Marvel Team-Up #61
Not All Thy Powers Can Save Thee!
Following his battle against Equinox with Yellowjacket and the Wasp, Spider-Man has stayed behind at the Baxter Building to clean up the damage. He is attacked by what appears to be the Fantastic Four and is knocked out of the building. He is grabbed by the Torch, and Spider-Man violently breaks loose. When Torch explains that he saved him, he also tells the Wall-Crawler that he wasn't attacked by his teammates. Johnny soon realizes who it might have been and rushes back to the Baxter Building, but the person who attacked Spider-Man is long gone. The Torch's suspicions are confirmed when he spots a wood carved stick.
The Torch explains to Spider-Man that recently Tigra and Red Wolf battled a man named Joshua Plague who recently took over as leader of the Rat Pack. Plague had obtained the stick that is now on the floor, in reality, an Indian Soul-Catcher. During the course of the battle Plague was revealed to be the Super-Skrull and in attempting to absorb Tigra's soul, he became the stick's victim instead. After the battle was over, Tigra turned it over to Reed Richards for study. Richards put it away for study. The story over, Spider-Man realizes that his battle with Equinox must have loosened the Soul-Catcher and allowed the Super Skrull to get free. Suddenly, Spider-Man's spider-sense goes off, alerting him of danger, they are then attacked by the Super Skrull.
While at the Midtown-North police precinct of the NYPD, Rafael Scarfe and Jean DeWolff are finishing up the paperwork on the Equinox case and are about to call it a day when they are called to investigate a disturbance happening at the Baxter Building and rush out in Jean's car. They get as far as the train yards where they see Spider-Man, the Human Torch, and the Super Skrull locked in battle. After saving himself from a nasty fall when the Super Skrull clocks him a good hundred feet, Spider-Man spots Jean DeWolf and Rafael Scarfe and explains to them what's going on. Spotting some electrical generators, Spider-Man asks her and the arriving officers to keep Super Skrull busy while he cooks up the plan he's thinking of.
Pulling the Torch away from the fight while the police keep the Super Skrull busy with blasters designed by Reed Richards, Spider-Man has the Human Torch help him construct a trap for the Super Skrull. Bending up some of the rails, they then attack the live wire from the generator, hoping to trick the Super Skrull into flying between the electrified rails and electrocute himself into unconsciousness. The Super Skrull meanwhile forces the police into retreat and return his attention over to Spider-Man and the Torch.
As the battle rages on, a nearby cruise ship is sailing. Among its passengers is Carol Danvers, who wishes she could slip away and change into Ms. Marvel, but cannot do so without blowing her secret identity. The Torch meanwhile is locked in a pitched battle with the Super Skrull in a match to see who is the most powerful fire wielder. The Torch ends up losing the fight as the Skrull channels more and more power from the asteroid transmitter that beams the Super Skrull the source of his powers. He ultimately knocks out the Torch with a single punch, leaving him too injured to continue the fight. Spider-Man is warned by Johnny, Jean, and Rafael to hold back and wait until other heroes can arrive to help, but Spidey refuses and goes after the Super Skrull.
Spider-Man succeeds in chasing the Super Skrull through the trap that he has put up. While it causes the Super Skrull pain, it only succeeds in making him angrier. Tearing the trap apart, the Super Skrull is furious and vows to kill Spider-Man.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Human Torch, Super-Skrull, Jean DeWolff, Rafael Scarfe, Carol Danvers, In Flashback: Tigra, Thing, Mister Fantastic
Continuity Notes
Johnny Storm recounts how the Super-Skrull was trapped in the dreamcatcher stored at the Baxter Building. That happened in Marvel Chillers #7.
The appearance of the original twin towers at the site of the World Trade Center should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale. This timescale has pushed forward that the modern age takes place well after the year 2001 when the original towers were destroyed in a terrorist attack.
Likewise, Carol Danvers riding on the Queen Elizabeth 2 cruise ship should be considered a topical reference. This vessel was retired in 2008.
