Spiral Conclusion

A gang war has erupted over control of the third precinct keeping Spider-Man busy. At 9:33 he is stopping a gun battle in the streets between Tombstone and Hammehead’s gangs. Almost an hour later he’s stopping the Kangaroo and the Shocker from robbing a bank.[1] At 12:18 he is stopping the Goblin King from securing a fortune of illegal drugs. Over the next hour, he stops another gunfight, stops a clash between Tarantula and Cyclone, and another clash between the Spot and the White Rabbit. All Spider-Man can think about is how New York has become a powder keg after Otto Octavius had clamped down on crime for so long.[2] He wonders why all of this violence is exploding on today.

He is snapped out of his thoughts when his spider-sense goes off allowing him to evade an attack from the Black Cat. She blames Spider-Man and the Wraith for what is going on, saying they set this chaos into motion when they busted Tombstone, upsetting the balance of organized crime in the Third Precinct. However, the Black Cat intends on taking advantage of the situation and picking up all the pieces before Mister Negative can. Eventually, the Black Cat breaks off her attack, leaving Spider-Man to go and deal with Mister Negative.[3]

However, the Wraith has gotten to Mister Negative first. The crime boss admits that he sowed the seeds that have led to the Third Precinct becoming a warzone. However, he doesn’t know what happened to his minion that he sent to steal a priceless watch from a tech fair the night before. That’s when the Wraith reveals that she killed that minion. This comes as a shock to Mister Negative and he orders his men to get her. However, the Wraith is spoiling for a fight as she intends to kill Mister Negative next. As she fights through his Inner Demons, she tells him that he is wrong thinking corrupting people leads to control and that he can not stop her. However, by this point, Mister Negative has fled. That’s when Spider-Man arrives on the scene

Spider-Man has come to stop the Wraith from continuing down the path she is heading down. After the gang members are wrapped up, the Wraith explains that the woman she was, Yuri Watanabe, was a lie. She is convinced that she chose the right name when she decided to call herself the Wraith because the mythical creature is nothing more than a fading memory of someone who is gone. She finally crossed that line when she killed a man the night before. The old Yuri Watanabe would have been horrified by what she did but now she feels free. With that, she tosses a bunch of fear gas at Spider-Man to cover her escape. She then heads down to the street below, chasing Mister Negative through a Chinatown parade. Desperate to get away, Mister Negative uses his corrupting touch to make the parade-goers into his slaves.

Spider-Man arrives just in time to pull the Wraith away before she can harm anybody and, deciding that Yuri has taken things too far decides to stop treating her with kid gloves. The Wraith is unprepared for the full force of Spider-Man’s abilities and he quickly knocks her out. Spider-Man then webs her up and goes after Mister Negative. He finds the defeated mobster in an alley and quickly knocks him out. Soon, law and order are restored in the Third Precinct. When Spider-Man finally gets back to deal with the Wraith he discovers that she managed to escape by slipping out of her costume. In the aftermath of everything, Spider-Man comes to realize that life is a constant change. However, while everyone turns, their lives are not circles but spirals, with some going up and others going down. Having lost the wraith, Spider-Man heads for home unaware that Yuri Watanabe is watching him from a nearby rooftop, still clutching the mask of the Wraith.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Wraith, Mister Negative, Black Cat, Kangaroo, Shocker, Cyclone, Tarantula, the Spot, White Rabbit

Continuity Notes

1. It’s mentioned how there has been a power vacuum in New York after the Kingpin left. The Kingpin fled to Europe after his empire was ripped down by Spider-Man in Superior Spider-Man #14.

2. Doctor Octopus took over Spider-Man’s life from Amazing Spider-Man #698 until Superior Spider-Man #31. Trying to be a superior version of Spider-Man, Otto enforced law in the city with an army of spider-bots and mercenaries.

3. Spider-Man mentions how he and the Black Cat used to be more than friends before Doctor Octopus betrayed her trust and made her hate him. Spider-Man and the Cat have dated on two occasions from Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #75 to 100, and again in Amazing Spider-Man #606-607. When Doc Ock controlled Peter Parker’s body, he busted the Black Cat during a robbery, making her hate the web-slinger, see Superior Spider-Man #20.