The Amazing Spider-Man #162
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeAmazing Spider-Man #162 is the first full appearance of Jigsaw (Billy Russo), the disfigured assassin who would become one of the Punisher's most enduring arch-enemies and later gain live-action life in two separate screen adaptations. The issue also introduces Dr. Marla Madison, the scientist J. Jonah Jameson recruits to build a new Spider-Slayer — a character who would eventually become Jameson's wife and remain a fixture of the Spider-Man supporting cast for decades. As the conclusion of a two-part story with Nightcrawler and the Punisher both guest-starring, it arrived at the very dawn of the All-New, All-Different X-Men era and served as an effective cross-promotional showcase for Marvel's newly revived mutant franchise. All three of those debut/guest threads have given the issue lasting historical weight well beyond its Bronze Age publication date.
In "Let the Punisher Fit the Crime!", Spider-Man teams up with the Punisher to track down a mysterious shooter, forging an uneasy alliance in a high-stakes chase. As Jigsaw captures Spider-Man, the Punisher and Nightcrawler launch a daring rescue, turning the tide in a tense showdown. Meanwhile, J. Jonah Jameson enlists Dr. Marla Madison in a new scheme to bring down the web-slinger. Written by Len Wein and brought to life with dynamic art by Ross Andru, with inks by Mike Esposito and Dave Hunt, and colors by Glynis Wein, this 1976 classic features a cover by Ross Andru and John Romita.
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Writer Len Wein — who had co-created the All-New X-Men lineup just a year earlier in Giant-Size X-Men #1 — both wrote and edited this issue, giving him a personal stake in working Nightcrawler into the Spider-Man corner of the Marvel Universe. Ross Andru supplied breakdowns, with Mike Esposito providing finished pencils and inks, Dave Hunt assisting on backgrounds, Glynis Wein (Oliver) coloring, and John Costanza lettering; the cover was penciled by Andru and inked by John Romita Sr. The story is the second half of a two-parter begun in #161, and the title 'Let the Punisher Fit the Crime!' signals Wein's intent to resolve the sniper-framing mystery he set up in the prior issue — with the debut villain Jigsaw revealed as the architect of the entire scheme.
Trivia · 7 facts
- First full appearance of Jigsaw (William 'Billy' Russo), created by writer Len Wein and penciler Ross Andru; his cameo (shadow only) had appeared in the preceding issue #161.
- First appearance of Dr. Marla Madison, an electro-biologist at Empire State University; J. Jonah Jameson recruits her to build a new Spider-Slayer robot — she later becomes Jameson's second wife.
- Story title: 'Let the Punisher Fit the Crime!' — Part 2 of 2; continued directly from Amazing Spider-Man #161 ('…And the Nightcrawler Came Prowling, Prowling').
- Guest stars: Nightcrawler (Kurt Wagner) of the X-Men and the Punisher (Frank Castle), both appearing as co-protagonists alongside Spider-Man in the climactic three-on-one confrontation with Jigsaw.
- Jigsaw's origin as established in this issue: Billy Russo was an assassin whose face was horribly scarred when the Punisher threw him through a plate glass window; he adopts the 'Jigsaw' identity and frames the Punisher for a series of sniper murders to lure him into a trap.
- Jigsaw was subsequently portrayed by Dominic West in the 2008 film Punisher: War Zone and by Ben Barnes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Netflix series The Punisher.
- The issue was reprinted in Marvel Tales #215 (September 1988); the preceding Part 1 was reprinted in Marvel Tales #214 (August 1988).
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Reprints
Reprinted in Comic Reader #134 (1976), L'étonnant Spider-Man #64 (1976), L'Uomo Ragno [Collana Super-Eroi] #216 (1978), Edderkoppen #10/1978 (1978), Spindelmannen #10/1978 (1978), Strange #124 (1980), El Hombre Araña / El Asombroso Hombre Araña #158 (1983), Die Spinne Comic-Jubiläums-Sonderheft #1 (1986), Marvel Tales #214 (1988), Marvel Tales #215 (1988), Essential Punisher #1 (2004), Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man #16 (2014), Punisher vs. the Marvel Universe #[nn] (2016), Punisher: Back to the War Omnibus #[nn] (2017), X-Men: Children of the Atom #[6] (2019), Punisher : l'intégrale #1974-1981 (2021), The Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus #5 (2021), Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection #9 (2023), Biblioteca Marvel: Spiderman #27, ComicOrama Jumbo des Super-Heros #282, El Sorprendente Hombre Araña #100, Hämähäkkimies #8/1980, Σπάιντερ Μαν [Spider-Man] #74, Spiderman #63-G + 1 more
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