The Amazing Spider-Man #138
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeAmazing Spider-Man #138 is the debut issue of Mindworm (William Turner), a mutant psychic antagonist whose tragedy-driven origin gave Conway's late Bronze Age run one of its most distinctively empathetic villains — a character designed to be pitied as much as fought. The issue also marks a consequential domestic shift for Peter Parker: forced out of his Harry Osborn apartment after the destruction caused by the Harry-as-Green-Goblin storyline, Peter temporarily moves in with Flash Thompson in Far Rockaway, Queens, a transitional beat that bridged the end of one major story arc and the opening moves toward the clone saga. Positioned between the resolution of Harry Osborn's Green Goblin tenure and the earliest rumblings of the Jackal storyline, the issue functions as a narrative interlude that nonetheless introduces a character whose arc — from villain to tragic reformee to homeless victim — would be revisited across three decades of Spider-Man continuity.
In "Madness Means... the Mindworm!", Peter Parker struggles to cope after his apartment is destroyed in a clash with the Green Goblin, turning his usual struggles into a full-blown crisis. With Flash Thompson offering shelter—though it’s in Queens, far from Peter’s usual stomping grounds—he’s left searching for a place to stay, only to be thrown into a new kind of danger with the arrival of the enigmatic Mindworm, a mutant whose powers twist emotions in unpredictable ways. Written by Gerry Conway and brought to life by Ross Andru’s dynamic art, with Frank Giacoia’s inks and Petra Goldberg’s colors, this issue captures Spider-Man’s vulnerability with sharp realism, while Gil Kane’s cover delivers a striking, memorable image.
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The issue was written by Gerry Conway during his landmark run on the title, which spanned issues #111–149 and included the death of Gwen Stacy; at the time Conway took over as Marvel's primary Spider-Man writer at just nineteen years old, succeeding Stan Lee on one of the publisher's flagship books. Interior art was pencilled by Ross Andru with inks by Frank Giacoia and Dave Hunt, while the cover was rendered by Gil Kane with inks by John Romita Sr., under editor Roy Thomas. A notable behind-the-scenes footnote: according to the Marvel Appendix, artist Ross Andru used an actual house in the Far Rockaway neighborhood of Queens as reference for Mindworm's lair, which reportedly attracted curious neighborhood kids hoping to spot the large-headed villain — prompting Marvel to issue an apology in the letters column of a subsequent issue (#149).
Trivia · 7 facts
- First appearance and same-issue origin of Mindworm (William Turner), a mutant born near an experimental government compound who possesses psionic energy-draining powers and an oversized cranium.
- Written by Gerry Conway, with interior pencils by Ross Andru, inks by Frank Giacoia and Dave Hunt, and a cover by Gil Kane (pencils) and John Romita Sr. (inks); edited by Roy Thomas.
- Story title: 'Madness Means…the Mindworm!' — the issue directly follows the aftermath of Peter Parker's apartment being destroyed by a bomb planted by Harry Osborn in ASM #136, and opens with Peter moving in with Flash Thompson in Far Rockaway, Queens.
- The issue contains Marvel Value Stamp #41 Series A featuring the Gladiator, located between story pages 11 and 12.
- Mindworm returned in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #35, in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #8 (1988), and was killed (or apparently killed) in a street mugging depicted in The Sensational Spider-Man Vol. 2 #23 (2006) — the Marvel Database notes he subsequently survived and ended up in Ravencroft Institute.
- The story was reprinted in Marvel Tales #115 (May 1980), and has also been collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 14 (2012) and The Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus Vol. 4 (2019).
- Ross Andru's use of a real Far Rockaway house as visual reference reportedly caused a minor real-world incident, with Marvel addressing it in the letters page of ASM #149.
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Reprints
Reprinted in Comic Reader #109 (1974), L'étonnant Spider-Man #40 (1974), Strange #111 (1979), Edderkoppen #11/1979 (1979), Spindelmannen #11/1979 (1979), Marvel Tales #115 (1980), El Hombre Araña / El Asombroso Hombre Araña #134 (1982), Spiderman de John Romita #56 (2003), Spiderman de John Romita #57 (2003), Spider-Man : l'intégrale #1974 (2007), Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man #14 (2012), The Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus #4 (2019), Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection #8 (2022), A Teia do Aranha #28, De wonderbaarlijke Spinneman #7, Die Spinne - Das fehlende Jahr #139, El Sorprendente Hombre Araña #33, L'Uomo Ragno [Collana Super-Eroi] #162, Labah-Labah #3, Σπάιντερ Μαν [Spider-Man] #25, Σπάιντερ Μαν [Spider-Man] #310
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