Spectacular Spider-Man #18

Jan 23

Jan 23 Spectacular Spider-Man #18

My Friend, My Foe!

With Stuart Clarke unconscious, his control over Iceman has been severed causing the hero to go on a rampage and attack Spider-Man and the Angel. During the fight, Iceman explains how Clarke managed to take control of him during times that Iceman visited him in the hospital and facilitated his escape.

As Spider-Man takes the fight with Iceman outside the dilapidated Champions building, Angel is held up by representatives of the company that built the Champions building to discuss what to do about its current state. Spider-Man manages to defeat Iceman, and snap him back to his senses and take him to safety. The two return to the Champions Building to find that the Angel has "convinced" the building contractors to repair the shoddy work on the building for free. Afterwards, Angel takes Clarke back to the hospital while Iceman decides to go on his own. Spider-Man later realizes that his camera was wrecked in the battle.

As Peter flies back to New York, back home Flash Thompson and Sha Shan spend time together, and Hector Ayala meets Holly Gillis, and at a prison, one of the inmates has seemingly disappeared leaving a blasted wall and a glowing lightbulb behind.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Iceman, Angel, Stuart Clarke, Hector Ayala, Holly Gillis, Flash Thompson, Sha Shan Nguyen, In Flashback: Champions (Ghost Rider, Black Widow, Hercules, Darkstar)

Continuity Notes

Angel mentions how they were founding members of both the X-Men and Champions, as seen in X-Men #1 and Champions #1 respectively.

Iceman recounts how Rampage was seriously injured during their last battle. That happened in Champions #8.

One of the bystanders points out that Spider-Man is wanted by the authorities. At the time of this story, Spider-Man was wanted for questioning regarding his involvement in the deaths of George Stacy, his daughter Gwen and Norman Osborn. They all died in Amazing Spider-Man #90, 121 and 122 respectively. Except, Osborn actually survived. See Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal #1 for all the details. He’ll turn up again in Amazing Spider-Man #412.

Spider-Man isn't sure if Iceman's identity is a secret, because he learned it in Marvel Team-Up #4. At the time of this story, Iceman's identity was a secret to the general public in order to distance the X-Men from Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Which had been the case since Bobby was recruited into the X-Men circa X-Men #44-45.