Biography of Spider-Man, 1964

The following is a biography of Spider-Man for the year of 1964, in which Peter Parker struggled to find a balance between his home life, his romantic life, and his life as Spider-Man.

Biography

The algorithm of the Living Brain

One day at school, Parker and his class were treated to a presentation by a representative from a technological corporation, who brought a large mobile robot he called the Living Brain. The man claimed that the robot could answer virtually any question. Together, the class decided to ask it for Spider-Man's true identity. A nervous Parker was asked to handle the input of the question, and any additional information the students could offer. Terrified at the possibility of his secret being publicly revealed, Parker was relieved to find that the Living Brain's printed answer was in code; he was assigned to decode it as homework, giving him time to figure out a solution. Flash Thompson took exception to this, and tried to forcibly take the Brain's answer. The two got into a scuffle, and their teacher told them to settle it in the gym. Later that day, the two indeed fought in a boxing match, and Parker did his best to hold back his incredible strength, but still sent Flash flying out of the ring with a single punch. Flash got back in the ring, and as Parker threw another, lighter punch, Thompson turned his head at a sudden yell. Parker knocked him out, much to the disapproval of the other students who chided him for punching Thompson while he was distracted. The call had come from Liz Allan, who told everyone that the Living Brain had malfunctioned and was running roughshod through the school. Parker got into his Spider-Man costume and confronted the robot, but its metallic strength and adaptive intelligence proved a significant challenge. He also overheard a pair of attendants fleeing the scene, discussing the fact that they had bumped into the Brain's control panel and caused its malfunction after trying to steal it for themselves. Spider-Man was eventually able to get close to the Brain and shut it off, ending its rampage. The two attendants ran into the gym, where they stumbled through Flash Thompson, who had just recently come to from Parker's punch and gotten dressed. The would-be thieves were knocked out cold as the other students came into the room. Mischievously, Parker pointed out to the others that Thompson wasn't present when Spider-Man arrived, and how emphatically he tried to take the Brain's answer to Spider-Man's identity from him. The other students hounded Thompson as he repeatedly denied being Spider-Man. A self-satisfied Parker went home that day, deciding that he would claim the Brain's answer to his identity had been lost in the confusion. As a result, whether or not the Brain had indeed calculated his secret would remain a mystery. Some time afterward, Spider-Man crashed a party being held by Johnny Storm, and the two fought until the rest of the Fantastic Four appeared to break it up.

The arrival of Electro

Besides his increasingly taxing responsibilities as Spider-Man, Peter soon learned that his aunt May was very ill. She was admitted to the hospital, where Betty Brant lovingly visited to offer her best wishes. Peter was grateful for Betty's compassion, but had to leave abruptly. He was utterly entrenched in stress, between May's health, her hospital bills, school work, his social life, and fighting crime. As if that wasn't enough, the Bugle started printing the claim that Spider-Man was also disguising himself as Electro, an electrified supervillain who had recently robbed a bank and threatened J. Jonah Jameson. Peter asked Jameson to lend him a thousand dollars to cover May's surgery, which he flatly refused, but offered him the money in exchange for proof that Spider-Man was Electro. Instead, Parker realized that there would be a reward for Electro's capture, and set out to bring him to justice. He tracked Electro down, planning to tail him to his hideout, but Electro caught sight of him and fought back. The addled Spider-Man underestimated his foe, and was shocked into unconsciousness. Electro left him for dead, but Spider-Man soon came to. Running out of time and desperate, Peter decided to fake a series of photos appearing to show Spider-Man changing into Electro. Jameson paid him for the evidence as promised, but Peter felt disgusted with himself for taking money dishonestly. He soon heard of Electro attempting to cause a mass prison break nearby, but took his place outside May's hospital room for her operation at her request. Betty joined him for support, and the operation was soon deemed a success, as May was left to sleep peacefully until morning. Betty returned to the Bugle offices and pleaded with Peter not to go to the prison to take photos, but Peter insisted that dangerous photos were the most valuable ones. Betty hinted at a mysterious past, alluding to someone she once knew who also enjoyed danger and excitement. Peter donned the Spider-Man costume on his way to the prison, determined to defeat Electro once and for all, and in doing so prove that he wasn't Electro himself. He also grabbed pairs of rubber gloves and boots to protect himself. Jameson witnessed Spider-Man's arrival and was distraught at the undeniable proof that he and Electro weren't the same person. Spider-Man fought Electro and his imprisoned partners, fighting off the criminals and at last taking down Electro by short-circuiting him with a simple blast of water from a hose. Returning to the Bugle offices, Parker was accosted by a furious Jameson, who threatened to fire him over the phony pictures he gave him. The self-assured Peter reminded him that he was a freelancer and thus couldn't be fired, and also swayed him with new photos of the fight between Spider-Man and Electro. Jameson accepted them as an apology for the others, which Peter took as a way to clear his conscience.

