The Smoke of That Great Burning!

As Spider-Man navigates himself through a burning building, he has to deal with the hazards of a burning building and reflects back on how he landed himself in this situation.

Hours earlier, Peter Parker is dragged into the new discotheque Studio 13, where Peter is unimpressed when Mary Jane kisses a man named Andy who frequents the bar. Pulled off onto the dance floor, Mary Jane leaves Peter to his devices. Peter goes up to the bar and notices that Luke Cage is out with his girlfriend Harmony Young. Suddenly, the party is crashed by a group of criminals calling themselves the Rat Pack. In all the commotion, Peter slips away into the washroom to change into Spider-Man.

When one of the Rat Pack goes to collect Peter out of the Men's room, Spider-Man smashes through the door, causing enough distraction for Luke to fight off some of the men. Spider-Man joins the fight, but they are forced to stop and let the Rat Pack go when they take a girl hostage. Spider-Man contemplates jumping them but Power Man stops him, telling the Wall-Crawler that he knows where the Rat Pack are going to make their move next.

Tracking the Rat Pack to an arson job in an old tenement building, Spider-Man and Power Man they confront them. They fail to stop the crooks from lighting the place on fire, going so far before dousing Power Man with fuel and lighting the place up. With the place blazing up, Spider-Man decides to go in alone to warn people to get out. While doing so he tumbles through a burning floor and is trapped under burning debris. He's saved and dragged out by Power Man, who turns him over to paramedics.

As firefighters arrive on the scene, Spider-Man and Luke try to help out. When firefighters end up in peril, Spider-Man goes to their rescue. While Spider-Man jumps a trapped firefighter to safety, Luke takes a fire ladder and uses it to smash down a burning portion of the building in order to avoid any further fire spread. When Power Man is seemingly buried under the collapsed wall, Spider-Man goes to rescue him to find that Luke managed to dodge the falling debris and get to safety.

With the fire contained, they watch as a firefighter who suffered first and second-degree burns being loaded up into an ambulance and driven away. The experience leaves Spider-Man and Power Man to consider that firefighters are true heroes, even more so than they are.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Power Man, Mary Jane Watson, Harmony Young

Continuity Notes

• Peter isn't exactly thrilled to be going to another disco. The last time he went to one it led to a battle with the Hypno-Hustler in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #24.

• Peter also makes mention of the issues he's been having with Mary Jane. She has been giving him the cold shoulder after his failed attempt to propose to her in Amazing Spider-Man #182.

• One of the patrons of the bar is writer Truman Capote. This should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616. Particularly since Capote died in 1984.

• Peter also recognizes Luke Cage from their first encounter and battle against each other in Amazing Spider-Man #123.

• Power Man compares the blast of an explosion with the force of a blow he received from Iron Fist in Power Man #48.