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The Amazing Spider-Man (1963-1998)
Amazing Spider-Man (1963-1998) #20
The Scorpion's first appearance! How can Spidey battle a foe who is stronger than he is?!
24 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 10, 1965
3 people are currently reading
70 people want to read
About the author
Stan Lee
7,581 books2,363 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 - 22 of 22 reviews
October 23, 2024
THE COMING OF THE SCORPION or SPIDEY BATTLES SCORPY.
Jan 1965
Mac Gargan eventually proves to be a worthy ASM villain..but it's really to take him seriously in this costume.
JJJ in his long line of attempts to get rid of Spider-Man..hires a Doctor to give Gargan Scorpian powers..
Jan 1965
Mac Gargan eventually proves to be a worthy ASM villain..but it's really to take him seriously in this costume.
JJJ in his long line of attempts to get rid of Spider-Man..hires a Doctor to give Gargan Scorpian powers..
January 9, 2020
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #17-20 (The End of Spider-Man)
Overall a good story arc that, while not providing consequential new ground for the character, captures a nice character study of a superhero’s everyday life.
One could argue that the small stakes and small conflicts represent a unique quality to Peter Parker’s storyline; the universe won’t blow up if he fails, he’ll just ruin his relationship with his girlfriend; that’s the stake. That’s THE ENTIRE stake. And that’s enough. It’s truly quite unique that such mundane problems as relationships, economic hardship, and health problems would be presented as the predominant conflict in a comic book storyline. It really immerses the reader in the uniquely smaller atmosphere Spider-Man inhabits within the narrative universe of Marvel, and makes it even more suspenseful because he has less resources at his disposal to fight super-powered villains.
It was a very nice arc choice on Lee’s part to have all 3 of the main issues in this storyline mirror each other; for instance the Human Torch motif. His reappearance in each issue serves as a bookmark of Peter’s character growth, as we reflect on everything that happened to Peter between his the last time the Torch showed up and now. By making each issue’s structure and overall plot mirror each other so closely, it causes the few things that are different to stick out; specifically, what is different is the character of Peter Parker, between the first issue and final issue.
On a lesser note, this issue begins an incredible ongoing storyline for Peter Parker; it introduces and teases the ongoing saga of the secret identity behind the Green Goblin. Who or what he could be will remain unknown for several more issues, but it will go on to be one of the most important storylines in the history of Spider-Man. It’s interesting, then, that it should be so un-integral to this storyline, apart from making us wonder why the Goblin is so interested in Spider-Man.
Nothing particularly groundbreaking occurs in terms of Spider-Man’s development in this arc, although it is definitely a compelling side story.
Overall a good story arc that, while not providing consequential new ground for the character, captures a nice character study of a superhero’s everyday life.
One could argue that the small stakes and small conflicts represent a unique quality to Peter Parker’s storyline; the universe won’t blow up if he fails, he’ll just ruin his relationship with his girlfriend; that’s the stake. That’s THE ENTIRE stake. And that’s enough. It’s truly quite unique that such mundane problems as relationships, economic hardship, and health problems would be presented as the predominant conflict in a comic book storyline. It really immerses the reader in the uniquely smaller atmosphere Spider-Man inhabits within the narrative universe of Marvel, and makes it even more suspenseful because he has less resources at his disposal to fight super-powered villains.
It was a very nice arc choice on Lee’s part to have all 3 of the main issues in this storyline mirror each other; for instance the Human Torch motif. His reappearance in each issue serves as a bookmark of Peter’s character growth, as we reflect on everything that happened to Peter between his the last time the Torch showed up and now. By making each issue’s structure and overall plot mirror each other so closely, it causes the few things that are different to stick out; specifically, what is different is the character of Peter Parker, between the first issue and final issue.
On a lesser note, this issue begins an incredible ongoing storyline for Peter Parker; it introduces and teases the ongoing saga of the secret identity behind the Green Goblin. Who or what he could be will remain unknown for several more issues, but it will go on to be one of the most important storylines in the history of Spider-Man. It’s interesting, then, that it should be so un-integral to this storyline, apart from making us wonder why the Goblin is so interested in Spider-Man.
