History ComicBook / TheAmazingSpiderManLeeAndDitko

** Issue #2 has some weirdness about the Daily Bugle, which ''does'' debut in Issue #1. Specifically, it's suddenly decided that J. Jonah Jameson actually publishes "NOW" Magazine and there's barely mention of the Bugle, if any. Later comics generally forget about NOW and focus on the Bugle instead. There's also the fact that the building Jameson's office is in is called "J. Jonah Jameson Publishing" rather than just being labeled as the Daily Bugle's headquarters.

* In the first few years, throughout Ditko's run, Spider-Man's costume was red and black; black was often shown with blue highlights back in the four-color days. As the series progressed, the "highlights" slowly became the base color; John Romita's advent on the book entrenched that as canon.

* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: Since this is Lee we're talking about, [[JustForPun alliteration abounds]] not only in character names but in issue titles, such as "The Grotesque Adventure of the Green Goblin".

* SeriesFauxnale: Issue #33 (see above) touts itself as "[[CoversAlwaysLie The Final Chapter!]]" The title continued to [[LongRunner reach 800 issues]] (ignoring the ''ComicBook/AllNewAllDifferentMarvel'' relaunch) until the numbering reset itself for ''ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan2018''.]]

* {{Deconstruction}}: In his opening caption introducing ''Amazing Fantasy #15'', Lee admits that his new hero is someone a little different from the usual run of superhero comics, or as he and his friends call them at work, "long-underwear stories" (with little doubt as to which [[Franchise/{{Superman}} other]] [[Franchise/{{Batman}} characters]] he was talking about).

** Stan Lee hadn't yet decided on how to spell the character's names: Is it Spider-Man, or Spiderman? He goes back and forth on this a lot in the first few issues. However, some things can just be chalked-up to typos, such as referring to Peter as "Peter Palmer" on more than one occasion, or referring to his neighbors, the [[Comicbook/MaryJaneWatson Watsons]], as the "Watkins". Later issues include "Liz Hilton" (rather than Allan) and having Anna Watson refer to Mary Jane as her daughter rather than niece.
** The tone of the stories are also quite different. Since Peter Parker had no confidant to share his SecretIdentity with, he had a FriendlessBackground for most of the run, with Betty Brant at the Daily Bugle being the only exception. When Peter went to college, he had a reputation for being aloof and asocial, causing the other students to dislike him. After Ditko left, this was greatly softened and Peter gained a regular circle of friends and a (somewhat) more stable social life. Most (if not all) all modern adaptations, especially Comicbook/UltimateSpiderMan, give him friends and confidants right from the start.

* RelationshipRevolvingDoor: Flash and Liz's relationship is pretty...ambiguous at best. Whether or not they're dating is never really clear, especially when Liz actively crushes on Spider-Man and/or Peter while Flash insists that she's his girlfriend.

* SheCleansUpNicely: Downplayed due to Liz already being quite the DudeMagnet. In one issue, she noticeably glamours herself up to impress Peter but the only one she manages to stun is Flash, who accidentally implies she wasn't pretty before.

** ComicBook/NormanOsborn for the last time in his entire history (it's all [[FauxAffablyEvil faux]] hereafter) conveys this when in Issue #38, where Harry drives him to stop somewhere and he gets down, Norman thanks his son for giving him a lift:

** Doctor Octopus when it comes to Aunt May.
* AlphaBitch: Gwen Stacy is rather magnificent in this period as [[Film/MeanGirls the Regina George of ESU]]. Liz Allan was this during Peter's high school period, but she mellows out later.
* AntiClimacticUnmasking: After defeating Electro for the first time in Issue #9, Spider-Man removes his mask... only for him to turn out to be somebody he's never seen before.

** This is best encapsulated in the moment in Issue #25 when Liz Allan and Betty Brant both of whom are cold to each other as rivals for Peter's affections arrive at Aunt May's house to find Mary Jane, Anna Watson's niece visiting them. Both Betty and Liz are shocked at having to compete with a third girl, one more beautiful than them both (as conveyed in their thought bubbles) and neither of them think she's out of Peter's league. Peter when he runs into them later, doesn't know why both of them are so cold to him.

