John Romita signs on as penciler and oh my God we get two of the best issues of The Amazing Spider-Man ever. And one of the greatest covers ever.
![](https://www.coverbrowser.com/image/amazing-spider-man/39-2.jpg)
Green Goblin plans to publicly unmask Spider-Man, so he stealthily stalks him until he seems him change into Peter Parker.
![](https://www.chasingamazingblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ASM39_03.jpg)
(Why didn’t his spider-sense warn him not to change out of his costume?)
![](https://66.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ma8iyzaJrS1ruyouho1_1280.jpg)
He captures Spider-man and takes him to his lab, where he reveals himself to be Normal Osborn. He tells his origin, and also reveals some detail about his son’s upbringing.
![](https://l7world.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Amazing-Spider-Man-40-Norman-Osborn-flashback-Harry-childhood.jpg)
Then Spidey gets free and captures Osborn, who is taken away to a mental hospital after seemingly having amnesia from the explosion.
![](https://66.media.tumblr.com/ccc39af29ef945a8523d0f94ae06cbb3/tumblr_mgywtbQWgk1ruyouho1_r1_640.jpg)
Or does he…?
And here’s an interlude where he explains how he can easily change in public because of his spider-sense–but he talks about changing in phone booths, an obvious reference to the other publisher’s most famous red-and-blue garbed hero.
![](https://66.media.tumblr.com/73549c71df46ef6cf4e21c2bc8afce93/tumblr_n5iqjbqn091tuqv9oo1_500.png)