Spiderhunt, Part 2

Spiderhunt continues from Sensational Spider-Man #25...

A bounty on Spider-Man's head has drawn out a gang of hunters to come to New York in an effort to capture the masked vigilante. They find the wall-crawler as he is searching for Normie Osborn, who has just been recently kidnapped by the Green Goblin. When they try to shoot the web-slinger, Spider-Man traps them in a net of webbing and quickly disarms them before someone gets hurt.

Meanwhile, at a Staten Island Mansion, Don Fortunado meets with the Rose to discuss the situation with Spider-Man, as it has brought out the police in force and it is starting to affect business. This is old news to the Rose, who actually wanted to discuss how the Black Tarantula has been muscling in on their business in Manhattan. Suddenly, the guards outside begin screaming as something attacks them. Moments later, the Black Tarantula tosses these men through the patio door in order to make his entrance. Since the Black Tarantula has come to ask permission to be allowed to conduct business in Manhattan, Don Fortunato decides to hear him out despite the Rose's reservations. By this time, Spider-Man has arrived at the penthouse apartment of Norman Osborn. He listens in on a conversation between Norman and his daughter-in-law, Liz, who is upset that Norman was not able to prevent his grandson from being kidnapped. This is all part of a scheme to convince people that Norman Osborn was never the Green Goblin. Hearing this leaves Spider-Man to wonder who the new Goblin is, it briefly makes him wonder if it is his late friend, Harry Osborn. Back on Long Island, Don Fortunato has a sit-down meeting with the Black Tarantula. The mobster decides to allow the South American a chance to set-up operations in the city, but under one condition, that the Black Tarantula eliminate Spider-Man first.

By this time, Peter Parker has arrived at the Daily Bugle and discovers that Joe Robertson has quit his position as Editor-in-Chief. As Joe packs up his desk, Peter tries to convince him not to go, but Joe tells him that after Osborn took over the paper it's not the same place anymore and he has decided to leave and focus on his family. Peter finally understands and tells Joe that he will miss him. So will Joe, and after hugging Peter, he warns Parker to look out for himself as he has noticed that Norman Osborn doesn't like him much. With his office packed up, Joe makes his way through the bullpen saying goodbye to the staff as he goes. Watching from around a corner is J. Jonah Jameson who realizes that Joe was serious about leaving. For a moment, Jonah considers going out to wish Robertson luck but walks away without a word instead. Going up to the roof, Peter changes into Spider-Man again. He thinks about how he could stop whatever Norman Osborn is planning, rescuing Normie Osborn, as well as learning the identity of the new Goblin when his spider-sense begins going off. Quickly putting on his mask the wall-crawler narrowly avoids being struck by a chimney thrown at him by the Black Tarantula.

Although Spider-Man has no idea why the Black Tarantula is after him now, the web-slinger is forced on the defensive due to his opponents' superior strength, speed, and ability to project energy blasts from his eyes. Realizing that he may be in over his head, Spider-Man begins to wonder if his wife, Mary Jane, was right about him hanging up the webs. At that very moment, Mary Jane is out with her friends, Jill Stacy and Shantal Wilsk, are out clubbing in order to get her mind off her concerns over Peter's safety. Although Shantal presses Mary Jane for information about her marital problems, she can only give vague answers in order to avoid exposing his double-identity. While in a junkyard in Brooklyn, Normie Osborn is not the least bit afraid that he has been kidnapped by the Green Goblin. In fact, the boy is certain that his kidnapped is none other than his father, someone everyone said was dead. When Normie asks for confirmation, the Goblin only silently gazes at the boy.

Back at the scene of the battle, Spider-Man tries to convince the Black Tarantula to bother another super-hero, telling him that he is searching for a missing child. This intrigues the Black Tarantula who wants to know more. The wall-crawler explains that he is looking to rescue Normie Osborn and return him to his family, even though the boy's grandfather is one of his old foes. While the Black Tarantula is impressed with the web-slingers sense of honor, he continues to attack Spider-Man, as he still has to follow through on his promise to Don Fortunato. After beating Spider-Man into submission, the Black Tarantula informs him that he is no longer welcome in the city and is only sparing his life for the sake of the child he wishes to save. Ripping apart Spider-Man's mask, the Black Tarantula tells the hero to rescue the Osborn child and then leave the city or he will come back and eliminate him. As Spider-Man recovers from the attack, he tries to make sense of the situation. That's when people begin noticing that Spider-Man is in an alley and a mob begins to form. With his mask in tatters, the web-slinger is forced to flee before someone gets a good look of his face, for fear of someone recognizing who he really is. As he scales up the side of a building, Spider-Man dodges shots that are fired at him. Looking over his shoulder he sees that the bounty-hunter known as Shotgun is now on his trail.

... Spiderhunt continues in Spider-Man #89

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, J. Jonah Jameson, Ben Urich, Betty Brant, Glory Grant, Billy Walters, Joe Robertson, Mary Jane Watson, Liz Osborn, Norman Osborn, Black Tarantula, Rose, Don Fortunato, Green Goblin, Angel, Shantal Wilsk, Normie Osborn, Shotgun

Continuity Notes

• Spider-Man has had a bounty on his head since he was tricked into attacking Norman Osborn in The Spectacular Spider-Man #250. The desire to capture Spider-Man has since ramped up since the wall-crawler was framed for the murder of Joey-Z in Spider-Man #88.

• Normie was kidnapped by the Goblin in Sensational Spider-Man #25.

• A lot of Goblin history is referenced here. It is as follows:

  • Norman Osborn was absolutely the original Green Goblin, first taking on the role back in Amazing Spider-Man #14.

  • Norman was the Green Goblin until he was seemingly killed battling Spider-Man in Amazing Spider-Man #122. As revealed in Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal #1, Norman survived and lived in seclusion for years. During this time, Ben Urich wrote an expose on the Goblin putting him as Norman Osborn, as seen in Spider-Man: Legacy of Evil #1.

  • Norman Osborn eventually resurfaced, revealing that he was still alive during the Revelations story arc.

  • In The Spectacular Spider-Man #249-250, Norman publicly revealed that he was still alive, bought part ownership in the Daily Bugle and began convincing the public that he was never the Green Goblin.

  • At the time of this story, everyone thinks that Harry Osborn is dead following the events of The Spectacular Spider-Man #200. However, unknown to everyone at the time, Harry survived as explained in Amazing Spider-Man #581. He will resurface again in Amazing Spider-Man #545.

• Joe Robertson quit the Bugle last issue because J. Jonah Jameson sold part ownership of the Bugle to Osborn.

• 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.