Home › The Amazing Spider-Man › #256

Cover: Ron Frenz & Joe Rubinstein

The Amazing Spider-Man #256

Name: The Amazing Spider-Man #256
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Sep 1984 · Marvel · 0.60 USD; 0.30 GBP; 0.75 CAD

☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join free

“Introducing... Puma!”

★ 1st appearance — Thomas Fireheart★ 1st appearance — Puma

About this Issue

The Amazing Spider-Man #256 (cover-dated September 1984) is the first appearance of Thomas Fireheart, the Kisani Nation warrior-businessman who can transform into the anthropomorphic mountain lion known as Puma — a character who would evolve from contracted assassin to reluctant Spider-Man ally over the following decade, even briefly owning the Daily Bugle to publicly rehabilitate the hero's reputation. The issue also marks a pivotal chapter in the celebrated Alien Costume Saga: it is the first installment to explicitly depict the black symbiote taking control of Peter Parker's body while he sleeps, escalating the horror-tinged subplot that would culminate two issues later when the Fantastic Four help expose the suit as a living creature. As part of the creative partnership of writer Tom DeFalco and penciler Ron Frenz, the issue represents one of the most consequential single-issue introductions of the Copper Age, delivering both a durable new character and a crucial beat in the chain of events that ultimately produced Venom.

In "Introducing... Puma!", Spider-Man battles a new threat when mob boss Rose summons the powerful, feral assassin Thomas Fireheart—known as the Puma—to eliminate him. After a grueling fight, Spider-Man is left injured and vulnerable, his alien costume acting strangely as he tries to rest. With Peter drained and the Puma closing in, the web-slinger faces his most dangerous opponent yet—just as the alien suit begins to react in ways he doesn’t understand. Written by Tom DeFalco and illustrated by Ron Frenz, with inks by Josef Rubinstein and colors by Christie Scheele, this 1984 issue features a striking cover by Ron Frenz and Joe Rubinstein.

writer Tom DeFalco · artist Ron Frenz · inker Josef Rubinstein · colorist Christie Scheele · letterer Joe Rosen · cover Ron Frenz, Joe Rubinstein

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (VF) $10

CGC 9.8 · 384 in census $152*

CGC 9.6 · 456 in census $53*

CGC 9.4 · 270 in census $53*

CGC 9.2 · 167 in census $53

CGC 9.0 · 98 in census $44*

CGC 8.5 · 77 in census $40*

Show all 16 grades ▾

CGC 8.0 · 66 in census $36*

CGC 7.5 · 50 in census $32*

CGC 7.0 · 21 in census $31*

CGC 6.5 · 19 in census $30*

CGC 6.0 · 13 in census $26*

CGC 5.5 · 5 in census $24*

CGC 5.0 · 13 in census $20*

CGC 4.5 · 4 in census $20*

CGC 4.0 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 3.5 · 1 in census $20*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

This exact issue on ebay

CGC 9.8 ▾ $165–$400 3 listings

CGC 9.8 $164.95 CGC 9.8 $190 CGC 9.8 $399.99

CGC 9.6 ▾ $71.25–$84.99 2 listings

CGC 9.6 $71.25 CGC 9.6 $84.99

CGC 9.4 $60 1 listing

CGC 9.2 ▾ $44.99–$375 2 listings

CGC 9.2 · Newsstand $44.99 CGC 9.2 · Newsstand $374.99

CGC 8.5 $200 1 listing CGC 8 $37.99 1 listing CGC 5 $59 1 listing CGC 4 $61.99 1 listing CGC $14.99 1 listing CBCS 7.5 $185 1 listing Raw — MINT $24.99 1 listing Raw — NM+ $39.95 1 listing

Raw — NM ▾ $14.5–$27.99 5 listings

NM $14.5 NM $19.99 NM $21.28 NM $26.75 NM $27.99

Raw — NM- ▾ $10–$34.95 3 listings

NM- $10 NM- $19.99 NM- $34.95

Raw — VF/NM ▾ $14.99–$27.98 3 listings

VF/NM $14.99 VF/NM $19.99 VF/NM $27.98

Raw — VF+ ▾ $23–$25.99 2 listings

VF+ $23 VF+ $25.99

Raw — VF ▾ $10.99–$40 8 listings

VF $10.99 VF $15.11 VF $19 VF $21.4 VF $21.4 VF · Newsstand $22 VF · Newsstand $33 VF $40

