Aliens and Illusions!

Apparently abducted by aliens who seek the lost fortune of mobster Dutch Malone, Peter Parker finds himself brought before one of Spider-Man's oldest foes, Mysterio. When Mysterio demands to know the location of this lost fortune, Peter tries to tell him that the money was destroyed years ago by silverfish. However, Mysterio refuses to believe this and orders his alien allies to put him through a device called the Psycho-Dome. Peter recounts the moments that led him here as he is tossed into the device. Peter is swarmed by hallucinations of monster and his Aunt May in peril. However, he fights back against the illusions when Mysterio presents an illusion of Spider-Man to terrorize him. Peter pretends to faint, tricking Mysterio into thinking that his ploy worked. Even though his foe is convinced that Parker is knocked out, he has his alien allies to zap him with a sedation device. Not expecting this, Peter struggles to maintain consciousness as the aliens carry him away.

Meanwhile, at the Restwell Retirement home, Aunt May, her fiancee Nathan Lubenski and Debra Whitman have finished making a police report, even though the authorities don't believe their story. Debora and Nathan try to get Aunt May to rest, assuring her that Peter will be all right. However, the pair really is at a loss for what to do because the situation is unbelievable. As Debora turns away from Nathan, a man comes out from an emergency exit door and nabs her before anyone can see.

Sometime later, Peter Parker wakes up in a holding cell aboard the alien ship. There he spots an ant skittering across the floor and questions how a terrestrial insect could get aboard an alien ship. Not sensing any surveillance equipment in the cell, Peter uses this opportunity to change into Spider-Man and escape through a vent high up the wall. In the other room he finds one of the aliens listening to country music on a radio and drinking a beer. Spider-Man gets the drop on the alien and unmasks it, revealing that it merely a common crook in disguise. The man, who was part of the original "alien plot" that Spider-Man was involved years ago explains that they were all hired to pretend to be aliens to throw off any investigations after they escaped the battle. Surprisingly, one of these men was Mysterio, and he vowed to get revenge against Spider-Man no matter what. Exploring the area, Spider-Man discovers that he isn't aboard an alien ship, but on a movie set.

He begins searching and makes short work of the other "aliens" that are on site. Eventually, he finds the central control room. From a viewing monitor inside, he sees that Mysterio has kidnapped and is now terrorizing Debora Whitman. Mysterio is trying to get answers regarding Dutch Malone's money, but she knows nothing about it. That's when Spider-Man appears to enter the room, but this is merely a hologram. Spider-Man is still in the control room and is using Mysterio's own special effects against him. Mysterio attempts to flee with Debra as his hostage. However, the woman is hardly defenseless, when they run past a series of props, Debra lifts one up and strikes Mysterio's fishbowl with it. This allows her to get away from from the villain. He is then swarmed by holograms of Spider-Man, that buy Spider-Man time to catch up while Debra calls the police. Spider-Man easily gets the drop on Mysterio and knocks him out with a single punch. After checking to see if Debra is okay, Spider-Man tells her that Peter Parker is being held in a cell nearby. After sending her that way, he slips away to change back into his civilian guise in time to maintain his secret identity.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Mysterio, Debra Whitman, Aunt May, Nathan Lubensky

Continuity Notes

• There are multiple references to Dutch Malone's money and how Mysterio previously attempted to obtain it. These events were chronicled from Amazing Spider-Man #193-200.

• The "aliens" in this story are the same men that Spider-Man fought years ago in Amazing Spider-Man #2. Per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616, it has been roughly five years between that story and this one.

• References to Nathan Lubenski having been an actor during the days of vaudville should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616.

The Menace of Gideon Mace!

While investigating the death of his family, the White Tiger has walked into a trap set by the terrorist known as Gideon Mace. Mace intends to eliminate the superheroes that live in New York, picking the White Tiger as his first target since he revealed his identity to the public.

Pinned down by Gideon's men, the White Tiger manages to break free and manages to get some distance. He puts up a good fight against Gideon's minions, taking them all down one-by-one. However, when he tries to escape, the White Tiger almost jumps through a false window. Then he is confronted by Gideon Mace himself, and he isn't prepared when the murderer pulls a machine gun out and riddles him with bullets. With the White Tiger bleeding out on the floor, Gideon Mace considers this a victory and his first step in his war against the superheroes.

Recurring Characters

White Tiger, Gideon Mace

Continuity Notes

• This story makes multiple references to the fact that Hector Ayala publicly revealed that he was the White Tiger. That was in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #20.