The Amazing Spider-Man #48
Amazing Spider-Man #48 is the first appearance of Raniero 'Blackie' Drago, the second character to wield the Vulture identity in the Marvel Universe — an early example of Marvel's Silver Age habit of passing a villain's mantle to a successor and testing reader loyalty to the original. Stan Lee's stated reason for creating Drago was a genuine storytelling concern: he felt Spider-Man came across as a bully pummeling an elderly, frail Adrian Toomes, so he recast the role with a younger, more physically credible threat. The experiment backfired — reader mail made clear the audience preferred Toomes — and the editorial reversal that followed actually cemented Toomes as one of the definitive recurring Spider-Man villains rather than a character who might have quietly faded. The issue also contains a transitional character moment for Gwen Stacy, whose hairstyle is visibly redesigned here toward what would become her classic look, a small but durable continuity detail.
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Written and edited by Stan Lee with full pencil, ink, and cover art by John Romita Sr., the issue carries a cover date of May 1967 and was released in February 1967. Lettering was by Sam Rosen, while coloring is credited to Stan Goldberg; Heritage Auctions records note that the original inker credit (Mike Esposito) was later corrected to John Romita Sr. The issue is the second chapter of a three-part arc running through issues #47–49, set against a wintry New York City backdrop that Romita renders with particular energy in his action sequences. Lee's conscious desire to give Spider-Man a more age-appropriate aerial adversary drove the character's creation, though the negative reader response Lee received would prove equally influential in shaping how editorial handled villain retirements going forward.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Raniero 'Blackie' Drago (Earth-616), created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr., making his debut as the second character to assume the Vulture identity.
- Lee's editorial motivation for introducing Drago was his concern that Spider-Man looked like a bully fighting a wizened old man when battling the elderly Adrian Toomes — corroborated across multiple sources.
- Reader mail responding negatively to Drago caused Lee to reverse course and restore Adrian Toomes as the Vulture, making this a documented instance of fan feedback shaping Marvel editorial decisions.
- The issue is part 2 of the 3-part 'Kraven the Hunter & the New Vulture' arc (ASM #47–49); Kraven the Hunter also appears, setting up the following issue's three-way battle.
- Gwen Stacy appears with a noticeably redesigned hairstyle — acknowledged in-story by Harry Osborn comparing it to Mary Jane's look — marking an early step toward her eventual 'classic' visual design.
- Peter Parker's professor Dr. Miles Warren appears in a classroom scene, part of his ongoing background presence in the supporting cast years before his later transformation into the Jackal.
- The issue was reprinted in Marvel Tales (1966 series) #188 (June 1986), making the story accessible to a later generation of readers.
- The Blackie Drago incarnation of the Vulture — referred to on-screen as 'Vulture Man' — appeared in the 1967 Spider-Man animated series, voiced by Gillie Fenwick, demonstrating how quickly Marvel's television partners adapted the new character.
