Wings of Vengeance!

Adrian Toomes has turned up in a retirement village in the southwest. While out buying the morning paper he comes across an issue of the Daily Bugle with a front-page story about Spider-Man. He isn't surprised to see that his longtime foe has made the front page once again. As he heads back to his modest home, he makes small talk with his neighbors he thinks about how his generation lacks the ambition. Back in his home, he thinks about how his time here has been very profitable due to the fact that there are not any superheroes around to stop him from his thefts as the Vulture. His moving to this village is a stroke of genius on his part, as the authorities wouldn't think to look for him in a retirement village. He finds it too bad Spider-Man is still alive, noting that Doctor Octopus appears to have given him a hard time. Flipping through the paper, Tooms is shocked to see an advertisement for a high-tech expo sponsored by Bestman Electronics. Furious to see that Bestman is back in business, Adrian calls a travel agency to book the next available flight to New York City.

Hours later in New York City, Peter Parker is tossing and turning in his sleeping. He is having a nightmare about being attacked by Doctor Octopus and the Owl. The attack is suddenly interrupted by the Black Cat who tells Spider-Man that they are gone before turning into a skeleton. Suddenly, the Hobgoblin appears in his dream and gives him chase. Lastly, he is confronted by the Gladiator who slices the wall-crawler open. That's when Peter wakes up screaming. Turning on the light, Peter discovers that the bulb has burnt out. Climbing up onto the ceiling, Peter changes the bulb and thinks about his recent battles with Doctor Octopus, the Hobgoblin. When Peter looks out his blinds he is upset to see that he slept through the entire morning. Peter decides to web-sling into Queens to pay a visit to his Aunt May and changes into Spider-Man. Not long after Peter has left, Amy Powell is trying to call on Peter, only to learn from his neighbor -- Joseph Pincus -- that he is not home and that he is always on the go. Powell is not surprised by this as she has been trying to get some time with him for some time.

Meanwhile, the Vulture has arrived in New York City and flies to the tech expo where he intends to make Gregory Bestmen regret ever being born. At that moment, Spider-Man swings past the General Techtronics Building, the place where he was bitten by the radioactive spider that gave him his powers. He then swings past Midtown High School, prompting to him to think about the hard times he had in high school, particularly from Flash Thomspon. Eventually, he arrives outside Aunt May's home, where he changes into his street clothes in a tree. Aunt May is happy to see him and she tells him that the day is full of surprises as she had learned that Anna Watson is coming to visit him. While Aunt May goes into the kitchen, her fiancee Nathan Lubinsky shows off the new television he purchased. Just then news coverage of the tech expo is interrupted by the arrival of the Vulture. Seeing this footage, Peter abruptly leaves and changes into Spider-Man to face his longtime foe.

When Spider-Man arrives on the scene a police strike force led by Lieutenant Kris Keating has set up a perimeter around the expo but the Vulture has locked himself inside the facility. Keating is not happy to see Spider-Man at the scene but the wall-crawler convinces the officer to let him try to stop the Vulture first. Inside, the Vulture is trashing the expo demanding that George Bestman surrenders to him. Bestman horrified that Adrian Tooms was back to terrorize him again. Spider-Man tries to get the drop on the Vulture, but the villain shakes him off. The Vulture then surprises Spider-Man by grabbing military grade munitions that are also on display and begins tossing explosives at him. He then activates a number of military drones to attack Spider-Man. The wall-crawler easily smashes these devices, but this distraction allows the Vulture to activate a direct current generator, keeping Spider-Man on the defensive.

While Spider-man is busy shutting it off to protect the crowds, the Vulture finds Bestman and captures him. When Spider-Man tries to stop him, he is shocked by the generator. Flailing in the air, he tries to latch on to George Bestman. In a panic, Besteman kicks Spider-Man in the face. With his hero down, the Vulture gloats that he will finally get his revenge and flees with Bestman as his prisoner.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Vulture, Aunt May, Amy Powell, Lonesome Pincus, Nathan Lubensky, Kris Keating, George Bestman

Continuity Notes

• Spider-Man's nightmare consists of his battles with the Owl and Doctor Octopus that left the Black Cat seriously injured, as well as his recent battles with the Hobgoblin and Gladiator. These events occurred in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #72-76, Amazing Spider-Man #239, and Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #77.

• The depiction of the original twin towers at the site of the World Trade Center and the Gulf & Western Building should be considered topical references per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616. The twin towers were destroyed in a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, while the Gulf & Western Building was converted into the Trump International Hotel and Tower in the 1990s. Likewise should the type of television that Nathan Lubinsky purchased should be considered topical.

• Peter recounts his origins as they were told in Amazing Fantasy #15.