—Kraven the HunterUse your head, Electro! Each of us almost beat him, all alone! Working together, how can we fail??
Appearing in "The Sinister Six"
Featured Characters:
- ⏴ Spider-Man (Peter Parker) ⏵ (Main story and flashback)
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Sinister Six (First appearance) (Formed)
- Kraven the Hunter's Leopards
- Two unnamed leopards
- Mysterio's X-Men (First appearance; destruction)
Other Characters:
- New York State Prison
- Two unnamed corrections officers
- Avengers (Cameo)
- ⏴ Thor (Odinson) ⏵ (Cameo)
- ⏴ Giant-Man (Henry "Hank" Pym) ⏵ (Cameo)
- ⏴ Wasp (Janet Van Dyne) ⏵ (Cameo)
- ⏴ Captain America (Steve Rogers) ⏵ (Cameo)
- ⏴ Iron Man (Tony Stark) ⏵ (Cameo)
- ⏴ Doctor Strange (Stephen Strange) ⏵ (Cameo)
- ⏴ Ben Parker ⏵ (Only in flashback)
- Burglar (Only in recap)
- NYPD (Main story and recap)
- Two unnamed police officers (Main story and recap)
- Fantastic Four (Cameo)
- ⏴ Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) ⏵ (Cameo)
- ⏴ Thing (Ben Grimm) ⏵ (Cameo)
- ⏴ Invisible Girl (Susan Storm) ⏵ (Cameo)
- ⏴ Human Torch (Johnny Storm) ⏵ (Cameo)
- Three unnamed criminals
- X-Men (Cameo)
- Daily Bugle
- Several unnamed employees
- Thomas E. Dewey (Mentioned) (Topical Reference)
- Unidentified Prison
- Unnamed Corrections Officer
Races and Species:
- Humans
- Asgardians
- Dogs
- Mutants
- Leopards
- Androids
- Spiders
- Ants (Mentioned in narration)
- Octopuses (Mentioned)
Locations:
- Earthspace
- Earth
- North America
- United States of America
- New York
- New York State Prison
- New York City
- Manhattan
- Queens
- Stark Industries-Stark Electric Plant, Building #4 (First appearance)
- Unidentified Castle
- Unidentified Jail
- Westchester County
- New York
- United States of America
- North America
- Earth
- Astral Plane
Items:
- Vulture's Wings
- Doctor Octopus' Tentacles
- Mysterio Suit
- Kraven's Lion's Head Vest
- Spider-Man's Suit and Web-Shooters
- Mjolnir
- Lesser Cloak of Levitation
- Amulet of Agamotto
- Fantastic Four Uniforms
- Giant-Man's Suit
- Wasp's Suit and Wings
- Captain America's Uniform
- X-Uniforms
- Cyclops' Visor, version 1
- Iron Man Armor MK II
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "The Sinister Six"
Having broken out of prison, Dr. Octopus gathers Mysterio, Electro, Kraven the Hunter, the Vulture and Sandman to get revenge against Spider-Man as the Sinister Six. Meanwhile, Spider-Man has once more found that his spider powers have faded and has to exercise more caution getting back home, lest someone take advantage of his lost powers to find out his secret identity.
As Peter wanders the city lost in thought over all the stress caused by his Spider-Man identity, he doesn't go to school. This prompts the school to call his Aunt May. Worried about Peter, she goes to Betty Brant for help, and they, in turn, see if J. Jonah Jameson has seen Peter recently. This makes them a target for the Sinister Six, who have decided to use Betty Brant as bait to lure Spider-Man, and so, they kidnap both Betty and Aunt May.
Peter arrives at the Daily Bugle just in time to see the Vulture delivering a message to Jameson. The Vulture tells him that the Sinister Six have gone to six different locations, and at each location they each have a clue to the whereabouts of Betty and May. While superheroes all over the city try to find Spider-Man, Peter decides that powers or no powers, he's going to save his Aunt May and Betty from his enemies.
At the first location, the local power plant owned by Stark Industries, Peter faces Electro. During the fight, he realizes that his powers have returned. He easily defeats Electro and learns the next location. When Iron Man arrives to offer help, Spider-Man refuses.
His next fight is with Kraven the Hunter, who attacks Spider-Man in Central Park with three tigers. Spider-Man easily fights off the attackers and secures the next clue. Along the way, the Human Torch offers help, but once again, Spider-Man refuses.
His next location is controlled by Mysterio, who sends androids based on the X-Men to attack the wall-crawler. Spider-Man easily defeats the androids and Mysterio. The next clue is set ablaze, but Spider-Man recovers its contents with his web-fluid.
His next battle is against Sandman, sealed in an airless room. Spider-Man defeats Sandman with his superior lung capacity. Next, he battles the Vulture high over the city and defeats him as well, gaining the location of Dr. Octopus, who has been holding Betty and May hostage. May, completely oblivious to her situation, believes they are Octavius' houseguests.
