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Comics:Amazing Fantasy Vol 1 15


Appearing in "Spider-Man!"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Villains:

Other Characters:

Locations:

Items:

Synopsis for "Spider-Man!"

Part 1

A shy, unassuming high-school student, Peter Parker prefers the company of his teachers to that of his classmates, who call him "Midtown High's only professional wallflower." His only living relatives, Uncle Ben and Aunt May, think the world of him.

One evening, while attending a demonstration of radioactivity at a science hall, Parker fails to notice a spider drop through a "radioactive ray" and receive a massive dose of radiation. It bites him and dies. Light-headed, Parker leaves the demonstration, only to be nearly run over by a car. He leaps to safety, but is surprised to find he has jumped much further than intended—he lands on the side of a building and is clinging to the bricks by his fingertips. He quickly climbs to the roof and, once there, accidentally crumples a steel pipe in his hand. He believes that he has inherited the spider's speed, strength, and climbing ability. He begins to ponder the possibilities.

Shortly thereafter, Parker sees a wrestling ring and a sign: "$100 to the man who can stay in the ring three minutes with Crusher Hogan." He goes home, changes, puts on a hood, and returns to the ring. Hogan laughingly calls Parker the "Masked Marvel," but then Parker lifts Hogan over his head and carries him up a post. Afterward, a man in the crowd introduces himself to Parker as a TV producer, encourages him to go into show business, and gives him his card.

At home, Parker makes himself a spider-themed costume, a supply of sticky web fluid, and two jets for his wrists that can shoot the fluid. "Here comes the Spider-Man!" he says.

Part 2

The Spider-Man appears on television and becomes a celebrity. One evening, he goes backstage and finds a guard chasing a thief. Spider-Man lets the thief escape and, when the guard complains, tells him, "That's your job! I'm thru being pushed around ... by anyone!"

Spider-Man learns his first important lesson
Spider-Man learns his first important lesson
Some days later, Parker gets home and learns from a policeman that a burglar has killed his Uncle Ben. The police have cornered the man in the deserted Acme warehouse. Parker dons his costume and swings to the scene. Once inside, he frightens the man by crawling down the wall toward him. Parker then covers his gun hand with web fluid and KOs him. When he sees the man's face, he recognizes the thief who got away at the studio. He wraps the burglar in webbing and leaves him for the police to find.


Appearing in "The Bell-Ringer!"

Featured Characters:

  • Old Pedros

Supporting Characters:

  • other villagers

Locations:

  • Mediterranean island

Synopsis for "The Bell-Ringer!"

On a small Mediterranean island of fisherfolk, Old Pedros is the town bell-ringer. One day the volcano atop the island begins to erupt. The villagers evacuate and put out to sea. Old Pedros, though, stays at the church. "The bells must be rung," he tells himself. "Someone will hear. For centuries someone has always heard!" Molten rock streams toward the church. Before it reaches Old Pedros, a ray of sunlight surrounds him. The superstitious villagers swear they saw him ride that ray into the sky. Did their eyes play tricks on them, or did Someone hear the bells?

Appearing in "Man in the Mummy Case!"

Featured Characters:

  • Rocco Rank

Villains:

  • a mummy
  • Egyptian slavedriver

Other Characters:

  • a police officer

Locations:

  • museum
  • Egypt

Items:

  • sarcophagus

Synopsis for "Man in the Mummy Case!"

Rocco Rank, a career criminal, breaks into a museum to escape a policeman. While he looks for a hiding place, he hears a voice. It's a mummy's, and it promises to protect him from the police. All he has to do is lie in a sarcophagus. The mummy reassures Rank that he will not suffocate or become another mummy. Rank finally agrees and gets into the sarcophagus, which the mummy shuts. The policeman double back, finds a broken window, and searches the room. The mummy is motionless, and the sarcophagus is empty, so he leaves. Rank is safe from the police ... but he has become a slave building the Pyramids.

Appearing in "There Are Martians among Us!"

Featured Characters:

  • Martian woman and her husband

Supporting Characters:

  • none

Villains:

  • none

Other Characters:

  • police
  • searchers
  • TV reporter

Locations:

  • unknown

Vehicles:

  • flying saucer

Synopsis for "There Are Martians among Us!"

The discovery of a crashed flying saucer frightens a small town, especially when the townspeople realize that the Martians are among them. A month goes by with the aliens still at large. A man leaves for the city and tells his wife to stay in the house where she is safe. Later that day, though, she has to go to the store for coffee. On her way home she is captured! When her husband gets home and finds her missing, he makes a desperate phone call ... to another Martian, who like him must have four arms ....

Notes

  • Chronologically, Spider-Man appears next in Amazing Fantasy #16, although the next published issue was Amazing Spider-Man #1.
  • The Burglar appears next in Amazing Spider-Man #170.
  • Ben Parker's funeral is shown in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #1.
  • A more detailed version of this origin story is told in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #60.
  • Though the conclusion of "Spider-Man!" invites readers to return for the next issue, this would be the final issue of Amazing Fantasy (successor to Amazing Adventures and Amazing Adult Fantasy). In 1995, editor Danny Fingeroth inserted three stories (Amazing Fantasy #16-18) between this one and Spider-Man's next appearance, in Amazing Spider-Man #1 (March 1963).
  • Artie Simek was credited in this issue as Art Simek. Andy Yanchus was uncredited.
  • The "science hall" where Peter attended the demonstration was later identified as General Techtronics Laboratories East.
  • The television producer was later identified as Maxie Shiffman.
  • Although the death of Uncle Ben is not shown in this issue, it can be partly seen in a flashback in Amazing Spider-Man #1 and is fully depicted in Amazing Spider-Man #200.
  • Amazing Spider-Man #240 establishes that this story takes place during Peter Parker's sophomore year in high school.
  • The Spider-Man story was reprinted in Origins of Marvel Comics and Amazing Spider-Man #1 (Pocket Books).


Trivia

  • Steve Ditko's original cover
    Steve Ditko's original cover
    The cover ultimately published for Amazing Fantasy #15 was not the one originally planned. Originally, Steve Ditko both pencilled and inked the cover, but at the last minute Stan Lee decided to have Jack Kirby come in and redo it.[1]
  • The date on the cover (August) is one month earlier than the date in the indicia (September 1962) for this issue.
  • The "Experiments in Radio-Activity" exhibit (where Parker got his spider bite) was in room 30 of the science hall.
  • The TV producer tells Parker that should go on The Ed Sullivan Show, which ran on CBS between 1955 and 1971 (and from 1948 to 1955 as Toast of the Town).
  • Anthology titles like Amazing Fantasy presented stories that were usually only 3 to 5 pages long. The "Spider-Man!" story was therefore divided into two parts, even though Part 2 immediately followed Part 1.
  • The Spider-Man story uses the word spectacular to refer to a TV show. Today the preferred term would be special.


See Also


Recommended Reading

  • None.


Links and References





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