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Amazing Spider-Man (1963) - #47-52, Annual #3-4 - Stan Lee/John Romita/Larry Lieber

Spider-Man gets an invitation to join the Avengers, so team update: all the originals are back, although Giant Man now goes by Goliath.

They can't decide what test to give Peter at first (the test things is new), so a fight breaks out in the meeting room. Then, Iron Man remembers the Hulk is around and the Avengers ask Spider-Man to bring him to their HQ.

Peter finds the Hulk at the Gamma Ray Research Centre. The Hulk is not happy at being attacked with no warning, and Peter has to concede he has a point. He gets hit by some gamma rays and turns back into Bruce Banner, who explains what has happened to him to a sympathetic Peter. When he turns back into the Hulk, Peter can't bring himself to deliver him to the Avengers, not knowing the Avengers only want to meet the Hulk because they feel he needs their help.

Kraven escapes from jail and tries to go after the Green Goblin to get his money. Apparently (this wasn't depicted in his last appearance), the Green Goblin promised Kraven 20k for dealing with Spider-Man. Kraven didn't get it, but he believes Norman Osborn is working for the Goblin. Osborn is out of town, so Kraven goes after Harry and interrupts Flash going away party - he got recruited into the Army.

At least, he gets the best gift: seeing Spider-Man battle Kraven up close!

The Vulture is dying, after an accident in the prison shop. He still has strength to confide in his cellmate where he hid his last pair of wings - which is exactly why Blackie Drago engineered said accident. He escapes prison, retrieves the wings and goes on a crime spree, which Spider-Man tries to stop. His first attempt fails because Peter is battling a bad cold and a fever.

The new Vulture drops him in a snow-covered rooftop, believing to have won. The cold ends up reviving Peter and he slinks back home. A night's rest gets in back in good health, but he has to (pretend) to stay in bed to assuage Aunt May - he’s such a fragile boy!

He has to sneak out because Kraven isn't happy about the publicity the new Vulture is getting. The fight between the two can be highly destructive and Peter has to stop them. It's easier this time, when he can turn the two against each other and get some nice pics in the process.

We get the classic Spider-Man No More story here. Peter’s decision to stop being Spider-Man has been building for a while. He’s tired of Jameson’s crusade against him, tired of not having time to date either MJ or Gwen, tired of not being able to take Norman’s offer of a job. The turning point comes when Aunt May suddenly gets sick.

Upset that he hasn’t there for her, Peter throws his suit in the trash and quits.

Spider-Man’s absence is the opportunity the Kingpin had been waiting for. He decides it’s time to finally unite the city’s gangs under his leadership. Peter is able to ignore the crime wave at first, but he walks into an attempted robbery and can’t walk away. The victim reminds him of his uncle and he remembers why he started being Spider-Man in the first place. He steal his suit back from Jameson - who had it hanging in his office like a trophy - and gets back in the action.

After Spider-Man busts another couple of robberies, the gangs aren't happy with the Kingpin. They try to fight him, but his size isn't just for show - it’s all muscle. He's also quick enough to hold his own against Spider-Man.

And he's not afraid to get his hands dirty, despite preferring to stay in the shadows.

Kingpin has his men bring him Jameson. He wants to intimidate him to stop publishing about the Kingpin’s existence. He uses Foswell - who decided to give up clean living and try to untie the gangs again himself; Kingpin is mot too impressed with him either - to try to reason with Jameson, but he refuses to back down.

Spider-Man followed them to Kingpin’s lair, but he’s caught in a gas cloud. Kingpin decides to dispose of him and Jameson by locking them up in a room and filling it with water. Peter makes a web bubble and he’s ready to take down the Kingpin once the door is open. Jameson, I’m sorry to say, acts like a coward the entire time - but it’s only his life on the line, not his money 🙄

Kingpin escapes, but Foswell, feeling like he couldn’t abandon Jameson, is killed by some goons.

