Comics : Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #48

This story is part of a Lookback Series: Al Observes

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"The Wings of the Vulture"

	Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #48  Summary: Blackie Drago becomes new Vulture  Arc: Part 2 of "Kraven the Hunter and the New Vulture"
	Editor:  Stan Lee Writer:  Stan Lee Pencils:  John Romita, Sr. Inker:  John Romita, Sr. Cover:  John Romita, Sr.	Staff Only Images Review Edit
	May 1967 : SMURF 048.500 : SM Title : Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1)  Reprinted In: Marvel Masterworks #22  Reprinted In: Marvel Tales #188  Reprinted In: Marvel Tales #34  Reprinted In: Essential Spider-Man #3  Reprinted In: Spider-Man UK Annuals 1982 (Story 1)
Characters: Watson, Anna, Aunt May Parker, Green Goblin II (Harry Osborn), Gwen Stacy, The Jackal, J. Jonah Jameson, Mary Jane Watson-Parker, Vulture I (Adrian Toomes), Vulture II (Blackie Drago)

This issue presents a bit of a surprise. The cover shows Spidey looking up at an attacking Vulture. The villain's head cannot be seen. This seems to be nothing more than John Romita making an artistic choice but, as we soon see, there is a reason for the concealment from the reader.

The story begins with Spidey on patrol, looking for Kraven the Hunter. The weather has turned cold and the snow is coming down in great clumps. This worries our hero, NOT because his long johns aren't very warm but because the snowfall muffles his spider-sense. (Bet you've never heard that one before, huh?) Lost in thought, Peter doesn't notice that he has swung all the way to Municipal Prison. This calls him back to himself and, having failed to find Kraven, he decides to go home and hit the sack.

Ah, but inside that prison, an old convict lies near death because of a mishap in the prison workshop. The doctor says he cannot live more than an hour but the old man hangs on to life, waiting to speak in private with his cellmate, Blackie Drago. The old man is the Vulture and he hopes that Blackie will pick up his plans where he left off.

Soon after, Blackie Drago, a scowling, heavy-lidded man with curly black hair, is ushered into the room. The Vulture mentions that Blackie has hounded him for months for the location of his last pair of vulture wings. Now, dying, he gives in, obsessed with the idea of someone destroying Spider-Man for him. But when the Vulture reveals that his wings are stashed just outside the prison, Blackie gloats that he arranged the workshop accident which hospitalized the old man, hoping to grab the wings for himself. Now, he will be the new Vulture. Drago taunts his cellmate as he leaves. The old Vulture lacks the strength to rise and fight back. His only consolation is that Blackie, younger and stronger than he, is sure to destroy Spider-Man.

In his capacity as a trustee, Drago can roam within the prison walls at will. He uses that privilege to knock out a guard and steal a car that is just exiting the compound. The escape siren goes off almost immediately but Blackie doesn't have far to go. He leaves the car in a snowbank. Guards quickly find it and follow his tracks. But by the time they arrive, Drago has found the Vulture's wings. It takes him a moment to get the hang of them. He flounders, flapping his arms, as the guards take shots at him, but at last he controls them and soars off.

Next morning, Pete accompanies Harry in his car to school. Peter is not feeling well. In fact, Harry says, "You look as though every virus in town is having a convention right in your noggin." And Pete feels that way too. At Empire State University, Peter compliments Gwen on her new hairstyle but when Harry pipes up with, "No wonder Pete likes your hairdo, Gwen! It's more like the way Mary Jane's been wearing hers.", an embarassed Miss Stacy slips away. Later in the day, Pete is sent home by Professor Warren who can see that his student is too sick to be in school.

At home, Peter plops himself down before "humanity's all-purpose pacifier", the television. He catches an editorial from J. Jonah Jameson who claims that Kraven would be in custody by now if Spider-Man, "that scurrilous, sinister super-heel", had left it to the police. Parker is about to turn his TV off in disgust when the report comes through on Drago's jailbreak and possession of the Vulture's wings. "Ohh", says Pete, "my achin' head!"

Meanwhile, at his hideout, Drago has whipped up a helmet to go along with the wings. It is a V-shaped headpiece which looks like a big green widow's peak and Blackie has built it for protection, to look scarier, and to house a shortwave receiver...though he never really uses it in any of those ways. He takes to the skies saying, "Imagine that whimperin' fool thinking I'd waste time trying to get revenge on Spider-Man for him." Blackie has his own plans and they don't include "any crummy super-heroes". He begins his crime wave by stealing a payroll satchel from a guard outside a bank.