The Big Man's Enforcers

Spider-Man soon suffered something of a public indignity when he failed to capture what seemed to be a small-time crime gang. He then learned that May required a blood transfusion to fully recover from her illness. Peter was hesitant to give her his special blood, afraid of what consequences might occur, but he went through with it and there were no apparent complications. The gang that Spider-Man had failed to stop was led by a criminal known as the Big Man, who carried out his will through a trio called the Enforcers. The Enforcers were Fancy Dan, a small, dapper man with a black belt in judo; the Ox, known for his size and strength; and Montana, a master with a lasso. Outside the Bugle offices, Peter witnessed the Enforcers hassling Betty to pay interest on a loan she'd taken out. She claimed to Peter that it was all a misunderstanding, afraid of what trouble he might get into if he knew. Spider-Man tracked down the Enforcers' hideout and did battle with them. The mysterious Big Man looked on, wearing an ominous white mask. Spider-Man's powers were weakened after his blood transfusion and was forced to hide nearby, where he soon witnessed J. Jonah Jameson walk near the area. His curiosity was piqued, and wondered if Jameson could in fact be the Big Man himself. At the Bugle offices the following day, Peter found that Betty had mysteriously vanished. Meanwhile, reporter Frederick Foswell was begrudgingly working on a column speculating that the Big Man was Spider-Man on Jameson's strict orders. Peter came up with a way to get close to the Big Man using a more subtle approach than before: he began spouting off in public that he knew the Big Man's true identity, and was planning on taking the information to the police. Flash Thompson attempted to warn him of what would happen, having been demonstrating noticeably more compassion towards Parker since their boxing match. Soon enough, Peter was picked up by the Enforcers and thrown into confinement at their hideout pending Big Man's orders. Peter donned his Spider-Man costume and escaped through a vent, planning on notifying the police of the gang's location, but instead was caught and forced to fight. He was eventually able to signal the police, who quickly arrived and rounded up the Enforcers and other small-time gangsters while the Big Man escaped. On a hunch, Spider-Man swung to the window of Jameson's office, where he witnessed a police officer arrive and arrest Frederick Foswell, providing evidence that he was the Big Man. Jameson was distraught that he had once again wrongly accused Spider-Man, while Peter was left to wonder where Betty had gone.

