The Amazing Spider-Man #46
The Amazing Spider-Man #46 (March 1967) introduces Herman Schultz, the Shocker — one of the most durable additions to Spider-Man's Silver Age rogues' gallery — complete with his full origin story in a single issue, a rarity for the era. Unlike most of his contemporaries, Schultz is a self-made criminal engineer motivated purely by greed rather than revenge or world domination, giving him a working-class pragmatism that has made him a surprisingly versatile supporting villain across decades of stories. The issue also advances the soap-opera texture that defined John Romita Sr.'s run: Peter moves out of Aunt May's home into an apartment with Harry Osborn, Flash Thompson ships off to the military, and Frederick Foswell ('Patch') nearly uncovers Peter's secret identity — only to be fooled by an ingenious decoy. Together, these threads mark the book as a genuine turning-point in Peter Parker's civilian life, not merely another monster-of-the-week adventure.
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 ▸History
Written and edited by Stan Lee with full artwork — pencils, inks, and cover — by John Romita Sr., the issue was produced under the improvisational 'Marvel Method,' in which Lee supplied a character name and rough power concept and Romita developed everything else visually. In a later interview, Romita recalled that Lee described a villain who shocks people with wrist-mounted electric bolts, and Romita's response was to design a heavily quilted, padded costume that would logically absorb the feedback from the character's own vibrations — a practical, internally consistent choice that became one of Marvel's most recognizable villain silhouettes. Lettering was by Sam Rosen, and coloring is credited to Marie Severin on the Marvel Database. The issue went on sale in December 1966 with a March 1967 cover date.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance and same-issue origin of the Shocker (Herman Schultz), a self-taught engineer who invented vibro-shock gauntlets while imprisoned for safecracking and used them to escape, then turned to super-villainy.
- Written and edited by Stan Lee; art, inks, and cover by John Romita Sr.; lettering by Sam Rosen; colors by Marie Severin — the full Romita-era creative team.
- John Romita Sr. designed the Shocker's distinctive quilted costume by reasoning that a character generating powerful vibrations would need heavy padding to absorb the feedback — form following fictional function.
- Peter Parker moves out of Aunt May's Forest Hills home and into a shared apartment with Harry Osborn, a significant domestic shift in the ongoing serial narrative.
- Frederick Foswell, operating under his undercover alias 'Patch,' deduces that Peter Parker must be Spider-Man after trailing him — but Peter fools him with a dummy Spider-Man ruse, preserving his secret identity.
- Spider-Man fights the Shocker while still nursing an arm injured in the previous issue (#45), a continuity detail consistent with the book's ongoing storytelling style.
- Flash Thompson's farewell party appears in the issue, with his military draft serving as the story reason for his exit from the supporting cast (later editorially classified as a 'topical reference' under the Marvel sliding timescale).
- The story has been reprinted in Marvel Tales #186, multiple editions of Essential Spider-Man Vol. 3, Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 5, The Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus Vol. 2, and Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection Vol. 3 — Spider-Man No More, among others.
