The Deadly Foes of Peter Parker Part One

This story takes place following the events of Civil War #4….

Following the revelation that Peter Parker is Spider-Man, the Chameleon is attempting to recruit a team to go after the wall-crawler once and for all. He pays a visit to Mark Raxton, aka the Molten Man, while he watches his nephew Normie Osborn play baseball. He tries to convince Raxton to join his cause, by the former Molten Man has long since reformed.[1] The Chameleon decides to change tactics to force Mark to join him by pointing out Electro who is standing on the opposite side of the baseball field. The master spy then warns Raxton that if he refuses to join his team, he’ll order Electro to start killing children in the field, starting with his nephew. When the Molten Man points out that every time they’ve gone after Spider-Man they have failed and asks how this time is going to be different. The Chameleon explains that this time they know who Spider-Man really is and will be targeting Peter Parker this time. When Mark asks when they are going to start on this scheme, the Chameleon tells him that the extermination has already begun.

That evening, Spider-Man is battling the Scarecrow, and in the tussle, they end up falling over the side of a building. As Spider-Man swings them through an office window, he thinks about how the current climate and superhero civil war has brought him to this situation.[2] That’s when Scarecrow attempts to use his fear pheromones to trick Spider-Man into thinking he is now fighting the Green Goblin. However, Spider-Man’s new costume activates its air filters cutting out the pheromones. Spider-Man quickly snaps out of it and knocks out the Scarecrow with a single blow. That’s when Will o’ the Wisp appears to challenge the web-slinger next. Peter pretends not to recognize Will o’ the Wisp in order to shake his confidence.[3] As the Scarecrow tries to attack from behind, Spider-Man leaps forward and attempts to grab Will O’ the Wisp just as he remembers that one of the Wisp’s powers is intangibility. Spider-Man passes through the Wisp but turns his fall into a safe glide to the ground thanks for his costume’s built-in gliders. When he goes back up into the building, both Will o’ the Wisp and the Scarecrow are both missing. Spider-Man gets the feeling that they were only testing the waters for something bigger. He recalls how Tony Stark assured Peter that his foes weren’t just going to come out of the woodwork after he revealed his identity, and starts getting the sinking sensation that Tony might have been wrong.

Suspicious, Peter calls Mary Jane and finds out she is at the dressing room at the theater dealing with an annoying bee that she can’t manage to kill. Peter tells her to head home immediately. However, she is due on set and Mary Jane tells Peter that she has bodyguards surrounding the building and says she won’t be running at the first sign of trouble. She reminds Peter that she has an acting career she is trying to maintain and asks him to be more supportive before hanging up.[4] After she gets off the phone, she discovers that the other cast members in the play have overheard her argument with her husband and suggest they be a bit more understanding. While up in the scaffolds, the Swarm and his army of bees wait for the right moment to strike.

Meanwhile, the Black Cat has gotten fed up of all the news coverage about Peter Parker unmasking and throws the remote control into the Thomas Fireheart’s television. She apologizes but says she is upset that Peter’s unmasking is being rubbed in all of their faces. When he asks why Felicia is upset, she says that it was sexier when only a small number of people knew who Spider-Man really was. Thomas, — aka the Puma — tries not to take offense since they are currently having a fling, but points out that perhaps Felicia still has feelings for Peter Parker.[5]

At that same moment, Spider-Man has decided to pay another visit to Madame Web, as he needs advice and knows that the clairvoyant is her own woman and can answer his questions impartially. Unfortunately, Madame Web says that recently her thoughts are crowded with visions that have crowded out all other thoughts. She is seeing visions of fire and hell, rivers of hate and damnation, but no sign of God anywhere. Unfortunately, none of these visions are clear enough to tell him if this is about the current civil war or something still coming down the road. She does warn Peter, telling him that war begets war, and blood demands more blood, and with destruction comes greater destruction. While at that moment, Liz Osborn is looking over old photos in tears, finally realizing how much death Peter Parker has brought into her life. That’s when her step-brother, Mark Raxton, enters the room in costume and apologizes to Liz for what he is about to do.[6]

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Exterminators (Chameleon, Molten Man, Electro, Scarecrow, Will O’ the Wisp, Swarm), Mary Jane Watson, Black Cat, Puma, Madame Web, Liz Osborn, Normie Osborn

Continuity Notes

1. The Molten Man has reformed from most criminal activity since Web of Spider-Man #62.

2. Spider-Man’s internal monologue goes over things that have happened recently at the time of this story:

   • The New Warriors blowing up the town of Stamford, Connecticut kicking off the Super-Human Registration Act and the superhero Civil War happened in Civil War #1.

   • He also talks about how Tony stark convinced Peter Parker to publicly unmask as a show of support for the SHRA. Peter was mulling over this decision in Amazing Spider-Man #532-533, he ultimately unmasked in Civil War #2.

3. Will O’ the Wisp reminds Spider-Man that they have fought a few times in the past. Those times were in Amazing Spider-Man #167-168, Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #57, Amazing Spider-Man #234-236, Web of Spider-Man #50, and Spectacular Spider-Man #235-236 (although that time Ben Reilly was Spider-Man)

4. Mary Jane calls Peter her husband here. However, not long after this story, their marriage is erased from existence by Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. In the new timeline, Mary Jane would refer to Peter as her fiancee instead of her husband.

5. The Black Cat used to date Spider-Man from Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #75 to 100. Peter revealed his secret identity to her in issue #87 of that series.

6. Liz’s comment about all of the death Peter Parker brought into their lives is a pretty broad stroke. For Liz in particular, Spider-Man was involved in the alleged death of her husband, Harry Osborn, who died due to complications from ingesting the Goblin Formula in Spectacular Spider-Man #200. Unknown to Liz at this time, Harry is actually still alive, how he survived is detailed in Amazing Spider-Man #581-582. He will turn up alive again in Amazing Spider-Man #545.