Spider-Man has fought the Vulture many times, but the first time was in Amazing Spider-Man 2, from 1963.. One of the earliest foes Spider-Man had encountered had also been one of the most clever. Written by Stan Lee and illustrated by Steve Ditko, the story was called Duel to the Death With The Vulture.
What makes the situation so clever is that The Vulture is an old man. You see, when Spider-Man was first written, he was a teenage boy. So it became of battle of young versus old. And When Spider-Man battles the Vulture, it becomes a test of both brawn and brains. It is this reason that made Amazing Spider-Man issue 2 such a classic. The Vulture was the first villain Spider-Man had ever fought.
The story in Amazing Spider-Man 2 was that the Vulture was a crook that had was somehow able to fly. He would use his flying abilities to grab valuables from peoples’ hands and quickly escape. A young Peter Parker has to then outsmart his new foe as Spider-Man. When Spider-Man battles the Vulture, it is with his science knowledge that helps him discover the Vulture’s secret and eventually defeat him.
You love comic books, you love Spider-Man, and you love villains such as the Vulture. It is why you have to read this story! The Amazing Spider-Man series has been collected in a series of books, such as Marvel Masterworks. Do the right thing so you won’t be left out in the dark. Read it.
The Vulture may have been a formidable foe for Spider-Man, but let’s be real, he’s just a grumpy old man with wings. I mean, did he really think he could outsmart a teenager with superpowers? Maybe if he had invested in a retirement plan instead of a set of wings, he wouldn’t have had to resort to a life of crime. And let’s not even get started on his fashion sense.
As much as we feel bad about making fun of people with age-related conditions such as Alzheimer’s, we can’t help but notice that The Vulture seems to fit the bill quite nicely. The amount of times he’s been defeated by Spider-Man and subsequently returned for another bout suggest a certain level of forgetfulness. I mean, if you’ve already been beaten by a teenager with superpowers, wouldn’t you think twice before picking another fight? It’s almost as if The Vulture sees Spider-Man as a pesky neighbor that he can’t get rid of.
What is your favorite Spider-Man story? Leave me a comment below.