Appearing in "Once Upon A Time, There Was A Robot...!"
Amazing Spider-Man #37
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Mendel Stromm (First appearance)
- Norman Osborn (Name revealed)
Other Characters:
- NYPD
- Max Young (First appearance)
- Osborn Industries (First appearance)
- Unnamed guard
- Doc Ock (Mentioned)
- Betty Brant (Mentioned)
Races and Species:
Locations:
Items:
Synopsis for "Once Upon A Time, There Was A Robot...!"
Amazing Spider-Man #37
Professor Stromm is released from prison and is picked up by ex-con Max Young. Frederick Foswell watches as his ex-cell-mate is up to something and tries to follow. Someone tries to shoot Foswell, and Spider-Man stops it and follows Foswell. After he loses him, Pete returns to The Daily Bugle for his whereabouts. He arrives and explains that Stromm has threatened revenge on the man who set him up for prison. Back at school, Pete tries to talk to Gwen and her temper flares up, but as she begins to slap him, he stops her hand. Gwen notices Flash threaten Peter and not flinch and notices she’s defending Pete. Meanwhile, Stromm has created a remote-control robot and sends it to Oscorp.
As it destroys the labs, the robot latches onto Spider-Man and is destroyed when he jumps into a fire. Professor Stromm begins another robot with a destruction beam. Osborn arrives at Oscorp and knows it’s Stromm but can’t say since he double-crossed him. Spider-Man goes to follow Patch and he leads him to the Professor’s hideout when Patch is grabbed. The robot is set loose so Spider-Man attaches a tracer to the robot to save Patch. Both are trapped as the robot reaches Osborn and begins to destroy his office. As Spider-Man enters to save Osborn, he’s upset about ruining his plans.
As Spider-Man fights the robot, Osborn knocks him out and the robot leaves him for dead, returning home. Spider-Man follows and destroys the robot in Stromm’s lab. As Stromm surrenders, he begins to tell his story but is killed by a rifle. As J. Jonah Jameson gives the news to Osborn about Stromm’s death, he leaves and Osborn is seen cleaning his rifle. Pete starts to question how the rifleman disappeared so suddenly without a trace.
Appearing in "The Birth of a Super-Hero!"
Amazing Spider-Man #42
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Rhino
- John Jameson (Affected by Mysterious Spores)
Other Characters:
- Aunt May (See chronology)
- Anna May Watson
- Mary Jane Watson (First full appearance)
- Foggy Nelson
- Harry Osborn
- Mister Dunlap, a bank manager
- Stark Industries scientists
- Tony Stark (Mentioned)
- Matthew Murdock (Mentioned)
- Hulk (Mentioned)
- Green Goblin (Mentioned)
Races and Species:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
- Peter Parker's Motorcycle
Synopsis for "The Birth of a Super-Hero!"
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 "Those Who Would Destroy Me!"
Strange Tales #142
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Dormammu (Referenced)
- Vishanti (Invoked)
- Hoggoth (Referenced)
- Baron Mordo (Mentioned)
- Clea (Mentioned) (Unnamed)
- Raggadorr (Referenced)
- Munnopor (Invoked)
- Seraphim (Referenced)
- Cyttorak (Referenced)
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Earthspace
- Earth
- North America
- United States of America
- New York
- New York City
- Demon's Sanctorum (Unnamed)
- Adria's Sanctorum (Unnamed)
- New York
- United States of America
- Asia
- North America
- Earth
- Astral Plane
- Dark Dimension
- Moons of Munnopor (Invoked)
Items:
- Cloak of Levitation
- Eye of Agamotto
- Spells
- Hand of Hoggoth (Referenced)
- Rings of Raggadorr (Referenced)
- Moons of Munnopor (Invoked)
- Flames of the Faltine (Invoked)
- Shades of the Seraphim (Referenced)
- Crimson Bands of Cyttorak (Referenced)
- Shades of the Shadowy Demons (Invoked)
Synopsis for "Those Who Would Destroy Me!"
Strange Tales #142
Returning home to his Sanctum Sanctorum in New York, Dr. Strange detects the bomb placed in his home by the minions of Baron Mordo. Rushing outside, Strange is able to get the explosive out before it can explode. However, he is attacked by Mordo's minions who bind him in mystic trappings (hand covers and mask which prevent casting spells), taking his cloak and Eye of Agamotto and immobilize him. They then set up shop in Strange's Sanctum. Although bound, Strange tries to contact the Ancient One, however he happens to do so just as the Ancient One's astral form travels into the mystical realms to search for Clea.
Hoping to probe Strange's mind, Demon instead gives Strange an opening to escape, immobilizing Demon and freeing himself at least of the incapacitation that kept his physical and astral forms from moving. However, he is unable to learn the reverse spell for his physical bindings from the Demon because the Witch detects Strange's freedom and blocks Demonicus' mind, and sends Mordo's other followers after him. Using his astral form to "see" and get the drop on his opponents, Dr. Strange manages to escape from his Sanctum to begin planning how to get out of his current predicament.