Spider-Man Reviews: Amazing Spider-Man 11, Amazing Spider-Man 12

Amazing Spider-Man #11 (April 1964) – “Turning Point” – Stan Lee/Steve Ditko

This one starts with Peter Parker pining over Betty Brant when he hears that Dr. Octopus is being released. He goes to the prison to ask the warden to keep Ock inside, but Ock has served his time (and the warden is more inclined to imprison Spidey for his temerity in breaking into the prison). When Dr. Octopus is released, Spider-Man follows him and sees him being picked up by … Betty Brant! Yeah, things are getting interesting now. Spidey tosses a newly-invented Spider-tracer onto Betty’s car so he can track her and Doc Ock. A hastily-dropped map and the car’s license plates point to Philadelphia as the destination, so Peter tells Aunt May he’d like to take a day trip there to see the historical sites. Luckily, she doesn’t offer to accompany him. Meanwhile, we see the reason Betty is helping Doc Ock … her brother Bennett Brant is the lawyer for a mobster named Blackie Gaxton, but he’s also a gambler and owes Blackie a lot of money. Blackie wants Ock to bust him out of jail, which is why he’s pressuring Bennett (and Betty) to do favours for Ock. Spider-Man searches Philadelphia until he gets a signal from the spider-tracer, then changes to Peter Parker to find Betty, who finally tells him the truth about everything. Doc Ock busts Blackie out of jail and Spider-Man shows up minutes too late (which naturally makes the cops think he was involved). He heads back to protect Betty, but she and Bennett have already been taken by Gaxton’s goons. They all meet on a ship bound for a foreign port, but when Spidey arrives he twists his ankle and is captured by Gaxton’s men. He starts pounding them but in the confusion, Blackie starts shooting and Bennett takes a bullet trying to protect Betty. She blames Spider-Man for her brother’s death and he goes after Blackie and beats the shit out of him and his men. Doc Ock attacks and has a running fight through the ship with Spider-Man. After Ock tries to take Betty hostage, he and Spidey end up fighting on a launch that goes out of control. The boat crashes and Spidey swims away from the cops, but Dr. Octopus escapes too. Gaxton confesses to the cops, clearing Betty and Bennett (and Spidey, I suppose) and Betty tells Peter she doesn’t really blame Spider-Man for her brother’s death, but she says she can’t stand seeing Spider-Man because he’s always going to be a reminder of her brother’s death. So much for Peter telling her his secret identity.

This is a really good issue that has repercussions for years. Betty and Peter seem like a good match, but now Bennett’s death will always be hanging over them. Even if Betty doesn’t really blame Spider-Man (and we’ll see in future issues, she kinda still does), he’s a constant reminder of how her brother died. She blames Bennett’s demise on his craving for adventure and that’s something Spider-Man has, or at least represents. So ultimately Betty and Peter aren’t meant to be together because he’s never going to give up being Spider-Man and she could never accept that life. Peter actually resolves to tell Betty his secret when they get back to New York, but after Bennett’s death that’s not really an option anymore. It’s cool to see the first version of the spider-tracer here, with a radio receiver for the signal; Peter will eventually figure out how to attune it to his spider-sense. It’s interesting that Doc Ock is legally released from prison here. I suppose his lawyer could’ve argued temporary insanity after the accident and he apparently behaved while in prison. A guard tells Ock he can get a good job with his talents, but Ock considers that beneath him. It’s funny he didn’t go back into science instead of suddenly deciding to become a mob boss, but I guess the accident really did unhinge him.

Amazing Spider-Man #12 (May 1964) – “Unmasked by Dr. Octopus” – Stan Lee/Steve Ditko

This one starts with Dr. Octopus going on a nation-wide crime spree to attract Spider-Man’s attention. But Ock doesn’t realize that his arch-nemesis is a teenager with an aunt who worries that he’s getting sick and barely allows him out to go to school. Doc Ock returns to New York and grabs Betty Brant from the Daily Bugle building where she’s come back to work for Jameson again. Peter is there to pick Betty up but has to pretend to be helpless to keep his secret identity. Ock has Jameson print a special edition to get Spidey’s attention and tells Jameson he’ll be waiting for Spider-Man at Coney Island with Betty. Jameson sends Peter to document the fight (which makes things awkward since he’s supposed to show up as Spidey), but decides to go there himself since it’s such a big story. Spidey starts feeling like crap and realizes Aunt May was right about him being sick, but he can’t abandon Betty so he shows up to confront Dr. Octopus. Because the virus has weakened him, Doc Ock easily kicks his ass and unmasks him, letting Betty, Jameson, and a cop see that he’s Peter Parker. But because his strength is so low, Doc Ock (and everyone else) assumes he just put on a Spider-Man costume asa heroic gesture to rescue his girlfriend. Ock takes off and the cops take Peter home. He’s back to normal the next day, but his stunt has certainly gotten Liz Allan’s attention, although Flash Thompson isn’t too impressed. Doc Ock goes on a rampage to attract Spider-Man’s attention and Peter has to move quickly to get away from Liz so he can change into Spidey. After corralling some zoo animals Dr. Octopus freed, Spidey tackles Ock himself and they have a great running battle that ends in an artist’s studio. A fire starts and Spidey barely gets out alive, leaving Ock to be captured (or rescued) by the cops and firefighters. I guess the fire almost killed Ock because he goes along with the cops rather quietly. Liz is still hot for Peter but he has a date with Betty and he manages to sell some pix of the fight to Jameson, so we get an upbeat ending for once.

This is another classic issue, with the unmasking scene as a highlight. It might seem like a bit of a cheat to have Peter get sick so he loses his spider-strength, but it’s not completely illogical; the story takes place in mid-winter (which is why Coney Island is closed), so it’s certainly plausible. And it makes sense people would assume Peter was making a stupid romantic gesture to save Betty, since they could see he didn’t have Spider-Man’s strength or agility. The cop at the scene gives Jameson shit for not warning them Ock was going to be there and mentions that Betty is the one who called them. She must’ve done it right after she got the phone call at the Bugle from Doc Ock, since she didn’t have time after he grabbed her. Liz’s sudden infatuation with Peter makes sense, but she doesn’t seem worried about the fact that he acted heroically to save his girlfriend. Maybe she doesn’t see Betty as competition. During the fire in the studio, Spidey actually tries to save Dr. Octopus and almost dies himself, which shows what kind of person Peter really is. The only other thing I noticed is that Jameson’s extra edition of the Bugle came out in record time; I hope he appreciates how efficient his staff is … but knowing Jameson, probably not.