Spider-Man battles Octopus and his mechanical arms. Their fight takes them to a giant fishbowl, where Octopus battles Spider-Man in his "natural habitat." Spider-Man defeats Octopus by filling the tank with his webbing and tangling Octavius up, and he then frees Aunt May and Betty Brant. After returning to his civilian guise, he meets up with the pair. Aunt May remains upset with Peter over his skipping class. Jameson is once more made a fool, when he has to publish a story about how heroic Spider-Man is, and as for the Sinister Six? Forced to share a prison cell, the villains squabble among themselves.
Appearing in "A Gallery of Spider-Man's Most Famous Foes!"
Featured Characters:
- Burglar
- Chameleon (Dmitri Smerdyakov)
- Vulture (Adrian Toomes)
- Tinkerer (Phineas Mason)
- Doctor Octopus (Otto Octavius)
- Sandman (Flint Marko)
- Doctor Doom (Victor Von Doom)
- Lizard (Curt Connors)
- Living Brain
- Electro (Max Dillon)
- Enforcers
- Mysterio (Quentin Beck)
- Green Goblin (Norman Osborn)
- Kraven the Hunter (Sergei Kravinoff)
Other Characters:
- Spider-Man (Peter Parker) (Mentioned in narration)
- Ben Parker (Mentioned in narration) (Deceased)
- Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) (Mentioned in narration)
Races and Species:
Items:
- Vulture's Wings
- Doctor Octopus' Tentacles
- Doctor Doom's Armor
- Mysterio Suit
- Goblin Armor
- Kraven's Lion's Head Vest
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "A Gallery of Spider-Man's Most Famous Foes!"
A gallery of Spider-Man's enemies including: The Burglar, The Chameleon, The Vulture, The Tinkerer, Dr. Octopus, Dr. Doom, Sandman, The Lizard, The Living Brain, Electro, The Enforcers, The Green Goblin, Mysterio and Kraven the Hunter.
Appearing in "The Secrets of Spider-Man!"
Featured Characters:
- Spider-Man (Peter Parker) (Main story and recap)
Supporting Characters:
Other Characters:
- Radioactive Spider (Only in recap)
- Steve Ditko (Mentioned in narration)
- Daredevil (Matt Murdock) (Mentioned in narration)
- Burglar (Only in recap)
- Stan Lee (Mentioned in narration)
Races and Species:
- Humans (Main story and recap)
- Spiders (Only in recap)
- Insects (Mentioned in narration)
- Asgardians
Locations:
- Earth (Main story and recap)
- United States of America (Main story and recap)
- New York (Main story and recap)
- New York City (Main story and recap)
- Queens (Main story and recap)
- Ingram Street
- Midtown High School (Main story and recap)
- Manhattan
- Queens (Main story and recap)
- New York City (Main story and recap)
- New York (Main story and recap)
- United States of America (Main story and recap)
Items:
- Spider-Man's Suit and Web-Shooters (Main story and recap)
- Spider-Man's Spider-Signal
- Mjolnir
- Fantastic Four Uniforms
- Spider-Man's Utility Belt
Synopsis for "The Secrets of Spider-Man!"
A feature which explains Spider-Man's various abilities, powers, and devices. Includes his web-shooters, signal light, and the reflective lenses of his mask.
Appearing in "Supporting Cast Pin-Ups"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Other Characters:
- Midtown High School
- Principal Davis
- Mr. Warren
- Flash Thompson
- Liz Allan
- Numerous unnamed students
Races and Species:
Locations:
Items:
Synopsis for "Supporting Cast Pin-Ups"
A series of pin-ups of Spider-Man and Peter Parker, as well as his supporting casts and guest stars over the first sixteen issues of Amazing Spider-Man. These include J. Jonah Jameson, Betty Brant, Aunt May, Flash Thompson, Liz Allen, and a diagram about Aunt May's home.
Appearing in "How Stan Lee and Steve Ditko Create Spider-Man!"
Featured Characters:
Other Characters:
- X-Men (Vision or hallucination)
- Angel (Warren Worthington III) (Vision or hallucination)
- Beast (Henry "Hank" McCoy) (Vision or hallucination)
- Cyclops (Scott Summers) (Vision or hallucination)
- Marvel Girl (Jean Grey) (Vision or hallucination)
- Doctor Strange (Stephen Strange) (Vision or hallucination)
- Spider-Man (Peter Parker) (Vision or hallucination)
- Hulk (Bruce Banner) (Vision or hallucination)
- Daredevil (Matt Murdock) (Vision or hallucination)
- Avengers (Vision or hallucination)
- Captain America (Steve Rogers) (Vision or hallucination)
- Wasp (Janet Van Dyne) (Vision or hallucination)
- Iron Man (Tony Stark) (Vision or hallucination)
- Giant-Man (Henry "Hank" Pym) (Vision or hallucination)
- Thor (Odinson) (Vision or hallucination)
- Fantastic Four (Vision or hallucination)
- Invisible Girl (Susan Storm) (Vision or hallucination)
- Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) (Vision or hallucination)
- Thing (Ben Grimm) (Vision or hallucination)
- Human Torch (Johnny Storm) (Vision or hallucination)
- Howling Commandos (Vision or hallucination)
- Sgt. Nick Fury (Vision or hallucination)
- Cpl. Dum-Dum Dugan (Vision or hallucination)
- Jack Kirby (Mentioned in narration)
- Dick Ayers (Mentioned)
Races and Species:
Locations:
Items:
- X-Uniforms (Vision or hallucination)
- Cyclops' Visor, version 1 (Vision or hallucination)
- Lesser Cloak of Levitation (Vision or hallucination)
- Amulet of Agamotto (Vision or hallucination)
- Spider-Man's Suit and Web-Shooters (Vision or hallucination)
- Daredevil's Suit and Billy Club (Vision or hallucination)
- Captain America's Uniform and Shield (Vision or hallucination)
- Wasp's Suit and Wings (Vision or hallucination)
- Iron Man Armor MK II (Vision or hallucination)
- Fantastic Four Uniforms (Vision or hallucination)
- Giant-Man's Suit (Vision or hallucination)
- Mjolnir (Vision or hallucination)
Synopsis for "How Stan Lee and Steve Ditko Create Spider-Man!"
