Spectacular Spider-Man #105
United We Fall
A Riverside Drive brownstone explodes, killing its lone occupant. Seeing the blast from afar, Spider-Man heads over there to see what he can do before the fire department gets there. Swinging into the blazing building, where he finds no sign of life. In the bedroom, he sees the burning remains of the homeowner. Even though he feels like a ghoul for doing so, he snaps some photos of the burning corpse for the Daily Bugle. Spider-Man isn't sure that Joe Robertson would be interested in the gruesome photos. However, the next day, Peter Parker is surprised to discover that Robertson is interested in the photos. He identifies the dead body as Robert Sanchez, Sr. the head of the Longshoresman union. Recently, Sanchez had managed to get employees from the Northeastern Shipping Company, earning the ire of the company. When they theorize who might be responsible in the murder, Joe wonders if the shareholders of NSC at Norris, Edwards, Van Dyne, Everett, Lloyd and Lloyd might somehow be involved in this situation. Peter doesn't understand why this would be interesting. Joe explains that one of the shareholders is Janet van Dyne, the Avenger known as the Wasp. He figures it would be newsworthy to investigate if she is somehow implicated in the murder.
Meanwhile, at the NEVELL offices, the shareholders are holding a meeting as union protesters picket outside. While the male members of the board are debating on what they should do about the union situation. Janet van Dyne however is getting annoyed with their cigar smoke, so they tell her to go make them some coffee, saying that although she sits in for her late father, they don't care to hear her opinions. After she leaves, Mister Lloyd suggests dumping ownership of Northeastern as Consolidated Imports is interested in buying the company. In the kitchen, Janet van Dyne bumps into Spider-Man and he asks her about who might be responsible in Sanchez's death. She suspects that it might be the head of Consolidated Imports as it's owner, Vince Granetti, is a drug runner with eyes on the New York market. Suddenly, they hear shouting coming from the boardroom. Janet returns and finds Robert Sanchez, Jr. has interrupted the meeting to accuse the other investors of killing his father. He tells them that union members will not be working for Norteastern and storms out. When Janet goes to get the coffee, she finds that Spider-Man has left. Returning to the boardroom, Janet is the only one who votes against selling NSC. This leads to protests, but Janet refuses to sell to a bootlegger. When Lloyd complains about this further, Janet threatens to buy out all the other shareholders so she can get out of the office in time for her hair appointment.
Later, Spider-Man arrives outside the home of Vincent Granetti's mansion to get a look around. He spots guards patrolling the area. Suddenly, his spider-sense goes off and narrowly avoids laser blasts. Firing a web, Spider-Man pins the shooter's arm to a tree. The shooter turns out to be the mercenary known as Paladin. Spider-Man underestimates Paladin's strength and is easily pinned down by the mercenary. Before the fight can go any further, Granetti and his men come out and order Paladin to stand down, as he is not paid to fight the wall-crawler. He sends Paladin off on his job and then threatens to call the police on Spider-Man for trespassing. The wall-crawler calls his bluff, saying that Granetti has more to hide than he does. When Spider-Man explains that he is here to look out for a friend, Vincent knows he is talking about Janet van Dyne. Granetti is amazed that Janet would buy out her shareholders and take control of Northeastern but is sure that Paladin will be able to convince her the errors of her ways and sell to him. When Spider-Man tells Granetti that he thinks that the mobster was responsible for the death of Sanchez, Vincent openly admits it. However, without evidence, it is Spider-Man's word against his in a court of law.
At that moment, Janet van Dyne is on a walk through Central Park. Along the way she spots a rose in the middle of the path. When she bends over to pick it up, laser blasts pass over her head and strikes a tree. She is surprised to see Paladin is after her, but while he jumps at her he whispers for her to play along. As they struggle on the ground, Paladin explains that he has to pretend to be rough with her in order to maintain his reputation. He tells her that he has come to deliver a message, however, Janet is far from harmless. She shrinks down to wasp size and manages to overpower Paladin. Unable to regain the advantage, Paladin tells her that he is willing to sit down and talk. They sit down at a patio table of a fancy restaurant where they order drinks. They get down to business, Paladin warns Janet to sell her stocks to Consolidated otherwise his employer might take more drastic measures. It's then that Paladin decides to depart seeing Spider-Man coming their way, and probably upset that Paladin tossed his spider-tracer into Central Park Lake.
When Spider-Man arrives, the Wasp fills him in on what is going on. When the wall-crawler tries to come up with a plan to watch the other shareholders, Janet leaves it in his hands as she has a hair appointment and walks out on the flustered hero.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Joe Robertson, Wasp, Paladin
Continuity Notes
Janet inherited her father's fortune and holdings following his death in Tales to Astonish #44.
Paladin sarcastically calls Spider-Man "Mister Overconfidence of 1985". This should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616.
The Wasp quips that Paladin wasn't as tacky the last time they met. That was in Avengers #251.
The waiter refers to Janet to "Mrs. Pym", but Janet assures Paladin that her and her ex-husband are still divorced. After Henry Pym struck her in Avengers #213, Janet divorced her husband, as seen in Avengers #214.