** Superman working as Clark Kent more or less wrote his own PR. Batman has Commissioner Gordon and his wealth to protect him from the fallout of his vigilante actions, but Spider-Man has nothing of that. Superman and Batman have sidekicks, confidants, top-of-the-line fancy headquarters (Batcave, Fortress of Solitude), Peter has none of that. His costume, when it gets weathered he buys a replacement from a novelty store. When his Aunt is sick and he needs a cure, he has to call in favors from people he knows and nearly get killed fighting Octopus to fix it. Bailing on a supervillain battle to go save his Aunt, people call him a coward. Unlike Batman and Superman who are both hyper-competent overly advantaged types fighting a bunch of VillainousUnderdog, Peter is ''the'' underdog hero who punches up and fights characters stronger, more powerful, wealthier, and more resourceful than he is, and faces all the consequences, difficulties and setbacks doing so.
** Spider-Man and Human Torch team up and chase the Sandman but their mutual bickering, TestosteronePoisoning, competitiveness prevents them from doing much while Sandman gets distracted enough that regular cops with discipline take him down. Ditko later admitted that he did this to correct and sabotage Lee's constant attempts at getting Spider-Man to team up feeling it would undermine Peter's own capabilities and also to show that just because two heroes are cool and popular doesn't mean their team up would be effective.

** Mendell Stromm is about to confess to Spider-Man stuff about Norman's nefarious nature and Osborn is planning to snipe him before he makes it. Spider-Man's Spider-Sense stops the bullet, but the shock of the near-assassination triggers a hear-attack and Stromm dies.

* DidntThinkThisThrough: In his own bid to kill Spider-Man, Sandman hatches a plan to seal himself and Spidey in a room where they can fight. Unfortunately, he made the room airtight to prevent any possible escape and he nearly passes out from lack of air, allowing Spider-Man to win the fight and flee.

** From the way the aesop WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility is emphasized, it is often surprising how underplayed it is in this era. For one thing, the aesop was never spoken by Peter out loud nor attributed to Uncle Ben; it comes from the narrative captions at the end of ''Amazing Fantasy #15''. Later writers would {{Retcon}} this into a message Uncle Ben told Peter. For instance, the first issue of ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' after his origin has Peter trying to parlay his superheroics into some form of income; later adaptations would imply that Uncle Ben's Aesop transformed Peter's attitude overnight. In fact, for most of the run, Peter was constantly flipping back and forth over whether or not is was feasible for him to continue being Spider-Man, almost quiting more than once.

** While we never get a good look at Mary Jane Watson's face, Ditko does manage to convey a few visual details about her character, much of which is different from all of her later appearances. Namely, Mary Jane dresses more conservatively and likewise covers her face with a babushka which, while useful for hiding her features, is something far too old fashioned for the fashion conscious MJ we know. She is also shown driving a car, when later stories would imply that she didn't have one[[note]]When Peter gets a mo-ped, she takes a particular interest in it, asking him if she can borrow it. She also first takes an interest in Harry because he has a car.[[/note]].
** In the first issues #1-10, Jameson is often shown praising Peter for his photography and telling him that he's better than pros and generally being nice to him. This ends up shifting after some instances where Peter fails to deliver the photos on time, making Jameson berate and insulting him, while later issues would insist that Peter's no great shakes as a photographer.

*** In Issue #38, he wears dresses himself up with a fake beard and siccs a mob on Spider-Man hinting at his sneaky double nature, his tendency to put on masks and disguises that only Goblin shares.

* HotBlooded: Pete Parker and Spider-Man has a notable volatile temper in this run. While he won't flare up right away and usually responds by sarcastic put-downs and mean insults, he does set off very quickly.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Ditko confirmed that, despite rumors to the contrary, he always intended Norman Osborn to be the Green Goblin and there are many hints to his appearance and identity.
** He appears early in the background of Jameson's gentleman's club and has his first speaking role in the Crime Master 2-Parter, where he asks Jameson about Foswell, the reporter assigned to investigate the Crime Master and Green Goblin gang war.
** One glimpse of the Goblin's secret identity, face covered in shadow (pg. 20 of ASM #27) shows his silhouette having the striated corn-row pattern that is uniquely Norman Osborn's hair-style.
** When Norman Osborn appears as a character in ASM #37-38, he is shown wearing a [[ColorMotifs green suit]]. In #37, when Mendell Stromm attacks his office and Spider-Man appears, Norman Osborn's thought bubbles about Spider-Man interfering with his plans doesn't make sense if that was Norman's first meeting. Likewise, in the course of the fight, Norman punches Spider-Man in the back with enough force to briefly knock him out, which given Spider-Man's super-strength makes it unlikely for a normal man.
** In Issue #38, he wears dresses himself up with a fake beard and siccs a mob on Spider-Man hinting at his sneaky double nature, his tendency to put on masks and disguises that only Goblin shares.
** For a non-Green Goblin example, Ditko went to the effort of including J. Jonah's familiar flat top haircut to his silhouette before he's revealed to be Mac Gargan's boss.

* TakeThatCritics: In #22, J Jonah Jameson puts on an art exhibition, and we see a painting that is a realistic depiction of a foot in a holey sock. This was Ditko's riposte to a fan letter that accused him of not being able to draw feet.

* MoneyDearBoy: Spider-Man attempts to join the Fantastic Four because he thinks the members get paid.

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