Crawling Back: Amazing Spider-Man #38 Review
This issue marks the departure of Steve Ditko from ASM...and can maybe be read as a plea from a man whose talents were overshadowed by others
—by Nathan on March 17, 2025—
Joe.
It's kind of a normal name, right? And it's generally used to describe the typical, the ordinary. We describe regular folks as "the average Joe." A "cup of joe" is pretty common slang for coffee. "Say it ain't so, Joe," is what some people say to no one in particular when they encounter something unbelievable, unless you're actually addressing somebody with that name.
I know there are famous people named Joe, including the Soviet equivalent of Adolf Hitler (though I guess that's more "Joseph," but he was nicknamed "Uncle Joe"). Our last president was named Joe. And let's not forget Charlie Bucket's grandfather, who the internet has come to despise as a selfish old man who could've done so much for his family but decided to lay in bed for however many years. But it's a name we typically associate with the regular local yokel. So it shouldn't be surprising that when Stan Lee and Steve Ditko wanted to develop a one-off character for an Amazing Spider-Man issue, they named him "Joe." Even the issue title doubles down that this dude is a nobody: "Just a Guy Named Joe."
What may come as a surprise is that Amazing Spider-Man #38 would mark Steve Ditko's final issue as penciler. That's right; after this ish, John Romita would swoop in to help Lee finish the first exciting chapter in the ongoing Spider-Man/Green Goblin saga. But Ditko–the guy responsible for designing such mainstay villains such as Doctor Octopus, Kraven the Hunter, Sandman, Mysterio, and Electro, along with critical supporting cast members–was gone after this issue.
No more Steve Ditko.
Say it ain't so, Joe.
"Just a Guy Named Joe"
Writer: Stan Lee
Penciler: Steve Ditko
Inker: Steve Ditko
Colorist: Stan Goldberg
Letterer: Artie Simek
Issue: Amazing Spider-Man #38
Issue Publication Dates: July 1966
I've covered (in no significant amount of detail, admittedly) the Lee/Ditko disagreement in relation to their collaboration on the Green Goblin saga. I've not wanted to get into the "splitting hairs" aspect of their disagreements over ASM as a whole, eventually leading to Ditko's departure. This isn't the blog for that. The above was simply to acknowledge this was Ditko's final Amazing Spider-Man issue, and though he would return to Marvel to craft other adventures, his departure here certainly marked the ending of one of the most significant collaborations in the history of superhero comics.
It seems appropriate that Ditko's final foray is as quiet as this issue ends up being.
I'm not aware when exactly Ditko decided to quit, but it was certainly known by Marvel staff when this issue went to publication. "After all these years, we're sorry to see him go," the issue's letter page declares about the departing Ditko, before wishing "the talented guy success with his future endeavors" and announcing his successor, "jazzy John Romita." With all that known, a simple story about a guy who just wants to be somebody feels like a fitting final narrative for an artist who often lived in the shadow of Stan Lee.
As you'll see, however, our hero may not be the only self-insert character in this issue.
Yes, you'll notice I referred to Joe Smith as the mag's hero, and he is, in the sense he's the central focus of the narrative. Nearly three full opening pages are dedicated to Joe, this loser who wants to become a boxing champion…and then a wrestling champion when that doesn't pan out…and then a movie star when wrestling hits the mat flat. Dude can't do anything right, and Lee and Ditko work overtime to ensure you feel complete sympathy for this pretty pathetic guy before his body is doused in electricity chemicals and he's given superhuman strength (calling to mind a Hero for Hire issue I recently read, which inspired this post in the first place). He's not a villain, our Joe, just a little confused after his zap bath, with the power to take on all the punks who gave him crap before. It's what gets him in trouble with our pal Spidey, who's having some troubles of his own.
It's a tale of these two men, each struggling to find themselves in a world which seems unnaturally against them. Fate and circumstance act against them each in bizarre ways, granting them abilities they never asked for and realigning their paths. There is some Peter Parker in Joe Smith–he's a nobody, he's got an agent desperately trying to get him gigs, he's given powers in an accident. Like Peter, he heads down a path of selfishness, smashing whatever is in his way and not caring for the consequences. Lee and Ditko don't take the parallels too far–nobody kills Joe's uncle, for starters–but the resemblance is there.
For Peter, he's at a stage where his beau Betty Brant has flown the coop, torn between her feelings for Peter and Daily Bugle reporter Ned Leeds, who she will eventually marry. Lee and Ditko weave in some decent tension between Peter and Ned, including a brief face off in the Daily Bugle offices. A later bit by a sulking Spidey confirms he not only dislikes Ned but hates the guy, deeply begrudging Leeds' lack of spider powers and the responsibilities that come with them (y'know, that old chestnut). Peter isn't downright unlikeable in this issue, but he's certainly a grumpy Gus. I appreciate, just for the issue, Lee and Ditko showcasing a more bitter side of Peter, a Peter who momentarily resents the powers he's received and how they prevent him from living a regular life. The question hovers: if not for the spider, would Peter have married Betty Brant?
