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Appearing in "The Grotesque Adventure of the Green Goblin"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Amazing Spider-Man #14

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Synopsis for "The Grotesque Adventure of the Green Goblin"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Amazing Spider-Man #14

There's a new costumed villain in town, the Green Goblin. After he's perfected his flying broomstick, he visits the recently released Enforcers and offers them the opportunity to get revenge against Spider-Man. He travels to California to visit B.J. Cosmos, a film director who made it big with his last film "The Nameless Thing From the Black Lagoon in the Murky Swamp." The Goblin offers him his next cinematic spectacular: A movie about Spider-Man.

Returning to New York City, the Green Goblin circles around the city until he draws Spider-Man's attention. He makes a film offer to Spider-Man, who agrees to participate. With the announcement that Spider-Man is going to be in a film, J. Jonah Jameson sends Peter to Hollywood to cover the story. This worries Betty Brant, because she believes that Peter might fall for some silver screen starlet while he's in California.

Arriving in California, Peter reports to B.J. Cosmos' studio as Spider-Man, and he, the Green Goblin, and what he believes to be actors resembling the Enforcers are taken to New Mexico for a desert fight sequence.

The Green Goblin reveals his true motives, and Spider-Man battles him and the Enforcers across the desert. Their fight takes them into a cave, where Spider-Man easily defeats the Enforcers. However, they stumble upon the Hulk's hiding place. Spider-Man is forced to defend himself from the jade giant. He uses the Hulk's strength to his advantage, tricking the Hulk into smashing a boulder blocking the cave exit.

Spider-Man fails to prevent the Green Goblin's escape, and hides until the Hulk leaves the area. He leaves the Enforcers to be collected by the police. Returning to Hollywood, Spider-Man finds that B.J. Cosmos has canned the Spider-Man movie idea, in favor of a Hulk movie. When Spider-Man demands payment, Cosmos refuses, citing the contract: Spider-Man would only get paid if the movie was completed. Peter is forced to use the rest of his money to bus back to New York. Meanwhile, somewhere in the city, the Green Goblin resumes his mysterious civilian guise and begins plotting his next scheme against Spider-Man.

Appearing in "The Sinister Six"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1

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Synopsis for "The Sinister Six"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1

Having broken out of prison, Dr. Octopus gathers Mysterio, Electro, Kraven the Hunter, the Vulture and Sandman to get revenge against Spider-Man as the Sinister Six. Meanwhile, Spider-Man has once more found that his spider powers have faded and has to exercise more caution getting back home, lest someone take advantage of his lost powers to find out his secret identity.

As Peter wanders the city lost in thought over all the stress caused by his Spider-Man identity, he doesn't go to school. This prompts the school to call his Aunt May. Worried about Peter, she goes to Betty Brant for help, and they, in turn, see if J. Jonah Jameson has seen Peter recently. This makes them a target for the Sinister Six, who have decided to use Betty Brant as bait to lure Spider-Man, and so, they kidnap both Betty and Aunt May.

Peter arrives at the Daily Bugle just in time to see the Vulture delivering a message to Jameson. The Vulture tells him that the Sinister Six have gone to six different locations, and at each location they each have a clue to the whereabouts of Betty and May. While superheroes all over the city try to find Spider-Man, Peter decides that powers or no powers, he's going to save his Aunt May and Betty from his enemies.

At the first location, the local power plant owned by Stark Industries, Peter faces Electro. During the fight, he realizes that his powers have returned. He easily defeats Electro and learns the next location. When Iron Man arrives to offer help, Spider-Man refuses.

His next fight is with Kraven the Hunter, who attacks Spider-Man in Central Park with three tigers. Spider-Man easily fights off the attackers and secures the next clue. Along the way, the Human Torch offers help, but once again, Spider-Man refuses.

His next location is controlled by Mysterio, who sends androids based on the X-Men to attack the wall-crawler. Spider-Man easily defeats the androids and Mysterio. The next clue is set ablaze, but Spider-Man recovers its contents with his web-fluid.

His next battle is against Sandman, sealed in an airless room. Spider-Man defeats Sandman with his superior lung capacity. Next, he battles the Vulture high over the city and defeats him as well, gaining the location of Dr. Octopus, who has been holding Betty and May hostage. May, completely oblivious to her situation, believes they are Octavius' houseguests.

