The Amazing Spider-Man #21

February, 1965

Written By Stan Lee, Illustrated by Steve Ditko

Where Flies the Beetle

This issue should almost be named “The Amazing Human Torch.” There’s a lot more time dedicated to Johnny Storm than to Spider-Man and the bad guy was originally a Torch foe.

Abner Jenkins, which is one of my favorite plainclothes names, has been released from prison. He was placed there by the Human Torch after battling in Strange Tales #123, as Stan Lee tells us in a boxed note at the bottom of the panel. When Jenkins dons his armored suit he becomes the Beetle, and he carries this suit while walking out of the prison. He says, “They had to give me back my Beetle equipment. There’s no law against a man owning an armored costume.” (Page 1) There probably is a law because the suit is actually a high-tech weapon that Jenkins has mastered and used for evil purposes. But if there isn’t a law, there should be. Because Abner throws on the suit in the woods outside the prison and then flies to New York City in order to murder Johnny Storm.

The Torch, upon hearing about the Beetle’s release, cancels a date with Doris, his lady friend. This is Doris’ second appearance. She made her Spider-Man debut in AS #8, The Threat of the Living Brain. This means that she’s had one more appearance than the Lizard, one of Spider-Man’s major villains. And, in a way, she deserves it. She’s funny, smart, and constantly sassing Johnny Storm. They have a bit where she is forever unimpressed with the impressive Human Torch. He does something amazing and she points out how unamazing it was, constantly keeping the flying man firmly grounded. The Human Torch of the 60s is almost incomplete without her.

The Human Torch, and Doris to a lesser extent, have become regulars in Spider-Man’s world. A few articles ago I pointed out that every time there is a guest star the issue is ruined. And for the most part it’s true. But the Human Torch has appeared so many times now (six times in twenty-one issues) that he’s become a Spider-Man character. Just like Flash Thompson or J. Jonah Jameson, the Human Torch has his place and his role in the Spider-Man world.

The Torch, firstly, highlights Spider-Man’s competitive nature. Their fights are composed more of one-upmanship than an actual intent to do harm. Peter Parker, who attempts to scoff at the vanity of Liz Allen and Flash Thompson, can easily be pushed to the limit when going tic for tac with Johnny Storm.

Secondly, Storm’s inclusion shows Spider-Man’s inexperience. Two times, once in issue #19 and again in the fight with the Beetle, the two trip over each other’s feet in an attempt to beat the bad guys. It’s a joke, it’s bumbling Three Stooges bits from two normally graceful heroes, but it also shows that Spider-Man is no good working in tandem whereas the Torch, with his three Fantastic friends, is used to having someone watch his back.

And lastly, though Peter Parker will never admit it, The Human Torch is an idle. The respect that the Torch commands with the public is something that Spider-Man always strives for. Spider-Man has saved an astronaut from crashing to the earth, performed in a circus free-of-charge, tried to star in his own movie, appeared at a ball for his fan club and on and on, yet, at this point in his career, no one is even sure if he’s a criminal or a hero. P.R. comes naturally to the Torch.

But it’s not just the hero ego of The Human Torch that Spider-Man strives to emulate. Johnny Storm also lives the life that Peter Parker yearns for. Storm has no secret identity, he has a family member, Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman, that he can discuss his life with, he has no money problems, and he has a girlfriend who is smart and challenging. Peter Parker has to keep his heroic life a secret. He constantly has to lie to and worry about his Aunt May. He is always on the look-out to make a buck. His girlfriend, Betty Brant, is weak and whiny and, really, no match for him. At least, not in the sense that Doris is for Johnny.

Ultimately, the freedom that Johnny Storm has to be himself is what makes Spider-Man jealous. At the end of the issue he stands over the city he protects and thinks, “I wonder if the world will ever acclaim me as it does others. Or am I always to go through life shunned and loathed? If only I could reveal my secret identity…if I could let people realize who I am…but I just don’t dare!” (Page 20)