Marvel Team-Up #72
Crack of the Whip!
Spotting a group of crooks who are looking a fur shop, Spider-Man startles them with his spider-signal before attacking them. He easily has the crooks on the ropes when suddenly a machine gun mounted on the top of their getaway vehicle opens up, firing drugged bullets, striking Spider-Man's back. Although dazed from the gunshots, Spider-Man manages to roll under the getaway van and flip it over before it can shoot him anymore. Trying to remain conscious long enough to finish the fight, Spider-Man is then attacked and knocked out by the Maggia enforcer known as Whiplash. With the police arriving on the scene, Whiplash and the crooks are forced to flee without finishing off Spider-Man. As they get away, Spider-Man tags Whiplash with a spider-tracer.
Picked up by the police as he passes out, Spider-Man comes around to find himself in the hospital with Jean DeWolff and Iron Man watching over him. Iron Man has been called in due to his previous experience battling Whiplash, and when they are comparing notes Iron Man points out that Whiplash is employed by the Maggia.
Returning to Maggia headquarters, Whiplash is chastised by his superior, the Wraith, for failing in his assignment. Their argument is cut short when the proximity alarm warns them of the arrival of Spider-Man, Iron Man and Jean DeWolff, and the Wraith sends Whiplash out to lure them into the building. Iron Man goes in first and finds himself trapped in a room of mirrors with Whiplash. As Spider-Man sneaks in another way, he is suddenly attacked by illusions cast by the Wraith. However, the Wraith is stopped when his sister Jean gets the drop on him and holds him at gunpoint.
The Wraith then tries to convince Jean to shoot herself in the head, prompting Spider-Man to intervene. Before Jean can pull the trigger, Iron Man and Whiplash smash through the wall from the adjacent room. This causes enough of a distraction for Jean to get close enough to her brother and try to convince him that he's ill and that he's being manipulated by the Maggia due to his police knowledge. Not liking the type of person who is giving him orders, Whiplash strikes both Jean and her brother.
Furious that Whiplash has injured his sister, Brian unleashes his powers to make Whiplash believe that his whip has turned into a snake monster. Frightened by the illusion, Whiplash crumples in defeat and is later turned over to the police, now a shattered wreck. With the battle over, Jean has Brian promise not to use his mind-force powers again and the two walk off leaving Spider-Man and Iron Man to wonder if they could ever so easily renounce their powers.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Iron Man, Jean DeWolff, Maggia (Whiplash, the Wraith)
Continuity Notes
Iron Man states that Whiplash was a paid assassin for the Maggia. That has been the case since Tales of Suspense #97-99.
Iron Man fears that the Maggia will harm his lover, Whitney Frost. Frost was previously known as the Big M, leader of the Maggia circa Tales of Suspense #97. At the time of this story, she and Iron Man had started a relationship circa Iron Man #108.
Spider-Man recounts his own troubles with the Maggia in Amazing Spider-Man #73-75.
Spider-Man remembers the Wraith from their last encounter in Marvel Team-Up #48-51.
