I might as well face it... being Spider-Man is just plain habit-forming! It's like going out with girls!.. I can't give it up! 
Appearing in "The Man in the Crime-Master's Mask!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- ⏴ Green Goblin (Norman Osborn) ⏵
- ⏴ Crime Master ⏵ (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- ⏴ Andrew Davis ⏵
- ⏴ Frederick Foswell ⏵
- Spencer Smythe (Mentioned)
- Ned Leeds (Mentioned)
- Mary Jane Watson (Mentioned)
- NYPD officers
Locations:
Items:
- Spider-Man's Suit and Web-Shooters
- Spider-Man's Utility Belt
- Spider-Tracer
- Goblin Armor
- Pumpkin Bombs
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "The Man in the Crime-Master's Mask!"
Peter’s looking for a Spider-Man outfit to wear and despite trying home as well as The Daily Bugle, he's come up empty. As Peter goes to bed, we see a meeting on the docks between the Green Goblin and a man known as the Crime-Master who apparently knows the Goblin’s secret identity yet the Goblin knows Crime-Master’s identity too. The masked Crime-Master then pays visits to all the big criminal organizations in town stating that he’s taking control immediately. As we see the Crime-Master go home, we see Frederick Foswell hide a set of clothes in a panel behind his clock.
Meanwhile, Peter goes to school, and has heard enough from Flash and attacks him but is seen by the principal Mr. Davis and gets in trouble. Flash does the honorable thing and lets Mr. Davis know what really happened. After getting a Spider-Man outfit from a costume shop, he goes to track down Frederick Foswell but as he goes into his apartment, a gunshot goes off and almost hits him. As Spider-Man follows the figure, he discovers it’s the Crime-Master and before he lays a fist on him, he’s given a gas that suffocates him. As he falls off the side of a building, he’s presumed dead.
Meanwhile, the mob groups have decided to meet and hear the Crime-Master’s deal down by a pier and a character known as Patch tells the cops what’s happening. Yet as Spider-Man does surveillance on the meeting, the Green Goblin swoops down and begins to attack him. A pumpkin bomb stuns Spider-Man and the Goblin goes to unmask him, but can’t since Spider-Man had to use his sticky webbing to keep the cheap store-bought costume together. As the Crime-Master makes his presentation, the Green Goblin presents a limp body of Spider-Man to the crowd of criminals.
Notes
Continuity Notes[]
- Peter goes looking for the costume that Aunt May confiscated from him in Amazing Spider-Man #25.
- Crime Master and the Green Goblin were seen revealing their identities to each other in Untold Tales of Spider-Man #25. Crime Master's identity is revealed next issue, while the Green Goblin's identity is first revealed in Amazing Spider-Man #39.
- Here are some facts about Betty and Peter's lovers spat:
- Betty is angry at Peter for goading Jameson into using the Spider-Slayer on Spider-Man last issue.
- Ned Leeds has been seeing Betty since Amazing Spider-Man #18 until he was sent on assignment to Europe in Amazing Spider-Man #20. He has been corresponding with Betty as Peter discovered in Amazing Spider-Man #24.
- Betty is upset that Peter has been "seeing" Mary Jane, who she met last issue. However, Peter has been avoiding blind dates with her since Amazing Spider-Man #15, he doesn't actually meet her until Amazing Spider-Man #42.
- Peter doesn't trust Frederick Foswell because he used to be the criminal known as the Big Man, as seen in Amazing Spider-Man #10.
Publication Notes[]
- Steve Ditko was credited as the plotter for this issue.
- Credits:
- Stealthily scripted by....Stan Lee
- Painstakingly plotted and drawn by...Steve Ditko
- Lovingly lettered by...S. Rosen
Trivia
- Fan letter by Steve Gerber
