Amazing Reads: Amazing Spider-Man #10

And so we reach double digits with the Amazing Spider-Man, even though this will mark his twelfth proper appearance in comics by this point. (If my math is correct. It may not be.) So which landmark awesome villain awaits us for this landmark 10th issue. ...The what nows? Enforcers? Now wait a second, and let me look up these villains in the handy dandy Spider-Man Encyclopedia...

They get a full page. A bunch of thugs, who for some reason, end up working for Kingpin, surprise surprise. You know, now I'm just waiting for the Green Goblin to show up. Four issues? YAY! So lets swing into Amazing Spider-Man #10.

Hm...J. Jonah hates Spider-Man...but why!

No waiting for us huh? Right into the action. Montana is seen talking with the "Big Man", they're pulling off a job. One of their thugs has gotten onto a flag pole. Spider-Man comes swinging in to grab the man, and he's hauled up into the sky, towards a helicopter hidden by a cloud. No one heard it. Spider-Man swings himself around the pole and flies towards it. It fails.

Damn that exhaust pipe!

 And so Spidey falls to the ground and the general public laugh at him. And we get an introduction to the ENFORCERS! First is Fancy Dan, a five foot nothing judo expert, in a fancy hat. Then we have Ox, a mountain of a man who can take, and give, a punch. And Montana, a rodeo show rope man. But enough about them. Back to Peter's woes.

Remember last issue, Aunt May being sick. Well she still is, CONTINUITY! Got to stop doing those capitals. So she needs a blood transfusion. He asks if Pete is her blood type. Now Pete has legitimate concerns, from his radioactive blood. Now it's that people will find him out, and not what that blood will do to his Aunt May, but that is our Pete. Now what does he do, does he say no, I am not her blood type. He comes up with a wishy washy, "I don't think I can do it."

I, Peter Parker, lack conviction!

Next page! His blood checks out, so he's fine. He gives her the blood, but because of the transfusion, he's woozy  and his powers are weaker now. And now the crazy neighbors are taking Aunt May to Florida. She is concerned if her eighteen year old nephew can take care of himself for a week.

Montage!

My longest picture, and I don't even have a joke that will fill it. So we see our Enforcers pulling heists, and forcing other gangs to join under the Big Man. Spider-Man is observing this. Policeman break up one robbery. And so we are brought to the next big player of our drama. J. Jonah Jameson, publisher of the Daily Bugle and Now Magazine. Really, we still trying to pretend he was in charge of both instead of just sweeping Now under the rug. Well our Hard nosed reporter/publisher is wandering the streets, like a drunk hobo. He tells the cops that they're work against big crime is useless, and they should be trying to get Spider-Man.

And thus, J.J.J. preforms his journalistic integrity.

So Jameson is chewing out some no name assistant about the Big Man. He wants proof that Spider-Man is the Big Man. Oh wait...he does have a name, Foswell. He looks squirrel-y. I sure hope he isn't some person just introduced to be a red herring or anything. Foswell has doubts, because Jameson kind of did this the week before when Electro was involved. So Betty Brant makes her way down out of the office after listening to Foswell bitch a little. And she is confronted.

Manners Mister!

It appears that Betty is the hole for some money, and the Enforcers are shaking her down. Peter shows up and tries to be, manly. He fails. Spectacularly. The Enforcers rough him up. When Pete asks what was going on, she refuses to tell him, afraid he'll get involved. He gets a little annoyed she's lying to him, and she runs off. Well, Peter Parker may be useless, but Spider-Man is Amazing. He finds some thug and threatens the hell out of him.

YAY! Arachnophobia! I has!

So he scares the living daylights (hey, a Bond reference) out of the the thug. So he lets Spidey know the location of the Enforcers. As he swings over, the most impossible roping happens, and he is lassoed through a window. And he gets himself in a tussle with the Enforcers. He lunges at Ox, it does no good. The three of them serve as an even match for Spider-Man, with judo, rodeo and mountain. Seems like a strange Magic The Gathering game.

Leapfrog!

