If there’s ever a competition to determine the single most batshit crazy issue of a comic book released during the Bronze Age of Comics, this issue of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN has a real fighting chance to take the title. Just the cover alone gives you a tiny sample of the absurd and operatic events that are to follow inside. But it’s memorable, if nothing else. And it was enough to get me to convince my buddy Don Sims to let me borrow the issue so that I could find out what was going to happen. It was stories such as this one that gave me a skewed sense as to who Spider-Man was and what he was all about before I finally got to experience the early Stan Lee and Steve Ditko incarnation of the character and get properly level-set.
It must be said that all during writer Gerry Conway’s tenure as the writer of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, the strip and the character carried an overwhelming sense of anxiety and paranoia that somehow made him feel just on a hair’s side of going completely mental. It’s one of the things that I really like about this era, the fact that the main character is constantly only a breath away from succumbing to the massive amounts of stress his costumed double life is causing him. On all of the books Conway inherited from Stan Lee, he tried to push events forward in dramatic fashion, to varying degrees of success. But I feel as though Spider-Man was really the character he made his own.
This issue opens, just like the cover promises, with Aunt May in the process of marrying Doctor Octopus. The May parker of the 1970s wasn’t treated very well, she was often shown to be a doddering old fool who was only barely aware of her circumstances. Later writers did a better job of more fully realizing May, but at this time, she was halfway to senility, which is the only reason why any of this story works even slightly. There’d been a running mystery across the past several issues of a displaced letter that had been sent to Aunt May that everybody wanted a piece of. One of those interested parties is Hammerhead, who bursts in with his men and interrupts the service before even Spider-Man can make a move to intercede.
Ock and Hammerhead had been embroiled in a gang war these past couple of years, and so Ock’s mob holds Hammy off while Octavius and his bride make their escape, with Spidey in hot pursuit. The pair takes off in a helicopter, Aunt May having no real idea what is going on or why. Hammerhead and his goons pursue, with Spidey clinging to the underside of their own chopper. It’s become apparent that whatever was in that mysterious letter, it concerned something that Aunt May had inherited and that each of the two crime bosses wants for their own. So Ock is marrying Aunt May to gain legal title to this inheritances, in the aftermath of which he’ll simply murder her.
And as Hammerhead’s helicopter reaches its destination, we learn what all the fireworks have been for. And wait for it, folks, it’s a doozy. For, you see, Aunt May has somehow inherited a Uranium-rich private Canadian island that also contains its own atomic power plant. That’s right, somebody bequeathed May Parker a functioning nuclear reactor! That tracks, right? The big question in my mind ever since reading this story has always been: who did she inherit it from? I had visions of Uncle Ben sitting at the breakfast table with young Peter, eating wheatcakes and pondering to himself that he can’t tell his wife May about his work in the Atomic Energy Plant, because she might worry. Anyway, once Hammerhead’s ship comes in for a landing, it’s fightin’ time, as Spidey launches himself against first Doc Ock and then all comers.
At this point, of course, Aunt May has one of her frequent cardiac episodes and Spidey is forces to break off from the fight in order to get her to safety and medical attention. He’s able to commandeer a fully-fueled supply plane that’s conveniently waiting in a hanger, and he and May vamoose from the battle. Meanwhile, Ock and Hammerhead have a showdown, all the while the reactor continues to run uncontrollably. In the end, Hammerhead smashes Ock into the side of the thing, and the entire island explodes in a blaze of atomic fire. Certainly that’s the last time we’re ever going to be bothered by Doctor Octopus or Hammerhead, right?
And the issue wraps up with Aunt May passing out upon discovering that she sharing a plane ride with that horrible Spider-Man. There’s some evidence of some editorial alterations made to this final page, presumably by editor Roy Thomas, including writing or rewriting the very last line. Because meanwhile, back in New York, Betty Brant and Mary Jane are having a heart-to -heart discussion about Peter Parker and MJ’s feelings for same. This is still the formative party girl version of MJ, so she’s relatively direct in telling Betty that she isn’t looking for any sort of serious relationship, even if the subtext here is that this is a lie.
The Tom Brevoort Experience 
You could actually build a rationale for how Aunt May inherited the reactor…Richard and Mary Parker got title to it as part of some espionage escapade, stashed the ownership of it with someone trustworthy and then died before they could make whatever deal they’d make to return it to the proper authorities, and when the trustworthy person passed on, bam, hello May Parker!
But I sure wouldn’t want to try to write that on the comics page in a way that flowed smoothly.
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It might be tough to inherit the plant.
