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Doctor StrangeQuote1 May the Vishanti watch over thee! Quote2
Spider-ManQuote1 And may your amulet never tickle! Quote2

Appearing in "The Wondrous World of Dr. Strange"

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  •  Xandu  (First appearance)
  • Xandu's two unnamed minions

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Synopsis for "The Wondrous World of Dr. Strange"

Spider-Man is disappointed to find all quiet during his night patrol of the city. However, elsewhere a man named Xandu interferes in a bar-room brawl, where two muscular men have challenged everyone present to a fight. Xandu hypnotizes them to feel no pain, and gives them limitless strength to accomplish their task: to steal the other half of the Wand of Watoomb, of which Xandu already possesses one part, from Dr Strange's mansion. As they break in, Dr. Strange tries to distract them, but he is quickly knocked out.

The two henchmen find the Wand of Watoomb and exit through a skylight, thereby attracting the attention of Spider-Man. Spider-Man goes down fighting, having been unaware of their supernatural strength: but even as he collapses he plants a Spider Tracer on one of them. Xandu receives the second half of the wand and re-unites it. He reveals that with the complete Wand he can create doorways to other dimensions and times, as well as see any place or object he desires. Spider-Man now interrupts Xandu, but is startled to find himself starting to disappear into an alternate dimension: he grabs the Wand of Watoomb, realizing its importance, and it goes with him. Xandu sends the two henchmen after Spider-Man to get it back. As they fight, Dr Strange regains consciousness and follows the henchmen's traces to Xandu’s lair.

The two do battle as the henchmen bring Spider-Man back to Earth. Xandu regains control of the Wand of Watoomb and uses it against Dr Strange, who, realizing he’s overpowered by the Wand, leaves his physical form and uses his ectoplasmic spirit to aid Spider-Man. At Strange’s suggestion, Spider-Man grabs an electric wire and shorts out the two henchmen’s hypnosis. Dr Strange returns to his physical form and fights alongside Spider-Man, who trips Xandu with his webbing and retrieves the Wand. The Wand is then drained of its mystic power by Dr Strange, who also wipes the memory - and thus the evil intentions - of Xandu.

Appearing in "Spider-Man"

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

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  • John Jameson's Space Capsule

Synopsis for "Spider-Man"

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

With the Parker household desperate for money following the death of Ben Parker, Peter Parker decides to continue in show business as Spider-Man. However, not only does he find it impossible to cash his paycheck (made out to Spider-Man), but the irrational editorials by J. Jonah Jameson in the Daily Bugle effectively quelch his career. Besides denouncing Spider-Man as a publicity-seeking phony, J. Jonah Jameson also publishes articles lauding his son, John Jameson, a courageous astronaut about to be launched into orbit in a space capsule. J. Jonah Jameson calls his son a "real hero."

The day of the launch finds Peter Parker at the launch site as an observer. The rocket takes off successfully, but a guidance system error causes it to go wildly off course and re-enter the atmosphere. Spider-Man appears at the launch site and offers to replace the defective 24-3B guidance unit in the plunging capsule with a spare. Because there is no way for the military to get to the capsule in time, they allow Spider-Man to try.

Spider-Man commandeers an aircraft and pilot, and together they fly toward the space capsule's re-entry point. Although the capsule is falling fast, Spider-Man manages to get hold of it with his webbing and climbs aboard. He quickly replaces the faulty guidance unit. As a result, John Jameson regains control of the capsule, gets it properly oriented, and opens its parachute. To the joy of all concerned, the astronaut is saved.

Thinking that Spider-Man has, at last, proved himself, Peter Parker is shocked when he reads J. Jonah Jameson's editorial in the next edition of the Daily Bugle. Spider-Man is accused of deliberately sabotaging the space capsule and staging the rescue as a publicity stunt. With public opinion turning against Spider-Man with each new editorial in the Daily Bugle, Peter Parker's position is as hopeless as ever.

Appearing in "The Uncanny Threat of the Terrible Tinkerer!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Amazing Spider-Man #2
(originally printed as Duel to the Death with the Vulture!)

