Rules of the Game Part 1

Under an assumed alias, Boomerang returns to the United States after an extended stay in Australia. The sixteen-hour flight to Los Angeles is one that tests his patients as he is stuck in a middle seat on the plane with an annoying child behind him that is tossing around a toy boomerang. After clearing customs — despite having a lot of boomerangs in his luggage — the villain stops outside when he spots the family with their annoying child. He decides to show the kid a trick with his toy boomerang and uses it to kill a bunch of birds flying by with a simple toss, horrifying the kid so badly that he is no longer interested in playing with the toy afterward.

At that same moment, in New York City, Peter Parker breaks up a schoolyard fight between two Midtown High students. When he lectures them about not fighting, they point out that he has bruises all over his faces. After giving the boys detention, Peter is pulled aside by the principal who is also concerned that Peter has bruises on his face. Peter makes an excuse about slipping in the shower and is told to be more careful in the future. Meanwhile, businessman Donald Hart meets with Buck Masterson, Edwin Hills, and Gary Wisen — other wealthy businessmen. He shows them news footage of Spider-Man’s recent battle with the Shocker and Hydro-Man.[1] He tells them that they have a unique opportunity to profit off battles between superheroes and their foes. He then calls in Boomerang who is going to help them with this plan. When the other businessmen inquire what Hart has in mind, he decides to show them exactly what he has in mind.

By this time, Peter Parker is supervising the detention of the two boys he caught fighting at the start of the day. He decides to take this opportunity to learn what it was they were fighting over. However, they refuse to explain themself until Peter tells them how he got the bruises on his face. All Peter will tell them that it was a life or death situation and nothing like whatever it was motivated the two youths to fight. They admit that the only reason why they decided to fight was that their classmates wondered who would win in a fight, reasoning that Peter doesn’t find all that outlandish. That evening, Peter is paying a visit to Flash Thompson who is still in a coma in the hospital.[2] Peter reads a chapter of Lord of the Flies. Peter also forgives Flash for bullying him in high school. However, Peter needs to make a hasty exit when someone enters the room to check on Flash after hearing Peter’s voice. As Spider-Man web-slings across the city, he is unaware that he is being observed by a test audience for Donald Hart’s scheme. He is suddenly ambushed by Boomerang, who puts Spider-Man on the defensive as he tries to keep aloft as the villain cuts through his webbing with razor-sharp boomerangs. The action is viewed by Hart and his associates through a webcam that is attached to Boomerang’s head.

After Spider-Man evades Boomerang’s opening salvo, the villain takes to the rooftops. Deciding to fight fire with fire, Spider-Man tries throwing one of Boomerang’s weapons back at him but his throw comes up short. This gives Boomerang a good laugh, but Spider-Man quickly leaps up to the roof and webs up his foe’s hands and forces him to punch himself in the face. After Spider-Man knocks out Boomerang the wall-crawler notices that there are cameras all around the area and wonders who has been watching. At the private screening, the gathered observers are either cheering or disappointed based on the outcome of the bets they had placed on the results of the battle.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Boomerang, Donald Heart, Buck Masterson, Edwin Hills, Gary Wisen, Flash Thompson

Continuity Notes

1. Spider-Man fought Shocker and Hydro-Man in Peter Parker: Spider-Man #51-52.

2. Flash ended up in a coma thanks to the machinations of the Green Goblin in Peter Parker: Spider-Man #45.