Lo, There Shall Come a Menace!!

While meeting with Detective Quentin Palone about a rash of murders that involve his spider-tracers, the web-slinger quickly discovers that this is a trap set so the NYPD can arrest him. Trying to get away from the SWAT team that is descending around the police precinct in helicopters, Spider-Man remembers he is still out of web-fluid. Thankfully, his life is saved by Jackpot who swings by on a rope. She tells Spider-Man, unlike the police, she is more interested in stopping the Menace from terrorizing the mayoral debate in Harlem than arresting Spider-Man.[1] However, Spider-Man intends on luring the police who are after them to the Apollo Theater in order to force them to deal with Menace.

However, when they arrive at the theater too late to stop Menace from escaping with Lisa Perfrey — a mayoral candidate — hostage. Spider-Man leaps into one of the police helicopters and promises to surrender to the officers on board if they help him save Perfrey. Using the device that Spider-Man made to track the exhaust emitted by Menace’s glider, they follow the villain to Central Park.[2] Spider-Man wants to know why Menace has kidnapped the councilwoman and leaps out of the chopper and grabs onto the villain’s glider. Spider-Man wrestles Perfrey free and tosses her at Jackpot to catch. He then starts trading blows with Menace.

Spider-Man has things under control until Jackpot tries to join the fight and her added weight on the glider cause sit to fly out of control. All three combatants are dumped off the glider which then flies on a collision course with Lisa Perfrey. Tragically, the glide fatally struck down by the runaway glider. The Menace blames Spider-Man for this death and makes their escape in a cloud of smoke.[3] When Spider-Man tries to comfort Jackpot, she tells him to leave her alone. That’s when the police arrive on the scene to arrest him. Spider-Man jokes that he had his fingers crossed when he agreed to surrender and make a quick escape.

Later, Peter Parker goes to the DB! To sell his photos of Menace. Dexter Bennett tells Peter that an exclusive photo of Menace is impossible given the amount of cameras that were on site when the villain attacked the mayoral debate. However, none of the photos are as dynamic as Peter’s so Bennett decides to buy it. While it’s not the large sum that Dexter originally promised, it’s much more than J. Jonah Jameson would have paid him for the photos, convincing Peter that he likes Bennett’s new management style.[4] He then looks up the address of Sarah Ehret, the woman whom Jackpot claims is her civilian identity. When she comes to try and cheer her up, Ehret acts as though she hasn’t met Spider-Man before. When he presses her about Jackpot, Sarah tells Spider-Man to stay out of things and closes her curtains on him.[5]

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Jackpot, Menace, Lisa Perfrey, Dexter Bennett, Sara Ehret

Continuity Notes

1. Spider-Man is not only being accused of the so-called spider-tracer murders but also for not being a registered super-hero. Following the events of Civil War #1-7, super-heroes are required to register for the government. Although he initially supported the Super-Human Registration Act, Peter later renounced it in Amazing Spider-Man #534, leading to his becoming an outlaw.

2. Spider-Man makes a joke about having an iPhone so he doesn’t miss any episodes of Brothers & Sisters. These are real-world references that should be considered topical, particularly the reference to Brothers & Sisters since the show was cancelled in 2011.

3. Menace being upset about the result of this scheme is, as we’ll learn through the course of Amazing Spider-Man #584-588, is actually Lily Hollister. She became Menace after discovering one of Norman Osborn’s stashes of Goblin equipment and used the Menace identity to try and help her father, BIll Hollister, win the mayoral election.

4. Dexter Bennett became the new owner of the Daily Bugle after Marla Madison sold all of J. Jonah Jameson’s shares in Amazing Spider-Man #547.

5. Jackpot told Spider-Man that her real named was Sarah Ehret last issue. As Amazing Spider-Man Annual #35 reveals, she is actually Alana Jobson. Although Sarah Ehret had super-powers and was forced to register, she did not want to become a super-hero. Craving the life of a crime fighter she allowed her friend Alana use the Jackpot identity. In order to make up for her lack of super-powers, Alana takes the drug, MGH.