The death of Bennett Brant

As Peter continued to fret over Betty's sudden disappearance, he learned over the radio that Doctor Octopus was to be released from prison, having served his term. Recognizing what a threat the villain was in their previous encounter, Peter developed a new gadget to aid him: a small tracking device resembling a spider. Spider-Man went to the prison to witness Octavius' release, where he was stunned to find Betty Brant waiting to drive him away. Greatly confused, Spider-Man attached a tracking device to their car, and witnessed a map of Philadelphia fall from the window. Peter caught a flight to Philadelphia, where he followed the signal from his tracker and soon found Betty. She apologized for running out on him and explained the desperate situation in which she found herself. Bennett Brant, her attorney brother who lives and works in Philadelphia, had accrued exorbitant gambling debts with his client, recently incarcerated criminal Blackie Gaxton. Gaxton had recently agreed to forgive Bennett's debt if he got Doctor Octopus to break him out of prison. Betty had tried to assist Bennett financially, but had simply gotten herself mixed up in the situation with Octavius and Gaxton. Peter told her that he'd heard Spider-Man was in town and that he would handle it, and privately decided to tell her that he was Spider-Man when they returned to New York. That night, Spider-Man went to the local courthouse where Gaxton was being held, but by the time he arrived Octavius had already broken him out. Fearing for Betty's safety, Spider-Man followed his tracking signal to a large boat on the docks, where Octopus and Gaxton held the Brants. Octavius was to collect a reward of $100,000 for having broken Gaxton out. Spider-Man busted in and fought the two and Gaxton's henchmen, but a stray gunshot from Gaxton hit Bennett, killing him. As Betty screamed for her falling brother, cursing Spider-Man for interfering, he continued to fight off the criminals. He quickly knocked out Gaxton, then fought Doctor Octopus across the ship. They fought onto a smaller boat that had arrived to pick up Gaxton, but the frightened captain quickly abandoned it. As the police arrived, the boat crashed into the docks, sending Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus into the water. Both separately fled the scene, leaving the police to pick up Gaxton and his men and bring Betty to safety. Peter later checked on Betty, who'd softened somewhat on Spider-Man, realizing that he was only trying to help. Still, she hoped she would never see him again, as he would only remind her of Bennett. With that, Peter realized that revealing his identity to her was no longer an option.

A chance unmasking

Peter and Betty returned to work at the Bugle, but it wasn't long before Doctor Octopus returned seeking vengeance. He burst into the window of Jameson's office and grabbed Betty, telling Jameson to send Spider-Man and a photographer—but no police—to Coney Island if they wanted to save Betty. Peter couldn't fight back at the time for fear of revealing his identity. Jameson sent Peter to be the photographer, and Peter soon returned as Spider-Man to fulfill the necessity of getting the info from Jameson. He went to Coney Island, as Jameson secretly decided to go there himself in case Parker bungled his job. Upon arrival, Spider-Man was overcome by a fluke virus that made him remarkably weak. As he threw punches at Doctor Octopus, they had hardly any effect, leaving him totally open to Doc Ock's onslaught. As Jameson and Brant looked on, as well as a police officer who had heard the commotion, Octopus pulled the mask off of Spider-Man's head, revealing his face to all. Witnessing how weakly he had fought his foe, everyone assumed that Peter had simply pretended to be Spider-Man in an attempt to heroically rescue Betty. Annoyed that he couldn't fight Spider-Man, Doctor Octopus fled the scene. Peter was led home that night, where he was seen by a doctor who said that the virus would quickly pass, as devastating as it was. Indeed, by morning Peter was at full strength, and word of his courage spread through school. Liz Allan was particularly impressed, to the point of rebutting Flash Thompson who tried to mock him. Doctor Octopus again attempted to garner Spider-Man's attention by releasing several dangerous animals from the local zoo. Spider-Man rounded them up quickly and safely before turning his gaze to the man who was fast becoming his archnemesis. The two fought intensely across the rooftops of New York before falling through a skylight into a sculptor's studio. They knocked over a cleaning fluid, causing a fire that rapidly spread through the building. Octopus found himself trapped under a large sculpture, and Spider-Man tried to save him, but the fire was too thick. He narrowly escaped through a window as the fire department arrived and retrieved Doctor Octopus, handing him over to the police and at last returning him to custody. Afterward, Liz asked Peter out on a date that night, but he rejected her advances and told off her and Flash for the way they had treated him until recently.

