Amazing Spider-Man (1963-1998) #2

The Amazing Spider-Man (1963-1998)

by Stan Lee, Steve Ditko (Artist)

"Duel to the Death with the Vulture"
A new criminal dressed as a vulture is terrorizing New York City. J. Jonah Jameson wants pictures for an article in NOW magazine. Peter decides that if he can take pictures of the Vultures, he could sell them to JJJ to help out his Aunt May.

"The Uncanny Threat of the Terrible Tinkerer"
Peter's teacher recommends him as a science assistant to Professor Cobwell. While on an errand for the Professor, his spider-sense detects a weird trace of radiation at the shop and from the radio he has just picked up.

Genres: Comics, Spider Man, Marvel, Fiction, Comic Book, Superheroes, Graphic Novels

25 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 1963

About the author

Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber) was an American writer, editor, creator of comic book superheroes, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.

With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first appearance of the Vulture makes this a key SM issue. Ditko is really starting to 'spiderize' the panels - the perspective of the action is very innovative and takes into account SM spatial orientation. The second story about the 'Tinkerer' is a mostly forgettable 'alien secret invasion' story that has been done so much better on numerous occasions. This story does highlight SM web shooter - Ditko does a fantastic job with one of his many 'template' drawings.

[Jeremiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this issue. We got The Vulture and The Tinkerer! We got to see Peter come up with solutions to improve his suit, fight Vulture, and stop aliens working together with The Tinkerer. He also managed to use being Spider-Man to his advantage to get the money he needed to help his Aunt May. I’m happy for Peter. Also his spider-sense is incredible!

[Bookishrealm · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I think I enjoyed this a lot more than the first issue and I think it’s because Peter seems to use his head more in this issue than in the first. It’s amazing to see three different sides to Peter Parker. There’s internal Peter, vocal Peter that we see in dialogue, and Peter as Spider-Man. They are definitely three different voices and it’s interesting to see them at play. I think that his internal voice annoys me just a little because it’s full of so much doubt. His confidence really shines through when he becomes Spider-Man!

This issue is separated into to two stories and I think each has its good and bad aspects. In the first story we see Spider-Man battle the Vulture who has the weird ability to fly and outsmart the police. I wasn’t as invested in the Vulture as a villain as I was in Peters ability to outsmart JJ and get money to help his aunt. I thought he was so foolish about it in the first issue. I also liked that I saw Peter stand up to those bullies in school. Usually I would have made the assumption that he would just cower down to them but in this case he didn’t. In the second story Spider-Man faces the Tinkerer who may or may not be an alien. I was definitely more invested in the narrative of the villain in this story than the first. I think this second story is also a clear illustration of the obsession America had with aliens, science, and space travel during that time. Both were interesting and well-written.

For some reason it felt like Ditko’s art improved. There were still some areas that appeared a little clunky but for the most part he did a good job. Has anyone noticed that he seems to have an aversion to drawing eyes? HAHA everyone either had really small eyes or no eyes at all.

Can’t wait to dive into issue #3!

[Tiag⊗ the Mutant · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Vulture and the Tinkerer are two of the least interesting foes of Spider-Man.

[Tiagoツ · Rating 4 out of 5]

agora sim começou a ficar interessante

[Ahmed Abed · Rating 2 out of 5]

كان نفسي قصةvulture تطول اكتر من كدا و قصة tinkrer سيئة جدا

[Yomna asaad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Peter is supposed to be in high school?? My man looks like he is doing his taxes

[Francesco · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far, Spider-Man’s stories remain the best for me, both because the character is the most psychologically rich and because his enemies, even when they may seem simple, are scaled perfectly to him. They are not just ordinary criminals, but adversaries whose powers make them slightly more threatening and therefore more engaging.

This issue contains two stories, with the first clearly shining more than the second. The opening story introduces the Vulture, one of Spider-Man’s most iconic enemies. He is obviously not yet the version we know today, but the core idea of an old man wearing a winged suit is already there, and it is once again evident how much Lee enjoys playing with magnetism as a narrative device. I really appreciated this story both for the villain, who uses unconventional methods and proves to be genuinely clever, and for the way he manages to surprise Spider-Man, forcing him to rely on his intelligence rather than brute strength. This is, of course, a defining trait of Peter Parker. It is also nice to see how Peter slips into the role of the hero almost unintentionally: his primary goal is simply to take photographs for Jameson to earn some money. Being a superhero comes naturally to him because it is what feels right in that moment. On top of that, his constant concern for Aunt May makes him extremely empathetic.

