Between Life and Death

At a diner, Gil Corazon meets with his colleague Dan to tell him everything he witnessed the night before. He tells him about how the Wasps murdered judge Baner and his encounter with the spider thing. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have any answers as to why this all happened and worse, all of his evidence was destroyed so they are no back at square one. While at Webcorps, Nina Smith and Ted Mankowski are in the ICU where Miguel is being treated after being seriously injured by the young assassin named Amun. They have just received a letter from their hunter, Araña telling them that she has gone into hiding because Amun is watching her every move and fears for the safety of the people she cares about. Ted insists that they need to talk to Anya and convince her to come back in. Nina however, refuses to go looking for her as she has other priorities and tells Ted to give the letter to the board of directors to figure out what to do about it. However, Ted refuses to do so without tracking Anya down and talking to her first. He then goes down to the parking garage to get his bike, figuring he can use the GPS on Anya’s phone to track her down unaware that the Wasps are tracking his movements.

That evening, Araña is watching the city from a rooftop when she is visited by Spider-Man who has decided to investigate rumors of a spider girl in Brooklyn. He is surprised to see how young she is and she tells him that she is resigning. When he asks what she is resigning from, Araña tells him that she has secrets to maintain. When he asks about the sources of her powers, Araña tells him that she got them from something called the Great Weaver. Spider-Man has heard of the Great Weaver before, remembering his recent trip into the astral plane.[1] When she explains that she is abandoning her destiny because she is afraid those she cares about will get hurt, Spider-Man tells her that with great power comes great responsibility and that she should follow her destiny. He goes on to say that his father, and her other loved ones, would understand that she is doing the right thing even if she never reveals her secret identity to them. When he gets her talking about her own destiny, Araña explains that she is the hunter and that the hunter attacks its enemies before they can attack her.

That’s when she hears Ted screaming for her help on the street below as he is being chased by a bunch of armed thugs in two cars. Araña leaps down to help her friend, and — seeing that she has the situation under control — Spider-Man says it was nice talking and swings away. However, before he leaves, he causes the two cars to crash. When Araña reaches Ted he gives her back her mother’s locket which Miguel has been wearing since he first conducted the ceremony to turn Anya into the hunter.[2] He tries to tell her that it is important for Miguel’s sake that she returns to Webcorps. That’s when Amun arrives on the scene and tosses three daggers at Ted. Luckily, Anya is able to summon her carapace in time to deflect this attack. She then attacked Amun, telling him to stop targeting her friends and family. However, he refuses to do so, as he will exploit every weakness necessarily. When Amun knocks Araña into a nearby fountain, she discovers that her carapace is too heavy to remain afloat and has to retract it. She decides to fully give in to the will of the hunter and renews her attack on Amun with a savagery that frightens Ted. She wraps Amun up in her spider-bolo and is about to choke him to death. Luckily for Amun, he is able to pull one of his swords to cut through the rope. Ted gets between Araña and Amun, warning the assassin that she will kill them both if he doesn’t leave. Amun decides to listen to reason and takes off.

Thankfully, Araña snaps out of it and is told that her control over the Hunter will become weaker the longer she is away from Miguel. In turn, the only way Miguel can survive his injuries is if she remains by his side as their bond makes them more than a team, and right now Miguel really needs her.

Recurring Characters

Araña, Spider-Man, Amun, Miguel Legar, Gil Corazon, Nina Smith, Ted Mankowski

Continuity Notes

1. Spider-Man asks Anya if she was bitten like a radioactive spider, like he was in Amazing Fantasy #15. His encounter with the Great Weaver in the astral plane in Amazing Spider-Man #42.

2. The mystical ceremony Ted speaks of happened in Amazing Fantasy (vol. 2) #1-2, which created a bond between Anya and Miguel, he wore an amulet given to Anya by her mother as part of that bond.

Topical References

• Obsolete technology: Dan is using an old PDA device.