Amazing Spider-Man #52
By Stan Lee, John Romita Sr, Mickey Demeo*
Background: Spider-Man and J. Jonah Jameson are prisoners of the Kingpin, New York's rising crime overlord.
So, What Happens? Jameson and an unconscious Spider-Man are taken to a cellar and cuffed to metal slabs while the room is filled with water. Spidey awakens just in time, manages to break free and creates a cocoon with his web to entrap enough oxygen for them to survive a little while longer. When the water recedes and the Kingpin's goons enter to dispose of the bodies, Spider-Man breaks free and quickly gets rid of them. He then frees a shocked Jameson, who's convinced that Spidey acted only to save his own skin and doesn't show any gratitude. Spidey and Jonah separate so that the hero can get rid of more guards and take the fight to the Kingpin, but Jonah runs into a pipe and is knocked unconscious. Meanwhile, Foswell and Kingpin get in a fight when the former complains about Jameson's alleged death, only to be interrupted by Spider-Man's entrance. Whilst Foswell runs out to look for Jonah, Spidey battles Kingpin and gradually gets the upper hand, forcing the criminal to flee before the police arrive. In the cellar, Jonah awakens and is chased by the Kingpin's gunmen, but Foswell rescues him and protects him with his body, taking a bullet for him because Jameson had been the only one to believe in him and give him a second chance. Moments later Spidey arrives and takes the gunmen out, but it's too late for Foswell who dies a hero next to a shocked Jonah.
Notes: Mickey Demeo is a pseudonym for Mike Esposito. Ned Leeds is implied to replace Foswell as crime reporter, a role he will keep for about 20 years. Flash Thompson briefly returns from Vietnam.
Something Silly This Way Comes: Does the Kingpin drown all his enemies in his cellar?
Review: And so we have it: uncle Ben's notwithstanding, the first death on Amazing Spider-Man, not to mention one of the very few that's never been undone over the decades. Except for his days as the Big Man, Foswell had never been a really key member of Spidey's cast of characters, but he had been around almost from the start and Stan has him bow out literally with a bang, introducing the idea that Peter's adventures are real and characters can indeed die. It's not a death that will have massive repercussions, but it is a nice bit of character development as Foswell's gratitude feels genuine despite the fact he had never shown too much affection towards Jonah before, or indeed let any emotion out. Jameson spends half the story as comic relief, bumping into pipes or running around like a headless chicken, but when push comes to shove he takes Foswell's death with a certain stoicism and ends the story on a high note, wowing to make him a hero with his editorials. There's some underlying irony about the power of the press to make or unmake a person, as Foswell get's more fame from one good act than Spidey did from years of adventures, but at least it's deserved this time.
The Kingpin joins the list of those villains fighting Spidey and then managing to run away to tell the tale, something often denoting a higher status of importance and reserved for the likes of Doctor Octopus or the Green Goblin. Considering that the Big Man and the Crime Master didn't last beyond their debut issues, Stan is clearly trying to create a credible and recurring crime lord enemy for Spider-Man, and it's likely that killing Foswell served to quickly cement the Kingpin's status as serious foe. In that sense he is successful, but the fight between hero and villain is a little too balanced, even assuming that Spidey is likely holding back. Strong as he is, the Kingpin is still a regular human being and shouldn't be able to hold his own against someone capable of lifting several tons, highlighting a problem that will recur over the years every time Spidey fights the likes of Daredevil. Still, making the Kingpin a supervillain would have taken away the street crime side of him, so it's an incongruity that can be overlooked.
I recall that in the letters' page at that time a few readers had started complaining that Peter was becoming too popular and was "joining the crowd", something they felt was against the roots of the character. There is certainly an element of that here, in the two pages featuring the return of Flash Thomson: yes, he is quick to criticize the missing Peter, but does so with a smile on his face, and both Harry and Gwen are quick to defend their friend. This is a far cry from Ditko's days, and despite how some may have felt I think it serves to inspire a sense of hope for acceptance in all those readers who had identified with Peter during his debut years. Speaking of supporting characters, Betty Brant is still a drag, but Robbie Robertson is already beginning to assert himself as the competent and level-headed journalist we'll get to know over the years.
Final Verdict: An exciting and unexpected conclusion to the Kingpin debut trilogy. 5/5
Something Silly This Way Comes: Does the Kingpin drown all his enemies in his cellar?
I recall that in the letters' page at that time a few readers had started complaining that Peter was becoming too popular and was "joining the crowd", something they felt was against the roots of the character. There is certainly an element of that here, in the two pages featuring the return of Flash Thomson: yes, he is quick to criticize the missing Peter, but does so with a smile on his face, and both Harry and Gwen are quick to defend their friend. This is a far cry from Ditko's days, and despite how some may have felt I think it serves to inspire a sense of hope for acceptance in all those readers who had identified with Peter during his debut years. Speaking of supporting characters, Betty Brant is still a drag, but Robbie Robertson is already beginning to assert himself as the competent and level-headed journalist we'll get to know over the years.
Final Verdict: An exciting and unexpected conclusion to the Kingpin debut trilogy. 5/5
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