The Spider was the brain child of Popular Publications Henry Steeger, who was allegedly inspired by seeing a large spider while playing tennis. The company needed a mysterious crime-fighter to compete with Street & Smith's enormously successful Shadow character.
The first two novels were written by the then well-known author R.T.M. Scott. Scott had created the Secret Service Smith character, which had enjoyed success in print and on radio.

  Scott's first novel is  The Spider Strikes (October, 1933).
We are introduced to Richard Wentworth on board a cruise ship, along with his Hindu servant Ram Singh, returning from Europe. To help out a suicidal young man he finds himself obliged to kill Blunton, a card-sharp connected to the mysterious villain that Wentworth has been tracking for months. Wentworth beats him to the draw and leaves on his forehead the seal of The Spider, an already notorious killer of criminals. With lordly disdain towards self incrimination he telegraphs ahead to New York that The Spider is on board and has killed again.

  Police Commissioner Stanley Kirkpatrick, a long time friend, already suspects Wentworth of being the infamous Spider. Nita Van Sloan, the love of Richard Wentworth's life is decoyed to his apartment on the pretext of removing evidence. She brings Apollo, the massive Great Dane that Wentworth gave her for protection, and sees what appears to be a malevolent Wentworth leaving the apartment - and then discovers a dead police detective! Kirkpatrick arrives and informs her that the villain is a master of disguise, which relives her momentarily, for he is on to something of greater import. He has reasoned that Wentworth conceals The Spider's seal in his cigarette lighter, and intends to force Nita to help entrap him when he arrives. She manages to outwit the Commissioner, who is then shot through the window - most likely mistaken for Wentworth!

As one might imagine, Kirkpatrick is only wounded, but he is confined to Wentworth's apartment, which is a great inconvenience. Shortly we meet Professor Brownlee, who makes airguns and other useful devices, such as the lighters, for Wentworth. We are also briefly introduced to Jenkyns, Wentworth's aged and faithful butler.

The plot takes off from there, with Wentworth receiving a desperate plea for help from the fiancée of one of the innocent men the master criminal has framed. He meets Sparks, a young reporter who will acquit himself nobly in the course of the story. He discovers Madame Pompe, the sexy and dangerous moll of the villain, who appears - masked, to try and do away with our hero. Eventually he is revealed as an evil doctor with grandiose plans, and is dispatched by Wentworth, who improvises a scarecrow-like disguise before essentially executing the man.