The Amazing Spider-man #14

July, 1964

Written by Stan Lee, Illustrated by Steve Ditko

Favorite Reference:

While speaking to Flash’s chances with Liz Allen, Peter says “You’ve got as much chance with her as Khrushchev has with J. Edgar Hoover.”

This one was tough. I know J. Edgar Hoover was the founder of the F.B.I. And Wikipedia tells me that Khrushchev was a Russian that took over after Stalin died and was one of the faces of the Cold War. So I suppose that he and Hoover wouldn’t be buddies. But I have to agree with Flash here. If someone said that to me, I would assume they need a punch in the face.

The Grotesque Adventure of The Green Goblin

The Enforcers are back! The Incredible Hulk guest stars! The first appearance of the Green Goblin!

This issue was actually terrible. The storyline wasn’t thought out very well, the action was lame, and even the Peter Parker drama was rehashed, throwaway crap. The Green Goblin is probably the most recognizable villain in the Spider-man pantheon, second possibly to Dr. Octopus or Venom, but his introduction was a dud.

The opening scene was really good, though. Ditko draws a portrait of the Green Goblin, out of his costume, working on his mechanical broom. (It’s a broom in the first issue and not the hover craft the Goblin eventually uses) In the foreground is the goblin mask, setting on its holder, eyes wide and white, the mouth open in a silent scream. I don’t know why, but the goblin mask on its holder always spooks me. Gives me a chill. And Ditko must know what he has, because he opens and closes the comic with it. It might have to do with the fact that the Goblin takes care of his things. He wants the mask to retain shape, so he keeps it on the holder when he's not viciously attacking people. It's organized insanity, like Buffalo Bill working diligently on his girl skin. Criminal madness coupled with attention to detail freaks me out.

So the basic plot is this: the Green Goblin finds The Enforcers who have just got out of jail and are hanging out in “a sleazy hotel room” (Page 1) I would think Fancy Dan would demand something a little more high class, but there it is. There are many mistakes in this scene. The Goblin says, “I’m willing to give the four of you your orders.” And Montana answers back “You’re nuts, Goblin. The Enforcers don’t take orders from anyone” (Page 1). First of all, there are only three Enforcers: Fancy Dan, Montana, and Ox. Secondly, The Enforcers do so take orders. They were certainly taking orders from The Big Man in issue #10. In fact, their name itself implies that they take orders. They are The Enforcers. Someone makes a decision and they enforce it. They are meant to take orders. And, of course, they end up taking orders from the Goblin.

The Goblin’s big idea is border-line retarded. In Hollywood, he pitches an idea to a movie director to make a bio pic about Spider-man. He and The Enforcers will play the villains. He then flies to New York, tells Spider-man about the movie, and flies back to Hollywood. He bides his time and when they are about to start shooting the movie he asks Spider-man if he wants to go off somewhere private with him and The Enforcers to rehearse their lines. Spider-man agrees and then they jump him. This is his plan. I don’t see why he couldn’t have just hired The Enforcers and went after him in New York.

They end up fighting in a cave where the Hulk was hiding. I don’t even want to discuss how stupid this is. I really like the Hulk. He’s probably my favorite comic book character. He came out of no where, had nothing to do with the plot, and fought for a bit. It was the equivalent of a walk-on on the Ed Sullivan show, minus anything that is interesting or skillful about doing a walk-on on the Ed Sullivan show.

This issue was a total bust. It does peak my interest about the Green Goblin, though. He ends up being an integral part of the Spider-man legend and it will be fascinating to see how they reform his character after this absurd introduction.

DUMB