Spider-Rama: Amazing Spider-Man #89

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 #89
Spider-Rama
by Stan Lee, Gil Kane, and John Romita Sr.

On the rooftops of New York City, Spider-Man fights Doctor Octopus!

POINTLESS TRIVIA

BEN: Villain appearance count:

• The Kingpin: 12
• Doctor Octopus: 11
• 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: In all seriousness, has Ock (or anyone) at this point actually been seen killing anyone?

BEN: As you mentioned last week, this is Gil Kane’s first issue as penciler, and he’ll be remembered as one of the more significant Spider-Man artists by virtue of some all-time classic stories coming up. Romita inks him, so the change wasn’t immediately as obvious as it might have been, but you can definitely see Kane’s style peeking through.

WHAT'S AGED THE BEST?

DUY: The college students protest for environmentalism, still relevant today. In 2011, when this would be taking place in the sliding timeline, this Ralph Nader reference is still relevant.

BEN: The fight scene is noticeably more dynamic with Kane as the artist.

WHAT'S AGED THE WORST?

DUY:  Somehow Ock decided to change into his costume, which is never a good idea.

BEN: Green and yellow spandex has aged the best!

NITPICKS

DUY: Is anything more inconsistently treated to the benefit of the plot as Spider-sense or the lack thereof?

BEN: What are the statistical odds you could run into a person you know in New York City, while also walking oblivious past the other person you’re thinking about at that very moment? You really should have seen him standing next to that trash can in a skintight green costume a few moments ago.

FAVORITE PANEL

BEN: Mine:

DUY: A very effective splash page:

WHO WON THE COMIC?

DUY:  Ock, I guess, wins this one, by virtue of actually winning (seemingly) the fight.

BEN: As a kid, I always had a difficult time reconciling Ock’s lack of powers with him being a credible threat, but sometimes you just have to go by what’s on the page. In the pages of Spider-Man comics, Ock is one of the few villains to consistently beat him in a fight.

DUY: It's easy to reconcile for me as long as his physical body is actually away from Spider-Man. But he does do some athletic poses during this stretch of issues that's really straining my disbelief suspension.

BEN: Maybe he’s got Otis-level athleticism.

DUY: No way. Scientists aren't athletes.

BEN: Batman is.

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.

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