Amazing Spider-Man 70

Amazing Spider-Man 70
Mar 1969

Spider-Man Wanted!
By Stan Lee, John Romita Sr, Jim Mooney

The Kingpin gets thrown in the pokey but it isn't long before he breaks out. Spider-Man tries to figure out what to do now that he's a fugitive. Eventually he heads home for some rest but he doesn't get a good night's sleep.

The next day he is lured into a trap set by the Kingpin. The two start fighting on the street. Spider-Man seems to have the upper hand when two cars pull up. One is driven by a woman, presumably the Kingpin's wife. The Kingpin jumps in and escapes once again. J Jonah Jameson is in the other car. He verbally harasses Spider-Man who he still believes is in league with the Kingpin even after seeing the two fighting. Spidey loses his cool and gives JJJ a piece of his mind. Jonah seems overwhelmed by the verbal response, collapses, and from the looks of it has a heart attack.

There is a scene with the Robertsons, father and son. They learn that Dean Corliss of ESU agreed with the student protestors idea to turn the building into a dorm for low income students. He had to convince the trustees that it was the right thing to do.

Gwen and Peter share a moment once he arrives on campus the next day. She questions him about the disappearing act he pulled the other day. He isn't sure how to respond without revealing his secret identity. The status of their relationship seems very up in the air at this point.

On the surface I sped through this issue very quickly. It seemed to be all Spidey and Kingpin. When I went back and reread it I could see that there was a lot more going on here. I'm not as impressed as I was by the previous issue but this was more of an in betweener sort of chapter that sets things up for a pay off in a future issue, possibly the next issue.

Amazing Spider-Man 69

Amazing Spider-Man 69
Feb 1969

Mission: Crush the Kingpin!
By Stan Lee, John Romita Sr, Jim Mooney

Some this story feels familiar. I don't recall reading it before but I'm sure I have at least seen some of these panels here and there.

Spider-Man tracks down the Kingpin and his men. He handles the Kingpin's men fairly easily but their boss proves to be a lot tougher. In the end the Kingpin is felled by his own cane gun which backfires after Spidey jams it with a web.

Kingpin is taken into custody by the police but claims that Spider-Man is his accomplice. The police believe him and start shooting at Spidey who now has the Petrified Clay Tablet. He acts like he's fed up with the world and ready to be the public menace that so many (the police, J Jonah Jameson) think he is but I ain't buying it. Spider-Man is one of the good guys. What's up with the police just accepting the Kingpin's word about Spider-Man?

Earlier in the issue there are a few moments unrelated to the fight between Kingpin and Spider-Man. In the first of these scenes, Kingpin gets enraged when one of his men mentions his wife. I don't know if she was in the earlier Kingpin stories or not.

The other two scenes both take place at the police station where the protesters who were arrested are being held. One involves a verbal confrontation between Gwen Stacy and one of the protesters who wasn't arrested. She doesn't agree with their tactics which shouldn't be too surprising considering that her father is a police captain. She takes a passionate stand when the protester questions Peter's courage. I haven't read many comics in which Gwen Stacy appeared. This was a different Gwen than I was used to seeing but I suppose the atmosphere of this era and on the campus of ESU may have had something to do with her behavior and the way she was portrayed.

Inside the police station there is another confrontation. This one is between Robbie and Randy Robertson. Robbie doesn't care for the way Randy is expressing himself through the protest movement. He doesn't get it. Randy has to explain to his father why. As with the scene outside the police station this one was passionate and moving.

This issue builds off the last one and engaged me on a deeper level. Maybe if I had read ASM 67 I would have got more out of 68. All in all a great read. I'm pumped to see where the story goes next.

Amazing Spider-Man 68

Amazing Spider-Man 68
Jan 1969

Crisis on the Campus!
by Stan Lee, John Romita Sr, Jim Mooney, Sam Rosen

The Kingpin plots to steal the Petrified Clay Tablet from the campus of ESU on the very same day that some student are organizing a protest. Coincidence? Not exactly. The Kingpin uses the protest as cover for his larcenous activities. Spider-Man gets caught in the middle as attempts to stop the Kingpin and prevent any students from getting injured.

The students were protesting the school's plan to turn the exhibition hall (where the Petrified Clay Tablet was located before the Kingpin stole it) into housing for visiting alumni. The students wanted it to be converted to low rent dorm for students who can't afford to stay in the regular dorms. Among the protesters is Randy Robertson, Robbie Robertson's son. Robbie rushes over to cover the commotion at the university for the Daily Bugle. He arrives just in time to see his son arrested.

Peter clashes with Josh, one of the leaders of the protest. Gwen Stacy goes with Peter to visit Aunt May. The Kingpin shows off his fighting skills as he spars with some of his men.

A pretty good issue which is the start of a bigger story that revolves around the tablet. Lots of ground work has been laid.

This is just the third story in which the Kingpin has made an appearance. The previous stories were in Amazing Spider-Man 50-52 and 59-61.