To Save the Smuggler!

When an ambulance carrying the Snuggler is hijacked by members of the Maggia, Spider-Man accidentally stops Lt. Kris Keating's car from perusing it. Spidey tries to make up for it by trying to stop the ambulance itself, Spider-Man stops the ambulance, but the Maggia men who have come for the Smuggler escape when Spider-Man is forced to stop a marquee from crushing innocent bystanders. When investigating the scene, Spider-Man finds a matchbook for a fancy Chinese themed restaurant which takes its clientele out in the water in a traditional Chinese sailing ship -- called the Chrysanthemum and the Sword.

After getting some information about the Smuggler's criminal career and his tie to the Maggia, Spider-Man leaves the police station in spite of Keating's demands that Spider-Man be arrested. Peter briefly returns to his T.A. job at ESU before going out at night to investigate the Chrysanthemum and the Sword restaurant.

There, Spider-Man finds that the Smuggler is chained up in the hold of the ship, and the entire organization is a drug smuggling front for the Maggia. With the Smuggler's help, Spider-Man tries to expose the front, but they do nothing better than terrorizing the ships legitimate customers when they are fighting the samurai warriors of the Maggia which are disguised as actors.

The two are forced to flee, and the Smuggler is shot in the back for his troubles. Both get to shore where the owner of the Chrysanthemum and the Sword demands that Spider-Man be arrested for terrorizing his guests and damages he caused in his fight. Spider-Man reveals that the doggie bags that some of the customers have been filled with drugs instead of fortune cookies, blowing the cover of the Chrysanthemum being a front for drug smuggling.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Smuggler, Kris Keating, Lou Snider, Maggia, Phillip Chang, Marcy Kane, Steve Hopkins, Morris Sloan

Continuity Notes

• Detective Lou Snider goes over the Smuggler's career:

  • How he got his powers from Baron Zemo and became Power Man to battle the Avengers, as seen in Avengers #21.

  • His defeat at the hands of Luke Cage in Power Man #21.

  • How he was tricked into joining Count Nefaria's Lethal Legion in Avengers #164-166.

  • Lastly, his more recent clash with Spider-Man in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #49-50.

• Peter expresses jealousy over Debra Whitman's new boyfriend Biff Rifkin. She started dating Biff in Amazing Spider-Man #216.

• The reason why Marcy Kane is wearing a turban in this story is explained in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #56.