In the second story, Spider-Man faces the Tinkerer, an alien who, together with others of his kind, plants surveillance devices inside radios that he repairs for high-ranking government figures, with the goal of uncovering Earth’s weaknesses in preparation for an invasion. The story feels weaker, mainly because the alien invasion theme had already been heavily used at this point in other series like Thor or the Fantastic Four. Despite this, I still appreciated Spider-Man’s attitude and the way he handles the situation. Watching him in action is always exciting, and he once again relies on clever, non-forced strategies to gain the upper hand, unlike what happens in some other stories of the era.

At times, the dialogue feels very mature and descriptive, especially Spider-Man’s constant chatter, which will become one of his trademarks. However, there are also moments where Lee resorts to some genuinely poor lines or excessive exposition that slows the pacing.

The artwork is undoubtedly the strongest element of the issue. Ditko makes Spider-Man feel alive, as well as his antagonists. The backgrounds allow for full immersion, Spider-Man’s movements are always fluid and dynamic, and I particularly like how Peter Parker is portrayed, especially in several close-ups that emphasize facial expressions.

[Kayra Kaan · Rating 3 out of 5]

ASM continues with the two story idea one main, one side. The main story of this issue is about Vulture and yet again it continues the money issues of Peter. But unexpectedly, this issue finalizes that story point in a good and meaningful way.

Not only that but Vulture is introduced and he is actually a good villain compared to Chameleon. But this time the side story is not that exciting. The side story introduces Tinkerer.

And that story has a shocking twist but to be honest, I think that twist has no place in a Spider-Man story and I really didn't liked the second story because of that. It's not a bad issue but I don't think I can say that it's a good issue either.

[Francesco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Molto belli i disegni (ok, è Dikto), le storie sono un po' assurde (la seconda in particolare, siamo già agli alieni dopo due numeri?) ma nel complesso è fantastico come siano storie tutto sommato invecchiate benissimo

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the first half of the comic about The Vulture better than the 2nd about The Tinkerer, and I was amused when Vulture was referred to as "Birdman" because of Michael Keaton playing the character in the Spiderman movie.

[Shane Stanis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reread for marvelous year 2: 1963. See Spider-Man #1 review.
Read for introduction of spidey nemeses the vulture and the tinkerer, spidey superfans, marvel historians, MCU completionists.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spider-Man faces off against two different villains in this issue as he faces the criminal Vulture and fends off an alien invasion spearheaded by the Tinkerer.

The Vulture story is definitely the better of these two stories. Vulture is an intelligent and fairly ruthless opponent in the story often thinking ahead of his targets and the police. In fact, Vulture manages to trap Spidey in a water tower at one point almost killing him. Peter uses his initial encounters with the villain to deduce how he’s powering his wings and manages to “out science” Vulture to finally defeat him. It’s a fun twist to the story instead of just beating him silly!

Peter is still looking to profit off his powers here, using them to take photos and sell them to the J. Jonah Jameson at the Daily Bugle. This obviously becomes a long-running theme in the series and provides an excellent method to keep ol’ Jameson close to central characters.

The second story featuring the Tinkerer is really a silly story that fits the typical mold of 60′s sci-fi comics. Turns out the Tinkerer is just a front for a group of aliens that are trying to spy on noteworthy New Yorkers in preparation for an invasion. Peter’s spidey sense picks up the energy waves from the components they install in radios or other electronics, which provides him with the opportunity to stop their plot. Not the greatest story, but it has a couple of interesting moments.

Ditko’s art is better in the Vulture story. There are a lot of iconic images here featuring both Spidey and the Vulture that stick in my memory. The aerial battles between the two are a highlight of the issue. I really don’t like the aliens in the second story. They’re very prune-faced and kind of forgettable. Really only the splash page of the Tinkerer story is very noteworthy, but we do get to see an early version of the split Peter/Spidey face that will be used many times in the future. This image usually denotes Peter using Spider powers (primarily his Spider sense) when in civilian garb.

An uneven issue between the two stories, but still a lot of fun. Definitely one for Spider-fans to enjoy.

[Eduard Gafton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read as part of Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection: Great Power



Shhh...Did anyone tell Spidey yet?

[Mars Fargo · Rating 4 out of 5]

AMAZING FANTASY 15, AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 1-10 (Spider-Man's First Arc)

Peter Parker is easily one of the greatest creations in the history of comic books. Even if you threw out every other plot element besides the character himself, you'd still have a character story that deals with so much poignant emotional and psychological conflict.

