Styx And Stone

Spider-Man's wife Mary Jane has gone missing and the hero is tearing up criminal operations in order to find her. In the Bronx, the wall-crawler attacks Manslaughter Marsdale at Hunzigger's Gym. He knocks Marsdale to the ground with a single blow and webs the crooked boxer up so he can answer his questions. Marsdale tells the wall-crawler to do his worst, as he has had an operation that made him incapable of feeling pain. Spider-Man threatens to rip his arm off anyway, but Marsdale tells the hero that he can't tell what he doesn't know. Hearing this, Spider-Man leaves without another word. Pulling himself off the ground, Manslaughter decides to tell his associate Madame Fang to spread the word on the street. By evening, Spider-Man is perched atop a building wondering where things went wrong. Things were going great for him and Mary Jane, but she suddenly went missing and he hasn't been able to find a single clue as to her whereabouts. Feeling useless, the wall-crawler angrily punches a stone gargoyle. Giving up for the night, Spider-Man returns home and hopes that his wife is still alive.

He's unaware that Mary Jane is being held prisoner by Jonathan Caeser, the man who owns Bedford Towers. In the specially made room where he is keeping her prisoner, directly below her home, Mary Jane is forced to have dinner with Caeser. The deranged man goes over his goes over his insane plan to get married to Mary Jane. She tries to reason with him, explaining that she already married. When he begins talking about consummating their "marriage" in the bedroom he constructed for them, Mary Jane throws ice from a champagne bucket in Jonathan's face and tries to make a run for it. When she tries to escape from the room, she runs into Jonathan's bodyguards. Caeser is furious and pulls out a switchblade and warns Mary Jane that he will use it if she tries to escape again. The two guards warn Jonathan that Spider-Man has been hunting for Mary Jane. Caeser finds this interesting and decides to call in some special bodyguards to deal with the masked hero.

The next morning, Peter Parker is at the Daily Bugle, where he tells Glory Grant that there is no news on where Mary Jane might be. When J. Jonah Jameson enters the room, he wants to know why Peter is in his office bothering his full-time employee. Once Peter leaves, Jameson orders his staff to put all their efforts in trying to find Mary Jane. When Glory Grant comments about Jameson caring, he scoffs at the idea, saying that it will sell more newspapers. Peter decides that he should go and visit his Aunt May and break the news to her. However, he makes a stop at the hospital to see how Joe Robertson is coming along while he recovers from injuries inflicted upon him by Tombstone. After Joe hears how Jameson has been running the Bugle in his absence, Joe remarks that he feels helpless. Meanwhile, in the secret room in Bedford Towers where Mary Jane is being held prisoner, the men that were hired by Jonathan Caeser arrive. They are two mercenaries for hire named Styx and Stone. Mary Jane begins to fear for her husband's safety when she witnesses Styx touches a plant with his bare hands, killing it instantly.

Later that evening, Spider-Man has spent yet another fruitless search for his missing wife. His approach to Bedford Towers is witnessed by Caeser and Mary Jane. Jonathan orders Styx and Stone to attack. Although they try to ambush the wall-crawler, Spider-Man's spider-sense warns him of the approaching danger, evading a chain fired at him by Stone. Seeking a location where innocent people cannot get hurt, Spider-Man lures his foes into Central Park. Because Spider-Man is capable of dodging all of the various weapons in Stone's shoulder cannons, the villain blinds Spider-Man with a bright flash of light. Back at Bedford Towers, Mary Jane attempts to incapacitate Jonathan by electrocution by tossing a broken lamp on a puddle of melted ice cubes that her captor is standing in. This doesn't work thanks to fact that Jonathan is grounded by the rubber soles of his shoes. When Caeser pulls out a switchblade, Mary Jane smashes the lamp across his face, knocking him out. When Caeser's goons enter the room, Mary Jane notes that they are wearing leather shoes. This makes them vulnerable to the electricity in the lamp, and she incapacitates them in the same way she planned to do to Jonathan. She then takes one of their guns and flees the room she has been held captive in.

Back in Central Park, the blinded wall-crawler is still able to dodge the blasts fired by Stone. Unfortunately, the villain eventually traps Spider-Man in some adhesive gel. This leaves Spider-Man vulnerable to the deadly touch of Styx. However, before he can eliminate their foe, Mary Jane arrives and opens fire on them. Spider-Man then reaches out and crushes Stone's shoulder cannons. With bullets flying in their direction, the two villains escape in their Turbo-Hopper and flee the park. Pulling his feet free from the adhesive, Spider-Man and Mary Jane are reunited. With his vision coming back and with police on their way, Spider-Man takes off to change back into Peter Parker. When he returns home, it's just as Jonathan Caeser is being taken into police custody. After giving a statement to Sargent Tork, Peter and Mary Jane head back to their condo. When Peter laments that he couldn't protect his wife, Mary Jane points out that Jonathan Caeser would have kidnapped her even if her husband wasn't secretly Spider-Man. She then tells him that they have to help and protect each other together, as that is what being in love is all about.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Mary Jane Watson, J. Jonah Jameson, Joe Robertson, Jonathan Caeser, Styx, Stone, Manslaughter Marsdale, Glory Grant, Sgt. Francis Tork

Continuity Notes

• Peter and Mary Jane are identified as being married in this story. However, years later, the demon Mephisto erased their marriage from existence. As a result, Peter and MJ are considered common-law partners in this story as opposed to being married. This happened in Amazing Spider-Man #545.

• As explained in Amazing Spider-Man #638-639, Mary Jane decided that she couldn't marry Peter as long as he was Spider-Man, per the changes caused in Amazing Spider-Man #545. Presumably, in this altered timeline, Mary Jane likely stated that she was committed to Peter, as opposed to being married to him.

• Joe's back was broken by Tombstone in Spectacular Spider-Man #139.