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Mighty Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 3 - The Goblin And The Gangsters
The stories that built the Marvel Universe, from the brilliant minds of legendary creators - now available in an accessible new format the whole family can enjoy! Peter Parker may have the most amazing powers in the super hero biz, but that only goes so far when you're a bad luck magnet. Not only does his boss consider him Public Enemy No. 1, he's sending not just one but two super villains after him: the Scorpion and Spider-Slayer! To add insult to injury, the Human Torch one-ups Spidey against the Beetle. And making matters worse, the Green Goblin teams up with the Crime-Master, Aunt May finds a certain red-and- blue costume and the Molten Man makes high school graduation a day to remember. Whew! Plus: an iconic team-up between Spider-Man and Doctor Strange! Collecting AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (1963) #20-28 and AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL (1964) #2.
224 pages, Paperback
Published July 5, 2022
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45 people want to read
About the author
Stan Lee
7,571 books2,352 followersStan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber) was an American writer, editor, creator of comic book superheroes, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.
With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.
With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 19, 2022
Mighty Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 3: The Goblin and the Gangsters collects Amazing Spider-Man #20-28 plus Annual #2.
These Mighty Marvel Masterworks are hit or miss for me. Some of them do not age well at all. Others, like this one, are pretty damn good even after sixty years.
Stan Lee and Steve Ditko were in their prime during this span of issues, no matter who was doing all the heavy lifting. Spidey goes up against The Green Goblin, the Scorpion, The Beetle, The Circus of Crime, The Crime Master, the Molten Man, and a Spider-Slayer robot. He even has time to team up with Doctor Strange against Xandu, an evil wizard.
I shouldn't be as surprised as I am considering I've read quite a bit of Silver Age Marvel stuff but there is so much stuff crammed into these issues. Each one has enough material for two issues, four to six issues of a modern comic. Ditko was at the top of his game and Stan was still putting in the effort on the dialog. As I've said before, I think these early Spider-Man issues hold up better than the early Fantastic Four issues, especially when you factor in the dialog.
I think one of the reason these issues have such charm for me is because Spider-Man is still fairly new. He has some history but not enough to drag him down. Lee and Ditko are still inventing the dances that Spidey will do for decades after they leave the book. Hell, Mary Jane Watson hasn't even met Peter yet and won't for another two years!
Four out of five stars. This is one of the best runs of the Silver Age.
These Mighty Marvel Masterworks are hit or miss for me. Some of them do not age well at all. Others, like this one, are pretty damn good even after sixty years.
Stan Lee and Steve Ditko were in their prime during this span of issues, no matter who was doing all the heavy lifting. Spidey goes up against The Green Goblin, the Scorpion, The Beetle, The Circus of Crime, The Crime Master, the Molten Man, and a Spider-Slayer robot. He even has time to team up with Doctor Strange against Xandu, an evil wizard.
I shouldn't be as surprised as I am considering I've read quite a bit of Silver Age Marvel stuff but there is so much stuff crammed into these issues. Each one has enough material for two issues, four to six issues of a modern comic. Ditko was at the top of his game and Stan was still putting in the effort on the dialog. As I've said before, I think these early Spider-Man issues hold up better than the early Fantastic Four issues, especially when you factor in the dialog.
I think one of the reason these issues have such charm for me is because Spider-Man is still fairly new. He has some history but not enough to drag him down. Lee and Ditko are still inventing the dances that Spidey will do for decades after they leave the book. Hell, Mary Jane Watson hasn't even met Peter yet and won't for another two years!
Four out of five stars. This is one of the best runs of the Silver Age.
October 30, 2023
Gostei imenso do livro, consegui descobrir vários personagens da vida do Spider-Man/Peter Parker mais antigos que não sabia que existiam, bem como descobrir a origem de alguns que vi em filmes! Os desenhos também são super antigos e é super fun e interessante de se ler :D
September 1, 2022
The third volume in the Mighty Marvel Masterworks Spider-Man series reprints Amazing Spider-Man 20-28 and Annual 2, the middle of Stan Lee/Steve Ditko's run. Lee and Ditko have established a solid formula for the book and have begun to experiment a bit, turning out some really fun stories.