Meanwhile, Ben Urich and Ned Leeds step up at the Daily Bugle, leaving Betty to wonder why she keeps falling for guys who like danger…

The annual is a big Spider-Man/Human Torch team up. Where they constantly heckle each other.

The Human Torch is rampaging through Manhattan and Spider-Man is the only one who can stop him! Except, Johnny is actually shooting a movie and Peter just made a fool of himself. Especially, after the Daily Bugle publishes photos of the whole affair (these were not taken by Peter, btw).

Still, the publicity generates interest in a movie featuring both heroes fighting and Peter heads to Hollywood, hoping for a big pay day. Things are going well - he and Johnny strike a truce, but Peter’s spider-sense keeps going off.

And for good reason. The movie thing is just a plot from the Wizard - last seen mind-controlling the Thing with the Frightful Four - and Mysterio - last seen tricking Peter into believing he lost his mind - who want Spider-Man and the Human Torch to destroy each other. The Wizard attacks Peter disguised as the Human Torch and their plan seems to be working. Peter and Johnny fight, but they’re both holding back. The Wizard gets impatient and sends a ray their way that exposes the evil duo.

Peter and Johnny stop fighting, and start working together to get past the Wizard’s traps. The evil guys get arrested and Peter even gets some reward money for his troubles.

Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #31-38, Annual #2 - Stan Lee/Steve Ditko

Peter is swinging around, bored because there's no crime. But, not to worry! Xandu just mind-controlled two goons into stealing Doctor Strange’s half of the Wand of Watoomb. The mind-control makes the goons more or less immune to Strange’s spells and Spidey’s punches, but he and Strange manage to reach Xandu and take to wand from him.

Strange takes the magic power out of the Wand and erases Xandu's memories and ambition, so that's one problem solved.

Peter soon has other things to worry about: college is starting, Aunt May is sick in the hospital and there's no crime to take photos of.

The Master Planner might help solve that last problem. He has a lair on the river bed, his gang has been committing robberies all over the city and his real identity is… Doctor Octopus! (Last seen trying to detonate a bomb over Forest Hills.)

College is also not to the best start, but Peter doesn't even notice. He's so worried about Aunt May that he comes off as aloof and stuck up to his new colleagues. Flash being around and talking bad about him doesn't help.

Gwen Stacy thinks Peter must not be so bad, but she's annoyed he won't give her the time of day.

Aunt May's condition turns out to be quite serious: she was exposed to radiation and she's being poisoned. Peter realizes it must have been caused by the blood transfusion he gave her and quickly leaps into action.

He calls Dr. Connors (aka the Lizard) for help. Last seen in Florida, trying to help Batwing, he has, conveniently, since moved to New York.

He and Spider-Man start working on a serum to cure Aunt May. One of the essential components is rare, but Connors is able to order it.

Peter is able to pay for it by pawning some of his science equipment. Unfortunately, Doctor Octopus wants the serum too and his gang steals it.

Spider-Man goes on a rampage, trying to interrogate every criminal in the city, until he finally reaches Doc Ock's lair.

He sets a trap with the serum as bait, but, in the fight with Spider-Man, some heavy machinery falls and pins Peter down.

Doc Ock escapes, but Peter is trapped in a flooding room, with the serum out of arms reach.

He almost gives up, but he can’t fail Aunt May (or Uncle Ben, in a way), and finds the strength to free himself, defeat the rest of Octavius’ gang still around and make it to Connors’ lab.

The serum is ready and good and Aunt May is saved.

Peter drops by the Daily Bugle’s offices to sell some photos (although he doesn't feel as forgiving of Jameson’s everything as he usually does) and runs into Betty. She's worried about his bruises and Peter takes the opportunity to act like an ass towards both her and Ned, hoping she'll finally be done with him.

Kraven - last seen being part of the Sinister Six - is determined to finally hunt Spider-Man. He tries to bait him by dressing as Spider-Man and misbehaving around the city - starting with harassing J. Jonah Jameson in the street.

