Marvel Team-Up #71 — Nick Peron

Jan 22

Jan 22 Marvel Team-Up #71

Deathgarden

Responding to an urgent phone call from Captain America, the Falcon is shocked to find his partner in a coma. Examining Cap's body, he finds no marks on him, but finds a strange orchid on the scene. Having a SHIELD medical evac team take Cap away. At SHIELD headquarters, Falcon and Nick Fury learn from SHIELD physician Dr. Cobb that the flower that Cap was exposed to contains a lethal toxin that will kill them unless they can locate the anti-toxin as soon as possible. Cobbs mentions that an associate Dr. Leroy Katz, a botany expert has been troubled by a series of break ins at Federal Research centers, giving the Falcon a lead on where to start.

As it happens, one of these Federal research labs is being robbed by a gang of costumed goons. Spotted by Spider-Man, the Wall-Crawler attacks, thinking that they are stealing a government weapon. He is surprised when it is in reality a special fertilizer formula that the crooks are stealing. He is distracted long enough to be stunned by one of the crooks' stun weapons and they make their escape. The Falcon arrives soon after and his hot-headed behavior leads to a fight between him and Spider-Man. The battle comes to an end when their fight uncovers one of the costumed crooks who didn't escape. Working together, they manage to pressure the crook into giving them the location of his employer's hideout.

The two heroes travel to a mansion along Long Island sound that has a series of sophisticated green houses attached to it. Spider-Man sneaks onto the property and knocks out two of the guards and steals one of their uniforms. Infiltrating the mansion, Spidey learns that the operation is being run by the Plantman. The Plantman boasts about how he's deciding to get into big-league crimes and has cultivated a floral toxin he calls "Pretty Poison" and had field tested it on Captain America as his opening salvo. With this in mind, Spider-Man goes outside and knocks out another one of the guards and rushes back into Plant-Man's lab.

Telling the Plantman the guard must have been exposed to the poison, he grabs the anti-toxin and is about to "cure" the guard when Spider-Man springs his trap. Taking off his disguise, Spider-Man grabs the anti-toxin as the Falcon and Redwing smash through the green house. Spider-Man and the Falcon are at first put on the defensive from the Plantman's various attack plants and their armed guards. However they free themselves, and when Redwing snatches Plantman's plant ray, the Falcon easily knocks the crook out. Spider-Man then makes short work of the Plantman's goons.

After they are turned over to the authorities, Spider-Man and the Falcon return to SHIELD headquarters and turn over the anti-toxin. Captain America is given it and is instantly cured, and thanks the other two heroes for their help. As he's departing, Spider-Man is pulled aside by Nick Fury, who thanks Spider-Man and jokingly tells him that sometimes even public menaces have to be good guys.