The Amazing Spider-Man #25
The Amazing Spider-Man #25 (June 1965) is one of the most densely packed key issues of the Silver Age, introducing three characters and concepts in a single story that would go on to shape the Spider-Man mythos for decades. Professor Spencer Smythe and his robot hunter — the prototype of what would eventually be called the Spider-Slayer — debut here, planting the seed for an entire lineage of man-versus-machine storylines that ran through the Bronze Age and beyond. Even more consequential for the series' long-term emotional life, this issue delivers the first physical appearance of Mary Jane Watson: she arrives on the Parker doorstep with her face famously blocked by a potted plant, a deliberate tease that Aunt May had been building toward since issue #15, and which would not pay off until John Romita Sr.'s celebrated reveal in issue #42. The issue also contains an early, then-unnamed background appearance of Norman Osborn, part of Steve Ditko's methodical groundwork for the eventual Green Goblin identity reveal.
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Stan Lee supplied the dialogue while Steve Ditko plotted and drew the entire issue — and, unusually, the splash page explicitly credits Ditko as the one who 'dreamed up the plot,' making this the first issue in the series to formally acknowledge Ditko's plotting role on the title. Colors were handled by Stan Goldberg and lettering by Sam Rosen, the same core production team that had been with the book since its early issues. The issue was cover-dated June 1965 with an on-sale date in the spring of that year, placing it squarely in the period when Lee and Ditko's working relationship — and their behind-the-scenes disagreements about creative direction — was growing increasingly strained, less than three years before Ditko's departure with issue #38.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Professor Spencer Smythe (called only 'Smythe' in this issue; his first name 'Spencer' is not given until Amazing Spider-Man #28), the robotics scientist who approaches J. Jonah Jameson with a machine capable of tracking and capturing Spider-Man.
- First appearance of the Spider-Slayer robot, though it is not yet called by that name; Smythe would not use the term 'Spider-Slayer' until presenting an upgraded model in Amazing Spider-Man #58 (March 1968).
- First (cameo) appearance of Mary Jane Watson: she appears outside the Parker home with her face obscured by a plant; both Liz Allan and Betty Brant catch a glimpse and react with surprise at her attractiveness. Her face is not shown until Amazing Spider-Man #42 (November 1966), drawn by John Romita Sr.
- Contains an early unnamed background appearance of Norman Osborn, consistent with Steve Ditko's stated intention to seed the character's presence before his formal introduction as the Green Goblin's civilian identity in issue #37.
- This is the first issue in the series to formally credit Steve Ditko as the plotter on the splash page, a milestone in the public recognition of Ditko's creative contribution to the title.
- The story's title is 'Captured by J. Jonah Jameson!' — the plot turns on Jameson personally operating the Spider-Slayer by remote, with Spider-Man escaping by abandoning his costume in the robot's grip, leaving Jameson holding an empty suit.
- The issue was reprinted in Marvel Tales #20 (May 1969) and again in Marvel Tales #163 (May 1984), and has been collected in Marvel Masterworks Vol. 10 (1989), The Essential Spider-Man, the Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection Vol. 2: Great Responsibility (2016), and Mighty Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 3 (2022).
- Full creative credits: plot by Steve Ditko, script/dialogue by Stan Lee, pencils and inks by Steve Ditko, colors by Stan Goldberg, letters by Sam Rosen, edited by Stan Lee.
Cast · 10 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
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Professor Smythe builds a robot to capture Spider-Man and rents it to J. Jonah Jameson.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).