Peter, at first, is more worried about making sure Aunt May is fine once she's back home, but he starts being concerned with his reputation. When she spends the evening with her neighbour Anna, Peter goes out looking for the fake Spider-Man.

Kraven lures him to an empty building he has booby trapped and uses a potion to dull the spider-sense. Well, it isn't enough. Peter bests him and leaves Kraven to the police. He does confess he was the fake Spider-Man, as he had promised.

Molten Man - he who was covered in an experimental metallic alloy - avoids prison for good behaviour. He took the time to improve himself: he's not gonna rely on his strength alone, but use his brain.

That means committing robberies wearing a disguise. Spider-Man interrupts the first one, follows him with a spider-tracer and Molten Man is back on jail, thanks to Peter's photos.

When he goes to the Bugle office to drop them, he's almost afraid to face Betty, but he there was no need to worry. Betty’s gone - she only left Peter a photo he had given her.

Also, Ned has left, moved to the West Coast. Peter tells himself he doesn't care Betty made her choice.

Nestor G. Fester is a loser who wants to discover the secrets of the origin of life, despite having flunked science class. He found a meteorite and hammered it open, only to get hit with a mysterious gas that gives him superpowers. What's a guy to do in these circumstances? Get fancy costume, call himself the Looter and embark on a life of crime.

He does well for a while, but Nestor's superpowers aren't permanent and he needs to find another meteorite. He and Peter end up at the same science exposition and that chance encounter dooms the Looter's crime career.

Peter is trying to rehabilitate his reputation at school, but he fears cliques have already formed and he's, once again, stuck on the outside. He strucks out with a girl, Sally, when she confides she likes he's a brainy guy - in a roundabout way, Peter feels that's what ruined his relationship with Betty.

Gwen is also less than impressed. First, he keeps accidentally ignoring her. Then, she comes to believe he’s a coward, when she sees him run away from danger.

Professor Stromm is released from prison for good behaviour, but the truth is he has been planning his revenge from the man responsible for his imprisonment: Norman Osborn (it even seems Stromm wasn't a criminal before).

He builds a couple of robots - they look like Bouba and Kiki; one has tentacles, the other a death ray - and sends them to destroy Osborn factories. Stromm wants to bring him financial ruin first.

Spider-Man is on the scene, which leads Jameson - he knows Norman from the club - to put the blame on him. Norman isn’t happy, he’s rather the blame rest on Stromm, so he can be rid of him for real. Btw, the second thing Norman say to Harry is to shut up, so their relationship is great.

Peter deals with the robots and follows Stromm to his lair. Someone points a gun at him from a window; it doesn’t hit, but he’s dead from a heart attack anyway.

We come to the end of the Ditko run with Joe Smith. He wants to be a champion boxer, but he’s not very good at it. One guy at the gym takes pity on him and offers to be his manager. He gets Joe a movie role: he has to dress up as a monster and beat some extras. There’s an accident on set, and the combination of a chemical spill and an electric shock give Joe temporary superstrength, that gets exacerbated by his rage. He goes on a bit of a rampage, fights Spider-Man, but things turn out fine. The movie director loves the footage he got and wants to expand Joe’s role.

Things aren’t going so well for Peter. Norman wants to get rid of Spider-Man and put a prize on his head on the underworld. Peter deals with the many goons coming after him, but it doesn’t help his mood.

People at school still aren’t keen on him. He tries to start something with Gwen that’s supposed to be a cute slap-slap-kiss deal (there’s no actual slapping), but comes across as mean, more than anything else.

Peter runs into Ned at the Bugle. Turns out, he and Betty didn’t elope after all. He also doesn’t know where Betty is and blames Peter for it. Peter acts like an ass in response - no ulterior motive this time and, idk, Peter’s not at his best. The thought bubbles do their share to smooth his attitude, but his actions need improvement.

Not the best ending to what is deservedly an iconic run.