Then Came...Elektra

Elektra clashes with two members of the Hand, demanding to know why the ninja cult has returned to New York City. One of them tells her that they have come to eliminate the True Believers, a spin-off of the Hand that is viewed as betrayers to their order. Elektra decides to spare the ninja in order for him to send back a message to his masters. Elektra doesn't care if the Hand and the True Believers eliminate each other, but warns them against harming innocent people. Thinking to herself, Elektra figures that only a fool would put himself between two warring cults.

At that moment, Spider-Man loses his grip on his webbing as a pounding headache sets in. Cursing himself for being so stupid, the wall-crawler scrambles to break his fall and lands on a nearby rooftop. There he thinks about how he has been having these headaches ever since Morbius the Living Vampire bit him recently and how it has been affecting his performance recently. He thinks how this led to his recent and humiliating defeat at the hands of Electro. Thinking about how he was forced to beg for his life and how Electro must be laughing at him now, Peter angrily punches a chimney, turning it to rubble. While at the Daily Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson is delighted by the current front page story about the True Believer's recent attempt on Joe's life. The only thing he is upset about is how there was no way to connect Spider-Man to the mysterious Black Tarantula. That's when Joe reminds Jonah that Spider-Man was actually responsible for saving his life. When Jonah tries to get Ben Urich's thought on the story, Ben points out that the ninjas might come back and target them and their families for publishing this story.

At that same moment, Madame Qwa -- the leader of the True Believers -- is furious to read the story in the paper and fears the Black Tarantula will punish them for their failure. Yano points out that the failure falls on Meiko Yin -- the Believer's Dragonfly -- as she was the one who provided Joe Robertson with the information for the newspaper story when she was supposed to assassinate the newspaper man. Despite Yano's demands that Meiko to eliminated, Madame Qwa believes that -- despite Yin's failure -- she is destined to be a great assassin. As penance for her failure, Meiko is ordered to murder her cousin Angela Yin. Meiko is shocked to be ordered to do this, but in order to save her own life and get back into the good graces of her master, Meiko agrees to carry out this order. As the Dragonfly leaves, Madame Qwa warns Meiko that another failure will not be tolerated. Meanwhile, Spider-Man returns to his home in Queens and feels awful and needs time to rest even though he needs to track down Electro and also learn what he can about Meiko Yin from her cousin Angela. That's when Anna Watson comes barging into Peter's room to learn what is making noise upstairs. In order to protect his double identity, Peter quickly leaps into bed and uses the blanket to cover up his costume. After explaining that he hasn't been feeling well, Peter asks Anna not to come barging into their bedroom without knocking first in the future. Because he was short with her, Peter apologizes, saying that his migraines have been really affecting his moods. Hearing that Peter isn't fell, Anna promises that she help Peter get well again.

At that moment, the Rose is visited by Elektra, and her sudden arrival is anticipated by the mobster as he has heard about her attacks on members of the True Believers. Although the Rose invites her in to have some tea, Delilah is quickly at the defense of her employer. Although the Rose applauds Delilah's loyalty, he tells her to stand down as he is certain Elektra will eliminate the ninja problem they have been having lately. Later that day, Peter Parker finally manages to get Anna to leave him to "rest" so he can slip as Spider-Man and try to make up for lost ground. Meanwhile, Meiko has paid a visit to her cousin Angela, who tells her that Peter Parker has been calling for her for more information about the True Believers. While Angela is busy preparing a meal, Meiko grabs a knife off the counter and prepares to kill her cousin, but can't bring herself to do it and flees the apartment, unaware that she is being observed by Yano. At that same time, Elektra is traveling across the city, questioning her decision to ally herself with the Rose, even if it is temporary. While simultaneously, a mysterious being approaches Spider-Man and tips him off of an upcoming battle between Elektra and the True Believers that is about to go down at the west side train yards.

A short time later, Meiko arrives at the train yards and begins to wonder what she will do next after failing to follow through on Madame Qwa's orders. That's when Yano and an army of ninjas ambush her intent on eliminating her life. Not far away, Elektra is rushing to the scene of the battle when she runs into Spider-Man. After some rather embarrassing exchanges on Spider-Man's part, he admits that he has been having a bad day and the pair agree to work together. While at the Daily Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson decides to take the potential threat from the Black Tarantula seriously and abruptly leaves the office so he and his wife can leave town. That's when Joe Robertson gets a phone call from his wife, Martha. When he tells Martha about what's going on, she points out that Jameson has the right idea and tells Joe to come home, but he still can't bring himself to abandon the Daily Bugle. Back at the train yards, Meiko surrenders to Yano who tells her that she will die for her failure, and they will also kill her cousin Angela. Before the True Believers can kill the disgraced warrior, Spider-Man and Elektra arrive on the scene, battling the ninjas and giving Meiko a chance to defend herself against Yano.

As the battle rages, Spider-Man begins losing his temper and fighting more savagely as the True Believers are keeping him from doing what he really wants -- to get revenge against Electro. As Elektra takes down her own attackers, she stops Spider-Man before his anger allows him to crush one of the True Believers with a train car. Realizing that he almost crossed the line, Spider-Man stops himself. With the ninjas all defeated, Elektra tells Meiko that she has a long path to redeeming herself for her past crimes. Meanwhile, Elektra has also discovered that she can't just stand by on the sidelines while the Hand and the True Believers go to war. All of this resonates with Spider-Man who realizes that he too is allowing his emotions to get the better of him. After the two women depart, Spider-Man realizes that perhaps he needs to find the correct path, just as Meiko and Elektra need to. While at the moment, in South America, Chesbro brings his master the latest edition of the Daily Bugle. Learning about how the True Believers have been exposed, he realizes the Hand will track them down to New York. Not wanting to be involved in an expensive war against the Hand, he tells Chesbro to have Madame Qwa and her warriors return home. Having grown tired of the constant set backs, the Black Tarantula decides that it is time that he goes to New York and carve out his stake there personally.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Elektra, Dragonfly, True Believers (Madam Qwa), The Rose, Delilah, The Hand, J. Jonah Jameson, Joe Robertson, Ben Urich, Angela Yin, Martha Robertson, Black Tarantula, Chesbro

Continuity Notes

• Spider-Man was bitten by Morbius during the events of Spider-Man #77-78.

• Meiko points out that Peter Parker is married. Peter and Mary Jane are referred to as husband and wife here. However, years later, their marriage is erased from existence by Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. As such they should be considered a common-law couple here.