The Black Cat Always Lands On Her Feet!

Spider-Man sees a shootout taking place in the middle of Times Square. A group of masked thugs in a van are being pursued at top speed by the police. When the thugs spot Spider-Man, they start shooting at him, but he snags their guns with his webbing. Then, after he web-swings high out of reach, he yanks the rear axle out of the van with more webbing, sending the vehicle crashing into some parked cars. The police soon arrive and haul the hoodlums away. Spider-Man departs, unaware that the Black Cat has been taking photos for her collection of Spider-Man memorabilia from a nearby rooftop. The Cat heads north to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum of Art. Dropping down on a rope through a door in the roof, she muses that her Job should not take long, because she has cased the place and knows all the guards' schedules. As she relishes the thought of adding the Golden Lovers statue to her collection, an armed guard orders her to halt. The Cat blows him a kiss, and suddenly the door behind him files open and knocks him out: another instance of the "bad luck" that befalls anyone who crosses her path. As Spider-Man web-swings above a police car, he overhears a bulletin about the Black Cat being at the museum.

So the Cat is alive, thinks Spider-Man as he hastens away. He arrives in minutes and, seeing the Black Cat carrying the statue, drops down on her from above, knocking her over. But she acrobatically gets back on her feet, and they begin battling. Suddenly the roof beneath Spider-Man's feet collapses, but as he falls he manages to snag the statue with his webbing. The Black Cat then sees the police cordoning off the building and springs away. Spider-Man hands the statue to the police, and then, tired, he heads for his apartment and a night's sleep. The next day at the Daily Bugle, Gloria Grant tells Peter Parker about the change that has come over Joe Robertson ever since he accepted the job of publisher. He has become surly to the point of irrationality. Robertson yells at Peter and tells him to get out of his office, and as Peter leaves he meets Randy Robertson, who is also puzzled as to what has come over his father. In his office, as he barks orders over the telephone, Robertson himself begins to realize that something terrible is happening to him.

In a studio apartment across town, the Black Cat vents her rage at a poster of Spider-Man. He would not have interfered, she thinks, had he known the real reason that she steals.

At about the same time at the Daily Globe, Barney Bushkin tells Peter Parker to try to control what he thinks is the hostile streak that prevents Peter from working with April Maye. Bushkin is convinced that Peter and April would make a dynamic reporting team, and he wants Peter to like her. Peter says he will try, but he asks Bushkin to speak to April as well. After Peter leaves the Globe, he walks by the Guggenheim Museum, where the Golden Lovers statue is back in its place. His spider-sense tingles, but he keeps walking. Unseen by Peter, Felicia Hardy, not wearing her Black Cat costume, is among the crowd of visitors. Annoyed that there are now more guards around the Golden Lovers statue, she quietly hides a small package near the statue and departs. Later that evening Peter prepares for a blind date that Flash Thompson has arranged for him. Peter joins Flash and Sha Shan in Central Park, and he meets his date, the gorgeous Dawn Starr. Dawn appears quite interested in Peter, and they bid Flash and Sha Shan farewell. Unfortunately, just when Peter's social life seems to be taking a turn for the better, he learns that Dawn will be one of his science students. It would be unethical for him to date her, he says, and he strides away, much to her chagrin. As he walks alone by the Guggenheim Museum, his spider-sense tingles, and this time he does not ignore the warning. Leaping a fence into an alley, he quickly changes into his Spider-Man costume and web-swings to the museum's roof.

Surmising that the Black Cat is back for a second try at the Golden Lovers statue, Spider-Man enters the building and finds all the guards unconscious on the floor. The gas pellets that the Black Cat left near the statue have done their work. The Cat is startled when Spider-Man grabs her arm as she is making off with the statue, instantly regaining her composure, the Cat flips Spider-Man over her back, and they begin battling. The Cat hampers Spider-Man by threatening to destroy various valuable pieces of art, which Spider-Man must protect in addition to trying to capture her. She manages to kick Spider-Man in the head, stunning him long enough for her to escape. Suddenly the Cat's "bad luck" power again seems to manifest itself, and a shelf of pottery collapses on Spider-Man's head, leaving him unconscious. The Black Cat slings the Golden Lovers statue on her back climbs a rope out of the gallery and gets away.

Meanwhile, J. Jonah Jameson regains consciousness in the alley following his paranoid flight from the Daily Bugle. He has lost all memory of who he is and how he arrived there, and as he ponders his situation and shivers in the cold, a voice calls him from the street. The voice says that Jameson is a friend, and when Jameson replies that he does not remember the speaker, the speaker identifies himself as Jonas Harrow. Soon, says Harrow, Jameson will remember him. The auctioneer at a Jewelry auction in a gallery located at Park Avenue and 63rd Street announces that the Rajah Ruby is valued at $4.1 million and requests an opening bid. "Two cents," announces a voice from above, and when the auctioneer and the attendees look up, they see the Black Cat. They have heard her bid, she says, and they are free to raise it—if they want to die. Suddenly she tosses the auctioneer two pennies, bounds to the floor, seizes the gem, and crashes through the window. She makes her way back to her apartment and settles down to relax on her bed. The first two prizes are hers, she says; only two more must be stolen to achieve her final goal.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, J. Jonah Jameson, Joe Robertson, Glory Grant, Flash Thompson, Black Cat, Barney Bushkin, Randy Robertson, Sha Shan Nguyen, Dawn Starr, Jonas Harrow

Continuity Notes

• Spider-Man is surprised to learn that the Black Cat is alive. She seemingly perished in Amazing Spider-Man #195.

• Jonah Jameson recovers consciousness in an alley, with a footnote explaining he got there "last issue." It was really the next-to-last issue, #202; the footnote is wrong and apparently #203; was a fill-in issue not dealing with this overall plot