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| Copyright MARVEL COMICS |
Still on the topic of Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 and its reprints, when Spidey is about to tackle Electro, he states that if he grounds himself then the electric current will pass harmlessly through him. Was this Ditko's or Lee's mistake? Doesn't really matter, but Stan should certainly have caught it when he was scripting the issue, even though it seems likely Steve was responsible for the plotting and pacing of the story. (Perhaps based on a suggestion by Stan.)
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| I've used the page from the 1969 reprint because the '64 original's colour is out of register. Aside from the yellow Spider insignia in panel 5 (a slip-up, obviously), the colour scheme is the same |
The glaring error still hadn't been spotted when the story was reprinted 5 years later (above), but by the time Marvel Tales #150 rolled around in 1983 (below), it had been noticed and corrected. (Compare the speech balloons in the 3rd and 6th panels on both pages, and the art amendments on the 3rd and 5th.) I've always wondered if anyone who read the original version of the strip was ever electrocuted because they didn't believe they could be while grounded, when actually the opposite was true.
And in case you're wondering, in contemporary reprintings the gaffe is usually left in to preserve things as they were for posterity, warts and all. I assume it will be retained in the forthcoming Facsimile Edition, but I wonder if a footnote will be added to the page underneath the bottom tier's border. If so, I hope it isn't too intrusive. Below are some close-ups of the relevant panels for your convenience.
However, back in 1938, DC Comics got it right first time in Superman's debut appearance in Action Comics #1, as you can see in the two pages below.
