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Amazing Spider-Man Annual, The #3: Review

Nov 1966
Stan Lee, John Romita

Story Name:

... To Become An Avenger

Review & Comments

Rating:
3 stars

Amazing Spider-Man Annual, The #3 Review by (February 15, 2010)
Don Heck is also a penciler in this issue.


Amazing Spider-Man Annual, The #3 Review by (November 9, 2011)
The Indexes place this issue between various contemporary comics. For Spider-Man it's Amazing SM #41 and #42. The Avengers appear between Av#33 and #34, while Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are on leave (Av#30-36). Hulk is wandering New York looking for the Avengers between Tales to Astonish #84 and #85. (I think finding him near a Gamma Ray Research Centre is a coincidence.) Fitting into Iron Man and Thor's chronology wasn't so simple. It says here that they have both come from pressing business. Iron Man is in the middle of a continuous sequence of issues in Tales of Suspense #81-86, and Thor is in the even longer stretch from Journey into Mystery #124 to Thor #140. The Indexes don't have the heroes interrupting their own stories. Instead they put this tale after both of these sequences have finished. This is the 1st return of Iron Man and Thor to the Avengers since they took leave of absence in Av#16. It is the 1st time the Avengers try to find Hulk since Av#17, which was their 1st action after their reformation in Av#16. The original Avengers felt a responsibility for him (at least in #1-5). Spider-Man doesn't know Hulk is Bruce Banner. The military found out in TtA#77, but it won't become common knowledge until TtA#87. It will be a long time before Spider-Man becomes an Avenger. He will serve a brief stint in Av#329-333. But of course he will become a mainstay after New Avengers #1.




 

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Amazing Spider-Man Annual, The #3 Synopsis by Peter Silvestro
The Avengers hold a meeting to decide whether to invite Spider-Man to join their group. After getting a character reference from Daredevil, Thor invites Spidey to a come to Avengers Headquarters to be tested for membership. On arrival, Spider-Man, nervous about how this decision may affect his life, loses his temper and, thinking this is part of the test, starts a fight. Once everyone is calmed down, the Avengers decide to have Spidey bring them the Hulk as a test.

Spidey locates the Hulk at the Gamma Ray Research Center and battles him, looking for the Green Giant's weak spot. There isn't one. He tricks the Hulk into breaking through the gamma ray shielding wall, and the radiation causes Jade Jaws to revert to Bruce Banner. Discovering that his foe is the helpless victim of a scientific accident causes Spider-Man to feel sorry for the Hulk. When Banner turns into the Hulk again, Spidey lets him leave rather than help the Avengers persecute him any further. So Spidey, totally unaware that the Avengers knew about the Hulk's condition and only wanted to help him too, reports back that he couldn't find his quarry and heads home, giving up his chance to join the famous superhero team.


John Romita
Mickey Demeo
John Romita (Cover Penciler)
Steve Ditko (Cover Inker)
Stan Goldberg (Cover Colorist)


Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

Daredevil
Daredevil

(Matt Murdock)
Hulk
Hulk

(Bruce Banner)
Iron Man
Iron Man

(Tony Stark)
Spider-Man
Spider-Man

(Peter Parker)
Thor
Thor

(Odinson)



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