The Amazing Spider-Man

Released by D. Gottlieb & Co. in 1980, The Amazing Spider-Man is the second Marvel character licensed by Gottlieb to be represented in a pinball machine (the first being Hulk). Designed by Ed Krynski with art by Gordon Morison, it is notable for being the first of Gottlieb's System 80 series of pinball machines and was also the first Gottlieb pinball with "attract mode" lighting, in which various playfield lights alternate between off an on, to make the game more attractive to passers-by, thus encouraging play. It was also the first solid state pinball with the speaker in the backbox (head) instead of the bottom cabinet.

The pinball machine featured character poses taken directly from Marvel Comics including Aunt May, Kingpin, Lizard, Scorpion, Vulture, Black Widow, Kraven the Hunter and the Green Goblin.

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."

A total of 7,625 machines were produced and are currently sought-after collector's items.