Mysterio's special effects

Peter soon began hearing talk of Spider-Man committing crimes across the city. While the obvious conclusion would be that it was an impostor, mounting personal stress caused Peter to consider the possibility that he was actually developing a split personality. J. Jonah Jameson was naturally ecstatic at the apparent realization of his longstanding accusations toward Spider-Man. The Bugle printed a message from someone named Mysterio, who told Spider-Man to meet him at the top of the Brooklyn Bridge to learn the truth about himself. This naturally proved to be a trap, as Mysterio engaged Spider-Man in battle. Mysterio was clad in a long, dramatic cape and bodysuit, topped off with an opaque dome over his head, and employed various bizarre techniques to utterly shut down Spider-Man in combat. Spider-Man was forced to retreat, losing the fight for all to see, and resulting in Mysterio being publicly declared a hero. Peter met Mysterio in person at the Bugle offices, where he was plauded by Jameson for defeating the "menace" of Spider-Man. Peter took the opportunity to surreptitiously slip a spider tracker onto Mysterio, allowing him to trace his movements. Spider-Man followed Mysterio to a TV studio, where he half-heartedly fought him and fed Mysterio's ego, admitting that he was superior. He humbly asked Mysterio to admit that he had posed as Spider-Man, which he did: he explained that he was a former film stuntman and special-effects designer who had used his extensive knowledge to create his own artificial Spider-Man suit, complete with fake webs and suction-cupped appendages. He'd concocted the Mysterio persona out of pure vainglory, wanting to become a hero by defeating the "evil" Spider-Man, and employed various gadgets on his suit to counter Spider-Man's offense. Spider-Man had secretly tape-recorded Mysterio's confession, and Mysterio tried to stop him from leaving with the evidence. But Spider-Man was prepared for Mysterio's clever attack this time, and was able to fight through his smoke-and-mirrors offense. He successfully took Mysterio and the confession to the police, leaving Jameson to mope over his continued mischaracterization of Spider-Man. Throughout this ordeal, Flash Thompson uniquely maintained faith in his personal idol Spider-Man, and Liz Allan continued her fruitless attempts at Peter's affection.

The Green Goblin

One day, Spider-Man heard a warning over the radio of a bizarre green figure flying over the city in a jet-powered broomstick. Though the person wasn't causing any trouble in particular, Spider-Man investigated, and spoke to the man that he could only dub the Green Goblin. The Goblin sported an outfit that indeed made him look like some bizarre green impish creature. In any event, the Goblin offered Spider-Man a most unexpected opportunity, pointing him to a movie producer in town who was planning to make a movie about his life. Spider-Man cautiously went to the producer and found that the offer seemed to be legitimate, eagerly signing a contract to play himself at the prospect of earning fifty-thousand dollars. Though he had no particular interest in making the film, the money would go a long way toward supporting his aunt. The movie was set to begin filming soon in New Mexico, and Jameson conveniently sent Parker there to take photos of Spider-Man. On set, Spider-Man met with the Green Goblin and three men who were set to play the Enforcers: Spider-Man naïvely believed they just had exceptional makeup, but they were in fact the real Enforcers. Under the pretense of rehearsing, the Goblin and the Enforcers attacked Spider-Man out in the middle of the desert. In truth, the movie had been concocted by the Green Goblin, even fooling the producer into making it just so he could get to Spider-Man. Spider-Man outwitted and outmaneuvered the Enforcers with little difficulty, agilely leading them and the Goblin into a cave. There he was shocked to run into the Hulk, a monstrous green mutated man considered to be the strongest being on Earth. The aggressive Hulk fought Spider-Man, but the hero used his wits and agility to escape, hiding underwater in a nearby spring. The Goblin flew off, seemingly threatened by the Hulk, and leaving the Enforcers behind. As Hulk wandered off, Spider-Man tied up the Enforcers and left them for a passing Army helicopter to pick up. The movie producer canceled the project, but gave Spider-Man money to cover his expenses back to New York.

