Oh, man! It feels like eons ago from my last AMS newsletter. But we are back! I think this mag is going to be a good one for readers. In the previous issue, Doc Ock unmasked Spider-Man in front of Betty, JJ, and a policeman. No one could believe what was in front of their eyes. Doc Ock was able to unmask him because he was very ill. The next time they met, Peter was fully fit. Spidey v.s. Ock had great action sequences. Otto didn’t want to admit Spider-Man beat him, and I don’t think he ever will. Big ole ego, if you ask me, Doc. As for Pete’s love life, Liz Allan started to feel something for Parker, but he had his eyes set on Betty Brant. Our boy is winning, huh? Will Peter’s luck come around again? The only way to find out is to read the next issue, so let’s jump in, comic comrades!
The Amazing Spider-Man #13 (June 1964) “The Menace of... MYSTERIO!” Written by: Stan Lee, Illustrated by: Steve Ditko & Lettered by: Art Simek
Spider-Man fled a crime scene, and the police couldn’t stop him. You’re probably wondering who the criminal was, right? I mean, why would Spidey run away from a crime scene without catching the bad guy? Well, it’s because he was the man robbing the place. That’s right, folks, we have a shocking start to this comic. The next day, the streets were filled with people talking about the appalling scene and Spider-Man. Some couldn’t believe it, while others had no doubts Spidey would turn to the dark side. Jameson was as happy as he could be at the Daily Bugle. Betty, Flash, and especially Peter were confused. There was no way Spider-Man would turn to crime after the countless times he has saved the citizens of New York. For a minute, Peter thought he had formed a spilt-personality! Maybe he was doing all the crime while he slept and didn’t remember when he woke up? Aunt May worried about Peter. She didn’t know about his web-slinging persona, but she did know about their money problems. Tough times. Pete was scared to sleep at night. When he did fall asleep, Spider-Man struck again. It made it more confused for Parker. He had to go see a psychiatrist. He quickly changed his mind because he didn’t want to reveal his identity by accident. At the Daily Bugle, Peter was cold to Betty. Poor gal, Parker didn’t have to be like that. He asked Jameson for a loan, but you know JJJ! He needs those Spidey photos first.
Peter tried to get photos for Jameson, but it was difficult since the public hated him. At school, Liz warmed her way up to Peter. Flash didn’t like that at all. Pete looked more comfortable walking as ordinary Parker than Spider-Man. In Jameson's office, a mysterious person, who wore a fishbowl helmet, a purple cape, and green tights, called a meeting. Guess what his name was? Mysterio, haha, get it? Mysterio claimed he was the only person who could stop Spider-Man. He left a note for Jameson to print and vanished. Peter saw the notice and swung to the Brooklyn Bridge to meet Mysterio. He fought impressively against Spidey. He dodged Spidey’s hits, dissolved his webs, and trapped him in smoke. Spider-Man’s spider senses didn’t work, so there was no escaping. Mysterio won the battle. The city gave him a parade; they loved him. Mysterio didn’t mind meeting people or being interviewed. But he was money hungry too. Jameson introduced Parker to him and promised he would snap some shots of Mysterio’s next fight with Spidey. Oh, you got that right! Peter slipped a device to track Mysterio while no one was looking. Spider-Man followed him to a TV movie studio building not long after. Spidey couldn’t handle the bag of tricks Mysterio had. But Spider-Man knew Mysterio committed the crimes. And backstory time! Mysterio used to be a movie stuntman and worked in special effects for tv movies. He also designed various costumes and props, so he decided to imitate Spider-Man.
All that Peter did naturally, Mysterio found a way to do it artificially. His helmet was like Spidey’s eyepieces, he created a fine spray to counter webs, and his boots had chemical smoke and magnetic plate springs. His main goal was to become a national hero. He would commit the crimes and save the day as his second identity, Mysterio. Did you get his backstory? No? That’s okay because Spidey recorded it. Mysterio furiously clouded Spider-Man. Since Spidey couldn’t sense him, he threw punches, and one landed! They ran into a movie set. I loved them fighting while using the production set. It was pretty even until Spider-Man broke Mysterio’s jammer, which stopped Spidey from using his spider-sense. Peter got his camera ready and finished Mysterio once and for all! Jameson walked into the police station and was flabbergasted. Spider-Man dropped off Mysterio there with his confession. Jameson once again was wrong about the web-head. A depressed JJJ returned to his office but quickly became happy when he saw the photos of the Spidey and Mysterio fight sent in by Parker. Spidey even swung to pay JJJ a visit. He just wanted to clown him, though. Everything turned out good for Parker. But the future isn’t too kind to everyone.
Favorite panels from ASM #13: Page 15 Panel #1, Page 17 Panel #4, and Page 19 Panel #1 - The first one, Mysterio had Spider-Man’s signal pointed at him, so the color of his figure looked so rad. The second one, Spider-Man punching Mysterio through his smoke looked pretty cool because we don’t see the contact only Mysterio flying out few feet. And lastly, I loved the whole fight around the movie set, but I picked this one because it was awesome and funny. Oh, can I talk about the cover too? I’ll probably use it for this newsletter. Anyways, it makes Mysterio look menacing. His costume is ridiculous, but I absolutely love it! It has Mysterio surrounded by smoke and dissolving Spidey’s webs. It’s incredible.
Page 15 Panel #1
Page 17 Panel #4
Page 19 Panel #1
Hello there! I’m happy you took the time out of your day to read my post. Remember, if you have any questions or want to have a discussion, leave a comment! The following newsletter will be a Comic Reading for the Week, then Ms. Marvel premieres! Stay tuned! Happy days and take care!