Spiderman Number 1: Trials of the Tinkerer

So, The vulture in the first story and the handyman in the second, the Spiderman The series was going very well in its second issue. With the backstory firmly established in the first issue, Stan Lee and his group decided to draw some supervillains for Spider-Man.

Synopsis

In this issue, Peter Parker begins working for a world-famous scientist, Professor Cobbwell. Although his school teachers are happy with him, his colleagues and classmates start labeling him a bookworm and he ends up not being the most famous kid in school.

Now, like any other intern, Parker’s life is not just about working on what he is, but also doing the tasks that the professor tells him. This puts him in contact with a man known only as The Tinkerer, who repairs important men’s electronics for just a dime.

Parker finds this suspicious, and his spider-sense tingles as he arrives at The Tinkerer’s lair, but has no choice but to leave. After all, the intern has to do only what his employer has told him, right?

Back in the professor’s lab, he feels the same tingles, and our costumed superhero is stumped. Feel the same tingles when you were in The Tinkerer’s laboratory!

When Professor Cobbwell leaves for the day, Spider-Man investigates the radio and finds some unique devices. Our brave at heart hero decides to investigate further.

Well, Spidey finds out that The Tinkerer’s repair shop is just a front for an alien race with a unique plan for world domination. They have inserted a device into the electronic devices of all the important men, so that they can decipher their user behavior and spy on them.

In fact, the alien race is snooping on the defense plans an Army Major is discussing even as Spider-Man finds out about his dastardly plan.

Spiderman is found and there is a skirmish between the aliens and Spiderman. Although Spidey overpowers them all, he is eventually captured after a device is thrown at him. He is held captive in a special cell, from which Spidey emerges with his webbing.

There’s another skirmish now, where one of the control panels is hit and there’s a big fire. Spiderman escapes, along with The Tinkerer and all the aliens. When people see Spiderman escaping from the chimney, they wonder if it was Spiderman who set the building on fire.

Discussion:

In the first issue, Peter Parker was charged with his role as Spider-Man, and in the next issue, he first fought a common criminal, The Vulture, and the third story pitted him against an alien race!

That escalated pretty quickly, didn’t it? Well, the common thread in all these stories is electronics. A miniature camera, a device that stops the Vulture’s artificial wings, and special devices on radios that allow people to spy on others.

We need to stress here that while electronics may seem poorly portrayed, it is ultimately an electronic device that Spiderman uses to defeat The Vulture.

If the comics are a picture of the situation back then, we’re guessing that being in the electronics business wasn’t a good idea at the time. In these numbers, along with larger-than-life characters like an alien race and a flying thief, new electronics are at the center of the theme.

Spider-Man’s character has also grown tremendously in the opening issues, and the writers have taken pains to explain how Spidey is doing things.

We can’t wait to read the other adventures and discuss them. It’s you? Tell us all in the comments section below.