The bounty of Kraven the Hunter

Parker soon heard news of a legendary big-game hunter simply called Kraven the Hunter arriving in New York. Kraven was known for his brute strength and cunning in taking down his prey, boasting of feats such as punching out elephants and overpowering gorillas. Jameson was on the scene as Karven arrived in the city, and the hunter declared that he was there to claim his most dangerous prize yet, Spider-Man. This naturally worried Peter, and before long Kraven indeed confronted Spider-Man as he patrolled the city. The two fought and proved to be evenly matched until Kraven employed a concealed needle with which he injected Spider-Man with a mysterious potion. The concoction caused the hero to grow dizzy, forcing him to retreat from the proud Kraven. The next morning, the effects of the potion had largely worn off, but Peter suffered an incessant shaking in his hands. At the Bugle, he witnessed Kraven leaving Jameson's office after some discussion. That evening, Spider-Man decided to use his tracking device to keep tabs on Kraven. He found Kraven's location using his spider sense, but as he trailed him through a park he was suddenly set upon by another man who caught him in a net. The other man also seemed to be Kraven, and in fact was—Spider-Man soon escaped his bonds and chased down the other man, who turned out to be his old foe the Chameleon in disguise. Chameleon and Kraven had organized the latter's recent attacks on Spider-Man together. Spider-Man used his exceptional agility and senses to outthink and outmaneuver the real Kraven, stalking him through the wooded area and restraining him with webs. The two villains were brought to justice and deported to South America. As these events unfolded, Betty began to act openly resentful towards Peter, witnessing how Liz spoke warmly and affectionately toward him. Aunt May, unaware of Peter's ongoing relationship struggles, set him up on a blind date with their neighbor's niece, a girl by the name of Watson, but she was forced to cancel at the last minute.

Daredevil assists against Ringmaster

One day, Spider-Man saw a poster advertising his appearance at a nearby circus, with the proceeds going to charity. Though he hadn't been notified of this, he decided to attend as it was for a good cause. He arrived on time and demonstrated his exceptional agility for a loving crowd. Before long however, the villainous Ringmaster appeared and used his hypnotic top hat to put Spider-Man and the audience into a trance. Ringmaster had organized the circus as a scheme to rob the crowd, and had simply advertised Spider-Man as a way to ensure a large attendance. But one man in the crowd had not been affected: the blind attorney Matt Murdock, who soon revealed himself as his heroic alterego Daredevil. Daredevil, who possessed exceptional senses that more than made up for his blindness, confronted Ringmaster, who set the hypnotized Spider-Man on his new foe. The hypnotized Spider-Man fought him on Ringmaster's orders, but the usually bright and reflexive Spider-Man was hindered due to being limited to Ringmaster's own reaction time. Daredevil was thus able to overcome him and grab Ringmaster's hat from his possession, using it to break Spider-Man's trance. The two fought together against Ringmaster's minions for a time, until Spider-Man told his new ally that he could handle the rest, and Murdock quietly reclaimed his place among the still-entranced audience. Spider-Man handily defeated Ringmaster and his crew, tying them up for the authorities and using his hat to snap the audience out of their hypnosis.

The Sinister Six

One day while on a rooftop, overcome by guilt over his uncle's death, Spider-Man suddenly found that he had lost his powers. He was completely without the agility, strength, and presence of mind that he had become accustomed to. But what he felt most of all was relief: the lack of superpowers would allow him to lead a normal life, free of constant danger and stifling responsibility. He returned home noticeably weaker, and by the next day May could tell that something was wrong. Peter walked the streets, musing about his future, and returned home later to find that May had gone. He received a call from J. Jonah Jameson, who told him that May and Betty had been seen getting into a car with the Sandman and Electro in front of the Bugle offices. Indeed, May had been there to see Betty, suspecting that she might have been the cause of Peter's grief. Peter rushed over, and he and Jameson were confronted through the latter's office window by the Vulture. Vulture told Jameson to notify Spider-Man that a group called the Sinister Six had taken Betty Brant, and to come to one of Tony Stark's electrical plants nearby if he wanted to save her. As Jameson frantically looked for a way to contact Spider-Man (as the next edition of the Bugle wouldn't be out for several hours), Peter realized he had to confront the Sinister Six, even without his powers.

