The Amazing Spider-Man #134
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThe Amazing Spider-Man #134 (July 1974) is a triple-threat Bronze Age key: it delivers the first appearance of the Tarantula, a politically charged South American mercenary villain who went on to recur across multiple Spider-Man titles; it carries the second appearance of the Punisher — arriving in a last-page cameo only months after his debut in issue #129 — which sets up the full Punisher story arc that follows in #135; and it plants the narrative bomb of Harry Osborn secretly discovering that Peter Parker is Spider-Man, a revelation that directly ignites Harry's transformation into the second Green Goblin just two issues later in #136. Together, these three developments make it one of the most narratively loaded single issues of Gerry Conway's celebrated run, arriving at the height of Amazing Spider-Man's status as Marvel's flagship title.
In "Danger Is a Man Named...Tarantula," Peter Parker enjoys a rare day off with Mary Jane, Flash Thompson, and Liz Allan on a seaside cruise—until a masked mercenary known as Tarantula strikes. The tension escalates when Harry Osborn takes a shocking step toward uncovering Peter’s secret identity. Written by Gerry Conway and illustrated by Ross Andru with inks by F. Giacoia, this 1974 issue features a cover by John Romita, capturing the suspense with a striking image of the new villain.
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Writer Gerry Conway drew explicit inspiration from early-1970s South American political upheaval — particularly the U.S.-backed overthrow of Chile's democratically elected government — when designing Anton Miguel Rodriguez, viewing the Tarantula as 'inherently political' and partly motivated by a question posed by fellow Marvel writer Don Glut about why smaller nations shouldn't have their own counterpart to Captain America. The issue was penciled by Ross Andru, whose clear, kinetically staged action sequences Conway himself singled out as exemplary, and carries a cover by John Romita Sr.; Roy Thomas served as editor, with Frank Giacoia and Dave Hunt sharing inking duties. The issue also contains Marvel Value Stamp #3 (Conan the Barbarian), part of Marvel's mid-1970s coupon-style promotional program that, as Tom Brevoort has noted, led to many copies of the era being trimmed by collectors cutting out the stamps.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of the Tarantula (Anton Miguel Rodriguez), a costumed South American mercenary whose battle suit features retractable steel finger claws and poison-tipped boot spikes, introduced as a politically conscious villain rooted in 1970s Latin American geopolitics.
- Second appearance of the Punisher (Frank Castle) in comics history — a last-page cameo in which he confronts a briefly incapacitated Spider-Man at gunpoint, directly bridging his debut in ASM #129 to his first full Bronze Age storyline in ASM #135.
- Harry Osborn covertly watches Peter Parker swap into his Spider-Man gear and retrieve spare web-cartridges from their shared apartment, becoming the first person to confirm Peter's secret identity in this era — a subplot that culminates in Harry adopting the Green Goblin mantle in ASM #136.
- The Tarantula's debut scenario involves hijacking a Hudson River cruise ship and ransoming passengers for one million dollars, with Peter Parker's social circle — Mary Jane Watson, Flash Thompson, and Liz Allan — aboard as potential hostages.
- Creative team: writer Gerry Conway, penciler Ross Andru, inkers Frank Giacoia and Dave Hunt, colorist Linda Lessmann, letterer Artie Simek, cover by John Romita Sr., edited by Roy Thomas.
- The issue contains Marvel Value Stamp #3 (Conan the Barbarian), making intact copies without the stamp cut out a noted condition consideration among Bronze Age collectors.
- The story title is 'Danger Is a Man Named… Tarantula!' — and the cover, painted by Romita Sr., depicts the two characters battling on the ship's deck against a yellow background, with a tarantula shadow cast beneath Spider-Man rather than his usual silhouette.
- The Tarantula later appeared in ASM #135, #147–148, and #233–236, and was the villain featured on the debut cover of Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #1 (December 1976); his arc ultimately ended when Roger Stern had him mutate into a giant spider-creature before dying in a hail of police gunfire.
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Reprints
Reprinted in L'étonnant Spider-Man #36 (1974), O Homem-Aranha #68 (1974), Super Spider-Man #183 (1976), Strange #109 (1979), Die Spinne #135 (1979), Marvel Tales #111 (1980), El Hombre Araña / El Asombroso Hombre Araña #130 (1982), Eks almanah #359 (1983), Marvel Tales #210 (1988), Da Edderkoppen mødte Punisher #[1993] (1993), Spiderman de John Romita #56 (2003), Essential Punisher #1 (2004), Spider-Man : l'intégrale #1974 (2007), Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man #14 (2012), Punisher: Back to the War Omnibus #[nn] (2017), The Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus #4 (2019), Punisher : l'intégrale #1974-1981 (2021), Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection #8 (2022), A Teia do Aranha #26, De wonderbaarlijke Spinneman #5, El Asombroso Hombre-Araña #39, El Sorprendente Hombre Araña #15, L'Uomo Ragno [Collana Super-Eroi] #158, Σπάιντερ Μαν [Spider-Man] #21 + 1 more
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