With Spider-Man Epic Collection Volume 2 "Great Responsibility" out of print as of mid-2022, this is the most affordable way to read these issues. The Mighty Marvel Masterworks are a smaller format and have ever so slightly lower paper quality than the Epic Collections, but its hard to complain with the $16 (or less) price point. Hopefully, Marvel will release Mighty Marvel Masterworks Volume 4 in the next few months to complete the Lee/Ditko run in this format.
-Spoilers Below-
My favorite part of these issues are the quieter, "off beat" (as Stan Lee calls them) moments. Beginning a story thread running through several issues, Peter Parker needs to wash his Spidey costume and has to hide it in Aunt May's attic to dry. This causes him to be briefly without his costume, so he sews a back-up. Later he loses both of his costumes, with one lost in a hilarious scene in which Aunt May finds it and confronts him about it. So, Parker has to buy a low-quality knock-off from a costume shop, which ends up shrinking in mid-battle!
These issues also feature Peter's high school graduation, which features some poignant reflection on growing up and moving on. We often think of Spider-Man as a teenage superhero, and I'd forgotten that he graduates from high school as early as issue 28 with the college years taking up many, many more issues.
Another highlight is J. Jonah Jameson going well beyond his normal churlishness into full super-villain mode leading to the creation of the Scorpion in issue 20 and funding the development of (and piloting!) the first of what would later be known as the Spider Slayer robots in issue 25.
Other interesting stories include Parker begins to think that he may be suffering from a mental illness and seeking therapy in issue 24 and finally an epic two-part crime story involving the Green Goblin and the Crime-Master in issues 26 and 27, possibly the best plotted issues of the book up to this point.
The issues do, however, suffer from some of the problems common to the Lee/Ditko era. Women in these issues are underwritten and cliche. We're still pre-Gwen Stacy and pre-Mary Jane. Betty Brant and Liz Allen are thinner characters than the comic book paper they are printed on. And sometimes the Silver Age comics zaniness falls flat, as in the case of the goofy and not remotely menacing "Clown and His Masters of Menace" in issue 22. The same goes for the first meetup between Spider-Man and Doctor Strange in Annual 2, in what should have been a psychedelic journey across dimensions that is instead weirdly inert and ho-hum.
All-in-all, however, these are great issues from a classic period of Spider-Man comics and extremely accessible in the Mighty Marvel Masterworks format. Highly recommended!
With Spider-Man Epic Collection Volume 2 "Great Responsibility" out of print as of mid-2022, this is the most affordable way to read these issues. The Mighty Marvel Masterworks are a smaller format and have ever so slightly lower paper quality than the Epic Collections, but its hard to complain with the $16 (or less) price point. Hopefully, Marvel will release Mighty Marvel Masterworks Volume 4 in the next few months to complete the Lee/Ditko run in this format.
-Spoilers Below-
My favorite part of these issues are the quieter, "off beat" (as Stan Lee calls them) moments. Beginning a story thread running through several issues, Peter Parker needs to wash his Spidey costume and has to hide it in Aunt May's attic to dry. This causes him to be briefly without his costume, so he sews a back-up. Later he loses both of his costumes, with one lost in a hilarious scene in which Aunt May finds it and confronts him about it. So, Parker has to buy a low-quality knock-off from a costume shop, which ends up shrinking in mid-battle!
These issues also feature Peter's high school graduation, which features some poignant reflection on growing up and moving on. We often think of Spider-Man as a teenage superhero, and I'd forgotten that he graduates from high school as early as issue 28 with the college years taking up many, many more issues.