Raw — FN/VF $14.95 1 listing Raw — FN+ $8.28 1 listing

Raw — FN ▾ $7.5–$28 3 listings

FN $7.5 FN $18.5 FN · Variant $28

Raw — FINE ▾ $7.99–$14.95 2 listings

FINE $7.99 FINE $14.95

Raw — VG+ $15.5 1 listing Raw — VG $9.99 1 listing

Raw / ungraded ▾ $2.99–$85 32 listings

Verified matches for The Amazing Spider-Man #256 · eBay asking prices, seen 31 days ago

More listings for this title

VG+ $11 VF/NM $45 CGC 8 · Newsstand $115 Amazing Spider-Man - Copper Age Comic Books-Pick & Choose-one low shipping cost! $79.99

Related listings we couldn't confirm as this exact issue · 4 total · seen 31 days ago

Read it digitally

Marvel Unlimited Marvel’s subscription reader ▸ Amazon Kindle Buy the digital edition ▸

Opens a search on each platform — digital availability varies by title.

Sell my copy

Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.

We Buy Collections ▸

Fast, fair offers · we handle grading & shipping

History

Tom DeFalco had taken over scripting Amazing Spider-Man from Roger Stern beginning with issue #253, pairing with Ron Frenz — who had originally joined the book as a short-term substitute for John Romita Jr. — for what became a landmark two-year collaboration. DeFalco has cited safari-themed novelty cards as the creative spark for Puma's design concept, filtering a big-cat predator archetype through a Native American cultural background to produce a villain with an unusually grounded moral framework. The issue was edited by Danny Fingeroth with Bob DeNatale as assistant editor, inked by Joe Rubinstein, colored by Christie Scheele, and lettered by Joe Rosen, under Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter. DeFalco and Frenz would be removed from the title by editor Jim Owsley in 1986, making this creative era a distinct and fondly remembered chapter in the series' long history.

Trivia · 7 facts

First appearance of Puma (Thomas Fireheart), created by writer Tom DeFalco and penciler Ron Frenz; the character is a Kisani Native American CEO and mercenary who can transform into a humanoid mountain lion through a combination of generations of genetic engineering and tribal mysticism.
The story is titled 'Introducing…Puma!' and is Part 1 of a two-part arc; Puma is hired by crime boss the Rose to assassinate Spider-Man, and closes the issue having dislocated Spider-Man's shoulder and leaving him unconscious.
Marks the first issue in the run to explicitly depict the black symbiote costume taking Peter Parker's body out on nocturnal crime-fighting excursions without his knowledge — a key escalation of the Alien Costume Saga that leads directly to the Fantastic Four's involvement in issues #257–258.
Cameo appearances include Black Cat, Mary Jane Watson, Betty Brant Leeds, and Robbie Robertson; the Fantastic Four and She-Hulk indexed in this database appear in the surrounding Alien Costume Saga arc (particularly ASM #258) but are NOT confirmed to appear within the pages of issue #256 itself.
Full creative credits: Script — Tom DeFalco; Pencils — Ron Frenz; Inks — Joe Rubinstein (credited as Josef Rubinstein); Colors — Christie Scheele; Letters — Joe Rosen; Editor — Danny Fingeroth; Assistant Editor — Bob DeNatale; Editor-in-Chief — Jim Shooter.
The story was reprinted in Marvel Tales #270–271 (February 1993), collected in Spider-Man: Birth of Venom (2007), Spider-Man: The Complete Alien Costume Saga (2014), and Symbiote Spider-Man: Marvel Tales #1 (March 2021), and received a full facsimile edition from Marvel in May 2024 (cover-dated July 2024), including a 1:25 Miguel Mercado variant cover.
Puma went on to appear in over 75 catalogued comics, eventually purchasing the Daily Bugle to run a pro-Spider-Man editorial campaign, joining the team of reformed villains known as the Outlaws, and appearing as a boss character (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) in the Game Boy Advance and PC versions of the Spider-Man 2 video game.