Publication History
The Crime Master debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man #26, his identity unknown. He was killed and revealed as Nicholas "Nick" "Lucky" Lewis after his death. His son, Nicholas Lewis Jr. became the second Crime Master in Marvel Team-Up #39 (November 1975) and #40 and teamed up with the second Big Man. This Crime-Master did not know the identity of his partner and betrayed and shot to death the Big Man, who turned out to be his girlfriend Janice Foswell, daughter of Frederick Foswell, the original Big Man, after unmasking. Devastated by the discovery, Lewis Jr. has not appeared as The Crime-Master since.
The original Crime Master was also featured in an untold story from before his death in Untold Tales of Spider-Man #23 (August 1997) and again in Untold Tales of Spider-Man #25. That issue is somewhat controversial as it alters the storyline from The Amazing Spider-Man #26-27. This story shows the Crime Master and Green Goblin reveal their identities to each other. The Goblin, however, is wearing a mask of J. Jonah Jameson under his Goblin mask so as to suggest that The Crime Master really believed that Jameson was the Goblin instead of Norman Osborn. This does not make sense in the continuity of The Amazing Spider-Man #26 as thought bubbles reveal that the Goblin is concerned about The Crime-Master revealing his identity.
A third Crime Master has recently appeared. starting in the revival of the Venom book. This one, whose identity is currently unknown, is a powerful crime lord, with extensive resources, connections, and henchmen, chief among them the new Jack O'Lantern. It was later revealed that the third Crime Master is Bennett Brant, the brother of Betty Brant.
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