Issue(s): Amazing Spider-Man #16
Cover Date: Sep 64
Title: "Duel with Daredevil"
Credits:
Stan Lee - Writer
Steve Ditko - Penciler
Steve Ditko - Inker

Review/plot: The Ringmaster...

...hypnotizes Spider-Man and a crowd of circus-goers, but Daredevil was immune to the hypnotism (because he's blind)...

...so he fights Spidey and gets him to resist the brainwashing.

Daredevil then slips back into the crowd to preserve his secret ID...

...and Spidey mops up the Ringmaster and his circus of crime.

You have to love the fact that Foggy and Karen think it's a great idea to bring Matt to a circus.

For comparison based on the comment from Enchlore, here's a scan showing the recoloring that was done in the Marvel Tales reprint.

Quality Rating: C-

Historical Significance Rating: 4 - this is a real "marvel universe" milestone in the sense that there's a guest appearance from one super-hero (DD) and they team up to fight a super-villain from another (the Ringmaster was originally a Hulk villain).

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References: N/A

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: Marvel Tales #154

"My will is your will" seems to be Stan's go-to hypnotic phrase, as Xandu uses the same line to mesmerize his henchmen in ASM Annual #2.

The reprint I have of this issue has Matt Murdock with blond hair. Is that a scan of the original issue? Matt's hair has shifted from blond to redhead to blond again a lot.

Hi Enchlore. The scans are from PDFs of the originals that were put out by a company called GIT. They are direct scans of the originals. I've just now added an additional scan from my Marvel Tales reprint. You'll see that Matt Murdock's hair is a lighter orange, but still not blond.

That's interesting. My reprint is from a regular Brazillian issue of Mark Waid's Daredevil (Brazillian publications are kinda weird - the first few issues of Daredevil were more like trade paperbacks, and the second issue had the crossover with Amazing Spider-Man and a reprint of this classic issue), and Matt's hair is the same color as Karen Page's.

I wonder if other heroes got together behind Daredevil's back in the early years and said "Have you seen his costume? Is this guy blind?"

And, as much as Reed is a dick to Sue so much, at least they're in an acknowledged relationship. Jan and Hank never seem to know where they are. And the rest of the universe seems to be of the "we love each other but can never tell each other" trope - Matt and Karen, Thor and Jane Foster, Scott and Jean. Reading these all in order just makes it so much more obvious.

Erik, I agree with all your pairings except Thor and Jane. Odin forbade him to be with a mortal. This was a true "Romeo & Juliet" love affair.

You missed a detail here. Princess Python makes her first appearance here. She was not with the Circus of Crime in their first appearance in Hulk#3.

Princess Python first appears in Amazing Spider-Man #22.

Thanks for the correction.

On page 3, Spidey saves Matt Murdock from a gang of criminals.

On page 4, after Spidey swings off, Matt uses his super senses and says "So that was Spider-Man! Hmm...I'd say he's about 17...five foot ten inches...and judging by the sound of his pulse and heartbeats, in excellent health."

I believe this is the first time Peter's age has been stated in any issue.