Amazing Spider-Man #27

August, 1965

Written by Stan Lee, Plotted and Illustrated by Steve Ditko

Favorite Bizarre Reference:

A double feature of Bizarre References: Firstly, on page 2, the Goblin tells the Crime Master “This will knock your plans to get the mobs into a cocked hat.” Phrase Finder tells me that ‘knocked into a cocked hat” refers to a game, sort of like bowling, from the 1800s called Cocked Hat. Cocked Hat used three pins and when you knock them all down you’ve “knocked a cocked hat.” The phrase means that someone’s plans of success are now in disarray.

The second reference comes from Spider-Man. He says on page 4, “I feel like Steve Reeves in one of those Italian costume movies.” Wikipedia tells me that Steve Reeves was a body builder in the 1950s who starred in a slew of movies, most famously Hercules and Hercules Unchained, both Italian films. I should note that Spider-Man was breaking free from chains when he referenced Reeves. Probably important.

Bring Back my Goblin to Me

In our last issue the Crime Master, a new villain with a much debated secret identity, had positioned himself to take over the city’s mobs, thus earning the name he’d already given himself. He has a big meeting planned down at the docks where he’s telling all the mobsters what’s what when the Green Goblin breaks in with an unconscious Spider-Man in tow, looking to steal his thunder.

There’s a criminal named Patch at the meeting that we know from last issue is an informant to the police. Patch sneaks out of the meeting when he sees that Spider-Man is in trouble and calls the police again. Spider-Man wakes up and fights the mob, the Crime Master, and the Green Goblin, all while bound in chains. The police come and aid Spider-Man and all the bad guys are defeated, the two main villains escaping in the fray.

There’s a moment of mass disappointment when we find out later, after the capture of the Crime Master, that he’s some no-name mobster that Frederick Foswell knew from his days as the Big Man. Spider-Man, who suspected Foswell to be the Crime Master, thinks, “It’s kinda funny, in real life when a villain’s unmasked it’s not always the butler or the one you suspected. Sometimes it’s someone you don’t even know.” (Page 10) This sorta made me mad. I agree with the theory, I suppose. In the real world it’s not always going to be the perfect ironic person that it should be. But, come on. This isn’t the real world. You stick to walls, right? To not give me a shocking twist is simply unimaginative.

Lee and Ditko make up for it somewhat at the end when we find that Frederick Foswell was actually disguised as Patch, the police informant and that he is the true hero of the story. For the first time ever in the Spider-Man series, a villain has rehabilitated and come over to the good side.

This two-parter loosely promised to give up some dirt and pay off. It didn’t. There was some good action and decent Parker character development, but the suspense with the Green Goblin’s identity needs to end soon, because it’s not that interesting.