Another highlight is J. Jonah Jameson going well beyond his normal churlishness into full super-villain mode leading to the creation of the Scorpion in issue 20 and funding the development of (and piloting!) the first of what would later be known as the Spider Slayer robots in issue 25.
Other interesting stories include Parker begins to think that he may be suffering from a mental illness and seeking therapy in issue 24 and finally an epic two-part crime story involving the Green Goblin and the Crime-Master in issues 26 and 27, possibly the best plotted issues of the book up to this point.
The issues do, however, suffer from some of the problems common to the Lee/Ditko era. Women in these issues are underwritten and cliche. We're still pre-Gwen Stacy and pre-Mary Jane. Betty Brant and Liz Allen are thinner characters than the comic book paper they are printed on. And sometimes the Silver Age comics zaniness falls flat, as in the case of the goofy and not remotely menacing "Clown and His Masters of Menace" in issue 22. The same goes for the first meetup between Spider-Man and Doctor Strange in Annual 2, in what should have been a psychedelic journey across dimensions that is instead weirdly inert and ho-hum.
All-in-all, however, these are great issues from a classic period of Spider-Man comics and extremely accessible in the Mighty Marvel Masterworks format. Highly recommended!
February 21, 2025
“Well, well! Since when did you become the ‘Dear Abby’ of Midtown High?”
First appearances of: Scorpion (#20); Mary Jane Watson (albeit obscured by a houseplant) (#25); and Molten Man (#28).
Look for: the second Tuesday Weld reference of the Silver Age (#22); Spider-Man paying tribute to Superman actor Steve Reeves (#27); Liz Allan for one panel becoming Liz Hilton, and Peter’s high school graduation, with scholarships given to him and Flash for Empire State University (#28). In the same issue, Peter jokes about J. Jonah Jameson winning an Oscar… and of course, Jameson actor J.K. Simmons is an Oscar winner. In #24, Peter pays for a $6.75 charge with $7, and tells the delivery person to keep the change. That change was enough to buy two copies of the very comic this occurred in!
“What about my offer?? It’ll be you and me!”
“Please — I just ate!”
First appearances of: Scorpion (#20); Mary Jane Watson (albeit obscured by a houseplant) (#25); and Molten Man (#28).
Look for: the second Tuesday Weld reference of the Silver Age (#22); Spider-Man paying tribute to Superman actor Steve Reeves (#27); Liz Allan for one panel becoming Liz Hilton, and Peter’s high school graduation, with scholarships given to him and Flash for Empire State University (#28). In the same issue, Peter jokes about J. Jonah Jameson winning an Oscar… and of course, Jameson actor J.K. Simmons is an Oscar winner. In #24, Peter pays for a $6.75 charge with $7, and tells the delivery person to keep the change. That change was enough to buy two copies of the very comic this occurred in!
“What about my offer?? It’ll be you and me!”
“Please — I just ate!”
July 28, 2022
This is primo Spider-Man, from the time period when Stan Lee begrudgingly allowed artist Steve Ditko to have plotting credit. I really think issues 26 through 33 are Ditko’s apex on the series, along with his two annuals, and this third Mighty Marvel Masterworks reprints Amazing Spider-Man 20 through 28 plus Annual #2. Both Lee and Ditko are firing on all cylinders here, and I especially love the two-part Green Goblin/Crimemaster story from issues #26-27, and the Dr. Strange team-up from Annual #2. I imagine the next volume of MMMW will probably wrap up Ditko’s run on Spidey, issues 29 through 38. I have read these stories so many times before, but the new covers by Michael Cho on all these volumes somehow make them fresh and new, at least through my eyes.
October 25, 2023
"AH YES, MRS VAN DER TWILLIGER, IT'S ONE OF THE FINEST COLLECTIONS OF ART IN THE EAST! I SELECTED ALL THE PAUNTINGS MYSELF! THEY'RE VIRTUALLY PRICELESS!"