The next panel, He's leaping into the air from the ground onto a light. Yeah, that lasso serves no purpose other than confuse. And thus Spider-Man gets away. He spots Jameson around there and deduces he must be the Big Man. Which of course means the Big Man is not some incidental character just introduced this issue. Pete returns home and calls Betty. And we get a dark scene of this woman in tragedy, unsure of what to do.

No joke. Just like the art and composition.

So Pete goes to the Daily Bugle/Now Magazine to talk to Jameson. He informs Peter that Betty Brant has left town. Peter is annoyed with J.J. who is constantly yelling about Spider-Man and pictures. Cold as ice this man. So we get a brief interaction between Parker and Foswell, who can not possibly be the Big Man. We return to Pete's home where he is pacing back and forth, cursing the old man's name. He's getting a bit sulky, and then...

Heh, he said nuts.

You know, I'd love to see a young Peter Parker in modern day. In a book where you could say fuck. He's a teenager, you know he'd be willing to say "Fuck you" to Doc Ock as he slams his fist into the tentacle freaks face. Back to our regularly scheduled episode!

We join Peter Parker back at his high school, where he is bragging about how he figured out who the Big Man is. Surprise, surprise, Flash Thompson does a decent human thing and says Pete should keep his mouth shut, or the Big Man will try and kill him. But it too late. For word has reached the Big Man.

We know it's you Jameson!

Quick cut to the police informed about Spider-Man doing awesomeness that night. Peter is wandering around New York at night, he is asked into a car by Fancy Dan and Montana. Let's move through this shall we. Pete is shoved in a cell, where he changed into Spider-Man, because he wasn't searched at all apparently. He escapes the cell and confronts the gang. He does a bang up job taking on the small time mooks. And then...the Enforcers.

Well, kind of. Ox lends a hand while he tries to take on more disposable. Then Montana swings in and lassos Spidey's ankle. Sending him face first into the floor. He recovers and webs up moods. And then Ox is throwing tires at him.

I question the physics of this panel.

The Big Man gets involved for a brief second, throwing oil on the floor. Spidey just skates around, causing other mooks to fall about. He grabs a hanging change and does gymnastics. As he gets on the ground, Fancy Dan comes in, and flips our hero into the wall. Spider-Man lands against the wall, and flips the small man around. He then tears off his crotch light (Gotta hurt) and tosses it into the air or something to alert the police.

DAMN CROTCH LIGHT! GO AWAY!

So Spider-Man is in an all out brawl and Big Man pulls a gun and fires away. Spider-Man leaps after him, now that his gun is empty. The police are arriving, so the Big Man makes a run for it.So Spider-Man chases and looses the crook. The goons and Enforcers are locked up. Jameson is returning to the Daily Bugle.

Wearing green! Must be the Big Man!

Spider-Man is spying in the window, seeing J.J. fretting and annoyed. Foswell comes in, bringing in his column. J.J. is being a pissy little bastard Cops show up and saying they found the Big Man. They have proof and everything. Spider-Man is gloating outside the window. And he Big Man is...

But! HOW!

Who would have guessed the newly introduced named character was the villainous Big Man who kept his face hidden and the plot was based around who was he really. How could we have guessed! My world is in shatters.

And we wind down this issue with three great little scenes. First is J.J. alone in his office, lamenting himself. He hates Spider-Man because he is a better man than he. He wants to tear Spider-Man down because he is jealous, and can't bear to see someone better. Makes you wonder what he'd do to Captain America. At least Iron Man is a drunk. (At this point anyway).

We have Peter Parker. The day has wound down and he receives good news on his Aunt May, but none on Betty. He laments her leaving with no word. And we get a final panel of Betty lamenting her life. How she feels alone and afraid, and that no one can help her.

A perfect example of this final page.

And so we are done. Issue 10. I liked it. The b-plot of Betty and Peter is interesting, and the shunting of Aunt May to Florida hopefully will give us a break of a doting nephew/grandson. The Enforcers are an interesting enough trio of villains, but let's face it, they aren't big league for our hero. We'll have Goblin, Mysterio and Kraven in the next fifteen issues. Doc Ock will return and Sinister Six will appear in the annual for 1964. So we've got a ride in front of us.

As a rating, you can skip most of this story, just read the final page, and you'll get all that's worth of it.