Peter donned the Spider-Man suit and made his way to the plant in question, where he found Electro. Electro was holding a card that would tell him the next step on his journey to save Betty. As he fought Electro, Spider-Man found that his powers were back, and figured that their disappearance must have been psychosomatic. He defeated Electro and tied him up for the authorities, taking the card that would lead him to his next opponent. He continued in this manner, fighting, in sequence: Kraven the Hunter, Mysterio, Sandman, and Vulture. In each case he tried to fight as little as possible to acquire their respective card so as to not exert too much energy. Vulture's card led him to a castle on the outskirts of the city, where he met the founder of the Sinister Six, Doctor Octopus. During Doc Ock's last prison stay, a team of specialists were able to detach his metal arms from his body, but he remained nonetheless able to control them mentally when separated from them. With considerable effort, Spider-Man outfought his greatest foe, freeing Betty and May and returning them to safety. All members of the Sinister Six were brought into custody.

The fan-club incident

Parker soon learned that Flash Thompson was forming a Spider-Man fan club. Peter explicitly wasn't invited, but naturally didn't much care anyway. Later, Peter got into his Spider-Man garb and stopped what seemed to be a criminal getaway, but was in fact a filming of a movie, earning himself some mocking jibes throughout the city. The next day, he ran into Liz Allen, who (much to Flash's chagrin) invited him to the Spider-Man fan club's first meeting, which would be held in a ritzy dinner venue funded by her father. Furthermore, an ad in the paper for the event advertised an appearance by Spider-Man himself. For her part, Betty Brant was annoyed at the prospect of Peter going to the event to see Liz. Peter decided to show up at the event as Spider-Man to avoid disappointing his fans. Returning home, Peter learned that May had set up a date for him that night with a neighbor girl named Mary Jane Watson, but it turned out that she couldn't go due to a cold, much to Peter's relief. Throughout the day, Peter was frequently and annoyingly reminded of the popularity of his rival the Human Torch. Arriving at the event in full garb, Spider-Man attempted to put on a show for the cheering crowd, but was quickly interrupted and attacked by the vengeful Green Goblin. The crowd believed him to be part of the show, and Spider-Man attempted to keep up that façade to prevent them from panicking and hurting each other in a rush to escape. During the fight, Spider-Man overheard Liz comment that she had never seen Spider-Man and Peter Parker in the same place. Meanwhile, Johnny Storm was in attendance that night, and could tell that the fight was real. He began fighting off the Green Goblin as the Human Torch, and Spider-Man took the opportunity to get back into street clothes and talk to Liz to assuage any suspicions. Unfortunately, he was also spotted by Jameson and Betty—Betty would later cry in the corner, feeling utterly betrayed that Peter had shown up to the event, ostensibly to be with Liz. He returned to the fight as Spider-Man, but overheard Mr. Allan receive a call stating that May had had another heart attack. Spider-Man quickly fled the area, determined to see his aunt and confident that Torch could handle the Goblin. His departure naturally left a sour taste in the mouths of his fans. The Goblin would go on to escape the fight, having trounced Spider-Man and the Torch to his satisfaction. Peter arrived at the hospital, where May seemed to be energized by his presence and remained stable. Later, the Bugle put out an extra declaring Spider-Man a coward. Peter was fed up with this horrible series of events, and began to question whether it was worth it to be Spider-Man if he only ended up hurting people.

A muddied reputation

May returned home to recover, while Peter realized that they were again desperately short of money at the worst possible time. News began to spread of Spider-Man's apparent act of cowardice, drawing surprise from the public and other heroes. Spider-Man attempted to sell his image to a trading-card company for quick cash, but his reputation was shot to the point of worthlessness. He also decided that to put himself at risk would be to put May at risk, and so kept himself out of combat for the time being—he spent several weeks out of the public eye. He tried to contact Betty, but she refused to speak with him. While out trying to sell his webbing formula in costume, Spider-Man was suddenly confronted by the Sandman. Trying to avoid conflict, Spider-Man fled through the streets for all to see, exacerbating his new reputation. Throughout this episode, J. Jonah Jameson was utterly elated at Spider-Man's turn in fortunes. From home, Peter saw a message in the sky from the Human Torch telling Spider-Man to meet him at their usual meeting place—that is, the Statue of Liberty. Peter wanted to go, but dreaded leaving May alone. Later, Liz hysterically told Peter that Flash was going to dress up as Spider-Man and fight criminals as a way of getting the real Spider-Man to show up. Peter hurried over, out of costume, but by the time he got there, Flash had been beaten up by a few small-time thugs and recovered by the police. Peter tried to be friendly with Flash the next day at school, but he brushed him off. Peter also saw Betty coming out of a movie theater laughing with and holding the arm of another boy. Returning home, Peter all but decided to do away with Spider-Man for good, but May and her doctor informed him that she was rapidly recovering. Speaking more profoundly than she realized, she told Peter not to give up, and to always fight in the face of adversity. Inspired by his aunt, Peter acquired a renewed confidence and vowed to see out his destiny as Spider-Man.

