Spider-Tracer: The Big Scoop on the Big Man

 

Who is the Big Man? Would you believe that there have been more than one, and not all of them are even men? The Big Man is a villainous legacy that’s been a part of Spider-Man comics since as far back as the Stan Lee and Steve Ditko era. And in this month’s Spider-Tracer, we’ll be covering them all!

 

 

In “The Amazing Spider-Man” Volume 1, #10, we’re introduced to the classic villainous team known as the Enforcers, and their leader, the mysterious Big Man.

 

 

Originally, Spider-Man pegged none other than J. Jonah Jameson as the criminal mastermind; but it turned out to be Frederick Foswell, a reporter for the Daily Bugle. A rather small and unintimidating man, Foswell used platform shoes, large suit jackets, and a voice modulator in addition to the mask in order to cleverly disguise himself. It was the police who figured out that Foswell was secretly the Big Man, not our heroic Web-Spinner, since he was far too focused on Jameson being the culprit.

 

 

Foswell went away for his crimes and eventually released. He would later return in issue #23 of the same volume (now sporting a mustache), and, in a surprising move, was given his old job back by J. Jonah Jameson. In order to continue getting the top crime exposés, Foswell secretly donned the masked identity of a man he dubbed “Patch”, an identity he used to get inside information from the criminal underworld without tipping criminals off as to who he truly was, before informing law enforcement of their misdeeds. He used this identity to great effect during the Green Goblin/Crime-Master saga of issues 26-27. He was able to spy on a large criminal gathering orchestrated by the Crime-Master (later usurped by the Green Goblin) before calling the cops once he had his scoop; had he not done so, Spider-Man might surely have met his demise, as he was nearly overwhelmed by the sheer number of criminals.

 

 

Spider-Man thought Foswell guilty of being the Crime-Master, but he was proven wrong when criminal Nick Lewis was gunned down in the costume during a police shootout.

 

Sometime later, Peter Parker had given up being Spider-Man (in the landmark 50^th issue, “Spider-Man: No More!”). It was during this time that the Kingpin took over the New York criminal underworld, as there was no Spider-Man to oppose him. Meanwhile, Foswell had become bitter over seeing another man having succeeded where he himself had failed as the Big Man. After having failed to muscle in on the Kingpin’s operation, Fisk allowed Foswell to remain as a lieutenant for his previous experience.

 

 

Kingpin wanted Foswell’s boss, J. Jonah Jameson, out of the way for his continuing publishing crusade against the mob. Spider-Man had since returned, yet failed in his attempt to save ol’ JJJ from the Kingpin’s clutches; he himself became a prisoner, too! Seeing the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, Kingpin attempted to have the masked hero and newspaper publisher drowned. Fortunately, Spider-Man managed to save both of their lives. A shootout soon erupted with the Kingpin’s men, and it nearly claimed Jameson’s life. However, seeing the opportunity to thank his former boss for the second chance he’d given him, Foswell took a bullet meant for JJJ and died shortly afterwards as a hero. Spider-Man had successfully driven off the Kingpin, but it was too late to save Foswell, which would come back to haunt him not once, but twice.

 

 

Some years later in “Marvel Team-Up” #’s 39-40, the Big Man seemingly returned to get revenge on Spider-Man in an alliance with the Enforcers, Sandman, and, wouldja believe it, the Crime-Master, too!

 

 

It turned out that the Big Man was not truly Foswell back from the grave, but his revenge-seeking daughter, Janice! Unable to work together, the Crime-Master had shot the Big Man, and when it was revealed that Janice had been behind the mask, the Crime-Master revealed himself to be Nick Lewis… Jr! Yep, the Crime-Master’s son. The twist goes further, revealing that Janice and Nick Jr. were engaged to be married! Too guilt-stricken over what he had done to his fiancé, the new Crime-Master gave up and was taken away by authorities.

 

 

Years later, the Big Man seemingly returned a third time, once again out for revenge on Spider-Man in “The Amazing Spider-Man” Volume 5, #’s 11-13. This Big Man piloted a giant, robotic version of himself and blamed Spider-Man for the deaths of Frederick and Janice Foswell, thanks in part to the previous anti-Spider-Man tirades of J. Jonah Jameson.

 

 

By this time, Jameson had discovered who Spider-Man was, and changed his stance completely on Spidey, giving him his full support. But it was too late, and the new Big Man was far too determined to end Spider-Man once and for all. Once defeated, it turned out that the man behind the Big Man’s mask, er, giant robot, was none other than Frederick Foswell… Jr!

 

Yeah, funny how that happens a lot in comics, isn’t it?

 

It’s worth noting that ether Frederick Sr. or Janice returned as a cloned Big Man during “The Clone Conspiracy”.

 

 

In “The Spectacular Spider-Man” cartoon, the Big Man was a title bestowed upon whoever was New York’s top criminal mastermind. The title originally belonged to Lonnie “Tombstone” Lincoln before being usurped by the Green Goblin himself.

 

Funny enough, Fred Sr. was on the show, both as a reporter for the Bugle and as “Patch”, but he was never a criminal here.

 

And there you have it, a history of the Big Man (and woman). Do you feel that the Big Man identity is a good legacy villain for Spider-Man, or should the identity have stayed dead and buried with Fred Sr? Let me know in the comments below!