Spider-Man battles Octopus and his mechanical arms. Their fight takes them to a giant fishbowl, where Octopus battles Spider-Man in his "natural habitat." Spider-Man defeats Octopus by filling the tank with his webbing and tangling Octavius up, and he then frees Aunt May and Betty Brant. After returning to his civilian guise, he meets up with the pair. Aunt May remains upset with Peter over his skipping class. Jameson is once more made a fool, when he has to publish a story about how heroic Spider-Man is, and as for the Sinister Six? Forced to share a prison cell, the villains squabble among themselves.

Appearing in "The Terrible Threat of The Living Brain!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Amazing Spider-Man #8

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Synopsis for "The Terrible Threat of The Living Brain!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Amazing Spider-Man #8

When Mr. Petty of the I.C.M. company brings in a new robotic computer (dubbed the "Living Brain") to Midtown High for a demonstration, Peter insults Flash Thompson's intelligence when he voices his ignorance of the machine's value. This causes a brief scuffle where Peter's glasses are broken. Flash challenges Peter to a fight after school.

During the demonstration of the computer's powers (that it can answer any question, given the correct input), two of the hired men who helped bring the device in decide to steal it after hoping to use it to win bets. Peter's class decides to ask the computer if it can figure out Spider-Man's real identity, and Peter is asked to input the information. Peter is relieved when the device gives out its answer in a code that Peter is assigned to decode for the next day's class. When Flash tries to take it from Peter, this prompts Mr. Warren to suggest the boys deal with their rivalry in a boxing match.

During the match, Peter is afraid of really hurting Flash with his spider-strength, and his first punch (although pulled) knocks Flash for a loop, but Flash dismisses it as a joke he played on Parker to save face in front of his classmates. As the match continues, the two men try to steal the Living Brain, but they accidentally short circuit the computer, causing it to go on a rampage through the school. When Flash is distracted by calls for help, Peter lands a punch which knocks Flash out, and everyone calls it a cheap shot.

Before anyone can see that Flash was literally knocked out by Peter, they learn that Living Brain is on a rampage. This gives Peter a chance to carry Flash away to safety and change into Spider-Man. As Spider-Man, Peter saves his classmates from harm and tackles the Living Brain. After a battle, Spider-Man manages to stop its rampage.

Changing back to Peter Parker after, he decides to have a little fun when Flash meets up with his classmates. Peter identifies that Flash wasn't seen while the robot was on a rampage, and suggests to his classmates that Flash might be Spider-Man's true identity. His classmates, having witnessed Flash "diving" during the boxing match are more or less convinced.

Appearing in "The Birth of a Super-Hero!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Amazing Spider-Man #42

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  • Peter Parker's Motorcycle

Synopsis for "The Birth of a Super-Hero!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Amazing Spider-Man #42

At first it seems that Spider-Man has robbed a bank and drops the bag and its contents in the river near the Queensboro Bridge. Then it is reinforced when at the Daily Bugle Building Frederick Foswell comes rushing in looking for J. Jonah Jameson to tell him that Spider-Man has just robbed a bank. Betty Brant is there at the Bugle talking to Ned Leeds. We find Jameson at Kennedy Airport with his son John. On John's recent spacewalk he contacted space spores. This reaction to the space spores suddenly increased his size and made him stronger.

Within sixty minutes the doctors agree that the spores must come from Jupiter and not long after this diagnosis that Stark Industries have provided a special suit for John Jameson. After hearing from Frederick Foswell at the Bugle that Spider-Man has robbed a bank, the senior Jameson suggests that John becomes a super-hero and should battle Spider-Man. Meanwhile, at a nearby courthouse, the Rhino lies unconscious until the doctors leave and slam the door on the way out. At the same courthouse, Foggy Nelson decides to accept the defense of the Rhino. At that moment the Rhino almost escapes but is subdued by a Spray Tranquillizer.

Back at Empire State University Gwen Stacy invites Peter to a Party at her house on Sunday but he must decline as he is to meet his neighbor's niece Mary Jane Watson. Spider-Man then fights John Jameson and explains why he was robbing the Bank at the beginning of the story (in his head, of course), that his spider-sense detected a bomb in one of the money bags and how he had to take it by force to get it away. Spider-Man distracts John Jameson and gets away.

