What If? 1970: The cool Black Amazing Spider-Man that could've been
When I encountered the Prowler on the cover of The Amazing Spider-Man #93, I didn't actually have the comic, but I did read the story. The gadgets, the Ditko quality, his timeliness, yet, his modus operandi would’ve been more popular if he’d come along earlier in the Marvel Age.
Truthfully, he would’ve been a brilliant antihero for DC Comics!
But, I want to note, while the Flash’s Rogues Gallery was pretty much all using gadgets, and gadgets were a very common source of ‘powers’ for Silver Age costumed characters, by 1968, when they created and prepared The Prowler for his three-part (cut to two) debut in Amazing Spider-Man, he might be the last really great gadget-based character to appear, excepting Mister Miracle. You might not think either of those are very great, and the trend was not in favor of ordinary humans utilizing gadgets to have crimefighting advantages. 
Batman pretty much hangs up his utility belt as we knew it (especially on TV), as Denny O’Neil’s stories forsake gadgets and the accoutrement of his uniquely- branded wealth to tell more realistic stories. When the Prowler next appears in costume in 1970, he’s kind of the victim of the new realism, in the fight and aftermath. That second appearance is his last color feature until his cameo in Defender For A Day! In Defenders #62-64, amidst an intentionally, hilariously, challengingly-sizeable mob of adventurers. So, he didn’t catch traction in Spider-Man’s enemies- his story seemed best told, as finished, by his exploit in ASM #93. Adventuring in your homemade identity was simply dangerous, and Love and a normal life is better- Hobie Brown’s there to subvert the title’s presentation, but extend its true themes. His gear was just enough to really place Hobie in danger, it seems. For that reason, I know the creative team didn’t think very long about what else to do with The Prowler. Too bad- they had Spider-Man’s first Black-identity foe, and Hobie and Mindy Brown could’ve continued to extend the supporting cast’s admirable depiction of Black characters, like Joe Robertson and his family.
So, I like him for his gadgets; I like his Black representation and critique; finally, I find him to be quite a lot like Peter! Except, instead of a college scholarship, he's got a job washing windows. He has a lot of cool ideas to apply to the window washing basic needs, but he's treated as a daft daydreamer. Hilariously, and significantly, Jameson makes himself persona non grata with Hobie and becomes the target of a new, secret career where the rules take a flying hike.
I genuinely think his accoutrements would be interesting in real life. In a way, he’s Marvel’s first ninja character. With the struggles to break through and distinguish himself, demonstrate his engineering ability, and the background of class and racial friction, plus what appears to be a fairly mature relationship, Hobie Brown has a pretty good storytelling engine, you might say: lots of stories to tell, lots of typical type Marvel fare. How good his villains are, how good his art is- at Amazing Spider-Man, he’s got the best team in the business for his type of adventures. But what else could’ve been done? What if a Billy Graham had a shot at guiding some of his own adventures in his own title? Maybe the best thing for Hobie would’ve been simply to write him decent human interest stuff, expand his supporting cast carefully. All a fantasy.
But I’ll tell you what. The last five pages of Amazing Spider-Man #93 could’ve gone a more shocking, divergent way. I have a lot of ideas that flow back to the point when The Prowler injures himself while attempting to subdue Spider-Man, who has appeared to stalk the daughter of the man he is suspected to have killed. I understand he’s not experienced enough to think of his gadgets and use them more effectively- he’s been out few times as the Prowler, even if he hypes himself to us behind the fourth wall, reading, as stronger, smarter, better- more of a challenge to Spider-Man. Could not have come at an more unfortunate moment. I submit Spider-Man needed to change back to Peter Parker sooner to avoid the whole thing, but he’s gotten caught up in this life to the point I feel he’s forgetting himself. Appearing to spy on her at her window, in full costume, did provide a threatening picture to The Prowler.
