"DUEL TO THE DEATH WITH THE VULTURE!"
Writer: Stan Lee/Penciller: Steve Ditko/Inker: Steve Ditko/Letterer: John Duffy/Editor: Stan Lee/Cover Art: Steve Ditko
Synopsis: New York is suffering a one-man crime wave in the flying form of the Vulture, and only Spider-Man stands in the villain's way...
Review: Spidey's first encounter with the Vulture is one of the most significant stories in the web-head's canon. This is where we start to see a lot of the recognisable elements coming into play; this is where Spider-Man starts becoming Spider-Man. We see him going up against a super-powered foe; whilst the Vulture's method of flight may be artificial, he's certainly a step-up in the threat department from the rather tame menace of the Chameleon from the previous issue. I've always loved the Vulture; he's such a beautifully characterful example of Ditko design. The beaked nose and wizened face, combined with that classic green costume makes for one of Spider-Man's most memorable adversaries; it's no wonder that he was chosen as the first villain to return in five issues' time. His ambitions here are rather simple - all he does is rob people - but for a first outing, that's all you really need; his true aim is clearly to prove how superior he is to the denizens walking the streets below him, and that works fine enough as a motivation for me.
Spider-Man himself has also received an upgrade. It's clear that Ditko has become more confident in drawing the character since the first issue, as the iconic costume looks better than ever before; he's a more striking, powerful figure, pulling dynamic poses, yet retaining that offbeat Ditko weirdness. To put it another way, this is when you really start to hear the theme song from the 90s Spider-Man cartoon playing in your head during the action scenes. Here we see Peter start to take his role as Spider-Man more seriously: he crafts extra web-fluid cartridges to be placed on his belt, and invents a device - the quick-fix 'anti-magnetic inverter' - with which to bring down the Vulture. I always enjoy seeing Peter use his scientific knowledge to overcome a problem; it reminds us that even before he got his powers, he was a sharp and intelligent individual.
We also get to see Peter sell his first photos to Jameson, although the photos are to be printed in NOW Magazine, rather than the Daily Bugle. This is curious, considering it was established in the previous issue that Jameson publishes the Bugle, with no mention of NOW Magazine, and by the next issue, things revert back to the Bugle again, and NOW gets no further mention until it was revived in the 80s (but that's a story for another time). The scenes between Peter and Jameson here lack the humour that they become known for - indeed, Jameson doesn't really start becoming a figure of fun until Issue #4 - but he's a more than welcome addition to the comic: J Jonah Jameson is my favourite of all of Spidey's supporting cast.
It may have a simple plot, but this is still a really fun little story that brings Spider-Man closer to the character we know today. He's still not really taking an active role in bringing down supervillains - he only goes after the Vulture initially to take some pictures of him to earn some money - but he's more recognisable as the hero we know and love. And, even if the Vulture's plan is basic, and there are much better Vulture stories to come later, there's no denying that he makes an immediate impression, thanks to Ditko's gorgeous artwork, and a marvellous scene in which he steals a shipment of diamonds by doing exactly what a bunch of armed guards aren't expecting him to do: come up from below. Another great story from Lee and Ditko.
Rating: 4/5
"THE UNCANNY THREAT OF THE TERRIBLE TINKERER!"
Writer: Stan Lee/Penciller: Steve Ditko/Inker: Steve Ditko/Letterer: Artie Simek/Editor: Stan Lee
Synopsis: Whilst aiding a local scientist in his experiments, Peter undercovers a plot to take over the world, perpetrated by the craggy-faced Tinkerer, and...aliens from another planet...
Review: Retcons get a lot of flack, and in many cases, deservedly so, but sometimes, they can be a wonderful thing. A prime example of the latter is Roger Stern's retconning of this story to be more in line with what we'd expect from a Spider-Man tale; he too, clearly thought that a hero generally grounded in reality - as much as a superhero can be, I suppose - battling aliens was a bit of a stretch. The aliens themselves look fantastic, and bear a remarkable resemblance to an earlier Ditko creation, The Changing Man, from Tales of Suspense #8, but I can't deny it's completely bizarre seeing Spider-Man fighting such an otherworldly enemy.
There is a precedent for this, however. Plenty of the Marvel heroes fought aliens in their earliest stories, coincidentally or not, often in their second issue. Iron Man, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four (admittedly, they fight aliens on a more regular basis) all faced extra-terrestrial menaces in their second stories, and Thor fought the alien Stone Men in his very first appearance. I'm assuming that there was still a market for sci-fi stories in the early 60s, after they had received a big heyday in the previous decade, and so Marvel having their new, successful superhero characters fight aliens probably didn't seem so odd back then as it can do now, depending on the character. There was probably a degree of experimentation going on, seeing what worked for different characters, and what didn't. It's interesting to note that Daredevil, who was little more than a Spider-Man knock-off in his early years, didn't come up against a single alien in his first appearances; I think Stan had learned his lesson after this story not to pit the more grounded heroes against beings from another planet.
This particular story is nothing spectacular considering its out-there premise, but I wouldn't exactly call it bad either. As expected, the artwork is lovely - featuring the first use of Ditko's iconic half-Peter, half-Spidey method of depicting spider-sense - and there are still some nice moments of action, but this is easily the least involving story featuring the wall-crawler thus far. It feels more in line with the kind of stories that Lee and Ditko were producing in Amazing Fantasy, complete with a twist ending (which was also retconned over a decade later), and Spider-Man was shoehorned into it. There's an undeniable charm to it, and I must admit to finding it less egregious on this revisit than I have done in the past, but I would hardly call it a triumph; the fact that I have so little to say about it is an indication of that.
Rating: 2.5/5
Not a bad second issue; a great story, a mediocre story, and a gorgeous cover. Thankfully, we won't be seeing any more split issues from a while, barring Issue #8. From Issue #3 onwards, ASM receives a full length story each and every issue with few exceptions, allowing for more complex and interesting plots than before. Next time, Spidey comes up against the strangest foe of all...Doctor Octopus!
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