Repeated bulletins come over the radio about the Vulture's spree and Peter decides enough is enough. He gets into his Spidey duds but is so sick and feverish, he almost passes out. He reaches for the phone intending to call Matt Murdock to get Daredevil on the Vulture's trail. (At this point in time, Pete does not know Murdock is DD. He only knows Matt can contact the Man Without Fear if he wishes.) But his sense of responsibility kicks in. It doesn't matter how sick he is. The Vulture is HIS problem and he can't let a "little cold" knock him out "otherwise next time around I'm liable to cry uncle if I develop some dandruff or a case of chapped lips". So, Spider-Man heads out to battle, hoping the fresh air will revive him...if only he could stop shaking so much.

Downtown in the Wall Street district, the Vulture tries to steal a briefcase of negotiable bonds from a courier only to discover that the messenger is handcuffed to the bag. Rather than give up, Drago decides to fly off with the man as well. He soars the length of Manhattan only to land on a snow-covered tower of the George Washington bridge. Which is where Spidey finds him.

Spider-Man sneaks up the tower behind the Vulture just in time to hear Blackie decide to drop both man AND case to see if the contents of either one will come out. The Web-slinger strikes quickly but the slippery snow throws him off-stride, preventing a full-powered punch. Still, the Vulture topples off the tower and Peter takes the opportunity to lower the bond carrier to the ground. ("Spider-Man...how can I repay you?" the man asks. "Well", says Spidey, "you could lend me a Kleenex!") Since he didn't hear a splash, Parker knows that the Vulture did not fall into the water and his spider-sense warns him just in time to evade a blow from a dive-bombing Vulture. He shoots webbing at his enemy's feet but Blackie is strong enough to pull him off his perch. Then using his speed and manuverability, Drago whiplashes Pete against the cables of the bridge. Unfortunately, Spidey is too ill to recover quickly. In fact, his vision blurs, everything gets hazy, and he starts to fall, nearly blacking out. But the Vulture attacks again, putting a scissor lock on Spidey's head, inadvertantly saving the unsteady hero. The confident villain decides to fly around the city for a bit to show everyone that he has conquered Spidey. This flying provides just the rush of air that Spidey needs to clear his head.

"And at that very precise, exact self-same instant", MJ, Aunt May, and Anna Watson show up at the Parker-Osborn apartment to see how Pete is doing. Harry answers the door and tells them that Pete is not there. He must be feeling much better. MJ talks Harry into driving May and Anna home, then accompanying her to see if Pete is hanging out at the Silver Spoon. And what was the point of this scene? "We just tossed in that titanically tame tableau for the benefit of Jazzy Johnny who'd rather draw slick chicks than flying fiends!", says Stan.

But it's back to the flying fiend we go. In the air, Spidey plays possum, conserving his strength. As the Vulture flies by a flagpole, Spidey puts all his strength into two karate chops on the villain's thighs. Blackie drops Pete, who leaps for the flagpole, using it to spring back and strike his opponent again. But his strength is gone and the Vulture strikes back. Instinctively, Spidey clings to a wall but he is on the verge of unconsciousness. "How can Spider-Man be beaten...by a common cold?", he thinks, as the Vulture zeroes in on him. Just as Pete begins passing out, the unaware Vulture kicks him off the wall. He lands on a snow-covered roof, unmoving. The Vulture flies off, bragging, "Spider-Man has been destroyed at last...by the high-flying Vulture!" As for Spidey? He ain't making snow angels, folks! Needless to say....to be continued.

Hey, look! Ads for Marvel Super-Hero t-shirts for only $1.60 apiece. And eight superhero posters (Captain America, Thor, Doctor Strange, the Human Torch, the Hulk, Sub-Mariner, Iron Man, and Spidey) for only a dollar! Is 1967 a great year or what?

In the letter's page, Don Pozniak of Trenton, New Jersey, asks, "Why don't you have Pete date Gwen rather than Mary Jane?" Great idea, Don. Then, when they don't know what to do with her, they can kill her! Jon A. Stilliman of Cederville, Ohio says, "Have you ever thought of publishing the first forty issues of Spider-Man as a limited edition set?" Was this guy twenty years ahead of his time or what? And Maryellen Flaherty of Radnor, Pennsylvania says, "Don't turn MJ into an ick."

In the next issue blurb, Stan refuses to say anything about ASM #49 except "buy it"! Yes, kids, that's right! Once upon a time, it really WAS 1967 and readers had to wait 30 whole days to find out what happens! But we don't have to do that! You can go straight on and read as we conclude our Looking Back with Amazing Spider-Man #49.

By Al Sjoerdsma (E-Mail)