I’d choreograph their fight differently, and end it with Spider-Man realizing his mistake, and promising that Spider-Man is over. He is quitting and going to handle the chaos in his personal life, the harm his absence does. Then, one more twist. I’d have everyone trying to guess what would happen next, steadily, if ASM #94-100 were all mine to co-plot, and drive with this idea: Peter needs to hang up the webs, in the immediate term. We can use all of this to explore what Spider-Man ‘s all about, on our way to the climatic showdown cliffhanger of #99. I’d have done quite a few things the original team did, but I am from an era as a reader where upheaval to the status quo does often seem imminent. I can’t place that idea back in 1970, but I can certainly daydream about What If. I’m keeping my ideas on hand, should I ever see an opening to actually do a Spider-Man concept of my own for their titles. I understand Hobie does later stand in for Peter in contemporary comics from just a few years back. I’ve not read them, but things are complicated enough in the late Slott stories to finally do it. In my version, that choice would’ve been all Hobie’s, and not welcomed at first by Peter for a variety of reasons. I just think I’d have approached Gwen Stacy differently. What they did, again, is fine, and to many, sublime. But the fun of comics as a kid was when I only had some of the bigger story- the parts I’d make up. Creative stimulation. The Prowler was very much the kind of non-powered foe Len Wein and Marv Wolfman both thought suited a less-powerful Spider-Man. I guess they didn’t have any ideas about a genuinely different way to bring him back. So, we move on to Rocket Racer? If one character at Marvel might’ve benefited from coming along earlier, I rather like the idea of The Prowler appearing in time to be drawn by Ditko and to be part of the phase of gadget-powered costumed adventurers. But, the Prowler in 1964 (instead of Daredevil? Nahhh…) would’ve called for a different introduction- probably one less obviously based on the social commentary of the version debuting in 1969.
So, I like him for his gadgets; I like his Black representation and critique; finally, I find him to be quite a lot like Peter! Except, instead of a college scholarship, he's got a job washing windows. He has a lot of cool ideas to apply to the window washing basic needs, but he's treated as a daft daydreamer. Hilariously, and significantly, Jameson makes himself persona non grata with Hobie and becomes the target of a new, secret career where the rules take a flying hike.
I genuinely think his accoutrements would be interesting in real life. In a way, he’s Marvel’s first ninja character. With the struggles to break through and distinguish himself, demonstrate his engineering ability, and the background of class and racial friction, plus what appears to be a fairly mature relationship, Hobie Brown has a pretty good storytelling engine, you might say: lots of stories to tell, lots of typical type Marvel fare. How good his villains are, how good his art is- at Amazing Spider-Man, he’s got the best team in the business for his type of adventures. But what else could’ve been done? What if a Billy Graham had a shot at guiding some of his own adventures in his own title? Maybe the best thing for Hobie would’ve been simply to write him decent human interest stuff, expand his supporting cast carefully. All a fantasy.
But I’ll tell you what. The last five pages of Amazing Spider-Man #93 could’ve gone a more shocking, divergent way. I have a lot of ideas that flow back to the point when The Prowler injures himself while attempting to subdue Spider-Man, who has appeared to stalk the daughter of the man he is suspected to have killed. I understand he’s not experienced enough to think of his gadgets and use them more effectively- he’s been out few times as the Prowler, even if he hypes himself to us behind the fourth wall, reading, as stronger, smarter, better- more of a challenge to Spider-Man. Could not have come at an more unfortunate moment. I submit Spider-Man needed to change back to Peter Parker sooner to avoid the whole thing, but he’s gotten caught up in this life to the point I feel he’s forgetting himself. Appearing to spy on her at her window, in full costume, did provide a threatening picture to The Prowler.
I’d choreograph their fight differently, and end it with Spider-Man realizing his mistake, and promising that Spider-Man is over. He is quitting and going to handle the chaos in his personal life, the harm his absence does. Then, one more twist. I’d have everyone trying to guess what would happen next, steadily, if ASM #94-100 were all mine to co-plot, and drive with this idea: Peter needs to hang up the webs, in the immediate term. We can use all of this to explore what Spider-Man ‘s all about, on our way to the climatic showdown cliffhanger of #99. I’d have done quite a few things the original team did, but I am from an era as a reader where upheaval to the status quo does often seem imminent. I can’t place that idea back in 1970, but I can certainly daydream about What If. I’m keeping my ideas on hand, should I ever see an opening to actually do a Spider-Man concept of my own for their titles. I understand Hobie does later stand in for Peter in contemporary comics from just a few years back. I’ve not read them, but things are complicated enough in the late Slott stories to finally do it. In my version, that choice would’ve been all Hobie’s, and not welcomed at first by Peter for a variety of reasons. I just think I’d have approached Gwen Stacy differently. What they did, again, is fine, and to many, sublime. But the fun of comics as a kid was when I only had some of the bigger story- the parts I’d make up. Creative stimulation. The Prowler was very much the kind of non-powered foe Len Wein and Marv Wolfman both thought suited a less-powerful Spider-Man. I guess they didn’t have any ideas about a genuinely different way to bring him back. So, we move on to Rocket Racer? If one character at Marvel might’ve benefited from coming along earlier, I rather like the idea of The Prowler appearing in time to be drawn by Ditko and to be part of the phase of gadget-powered costumed adventurers. But, the Prowler in 1964 (instead of Daredevil? Nahhh…) would’ve called for a different introduction- probably one less obviously based on the social commentary of the version debuting in 1969.
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