COMIC DETAILS
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Comic Description:
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Amazing Spider-Man Annual 2 Universal
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Grade:
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6.5
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Page Quality:
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OFF-WHITE
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Certification #:
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0109680011
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Owner:
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StephenWA
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SET DETAILS
Owner's Description
ASM Annual #2, 1965.
First appearances of Xandu and the Wand of Watoomb.
Doctor Strange appearance.
This was my 5th Silver Age CGC graded comic.
CGC census 3/2020: 600
CGC census 2/2023: 884
First story - The Wondrous Worlds of Doctor Strange - Spider-Man is disappointed to find all quiet during his night patrol of the city. However, elsewhere a man named Xandu interferes in a bar-room brawl, where two muscular men have challenged everyone present to a fight. Xandu hypnotizes them to feel no pain, and gives them limitless strength to accomplish their task: to steal the other half of the Wand of Watoomb, of which Xandu already possesses one part, from Dr Strange's mansion. As they break in, Dr. Strange tries to distract them, but he is quickly knocked out. The two henchmen find the Wand of Watoomb and exit through a skylight, thereby attracting the attention of Spider-Man. Spider-Man goes down fighting, having been unaware of their supernatural strength: but even as he collapses he plants a Spider Tracer on one of them. Xandu receives the second half of the wand and re-unites it. He reveals that with the complete Wand he can create doorways to other dimensions and times, as well as see any place or object he desires. Spider-Man now interrupts Xandu, but is startled to find himself starting to disappear into an alternate dimension: he grabs the Wand of Watoomb, realizing its importance, and it goes with him. Xandu sends the two henchmen after Spider-Man to get it back. As they fight, Dr Strange regains consciousness and follows the henchmen's traces to Xandu’s lair.
The two do battle as the henchmen bring Spider-Man back to Earth. Xandu regains control of the Wand of Watoomb and uses it against Dr Strange, who, realizing he’s overpowered by the Wand, leaves his physical form and uses his ectoplasmic spirit to aid Spider-Man. At Strange’s suggestion, Spider-Man grabs an electric wire and shorts out the two henchmen’s hypnosis. Dr Strange returns to his physical form and fights alongside Spider-Man, who trips Xandu with his webbing and retrieves the Wand. The Wand is then drained of its mystic power by Dr Strange, who also wipes the memory - and thus the evil intentions - of Xandu.
The comic also contains three of Spider-Man's earliest, greatest, most-requested full-length epics:
1. Spiderman - With the Parker household desperate for money following the death of Ben Parker, Peter Parker decides to continue in show business as Spider-Man. However, not only does he find it impossible to cash his paycheck (made out to Spider-Man), but the irrational editorials by J. Jonah Jameson in the Daily Bugle effectively quelch his career. Besides denouncing Spider-Man as a publicity-seeking phony, J. Jonah Jameson also publishes articles lauding his son, John Jameson, a courageous astronaut about to be launched into orbit in a space capsule. J. Jonah Jameson calls his son a "real hero."
The day of the launch finds Peter Parker at the launch site as an observer. The rocket takes off successfully, but a guidance system error causes it to go wildly off course and re-enter the atmosphere. Spider-Man appears at the launch site and offers to replace the defective 24-3B guidance unit in the plunging capsule with a spare. Because there is no way for the military to get to the capsule in time, they allow Spider-Man to try.
Spider-Man commandeers an aircraft and pilot, and together they fly toward the space capsule's re-entry point. Although the capsule is falling fast, Spider-Man manages to get hold of it with his webbing and climbs aboard. He quickly replaces the faulty guidance unit. As a result, John Jameson regains control of the capsule, gets it properly oriented, and opens its parachute. To the joy of all concerned, the astronaut is saved.
Thinking that Spider-Man has at last proved himself, Peter Parker is shocked when he reads J. Jonah Jameson's editorial in the next edition of the Daily Bugle. Spider-Man is accused of deliberately sabotaging the space capsule and staging the rescue as a publicity stunt. With public opinion turning against Spider-Man with each new editorial in the Daily Bugle, Peter Parker's position is as hopeless as ever.
2. The Uncanny Threat of the Terrible Tinkerer - Peter Parker is busy in the Midtown High School science lab when Mr. Warren introduces him to Professor Cobbwell. The professor needs an assistant for the weekend, and Peter Parker comes highly recommended. The next day, Peter runs an errand to the Tinkerer Repair Shop, where Professor Cobbwell has left a radio to be fixed. But in the basement of the shop, a group of what are apparently extraterrestrials have been placing spy devices into the radios of certain customers. The spy devices evidently enable them to estimate the earth's strengths and weaknesses in secrecy before they strike.
Spider-Man's Spider Sense detects an odd kind of radiation emanating from the shop basement. Later, this same kind of radiation is detected from the radio brought back to Professor Cobbwell's laboratory. His curiosity aroused, Spider-Man secretly returns to the Tinkerer's shop and sneaks into the basement, where he sees the "aliens" and the Tinkerer and deduces their plans. Unfortunately, he is spotted, and, in the ensuing battle, he is stunned by one of the Tinkerer's electrical weapons. He is placed into a "resisto-glass" enclosure, from which the Tinkerer and his gang believe he cannot escape. They plan to kill him by withdrawing all the air from the enclosure.
Spider-Man thwarts their plan by shooting web fluid out of the holes through which his air supply is being withdrawn. He hits the button on their control panel that opens his glass prison. A misdirected weapon starts a fire, and the Tinkerer and the "aliens" all flee. They appear to leave the earth in a large spacecraft, while all that remains of the Tinkerer is a face mask in Peter Parker's hands.
3. Marked for Destruction by Dr. Doom - After a report by J. Jonah Jameson about the "menace" of Spider-Man, Peter (in order to avoid any suspicion that he's really Spider-Man) speaks negatively about his alter ego, earning him harsh words from Flash Thompson. Meanwhile, Dr. Doom had seen this same report, and decided that after surviving his last encounter battling the Fantastic Four, that perhaps Spider-Man would make for a good partner to eliminate his mortal foes.
Doom uses a device which sends out a signal that affects Peter's spider-sense, and Peter goes to it as Spider-Man. Doom offers Spider-Man an alliance. Spider-Man naturally refuses and a brief battle ensues in which Spider-Man escapes. While back at Midtown High, Flash has decided to play a prank on Peter Parker by giving him a "scare" in his new Spider-Man costume in the hopes of getting Parker to have more respect for Spider-Man.
This prank backfires, as Dr. Doom begins trying to track down Spider-Man to get revenge. As Thompson is near Peter when Doom is tracking Spider-Man, he captures Thompson instead. Doom then sends out a message to the Fantastic Four to battle him or Spider-Man will be killed. Peter at first believes that Flash deserves his fate, but his sense of responsibility sends him out to rescue Flash anyway.
Spider-Man goes to Flash's rescue, and manages to hold his own against Doom's weapons and attacks. However, when the Fantastic Four arrive as well, Doom decides to flee the battle. Spider-Man decides to leave as well, leaving the Fantastic Four to rescue Thompson, hoping that he learns his lesson. The next day at school he sees otherwise, as Flash boasts about his experience. Peter, needing to keep his identity as Spider-Man secret, of course cannot say anything otherwise.
Cover price: 25c
1st story credits:
Written and edited by the toast of Marvel: Stan Lee
Plotted and drawn by the boast of Marvel: Steve Ditko
Lettered and bordered by the ghost of Marvel: Sam Rosen
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