The dialogue is what really makes this. Stan Lee divides Peter Parker's dialogue into 3 distinct styles: Peter Parker's thoughts, Peter Parker's words, and Spider-Man's words. This structure says a lot about our protagonist; Peter Parker's words are presented in a very introverted and articulate manner. Spider-Man's words, conversely, are presented in a very extroverted and sarcastic manner. This presents the central conflict of the character, in that Spider-Man is a cathartic part of Peter's psychology; he is everything Peter is afraid to be, but can be behind the security blanket of a mask.

The only truth to the character is his thoughts, as he tightly controls the presentation of Peter Parker to hide suspicion he could be Spider-Man. This plays even further into the notion of Spider-Man being a cathartic release for him, in that his thoughts are designed as this fusion of Peter's intellect and Spider-Man's wit. Peter Parker's spoken words lack much of the wit which is present in his own thoughts. Spider-Man presents all of that wit, because he has more freedom to do so; behind the security blanket of a mask, there's less consequence.

And this plays into the deeper theme, of "Great Responsibility" coming with "Great Power." Because there is no physical consequence to himself. But his choice of how he uses this newfound freedom and newfound power has consequences for others... which, as iconic as they are, I won't dare spoil here. These consequences affect his romantic equal Betty Brant, his loyal to a fault Aunt May, the think-tank editor J. Jonah Jameson, or the city of New York as a whole and its perception of him; even if these consequences don't necessarily affect him directly, they still create a whole plate of intimate character conflicts that have nothing to do with spandex villains. The villains simply create a plot of his actions, where these ongoing conflicts resulting from his actions are his character evolution.

[Agung Wicaksono · Rating 5 out of 5]

Setelah Ben Parker meninggal, kondisi ekonomi Peter Parker dan Bibi May semakin memburuk. Ditambah, Peter tak sengaja melihat Bibi May menggadaikan perhiasannya untuk kebutuhan sehari-hari. Dari kejadian itu, Peter pun memutar otak supaya ia bisa mendapatkan penghasilan, meskipun ia masih pelajar SMA. Setelah ia berusaha mencari lowongan ke sana-sini, ia mendapatkan informasi lowongan dari Daily Bugle karena perusahaan media tersebut membutuhkan fotografer lepas. Meskipun ia merasa Daily Bugle sering menjelekkan Spider-Man, ia tetap mencoba melamarnya.

Foto yang dibutuhkan saat itu adalah sosok penjahat bernama Vulture. Dengan kekuatannya yang bisa terbang, ia menggunakannya untuk merampok uang. Lantas, dengan kekuatan laba-laba yang dimiliki Peter, ia berubah menjadi Spider-Man dengan niat menghentikan aksi jahat Vulture sekaligus mendapatkan foto-fotonya untuk dijual ke Daily Bugle. Susah payah ia menghentikan Vulture ketika saat itu sedang merampok perhiasan langka dan akhirnya Vulture pun diserahkan ke pihak kepolisian.

Setelah itu, Peter pun menuju kantor Daily Bugle, ia bertemu dengan sosok kotroversial, J. Jonah Jameson, dan menampilkan hasil jepretan yang berisi gambar Vulture. Jameson pun kagum dengan hasil foto tersebut meskipun ia sendiri heran karena bisa-bisanya bocah SMA bisa mendapatkan foto sebagus itu yang bahkan fotografer profesional sulit mendapatkannya. Peter pun menjawab bahwa Jameson tidak perlu tahu bagaimana ia bisa mendapatkannya, yang penting foto yang didapatkannya memuaskan. Selain itu, Peter juga tidak mau namanya disematkan di dalam foto sehingga masyarakat tidak ikut mencurigainya. Bagi Jameson itu tidak masalah dan Peter pun akhirnya mendapatkan uang yang cukup banyak.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are two stories here: one with the Vulture and one with the Tinkerer. The Vulture was better.

The flying menace is very good at disrupting things for Spiderman. As Peter Parker, Aunt May presents him with a camera. This is helpful as Peter has decided photographs sold to J. Jonah would provide the much needed money to keep the household afloat now that Uncle is dead. Spiderman gets stuck in a silo of sorts. Without webs (he forgot to reload), he feels stuck until he realizes he has spider strength. He submerges himself in the water and launches out. Spiderman takes care of the Vulture, snaps some photographs along the way, and sells them to J. Jonah. All is right with the world.

