Joseph "Robbie" Robertson is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually in association with Spider-Man. Created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr., he first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #51 (August 1967), and has since endured as a supporting character of the wall-crawler. Robbie Robertson was one of the first black characters in comics to play a serious supporting role, rather than act as comic relief. He has usually been a high-ranking editor at the New York newspaper, the Daily Bugle, and a close friend and confidant of publisher J. Jonah Jameson, acting as a voice of reason in Jameson's campaign to discredit Spider-Man. He is more friendly and supportive of Peter Parker as well as the other Daily Bugle staffers than the brash Jameson. In the 1980s, the character's backstory was explored, revealing a past conflict with the supervillain Tombstone, with whom he attended high school; these stories were well received by readers and contributed to greater interest in his character. The character has appeared in several media adaptations outside of comics over the years, including films, animated series, and video games. Actor Bill Nunn played Robbie Robertson in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy. Publication history Gerry Conway's run on The Spectacular Spider-Man and Web of Spider-Man expanded Robertson's back story with a dark history involving the hit man Tombstone which continues to haunt Robertson in the present. The stories drew an exceptionally intense level of reader interest. Editor Jim Salicrup recalled that "some of the most jaded, seen-it-all before guys - namely the guys in Marvel's production department - got hooked on the Tombstone/Joe Robertson soap opera. They'd actually come into my office concerned about what was going to happen to Robbie next. 'He's not going to jail, is he?' they'd ask". Fictional character biography Joseph Robertson was born in Harlem. He is married to Martha and they have had two sons. Their first son, Patrick Henry Robertson, died when he was only six months old. Their second son, Randy, is divorced. Growing up in a working-class family and being a member of a racial minority, Robertson seemed to sympathize with the downtrodden, including Marvel Comics' mutants, and he preached tolerance. He was forced to practice what he preached when his son came home from college with his white Jewish wife, Amanda. Robertson is the editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle, the newspaper