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Synopsis for "The Uncanny Threat of the Terrible Tinkerer!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Amazing Spider-Man #2
(originally printed as Duel to the Death with the Vulture!)
Quote1 Nothing I like better than taunting my enemies! Quote2
Vulture

New York City is being terrorized by a new criminal called the Vulture. He is equipped with artificial wings that allow him to swoop down on his victims, snatch their valuables, and fly away before they know what is happening. Nobody has been able to photograph him, and J. Jonah Jameson needs pictures to illustrate his Vulture feature article for NOW Magazine. Peter Parker decides to try to photograph the criminal in action. Selling the photographs will help him and his Aunt May make ends meet.

Meanwhile, the Vulture is in an abandoned silo, his Staten Island hideout, making plans to hit the Park Avenue Jewelry Exchange. As he flies out over the city, he is spotted by Spider-Man, who is equipped with a miniature camera once owned by his late Uncle Ben. Spider-Man manages to take some photographs of the Vulture, but the Vulture sees him, attacks him from behind, knocks him out, and dumps him into a water tower. After breaking out of the water tower, Spider-Man heads home, where he adds some improvements to his devices and develops his photographs.

The next day, Peter Parker arrives at J. Jonah Jameson's office with pictures of the Vulture. The publisher is very impressed and pays him well. The next day Peter heads for the Park Avenue Diamond Exchange, which the Vulture tauntingly announced to the public as the site of his next robbery. While everybody expects the Vulture to strike from above, he strikes from beneath a manhole cover, seizes a case of diamonds, and flees through the New York City sewer system. Spider-Man uses his Spider-Sense to track him down and wins their battle with an anti-magnetic inverter, a device he built to counteract the magnetic power that the Vulture uses for flight. The Vulture is left for the police, and Peter Parker has photographs of the Vulture's capture, which he sells to J. Jonah Jameson for a large sum of money. Peter and Aunt May are able to make ends meet.

Appearing in "A Gallery of Spider-Man's Most Famous Foes"

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Synopsis for "A Gallery of Spider-Man's Most Famous Foes"

A five-page feature of Spider-Man's villains: The Circus of Crime, The Scorpion, The Beetle, J. Jonah Jameson's Spider-Slayer Robot, and the Crime Master

Appearing in "Marked for Destruction by Dr. Doom!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Amazing Spider-Man #5Marked for Destruction by Dr. Doom!

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Synopsis for "Marked for Destruction by Dr. Doom!"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Amazing Spider-Man #5Marked for Destruction by Dr. Doom!

After a report by J. Jonah Jameson about the "menace" of Spider-Man, Peter (in order to avoid any suspicion that he's really Spider-Man) speaks negatively about his alter ego, earning him harsh words from Flash Thompson. Meanwhile, Dr. Doom had seen this same report, and decided that after surviving his last encounter battling the Fantastic Four, that perhaps Spider-Man would make for a good partner to eliminate his mortal foes.

Doom uses a device that sends out a signal that affects Peter's spider-sense, and Peter goes to it as Spider-Man. Doom offers Spider-Man an alliance. Spider-Man naturally refuses and a brief battle ensues in which Spider-Man escapes. While back at Midtown High, Flash has decided to play a prank on Peter Parker by giving him a "scare" in his new Spider-Man costume in the hopes of getting Parker to have more respect for Spider-Man.

This prank backfires, as Dr. Doom begins trying to track down Spider-Man to get revenge. As Thompson is near Peter when Doom is tracking Spider-Man, he captures Thompson instead. Doom then sends out a message to the Fantastic Four to battle him or Spider-Man will be killed. Peter at first believes that Flash deserves his fate, but his sense of responsibility sends him out to rescue Flash anyway.

Spider-Man goes to Flash's rescue, and manages to hold his own against Doom's weapons and attacks. However, when the Fantastic Four arrive as well, Doom decides to flee the battle. Spider-Man decides to leave as well, leaving the Fantastic Four to rescue Thompson, hoping that he learns his lesson. The next day at school he sees otherwise, as Flash boasts about his experience. Peter, needing to keep his identity as Spider-Man secret, of course cannot say anything otherwise.

Notes

Continuity Notes

  • Although the Wand of Watoomb is seemingly destroyed here, it is reformed in Marvel Team-Up #21.

Publication Notes

  • Dr. Strange story reprinted in Marvel Masterworks #16,Doctor Strange Master of the Mystic Arts (Fireside) and Doctor Strange #179.
  • 1st story credits:
    • Written and edited by the toast of Marvel: Stan Lee
    • Plotted and drawn by the boast of Marvel: Steve Ditko
    • Lettered and bordered by the ghost of Marvel: Sam Rosen

See Also

Links and References

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