Of Spiders and Serpents!

While out on patrol, Spider-Man comes across some jewel thieves and gets the drop on them. Easily dispatching them, Spider-Man is about to leave when he suddenly feels like his stomach is on fire. Surrounded in a swirl of smoke he is surprised to find that his Uncle Ben is standing before him. Ben tells Spidey that he has died and that he will be led to the afterlife. However, before Spider-Man can go with a man who appears to be his Uncle, Devil-Slayer appears and strikes him dead. Spider-Man is about to attack Devil-Slayer until it's pointed out that his "Uncle Ben" is really a serpent like creature. Spider-Man then aids Devil-Slayer in fighting off the other "dead souls" until they retreat.

Teleporting Spider-Man to his apartment, Devil-Slayer has him read off a card that has the magic word "Ka nama kaa lajerama" and he explains it is the one phrase that the Serpent Men can never say, and Spidey's ability to recite the words prove that he is really Spider-Man and not a serpent man impostor. Devil-Slayer explains that these Serpent Men are an ancient race of animal-people that existed centuries ago who battled the ancient barbarian Kull. As Spider-Man's spider sense continues to go wild, Devil-Slayer explains that a cult of Serpent Men still exists today and that they seek to use Spider-Man as their pawn to take over the world. When Spider-Man questions him as to why his spider-sense is going while Devil-Slayer explains that it is humanities genetic memory of the Serpent Men calling out to Spider-Man to defend himself. He goes on to explain that the Serpent Men seek to kill Spider-Man because of a prophecy that states that they would be defeated by a spider man. In order to complete their ritual, they would require a sacrifice and as such had captured the Defenders, prompting Devil-Slayer to seek Spider-Man out.

Needing to obtain an ancient lizard statue, Devil-Slayer teleports himself and Spider-Man to China, where they begin seeking out the Temple of the Spider. Spider-Man becomes suspicious of Devil-Slayer when he is heavy handed with an old villager to get the location of the temple. There when they are attacked by the Spider-People, Spider-Man is further disturbed when he witnesses Devil-Slayer's savage behavior when fighting off the creature, making him suspicious of his would-be partner. None the less, Spider-Man jumps over a pit to a statue of Omm where he collects the statue.

With the statue in their possession, Devil-Slayer teleports them back to the sewers of New York. There they come across what appears to be the Defenders, who claim they had defeated the Serpent Men. Spider-Man is asked to hand over the statue to Dr. Strange, finally deciding to heed the warnings from his spider-sense, Spider-Man recites the phrase "Ka nama kaa lajerama", revealing the "Defenders" (including "Devil-Slayer") to be Serpent Men in disguise. Spider-Man then realizes that he had been duped into retrieving the statue all along. Seeing the Defenders held in status in a device above them, Spider-Man tries to fight off the army of the Serpent Men. Finding himself outnumbered and realizing they seek to claim the statue, Spider-Man smashes it on the floor. A liquid issues fourth that burns all the Serpent Men in proximity. As they curse him for ruining their one hope of taking over the world again, the remaining Serpent Men charge at the wall-crawler. Although he is bum-rushed, Spider-Man manages to make a web ball and use it to smash the device keeping the Defenders captive.

The Defenders then make short work of the Serpent Men, Dr. Strange and Clea banishing them off to limbo and then freeing their human slaves from their control. With the battle over, Devil-Slayer and the Hulk commend Spider-Man on a job well done when suddenly Spider-Man collapses. Awakening in Dr. Strange's Sanctum, Spider-Man is told that during the fight he was bitten by one of the Serpent Men, and if they do not act quickly he will die before the day is through.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Defenders (Devil-Slayer, Doctor Strange, Hulk, Sub-Mariner, Valkyrie, Gargoyle) Clea, Wong

Continuity Notes

• Devil-Slayer recounts how King Kull defeated the Serpent Men. That happened in Kull the Conqueror #2.