The Amazing Spiderman #25

June, 1965

Written by Stan Lee, Illustrated by Steve Ditko

Captured by J. Jonah Jameson

J. Jonah Jameson finally gets his wish. He can go after Spider-Man himself.

This issue introduces Sylvester Smythe, a builder of robots extraordinaire. Smythe walks into the Daily Bugle and Jonah immediately says, “I’m not listening to any more nutty mad scientists.” (Page 4) But I know that Smythe’s pitch will be successful because, though the robot he sells J.J.J is nameless, he will eventually become a prolific maker of Spider Slayers.

Oddly enough, it’s Peter Parker that talks Jonah into giving Smyth a try. Parker, who believes Smythe to be a crackpot, thinks, “Say! This would be a great chance to get even with Jonah for all the trouble he’s caused me in the past. I might even make some more dough selling photos of the Spider-Man ‘fight.’” (Page 4) And at this point in the series, Stan and Steve have the moral ebb and flow of the comics down to such a science that once we see Peter do something out of spite or greed, we know it will blow up in his face.

And it does. Smythe’s robot actually defeats Spider-Man. Jonah, controlling the robot remotely, tracks the webslinger down and binds him with the robot’s metal tentacles, gloating and blustering the whole time. Spider-Man only frees himself when Jameson and Smythe leave the controls to come and find the ensnared hero. He kills the battery and easily escapes, thus publicly embarrassing Jonah once again.
It was a good issue for the most part, heavy on action but left a bit to be desired in the drama department.

And, without further ado, on to the 25th Anniversary Spectacular of It’s Amazing.


Everybody loves a good list. So here is one.

Best Spider-Man Side Characters

5. The Human Torch: The Human Torch makes so many appearances in the first 25 issues of Spider-Man that I definitely consider him a side character. He and Spider-Man have a great back and forth and, in true bad comics style, often fight each other for little or no reason.

4. Mary Jane Watson: Mary Jane doesn’t appear in any of these comic books but she still makes the list. She was first mentioned in #15 and Aunt May brings her up nearly every issue for an entire year. She is actually in #25 but you never see her face. Her lack of appearance is hilarious.

3. Aunt May: Aunt May is the all-purpose tool of Stan Lee. She can be anything he wants at any time, depending on what the plot needs. Aunt May has been the doddering Grandma, sick in the hospital three times, inspirational confidante, amateur pimp, and obsessive mother.

2. Flash Thompson: Spidey’s #1 fan is a larger than life bully with a heart of gold. Flash hates Peter for his uppity attitude and loves Spider-Man for his believed altruism. The anti-wisdom of Flash is some of the best stuff in the series.

1. J. Jonah Jameson: This was a tough pick for me, because I’m a big Flash fan. But Jameson is definitely the best side character in these 25 issues. He’s a blustering blowhard who hates Spider-Man for his flashy style and his greed. And, although the newspaper man is willing to lie and cheat to bring Spider-Man down, many of his critiques are right on the mark.

Here are some basic rules we learned in the first 25 issues of The Amazing Spider-Man.

Laws of Spider-Man

1. Peter Parker is a teenager before he’s a hero. In these first few years of Spider-Man, the decisions are not always moral and heroic. They are often bratty and senseless, because we’re dealing with a super-strong fifteen-year-old.

2. Only Spider-Man’s villains of low social stature are naturally evil. I covered this in issue #20, but it’s true for the whole series so far. It probably has to do with Steve Ditko’s obsession with Ayn Rand. If the villain is educated he must have been driven crazy by something, but if he’s a blue collar worker he was already evil.

3. Spider-Man could have become a villain just as easily as he became a hero. The early, young Spider-Man was driven by greed and a desire for fame more than he was driven by good will. And this is the subject of the audience participation question.

Audience Question

Many of the essays focused on Rule #3, that Spider-Man could have easily turned out to be a villain. So, let’s say that happened. Spider-Man is a villain and not a hero. For the most part, villains don’t get their own comic books. So the question is, Whose comic book is Spider-Man a villain in? Would he be in Daredevil? Captain America? The Incredible Hulk? Leave your answer in the comment section.

Thanks for following through 25 issues! Hope you enjoyed them and I'll try to do at least 25 more. Since you read my 25th Anniversary Spectacular, here's a little treat. It's Jenny dressed as Spider-Man taken on Spring break a few years ago. Enjoy!