My World on Fire

Spider-Man has come to Harlem where Equinox is trying to burn down a building as part of a protection racket. When firefighters try to stop him the villain uses his powers to freeze them to the ground. Spider-Man leaps into action on his Spider-Glider and uses a bunch uses his thermoreactive foam bombs to incapacitate his foe.[1] When one of the firefighter’s frozen feet snaps clean off, Spider-Man helps clear the way for ambulances trying to rush the firefighter to the hospital. Checking with a doctor, Spider-Man learns that Peter Parker’s cryo-cube invention was instrumental in preserving the man’s foot until it can be reattached.

Later, Peter Parker is walking the streets and marvels at how the inventions he has made at Horizon Labs, which are all reverse engineered from Spider-Man tech, is starting to change the word.[2] As he arrives at Horizon Labs he hopes that Uncle Ben is proud of the work he is doing. He then enters his lab where he has been hard at work at six new inventions, one to deal with each member of the Sinister Six. As he locks up his lab to meet up with Mary Jane for lunch he is surprised when everyone is rushing into the main lobby. Asking Uatu Jackson what’s going on, he learns that mayor J. Jonah Jameson is trying to use his authority to shut down Horizon Labs. They all join Max Modell who is trying to handle Jameson and his city officials. When Peter asks why Jameson is trying to shut down the lab, Jonah expains that Max Modell is a menace. The primary reason is because Modell won’t turn over the designs for a spider-signal jammer that was used during the Spider-Island fiasco.[3]

Hector Baez, Modell’s legal council, explains to Jonah that the jammers were destroyed after Spider-Island in order to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands. This still isn’t good enough for Jameson who lists off all of the other times that Horizon Labs put the city at risk. Modell has explanations for everything, but this is little to appease Jameson who vows to have the place shut down and leaves.[4] Max turns to his staff and assures them that everything is under control. Peter fears the worst because if he lose his job at Horizon Labs he’ll have nowhere to turn.

Meanwhile, in their undersea base, Doctor Octopus tells the Sinister Six that it is now time for them to impliment his final plans. The Sandman expresses his concern for Otto’s well being, but he assures his teammates that he won’t die until he completes his final scheme.[5] He assures the Chameleon that the Avengers will not interfere as he has accounted for them in his plans. He then raises his new base, the Octahedral from the ocean floor. Suddenly, satelites orbiting around the planet come to life surrounding the Earth in a sphere of energy which begins trapping heat from the sun on Earth, slowly bringing up the planet’s temperatures at an alarming rate.

Addressing the world through television and radio broadcasts Doctor Octopus explains what is happening all over the world. At the Arctic Circle the polar ice caps begin to melt. In Equador birds begin to fall dead out of the sky. In Iowa crops begin wither under the blistering heat. In Chicago, people begin to collapse under the punishing heat. Addressing the other part of the world, that is not in direct exposure to the sun, he asks them what they are willing to do to stop him from wiping out all life on Earth. Just as suddenly as he turned on his doomsday weapon, Doctor Octopus shuts it off to give the leaders of the world time to consider his terms. Otto claims that his device can also reverse the cause of man-made climate change and offers to share this technology after the world’s leading scientists confirm that what his device will work. He concludes his message by saying that all he and his comrades in the Sinister Six is to provide a future for the world.

Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson are watching this from the screens in Times Square. Neither of them buy that this is an altruistic offering. Peter heads back to Horizon Labs where, along the way, he overhears people praising Doctor Octopus. He is wheeling out his weapons to deal with the Sinister Six when he is caught by Ma Modell. Max is concerned that Peter is leaving with a lot of equipment, but gives his blessing when he is told that this is equipment for Spider-Man to assist with the current sitaution. Back at his apartment, Peter unpacks his equipment and puts on the new suit of armor he has built specifically to deal with the Sinister Six.

Later, at Avengers Mansion, the Avengers have gone over the plans submitted by Doctor Octopus. Iron Man confirms that they are accurate and this begins a debate on the ethics of trusting the work of a known supervillain. Spider-Man enters in his new costume and can’t believe that his teammates are actually considering it. He gives his opinion on the matter by slamming his hands on the meeting table and shouting the groups battle cry: AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Sinister Six (Doctor Octopus, Mysterio, Electro, Sandman, Rhino, Chameleon), Max Modell, Sajani Jaffrey, Uatu Jackson, Hector Baez, Grady Scraps, Bella Fishbach, Tiberius Stone, Jurgent Muntz, J. Jonah Jameson, Mary Jane Watson, Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Red Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Spider-Woman), Equinox, Glory Grant

Continuity Notes

1. Spider-Man mentions how he can’t keep up with what side Equinox is on. When he first appeared in Giant-Size Spider-Man #1 Equinox is a villain. He later joined Vi-Anon, a support group for reformed villains in Spider-Man Unlimited (vol. 3) #12 and was later part of the Initiative as seen in Avengers: The Initiative #12.

2. Peter Parker points out the various inventions he has created out on the street. They are:

   • The Cryo-Cube 3000 which was derived from devices he used to freeze Hydro-Man in Amazing Spider-Man #666.

   • A high impact polymer used in motorcycle helmets derived from bullet-proof armor he made to fight Massacre in Amazing Spider-Man #663.

   • Noise-cancelling headphones which he reverse-engineered from a steal suit he made to break into the Kingpin’s office tower in Amazing Spider-Man #650.

3. Peter Parker designed the jammers to stop the Spider-Slayer and his Slayer Swarm. They were later used to keep those infected with the so-called “spider-plague” during Spider-Island. See Amazing Spider-Man #652-654 and 666-673.

4. The various threats that Jameson blames on Horizon for the following:

   • The time portal incident where Grady Scraps discovered a possible fugure where the city was going to be destroyed. See Amazing Spider-Man #678-679.

   • The revelation that Morbius the Living Vampire was working at the lab was relatively recent. As far back as Amazing Spider-Man #649, Morbius had been working in secret at the lab to find a cure for himself. Thanks to Spider-Man’s interference Morbius’ presence in the facility was exposed in Amazing Spider-Man #679.1

   • Lastly, he mentions how his son John was almost killed on one of Horizon Lab’s space stations. This was due to the space station being invaded by Doctor Octopus in Amazing Spider-Man #680-681.

5. Doctor Octopus has been suffering from a degenerative disease that was caused from years of head injuries gave him severe brain damage. He learned this diagnosis in Amazing Spider-Man #600.

Topical References

• Doctor Octopus states that half of the world’s population is about 3 billion people. This should be considered a topical reference as the population of the world has changed since then. For example, as I write this in October 2020, the world population is nearly 8 billion people.

• Doctor Octopus uses the term “Global Warming” to describe his weapon. While that’s technically true, this is now an outdated scientific term as scientists now use the term Climate Change.