In the Hands of the Hunter!

Having been stiffed out of payment for his last battle with Spider-Man by the Green Goblin because of the apparent demise of the Green Goblin, Kraven the Hunter decides to go after the "middle-man" that sought out Kraven when he was hired for the job: Norman Osborn. What Kraven is unaware of is that the Goblin and Osborn were the same man and that Norman no long has any memory of his alter ego.

Meanwhile, everyone is planning a going away party for Flash Thompson before he leaves for the Army to fight in Vietnam. As Peter Parker and friends prepare for the party, Kraven tries to find Osborn, attacking his office and his home to try and find him. When this fails, Kraven decides to attack the party and kidnap Osborn's son Harry to try and ransom him off.

However, when Kraven appears, Peter sneaks away and changes into Spider-Man and battles Kraven. During the fight Norman Osborn arrives and is roped up by Kraven who demands payment. However, due to his selective amnesia pertaining to anything he did as Green Goblin, Osborn has no clue what Kraven is talking about. When Kraven drops Osborn off a partially built skyscraper, Spider-Man goes to his rescue. Kraven manages to escape, and Peter has to switch back to his civilian identity before his absence is noticed so he can't go after Kraven.

After everyone's settled down, Peter wishes Flash Thompson farewell, the two deciding to bury the hatchet and be friends.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Mary Jane Watson, Harry Osborn, Norman Osborn, Gwen Stacy, Flash Thompson, J. Jonah Jameson, Betty Brant, Frederick Foswell, Kraven the Hunter, Anna Watson, Aunt May, John Jameson

Continuity Notes

• The events of this issue are revisited in Deadpool (vol. 3) #11 when Deadpool is inadvertently sent back in time along with his sidekick Blind Al. Although that story suggests that Deadpool altered history, as per Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #2, this actually created the divergent reality of Earth-9712.

• The flashback takes place in two different periods of time: First, the Green Goblin witnesses Spider-Man battling Kraven was the battle in Amazing Spider-Man #15. He was then hired by Norman Osborn to eliminate Spider-Man prior to his defeat in Amazing Spider-Man #34.

• Kraven is unaware that the Green Goblin and Norman Osborn were the same people, as revealed in Amazing Spider-Man #39. He is among those who believed that the Goblin died in a fire circa Amazing Spider-Man #40, a ruse perpetuated by the fact that Osborn no longer has any memory of being the Green Goblin.

• Harry Osborn's references to Sophia Loren and Captain Kangaroo should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616.

• Spider-Man remembers he hasn't sold his photos of his battle with the Shocker, which occurred last issue.

• Peter recounts how he was too busy battling the Molten Man and the Scorpion to notice that Gwen was taking an interest in him. This is not a very accurate recollection: Peter first met Gwen in Amazing Spider-Man #31 and ignored her because he was worried about the health of his Aunt May. While Spider-Man battled the Molten Man in Amazing Spider-Man #35, he had not battled the Scorpion during the period he first met Gwen to this story.

• This story makes vague references that Flash Thompson is going to fight in the Vietnam War. However this should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616. As per History of the Marvel Universe #1, Flash fought in the Sin Cong Conflict, as opposed to the Vietnam War.

• Betty's fear for Ned's safety (and Peter's when they were dating) is due to the fact that the dangerous lifestyle of her brother, Bennett, led to his apparent death in Amazing Spider-Man #11. What she doesn’t know is that Bennett survived. He will resurface as the new Crime-Master years later. See Venom (vol. 2) #1-21.