Nothing particularly groundbreaking occurs in terms of Spider-Man’s development in this arc, although it is definitely a compelling side story.
September 17, 2023
Peter merasa sering diikuti seseorang secara diam-diam, bahkan seseorang itu sampai bersembunyi di balik pohon untuk mengamati Peter yang ada di dalam kamar. Setelah diselidiki, ternyata orang tersebut adalah orang terdekat J. Jonah Jameson. Ia bernama MacGargan yang disuruh oleh Jonah supaya ia mengetahui rahasia kenapa Peter bisa selalu mendapatkan foto-foto kerennya.
Namun, suatu hari Jonah mendapatkan informasi tentang ilmuwan yang sedang bereksperimen dengan hewan dan serangga. Ilmuwan tersebut bernama Farley Stillwell dan ia menyetujui tawaran Jonah untuk membuat MacGargan memiliki kekuatan seperti Spider-Man. Hal itu didasari kebencian Jonah terhadap Spider-Man sehingga ia berencana untuk mengalahkan Spider-Man dengan kekuatan manusia super juga. Eksperimen pun berlangsung dengan menggunakan kekuatan kalajengking untuk tubuh MacGargan. Dibantu dengan kostum canggih, kekuatan MacGargan pun semakin kuat. Ia pun menjuluki dirinya sebagai "Scorpion".
Scorpion yang merasa tak tertandingi mulai mencari Spider-Man. Lantas, ketika ia sudah menemukannya, pertarungan pun tak terelakkan. Sebenarnya Spider-Man cukup bingung dengan kehadiran Scorpion yang memburu dirinya sebab ia tidak pernah berurusan dengan makhluk berkostum hijau tersebut. Tak disangka, Spider-Man kalah melawan Scorpion.
Scorpion yang merasa semakin kuat dan otaknya semakin tidak bisa dikendalikan oleh efek samping kekuatannya itu, berniat menggunakannya untuk melakukan tindakan kriminal. Ia tidak ingin disuruh-suruh lagi oleh orang lain supaya bisa mendapatkan uang. Ia pun menemukan dua orang yang sedang membawa koper berisi perhiasan, kemudian merampoknya.
Di sisi lain, Stillwell merasa bersalah karena menyetujui tawaran Jonah sehingga mengakibatkan kekacauan yang ditimbulkan Scorpion. Ia pun segera membuat obat penawar supaya MacGargan kembali ke dirinya semula. Namun setelah ia berhasil membuat obat penawar dan menghampiri Scorpion, Scorpion tentu saja menolaknya karena merasa dirinya jadi lebih kuat dan bisa berbuat apa saja. Stillwell yang sedang memanjat dinding untuk menemui Scorpion akhirnya jatuh dan meninggal.
Kemudian, rasa waswas Scorpion terhadap identitas aslinya membuatnya ingin membunuh Jonah sehingga Jonah tidak bisa mengungkapkannya ke publik. Ia segera menuju ke Daily Bugle dan menyerang Jonah yang bingung karena Scorpion seharusnya mematuhi dirinya. Untungnya, Spider-Man sudah sadar sehingga ia bisa mengetahui letak Scorpion melalui spider-sense-nya, lalu menghajar Scorpion dengan lebih hati-hati. Scorpion berhasil dikalahkan dan tinggal menunggu polisi untuk mengambilalih tindakan selanjutnya.
Beberapa waktu kemudian, surat kabar Daily Bugle malah menginformasikan bahwa Scorpion dikalahkan oleh J. Jonah Jameson. Spider-Man hanya muncul setelah Scorpion sudah tak sadarkan diri. Lantas, dari kejadian tersebut, Jonah yang bukannya bersyukur karena telah diselamatkan oleh Spider-Man, malah tetap membencinya; dan berharap suatu hari nanti ada yang bisa mengalahkan Spider-Man sehingga hatinya jadi puas.
