Spectacular Spider-Man #140
Kill Zone
Spider-Man watches outside the hospital room of Joe Robertson as his family gathers around him. His worst fears have been confirmed, Tombstone had broken Joe's back and he could be paralyzed for the rest of his life. Blaming himself for not being there in time to stop Tombstone, Spider-Man slips into a nearby alley to change back into Peter Parker. He then joins the other members of the Daily Bugle staff that are waiting outside of Joe's hospital room. Peter notes how sad J. Jonah Jameson looks, a show of emotion that the Bugle's publisher rarely displays. As Jonah and the others console Martha Robertson and the rest of Joe's family, Peter asks Ben Urich what the doctors are saying about Joe's condition. Urich informs him that the doctors fear that Joe might not be able to walk again. This upsets Peter who has known Joe since he first started working for the Bugle as a teenager. Ben knows that something has been preoccupying Joe for the past few days and asks Peter what he knows. Although Peter plays dumb, Ben is sure that Parker might know something, because he overheard Joe calling him the night before the accident. When Ben asks what Joe wanted to talk about, Peter tells him that Robertson wasn't there when he arrived. Not satisfied with this answer, Ben tells Peter to get in touch with him should he decide to talk.
Once everyone has left the hospital, Joe Robertson is visited by Tombstone. He reminds Joe that while he works for the mob, he expects Joe to keep his mouth shut. When Joe refuses to keep quiet, Tombstone whispers something in Joe's ear that stuns Joe to silence. Without a further word, Tombstone leaves the room, leaving Joe alone with his thoughts. Meanwhile, Spider-Man is roughing up some crooks in a seedy dive-bar trying to get answers regarding who put the hit out on Joe Robertson. As Spider-Man gets confirmation that the hit was put out by Tombstone, who works for the Kingpin and the Arranger. As he learns this, Spider-Man doesn't see one of the thugs pull out a gun and take aim at him. However, before the goon can pull the trigger he is shot by someone else. Spider-Man follows after the shooter but loses track of him. However, instead of trying to find who was shooting at him, Spider-Man goes to the office owned by the Kingpin where he confronts the Arranger as he is on a call with his employer regarding Roland Rayburn. Cutting off the call, Spider-Man demands that the Arranger tell him where he can find Tombstone. However, the Kingpin's assistant shows him that their confrontation is being recorded and he can use the footage against the wall-crawler. Suddenly, guards enter the room and Spider-Man has no choice but to flee. With the wall-crawler gone, the Arranger goes into a secret room where Roland Raymond is being pumped full of drugs that will guarantee his compliance. He is soon interrupted by Tombstone, who tells him that his appearance in New York City has drawn out someone who has been pursuing him, as the Arranger had planned.
The next day, Peter Parker and his wife Mary Jane pay a visit to the Robertsons at the hospital. Shortly upon their arrival, Joe asks his wife and MJ to allow him to talk to Peter privately. Outside of the hospital room, Martha Robertson breaks down in years. Despite Mary Jane's assurances that Joe will bounce back from this, Martha believes that her husband's spirit was broken along with his back. In the room, Peter is shocked when Joe tells him to destroy the recording he left for him. Joe explains that he was visited by Tombstone the night before and the mobster threatened to go after his family and friends if Joe finally told what he knew about Tombstone. As Peter leaves with Mary Jane, he tells her all about it. When she asks him what he plans on doing with the recording, he tells her that he wants to follow up with Ben Urich, otherwise, he doesn't know. As the couple walks away, they are unaware of the fact that someone has been spying on them. When Peter arrives at the Daily Bugle, he asks Ben's position on his situation, without revealing any details about Joe's recording. Urich tells Peter that there are no hard and fast rules regarding an ethical situation like that. He then tells Peter that someone called for him and left a number behind. Peter calls the number back and the man on the other line tells Parker that he knows about the Robertson recording and asks to meet at Liberty Island in an hour.
Peter changes into Spider-Man and goes to Liberty Island to make his rendezvous. As the wall-crawler waits on the Statue of Liberty's torch, someone in the observation deck tries to catch the hero in a net launcher. Spider-Man swings after his attacker, who runs down the stairs of the statue. When the web-slinger tries to follow, the stranger's gunfire keeps him at bay. Changing tactics, Spider-Man swings outside and tackles his attacker when he exits the statue. Much to his surprise, the shooter turns out to be the Punisher. The vigilante pulls a gun on Spider-Man and demands he turn over the Robertson recording and tell him where he can find Tombstone.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Tombstone, Joe Robertson, Martha Robertson, Mary Jane Watson, Arranger, Randy Robertson, Amanda Robertson, J. Jonah Jameson, Kate Cushing, Ben Urich, Roland Rayburn, Punisher
Continuity Notes
The Arranger makes mention of the Kingpin's obsessive vendetta against Daredevil. At the time of this story, the Kingpin has been focusing his attention on killing Daredevil using the assassin known as Typhoid Mary as seen in Daredevil #254-259.
Peter and Mary Jane are referred to as husband and wife in this story. However, years later, their marriage is erased from existence as seen in Amazing Spider-Man #545. As such, they should be considered a common-law couple as opposed to husband and wife.
