The Hobgoblin has arrived at Fisk Tower unannounced. Although doesn’t please the Kingpin or his enforcer, Montana, they are told that Spider-Man and the Black Cat are making an attempt to steal back the Reberbium that he stole from Horizon Labs. The Kingpin and Montana find this hard to believe because the building is defended by the best Hand ninjas from Shadowland. Still, Wilson Fisk contacts his lead scientist, Tiberius Stone, to check on the lab. Tiberius tells the Kingpin that they are still working on the Reberbium in preparations to sell the synthetic metal to the military. As Stone is making his report the video feed suddenly cuts out thanks to the Black Cat cutting the com channels.

Hand ninjas quickly arrive on the scene, by the Black Cat is defended by Spider-Man who is completely invisible thanks to his new stealth suit. With the ninjas out of the way, the Black Cat tells Spider-Man he can stop telling jokes because only she can hear them through the ear-piece that allows them to communicate. Meanwhile, the Hobgoblin rips open the doors to an elevator to pursue the intruders, setting off the alarms. When Montana tries to chastise him, the Hobgoblin points out that he set off the alarms but the intruders haven’t and mocks how tightly Montana runs security before taking off. Montana admits to the Kingpin that he doesn’t like this new Hobgoblin.

Meanwhile, Spider-Man is crawling through the ventilation shaft to FIsk’s private lab when the alarm goes off. That’s when the Black Cat ghosts on him. When he asks where she is, Felicia explains that the mission is a scrub and she’s making her way to the Kingpin’s penthouse to fleece what she can and get out, warning the web-slinger that the Hobgoblin and some ninjas are heading his way. Spider-Man mutters under his breath as he leaps into the lab and takes out the guards protecting Tiberius Stone. That’s when the Hobgoblin and more ninjas enter the room. Seeing that something invisible is attacking the Hand ninjas, the Hobgoblin unleashes his sonic laugh at a much higher frequency allowing it to piggyback on the radio frequency that Spider-Man was using to communicate with the Black Cat. The freed back causes his new steal suit to short out, making him visible to the naked eye once more.

Upstairs, while the Kingpin is reaming out Montana, the Black Cat sneaks past them to try and get at the Kingpin’s valuables. However, she is spotted by Montana who snares her in his whip. Back in the lab, Spider-Man has prepared for such a situation and changes his suit’s mode to only block out sonic frequencies. While this blocks out the Hobgoblin’s laugh, it also cuts off communication with the Black Cat. While Spider-Man battles the Hobgoblin in absolute silence, the Black Cat manages to break free from Montana’s grasp. However, while she is distracted with the enforcer, the Kingpin manages to grab her by the throat. She once again calls to Spider-Man for help, but this plea is useless because he can’t hear a thing while fighting the Hobgoblin.

As the battle rages on, Tiberius Stone pleads with the Hobgoblin to stop because they are going to wreck the lab and the Reverbium. That’s when Spider-Man fires what appears to be a spider-tracer onto the Hobgoblin’s flaming sword. It turns out that the device is actually made out of anti-metal and it starts melting the sword on contact. While upstairs, the Kingpin begins torturing the Black Cat in the hopes that the web-slinger can hear her agony through their com-system. However, Spider-Man is still unaware of what’s going on. It’s at this point that the Hobgoblin unleashes an even more powerful sonic laugh. Instead of harming his target it triggers the Reverbium. With the metal about to explode both the Hobgoblin and Tiberius Stone flee before they can help Spider-Man stop the chain reaction.

Luckily, he has a solution and fires a number of anti-metal spider-tracers to destroy the Reverbium. With the sound back on, he asks how the Cat is doing and learns that she is trapped upstairs with the Kingpin and heads up to help her. While outside, emergency crews have arrived on location and the fire chief tells Captain Yuri Watanabe that this building is no longer safe and everyone needs to be evacuated. That’s when they spot the Hobgoblin fleeing the scene. With the building crumbling around them, Spider-Man heads up to the upper levels to look for the Black Cat and finds the Kingpin and Montana instead. In his rage, the Kingpin smashes a load bearing column causing him and Montana to fall through the floor. That’s when the Hobgoblin returns to save the Kingpin, but leaves Montana to fall to his death. Meanwhile, Spider-Man finds the Black Cat and carries her out just as the building collapses.

On the street, Tiberius Stone tries to convince Yuri Watanabe that Spider-Man was responsible for the attack just as the Fisk building collapes. Watanabe ignores this since Spider-Man has been a huge help to her precinct in the past and the destructions of the Kingpin’s headquarters is a huge help. Meanwhile, Spider-Man and the Black Cat have landed in a massive web spun by the web-slinger to break their fall. She is grateful for the save, particularly since she was able to steal a valuable gem from the Kingpin’s collection before the building went down. After this whole ordeal, Spider-Man says that he is never going to do anything like this with her again. Meanwhile, the Kingpin has been brought to Shadowland in Hell’s Kitchen. There he tells his Hand ninjas that this is not a loss but a rebirth and tells the Hobgoblin that he has earned a spot at his table after pledging he allegiance. After doing so, the Hobgoblin then pays a visit to the Tinkerer to repair his damaged weapons. The Tinkerer tells the Hobgoblin that he can repair them but it will cost more than what the Kingpin is paying him.

