1960s The Amazing Spider-Man

the amazing spider-man #23 (april 1965), featuring nemesis green goblin. cover art co-creator steve ditko.

although credited artist of run, ditko plot stories draw them, leaving lee script dialogue. rift between ditko , lee developed, , 2 men not on speaking terms long before ditko completed last issue, amazing spider-man #38 (july 1966). exact reasons ditko-lee split have never been explained. spider-man successor artist john romita sr., in 2010 deposition, recalled lee , ditko ended not being able work because disagreed on everything, cultural, social, historically, everything, disagreed on characters...

in successor penciler romita sr. s first issue, #39 (aug. 1966), nemesis green goblin discovers spider-man s secret identity , reveals own captive hero. romita s spider-man – more polished , heroic-looking ditko s – became model 2 decades. lee-romita era saw introduction of such characters daily bugle managing editor robbie robertson in #52 (sept. 1967) , nypd captain george stacy, father of parker s girlfriend gwen stacy, in #56 (jan. 1968). important supporting character introduced during romita era mary jane watson, made first full appearance in #42, (nov. 1966), although first appeared in #25 (june 1965) face obscured , had been mentioned since #15 (aug. 1964). peter david wrote in 2010 romita made definitive statement of arrival pulling mary jane out behind oversized potted plant [that blocked readers view of face in issue #25] , placing on panel in instantly become iconic moment. romita has stated in designing mary jane, used ann-margret movie bye bye birdie guide, using coloring, shape of face, red hair , form-fitting short skirts.

lee , romita toned down prevalent sense of antagonism in parker s world improving parker s relationship supporting characters , having stories focused on social , college lives of characters did on spider-man s adventures. stories became more topical, addressing issues such civil rights, racism, prisoners rights, vietnam war, , political elections.

issue #50 (june 1967) introduced highly enduring criminal mastermind kingpin, become major force in superhero series daredevil. other notable first appearances in lee-romita era include rhino in #41 (oct. 1966), shocker in #46 (march 1967), prowler in #78 (nov. 1969), , kingpin s son, richard fisk, in #83 (april 1970).