 | |
| Manufacturer | Gottlieb |
|---|---|
| Release date | May 1980 |
| System | System 80 |
| Design | Ed Krynski |
| Artwork | Gordon Morison |
| Production run | 7,625 |
The Amazing Spider-Man is a pinball game designed by Ed Krynski and released in 1980 by Gottlieb. It is based on the comic book character Spider-Man released by Marvel Comics.
The machine, designed by Ed Krynski with art by Gordon Morison, was produced by D. Gottlieb & Co. as part of their Star Series 80 line. The first machine came off the assembly line in May 1980. [1]
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 be represented in 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 the Hunter and the Green Goblin.
The features;
A total of 7,625 machines were produced and are currently sought-after collectors items.
It was the first of Gottlieb's System 80 design pinball machines. 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 off 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 of Dallas, Texas. Lee said that "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." [3]
The Amazing Spider-Man is an ongoing American superhero comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its title character and main protagonist. Being in the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it was the character's first title, launching seven months after his introduction in the final issue of Amazing Fantasy. The series began publication with a March 1963 cover date and has been published nearly continuously to date over six volumes with only one significant interruption. Issues of the title currently feature an issue number within its sixth volume, as well as a "legacy" number reflecting the issue's overall number across all Amazing Spider-Man volumes. The title reached 900 issues in 2022.
Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book Amazing Fantasy #15 in the Silver Age of Comic Books. He has been featured in comic books, television shows, films, video games, novels, and plays.
Stephen John Ditko was an American comics artist and writer best known for being the co-creator of Marvel superhero Spider-Man and creator of Doctor Strange. He also made notable contributions to the character of Iron Man, revolutionizing the character's red and yellow design.
Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails called 'pins' and had hollows or pockets which scored points if the ball came to rest in them. Today, pinball is most commonly an arcade game in which the ball is fired into a specially designed cabinet known as a pinball machine, hitting various lights, bumpers, ramps, and other targets depending on its design. The game's object is generally to score as many points as possible by hitting these targets and making various shots with flippers before the ball is lost. Most pinball machines use one ball per turn, and the game ends when the ball(s) from the last turn are lost. The biggest pinball machine manufacturers historically include Bally Manufacturing, Gottlieb, Williams Electronics and Stern Pinball.
The Daily Bugle is a fictional New York City tabloid newspaper appearing as a plot element in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Daily Bugle is a regular fixture in the Marvel Universe, most prominently in Spider-Man comic titles and their derivative media. The newspaper first appeared in the Human Torch story in Marvel Mystery Comics #18. It returned in Fantastic Four #2, and its offices were first depicted in The Amazing Spider-Man #1.
Amazing Adult Fantasy, retitled Amazing Fantasy in its final issue, is an American comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics from 1961 through 1962, with the latter title revived with superhero features in 1995 and in the 2000s. The final 1960s issue, Amazing Fantasy #15, introduced the popular Marvel superhero Spider-Man. Amazing Adult Fantasy premiered with issue #7, taking over the numbering from Amazing Adventures.
John Victor Romita was an American comic book artist best known for his work on Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man and for co-creating characters including Mary Jane Watson, the Punisher, Kingpin, Wolverine, and Luke Cage. Romita was the father of John Romita Jr., also a comic book artist, and the husband of Virginia Romita, who was for many years Marvel's traffic manager.
Edward Paul Krynski was a pinball game designer and innovator who worked for D. Gottlieb & Co between 1965 and 1984. During this time Krynski designed more than 200 games and innovated new pinball standards such as the laneways to the flipper, carousel targets, vari-targets, multiple drop targets, and the first solid state pinball machine with the speaker in the backbox instead of the bottom cabinet. Krynski is a member of the Pinball Hall of Fame.
"Maximum Carnage" is a 14-part comic book crossover published in Marvel Comics' Spider-Man family of titles in 1993. It featured Spider-Man, Venom, and a host of other superheroes teaming up to face Venom's murderous offspring Carnage and his team of supervillains.
"300" is a pinball machine designed by Ed Krynski and produced by Gottlieb with a bowling theme. The title is a reference to a perfect game in the sport, in which a bowler scores 300 points. A two-player version of this four-player game was released as Top Score.
Stan Lee was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which would later become Marvel Comics. He was the primary creative leader for two decades, leading its expansion from a small division of a publishing house to a multimedia corporation that dominated the comics and film industries.
Marvel Fireside Books were a series of full-color trade paperbacks featuring Marvel Comics stories and characters co-published by Marvel and the Simon & Schuster division Fireside Books from 1974 to 1979. The first book, 1974's Origins of Marvel Comics, was very successful, and inspired a series of annual sequels.
The Green Goblin is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the first and best-known incarnation is Norman Osborn, who is generally regarded as one of the archenemies of the superhero Spider-Man, along with Doctor Octopus and Venom. Originally a manifestation of chemically induced insanity, others such as Harry Osborn would take on the persona. The Green Goblin is a Halloween-themed supervillain whose weapons resemble bats, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns and in most incarnations uses a hoverboard or glider to fly.
Central Park is a pinball machine that was released by Gottlieb in 1966. The game was sold in 3,100 units. It was designed by Ed Krynski and the art was done by Roy Parker.
Big Shot is a pinball machine designed by Ed Krynski and produced by Gottlieb in 1973. It was created as a two-player version of their 1973 game, Hot Shot. The table has a pool theme and is highly regarded among skilled players and collectors due to the level of skill required to hit all 14 drop targets in the game. A total of 2,900 units were manufactured.
Tee'd Off is a pinball machine designed by Ray Tanzer and Jon Norris and released by Gottlieb in May 1993.
Genie is a widebody pinball machine designed by Ed Krynski and released in 1979 by Gottlieb. It features a jinn theme and was advertised with the slogans "Gottlieb's WIDE and Beautiful BODY" and "A Wide-Body Pinball absolutely bulging with player appeal and proven massive profit earning capacity!".
El Dorado City of Gold is a pinball machine designed by Ed Krynski and released in 1984 by Gottlieb. The game features an El Dorado adventure theme.
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