Namun, suatu hari Jonah mendapatkan informasi tentang ilmuwan yang sedang bereksperimen dengan hewan dan serangga. Ilmuwan tersebut bernama Farley Stillwell dan ia menyetujui tawaran Jonah untuk membuat MacGargan memiliki kekuatan seperti Spider-Man. Hal itu didasari kebencian Jonah terhadap Spider-Man sehingga ia berencana untuk mengalahkan Spider-Man dengan kekuatan manusia super juga. Eksperimen pun berlangsung dengan menggunakan kekuatan kalajengking untuk tubuh MacGargan. Dibantu dengan kostum canggih, kekuatan MacGargan pun semakin kuat. Ia pun menjuluki dirinya sebagai "Scorpion".
Scorpion yang merasa tak tertandingi mulai mencari Spider-Man. Lantas, ketika ia sudah menemukannya, pertarungan pun tak terelakkan. Sebenarnya Spider-Man cukup bingung dengan kehadiran Scorpion yang memburu dirinya sebab ia tidak pernah berurusan dengan makhluk berkostum hijau tersebut. Tak disangka, Spider-Man kalah melawan Scorpion.
Scorpion yang merasa semakin kuat dan otaknya semakin tidak bisa dikendalikan oleh efek samping kekuatannya itu, berniat menggunakannya untuk melakukan tindakan kriminal. Ia tidak ingin disuruh-suruh lagi oleh orang lain supaya bisa mendapatkan uang. Ia pun menemukan dua orang yang sedang membawa koper berisi perhiasan, kemudian merampoknya.
Di sisi lain, Stillwell merasa bersalah karena menyetujui tawaran Jonah sehingga mengakibatkan kekacauan yang ditimbulkan Scorpion. Ia pun segera membuat obat penawar supaya MacGargan kembali ke dirinya semula. Namun setelah ia berhasil membuat obat penawar dan menghampiri Scorpion, Scorpion tentu saja menolaknya karena merasa dirinya jadi lebih kuat dan bisa berbuat apa saja. Stillwell yang sedang memanjat dinding untuk menemui Scorpion akhirnya jatuh dan meninggal.
Kemudian, rasa waswas Scorpion terhadap identitas aslinya membuatnya ingin membunuh Jonah sehingga Jonah tidak bisa mengungkapkannya ke publik. Ia segera menuju ke Daily Bugle dan menyerang Jonah yang bingung karena Scorpion seharusnya mematuhi dirinya. Untungnya, Spider-Man sudah sadar sehingga ia bisa mengetahui letak Scorpion melalui spider-sense-nya, lalu menghajar Scorpion dengan lebih hati-hati. Scorpion berhasil dikalahkan dan tinggal menunggu polisi untuk mengambilalih tindakan selanjutnya.
Beberapa waktu kemudian, surat kabar Daily Bugle malah menginformasikan bahwa Scorpion dikalahkan oleh J. Jonah Jameson. Spider-Man hanya muncul setelah Scorpion sudah tak sadarkan diri. Lantas, dari kejadian tersebut, Jonah yang bukannya bersyukur karena telah diselamatkan oleh Spider-Man, malah tetap membencinya; dan berharap suatu hari nanti ada yang bisa mengalahkan Spider-Man sehingga hatinya jadi puas.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 30, 2018
Amazing Spider-Man #20 introduces one of Spider-Man’s most famous comic-book villains, and one who is just barely being brought to the big-screen.
J. Jonah Jameson convinces a scientist to enhance someone to become a physical match for Spider-Man, and he succeeds. The characterization of J.J.J. in this issue is great, as he creates a super-villain to stop Spider-Man, immediately regrets his decision, and cheers on Spidey to defeat the villain he created. Then, as always, he takes all the credit for himself.
His creation, the Scorpion, handily defeats Spidey early in the issue, an early example of Peter outright losing a fight, and having to think of new and more creative ways than brute force to tackle his problems. Mac Gargan (the man,) isn’t really fleshed out here, but the Scorpion is definitely cool and conceptually complex (almost reminds me of any of the character adaptations from the Raimi films, particularly Green Goblin and Doc Ock) and the issue plays with a defeated Spider-Man, even to the point of tearing his iconic mask. Spidey gets the crap kicked out of him and has to come up with new and more inventive ways to defeat his enemy, which is something admirable and compelling about this issue in particular. Sometimes Spider-Man can’t just win by punching someone really hard, and the story is better for it.
