Clown

Amazing Spider-Man #16 & #22

by Steve Ditko, 1965

The Clown appears as a member of the Circus of Crime in Amazing Spider-Man #16, but he is not identified by name. During the course of that issue, he is defeated, along with the rest of the circus by Spider-Man and Daredevil. He presumably is arrested and sent to prison with the rest of the circus.

After their release from prison, the Ringmaster reassembles the Circus of Crime to try to convince them to open the circus again in another state. Spider-Man interrupts their meeting to warn the Ringmaster against trying his old tricks again and also to surreptitiously plant a tracking device in the Ringmaster's hat. After Spider-Man leaves, the other members of the circus reject the Ringmaster's proposal. Instead, they decide to make The Clown the new leader of the Circus of Crime and forcefully kick the Ringmaster out of the circus.

The Circus of Crime decides to rob an art exhibit sponsored by J. Jonah Jameson. While the Clown distracts the art aficionados, the rest of the crew knock out Jonah and steal paints out of the back room. For the most part, the plan goes off without a hitch, but Peter Parker recognizes the Clown. As Spider-Man, he uses his tracer to track down the Ringmaster.

After being hypnotized by his own hat, the Ringmaster gives up the location of the warehouse where the circus is hiding. At the warehouse, Spider-Man finds the crew discussing renaming themselves to the Masters of Menace. With their acrobat skill and numbers, the newly christened Masters of Menace get the upper-hand against Spider-Man. However, Spider-Man manages to defeat the Master of Menace.

Once the Ringmaster recovers from the hypnosis, he heads out to the warehouse, unwittingly leading the police directly to the circus' hideout and the stolen loot. With his arms full of stolen paintings, the Ringmaster is arrested and shipped off with rest of the group.