Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 Issue 5

Released on July 9, 1963

Marked for Destruction by Dr. Doom!

Writen by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko
Penciler and Inker Steve Ditko
Letterer Sam Rosen
Editor Stan Lee

The series goes from bi-monthly to monthly this issue.

This is Spider-Man’s 8th appearance.

This is, for now, my oldest Spider-Man comic.  I just have 81 issues to go..  81, many of which are key issues.  I can dream. This issue is the crown jewel of my collection. What better than the first battle between Spider-Man and Doctor Doom? This was Victor Von Doom’s first appearance outside of the Fantastic Four title and his 7th appearance.  Sometimes, I encounter people who think Doom appears in the 5th issue of comics.  But… that is for another post.

Last year, I got this from The Deep Comics out of Huntsville, Alabama.  I was in the process of trying to complete Captain America Vol 1, and I needed around 80 issues at the time (I completed it back in October).  I went back and forth with them on various issues on my wishlist.  Then, I saw they posted this issue on their timeline.  That was when I knew the points I was saving on my Capital One Quicksilver card were gone. This issue was on my bucket list.

*The next part is not for the faint of heart*

All images in this post are scans of my copy of Amazing Spider-Man 5.

If you read my Instagram post, yes, this comic came out of one of a CGC case.  As to why I broke it open, I am not an investor; I wanted to experience the comic in its original format.  Sure, I could save a ton and get the digital comic, and I did (for those who come over and want to read it).  But that was not how I enjoyed comics.

Marvel needs to rework the digital versions; the coloring job leaves a lot to be desired.  I kind of wish they had the ads, but I get why they are not in there.

My copy is stored in a Coinz Comic Display that can be found on Amazon at:
Coinz Comics 5 Pack Magnetic Comic Book Display for Current to Silver Age Comics

These cases serve as extra protection for some of my highly valued comics.  Which I still keep in mylar, backed, and with extender sheers.  I hope to find a fire/waterproof box to store issues like this someday.  Currently, I am using the BCW Graded Comic Book Bin.

A 4.5 grade is a lot higher than I expected to get.  Generally, I am more forgiving of older and rarer issues.  The pages are as white as you could hope at this grade and age.  The spine is nearly perfect. The slight imperfections make it unique.

Oh, maybe you wanted a summary of the story and not my plans to build a shrine for this issue. Nuff Said!!!

Doom tries to team up with Spidey

After suffering another defeat by the Fantastic Four, Doctor Doom seeks an alliance with Spider-Man, inspired by J. Jonah Jameson’s broadcast. He lures Spider-Man using a device that triggers his Spider-Sense. Spider-Man, upon arrival, quickly rejects Doom’s offer and mistakenly ensnares a Doom Bot with webbing, believing it to be the real Doom. A subsequent encounter with the actual Doom leads to a hasty escape by Spider-Man just before Doom detonates the building.

After Peter Parker sells photos of fire to the Daily Bugle, Jameson candidly admits to exploiting Spider-Man’s negative image for newspaper sales.

Flash Thompson dons a Spider-Man costume to scare Peter Parker into respeciting Spider-Man but ends up captured by Doom, who intends to use him as bait for the Fantastic Four.

Upon learning that Flash has been captured by Doctor Doom, Spider-Man sets out to rescue him after his conscience kicks in. He cleverly creates a diversion by blowing a fuse, convincing Aunt May to let him buy new fuses despite her concerns about the dangers posed by Doctor Doom and Spider-Man being outside.

Meanwhile, Flash is freaking out, begging Doom to release him.  Doom calls him a ‘cringing sniveling coward’ and a ‘frightened weakling’.

Spider-Man locates Doctor Doom in an abandoned factory, cautiously entering through air ducts to evade potential traps. A fierce battle ensues. However, when the Fantastic Four arrive, Doom decides to flee, not wanting to confront both Spider-Man and the team. Spider-Man then leaves to check on Aunt May, realizing she might be worried about his absence.

When the Fantastic enters, they find Flash Thompson dressed as Spider-Man.  Ben Grimm assumes it is Spider-Man, but Johnny insists he is not even a reasonable facsimile.  Reed concludes the real deal was there after finding webbing.

Later, BMOC (Big man on campus) Eugene “Flash” Thompson insists he was not afraid, escaped on his own, and tried to get Doctor Doom, who was so worried he ran away.  I dare him to say that to Victor’s face.

You can buy and read the full story.  From Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 Issues 1 – 10 – Here

A lot has changed since Spider-Man’s 8th appearance

By the time I started reading comics, there were nearly 30 years of changes since this issue.

J. Jonah Jameson went from a profit-driven to a past-driven agenda against Spider-Man

In Amazing Spider-Man 190 – December 5, 1978, it was revealed J. Jonah Jameson’s first wife was killed by a mugger.  Which was a factor in why he hated Spider-Man and other masked vigilantes.  I will have to dive deeper into how his hate of Spider-Man evolved someday.

Despite multiple issues of Spider-Man helping him and his son, it never seemed to impact that thinking.  It also did not help that sometimes Spider-Man would threaten JJ to stop the harassment only to reinforce his crusade.

Flash Thompson – From bully to hero

I can’t help but think of Amazing Spider-Man issue 17 when it comes to Flash. He forms a Spider-Man fan club in that issue, and Peter Parker is not allowed in.

His antagonism towards Peter changed by ASM 138 when Peter was the only one to offer him a place to stay.  This would be the start of his evolution from a stereotypical bully to a more complex character.

Spider-Man went through a lot of emotional growth through the years.

Earlier, Spider-Man seemed less empathic than by the time I started to read. Amazing Fantasy 15, apathy led to horrible consequences when he did not stop a bugler.   Fear of what happens if he does not act has played a huge part in his development. Thinking back to Amazing Spider-Man 269 – 270.  He faced a former herald of Galactus, Firelord.   In that issue, Firelord’s ego would lead to a conflict with a bunch of mutant bigots (who do not know he is not a mutant).  Spider-Man did not know what was going on when he came to their rescue.  After humiliating Firelord, he runs off out of fear for his own safety, but his concern over the safety of others leads to him back in the fight.  The moral of that story is don’t freak Spider-Man out.

Doctor Doom goes from a cartoon-like villain to a menacing presence.

I would argue Doom went through the fastest transformation.  By the mid-60s, he seemed more threatening.  I plan to explore more of Doom’s timeline with my own collection of upcoming posts.

Amazing Spider-Man 5

This issue marks an early, and dare I say, a rough/gritty, not-so-serious start.  Dikto’s art, after 12 issues, took a more serious direction (Let’s not talk about what happened in the mid-90s!!!). Nearly 300 issues later, my collecting into this series would begin.