"WHERE FLIES THE BEETLE...!"
Writer: Stan Lee/Penciller: Steve Ditko/Inker: Steve Ditko/Letterer: Sam Rosen/Editor: Stan Lee/Cover Art: Steve Ditko
Synopsis: The Beetle plans to get his revenge on the Human Torch, but his scheme is threatened by an interfering Spider-Man...
Review: If you weren't sick of the sight of the Human Torch by this point, then ASM #21 may be the final straw for you. Not that he's irritating or an unwelcome presence in this issue, but if you look at the past five issues, the Torch has appeared in four of them. Not always in a prominent role, but he does feature on the cover of Issues #17, 19 and 21, and gets involved with the action in each of those. Now, I like the Human Torch as much as the next Fantastic Four fan, but I come to The Amazing Spider-Man to read about...well, Spider-Man. It just feels that of late, the books have been hijacked by Johnny Storm, and is in danger of becoming a team-up book, and I always prefer Spider-Man to be more of a lone wolf. This is in no way a criticism of the last few issues - you need only read my reviews to see how much I enjoy them - but by this point, I'm starting to get Human Torch fatigue. It may have been different when the comic was first coming out; five issues is almost half a year for the readers at the time, so perhaps the Torch's presence seemed less repetitive than today, when you can read every issue in sequence in a trade paperback or omnibus.
With the Human Torch appearing, there's the usual rivalry between the web-head and the matchhead, and I do enjoy a lot of this stuff; it's the theme that lies at the central core of this issue. The Torch doesn't have to do much in order to earn the adoration of the public, and is able to make up with his girlfriend in a matter of seconds. Spider-Man, on the other hand, is feared and shunned by the populace, and ends the issue with Betty upset with him once again (and oh boy, am I getting to that). It's a nice refrain of some of the brief snippets we got in Issue #17, only a bit more fleshed out here, and it does feel as if it gives the story a bit more substance than it could otherwise have had, considering it's basically just another crossover/team-up issue. The brief chase/fight between Spidey and the Torch is brilliantly staged by Ditko, but it's another example of Marvel's tendency during this period to have two superheroes fight each other based on a misunderstanding that neither of them tries to clear up. To be fair to Spider-Man, he is trying to catch the Beetle at the same time the Torch is attacking him, so he's a bit pre-occupied, but would it have wasted too much time to say, "The Beetle has kidnapped your girlfriend, not me."?
Yes, Doris Evans is back, and once more, Spidey tries to steal her from the Torch. Considering my loathing of the 'Spider-Man Tackles the Torch' story from ASM #8, you would expect me to hate this as well, but it makes a bit more sense here. Early in the issue, Peter (in his civilian identity), returns Doris' wallet after she drops it in the street. She invites him in and the two have a chat and a glass of Coke before Peter goes on his merry way again, only to be seen leaving Doris' house by the Torch. Torch follows Peter and tells him to stay away from his girlfriend, which is overheard by Betty, who concludes that Peter must be cheating on her and promptly skulks away without giving Peter a chance to explain. In retaliation, Peter decides to make a half-hearted play for Doris dressed as Spider-Man, to rile the Torch up. This is a bit more understandable than his selfish motives in Issue #8, but can we pause to marvel at just how paranoid Betty is in this issue? She walks away without letting Peter explain, and when he tries to, she gives him the brush off. Keep in mind that Peter has never been unfaithful to her, and she has no reason to think that he's started to be now. Later on it gets even worse; she decides to give him a chance to explain and phones the Parker house, only for Aunt May to tell her that Peter isn't in. Obviously, because he isn't in, he must be out with another girl (or at least that's how Betty's paranoid imagination figures it). I'm telling you, she's completely deranged.
I realise that I've not said much about the Beetle, but then, he's not really the focus of this issue; he's overshadowed by the rivalry between Spider-Man and the Torch. He does still prove to be a formidable opponent, particularly when Spider-Man first tackles him outside Doris' house, but once the two heroes gang up on him, he's toast pretty quickly. I must admit to being slightly baffled by the first panel, however, where the Beetle is allowed to keep his armour after being released from prison, because there's no law against someone owning an armoured costume. I suppose that's true, but surely when that armour was used to perpetrate crimes, and can be classed as a weapon, wouldn't the law be different? I don't know; I'm no legal expert, but the fact that he dons the thing immediately once he's out of sight of the prison and flies off to fight the Torch again does make you wonder if it was such a good idea letting him have his equipment back.
ASM #21 is a fun issue for sure, and it has a lot of cool, dynamic poses during the fight scenes; Ditko is as good as ever, and I really like the fact that the issue plays around with the rivalry between Spidey and the Torch using their different identities (or Spidey's, at any rate). Seeing the Torch making an agreement not to flame on for 24 hours also leads to some nice ironic humour when Doris calls him up with a genuine emergency, and he thinks she's playing a joke. It's getting a little bit tiresome seeing the Torch turn up again and again, but thankfully, this is the last we see of him for quite a while (ASM Annual #4 is his next appearance in a Spider-Man comic). If I'm being honest, though, the repeated use of the Torch doesn't stop this issue from being a lot of fun to read; it's a classic example of 60s Marvel team-up stories, and one of the very best. Great artwork, some fun and playful character dynamics, and the usual high quality of action.
Rating: 4/5
Next time, the Circus of Crime makes their return, but under a new name: the Masters of Menace...
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