Amazing Spider-Man #37
Once Upon A Time, There Was A Robot...!
Professor Stromm is released from prison and is picked up by ex-con Max Young. Frederick Foswell watches as his ex-cell-mate is up to something and tries to follow. Someone tries to shoot Foswell, and Spider-Man stops it and follows Foswell. After he loses him, Pete returns to The Daily Bugle for his whereabouts. He arrives and explains that Stromm has threatened revenge on the man who set him up for prison. Back at school, Pete tries to talk to Gwen and her temper flares up, but as she begins to slap him, he stops her hand. Gwen notices Flash threaten Peter and not flinch and notices she’s defending Pete. Meanwhile, Stromm has created a remote-control robot and sends it to Oscorp.
As it destroys the labs, the robot latches onto Spider-Man and is destroyed when he jumps into a fire. Professor Stromm begins another robot with a destruction beam. Osborn arrives at Oscorp and knows it’s Stromm but can’t say since he double-crossed him. Spider-Man goes to follow Patch and he leads him to the Professor’s hideout when Patch is grabbed. The robot is set loose so Spider-Man attaches a tracer to the robot to save Patch. Both are trapped as the robot reaches Osborn and begins to destroy his office. As Spider-Man enters to save Osborn, he’s upset about ruining his plans.
As Spider-Man fights the robot, Osborn knocks him out and the robot leaves him for dead, returning home. Spider-Man follows and destroys the robot in Stromm’s lab. As Stromm surrenders, he begins to tell his story but is killed by a rifle. As J. Jonah Jameson gives the news to Osborn about Stromm’s death, he leaves and Osborn is seen cleaning his rifle. Pete starts to question how the rifleman disappeared so suddenly without a trace.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, J. Jonah Jameson, Frederick Foswell, Gwen Stacy, Flash Thompson, Harry Osborn, Mendel Stromm, Norman Osborn, Max Young
Continuity Notes
The details of Norman Osborn's betrayal of Mendel Stromm are revealed in Amazing Spider-Man #40. Who shot Mendel is revealed in Amazing Spider-Man #39. It’s later revealed that Osborn was jealous of Stromm’s achievements and entered a pact with Mephisto to get the success he craved in exchange for his son’s soul. See Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 5) #72.
Although Stromm appears to die here, his true fate is revealed in Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal #1.
