"Boy, if the world ever found out that Spider-Man had to carry an umbrella and promise not to exert himself!"
The scene where the hoodlums mock Spider-Man and accuse him of assault is funny, but it also shows the effects of J. Jonah Jameson's fear campaign at this early point, nailing down an important trope for the title- as well as Spidey's little prank for Jonah. There are nice character touches too- Peter misses out on a date because of his crime-fighting duties, only to be rejected after all once the villain is defeated... and has to restrain himself from fighting a mocking Flash Thompson. His good deeds, as ever, do unrewarded.
And a big part of how this is so effective is the art of Steve Ditko, everyone's favourite objectivist, who depicts angst so very well, particularly in the scene where sandman rips Spidey's masks and he panics about the consequences of his identity being uncovered. Similarly, Ditko's art adds so much to Peter's quietly angsty little soliloquy on the last panel, full of self-doubt yet with a sense of mission. Peter Parker has a deep likeability, far more than any other Marvel hero.
Sandman is an impressive foe- basically just a thug, yes, but able to make himself alternately insubstantial and hard as diamond, as well as being a de facto shape changer. Mind you, he has, because of course he does, an atomic origin. Perhaps he'll develop special cancer powers in due course. But it's a fun issue, and I love how Spidey ultimately wins by... using a vacuum cleaner. And I chuckled at the faked pics.
Defiinitely Marvel's strongest title, by miles and miles.
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