Spider-Rama: Amazing Spider-Man #85

Welcome to Spider-Rama! Every day until the end of April, 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 #85
Spider-Rama
by Stan Lee, John Romita Sr., John Buscema, and Jim Mooney

The Schemer's secret revealed!

POINTLESS TRIVIA

BEN: Villain appearance count:

• The Kingpin: 12
• Doctor Octopus: 9
• Green Goblin: 8
• The Vulture: 7
• Mysterio: 6
• The Lizard: 5
• Kraven the Hunter: 5
• Sandman: 4
• Electro: 3
• The Enforcers: 3
• The Rhino: 3
• Professor Smythe/Spider Slayer: 3
• Man Mountain Marko: 3
• Silvermane: 3
• The Chameleon: 3
• The Schemer/Richard Fisk: 3
• The Ringmaster: 2
• Scorpion: 2
• Molten Man: 2
• Shocker: 2

DUY: The Schemer is revealed to be Richard Fisk, Wilson and Vanessa's son who was presumed to be dead two issues ago, in the most obvious reveal ever.

WHAT'S AGED THE BEST?

DUY: Gwen standing up for Peter, to Spidey, is great, even if the whole scene makes Peter/Spidey look dumb.

BEN: Richard Fisk as a costumed gangster in conflict with his father is going to be a thing.

DUY: Is it a first that the villain has a wife to begin with, let alone a long-term marriage?

BEN: Bizarro?

DUY: Okay, that's a special case though.

BEN: Vanessa actively hating what her husband does is a first for a villain right?

WHAT'S AGED THE WORST?

DUY: Despite my not having read everything that came out in the same year, I am 100% convinced that the Schemer's secret, as stated on the cover, was not actually the greatest comic magazine surprise of the year.

BEN: It's not even the greatest surprise of the issue.

DUY:  Wait, what is?
.
BEN: There's been a reward out for the Schemer. Kingpin as the source of the reward was the least surprising reveal ever.

DUY: This. This is so stupid. What, so the Chameleon's schtick is that easy? Vanessa figured out the Schemer was Richard because of his choice of hair color? Rubber masks are king! Ugh, so dumb, I hate it, thanks.

BEN: And there's this:

NITPICKS

BEN: Those pictures were clearly taken by someone in the room and yet nobody is confused by this fact.

DUY: Spider-Man being in the pictures might throw off suspicion. Might.

BEN: If you woke up tomorrow and there were pictures of you inside your own home in the newspaper, that would be odd right?

FAVORITE PANEL

BEN: Mine:

DUY: Mine:

WHO WON THE COMIC?

DUY: Gwen Stacy wins, because I refuse to acknowledge anything from the Kingpin storyline winning.

BEN: G. Stacy.

DUY: You're cheating.

DOES GEORGE STACY KNOW?

DUY: At this point, I'm going with 90% sure he knows. After George asks how Peter always gets shots of Spider-Man, Peter then goes into his dark room, changes into Spider-Man, then comes in to tell the Stacys to say he threatens Peter Parker. And this is so over the top and performative, and conveniently timed, that someone like George Stacy probably has figured it out.

BEN: At minimum, his questions were attempting to confirm his suspicions. Any doubt he had was definitely erased when Spider-Man conveniently arrives minutes after Peter leaves.

DUY: George has no thought balloons afterward. It's very easy to interpret anything he says as him trying not to say it to Gwen.

BEN: Why wouldn’t Peter be relieved to unburden himself?

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

BEN: Thank you, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko—

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

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