“With great power, comes great responsibility”
Is there really any other way to start a blog about Spider-Man than with his most famous quote?! I would think of all marvel characters that Spider-Man has got to be the most well known by the masses and comic fans alike. Chances are if you’re reading this, you know who Spider-Man is. Be it through the comics, toys, movies, cartoons, games and whatever other forms of spider-man media are out there, you’ve probably already at the very least heard of Spider-Man, so this shouldn’t take too much explanation. You’re likely already aware but Spider-Man is a teenage boy named Peter Parker (for now) and that he was bitten by a radioactive spider which gave him his abilities. He didn’t help stop a criminal when given the chance and that same criminal would end up murdering his uncle Ben, resulting in Spider-man devoting using his power for good and to help others!
For me, much like X-Men it started with the 90’s cartoon on FOX and eventually the early 2000’s Spider-Man movies with Tobey Maguire. I’ve also caught a handful of episodes of the older 60’s cartoon on late night TV but having now read the first two Spider-Man omnibus (Issues 1-67 and some extras) I have to say the comic is my most preferred format! The first omnibus collects Amazing Fantasy #15; The Amazing Spider-Man #1-38 and Annuals #1-2 which naturally includes the first appearances of Peter Parker, Electro, Doctor Octopus, Mysterio, Scorpion, Vulture, Lizard, Kraven and the Green Goblin. I’m sure there is more but these ones stand out!
I will admit this silver age stuff is very very wordy and sometimes a single issue will take me 30+ minutes to read. Amazing Fantasy #15 was a treat to read, the real beginning and origin story of Spider-Man as we know it today. Some other stand out moments from this book are when Spider-Man goes to cash a cheque but can’t because they won’t open a bank account for a masked man. Spider-Man trying to join the Fantastic Four, countless encounters with the human torch trying to one up one another. Everyone seems to love Johnny Storm but they have mixed feelings over Spider-Man, which seems to come with wanting to hide his identity, which is fair. I would trust somebody whose face I could see over a masked person anytime.
Some of the bigger standout stories for me was Spideys first battle with the sinister six, Spider-Man getting hypnotized at the circus and fighting against Daredevil, and a team up annual with Doctor Strange!
I really enjoyed how much Peter avoided ever meeting Mary Jane, it had always seemed to me that MJ had always been Spideys #1 girl, but in this omnibus he is far more interested in Betty Brant whom he works with at the Daily Bugle and Liz Allen who he goes to high school. Aunt May is constantly trying to introduce Peter to MJ but he is always far too busy as Spider-Man or tied up with his other love interests. This first omnibus really was all about Spider-Man in his high school years. He does graduate, go to ESU and eventually meet Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborn in this omnibus which gets me excited to see how the Peter and Harry dynamic is going to play out in the comics.
We also get a ton of Flash Thompson in this book, he’s constantly taking jabs at Peter and giving him a hard time all the while being Spider-Mans biggest fan. If only he knew they were the same person! By the time I got to the end of this book I could hardly put it down and would recommend it to anybody who wants to learn more about everybody’s favorite webslinger and his true origin stories. You’ve just got to be prepared for some actual reading and not just all cool art and classic spider-man one liners.