessed 14 Apr. 2018.

Lee, Stan.  “The Amazing Spider-Man #50 (1963).” Marvel, 13 Nov. 2007, marvel.com/comics/issue/6869/the_amazing_spider-man_1963_50. Accessed 14 Apr. 2018.

Mack, David. “Daredevil vol 2 #15.” Read Comic Online, 2018, readcomiconline.to/Comic/Daredevil-1998/Issue-15?id=1048, Accessed 16 Apr. 2018.

Morrissey, Richard. “’Lex Supra Leges’ Amazing Heroes #148.” Read Comic Online, 2018, readcomiconline.to/Comic/Amazing-Heroes/Issue-148?id=87137. Accessed 16 Apr. 2018.

Pearson, Brad.  “Your Brooklyn Guide to Buying and Owning a Moped, the Ultimate Nerd Ride.” Brokelyn, 16 May 2012, brokelyn.com/brooklyn-moped-guide/. Accessed 14 Apr. 2018.

Sjoerdsma, Al. “Comics : Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #50.” Spider-Fan, Comic Boards, 2009, www.spiderfan.org/comics/reviews/spiderman_amazing/050.html. Accessed 15 Apr. 2018.

“Superman Vol 1 201.” DC Database, Fandom, dc.wikia.com/wiki/Superman_Vol_1_201. Accessed 14 Apr. 2018.

“Sydney Greenstreet.” Old Time Radio Downloads, 2018, www.oldtimeradiodownloads.com/actors/sydney-greenstreet. Accessed 14 Apr. 2018.

Thompson, Kelly.  “Danger in the Eyes.” Self Growth, 2018, www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Danger_in_the_Eyes.html. Accessed 14 Apr. 2018.

Wantuch, Howard, and Sidney Kline.  “Sixty-two Top Mafia Leaders Were Seized in the Apalachin Meeting in 1957.” Daily News: Flashback, Daily News, 13 Nov. 2015, www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/62-mafia-members-seized-upstate-ny-1957-article-1.2428519. Accessed 14 Apr. 2018.

“What Happened in 1967 Important News and Events, Key Technology and Popular Culture.” The People History, Back in Time Gifts, 2018, www.thepeoplehistory.com/1967.html. Accessed 14 Apr. 2018.

All scans are from Marvel Unlimited and Read Comics Online

Credible Hulk

 

* OK, I lied about the Knuckles McNulty, but that is an awesome name and since that thug has no name, I propose that this be canon from now on.  I also propose that everyone refer to Mike McNulty as Knuckles from this point forward.

‘Nuff Said!