- J. Jonah Jameson promoting his own incomparable humility.
I love me some spidey, and the Lee and Ditko-era is always a joy to dive into.
Scorpion, Beetle, Green Goblin, The Molten Man, Jameson's face on a robot, a hallucinating spidey, Mary Jane's first (sort of) appearance. This one has it all.
Much more fluid than the first twenty-or-so stories, this book was easy to read and challenging to stop. I probably caused irreparable damage to my bladder because I didn't want to set the book down.
Concluding with an annual featuring Doctor Strange, Ditko's other major project, this book was a ton of fun.
Four stars.
- J. Jonah Jameson promoting his own incomparable humility.
I love me some spidey, and the Lee and Ditko-era is always a joy to dive into.
Scorpion, Beetle, Green Goblin, The Molten Man, Jameson's face on a robot, a hallucinating spidey, Mary Jane's first (sort of) appearance. This one has it all.
Much more fluid than the first twenty-or-so stories, this book was easy to read and challenging to stop. I probably caused irreparable damage to my bladder because I didn't want to set the book down.
Concluding with an annual featuring Doctor Strange, Ditko's other major project, this book was a ton of fun.
Four stars.
March 5, 2023
Stan and Steve really stepped their game up with this set of issues. They continue the themes and ideas that were introduced previously while giving us new and exciting villains. Spidey still has bad luck, but some things turn out for him. We almost got a look and Mary Jane but they hid her from us. Peter graduated high school in issue 28 which was a lot of fun to see. Then in annual 2 he teamed up with Doctor Strange, which was really cool, seeing Ditko in his element drawing Strange and all of the weird magic around him was great. Pretty good book.
November 9, 2025
The Goblin and the Gangsters is another solid slice of the Spidey bible. Here we see the origin of several significant players in the Spider-Man mythos: Scorpion, Molten Man, and the early appearances of familiar faces like the Green Goblin and... the circus?
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The titular issues focusing on the Goblin and the Gangsters were my favourite part of the volume. I found the double blackmail dynamic between the Crime Master and the Green Goblin to be really interesting. As they both knew each other's secret identities, their fragile partnership was formed purely out of necessity.
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The Crime Master was also a surprisingly intriguing figure—Marvel’s clear equivalent of Black Mask. It’s just a shame his story was wrapped up so quickly.
Overall, this volume is the definition of a 3-star read. There were no standout issues, but no particularly bad ones either. It’s a perfectly enjoyable and essential piece of Spider-Man history.
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The titular issues focusing on the Goblin and the Gangsters were my favourite part of the volume. I found the double blackmail dynamic between the Crime Master and the Green Goblin to be really interesting. As they both knew each other's secret identities, their fragile partnership was formed purely out of necessity.
[image error]
The Crime Master was also a surprisingly intriguing figure—Marvel’s clear equivalent of Black Mask. It’s just a shame his story was wrapped up so quickly.
Overall, this volume is the definition of a 3-star read. There were no standout issues, but no particularly bad ones either. It’s a perfectly enjoyable and essential piece of Spider-Man history.
April 2, 2023
It’s alright just some classic spidey. Sometimes hard to keep going though as some issues rule and others like robot j Jonah Jameson are just complete slogs. I appreciate the art even more now and where the character comes from but the more I read of the Stan lee run the less essential it feels for new spidey readers
February 25, 2023
The Amazing Spider-Man...
I like going back in time, it's good to go back to the start of these character's development & seeing them around their inception...
I like going back in time, it's good to go back to the start of these character's development & seeing them around their inception...
August 8, 2024
Slightly more enjoyable than Volume 2 with some good stories, especially the Green Goblin issues and opens with the first ever appearance of Scorpion. Would recommend!
November 7, 2024
Muy buenas y entretenidas historias.
December 15, 2024
This is where the story of Spider-Man really gets good if you are kind of not digging the silver age corniness than this is where things start to get a little more serious
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews