SPIDER-MAN versus VULTURE
The Return of The Vulture (Marvel)
Where: Amazing Spider-man #7 When: December 1963 Why: Stan Lee How: Steve Ditko
The Story So Far...
The Vulture has built a new flight harness and flown the coop from prison to again spread terror from above!
His new and improved magnetic mechanism flies rings around police helicopters, and effortlessly takes Vulture anywhere in the concrete jungle! An open window is all that's needed to pick a jewelry showroom clean of its extravagant riches!
Fortunately for the citizens of New York City, Spider-man knows the way to beat the Vulture at his own game! He still has the anti-magnetic inverter he built to clip the Vulture's wings. He's ready to do it all again -- or so he thinks!
Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Spider-man 5 (Super-Human)
Intelligence: Draw 5 (Professor)
Speed: Spider-man 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Spider-man 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Spider-man 5 (Cat-Like)
Fighting: Spider-man 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Spider-man 2 (Projectiles)
Total: Spider-man 29 (Meta-human)
The stat sheet paints a pretty one-sided picture, but you can never completely count out the lethal foes of Spider-man! His opponent makes the sky his home and when the bird comes a-swoopin' that spider's gonna hope he has cover!
Vulture is Adrian Toomes: a genius inventor and electrical engineer who discovered a method for personal flight through the use of an electronic harness. The device allows for levitation and propulsion which he steers using a winged suit. The harness is also said to increase his strength and vitality.
Toomes was initially inspired to a life of crime when his business partner absconded with embezzled funds. He quickly became one of Spider-man's earliest arch-villains, defeated in Amazing Spider-man #2 by an invention designed to incapacitate his flight harness.
A wingless Vulture was able to escape Spider-man while he fought Electro in Marvel Knights: Spider-man #3. A later gathering of the Sinister Twelve saw Vulture targeting Spider-man and Black Cat, before the Avengers intervened to bring about the team's defeat, in Marvel Knights: Spider-man #11.
Spidey's swinging solo in today's fight, and although Toomes is essentially just an old man in a fancy flying suit -- his aerial acrobatics negate one of Spider-man's most unique advantages: his maneuverability!
Human Torch almost used his aerial advantage to panfry Spider-man in Fantastic Four #543! The web-head only got the better of a gliding Green Goblin after grounding him in Marvel Knights: Spider-man #1! If it wasn't for the cosmic powers of Captain Universe giving him flight of his own: Spidey might've met his match fighting Magneto way back in Amazing Spider-man #327!
Versatility is the key difference between our two foes. Spider-man's spider-sense, web-slinging, strength, speed, agility, and wall-crawling give him a gamut of skills to call upon, not to mention his smarts. Vulture exclusively controls the air.
Like the bird that snatches the spider from its web - Vulture's dangerous - but if Parker can capitalize on the city environment, and any of his other skills, he can ground the Vulture. Something he's done many times later in his career! Will he do it in this - their second major encounter? Let's find out!
History: Spider-man (1-0-0)
The Tape: Spider-man Ranking: Spider-man (#2)
What Went Down...
A web-swinging search of the New York City skyline uncovers the Vulture fresh from a jewelry showroom heist! Spider-man's danger senses alert him to the aerial villain's proximity, but he has no way of knowing Vulture has taken counter-measures for the "anti-magnetic inverter" that defeated him last time!
Spidey sticks to a nearby building, waiting for Vulture's swooping attack to bring him close enough for the hi-tech gizmo's deactivation range.
The overconfident wall-crawler also draws his camera, aiming to get Daily Bugle photographer Peter Parker the perfect snapshot of Vulture's moment of defeat! Everything appears to be going to plan as Vulture plays along -- perfectly timing his sudden downward spiral towards the pavement!
As he makes chase, Spidey isn't sure if he noticed a smile creep across the face of Adrian Toomes. The speed of Vulture's descent sends the leaping hero on a course of ledges -- obscuring his vision to his winged foe's convenience!
Vulture pushes his wings down, hugging the side of a building as he turns his trajectory upwards! Even the pang of spider-sense fails to warn Spider-man of the oncoming threat just below his feet! The Vulture strikes!
The winged warrior knocks Spider-man from the building ledge and follows his aerial assault with a flying kick! The blows throw Spidey tumbling into open space! He desperately shoots a web towards the nearby buildings -- but misses!
Fast reflexes and a powerful core give Spider-man his only back-up plan -- an attempt to ease the impact of his fall by twisting in mid-air!
Where: Amazing Spider-man #7 When: December 1963 Why: Stan Lee How: Steve Ditko
The Story So Far...
The Vulture has built a new flight harness and flown the coop from prison to again spread terror from above!
His new and improved magnetic mechanism flies rings around police helicopters, and effortlessly takes Vulture anywhere in the concrete jungle! An open window is all that's needed to pick a jewelry showroom clean of its extravagant riches!
Fortunately for the citizens of New York City, Spider-man knows the way to beat the Vulture at his own game! He still has the anti-magnetic inverter he built to clip the Vulture's wings. He's ready to do it all again -- or so he thinks!
Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Spider-man 5 (Super-Human)Intelligence: Draw 5 (Professor)
Speed: Spider-man 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Spider-man 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Spider-man 5 (Cat-Like)
Fighting: Spider-man 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Spider-man 2 (Projectiles)
Total: Spider-man 29 (Meta-human)
The stat sheet paints a pretty one-sided picture, but you can never completely count out the lethal foes of Spider-man! His opponent makes the sky his home and when the bird comes a-swoopin' that spider's gonna hope he has cover!
Vulture is Adrian Toomes: a genius inventor and electrical engineer who discovered a method for personal flight through the use of an electronic harness. The device allows for levitation and propulsion which he steers using a winged suit. The harness is also said to increase his strength and vitality.
Toomes was initially inspired to a life of crime when his business partner absconded with embezzled funds. He quickly became one of Spider-man's earliest arch-villains, defeated in Amazing Spider-man #2 by an invention designed to incapacitate his flight harness.
A wingless Vulture was able to escape Spider-man while he fought Electro in Marvel Knights: Spider-man #3. A later gathering of the Sinister Twelve saw Vulture targeting Spider-man and Black Cat, before the Avengers intervened to bring about the team's defeat, in Marvel Knights: Spider-man #11.
Spidey's swinging solo in today's fight, and although Toomes is essentially just an old man in a fancy flying suit -- his aerial acrobatics negate one of Spider-man's most unique advantages: his maneuverability!
Human Torch almost used his aerial advantage to panfry Spider-man in Fantastic Four #543! The web-head only got the better of a gliding Green Goblin after grounding him in Marvel Knights: Spider-man #1! If it wasn't for the cosmic powers of Captain Universe giving him flight of his own: Spidey might've met his match fighting Magneto way back in Amazing Spider-man #327!
Versatility is the key difference between our two foes. Spider-man's spider-sense, web-slinging, strength, speed, agility, and wall-crawling give him a gamut of skills to call upon, not to mention his smarts. Vulture exclusively controls the air.
Like the bird that snatches the spider from its web - Vulture's dangerous - but if Parker can capitalize on the city environment, and any of his other skills, he can ground the Vulture. Something he's done many times later in his career! Will he do it in this - their second major encounter? Let's find out!
History: Spider-man (1-0-0)
The Tape: Spider-man Ranking: Spider-man (#2)
What Went Down...
A web-swinging search of the New York City skyline uncovers the Vulture fresh from a jewelry showroom heist! Spider-man's danger senses alert him to the aerial villain's proximity, but he has no way of knowing Vulture has taken counter-measures for the "anti-magnetic inverter" that defeated him last time!
Spidey sticks to a nearby building, waiting for Vulture's swooping attack to bring him close enough for the hi-tech gizmo's deactivation range.
The overconfident wall-crawler also draws his camera, aiming to get Daily Bugle photographer Peter Parker the perfect snapshot of Vulture's moment of defeat! Everything appears to be going to plan as Vulture plays along -- perfectly timing his sudden downward spiral towards the pavement!
As he makes chase, Spidey isn't sure if he noticed a smile creep across the face of Adrian Toomes. The speed of Vulture's descent sends the leaping hero on a course of ledges -- obscuring his vision to his winged foe's convenience!
Vulture pushes his wings down, hugging the side of a building as he turns his trajectory upwards! Even the pang of spider-sense fails to warn Spider-man of the oncoming threat just below his feet! The Vulture strikes!
The winged warrior knocks Spider-man from the building ledge and follows his aerial assault with a flying kick! The blows throw Spidey tumbling into open space! He desperately shoots a web towards the nearby buildings -- but misses!
Fast reflexes and a powerful core give Spider-man his only back-up plan -- an attempt to ease the impact of his fall by twisting in mid-air!
The web-slinger still hits hard when he crash lands onto a nearby roof space!
The Vulture proclaims victory as he soars the New York skies above a horrified crowd. Perched upon a flag pole he contemplates his newfound notoriety, while a prone Spider-man lies motionless -- surviving only by the grace of a radioactive spider that imbued him with its proportionate strength!
The Hammer...That means Vulture registers a victory as we finally expand upon his profile with a meaningful spotlight! I only wish it were under more joyous circumstances...
Sadly, the world has lost legendary co-creator of Spider-man (and Vulture): Steve Ditko. News of his passing on June 29th only reached the wider world late last week. He was ninety.
As the originator: Ditko was both lauded for the inventive quirks he instilled in Spider-man, but also all too easily overlooked. Followed by generations of subsequent iconic artists, Ditko provided the foundation upon which many built.
I've been guilty of taking Ditko for granted at times, and even glossing over the charms that made him a great comic book artist. There's a simplicity in some of his work that doesn't always jive with me, but that's not the whole story.
Truth be told, I've been enjoying Steve Ditko's work for nearly the entirety of my life! It's been working its way further into my mind in recent months, with Amazing Spider-man #7 on the docket for quite some time. I was eyeing a Ditko Marvel Masterworks the night before the unfortunate news.
I think back fondly to the Ditko t-shirt I prized as a youngster: White, soft, with the cover of Amazing Spider-man #14 on the front. The blacks were raised with smooth stitching that gave the art an interesting tactile element. It was pretty great. Which was probably why I'd occasionally stuff it in my backpack in the 2nd and 3rd grades, switching shirts once I was safely embedded in school. That was probably the dual 'bad influence' of Ditko and Degrassi, but I digress...
Readers of a certain age defined their Spider-fandom by the Ditko or John Romita years. I'm grateful to have been exposed to both. Romita's vivid pop sensibilities age better, but there's simply no denying the fantastic canon of characters established during the Stan Lee/Steve Ditko run.
Vulture is just one of many classic villains defined by Ditko's rendering, but he's a fine example! Hovering with arched-eyebrows, and a wicked grin that curls beneath prominent nose and cheekbones, he's a fully realized character. I buy wholeheartedly into the cranky old man in fur-lined green bodysuit. Which is probably a big reason the character endured in the face of modern disbelief.
Ditko's Spidey is stiff and awkward, still new to his powers. At times it seems a trait of the artwork, but there are immediately available exceptions throughout this very issue. The graceful, leaping contortionist would evolve out of these early, gawky examples of wall-crawling.
Page 5 of Amazing #7 is a personal favourite. It shows Vulture gliding over the city, rooftops, street, and gracefully into a vulnerable jewelry showroom. The six panel array is masterfully economic in creating its sense of motion and storytelling. Vulture's character is on display throughout. A pleasure to behold!
Ditko was responsible for creating and co-creating some great characters. My favourites might be the Spidey rogues gallery, but there are many contenders!
While not perfect, I'd say the atmosphere and world of Doctor Strange also ranks among his best [see; Strange Tales #114]. The great Mike Mignola shared a fun story about Al Milgrom pulling him aside to see Ditko flashing Strange's hand gestures during an animated conversation with Bill Mantlo [about ROM].
By all accounts, Ditko himself was a pretty interesting guy. A man of firm held beliefs and philosophies that weren't necessary congruent with the praise he's now to be heaped with. John Siuntres (of Word Balloon) made note of his vocal disdain for the cult of personality, while various fans shared special memories of the meaningful, hand written correspondence he was known to send.
I came across a letter shared by one Scott Mills, with particular resonances for the present day. It struck me as a fine read, and reflection of the man I've largely known only through second-hand descriptions.
I hope Mr. Ditko wouldn't mind, too much, an appreciative fan reflecting on some of his much enjoyed work.
Naturally, Spidey is down but not out at the end of Amazing #7! No doubt we'll be back some time in the future to follow up on the rematch!
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Winner: Vulture
#319 (+222) Vulture (Adrian Toomes)
#2 (--) Spider-man
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