Return to action

To kick off his return to crimefighting, Spider-Man took down a group of small-time bank robbers, and news of his reemergence spread quickly. At school, Liz seemingly broke up with Flash after he got angry with her for not supporting Spider-Man. Peter again tried to comfort Flash, who again responded with hostility. While patrolling the streets, Spider-Man spotted Fancy Dan and followed him to a hideout containing the other Enforcers and some other small-time criminals. Spider-Man fought them, but the police soon showed up, causing the Enforcers to scatter. Peter went to work and spoke with Betty, who introduced him to Ned Leeds, a Bugle reporter she had been dating. Peter was sincerely pleased for them, and Betty was quietly surprised at his confidence and maturity. Spider-Man found a henchman to tell him where the Enforcers had gone, and the thug informed him that they'd teamed up with the Sandman and had the Human Torch captive. Spider-Man arrived at their warehouse hideout and fought the criminals, freeing the Torch in from his oxygen-light tube encasement in the process. The two battled their enemies and managed to incapacitate the Enforcers, but they wound up getting in each other's way and allowed the Sandman to escape. He didn’t get far however, falling into police hands and deciding to take being incarcerated over going back to Spider-Man. Torch tried to ask his ally why he had run away before, but Spider-Man gave him no answers.

Jameson and the Scorpion

The next day, while walking around town, Peter noticed with his spider-sense that someone was following him. Arriving home, he noticed that the man was still covertly observing him from outside. When the man finally left, Peter got into his Spider-Man outfit and trailed him. The man went to a phone booth, talked for a few moments out of earshot, and returned to Peter's home. Peter went to the Bugle the following day, a Saturday, and found that the man was still following him. The trail broke off once Peter entered the building. He spoke to Betty and Ned, and learned that Ned was going off to Europe to cover a story. Moments later, the stalker and Jameson came out of Jameson's office, and Jameson referred to him as Mac Gargan. The two rushed off in a hurry somewhere, leaving Peter with a great deal of questions. Nonetheless, he went with Betty and Ned to see Ned off on his trip—he wouldn't be back for six months, and Peter was quietly thrilled that he might have another chance with Betty. After leaving them, Peter went out as Spider-Man to try to figure out what Jameson and Gargan were up to. He climbed up to Jameson's office, where Jameson was strangely welcoming. Spider-Man didn't buy this approach, and moved on—as he suspected, Jameson was trying to lure him into a trap, which was sprung moments later when a man in a green, tailed, scorpion-like costume attacked. Spider-Man took the Scorpion too lightly, and his new foe knocked him out. When Spider-Man came to some time later, the Scorpion had begun running roughshod across the city, Spider-Man confronted him again, but once more was beaten down by the Scorpion's superior strength. Moments later, the Scorpion attacked the Bugle offices. Spider-Man jumped into action one last time, and managed to overcome the Scorpion with his brains, agility, and technology, leaving him for the police to take care of. In the next Bugle issue, Jameson painted himself as the hero and Spider-Man as a mere contributor. Soon after, Spider-Man detected the presence of a bogus, robot version of himself that led the heroic Avengers into a trap in Mexico, having been sent back in time by the futuristic villain Kang. He trailed the robot to Mexico and deactivated it, saving the Avengers in the process.

See also

• Biography of Spider-Man, 1963
• Biography of Spider-Man, 1965