#20 is an entertaining read, especially for someone familiar with the villain in other series, and probably anyone who saw Spider-Man: Homecoming (Mac Gargan/Scorpion, was played by Michael Mando.)
J. Jonah Jameson convinces a scientist to enhance someone to become a physical match for Spider-Man, and he succeeds. The characterization of J.J.J. in this issue is great, as he creates a super-villain to stop Spider-Man, immediately regrets his decision, and cheers on Spidey to defeat the villain he created. Then, as always, he takes all the credit for himself.
His creation, the Scorpion, handily defeats Spidey early in the issue, an early example of Peter outright losing a fight, and having to think of new and more creative ways than brute force to tackle his problems. Mac Gargan (the man,) isn’t really fleshed out here, but the Scorpion is definitely cool and conceptually complex (almost reminds me of any of the character adaptations from the Raimi films, particularly Green Goblin and Doc Ock) and the issue plays with a defeated Spider-Man, even to the point of tearing his iconic mask. Spidey gets the crap kicked out of him and has to come up with new and more inventive ways to defeat his enemy, which is something admirable and compelling about this issue in particular. Sometimes Spider-Man can’t just win by punching someone really hard, and the story is better for it.
#20 is an entertaining read, especially for someone familiar with the villain in other series, and probably anyone who saw Spider-Man: Homecoming (Mac Gargan/Scorpion, was played by Michael Mando.)
February 9, 2021
The contents of Amazing Spider-Man #20 is an absolute classic; the cover is a pure vintage goodness too! Lee and Ditko introduce Scorpion, one of the all-time best villains, into the line-up of Spidey's rogue gallery. In this issue we have a mysterious stranger follow Peter home and Jameson teams up with the nefarious Dr Farley to mutate Jameson’s lacky Mac Gargan, for $10,000, into a Scorpion so he can take on Spider-Man; creating a villain with superhuman powers to take on a hero? Yup nothing could possibly go wrong there. We also have a side plot of Ned Leeds, new reporter and love interest of Betty Brant, being sent off to Europe for "at least six months" much to Parker's delight.
NB Whilst Scorpion was facing off against Spidey outside of the Bugle we didn't see Jameson or anyone else taking photos of the battle, just what was Jameson's ill-thought out plan exactly? Just destroy, maim then de-mask Spider-Man?! Ah well at least Jameson will learn from the mistake, it's not like he goes and builds a Spider-Slayer machine to go after Spidey in five issues time..
NB Whilst Scorpion was facing off against Spidey outside of the Bugle we didn't see Jameson or anyone else taking photos of the battle, just what was Jameson's ill-thought out plan exactly? Just destroy, maim then de-mask Spider-Man?! Ah well at least Jameson will learn from the mistake, it's not like he goes and builds a Spider-Slayer machine to go after Spidey in five issues time..
February 25, 2021
Musuh Spider-Man di nomor 20 ini adalah Scorpion. Alkisah, Jonah Jameson yang penasaran bagaimana caranya Peter Parker selalu bisa mendapatkan foto-foto Spider-Man menyuruh MacGargan untuk menguntit Parker. Kebencian Jonah Jameson terhadap Spider-Man kemudian membuatnya mengontak seorang peneliti untuk memberikan serum kepada MacGargan supaya MacGargan menjadi manusia yang memiliki kekuatan super. MacGargan pun menjadi Scorpion setelah ia diberi serum kalajengking dan ia ditugaskan untuk mengalahkan Spider-Man. Kesimpulannya, dulu yang namanya serum itu dipakai untuk membuat manusia berkekuatan super, bukan untuk membuat wajah jadi "glowing". Ngomong-ngomong, dalam serial komik Amazing Spider-Man ini, di nomor inilah pertama kalinya Spider-Man dihajar sampai babak belur, terkapar dan ditinggal begitu saja oleh musuhnya, sampai dua kali malah.
April 13, 2023
Not bad, but not as good as I expected it to be. Scorpion was presented as a world-beater, but really the only thing special about him is that he was created by Jameson.
