Spider-Tracer:  The Countless Crimes of the Crime-Master

Who’s the Crime-Master, you ask? That’s kind of hard to explain, for you see, the Crime-Master isn’t just any one criminal; it’s a criminal legacy that seems to have spanned quite a  large number of years. But don’t worry, you’ll have a much better understanding of this nefarious character by the time we’re finished.

The first Crime-Master we’re introduced to in the comics is Nick Lewis.; he first appeared in “The Amazing Spider-Man” Volume 1, #26.

Lewis, whose identity was secret to everyone but the original Green Goblin, Norman Osborn, sought to unite all of the independent gangs not associated with the Maggia. Green Goblin and Crime-Master had agreed to become allies, and, as extra added insurance, decided to reveal their identities to each other. However, as revealed in the short-lived “Untold Tales of Spider-Man” comic, a series set during Spider-Man’s early career, when Green Goblin unmasked, Norman was sporting a J. Jonah Jameson mask.

While it was a neat way for Norman to deceive the Crime-Master, it didn’t quite fit in with the original story, where the Green Goblin still showed concern over Crime-Master’s knowledge over his true identity. If Lewis in fact believed that Jameson was the Goblin, there would have been no need for Noman to worry. I guess this is something fans will have to figure out and decide for themselves.

After finding little success in their joint venture, Crime-Master had decided to end their partnership. Lewis then began trying to force the other mobs under his thumb, but before he could succeed completely after calling together a meeting, the Green Goblin returned to confront the gangs with a beaten and unconscious Spider-Man.

Web-Head had been plaguing the mobs for months, and everyone in attendance, save the Crime-Master, was now ready to follow the Green Goblin; that is, til Spidey broke free and held the mobsters at bay til the cops could arrive. Spidey, Green Goblin, and the Crime-Master had, however, all escaped. Not long after, Crime-Master arrived a rooftop away from the Daily Bugle, ready to kill Spider-Man, Jameson, and reporter Frederick Foswell, the latter of whom planned to write an exposé on the Crime-Master. The cops arrived just in time to save anyone from getting shot in the Daily Bugle; a shootout ensued, ending in Nick Lewis Sr.’s death.

That’s right, Nick Lewis, Sr. You see, Nick had a son, later revealed to be the second Crime-Master. Nick Jr. had grown up with a burning desire to kill Spider-Man, blaming him for the ruination and death of his father.  In the meantime, he’d fallen in love with Janice Foswell, daughter of the aforementioned Frederick Foswell, the former Big Man. Neither Janice nor Nick Jr. suspected that the other had taken up their fathers’ villainous identities. Both argued over who should be the one to finish Spider-Man off, and their incessant quarreling ended with the second Crime-Master shooting the second Bigman. Upon discovering he’d shot and killed the love his life, Nick Jr. surrendered to the police and hasn’t been since. Nick Jr. first appeared in “Marvel Team-Up” Volume 1, #39.

Years later, the third Crime-Master first appeared in “Venom” Volume 2, #1 (the series with Flash Thompson as the Venom host), and was the most sadistic of the three masked criminals.

This new Crime-Master ran a worldwide criminal organization and once Flash Thompson as Venom began interfering in his operations, the then-new Crime-Master began focusing his resources on taking out the symbiote-powered government agent. He sicced his personal enforcer Jack O’Lantern on Venom several times; Jack was a twisted child Crime-Master had kidnapped and molded to his liking. For more on this Jack O’Lantern, be sure to check out the Spider-Tracer article I did on him back in October. This Crime-Master went so far as to even form the first Earth-616 version of the Savage Six in order to take Agent Venom down.

It was soon revealed that this Crime-Master was the brother of Flash’s girlfriend Betty Brant; her brother Bennett had first appeared and seemingly died in a shootout between Doc Ock, Spider-Man, and several gangsters way back in “The Amazing Spider-Man” Volume 1, #11 after pushing Betty out of harm’s way. Betty had blamed Spider-Man for Bennett’s supposed death for quite some time, his passing having left quite a mark on her.

However, Bennett woke up in a morgue with a Crime-Master outfit presented to him, his wounds completely healed. He soon was shown that the Crime-Master guise had been around for decades, perhaps even centuries.

The origins of this Crime-Master organization were never further explained, leaving it open for future writers to explore. Before Bennett could further elaborate on any of the previously mentioned revelations, Betty shot and killed him in order to save Flash.

A short time later, Roderick Kingsley, the original Hobgoblin, sold the Crime-Master identity to an unknown Maggia member. The latest Crime-Master first appeared in “Superior Spider-Man” #22, but didn’t last long, having met his end in “Civil War II: Kingpin” #2.

It’s also worth noting that in the “Spider-Man: Spiral” storyline, one of Mr. Negative’s Inner Demons briefly impersonated this Crime-Master.

And there you have it, the villainous Crime-Master legacy. If anything is certain, we’ll surely see another Crime-Master before you know it. Which of the previous Crime-Masters was your favorite? What are your theories on the secret Crime-Master organization? Be sure to let me know in the comments section below.