In the Tinkerer, Peter is teased once again at school after his science teacher offers him an opportunity to work with a well-known scientist over the weekend. The scientist asks Peter to pick up a radio of his at a repair shop. When he does, Spidey senses go off. It turns out the repair shop is hiding spy equipment inside all the radios. This is so the aliens can gain information from prominent figures to take over Earth.

Back at the lab, Peter senses the electronic signals again. He returns to the shop, causes problems, and chases the aliens off the planet. The scientist was none the wiser.

[Lilamedusa · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this number Spiderman meets and fights the Vulture and I found it very exciting! It's a lot of fun and I think it shows much of the traits that will define him.

For one, he doesn't fight against him with only his strength, but he uses his wits and prevails even when he has run out of spiderweb, and he actually uses the experience to improve.

I loved it.

There's also the tyícal alien storyline that Marvel has got me used to by now, but it's fine, I mean, I get it. .

[Natalia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally, a win for Spiderman and for Peter Parker! The first story introduces the villain The Vulture, and Spiderman was pretty clever in how he combined crime-fighting and photography to capture the bad guy and make some money! Really enjoyed his ingenuity in this one!

The second story introduced a villain I haven't heard of before - The Tinkerer. It was an interesting alien invasion type story with a twist at the end.

Overall, a great issue of The Amazing Spiderman!

[jayjay · Rating 4 out of 5]

spiderman getting/starting to recognize his powers and using it to fight is really cool to read and watch,

he is super underestimated and misunderstood by many in this volume, but hopefully it will change.
glad vulture was captured!

the fact that spidey also makes changes to his suit is meaningful because it means he's getting more and more in character and understands that he can do good things, imo.

[lu ୨୧ · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5*

As for you being a dumbhead, it's nothing to be ashamed of! You were just born that way!

me da muchísima gracia el diseño de vulture, dios por qué se ve así?? no tiene sentido me estallé

arrancó peter fotógrafo 🙏🏼

la segunda historia del tinkerer fue medio meh, podría haber vivido sin leerla pero me dio un panel que me parece buenísimo y ojalá pudiera poner imágenes acá para mostrarlo

[paige turner ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love reading these comics. I love how epic, and weird it is. Spider-Man fights not only The Vulture, but The Tinkerer too. I love how Peter finds different ways to take them down, not only with big KA-POW like fighting, but he uses his brain.

I also love discovering new villains, I know there's a lot of them, but now at least I get to read where they came from.

[Derek Kaellner · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's weird to think that Spidey's first long-lasting foe is a flying octogenarian, but the Vulture somehow exudes terror. We immediately become aware of Spidey's shortcomings and get a miraculous water-tower escape scene that I'm surprised hasn't been reenacted on film. The second story about the Tinkerer is better left forgotten.

[Rangga Sukmawijaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Komik nomor dua ini terdiri dari dua cerita. Karakter Peter Parker yang cerdas dan pintar menonjol dalam kedua cerita. Dengan kepintarannya Peter bisa memecahkan misteri mengapa Vulture bisa terbang tanpa suara di cerita pertama dan, di cerita kedua, secara tidak langsung kepintarannya mengantarkan ia berjumpa dengan musuh kedua dalam komik itu: the Tinkerer.

[♡ India ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great continuation of the first volume!

I mean like I can’t say anything bad. THIS IS SPIDER-MAN. 1963 SPIDER-MAN. Sure if I saw this today I’d be crying for how bad it is but no. I am now crying for how GOOD THIS IS! 😭❤️❤️

Honestly, if you like Spider-man in general, just read the comics. It’ll do you a favour of giving you another reason to simply live.

[Valeria]

Il costume dell'Avvoltoio è bellissimo.
Finalmente la storia finisce bene, Spiderman non è più considerato un criminale e Peter non è più al verde perché decide di vendere foto inedite dell'eroe e dei cattivi al giornale di JJJ.
La seconda storia è così bizzarra che sembra un mix tra F4 e Thor. Preferisco le storie senza alieni e magia, ma sono gusti.

[Ty · Rating 5 out of 5]

110/10

It was fantastic, brought back memories of my childhood. Great stories, and the best part: spidey's personality. I just want to read more and more! So glad I can finally get my hands on installments I had been missing

[Francesco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Molto belli i disegni (ok, è Dikto), le storie sono un po' assurde (la seconda in particolare, siamo già agli alieni dopo due numeri?) ma nel complesso è fantastico come siano storie tutto sommato invecchiate benissimo

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed going back to the beginning of my favorite childhood superhero.

[Vivien Kurucz · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3,5 ⭐