Marked for Destruction by Dr. Doom!

After a report by J. Jonah Jameson about the "menace" of Spider-Man, Peter (in order to avoid any suspicion that he's really Spider-Man) speaks negatively about his alter ego, earning him harsh words from Flash Thompson. Meanwhile, Dr. Doom had seen this same report, and decided that after surviving his last encounter battling the Fantastic Four, that perhaps Spider-Man would make for a good partner to eliminate his mortal foes.

Doom uses a device which sends out a signal that affects Peter's spider-sense, and Peter goes to it as Spider-Man. Doom offers Spider-Man an alliance. Spider-Man naturally refuses and a brief battle ensues in which Spider-Man escapes. While back at Midtown High, Flash has decided to play a prank on Peter Parker by giving him a "scare" in his new Spider-Man costume in the hopes of getting Parker to have more respect for Spider-Man.

This prank backfires, as Dr. Doom begins trying to track down Spider-Man to get revenge. As Thompson is near Peter when Doom is tracking Spider-Man, he captures Thompson instead. Doom then sends out a message to the Fantastic Four to battle him or Spider-Man will be killed. Peter at first believes that Flash deserves his fate, but his sense of responsibility sends him out to rescue Flash anyway.

Spider-Man goes to Flash's rescue, and manages to hold his own against Doom's weapons and attacks. However, when the Fantastic Four arrive as well, Doom decides to flee the battle. Spider-Man decides to leave as well, leaving the Fantastic Four to rescue Thompson, hoping that he learns his lesson. The next day at school he sees otherwise, as Flash boasts about his experience. Peter, needing to keep his identity as Spider-Man secret, of course cannot say anything otherwise.

Continuity Notes

Spider-Man, Aunt May, J. Jonah Jameson, Flash Thompson, Liz Allan, Seymour O’Reilly, Betty Brant, Sally Avril, Doctor Doom, Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Human Torch, Thing)

Continuity Notes

• A number of plot details should be considered topical references per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616. Particularly the fact that everyone is watching black-and-white televisions, and that Aunt May is watching the Ed Sullivan Show on TV.

• Doctor Doom recounts his last defeat at the hands of the Fantastic Four. This happened in Fantastic Four #17.