Spider-Man: "The Enforcers"

The Amazing Spider-Man #10 (1964)

By Stan Lee, Steve Ditko

Background: Aunt May has been hospitalized after surgery.

So, What Happens? A new masked crime lord called the Big Man appears on the scene and quickly takes control of the NYC gangs thanks to his three Enforcers: judo master Fancy Dan, Ox the strongman and lasso expert Montana. He soon starts a seemingly unstoppable crime wave across the city, unknowingly aided by the fact that Spider-Man is preoccupied with aunt May's health following her recent surgery. During a hospital visit, Peter is asked to donate his blood to her and reluctantly complies, worried that the radioactivity from his old spider bite might affect her somehow. However it all goes well and aunt May is quickly on the mend, being discharged and going away on holiday with her next door neighbours. As the Big Man's grip on the city strengthens, J. Jonah Jameson orders his columnist Foswell to prove that the crime lord is really Spider-Man in disguise. After seeing the Enforcers threaten Betty Brant for some borrowed money, Spider-Man finally is on their trail, but the first encounter is inconclusive as Peter is still recovering from his transfusion and needs to get away. Seeing Jameson near the scene makes Peter suspicious JJJ could be the Big Man, so he prepares a trap and arranges things to get kidnapped by the Enforcers. Imprisoned, he quickly escapes as Spider-Man, right in the middle of a meeting between the Big Man, the Enforcers and "every top mobster in the city". A battle royale ensues, with Spider-Man's skills, agility and inventiveness keeping him ahead despite being vastly outnumbered. He eventually manages to call the police and all the criminals get arrested, except for the Big Man. Now certain that the crime lord is JJJ, Spider-Man goes to the Bugle, just in time to see the police arrest... Foswell, who confesses to wearing a disguise and to being the Big Man. Later on, Peter muses his complicated relationship with Betty, whilst Jonah reveals to himself why he really hates Spider-Man.

Notes: Peter and aunt May share the same blood type. The transfusion will become an important plot point a couple of years later, in the Master Planner storyline, when the radioactivity in Peter's blood threatens May's life. Peter and May's next door neighbours are the Abbots, who have never been seen before and will never be seen again, but kind of pave the way for Mrs. Watson.

Something Silly This Way Comes: May needs a life-saving transfusion but the hospital doesn't have any blood available and has to ask Peter, who just so happens to be visiting. May is then discharged almost immediately, and even allowed to travel to Florida. Skilled as the Enforcers are, it's hard to believe they could really pose a threat to Spidey. 

Review: More crime-busting than superheroing, The Enforcers is a little gem showcasing Lee's and especially Ditko's talent. The plot itself is quite simple, and one that Stan will use again a couple of times later on, first with the Crime Master (again with Ditko) and then eventually with the Kingpin (with Romita Sr.). Even more than Daredevil, The Amazing Spider-Man is the only silver age Marvel title consistently set at street level, which helps keeping the goofiness down to a minimum. In fact, the story is fairly realistic in its simplicity, and perhaps the only weaker point are the Enforcers themselves, who can hardly be considered a threat to someone with Spider-Man's powers. It doesn't help that their personalities aren't well defined yet, and don't go beyond a general sense of arrogance for their skills. Finally, Foswell is introduced and unmasked in the space of a few pages, making it hard to care about him. Later on, mysteries like the identity of the Green Goblin will span over multiple issues, but here it looks like Stan and Steve wanted to keep things straight and simple. 

Possibly spurred on by not having a larger than life supervillain, both Lee and Ditko really excel in this issue. I'm not Steve's greatest fan - in my opinion his page composition is stiff and often unimaginative - but his coreographies in the group fights are second to none. In the space of a couple of pages, we see Spider-Man jump through a tire, slide on an oiled floor, run on a barrel and use pretty much every background object to his advantage. We know that Stan used to write the main plot points and later add the dialogues, so this fight is likely all Steve Ditko. In fact, I hadn't realized how frequent the "Spidey vs gangsters" scenes were until Ditko left the title and they all but disappeared. His facial expressions are also spot on, and while his characters will never have the beauty of John Romita's, you only need a glance to understand what they are feeling. The only real disappointment as far as the art is concerned is the uncharacteristically dull and static cover. 

Stan's work is top notch too. At times, in other books, his characters may give the impression to be talking without really having something to say, but in stories like this all panels are there for a purpose and mostly serve it. Lee also engages much more with the readers than in any other book, and even over 50 years later you can't help but feel a little more involved than usual in the storytelling. The panel revealing why JJJ hates Spider-Man is beautifully written and certainly adds another layer to a character who had been pretty one dimensional so far. I don't, however, consider it the highlight of the book, as it comes a little out of the blue and the story never really builds towards it. The revelation itself is a little simplistic, and while it's conceivable that Jonah would be so self-centered to try and destroy someone he deep down recognizes as being a fundamentally good person just to satisfy his ego, it doesn't explain why the same hatred isn't directed against all other superheroes quite in the same way. 

Final Verdict: A classic Spider-Man Ditko crime story, only slightly held back by a couple of minor missteps. 4/5