Issue(s): Amazing Spider-Man #9
Published Date: Feb 64
Title: "The Man Called Electro!"
Credits:
Stan Lee - Writer
Steve Dikto - Penciler
Steve Dikto - Inker

Review/plot: Spider-Man rushes home, ignoring a shoot-out between cops and a group of thugs, to give Aunt May medicine. She is very ill and needs expensive surgery that the Parkers can not afford Meanwhile Electro robs an armored car.

His electric attacks focus on the guards' wrist watches, but he can also create a ring of electricity.

Flash, having gotten knocked around by Peter last issue, is willing to try and be friendly, but Peter is too distracted by his Aunt's sickness to notice.

Betty Brant visits with Aunt May at the hospital. Peter can't take photographs to pay for his Aunt's surgery because it is raining and he can't get a clear picture.

The next day, Electro robs a bank while J. Jonah Jameson is there. JJ thinks the fact that Electro recognizes him must be a clue as to who he is - but why would he think that? JJ is a famous publisher and editorialist who has appeared on numerous television shows as well. Anyway, JJ sees Electro climb a building (using, er, electric rays like a magnet) and concludes that Electro must be Spider-Man, and he publishes a front page article to that effect.

Spider-Man goes after Electro, trying to get reward money, but is defeated when he tries to grab Electro and gets zapped. (Electro is actually kind of a nice guy about the whole thing: "I didn't mean to do that - but it was his own fault! He didn't give me a chance to explain the danger of touching me!").

With no capture, Peter resorts to doctoring photos to make it look like Spider-Man is changing costumes to become Electro. That seems very out of character for Peter, but his Aunt was deathly ill.

Spider-Man can't go out and fight Electro while he is waiting for his Aunt to come out of surgery. In the meantime, Electro has broken a number of inmates out of prison with the intent of creating a henchmen army. After his Aunt's successful surgery, he runs out, leaving Betty to worry that Peter is becoming addicted to danger "just like someone else I once knew".

Peter goes off to fight Electro, leaving JJ discredited. Spider-Man defeats Electro and the escaping inmates with the help of some cute rubber booties and gloves, and a firehose. He pulls off Electro's mask and sees... a guy he never saw before, which is a nice touch. No explanation of the whole JJ recognition thing.

JJ is ready to fire Parker for faking those photographs, but Peter has new pictures of the Spidey/Electro prison fight that are "worth a fortune" so JJ is placated. It seems that Peter is giving away the pictures for free, to make up for the ones he faked. Betty is mad that Peter went and put himself in danger, and they fight but then they make up.

It may just be the size of the supporting cast, but the early Spider-Man stories still seem to have a lot more depth than the other Silver Age comics.

Quality Rating: C+

Historical Significance Rating: 8 - Formative Spider-Man story. First Electro.

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References: N/A

Cross-over: N/A

Continuity Implant? N

Reprinted In: Marvel Tales #146