Stan Lee and Steve Ditko explain how they create Spider-Man comics using the "Marvel Style" of storytelling, in which the writer provides the plot, the artist uses the plot to create art, and the writer provides dialogue based on the art.
Notes
Publication Notes[]
- 1st story credits:
- 41 pages of indescribable excitement
- Written by: Stan Lee
- Drawn by: Steve Ditko
- Possibly the most talked about team in comics today!
- Lettered by: S. Rosen
- A couple of the corner 'Editors Notes' boxes are inaccurate: On page 5 "Marvel Annual #1" is referenced instead of Marvel Tales #1, and on page 17 Iron Man appears monthly in Tales of Suspense, not "Iron Man" (Iron Man wouldn't get his own title for another four years).
- Editor's references: Amazing Spider-Man #3, Marvel Annual #1 (Marvel Tales (Vol. 2) #1), Amazing Spider-Man #11, Amazing Spider-Man #12
- Artwork from this issue appeared on the Series A Marvel Value Stamp number 99 featuring Sandman.
Continuity Notes[]
- The narrative of this story recounts the origins of Doctor Octopus as seen in Amazing Spider-Man #3.
- As the Sinister Six gather, the members point out how they were previously defeated by Spider-Man. These events happened in Amazing Spider-Man #4 (Sandman), Amazing Spider-Man #9 (Electro), 13 (Mysterio), and 15 (Kraven).
- Typically, people cannot see Doctor Strange in his astral form. However, the reason why Flash Thompson and his fellow bullies can see Strange is due to a past encounter in Untold Tales of Spider-Man: Strange Encounters #1. This allowed them to temporarily see Strange's spirit form.
- Spider-Man recounts how his Uncle Ben was murdered. That happened in Amazing Fantasy #15.
- The Vulture states that Spider-Man had defeated him twice. This is not entirely accurate. Not only was he defeated in Amazing Spider-Man #2 and 7, he was also defeated by Spider-Man in Untold Tales of Spider-Man #5 and 12, which was four times. This error can be attributed to the fact that Untold Tales was published decades after this story. One could assume that the Vulture underplayed how many times Spider-Man defeated him in the past.
- The reason the Sinister Six kidnap Betty Brant is because Doctor Octopus has determined that there is some connection between her and Spider-Man, as he first discovered back in Amazing Spider-Man #11–12.
- The Human Torch uses his powers to write a message to Spider-Man in the sky. A routine he started in Strange Tales Annual #2 whenever he sought out the wall-crawler.
- Spider-Man refers to Iron Man as Tony Stark's bodyguard. At the time of this story, Spider-Man (and the world at large) did not know that Iron Man and Stark were the same individuals. This fact is not revealed until Iron Man (Vol. 3) #55.
- All references to the 1964 New York World's Fair as being a recent event/construct should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616. Likewise should Aunt May's complaints about missing the Beverly Hillbillies.
Chronology Notes[]
A flashback in this story affects the chronology of the following characters:
See Also
- 42 image(s) from Amazing Spider-Man Annual Vol 1 1
- 3 reprint(s) of Amazing Spider-Man Annual Vol 1 1.jpg
- 1 reprint(s) of Norman Osborn (Earth-616) from Amazing Spider-Man Annual Vol 1 1 001.jpg
- 1 reprint(s) of Peter Parker (Earth-616) from Amazing Spider-Man Annual Vol 1 1 001.jpg
- 2 reprint(s) of Peter Parker (Earth-616) from Amazing Spider-Man Annual Vol 1 1 002.jpg
- 2 reprint(s) of Peter Parker (Earth-616), Bruce Banner (Earth-616), and Fantastic Four (Earth-616) from Amazing Spider-Man Annual Vol 1 1 001.jpg
- 1 reprint(s) of Victor von Doom (Earth-616) from Amazing Spider-Man Annual Vol 1 1 001.jpg
- 23 reprint(s) of Amazing Spider-Man Annual Vol 1 1