The Tarantula is a Very Deadly Beast!

Spider-Man has hitched a ride back to New York from Florida on a helicopter following his battle with the Man-Thing against the Lizard. Arriving at the Bugle as Peter Parker, J. Jonah Jameson is furious that Peter did not take a single picture while down there and tells Parker that he's going to have to pay for the trip.

While in prison, the Tarantula creates new razor pointed shoes and uses them to break out of prison. Upon his escape he is picked up by the Jackal, who has hired him to be his next tool in destroying Spider-Man.

Meanwhile, Anna and Mary Jane Watson have come to the hospital to see Aunt May get discharged. When Aunt May talks to Mary Jane about Peter, Mary Jane gets upset and tells her about how she hasn't seen Peter since Gwen Stacy's apparent resurrection. Aunt May encourages Mary Jane to not give up so easily because love is usually a once in a lifetime opportunity.

At that time, Peter is web-slinging across the city as Spider-Man mulling over the facts behind this new Gwen Stacy. He suddenly has a realization -- what if she's a clone, and what if there are multiple copies of Gwen Stacy just running around? He suddenly sees a reflection of Gwen in a nearby showroom mirror and jumps into it, smashing the display window and mirror. This prompts a police officer to try and arrest him. But before Spider-Man can get away, he's attacked by the Tarantula.

The two fight across the city streets, their fight eventually taking them into a city bus. Their fight prompts all the passengers to flee in terror, except for one: Gwen Stacy. The bus driver turns out to be the Jackal in disguise. When the Jackal leading Gwen off the bus distracts Peter, the Tarantula manages to tag him with one of his boots knocking Spider-Man out. When Spidey revives, he finds himself taken to the Brooklyn Bridge. Bound in chains, Spidey hears the Jackal rant about how he's created this clone of Gwen Stacy as an instrument to destroy Spider-Man who he blames for murdering the real Gwen Stacy two years earlier. When the Jackal finishes exposing his plot, he has the Tarantula push Spider-Man off the Brooklyn Bridge to his death.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Tarantula, Jackal, J. Jonah Jameson, Ned Leeds, Mary Jane Watson, Anna Watson, Gwen Stacy (clone), Uncle Ben (flashback)

Continuity Notes

• Spider-Man is returning to New York after a trip to the Florida Everglades, which he visited in Giant-Size Spider-Man #5.

• There are multiple references to the fact that the real Gwen Stacy is dead. That happened in Amazing Spider-Man #121. The woman seen here is not Gwen, but her clone, as revealed next issue.

• The Jackal states that Gwen Stacy was killed two years prior. This should be a topical referece per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616. This was the length of time of real time that had passed between Amazing Spider-Man #121 and this issue. Per the Sliding Timescale, Gwen Stacy would have died roughly a few months earlier.