Amazing Spider-Man #49 (June 1967) – “From the Depths of Defeat” – Stan Lee/John Romita
This one starts where last issue left off, with Spider-Man lying in the snow half dead after getting the shit kicked out of him by the new Vulture. But the cold actually revives him instead of finishing him off and he staggers down to the street, still weakened by the flu. He manages to walk home and get inside but when Harry arrives back, Peter has to jump into bed with his Spider-Man costume still on. Meanwhile, Kraven is pissed off about all the press the new Vulture is generating and
decides to teach this upstart a lesson. Peter is stuck in bed with his costume still on when Aunt May and Anna Watson show up to check on him. I’m not sure why he didn’t get out of his costume during the night, but maybe he was so fucked up by the flu he just passed out. He’s actually feeling better (thanks to his superhuman stamina), but has to play along since Aunt May has called the doctor to come look at him. He does manage to change his costume but hears a news report about Vulture and Kraven fighting a decides to go check it out since Aunt May and Anna fell asleep waiting for the doctor. Spider-Man interrupts the fight between Kraven and Vulture and ends up 
kicking both their asses, playing them against each other. He gets back to his apartment before Dr. Bromwell arrives and turns out to be in perfect health.
This is a pretty good issue, giving us a pair of villains. It was cool to see Kraven and Vulture fighting each other and I like that they didn’t immediately forget their differences and team up against Spider-Man as soon as he showed up. Aunt May’s dithering gets annoying after a while, but I suppose it’s good to see so many people worried about Peter’s health.
Amazing Spider-Man #50 (July 1967) – “Spider-Man No More” – Stan Lee/John Romita/Mike Esposito
This one starts with Spider-Man pounding some punks trying to rob a nice couple, but instead of being grateful, the victims are afraid of Spidey. He gets home and learns Aunt May had another of her attacks and wanted to see him. He rushes over only to find she’s been sedated by the doctor, but he feels guilty for being out as Spider-Man when Aunt May needed him. Other things pile up—being behind in his his schoolwork, declining an invitation to a party Gwen’s throwing—and when he hears
Jameson on TV ranting about ho terrible Spider-Man is, he decides maybe it’s time to forget his superhero alter ego and just be plain old Peter Parker for a change. He dumps his costume in a garbage can and leaves Spider-Man behind him. Some kid finds the costume and takes it to Jameson, who writes a front page story about Spider-Man being finished. A new crime boss (the Kingpin, in his first appearance) figures the time is right to take over the city’s mobs. He sends out a bunch of crooks to test the waters and see if Spider-Man really has retired. Of course, he has so Kingpin starts moving to 
consolidate his hold on the city’s organized crime. Peter feels a bit guilty when he hears about the crime wave, but he seems to be enjoying his newfound freedom. But we all know his sense of responsibility won’t let him sit on the sidelines when people need help, so he does jump in to save a night watchman from some thugs. The watchman reminds him of Uncle Ben and he realizes he can’t sit idly by while people are being hurt or killed. He reclaims his costume from Jameson’s office and heads back out as Spider-Man.
This is a classic issue with a cover (and inside panel) that’s been endlessly
ripped off or homaged. This is the first time Peter tries to quit being Spider-Man, but it won’t be the last … it becomes something of a ritual with him in upcoming years. This issue is also the first appearance of the Kingpin, although he’s not to nuanced as in later appearances, coming off as just another crime boss with big ambitions. Speaking of which, the biggest surprise here is that Frederick Foswell decides he wants to get back into crime and take over the mobs now that Spider-Man has quit. I guess all Foswell’s contrition was bullshit, although we will see that his gratitude towards 
Jameson is genuine. Kingpin must’ve been working for quite a while in the background, gathering his power until the time was right to make his move. He certainly isn’t impressed when Foswell tries to strong-arm him, making the ex-Big Man a prisoner immediately.