Spider-Rama: Amazing Spider-Man #101

Welcome to Spider-Rama! Every weekday until the end of May, 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 #101

Spider-Rama 

by Roy Thomas, Gil Kane, and Frank Giacoia

Spider-Man has to deal with four extra arms just as Morbius the Living Vampire makes his first appearance.

POINTLESS TRIVIA 

BEN: First appearance of Morbius the living vampire. Roy Thomas is credited for the script, the first writer on the main series besides Stan Lee.

DUY: This means that, as strange as it might be, Amazing Spider-Man is only Stan's third-longest uninterrupted run on any series. Fantastic Four holds the records with 114 straight issues of sole writing, 115 where he contributed to the writing. Journey into Mystery/Mighty Thor is second, with 110 straight issues where he is at least a plotter. (Though ASM gets second if you discount the Journey Into Mystery issues that Stan co-plotted. And before the Ditko/Kirby brigade gets on my case saying "Stan wasn't a writer," you know exactly what I mean, so save your typing energy.

BEN: Batman reference.

WHAT'S AGED THE BEST?

DUY: Does this age well or badly? I'd like to think well, all things considered. Anyway, I just want to highlight this as yet another example of, everyone thinks MJ is the liberated one of the two, but here's Gwen Stacy. 

BEN: Good question, I don’t know if her pointing it out herself is good or bad.

WHAT'S AGED THE WORST?

BEN: Peter is an ass.

DUY: Morbius. Everything about Morbius. Nothing ages well. This way lies ruin.

BEN: You mean my least favorite Spider-Man villain, Morbius?

NITPICKS

BEN: I know this question is unanswerable, but couldn’t he have Reed Richards or someone surgically remove the arms, worst case?

DUY: You're not really a vampire, Morbius, what the hell.

BEN: Not only am I not a fan of vampires, he’s not even a real one. 

FAVORITE PANEL

BEN: I like the “acting” from the extra arms:

DUY: I get the feeling the acting is necessary because he might not know how to draw the four arms stacked on top of each other, limp.

WHO WON THE COMIC? 

DUY: Gwen Stacy, liberated woman.

BEN: Gwen Stacy wins on account of everyone else losing.

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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