Spider-Man in 1965
Another few excellent premieres of legendary villains this year: Scorpion, Smythe, and Molten Man. Unfortunately, we also have the Beetle and the Circus of Crime.
I had completely forgotten that J. Jonah Jameson had a hand in creating Scorpion. Speaking of that, Spider-Man’s battle against Scorpion in issue 20 easily represents the best portrayed fight in the series yet. The physicality of the battles are a good change of pace, compared to the usual acrobatics. Not a popular opinion, given that SM’s whole schtick is his agility, but Ditko has been steadily bulking up Spider-Man since issue 1, so it makes sense that the physicality of the battles would increase.
This year, the continuity got better, but the issue by issue heroics became measurably worse. Like the X-Men, a drumbeat of melodrama strengthens the series exponentially. In my 1964 retrospective, I mentioned that I found Betty Brant to be a decent love interest for Parker. In 1965, we briefly come to a particularly interesting triangle: Brant loves dependable Peter, but can’t stand the unpredictable Spider-Man. Peter would love to settle down with Brant, but begrudgingly can’t set aside his duty as Spider-Man. Brant will eventually find that she must settle for a mutual coworker, Ned Leeds, an all-around decent person.
Would continuing to bang the drums on the Brant-Parker drama have stayed fresh forever? Heck no, but it’s interesting enough for now.
The end of the year heralded something different anyway, as Parker begins college and the book picks up Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborne as supporting characters. With Flash Thompson remaining in tow, this group is an immense improvement over Liz Allen and… who else again?
Note that the creative team never seems to solidify the spelling of Liz Allan/Allen’s last name.
So, now to the weak heroics: the Beetle is a wretched villain, at least in his silver age appearances. I simply don’t get how he has made it into so many 60s comics. I know he’s fought Daredevil, Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and Iron Man, at least, and was quickly dispatched each time. Is he enhancement talent, like the Brooklyn Brawler?