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The Amazing Spider-Man #33

Feb 1966

Stan Lee, Steve Ditko

Story Name:

The Final Chapter!

Synopsis

The Amazing Spider-Man #33 synopsis by Anthony Silvestro

Rating:

Quickly recapping last issue, we see Aunt May fighting for her life as Curt Connors waits for the serum that might cure her! The Master Planner’s men wait to ambush Spider-Man, as inside the main lair, Spider-Man lays helpless underneath tons of heavy machinery, as the room slowly fills with water! Spider-Man tries moving the heavy weight on top of him, but it doesn’t even budge, with Spider-Man exhausted from his previous fight. Spider-Man spots the serum that Aunt May desperately needs, lying just out of reach, and Spidey thinks about how if she doesn’t make it, it’ll be all his fault, just like Uncle Ben. This lights a fire in Spidey, determined not to let the past repeat itself, as he tries once more to lift the weight bearing down on him. As he pushes with every fiber of his strength, the heavy weight starts to move, with the strain getting harder and harder to bear with each second. As the leak letting the water in starts to grow larger, Spider-Man resolves that he can’t let up even for a second. He knows that anyone can win a fight when it’s easy, but the true mark of a hero is not giving up, even when all seems lost! With this resolve, and one last mighty push, Spider-Man finally pushes the immense weight off of himself, triumphant and free!

Spider-Man rises and finds his leg is hurt but he’s otherwise in one piece. He procures the serum and hobbles to the exit tunnel, as the roof finally gives way, water now crashing in. Spidey lets the current sweep him along the tunnel, avoiding the debris, as he finally reaches the other side, gasping for air! He’s then suddenly grabbed by two of the Master’s Planner’s men in diving gear, however pulling out their air hoses forces them to swim for the surface. Spidey then finds a whole group of the masked men waiting for him, as they all pile on him, with Spidey fighting back fervently! Being hurt and exhausted, Spidey lets the goons get some hits in, in order to regain some of his strength, but starts to find himself getting overwhelmed. Thinking once more of Aunt May, Spidey refuses to give up, swinging wildly and blindly, powering through, until he realizes that he’s defeated all of his foes!

Spider-Man then wearily makes his way back to Doctor Connors and gives him the serum. As Connors preps the serum, Spidey takes a sample of his own blood, to test the antidote against once it’s ready. The two continue to work tirelessly until the antidote is finished, having a positive reaction to Spidey’s blood! Spidey then rushes the antidote over to the hospital, where the doctors begin work immediately. One of the doctors tells Spider-Man that they won’t have any definite results for at least two hours, so Spidey decides leave Aunt May in their hands, heading out to distract himself. Spidey heads back to the Master Planner’s hideout, in order to snag some pics of the defeated goons that he can sell to the Bugle. Spidey contacts Frederick Foswell, to let him know of the newsworthy story, in order to pay him back for Foswell helping him last issue. Foswell arrives and Spidey gives him the whole story, as well as getting some additional photos.

At the Daily Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson is overjoyed that the Bugle has the monumental story first, as Peter slowly makes his way there. Betty Brant once again tries talking to Peter and is shocked to find Peter all battered and bruised. Peter tells her that it happened while getting photos, saying that it comes with the job. Betty remembers how her brother liked to live dangerously and ended up paying for it and can’t handle the same thing happening to Peter. Betty runs away in tears as Peter realizes with a certain finality that he’s no good for Betty. Peter shows Jameson the photos he took, asking for a higher price than usual, needing the money for Aunt May’s hospital bills. Jameson is surprised at Peter’s forwardness but pays him regardless, as the photos are actually worth even more! Peter makes his way to the hospital and is informed that the serum was successful and that Aunt May should pull through. Peter is overjoyed that he didn’t fail her, letting her know that he’s with her as she drifts back to sleep. The issue ends with the doctor wishing that more kids these days could look up to someone like Peter, caring and devoted, instead of someone mysterious like Spider-Man!

Review / Commentaries

The Amazing Spider-Man #33 Review by Anthony Silvestro (February 21, 2024)

Review: Here it is, the epic conclusion to one of the greatest Spidey stories ever! Spidey is trapped under tons of debris as the room is filling with water, with seemingly no way out! What comes next is one of the coolest and most memorable moments in all of Spider-Man history! Spidey lifts the debris off of him, though tired and hurt, because Aunt May needs him, and he can’t fail her like he did Uncle Ben! Spidey truly earns the title of hero, knowing that the true mark of hero is not giving up, even when it seems impossible! The emotions and drama are high, and you practically feel yourself verbally cheering Spidey on as you read, as he pushes past all the pain and struggle to victory! Steve Ditko’s art has never been better, with the few pages of Spidey lifting the weight off of himself being the highlight of his career, in my opinion!

The rest of the issue is mostly the wind down, as Spidey gets the serum to Doctor Connors before getting it to the hospital and getting some photos of the entire event. There is one slightly odd bit in which Spidey takes a sample of his own blood to test the antidote against, even though he brought some of Aunt May’s blood last issue so you’d think they could use that. It’s a very minor qualm however and the outcome is the same regardless. Betty’s reaction to Pete’s injured face essentially cements to Peter any lingering doubts that he and Betty could work and Aunt May reacts well to the antidote, pulling through. After so much struggle, Peter didn’t fail her after all and his relief is honestly palpable. This story was phenomenal all the way through and definitely stands as the high point of the entire Ditko Era, and one of the high points of early Spider-Man or even Spider-Man comics as a whole! When people refer to the classics, the all-time greats, this is one of the ones they’re talking about. Containing one of the most famous and epic moments in all of Spider-Man history, this was a practically perfect end to a practically perfect story!

Comments: The first issue with no supervillain of any kind, as Doctor Octopus is presumed to have gotten away between issues and not actually seen.

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This comic is in the following collection:

Collects Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #29-38.

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Main/1st Story Full Credits

Stan Lee

Steve Ditko

Stan Goldberg

Steve Ditko (Cover Penciler)
Steve Ditko (Cover Inker)
Stan Goldberg (Cover Colorist)

Additional Credits

Plot: Steve Ditko. Letterer: Art Simek.

All stories. Listed in alphabetical order.

Betty Brant

Curt Connors

J. Jonah Jameson
(JJ Jameson)

May Parker
(Aunt May)

Spider-Man
(Peter Parker)

Plus: Frederick Foswell (Big Man).

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