The Amazing Spider-Man (pinball)
Encyclopedia
The Amazing Spider-Man is a pinball
game released in 1980 by Gottlieb
.
machine released by Marvel Comics
based on their comic book
character Spider-Man
. The machine was designed by Ed Krinski with art by Gordon Morison and produced by D. Gottlieb & Co.
as part of their Star Series 80 line. The first came off the assembly line in May 1980.
The Amazing Spider-Man was the first of Gottlieb's System 80 series of pinball machines and was the second Marvel character licensed by Gottlieb to produce a pinball machine (the first being The Hulk
).
The pinball machine featured character poses taken directly from Marvel comics and style guides including Aunt May
, Kingpin
, Lizard
, Scorpion
, Vulture
, Black Widow,Kraven, and the Green Goblin
.
It was the first of Gottlieb's System 80 design pinball machine.
It also was the first Gottlieb pinball, with an "attract mode" lighting. In which various playfield lights, alternate between off an on, to make the game more attractive to passerbye, thus encouraging play.
It was also the first solid state pinball, with the speaker in the backbox(head) instead of the bottom cabinet.
Stan Lee
, the co-creator of Spider-Man and public face of Marvel Comics, claimed ownership of one of the first machines of the assembly line and kept it in his Marvel office until he auctioned it as part of his Stan Lee collection at Heritage Comics Auctions (HCA) of Dallas, Texas
, USA.
Pinball
Pinball is a type of arcade game, usually coin-operated, where a player attempts to score points by manipulating one or more metal balls on a playfield inside a glass-covered case called a pinball machine. The primary objective of the game is to score as many points as possible...
game released in 1980 by Gottlieb
Gottlieb
Gottlieb was an arcade game corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. The company was established by David Gottlieb in 1927, initially producing pinball machines while later expanding into various other games including pitch-and-bats, bowling games, and eventually video arcade games .Like other...
.
Description
The Amazing Spider-Man is a pinballPinball
Pinball is a type of arcade game, usually coin-operated, where a player attempts to score points by manipulating one or more metal balls on a playfield inside a glass-covered case called a pinball machine. The primary objective of the game is to score as many points as possible...
machine released by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
based on their comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
character Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
. The machine was designed by Ed Krinski with art by Gordon Morison and produced by D. Gottlieb & Co.
Gottlieb
Gottlieb was an arcade game corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. The company was established by David Gottlieb in 1927, initially producing pinball machines while later expanding into various other games including pitch-and-bats, bowling games, and eventually video arcade games .Like other...
as part of their Star Series 80 line. The first came off the assembly line in May 1980.
The Amazing Spider-Man was the first of Gottlieb's System 80 series of pinball machines and was the second Marvel character licensed by Gottlieb to produce a pinball machine (the first being The Hulk
Hulk (comics)
The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
).
The pinball machine featured character poses taken directly from Marvel comics and style guides including Aunt May
Aunt May
May Reilly Parker-Jameson, commonly known as Aunt May, is a supporting character in Marvel Comics' Spider-Man series. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, she first appeared as May Parker in Amazing Fantasy #15...
, Kingpin
Kingpin (comics)
The Kingpin is a fictional character, a supervillain in the . Kingpin is one of the most feared and powerful crime lords in the Marvel Universe. The character is a major adversary of Daredevil, the Punisher, and Spider-Man...
, Lizard
Lizard (comics)
The Lizard is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe and enemy of Spider-Man. The Lizard first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #6 , and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko...
, Scorpion
Scorpion (comics)
MacDonald "Mac" Gargan is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He originally appeared as the villain Scorpion, and then years later bonded with the Venom symbiote to become the third incarnation of Venom...
, Vulture
Vulture (comics)
The Vulture is the name of six comic book supervillains in the Marvel Comics universe. The best known Vulture in the Marvel Universe is Adrian Toomes, an elderly enemy of Spider-Man created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in The Amazing Spider-Man #2 .-Golden Age Vulture:In Young Men #26, a scientist...
, Black Widow,Kraven, and the Green Goblin
Green Goblin
The Green Goblin is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 ....
.
Features
The features;- Special 24" (60 cm) wide-bodied cabinet
- 4-Player game
- 4 6-Digit Vacuum fluorescent displayVacuum fluorescent displayA vacuum fluorescent display is a display device used commonly on consumer-electronics equipment such as video cassette recorders, car radios, and microwave ovens. Invented in Japan in 1967, the displays became common on calculators and other consumer electronics devices...
s - 4 Flippers (No Center Post)
- 1 Lane (with Spinner)
- 4 Exit Lanes
- 2 Slingshot Bumpers
- 3 Kick-Out Holes
- 2 Pop Bumpers
- 2 Spot Targets
- 2 Drop Target Banks (3 and 5 targets)
Production
A total 7,625 were produced and are sought after collectors items.It was the first of Gottlieb's System 80 design pinball machine.
It also was the first Gottlieb pinball, with an "attract mode" lighting. In which various playfield lights, alternate between off an on, to make the game more attractive to passerbye, thus encouraging play.
It was also the first solid state pinball, with the speaker in the backbox(head) instead of the bottom cabinet.
Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
, the co-creator of Spider-Man and public face of Marvel Comics, claimed ownership of one of the first machines of the assembly line and kept it in his Marvel office until he auctioned it as part of his Stan Lee collection at Heritage Comics Auctions (HCA) of Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, USA.
- "Over the years, I have spent countless frustrating yet perversely enjoyable hours attempting to play on it, as have numerous colleagues, friends and business associates (some quite famous, though a combination of modesty, shame and my legendary bad memory prevents me from divulging their names here) during their unrelenting pilgrimages to my office. In fact, I think many of these scions of arts and industry came over JUST to beat me up at pinball. I hope its new owner will be a better player than I am." http://www.heritagemovieposters.com/common/info/press/default.php?ReleaseID=346
External links
- The Amazing Spider-Man at the Internet Pinball Database (IPDb).