Spider-Man then goes to the Daily Bugle to ask Jameson to call the bank and ask if any money is missing. If not, it proves his innocence. Jameson does so and sulks over his mistake. John Jameson storms in, wanting a rematch with Spidey. He has eventually calmed down enough to be escorted back to the hotel room. This is only temporary, as he soon breaks out.

Spider-Man and John eventually find each other near a warehouse and begin another battle. Spider-Man eventually lures John inside the building and uses the generator inside and John's electro-magnetic suit to destroy the spores completely before they were too far deep to be cured. Finally, Peter does meet Mary Jane and her famous first words are "Face it tiger...you just hit the jackpot!"

Appearing in "The Reprehensible Riddle of... the Sorcerer!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Marvel Super-Heroes #14

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Synopsis for "The Reprehensible Riddle of... the Sorcerer!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Marvel Super-Heroes #14

A new villain known only as the Sorcerer is causing problems for Spider-Man. First he tests his power by giving Spider-Man terrible headaches, then uses his power to control Spider-Man and send him all the way to New Orleans where he forces him to battle a robot he calls the Synthetic Man. The Synthetic Man's downfall comes when he attempts to send a taunting package to Spider-Man through the mail and the post office workers, assuming it's a gag, return the package to sender. The mailman rings his doorbell, the very sound of the doorbell causing a malfunction in the Sorcerer's equipment that feeds back into his brain, and apparently kills him. With the Sorcerer dead there is no one and nothing to control the Synthetic Man, who walks into the Gulf of Mexico and sinks to the bottom.

Appearing in "And Death Shall Come!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Amazing Spider-Man #90

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Synopsis for "And Death Shall Come!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Amazing Spider-Man #90

Battling Doctor Octopus on the roof of New York's major power station, Spider-Man is thrown to his death on the streets below. Quick thinking, Spider-Man grabs his foe's mechanical tentacles and uses them to swing through a nearby window. With the tentacles still chasing after him, Spider-Man evades them by hiding in a nearby ventilator shaft. As the arms retreat, Spider-Man tags one with a Spider-Tracer in the hopes of tracking his foe later. He tries to follow after Octavius, but the villain has retreated by the time Spider-Man gets back onto the roof. Slipping away, Spider-Man changes back into Peter Parker in a nearby alley. Feeling faint, Peter stumbles out onto the street where he is confronted by Captain George Stacy, who has been looking for him. Noting that Peter looks ill, George asks his daughter's boyfriend what is wrong, but Peter passes out before he can explain himself.

Later, he wakes up in the Stacy home with Gwen watching over him. When he wakes up, both Gwen and George are happy to see that he is recovering nicely. George remarks how amazing Peter's recouperative powers are, leaving Peter to worry that George might know that he is secretly Spider-Man. Left alone to rest, Peter mulls over this possibility, but notes that if Stacy has figured out his secret, he has done nothing to expose it. After some more rest, Peter decides to track down Doctor Octopus. Using his exhaustion as an excuse not to participate in the upcoming protest, Peter heads back home. Back at his apartment, Peter begins working on a new web fluid formula that will hopefully give him the edge against Doctor Octopus. After rigging up the new batch to his cartridge belt, Peter checks on his sleeping roommate, Harry Osborn, before taking to the roofs and changing into Spider-Man once more.

Spider-Man then scours the city searching for trace of Doctor Octopus. When he begins picking up his Spider-Tracer signal, Spider-Man swings to a nearby window. However, Doctor Octopus had been waiting for him and launches a surprise attack. Their battles takes them to the rooftops where Spider-Man manages to spray his enemy's tentacles. This causes them to flail around out of control. Unable to control his arms, Doctor Octopus has to fend off his own apendages. Spider-Man is not out of trouble either, as the mechanical arms are just as dangerous as ever. When they smash through a nearby chimny, causing bricks to raindown on the crowd below. Seeing a child beneath the falling debris, Spider-Man is too far to do anything about it. However, at the last moment, Captain Stacy pushes the child out of the way, getting buried under the rubble in the process. Seeing this, Spider-Man rushes to George's aid, pulling him up onto the rooftops in order to get him to help. However, George has been fatally wounded and is about to die. His final words to Spider-Man is the revelation that he knows that the wall-crawler is really Peter Parker, and tells him to look after his daughter. Peter is horrified, losing George in much the same way as his Uncle Ben. He wonders how he can ever reveal the truth about his double identity to Gwen once she finds out that he is responsible for the death of her father.

Notes

  • No month in issue.

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