This isn't supposed to be a deeply depressing comic, though I've noted its characters' consistent troubles. But the issue's themes of consistent defeat and bad luck enable the reader to find relatability with both Spidey and Joe–what reader flipping through this mag hasn't had things not work out for them at times, suffered through bad days at work, been laughed at or told their dreams aren't worth following? Ever lost the girl to another guy? Ever want to lash out at an unfair world? Ever felt like "just a guy named Joe" in a world full of people everyone knows?
I wonder if this is Ditko's statement–credited as plotter, Ditko devised the narrative Lee filled with dialogue and captions. This is his final ASM issue, his last hurrah, and I wonder if the guy who felt overshadowed by Stan "The Man" Lee–particularly when it was Ditko himself who did the bulk of the storytelling during this period–was crafting a parable for his audience. Is this Ditko's story, told through two men down on their luck?
The ending maybe reinforces this notion, as events end up working out for Joe–he's given a contract, a chance to become a movie star. With tears in his eyes, he accepts the opportunity for a better life he's always dreamed of…and Spidey, while initially happy for the guy, can't shake his own cruddy feeling. He fights some thugs, waxes angrily about Ned Leeds, settles in early for the night when all the news shows is Joe Smith getting his big break. There's jealousy wrapped in between strands of radioactivity within our little spider's DNA in this issue–Peter's frustrated with the world, with the guys who get happy endings while he's left alone. The only people following him are thugs paid to try and finish him, the only girl he loves is engaged to another guy. Even his college acquaintances turn up their noses at him when they think Peter tries to join a protest on campus. Some people are in his corner: Aunt May does try to get him to meet a certain redhead, and Gwen Stacy finds herself thinking differently about the guy she initially thought was a stuck-up geek. But those are developments which will take hold in later issues, so for now, Peter is unaware of the support he has, left to his own frustrated bitterness. Maybe he doesn't pick up a sign and join the marchers, but he's got his own little internal protest brewing inside of him.
It's a very human take on Peter, him feeling this resentment, which could have been a reflection of his co-creator's own feeling towards the book. Steve Ditko could have become like Joe, respected by his peers–Joe is, in his final appearance, congratulated by his former boxing buddies–and maybe the ending he gives the formerly unknown Mr. Smith is reflective of that desire. That ending is balanced by Peter's perspective, as he remains lost, criticized by his peers, perhaps feeling overshadowed as Ditko may have felt under Lee. This is pure conjecture on my part, of course, but I'd to think the theme has some weight, particularly since our two main characters are similar in certain regards while ending up on different paths.
In the background, we're given some subplotting I'll reference for a moment. Norman Osborn, who technically debuted in the previous issue (as in, he was given a name and dialogue, even though Ditko had placed a character with Norman's exact appearance in other issues), moves forward with a sinister plot that involves Spidey to some regard, which would culminate in the next two issues with the revelation that Osborn is the Green Goblin. Norman's ominous persona was featured to an extent during Spidey's fight with the Robot Master in ASM #37, and here, that sinister portrayal is maintained. Lee and Ditko wisely don't tip their hand–though I wonder if, in hindsight, fans scrambled to read this issue for clues once the dramatic revelation was made–allowing us to perceive Osborn as a mounting threat to our hero without disclosing just how villainous he truly is.
Such plotting makes me wish Ditko had remained for just a few more issues to wrap up the Spidey/Goblin saga, but alas, it was not to be. In terms of artistic preference, I've always appreciated John Romita over Ditko–maybe that sounds sacrilegious, but when I imagine Peter Parker and his supporting cast in their heyday, I conjure images of Romita. The debt fans owe Ditko is enormous; I just prefer the second man to pencil Spidey's ongoing adventures. But it is interesting to think of what could have been: if Ditko hadn't left, would ASM #39-40 have covered the first "final" fracas between Spider and Goblin? Would the mystery have been teased further? I've heard it said Ditko plotted issues in advance, so maybe he had other ideas…we'll just never see them on the page.
This issue is a stark reminder of Ditko's talent and his legacy on the title, as well as a possible indication of a creator bearing his soul to his audience. "Look at Joe," it says. "Look at Peter. Look at how they get pushed around, how life beats them up and leaves them sprawled on the mat. And look at how things could be." Yes, it's a quiet closing, but it's a powerful one, reminding us that the driving force behind the first few years of Spidey's adventures really was a guy named Steve…but not "just" a guy named Steve.