The Amazing Spider-Man #110
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeAmazing Spider-Man #110 (July 1972) marks a genuine editorial watershed: it is Stan Lee's final scripted issue on the title he had written continuously since its debut in 1963, closing out nearly a decade of his defining voice on the character before Gerry Conway took over with issue #111. The issue also delivers the first appearance and origin of Martin Blank, the Gibbon — a mutant misfit whose tragedy begins, ironically, when Spider-Man laughs at his earnest offer of partnership, turning a would-be hero into a villain through a moment of thoughtless cruelty. That character beat — Peter Parker's own fallibility setting someone on a dark path — gave the Gibbon an emotional resonance that writers would return to for decades, including his prominent, heartbreaking death in Nick Spencer's 2019 'Hunted' storyline. Kraven the Hunter's last-page cameo, silently watching the dejected Gibbon and already scheming to weaponize him, sets up the two-part arc and is an early example of the Bronze Age's appetite for multi-issue villain schemes.
In "The Birth of...the Gibbon!", a misfit named Marty Blank takes inspiration from Spider-Man’s heroics and dons an ape-themed costume to become the Gibbon, only to face a harsh reality check when the web-slinger himself mocks his efforts. Written by Stan Lee and illustrated by John Romita with inks by Tony Mortellaro, this 1972 issue captures a moment of youthful ambition clashing with the harsher world of crime-fighting, all under a cover by John Romita and Frank Giacoia.
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The issue was produced as Lee was transitioning out of monthly scripting duties across Marvel's line to assume the role of publisher, making this one of the last monthly books he wrote before stepping back. The story was penciled and co-inked by John Romita Sr., with Tony Mortellaro handling background inks and Frank Giacoia inking the cover alongside Romita; John Costanza lettered the story. There was little editorial fanfare around Lee's exit — his departure from Amazing Spider-Man was acknowledged only quietly, via a letters-column note in the following issue, while a broader Stan's Soapbox column in a later issue more formally passed the creative torch to the new generation of Marvel writers under editor Roy Thomas.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance and origin of Martin Blank, the Gibbon — a mutant with primate-like physiology who initially sought to partner with Spider-Man before being driven toward villainy.
- Stan Lee's final scripted issue as regular writer on Amazing Spider-Man, ending a run that began with issue #1 in 1963; he did not script the title again as its regular writer until issue #400.
- Story title: 'The Birth of…the Gibbon!' — script by Stan Lee, pencils by John Romita Sr., inks by John Romita Sr. and Tony Mortellaro (backgrounds); cover pencils by John Romita Sr., cover inks by Frank Giacoia; lettering by John Costanza.
- Kraven the Hunter appears in a silent cameo on the final page, watching the Gibbon and plotting to exploit him against Spider-Man — leading directly into the two-part arc concluded in issue #111.
- The Gibbon is established as a mutant (possessing an X-Gene) whose ape-like appearance caused a lifetime of ridicule, circus work, and social rejection before his encounter with Spider-Man.
- The letters page of this issue features a letter from a then-24-year-old David Michelinie, who would himself go on to write Amazing Spider-Man years later.
- Reprinted domestically in Marvel Tales #89 (March 1978); the issue also saw numerous international reprints in Germany, France, Mexico, Sweden, Norway, Italy, and Spain in the 1970s–1990s.
- Gerry Conway became the title's new regular writer with the following issue (#111), beginning a run of over three years.
Cast · 8 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in L'étonnant Spider-Man #13 (1972), El Sorprendente Hombre Araña #140 (1972), Hit Comics Die Spinne #247 (1973), L'Uomo Ragno [Collana Super-Eroi] #111 (1974), Marvel Tales #89 (1978), Strange #99 (1978), Edderkoppen #6/1979 (1979), Spindelmannen #6/1979 (1979), El Hombre Araña / El Asombroso Hombre Araña #106 (1982), L'Uomo Ragno Classic #32 (1993), Spiderman de John Romita #48 (2002), Spider-Man kæmpepocket #2 (2005), Marvel Apes #0 (2009), Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man #12 (2010), Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection #7 (2017), The Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus #4 (2019), Die Spinne #111, El Asombroso Hombre-Araña #15, Σπάιντερ Μαν [Spider-Man] #253, Spinneman Classics #68
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