Spectacular Spider-Man #5
Spider-Kill
A battle between Spider-Man and the Vulture in an abandoned construction site is interrupted by the arrival of the Hitman. He has been hired by a mobster named Morgan who wishes the Hitman to eliminate Spider-Man to deny the Vulture the pleasure of doing so himself. Before he can shoot the wall-crawler, the Hitman is attacked by the Vulture. As the two villains struggle with each other, Spider-Man uses his webbing to disarm the Hitman and uses his automatic weapon to strike the Vulture. The Hitman pulls a pistol and begins firing at the web-slinger. To avoid getting shot, the Spider-Man leaps out of a nearby window. When the Hitman tries to go after him, the Vulture pounces on him again. The Hitman hits the Vulture in the face with stinging gas, forcing the avian villain to flee. With both Spider-Man and the Vulture gone, the Hitman reports his failure back to Boss Morgan, who is furious with this failure. However, the Hitman informs his employer that he managed to tag both of his targets with tracking devices. Spider-Man watches the Vulture flee from afar and begins struggling with the decision to cram for an exam or continue his pursuit of the Vulture.
Meanwhile, Flash Thompson and Mary Jane have gone to the restaurant where he is certain Sha Shan works. When they question the owner, he denies having an employee by that name. Flash refuses to believe it, but Mary Jane suggests they go outside to talk about it further. The man then goes upstairs bedroom where Sha Shan is being sequestered. Outside, Flash is still certain he saw Sha Shan. Since he last saw her when he was with Peter Parker, Mary Jane suggests they got and get his thoughts on the subject. At that moment, Spider-Man is recovering the web ball where he stashed his clothing before his fight with the Vulture. He discovers that his clothing is frozen solid, much to his frustration, forcing him to web sling all the way back home in the freezing cold. As he makes his way home, Spider-Man is unaware that the Hitman is tracking his every movement.
When Peter returns home, he discovers that he has no clean clothes left and is forced to do some impromptu washing in a boiling pot of water on his stove. As he struggles to thaw out his clothes, Mary Jane and Flash come knocking at his door. Quick thinking, Peter kicks off his Spider-Man boots and throws a blanket over the rest of his costume. He answers the door and tells them that he was getting some sleep. That's when Mary Jane notices that there is smoking coming from the kitchen. Much to Peter's dismay, his clothing had shrunk in the boiling pot of water. At that moment, the Hitman notes that both Spider-Man and the Vulture have settled in single locations long enough. Hopping onto his motorcycle, he drives out to the Vulture's location and begins shooting at his opponent. This tricks the Vulture into following the Hitman, who heads toward Spider-Man's location. Back at Peter's apartment, Parker has convinced Flash and Mary Jane to fetch him a new set of clothes. Suddenly, he hears the battle between the Hitman and Vulture in the street. Changing back into Spider-Man, Peter goes out to face off against these two villains.
After knocking down the Hitman, Spider-Man dodges the Vulture and snags his legs with some webbing. Recovering his footing, the Hitman fires a bladed boomerang that cuts Spider-Man loose. Although the hero cushions his fall with a web net, it leaves him open to attack from the Vulture. Overwhelmed, Spider-Man lures the Vulture to a nearby construction crane. There, he allows himself to be knocked off the crane, stopping his fall with a web line. Leaving himself open to attack by both of his foes, Spider-Man tricks the Vulture into flying into the Hitman's line of fire. When the Hitman shoots, it hits the Vulture's power pack, rending his wings useless. After the Vulture goes crashing to the ground, Spider-Man goes after the Hitman, dodging all his shots along the way. However, when the wall-crawler reaches the Hitman's position, the mercenary has already fled the scene. With the battle over, Spider-Man rushes home before Mary Jane and Flash get back with a change of clothing.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Mary Jane Watson, Flash Thompson, Vulture, Hitman, Boss Morgan, Achmed Korba, Sha Shan Nguyen
Continuity Notes
References to Flash Thompson fighting in the Vietnam War should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616. Per History of the Marvel Universe #2, one could assume that Flash actually fought in the Sin Cong Conflict
Sha Shan saved Flash Thompson's life while he was serving in the military, as revealed in Amazing Spider-Man #109-110.
