Spider-Man: "In The Clutches Of... The Kingpin!"

Amazing Spider-Man #51

By Stan Lee, John Romita Sr, Mickey Demeo*

Background: Spider-Man quit for a short time, allowing the rise of the Kingpin as the city's new crime boss. Wanting a piece of the pie, Foswell tried to wrestle power from him but is now his prisoner.

So, What Happens? The Kingpin is about to launch a massive crime spree, but first orders some of his men to kidnap Jameson, whose editorials are getting close to the truth that a new player is uniting and controlling the underworld. Still convinced that Spidey has quit, other mobsters go out to collect protection money, but the hero is back in town and doesn't need long to clean the floor with them, hearing the name of the Kingpin in the process. Meanwhile, Kingpin and Foswell start to reach an agreement when they get interrupted by the few mobsters who had escaped Spidey, angry for the return of the wall-crawler. Their leader tries to rebel against Kingpin, but despite his bulk the big man is far stronger than he looks and quickly subdues him, impressing even Foswell. Elsewhere, Peter learns that Foswell is missing and has a fight with another group of mobsters, this time sticking a tracer on one of them as they run away. At the Bugle, Jameson gets kidnapped, blindfolded and brought to the Kingpin, but refuses to turn a blind eye on his criminal activities. Kingpin has Foswell ask him again, making sure that Jameson hears his name so that he can keep him under control, but Jonah, despite being disappointed at Foswell's return to crime, keeps refusing. The mobsters Spidey had defeated arrive, followed by the superhero himself thanks to the Spider-Tracer. Spider-Man sees the kidnapped Jameson and jumps in, quickly trapping the Kingpin's men with his web before taking the fight to the crime lord. However, the bulk of the Kingpin deceives him long enough for the criminal to use a small gas device hidden in his tie-pin. Taken by surprise, Spider-Man blacks out.

Notes: Mickey Demeo is a nickname for inker Mike Esposito. In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, we get the debut of a yet unnamed Robbie Robertson.

Review: Unable to rely either on the surprises of the first chapter or on the expectations of the last, middle chapters are usually a trilogy's weakest point, serving above all to put the pieces in place. For the most part this is also the case here, with an action-driven story featuring little else besides four rather predictable fights. Luckily, that "little else" is a great moment of characterization for J. Jonah Jameson, giving our favourite publisher a measure of respect. In over 50 issues of Amazing Spider-Man, Jameson has played many roles - from comic relief to foil for Spidey, from supporting character to occasional villain - and has mostly been defined by his psychotic and blind hate for Spider-Man, making life difficult for our hero in more ways than one. With all his editorials against Spidey it's easy to forget he is also a successful journalist and a respected publisher, but now we finally get to glimpse another side of him: that of an upright man who refuses to yield to the Kingpin's threats even at the risk of his life. A certain level of integrity had already been implied every time Jameson retracted an article about Spidey despite the damage it would bring to his newspaper and reputation, but that was usually played for laughs, whereas now he stands firm in the face of danger. Jameson isn't brave in the heroic sense of the word, but now we see he's not the kind of man who would compromise his principles either, making him a more well-round and positive character, albeit a cantankerous one.

As for the rest, very little of the story is seen from Spidey's point of view, and the action against the various thugs is enjoyable but keeps lacking Ditko's inventive touch. In fact, the art is beautiful as always, especially in terms of close ups and body anatomy, but I've always felt that Romita is more suited to draw costumed supervillains than group battles, an area where Ditko truly excelled. The most interesting fights are those involving the Kingpin as he gets to show his sheer brute strength and prove he is more than a man with a laser cane. In fact, said cane and the gas tie-pin look a little like gadgets from a James Bond villain, but they are also necessary to balance the fight and make Kingpin's victory credible. Over the years, Wilson's strength will occasionally border on superhuman, but it's clear he isn't and will never be a match for Spider-Man in that department, so it's smart by Stan to let him win with a subterfuge.

Final Verdict: Plenty of action, but it's a bit of characterization that steals the show. 3.5/5