The Amazing Spider-Man #139
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThe Amazing Spider-Man #139 (December 1974) marks the debut of Maxwell Markham, the Grizzly — a disgraced ex-wrestler armed with a Jackal-supplied exoskeleton bear suit who stormed the Daily Bugle seeking revenge against J. Jonah Jameson, the newspaper publisher whose editorials had ended his career. The issue sits squarely within the thematically charged Jackal arc of Gerry Conway's run, a period that would culminate in the original Clone Saga; Grizzly functions here as the Jackal's instrument, and the cliffhanger ending — with Peter Parker captured and the Jackal gloating — deepens that building menace. While Grizzly was not an immediate fan-favorite villain, the character enjoyed a long afterlife, eventually softening into an anti-hero who joined the Thunderbolts under Norman Osborn and later found legitimate employment with Scott Lang's Ant-Man Security Solutions, an arc that rewards readers who trace him all the way back to this first appearance.
In "Day of the Grizzly!", Peter Parker struggles to make ends meet after moving to a new apartment in Chelsea, prompting him to return to his old job at the Daily Bugle—only to face a sudden threat when a masked wrestler known as the Grizzly launches a brazen attack on the newsroom. With his usual heroics on the line and his civilian life hanging in the balance, Peter must race to don the suit and stop the Grizzly before the situation spirals out of control. Written by Gerry Conway and brought to life by Ross Andru’s dynamic art, Frank Giacoia’s inks, and Jan Brunner’s vivid colors, this 1974 issue captures Spider-Man at a tense crossroads. The cover by Gil Kane, with inks by John Romita and Tony Mortellaro, perfectly captures the moment’s urgency.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Issue #139 falls mid-run for the Conway–Andru creative partnership, which launched with #125 after Gil Kane departed following the landmark Gwen Stacy story. Ross Andru had stepped in quietly — so quietly that readers wrote in asking who Marvel's 'new' artist was, unaware he had been working for the company for years — and over the following five years he illustrated the vast majority of the title's issues, providing what SpiderFan.org described as a charming antidote to the grimness of the Stacy era. Roy Thomas served as editor, and the cover was produced by the series' previous penciler Gil Kane alongside John Romita Sr., a common practice at Marvel during this period when cover and interior art were often handled by different teams.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Grizzly (Maxwell Markham), ex-professional wrestler turned armored villain, created by writer Gerry Conway and penciler Ross Andru.
- Story title: 'Day of the Grizzly!' Cover date: December 1974. On-sale date: approximately September 10, 1974.
- Grizzly's origin: J. Jonah Jameson's scathing Daily Bugle editorials about Markham's brutal in-ring tactics led the wrestling commission to revoke his license; years later, the Jackal supplied him with a grizzly bear exoskeleton suit to send him after Jameson.
- The Jackal appears in this issue — dispatching Grizzly as a hired weapon against Jameson — and ends the issue capturing Peter Parker, setting up a direct continuation in issue #140.
- The Grizzly exoskeleton suit was designed by Professor Miles Warren (the Jackal) and later upgraded by the Tinkerer in subsequent appearances.
- Full credits: script by Gerry Conway; pencils by Ross Andru; inks by Frank Giacoia and Dave Hunt; colors by Jan Brunner; letters by Artie Simek; edited by Roy Thomas; cover by Gil Kane and John Romita Sr.
- The issue contains Marvel Value Stamp Series A #42 (Man-Wolf) on its letters page, part of Marvel's mid-1970s reader-engagement promotion.
- Reprinted in Marvel Tales #116 (June 1980); also collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 14 (2012) and The Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus Vol. 4 (2019), as well as the Spider-Man: The Original Clone Saga trade paperback (2011).
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Reprints
Reprinted in Comic Reader #110 (1974), L'étonnant Spider-Man #41 (1974), El Sorprendente Hombre Araña #41 (1975), Strange #112 (1979), Marvel Tales #116 (1980), Eks almanah #315 (1982), El Hombre Araña / El Asombroso Hombre Araña #135 (1982), Spiderman de John Romita #58 (2003), Spider-Man : l'intégrale #1974 (2007), Spider-Man: The Original Clone Saga #[nn] (2011), Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man #14 (2012), The Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus #4 (2019), Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection #8 (2022), De wonderbaarlijke Spinneman #8, Die Spinne - Das fehlende Jahr #140, El Asombroso Hombre-Araña #44, L'Uomo Ragno [Collana Super-Eroi] #168, Σπάιντερ Μαν [Spider-Man] #26, Σπάιντερ Μαν [Spider-Man] #311
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