COMIC DETAILS
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Comic Description:
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Amazing Spider-Man 212 Modern
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Grade:
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9.8
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Page Quality:
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WHITE
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Certification #:
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3719335002
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Owner:
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Professor Pecora
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SET DETAILS
Owner's Description
Amazing Spider-Man #212 features the origin & 1st appearance of Hydro-Man (Morrie Bench)!
Overstreet 2023 NM- 9.2 value = $70.
According to the CGC Census Report as of Tuesday, August 22, 2023, out of a total of 1,883 Universal copies graded, 468 copies were graded in 9.8 with ONLY 1 copy graded higher in 9.9!
With these statistics in mind, this represents a rarity factor of 24.85% of the total population.
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To kick-off the new year in January of 1981, writer Dennis O’Neil and artist John Romita Jr. combined their creative forces and introduced us to Mr. Morris “Morrie” Bench, who would become another major addition to Spider-Man’s world class rogues’ gallery!
His origin story takes place upon the U.S.S. Bulldog cargo ship, where he worked as a crewman for the United States Navy. However, after clashing with Namor the Sub-Mariner, Spider-Man accidentally knocked Morrie Bench overboard in which a powerful experimental generator was being tested! While he was submerged deep into the ocean, the unknown radiation coupled with primitive bacteria altered Morrie’s DNA, turning him into Hydro-Man!
After discovering that he became a man-of-water and would never be able to live a normal life again, Morrie blamed Spider-Man for his accident and used his new powers to seek out and destroy him! With the ability to shape shift, Hydro-Man traveled through the sewers, valves and pipelines until he finally found Spider-Man, but was defeated in battle after Spidey dissipated his liquid form amidst the hot sunshine of the New York City rooftops!
However, just like the T-1000 android assassin featured in Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991), who is composed of liquid metal and can reform itself after any physical damage; Hydro-Man’s scattered particles bonded back together making him fully regenerated!
After his quick recovery, Hydro-Man decided to wage war against Spider-Man and lived a life of crime. He eventually became a member of the supervillain team known as the Sinister Syndicate, which was led by the Beetle and also included Boomerang, the Rhino, the Shocker and Speed Demon.
John Romita Jr. and Al Milgrom created a phenomenal action-packed Spider-Man vs. Hydro-Man battle cover! The showdown is depicted on a one-way street in the heart of NYC, with Hydro-Man having busted through a fire hydrant with his feet completely in water form and shape-shifting his arm into a super powered water cannon! Spider-Man is featured in the center of the cover dodging the oncoming water blast that smashes into a residential building, and a small crowd of captivated spectators are seen watching the fight in the background!
The majority of the cover is bright yellow, which pops nicely with the surrounding light orange and brown buildings, and the red fire hydrant coordinates well with Spider-Man’s suit and the red arrow-shaped caption that reads: SPIDEY FACES THE WET THREAT OF HYDRO-MAN!
Furthermore, Hydro-Man made his Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) debut in Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019). However, Hydro-Man primarily battled Mysterio instead of Spider-Man and there wasn’t much character development involved, so that leaves a lot of opportunity for writers and producers to include him in a future Spider-Man film to do his character justice!
After all, IGN (Imagine Games Network) ranked him as Spider-Man’s 25th greatest enemy! Moreover, legendary artist Todd McFarlane chose to feature Hydro-Man on the cover of Amazing Spider-Man #315, which also depicts Venom’s historic 1st cover appearance! Therefore, there is still LOTS of room for ASM #212 to appreciate over time!
Although ASM #212 is not considered rare, as the combined total of Universal 9.6 and 9.8 copies equals more than half the entire population on the CGC Census, this particular 9.8 copy is exceptional because it is PERFECTLY WRAPPED and CENTERED and contains PERFECT WHITE PAGES!
In addition, the staples are perfectly inserted into the spine, the corners are razor sharp and the color saturation is deep and vibrant; as if the book was printed yesterday!
In closing, I won this pristine copy in Comic Link’s Focused Auction in February of 2021! I was ecstatic when I was notified as the winning bidder and I’m proud to showcase this immaculate copy in Arachnophobia!
Happy Collecting & Enjoy the Hunt!
-Professor Pecora
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