So in just five panels, we see a great conversation showing Flash to be a complete idiot–complete with a wonderful Ditko double-take; Betty is starting to actually dig Peter, as a result of his newfound confidence; and we meet….Mysterio.
Like several villains before him, Mysterio commits crimes dressed as Spider-Man, JJJ falls for it, and eventually Spider-Man foils both JJJ and Mysterio.
It’s funny and all, but it is an assault.
But what was truly great about these early issues were the beginnings of “superheroes as real people.” In this issue, the teen-aged Peter Parker is so anxious about his secret identity that he almost tells a psychiatrist.
This is the kind of stuff that wasn’t iconic when it was created. It was pulp printed on newsprint. But it’s some of America’s greatest art. Seriously.