Daredevil #16

May 1966 · Marvel · 0.12 USD

📊 ~37,804 copies sold its debut month

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“Enter... Spider-Man”

★ 1st appearance — Masked Marauder

About this Issue

Daredevil #16 holds a pivotal place in Marvel history as the first time John Romita Sr. drew Spider-Man — a tryout Stan Lee deliberately arranged inside Daredevil's own title while his working relationship with Steve Ditko was collapsing, directly paving the way for Romita to take over Amazing Spider-Man with issue #39. The issue also delivers the first appearance of the Masked Marauder, a villain who would weave through the Daredevil title for years and later turn up in Iron Man, Werewolf by Night, and Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man. As one of the earliest hero-vs.-hero crossovers of the Silver Age — with Spider-Man manipulated into fighting Daredevil by a villain in disguise — the story helped establish what became a signature Marvel storytelling device: mistaken-identity brawls that ultimately end in an uneasy alliance. Taken together, the issue's creative and narrative footprint stretches far beyond its own twenty pages.

In "Enter... Spider-Man," the Masked Marauder sets a cunning trap, using imposters in Daredevil's costume to lure Spider-Man into a brutal fight. Written by Stan Lee and illustrated by Johnny Romita with inks by Frankie Ray, this 1966 issue sees New York's two masked heroes at odds—while a hidden enemy slips away with an experimental engine. The cover, by John Romita and Frank Giacoia, captures the tension of the moment.

writer Stan Lee · artist Johnny Romita · inker Frankie Ray · letterer Artie Simek · cover John Romita, Frank Giacoia

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (VG) $75

CGC 9.8 · 5 in census $10,653*

CGC 9.6 · 7 in census $5,008

CGC 9.4 · 34 in census $2,641

CGC 9.2 · 37 in census $1,063

CGC 9.0 · 66 in census $971

CGC 8.5 · 105 in census $606

Show all 22 grades ▾

CGC 8.0 · 129 in census $550*

CGC 7.5 · 165 in census $351*

CGC 7.0 · 173 in census $306*

CGC 6.5 · 178 in census $240

CGC 6.0 · 165 in census $195

CGC 5.5 · 150 in census $195*

CGC 5.0 · 132 in census $143*

CGC 4.5 · 125 in census $143

CGC 4.0 · 97 in census $143

CGC 3.5 · 69 in census $127

CGC 3.0 · 41 in census $102

CGC 2.5 · 26 in census $69*

CGC 2.0 · 8 in census $67

CGC 1.5 · 3 in census $51*

CGC 1.0 · 1 in census $51

CGC 0.5 · 3 in census $38*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

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History

By early 1966, Stan Lee was acutely aware that Steve Ditko was on the verge of leaving Amazing Spider-Man, and he needed to quietly audition a replacement without alerting readers — or Ditko. John Romita Sr. had only recently taken over Daredevil from the Wally Wood/Bob Powell era, with his first two issues benefiting from Jack Kirby layout assists before he found his footing on the book with issue #14. According to Romita's own account (cited in Tom DeFalco's Comics Creators on Spider-Man and corroborated by Marvel Year-by-Year: A Visual History), Lee contrived the Spider-Man guest-appearance specifically to test whether Romita could draw the web-slinger convincingly, fully expecting Ditko might yet return. Inker Frank Giacoia was credited on the issue under his Marvel pseudonym 'Frankie Ray,' a disguise he maintained because he was still under contract to DC Comics and did not want them aware he was freelancing for Marvel.

Trivia · 8 facts

Title: 'Enter… Spider-Man!' — cover-dated May 1966, on-sale March 3, 1966; written and edited by Stan Lee, penciled by John Romita Sr., inked by Frank Giacoia (credited as 'Frankie Ray'), lettered by Artie Simek.
First appearance of the Masked Marauder (Frank Farnum), who functions as Nelson and Murdock's building landlord by day and a goggle-wearing, opti-blast-firing criminal mastermind by night — a villain who returned in Daredevil through issue #27 and later appeared in Iron Man, Werewolf by Night, and Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man.
First time John Romita Sr. drew Spider-Man in any published comic — a deliberate audition arranged by Stan Lee in anticipation of Steve Ditko's departure from Amazing Spider-Man, which came to pass with ASM #38; Romita took over as regular artist with ASM #39.
The Masked Marauder's scheme — having henchmen dress in Daredevil costumes to trick Spider-Man into attacking the real Man Without Fear — is an early and explicit example of the Silver Age 'heroes manipulated into fighting each other' trope that became a Marvel hallmark.
The issue references Daredevil and Spider-Man's earlier team-up in Amazing Spider-Man #16 (Sept. 1964), establishing shared continuity between the two titles.
Frank Giacoia was credited as 'Frankie Ray' rather than under his real name because he was simultaneously working for DC Comics; his true identity as the inker was not publicly revealed in Marvel's Bullpen Bulletins until Fantastic Four #53 (August 1966).
The story was reprinted in Daredevil Annual #3 (January 1972), Essential Daredevil Vol. 1 (October 2002, in black and white), Marvel Masterworks: Daredevil Vol. 2 (November 2001), and the Daredevil Epic Collection Vol. 1 (2016), among numerous domestic and international editions.
A UK edition of the issue was published simultaneously with an alternate cover price (10d), identical in content to the US edition.