Comic Browser:

The Amazing Spider-Man #49

Jun 1967

Stan Lee, John Romita

Story Name:

From the Depths of Defeat!

Synopsis

The Amazing Spider-Man #49 synopsis by Anthony Silvestro

Rating:

Starting right off from last issue, Spider-Man lies unconscious in the snow, after succumbing to his fever in a battle with the new Vulture. After long, fateful moments, Spidey finally comes to and wearily makes his way home, too weak to even web-swing. He just makes it under the covers, still with his Spidey suit on, just as Harry Osborn comes home from a night out, before checking on Peter. Meanwhile, in his lair, Kraven the Hunter sees news coverage of the new Vulture, angry that he appears to be stealing his glory as Spider-Man’s victor. Kraven then wrestles with his tiger, Rajah, to keep his skills sharp, before heading out to hunt down the Vulture as his new prey.

Back with Peter, Aunt May and Anna Watson decide to pay him a visit and Aunt may worriedly calls for the doctor after surmising that Peter is still sick. While she is out of his room phoning the doc, Peter takes the opportunity to shed his Spidey costume while noting that he feels perfectly alright now. However, he decides to stay in bed, as Aunt May would be suspicious if he were suddenly feeling better, while thankful that the Vulture doesn’t seem to be causing any trouble. However at that very moment, the new Vulture is indeed causing trouble, as he assaults an aircraft carrying a passenger transporting diamonds. The Vulture demands the diamonds be handed out to him or he’ll crash the aircraft and is readily satisfied. Kraven then barely misses his prey but with his scent, is able to continue his hunt.

Then, at the Daily Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson is stressed as usual, as Frederick Foswell tells him that the public wants more Vulture photos, and Jameson yells at Betty Brant to get ahold of Peter. She reaches Harry, who tells her that Peter is resting, just as the doorbell rings with the arrival of Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane Watson, there to cheer up Peter. Harry offers to take them out, in order to give Peter a chance to rest, while Peter is just frustrated that the doctor isn’t there yet. Back with the Vulture, he’s flying around before suddenly being snagged by a rope from Kraven, having finally found his prey. The Vulture tries to escape but Kraven holds on, causing the two of them to plummet through a skylight and into the city’s Exhibition Hall. Peter is alerted by a radio broadcast of the encounter and decides to take the chance while May and Anna are asleep to sneak out and tackle to two villains as Spider-Man.

Spidey swings his way to the Exhibition Hall where he finds the skylight covered by a net, put there by Kraven to prevent the Vulture’s escape. Inside, Spidey finds the two villains fighting, with both surprised to see Spidey alive. Spidey tackles the two and continues to dance around their attacks. Kraven is able to grab Spidey from behind, giving the Vulture the chance to attack Spidey, though both villains want the glory for themselves and are getting in each other’s way as much as Spidey is. Spidey frees himself from Kraven, before Kraven attempts to hit Spidey with his vest lasers, which stopped Spidey last time they fought. Spidey dodges, causing the lasers to take out Vulture instead, before pouncing on Kraven and ripping out the wires powering his vest lasers. The two face off in a final confrontation, as Spidey delivers a full-power haymaker right to Kraven’s stomach, putting Kraven down. Spidey snaps some pics before hightailing it back home, getting back in bed just before Dr. Bromwell arrives. He gives Peter a clean bill of health before Peter suggests that he, May, and Anna all head out to a movie, ending the issue on a lighthearted note.

Review / Commentaries

The Amazing Spider-Man #49 Review by Anthony Silvestro (April 3, 2024)

Review: After ending last issue with a cliffhanger of Spidey knocked out in the snow, this issue reveals he is indeed okay! Phew, was worried there for a sec. In all seriousness, this issue acts as finale for the last two, as Spidey has to take on Kraven and Vulture at once, after each handed him a defeat in the previous two issues. Given that, when he actually does go to fight them, it almost feels like more of an inconvenience than anything. Pete spends most of the issue in bed, due to Aunt May thinking he’s still sick, before going out, quickly dealing with the two bad guys, and making it back before anyone notices he was gone. Very little fanfare considering the difficulty the last couple of issues brought, though it did make for some signature cool Romita action!

Speaking of Romita, he’s inked by an uncredited Mike Esposito this issue and this caused me to notice that I generally prefer Romita’s art slightly when he inks himself, though the art is still great. On the supporting cast side, Gwen and MJ show up together to see Peter, putting them on noticeably friendlier terms than they were before. Last we saw the two together, they were acting a bit frosty to each other, so this was a sudden, weird change. There’s also a weird line from Vulture, claiming his robbery of the aircraft in this issue to be the “first airborne act of piracy” despite y’know, that being the whole shtick of the previous Vulture, not to mention his activities last issue. Overall, a solidly fun issue, with Spidey taking on two villains at once in some cool action pieces, though not quite as dynamic as the two issues that preceded it.

Comments: Mike Esposito inks and Marie Severin colors this issue, but both go uncredited. Kraven has a pet tiger named Rajah in this issue, the same name as the tiger in Aladdin, as well as a title for Indian rulers. On page 7, there’s an instance where the word “beginning” is misspelled as “beggining.”

> The Amazing Spider-Man comic book info and issue index

::: click cover to ENLARGE it :::

This comic is in the following collection:

Collects Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #39-52 and Annual #3-4, and material from Not Brand Echh #2.

Excelsioring your collection:

DIAMOND SELECT TOYS LLC Marvel Gallery: Comic Kraven The Hunter PVC Statue

Holy smokes, Batman!
(The Boy Wonder)

Main/1st Story Full Credits

Stan Lee

John Romita

Mike Esposito

Marie Severin

John Romita (Cover Penciler)
John Romita (Cover Inker)
Stan Goldberg (Cover Colorist)

Additional Credits

Letterer: Sam Rosen.

All stories. Listed in alphabetical order.

J. Jonah Jameson
(JJ Jameson)

Kraven
(Kraven the Hunter)

Mary Jane Watson
(Mary Jane)

May Parker
(Aunt May)

Spider-Man
(Peter Parker)

Plus: Dr Bromwell, Frederick Foswell (Big Man), Vulture (Blackie Drago).

The Marvel Heroes Library is a fan Marvel Comics site

Version 14.8.29 (Dec 1, 2024. VS22)

Characters are copyright © Marvel or their respective owners. All portions of this Marvel fansite that are subject to copyright are licensed under a creative commons attribution 3.0 unported license All rights reserved