Amazing Spider-Man #321
Under War!
Investigating a conspiracy against the nation of Symkaria, Spider-Man has joined Paladin. They have tracked the conspirators to a train yard owned by the Life Foundation. Spider-Man is distracted because he believes that his Aunt May has only six months to live due to heart disease. While Spider-Man keeps the guards at bay, Paladin starts stealing the files the Life Foundation have at the facility. With their mission done, Paladin heads off and tells Spider-Man to call the Symkarian Embassy tomorrow. The wall-crawler heads back to his Aunt May's home in Queens. Riding atop a subway train, Spider-Man hopes to find out what the Life Foundation's involvement in this operation is. He also worries about his financial problems, Mary Jane's sagging career, and Aunt May's health.
Later that day at Life Foundation headquarters Carlton Drake goes over Spider-Man's interference on their recent operation. When his associates suggest they abort the current mission, Drake decides that they need a field test and orders them to prepare the Protectors. While in Queens, Peter talks to his wife Mary Jane about how Aunt May could be dying of heart disease. Mary Jane suggests that they give May her privacy. However, when Peter's Aunt enters the room, Peter reveals what he knows. However, May explains that it's not her who was diagnosed with heart disease, but Nathan Lubenski, her longtime fiancee. With Nathan's days numbered, May wants to make him as comfortable as possible and has decided to shut down her boarding house.Peter understands, but later while getting ready for bed, Peter feels bad leaving Aunt May, but Mary Jane points that they have to find a place. However, she has good news, she has an audition for a role in a soap opera. Something that she is satisfied doing since her modeling career is on a hiatus. She also reminds Peter that they are helping the Osborns move into their new loft.
The next day, Peter and Mary Jane help Harry and Liz Osborn move into their new home. A few hours later, Peter hopes the Osborns can help them when they finally find a place of their own. That's when Harry announces that he has a surprise for the Parkers. He tells them that the upper levels of the building are vacant and offers to let Peter and Mary Jane move in. They go upstairs to check out the loft, and they fall in love with it immediately. The pair accept the offer to move in. Later, Peter goes out to a nearby payphone so he can call Silver Sable and follow up on their investigation into the Life Foundation. She tells him to meet her at a helipad on 34th Street so they can head to New Jersey. Soon, Spider-Man, Silver Sable, and Paladin are heading to New Jersey in a glider. Ejecting from the glider near the Life Foundation's headquarters, the glider goes off on a crash course to create a distraction. They then ambush one of the guards and enter the facility through a ventilation shaft. Inside the facility, the trio discovers that the Life Foundation is building a new survivalist bunker, complete with its own shopping mall. They are soon confronted by Carleton Drake and his Protectors, a group of mercenaries that have been mutated into massive muscled creatures.
The creatures are more powerful than the three heroes can handle. Paladin manages to take one of the Protectors down by dumping a bunch of construction crates onto the creature. During the fight, a wall is smashed down, revealing a weather control panel. Spider-Man cranks it up full blast, creating an artificial blizzard inside. Meanwhile, Drake and Chakane observe from the safety in the control room. That's when Silver Sable smashes into the room. She shoots Drake in the shoulder and then pulls a needle out of her pocket that she intends to use on Chakane. Meanwhile, Spider-Man lures one of the last Protectors into the control room and makes it hit a fuse box, electrocuting the behemoth. Spider-Man wanders into the blizzard and reunites with Paladin. The pair then knocks out the last of their foes. When they catch up with Silver Sable, she has already extracted the information out of Chakane using sodium pentethol. Spider-Man is upset that she used drugs on their opponent, however, Sable isn't interested in getting any mortality from the wall-crawler.
On the flight back to New York, Silver Sable reveals that Chakane was going to hide out an assassin in the United States after they eliminate the king of Symkaria during his silver jubilee. When she asks the two men to accompany her back to her home country to catch the assassin, Paladin tells her that he has another contract. Spider-Man is about to decline because he doesn't agree with her morals. However, when she offers to pay him a generous daily rate, Spider-Man can't turn it down.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Silver Sable, Paladin, Mary Jane Watson, Aunt May, Harry Osborn, Liz Osborn, Normie Osborn, Life Foundation (Carlton Drake)
Continuity Notes
Mary Jane's modeling career has been ruined by Jonathan Caeser. He was obsessed with MJ to the point where he kidnapped her in Amazing Spider-Man #307-309. Although he was arrested, he has been trying to make the Parkers life miserable since Amazing Spider-Man #314.
Drake also mentions the last time Spider-Man interfered with their plans. That happened in Amazing Spider-Man #299.
Peter and Mary Jane are referred to in this story as husband and wife. However, their marriage was erased from existence by the demon Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. As such, Peter and Mary Jane are a common-law couple as opposed to being married.
Aunt May mentions that she and Nathan renewed their engagement. The couple was originally engaged in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #50. Unfortunately, their engagement was soured when Nathan allowed the police sniper to kill a robber who broke into May's house in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #113.
Aunt May turned her family home into a boarding house for elderly tenants back in Marvel Team-Up #124.
