Amazing Spider-Man #343
War Garden!
Since Spider-Man has lost his powers, the Black Cat agrees to swing him back home. She complains about how much he weighs prompting Spider-Man to joke that he is not to blame, but they both know otherwise. Peter thinks back to earlier when the Black Cat had brought him home after their last battle. Peter recounts how his powers were taken away from him by Doctor Turner, and that he has somehow been involved on the recent attacks on the wall-crawler since he lost his powers.[1] When Black Cat returns Spider-Man home to Mary Jane, MJ remembers that she invited the Osborns and Flash Thompson over for dinner. This prompts Spider-Man (Peter) and the Black Cat (Felicia) to quickly change out of costume, with Mary Jane telling Felicia to take clothes from her closet. When Peter and Mary Jane answer the door, they invite their guests in. They are all stunned when Felicia enters the room wearing one of Mary Jane's revealing evening dresses. Mary Jane is unimpressed that Peter's ex-girlfriend is showing her up at her own party.[2] However, seeing how Felicia is acting around Flash, Mary Jane is convinced that she actually cares for him. Peter is glad, because Felicia told him that she was helping him because of his friendship to Flash, and he needs Felicia to help him survive.
After the visit, Spider-Man uses his spider-tracer tracking device to lead them to the Botanical Gardens. Looking in from the roof, Spider-Man and Felicia see Doctor Turner meeting with the Femme Fatales, the Scorpion, and the Tarantula. Listening in, they are surprised when Doctor Turner reveals himself to be the Chameleon. They overhear the Chameleon telling his minions that the device he procured from the Tinkerer didn't eliminate Spider-Man's powers, only suppressed them. Hearing this, and realizing that he can't give up his powers, Spider-Man decides that he needs to use the machine to get his powers back. The Black Cat leaps through the window and keeps the villains distracted while the wall-crawler sneaks in, in the hopes of using the machine while his foes are distracted. However, the Chameleon has prepared for an attack and uses a device to activate some artificial plants that he planted in the area that begin restraining her. The Black Cat manages to break free and hold her own, taking out Knockout and Brainscan with the Tarantula's poison-tipped shoes. However, she is ambushed by the Scorpion, Bloodlust, and Whiplash. By this point, Spider-Man has figured out the machine and uses it to restore his powers. His spider-sense kicks in immediately, and he sees that the Black Cat has taken damage to her body.
With his powers back in full force, Spider-Man leaps into battle. First, he wraps up Bloodlust, followed by Whiplash and the Scorpion. When Spidey remembers the Chameleon, he sees the Black Cat who says she's going after the Chameleon,but when Spider-Man wonders what happened to her wounds, he sees the real Black Cat, and realizes that he was tricked by the Chameleon pretending to be the Black Cat. He hears the police arriving and decides to leave the villians to them, choosing instead to help the injured Black Cat escape. As they leave, Spider-Man wrecks the machine that suppressed his powers. In the aftermath of the battle, Black Cat is concerned because she has lost her powers. Peter apologizes, as he couldn't let the machine fall into the wrong hands. Although this is a huge change for her, she doesn't want Flash to know she was the Black Cat because he might figure out that she was toying with his emotions just to hurt Peter.[3] Spider-Man assures her that he will keep her secret if she keeps his. The next day, Peter and Mary Jane go to visit Aunt May in Queens. There he asks his Aunt May a "hypothetical" question on if he should help someone in danger even if it means someone will get hurt or killed. May tells him that if he didn't try, he wouldn't be welcome in his house anymore. She reminds him of his sense of responsibility and how his Uncle Ben would be proud of him. As they finish their discussion, May's new boyfriend, Willie Lumpkin, arrives with a dozen roses. Interestingly, he tells May that she hit the jackpot, the very same words that Mary Jane said to Peter when they first met.[4]
While at Blessing Hospital, a cocaine addict goes berserk with a knife, cutting Doctor Elias Wertham's arm. As his nurses restrain him, Wertham goes back to his office to paint over the Vibranium mesh that has replaced his skin, revealed by a knife cut. Elias had decided that he has waited on the sidelines long enough and that he will deal with the death merchants that peddle drugs as Cardiac.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Black Cat, Mary Jane Watson, Flash Thompson, Harry Osborn, Liz Osborn, Aunt May, Chameleon, Scorpion, Tarantula, Femme Fatales (Knockout, Bloodlust, Mindblast, Whiplash), Normie Osborn, Willie Lumpkin, Cardiac
Continuity Notes
Doctor Turner is secretly the Chameleon, he used a device to seemingly strip Spider-Man of his powers in Amazing Spider-Man #341.
Peter and Felicia dated from Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #75 to 100.
Felicia originally started to date Flash Thompson in order to break his heart as revenge against Peter for marrying Mary Jane, as seen in Amazing Spider-Man #329. After the timeline change in Amazing Spider-Man #545, one could assume that she was angry at Peter for being engaged to Mary Jane.
Mary Jane first said the phrase "face it tiger, you hit the jackpot" in Amazing Spider-Man #42.