It would be easy to inherit the land (and the mineral rights) and the stream of earnings from the rents on the land where the plant is.
But the plant . . . you would figure that would be owned by a public corporation (if it were not owned by some quasi-governmental entity). Would a nuclear plant be owned by, say, a single member LLC or close corporation under Canadian law in the 1970s? Could it be a solo proprietorship?
Would Canadian law in the mid-1970s have allowed a US citizen to inherit land in Canada including a nuclear plant?
I was probably remiss in not getting admitted (somewhere) in Canada. Hell, I should have looked at going to law school up there and joining a Scots Territorial Army unit, Like the Blackwatch of Canada . . . .
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I don’t think the plant is part of Canada’s energy grid. I haven’t gone back to look at the details, but it’s a private island with a reactor on it, which suggests it’s a privately-owned research station. Unusual, but in the Marvel Universe, where Reed Richards had an atomic reactor in Manhattan at one point, it seems these things are possible.
Maybe Doc Savage set it up — he was always good at avoiding all rational government regulation. Or a 1950s supervillain, or someone. And the Parkers got it in some sort of internationally-sensitive administrative shuffle in which Canada had to deny that they owned it or even that it existed.
Maybe it belonged to one or more of those mutants that were in a pre-Silver Age Marvel story, and they’d mentally fiddled with government people to make it acceptable.
weird things happen in superhero universes. It’s stories all the way down.
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Having just reread ASM 1-40 IMHO you can make the case that Aunt may was always shown to be a doddering old fool who was only barely aware of her circumstances. That and the hospital must have install a revolving door exclusively for her use. I’ve been rereading a lot of Silver Age Marvel of late: Avengers, X-Men, Ant-Man, Iron Man, FF, and of all of them Spidey has undoubtedly been the roughest ride. Granted, Bronze Age marvel can be even rougher. Much of the second 100 of most original Marvels can be a very mixed bag.
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conway and stan worked the neurotic angle in different ways, the unstoppable stream of stress-panic-anxiety thoughts, conway’s did get pretty big and broad with, as you mentioned, the always on the verge of an emotional meltdown stuff.
cover is absolute genius, the best part just might be the copy buried in the bottom right corner, the priests dialog, turning a truly alarming pun into a situation specific punchline. absurd and perfect.
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Odd That Helicobacter pylori does not seem to exist in the Marvel Universe and ulcers are only caused by stress . .. .
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Aunt May is old and frail during Ditko’s run, but she’s cogent and aware if something is bothering her nephew. Her advice about having grit and determination even inspires him to keep being a hero. She was used as comic relief during Annual #1 where she’s charmed by Doc Ock’s manners which is probably the framing for this wedding story which I’ve never read.
I generally like Andru’s Spider-man, but he renders May a bit grotesque with that huge chin…. but he gave her pretty nice legs! She looks more like herself on the Kane/Romita cover… though somewhat vacant.
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Do we ever find out, in any subsequent Spidey comic, just how Aunt May inherited that?
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I got this mag off the racks in 1974 and a bit later got the 34 cent 1st issue of Giant-Size Marvel Super-Heroes with Spidey taking on Morbius & Man-Wolf, and a few Ditko-era reprints, mainly the pin-ups of the his early rogues gallery and the satirical How Stan & Steve Created Spider-Man, all of which was my first exposure to Ditko’s art for Spider-Man. The following Christmas, I got Lee’s Origins of Marvel Comics, with the reprint of the very first Spider-Man story from Amazing Fantasy # 15. It’d be a few more years before I got more reprints of the Ditko-era issues. Initially, Ditko’s art struck me as very strange and off-putting but eventually I warmed up to it and recognized his stellar gifts as an artist and storyteller at the time, both on Spider-Man and Dr. Strange.
As to Ross Andru, it took me some time to adjust to his style as for me John Romita was THE Spider-Man artist. Oh, sure, Gil Kane could do a good job too, but Romita was the real thing and Andru didn’t quite measure up for me, although I eventually warmed up to his style too.