The following day, Phil Urich sells the footage of the Hobgoblin’s battle that he recorded at Fisk Towers to the Daily Bugle. Since Norah Winters is going to write the story, Phil uses his footage as leverage to get Norah to go out to dinner with him. She agrees, and goes to the phone to cancel her date with Randy Robertson. Joe Robertson is so impressed with Phil’s footage he gives him a bonus due to the internet traffic his videos are generating. Phil thinks about how his life is turning around: He’s finally getting the attention he craves from Norah, his Uncle Ben is proud of him, and now he’s somebody. Phil revels in the power he is gaining from his newfound responsibilities.

While at Horizon Labs, Peter is thanked by Max Modell for coming up with a solution with dealing with Reverbium and is glad that they didn’t have to use them. Peter thinks about how his new job gained him the ability to defeat the Hobgoblin and now he can reverse engineer his stealth suit technology into the design for a new type of noise-cancelling headphones, his first invention for Horizon Labs. Later, Peter gets dressed up to take his girlfriend, Carlie Cooper, on a fancy date to celebrate his first week at Horizon Labs. He feels very naked because this is the first time since high school that he hasn’t stashed his Spider-Man gear in his home. They soon meet up with Peter’s Aunt May and Jay Jameson at a fancy restaurant for dinner. When the waiter asks if Peter wants another glass of wine, he refuses, telling everyone — with a smile on his face — that he has work in the morning.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Hobgoblin, Black Cat, Ben Urich, Joe Robertson, Norah Winters, Max Modell, Carlie Cooper, Aunt May, Jay Jameson, Kingpin, Montana, Tiberius Stone, the Hand, Yuri Watanabe

Topical References

• Dated pop-culture references: “Sheriff Woody” (Toy Story), “the new Tron movie” (Tron: Legacy came out in 2010),

The Sting That Never Goes Away

Mac Gargan wakes up on an operating table in the Spider-Slayer’s underground hideout. Disorientated, Gargan wants to know what’s going on. Quizzing Gargan, the Spider-Slayer is pleased to see that he is cognizant and in good shape after his experiment.[1] He then activates an automated mini-gun that begins shooting at Gargan. Mac throws off the shroud he has been wearing and instinctively destroys the weapon with his new Scorpion cybernetic implants. That’s when Mac realizes that he is the Scorpion again.

His body naturally reacts to various dangers that are put in place by the Spider-Slayer. As the new Scorpion fights for his life, the Spider-Slayer explains Mac’s new cybernetic enhancements which include a new tail, pincers, as well as a “scorpion sense” that will rival Spider-Man’s own spider-sense. After the Scorpion passes the test, Mac asks why he should help the Spider-Slayer since he just imprisoned him in yet another suit in order to stay alive. The Spider-Slayer explains that he will do as he is told because he can end Gargan’s life if he pleases, but also promises Mac the opportunity to get revenge against J. Jonah Jameson for turning him into the Scorpion many years ago. However, the Spider-Slayer doesn’t want to kill Jonah, but make him suffer by going after everyone he cares for.

Hearing the way the Spider-Slayer talks, Mac realizes that this is Alistair Smythe. Mac still thinks Smythe is crazy, reminding him that Jameson is the mayor of New York now and has a ton of security. That’s when the Spider-Slayer reveals that he has an army of individuals who have been given his cybernetic enhancements, an army of insect themed cyborgs he calls his Slayer Swarm.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Slayer, Scorpion, Slayer Swarm (Fly-Girl, Jumping Spiders, Shawna Tryon) (all unidentified)

Continuity Notes

1. The Spider-Slayer mentions how Mac Gargan was originally the Scorpion and more recently Venom. Gargan was transformed into the Scorpion by an experiment funded by J. Jonah Jameson in Amazing Spider-Man #20. Later, he bonded with the Venom symbiote in Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #9. More recently, Mac was forced to separate from the symbiote in Amazing Spider-Man #648.

2. Alistaire Smythe wants revenge against Jameson because he blames Jameson for the death of his father, Spencer Smythe. Spencer was originally hired by James onto building the first Spider-Slayer robot in Amazing Spider-Man #25. This spiraled into an obsession over the years. Exposure to the radioactive isotopes used to building his Spider-Slayer robots resulted in Spencer contracting cancer and dying in Amazing Spider-Man #192.