The Powder Chase

On an isolated New Jersey road, the Punisher waits for an ambulance full of drugs to arrive. When he approaches, the vigilante fires a bazooka at the vehicle. However, the driver swerves out of the way and crashes into a tree. Checking the back of the ambulance, the Punisher confirms that the ambulance is full of cocaine. Frank Castle guns down one of the drivers. The other begs for his life, promising to give the Punisher information that will lead him to the cartel that is responsible for the drug shipments. However, before the guy can talk, he is shot in the head. It is the other driver, who survived getting shot, but the Punisher ultimately puts him down. With no other leads, Castle torches the ambulance, destroying all the drugs inside hoping that his assistant Microchip can help him with the intel he has provided.

Meanwhile, in Manhattan, Spider-Man sets up his camera to photograph an armed siege on a penthouse apartment. The penthouse is owned by one of the Kingpin's drug dealers and the armed men have come to seize his cache of drugs. The dealer insists that he has no product on him. Before these armed men can open fire, Spider-Man comes crashing in and quickly webs everyone before phoning the police. Recovering his camera, Spider-Man swings around the city thinking about how tense things have gotten in the city because of an influx of drugs onto the streets. With the increase in drug-related crime, Spider-Man wishes he still had the power of Captain Universe to solve the problem.[1] Hoping to stymie the flow of drugs in the city, Spider-Man's only lead is a delivery that is scheduled to arrive in Brooklyn the next day. Returning home, Peter Parker discovers that his wife Mary Jane isn't home from her "Secret Hospital" shoot.[2] Seeing the dishes from the night before, causes Peter to recall the shock of discovering that his ex-girlfriend Felicia Hardy is dating Flash Thompson.[3] At the time, Peter freaked out but had to back down lest he reveals his secret identity. Mary Jane covered by telling Flash that they had met Felicia before. Peter then had to bite his tongue as they all had dinner together, and wonder what Felicia's motivations are.[4] As Peter gets down to washing the dishes, he figures he and Mary Jane talk about it before the situation gets worse.

Meanwhile, at the Vault Prison in Colorado, security reports that Eddie Brock has hung himself in his cell. Guards go down to the cell to check on him and discover that Brock is dead. This leaves one question: what happened to his alien symbiote. While at a warehouse in New Jersey, the Punisher tests out new munitions provided to him by Microchip. Frank's assistant has been working to find out where this current supply of cocaine is coming from. Although it originates from Columbia, Micro is unable to determine who is responsible for the shipments. However, he has learned of the drop happening in Brooklyn docks that evening. The Punisher tells Microchip that they can fill in the blanks when he investigates the Brooklyn shipment. That night, Spider-Man is staking out the docks when he spots a number of armed men arriving on the scene. Turning on his spider-signal, Spider-Man swings down to confront them. The thugs are about to retaliate but are stopped dead in their tracks. The wall-crawler's spider-sense begins going off warning him that there is something behind him. Turning around, he sees that the Punisher has arrived on the scene. The Punisher explains that he has come to determine if there are drugs aboard the ship, warning the web-slinger not to get in his way. Spider-Man tells the Punisher that he is there for the same reason and asks the vigilante if he would consider going in without guns. Unfortunately, the Punisher won't do such a thing and runs up to the ship with guns blazing.

They are opposed by armed guards aboard the ship. With lead flying all over the place, Spider-Man smashes through the floor so he and the Punisher can get into the cargo hold. There are more guards, which keep Spider-Man busy. Meanwhile, the Punisher discovers the cocaine hidden in barrels of coffee. He has cornered one of the armed men and demands that he gives up who their supply is. When the young man refuses and tries to shoot the Punisher, the vigilante mows them down. This upsets Spider-Man, who checks the body and can only find a card with a magnetic strip. The Punisher tells Spider-Man that he planted a bomb and they abandon ship before it goes off and sinks the ship full of drugs. Back at the Punisher's van, the vigilante has Microchip scan the card and track it to its source. He reveals to them that the man who was carrying the card was a member of the US Army. Although they now know that someone within the military is amassing the largest cache of drugs in the United States, the only question they have now is, why?

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Punisher, Nathan Lubensky, Aunt May, Felicia Hardy, Flash Thompson, Mary Jane Watson, Eddie Brock, Microchip

Notes

Continuity Notes

1. Spider-Man was endowed with the power of Captain Universe in The Spectacular Spider-Man #158. The power left him after he stopped the Tri-Sentinel from destroying a nuclear reactor in Amazing Spider-Man #229.

2. Peter and Mary Jane are identified as husband and wife here. However, years later, their marriage is erased from existence by the demon Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. They should be considered a common-law couple here as opposed to a married couple.

3. Spider-Man started dating the Black Cat in Amazing Spider-Man #226. Peter revealed his identity to her in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #87. Peter ended their relationship with Felicia in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #100 when he learned that she made a deal with the Kingpin. The pair have been at odds ever since.

4. Felicia's motivations for dating Flash developed when she learned that Peter had gotten married to Mary Jane in Amazing Spider-Man #316. After Peter and Mary Jane's marriage was erased by existence by Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545, they are not married but engaged. As such, one could assume that the Black Cat was upset that Peter was engaged to somebody other than her.