I recall the cover to this mag was advertised in many other Marvel mags at the time, along with the cover to the latest Thor vs. Hercules tussle in the thunder god’s mag. I’d gotten the Marvel Tales reprint from about a year earlier wherein May nearly rented a room out to Doc Ock, so I knew they had a personal connection and May seemed oblivious to Otto’s very public criminal record and soooo easily taken in. Well, it helped Lee & Conway create all sorts of bizarre situations for Peter to have to deal with, in and out of costume! This mag certainly took things to absurd lengths, perhaps of the sort only a writer who was still only in his early 20s, albeit with several years of comics writing experience already and eager to expand exponentially on what Lee had done before, so, heck, why not have Otto try to marry May for the sake of inheriting an island with a nucler reactor that she had implausibly inherited from who knows who (for some strange reason, I’ve a strong hunch that Conway hadn’t really given any thought as to “whom” she inherited the island, never mind how any private individual could wind up owning the island and nuclear reactor. But, hey, this is the Marvel Universe — all sorts of crazy things happen there! Conway also had a big thing about seemingly killing off a lot of baddies at all levels, Green Goblin, Dr. Doom, Gideon, Kangaroo, and now Hammerhead and Dr. Octopus, among others. Oh, and positively killing off a certain blonde woman of some importance to Peter Parker. Naturally, most of the baddies eventually got better. Anyhow, bizarre as this issue was, I still found it entertaining enough. Maybe in part because it was so bizarre.
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I don’t believe Gerry Conway ever provided any explanation for how Aunt May inherited a nuclear reactor. In fact, in the next issue (S-M 132) and for the rest of Conway’s first run up until #149, there is absolutely no reference by Peter or May to the events of 131. We never see Peter discuss what happened in 131 with his Aunt May. or get any explanation as to why Aunt May did not invite her only living relative to this wedding (yes I know..Doc Ock was such a lovestruck fool he wanted to elope but of course he brought his gang with him…). I bought this comic at the time but was not crazy about it because there were so many aspects that just did not make sense and sorry to say, it seems worse now. For some reason Gerry loved his creation Hammerhead but as Roger Stern later pointed out there are only certain villains who should be able to give Spidey a hard time (not Hammerhead and not the Tarantula, another Conway creation). Spider-Man is not Daredevil. Spider-Man has superpowers. Hammerhead just has a hard head. He shouldn’t even be able to give Doc Ock a hard time but did in 3 separate stories. In an interview some years ago, Conway explained that he thought May and Ock had an odd sort of friendly relationship based on earlier stories so wanted to bring it to what he thought was a “logical” conclusion and besides he said he loved that title…”My Uncle..My Enemy.” Interestingly, a few years later in Spider-Man Annual 13 written by Marv Wolfman, Marv brought back Doc Ock and had him expressly state that the whole wedding thing was nonsense (and says fairly nasty things about May)…which actually does contradict Ock’s behavior in 157-159 where he seems to be protecting May from Hammerhead (and that was written by Len Wein). It certainly does get confusing. But as I said I never did care for S-M 131; I just think it was a little too far out….and yes that cover…
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Google tells me I was thirteen when I read this and I was mature enough to know none of it made sense at all. I loved Andru’s art so that carried me through. I know I also wish Aunt May had died on that bridge (especially as portrayed here!) because I didn’t care for MJ for decades still. This though was my formative Spider-Man since disliking Ditko’s art and finding Stan Lee too bombastic at times, I’ve never read back anywhere further than the odd Romita here and there.
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Aunt May is as essential to Spider-man as Alfred is to Batman. May is particularly important during the Ditko period… which is pretty much watching the Peter Parker grow up. I think Spider-man 1-38 + the 2 annuals is the best 60’s marvel run that hit the ground running in terms of plot, supporting characters, and overall story arch. By contrast … Fantastic Four… the flagship….. took a while to catch up.
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So many Aunt May haters here. As David said it, the lady had LEGS.
I didn’t grow up with this one, but it seeped into my collection in the 80s. Looking back on it now, it’s really a genius issue of how Conway and Andru could field anything in ASM. That cover is so weird and cool and weird. I wish more writers and artists now would try something as batsh-t crazy as this.
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Still, a circa-2016-Marisa Tomei-type would not have been fan casting for Aunt May in 1975 . . . .
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One of the first stories in the Spider-Man newspaper strip, “The Tentacles of Terror” (from 1977), had the following plot (from Fandom.com):
“Otto Octavius returns, seemingly to woo Peter’s Aunt May, but in reality to embroil her in a plot to rob a priceless artifact.”
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I’m ok with the island inheritance even if it has a nuclear reactor on it. I would have worked the supervillains fighting to take her hand angle and then at the very end reveal that it was all a scam.
Aunt May looks dead on the cover but yeah there’s a lot of dark fun going on here
Is it just me or does Hammerhead appear as if he’s escaped from Dick Tracy? I would throw in a Richard Tracy and a Chester Ghoull just to rub it all in.
Andru’s art is anatomically all over the place. It isn’t that I exactly hate it, it’s just my eyes can’t quite get there because it’s visually just wrong.
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