They made such a small deal out of the scientist presumably dying, I had to read back over it a couple of times to make sure I didn't miss something. It's not often you see a civilian actually killed in these early comics, and they just swept it right under the rug.
Also odd that they didn't show what happened to Scorpion after he got clubbed by Spidey that final time. I'm assuming the police came and got him, but it's not like his powers just went away. On top of that, what did Spider-Man and Jameson do while they were waiting for him to get picked up? Talk about awkward... I wanna see that deleted scene.
They made such a small deal out of the scientist presumably dying, I had to read back over it a couple of times to make sure I didn't miss something. It's not often you see a civilian actually killed in these early comics, and they just swept it right under the rug.
Also odd that they didn't show what happened to Scorpion after he got clubbed by Spidey that final time. I'm assuming the police came and got him, but it's not like his powers just went away. On top of that, what did Spider-Man and Jameson do while they were waiting for him to get picked up? Talk about awkward... I wanna see that deleted scene.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 2, 2022
Needed something to read for Steve Ditko’s birthday, and it just so happens to be Scorpio season. So I guess this was fitting. JJ pretends to be human to lure Spider-Man so Scorpion can get him, but then JJ feels actually human once he realizes he made a mistake essentially creating Scorpion. And it’s funny seeing his reaction to Spider-Man defeating someone stronger than him. Of course, JJ goes back to his cartoonish ways by the end.
December 2, 2017
Until re-reading this last night, I'd completely forgotten that J. Jonah Jameson was responsible for creating the Scorpion. This issue has some great twists, like Spider-man having to save Jameson from the Scorpion, and a few milestones, including Spider-man being completely defeated (more than once).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 31, 2024
The Scorpion has been one of my favorite Spider-Man foes ever since I played the PS1 Spider-Man game, and there's so much potential in his origin story with J. Jonah Jameson. Whether this potential is fully realized in the comic world remains to be seen for me, but it certainly hasn't been in other media.
December 28, 2017
Origin of the Scorpion!
With The Green Goblin still somewhere, the Scorpion jumps on the scene to make Spidey's life more difficult. Issue 18, 19, 20 are when The Amazing Spiderman storytelling and villains really started to get cool.
With The Green Goblin still somewhere, the Scorpion jumps on the scene to make Spidey's life more difficult. Issue 18, 19, 20 are when The Amazing Spiderman storytelling and villains really started to get cool.
November 18, 2019
La faccia di tolla di Jameson che prima crea lo Scorpione e poi si spaccia per colui che lo ha sconfitto, scippando la vittoria a Spider-Man.
Betty Brant deve comunque darsi una calmata, non può fare la gelosa quando è la prima ad essersi trovata un altro ragazzo!
Betty Brant deve comunque darsi una calmata, non può fare la gelosa quando è la prima ad essersi trovata un altro ragazzo!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 21, 2025
La faccia di tolla di Jameson che prima crea lo Scorpione e poi si spaccia per colui che lo ha sconfitto, scippando la vittoria a Spider-Man.
Betty Brant deve comunque darsi una calmata, non può fare la gelosa quando è la prima ad essersi trovata un altro ragazzo!
Betty Brant deve comunque darsi una calmata, non può fare la gelosa quando è la prima ad essersi trovata un altro ragazzo!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 5, 2020
ONLY Jameson's fault.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 6, 2022
oh jameson is going to HELLLL
March 25, 2022
The scorpion shows up! This one is so exciting I'm not even going to attempt to explain.
December 29, 2022
Jameson, you dirty
September 18, 2023
INSTANT
CLASSIC
!!
CLASSIC
!!
May 7, 2025
it sucks that scorpion has fallen off since then because he actually seems so strong. Also appreciate the long overdue costume damage and bruises on peter.
February 17, 2023
The first appearance of The Scorpion. Hmmmm, he's not my favourite of the villains and this issue is decidedly so-so.
March 17, 2024
Title: De la envidia a la hipocrecía al odio.
Como siempre nuestro héroe usa su ingenio.
Stars 5.0
Como siempre nuestro héroe usa su ingenio.
Stars 5.0
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews