Spider-Rama: Amazing Spider-Man #58

Welcome to Spider-Rama! Each Wednesday, Ben and Duy will look at a Spider-Man issue from the very beginning, in chronological order, and answer questions for various categories, inspired in large part by one of our favorite podcasts, The Rewatchables by The Ringer. Our goal is to make it to Amazing Spider-Man #200. Will we make it? Grab your Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus or crank up your tablet to Marvel Unlimited, and then tune in every Wednesday to find out!

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #58
Spider-Rama
by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr. and Don Heck

Professor Smythe returns with an all-new, all-improved Spider-Slayer, just as Spider-Man gets his memory back.

POINTLESS TRIVIA

BEN: Villain appearance count:

• Doctor Octopus: 9
• Green Goblin: 7
• Sandman: 4
• Kraven the Hunter: 5
• The Vulture: 5
• Mysterio: 4
• The Enforcers: 3
• The Rhino: 3
• The Lizard: 3
• The Kingpin: 3
• Professor Smythe/Spider Slayer: 3
• The Chameleon: 2
• Electro: 2
• The Ringmaster: 2
• Scorpion: 2
• Molten Man: 2
• Shocker: 1

DUY: We find out Robbie Robertson used to serve in the military, and Stan actually does it in an organic, natural way: John Jameson just asks him if he ever feels like getting back in uniform.

WHAT'S AGED THE BEST?

BEN: Spider Slayers. They're basically drones.

DUY: The nuance given to JJJ in this issue will eventually be the type of nuance that will come to define him.

BEN: He just wants to catch him, not kill him.

WHAT'S AGED THE WORST?

BEN: All apologies to Don Heck, but you’re no Romita, even with him doing the layouts.

DUY: Yeah, much respect to Don Heck, but I... do not like his work.

BEN: Smythe is also defeated by a phone book, which would not work today.

NITPICKS

DUY: Where did Ka-Zar get the rope he's swinging from in the splash page, and how did he get it high enough to swing from it? Did he take a rope, climb a building, tie it there, go back down, and get Spider-Man?

BEN: And Spider-Man's amnesia is cured by cold water, when Ka-Zar fished him out of the lake in the previous issue?

FAVORITE PANEL

BEN:  Mine:

DUY: Wow, Ka-Zar is an idiot. "This civilian is giving me the same vibes as Spider-Man, whose face I've never seen. Oh well!" And here's mine:

DUY: I had misremembered this issue — and really anything involving the Spider-slayers —as JJJ just doing a criminal action for his obsession. It was nice to see that he just legitimately thinks Spider-Man is a menace and he wanted to play hero, but that even he doesn't want Spider-Man dead if it's unnecessary.

WHO WON THE COMIC?

BEN: There were no winners in this one.

DUY: I can name a loser. Aunt May.

BEN: That's it for Spider-Rama this week.

DUY: Thank you, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko—

BEN: —for telling us we aren't the only ones.

Leave us a comment below or on our Facebook page. See you next Wednesday!