Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 3) #16

Dec 10

Dec 10 Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 3) #16

The Late, Late Mr. Parker

Spider-Man is fighting the Iguana in the Central Park Zoo’s reptile house. It’s not an easy fight because the web-slinger is still suffering from having part of his life force drained by Morlun.[1] In the middle of the battle, Peter gets a call from his Aunt May who is asking if he and Anna Maria Marconi are still joining her and Jay Jameson for dinner.[2] Jay tells her to leave Peter be because he has a big presentation coming up. The Iguana can’t believe that his enemy is on the phone in the middle of a battle. This doesn’t stop Peter from taking another call, this one from Anna Maria.

Anna Maria wants to know where Peter is because he is running late for the presentation. Annoyed at Peter’s frequent absences Sajani Jaffrey, Peter’s business partner, takes the phone and tells Peter to stop whatever he is doing and get his butt to the presentation, particularly since it was his idea to devote Parker Industries energies into building a new prison for super-villains. As he throttles the Iguana, Spider-Man explains to her how a prison that can de-power and contain super-villains is a noble goal. When she tells him that they are competing with Alchemax, Peter tells her he’ll be there right away. By this point, he has beaten the Iguana into submission and leaves the creature webbed up for the authorities.

At the Department of Corrections, Liz Osborn is giving the presentation for the prison she wants to build for the city. She introduces them to her step-brother, Mark Raxton, who used to be the Molten Man. She has seen to him getting cured and intends on setting him up as head of security at her new prison.[3] She then turns it over to her project leader, Tiberius Stone, who pulls up a holographic projection of their new prison. Tiberius insists that it will be the most secure facility of its type and that its construction will not exceed the budget. The board thanks them for their presentation and as the Alchemax staff and leaving, the Parker Industries group is on their way in. Tiberius and Anna Maria exchange some barbs when Peter Parker finally shows up, disheveled but ready to make his presentation.[4]

Liz Osborn, on the other hand, is glad to see Peter but jokes that he hasn’t changed much since high school. Peter then gets Liz to agree to a friendly wager, that the losing company has to buy a muffin basket for the winner. After Parker and his team go into the meeting, Liz is legitimately concerned that Parker Industries will win the bid and wishes that she could find a way to throw a monkey wrench in his plans. Hearing this makes both Tiberius and Mark smile to one another.

That evening, Mark and Tiberius pay a visit to the Black Cat’s illegal gambling den. There they pay for the Ghost to take Parker Industries out of the business. The master of corporate espionage assures them that Parker Industries doesn’t stand a “ghost” of a chance.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Iguana, Ghost, Anna Maria Marconi, Sajani Jaffrey, Living Brain, Liz Osborn, Tiberius Stone, Mark Raxton, Aunt May, Jay Jameson, Black Cat, 8-Ball, Beetle, Eel, Killer Shrike, Melter, Ringer, Shocker, Speed Demon, the Spot, Tarantula, White Rabbit, Regina Vanderkemp

Continuity Notes

That happened in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 3) #14.
Peter realizes that Aunt May thinks that he and Anna Maria are dating. When Peter’s body was taken over by Otto Octavius from Amazing Spider-Man #698 to Superior Spider-Man #31, he started dating Anna Maria. However, when Peter took back his life, the pair agreed to end their “relationship” in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 3) #2.
Mark Raxton was first turned into the Molten Man in Amazing Spider-Man #28. He was later cured of his condition in Amazing Spider-Man #581-582.
Anna Maria mentions how Alchemax didn’t know that they had the Green Goblin on the payroll. Norman Osborn posed as Alchemax’s head of security, Mason Banks, in Superior Spider-Man #17 until he was exposed in issue #31.

Stolen Memories

The Black Cat has had the Ringer dragged into the back room of her casino where he is beaten by Killer Shrike and the Melter. She tells him that it costs money to be as wealthy as she is, particularly when it comes to fencing goods outside of the country. Needless to say, she is unhappy that the Ringer tried to short change her on her cut. The Ringer pleads for mercy, telling the Cat that he has had some bad luck after getting busted by Silk and now owes a great deal of money to both the Spot and the Tinkerer. He pleads with the Black Cat to grant him mercy, trying to appeal to her old self.[1]

This begins to get through to the Cat, but the Ringer was only playing for time in order to try and escape. Breaking free from Shrike and the Melter, he tries to attack the Black Cat. However, the Cat is far more agile and easily bests the Ringer in battle. She decides to spare his life, but only so he can go back out and earn triple her usual take as punishment. However, she doesn’t let him go before Killer Shrike and the Melter beat on him some more as a warning to others who think they might be able to pull a fast one on her.

Still, the Black Cat can’t believe that the Ringer was able to tag her in the fight. She is concerned that her bad luck powers are not working as they should, as they have been acting up ever since she started taking on a harder personality. She tests these powers by pulling the lever of a slot machine and gets the jackpot on the first spin. She thinks about how she used to have everything and it was taken away from her in one moment of weakness. She then goes into a fit of rage, reminding the Ringer that nobody takes what’s hers, no matter what.

Left alone with her thoughts, the Black Cat vows to steal back every part of her life. At that same moment, at an auction house, a woman named Regina Vanderkemp who is determined to win everything in the auction. Also in attendance are Aunt May and Jay Jameson, who decide to give up on trying to win anything else since the young woman seems driven to win it all.