Firebug

Outside the Loisaida medical center, an arsonist prepares to light the building on fire. Before he can set the blaze there is an explosion from inside. Soon, firefighters arrive on the scene as well as Spider-Man as the hospital goes up in flames. After setting up his automatic camera, Spider-Man swings in and helps some firemen that are put in danger from flaming debris. He saves the lives of the firemen and then sees that there is trouble going on below. There he sees Kris Keating and his officers arresting the arsonist, who insists that he did not do it. However, the locals are unhappy with being robbed of the hospital and a mob begins to form. While the police arrest the arsonist, the mob tries to converge on the squad car, but Spider-Man webs them up so they can't harm anyone. Curious about why the arsonist pleaded that he was innocent, the wall-crawler decides to take a closer look. Inside, Spider-Man discovers that part of the floor has been blasted open and a set of burned footprints leaving the hole. The web-slinger then remembers that the Loisaida was built on the former site of the Fenster Pharmaceuticals Company, and thinks that the arsonist was right all along.

Peter returns home to his apartment in Chelsea where he wishes he could get information the same way Daredevil or the Fantastic Four can. Peter decides to call on his old friend Harry Osborn, but his phone won't work. It's then that Peter realizes that he forgot to pay his phone bill. Going through his change, Peter changes into Spider-Man and goes to a nearby payphone and calls on Flash Thompson to find out if Harry can still be reached at his old phone number. Flash tells him that Harry and Liz Allen got married and moved to New Jersey. After getting this information and saying hello to Sha Shan, Peter ends the call and web-slings out to New Jersey to pay a visit to the newlywed Osborns at their home. He is concerned that Harry and Liz might be in trouble, and that some kind of stress could trigger him to reverting back into the Green Goblin. Spider-Man knocks at the door, he notices that Harry is acting odd and sweating. Suddenly, his spider-sense begins to go off and just narrowly avoids getting struck by the Molten Man. This has upset Harry and Liz's plans to talk down her step-brother into surrendering.

This makes the Molten Man furious, his body flaming out of control he attacks Spider-Man. He accuses Liz of getting Spider-Man involved like the last time at the site of Fenster Pharmaceuticals. He explains that after the explosion there, he was buried alive and the chemicals stabilized his body. Ultimately, he gathered enough strength to break free. Harry is fed up and decides to start fighting back. However, by this point, the Osborn house is in flames. Spider-Man tells Harry and Liz to flee so he can stop Raxton. The battle takes both Spider-Man and Molten Man out on the front lawn. There, Harry tries to hose his brother-in-law down. This cools Molen Man down enough for Spider-Man to fight back without burning himself. By this time, Harry and Liz's neighbors have come outside to see what is going on. Seeing the couple in danger, the neighbors also begin fighting back.

Eventually, Molten Man's temper gets the better of him and he begins to rant about destroying everyone in New Jersey. This causes the destruction Spider-Man needs to knock Raxton into the Osborn's swimming pool. The tremendous heat evaporates all of the water, but also knocks the Molten Man out and restores him to normal. It's at this point that Harry and Liz witness their house is now a blazing inferno. Wondering what they will do while waiting to have their home rebuilt, Harry and Liz are touched that their neighbors are willing to help them out. Witnessing this, Spider-Man is happy to see that Liz and Harry found their corner of paradise. As he prepares to leave, he wonders if there is a bus that can take him back to New York City.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Harry Osborn, Liz Osborn, Molten Man, Kris Keating, Flash Thompson, Sha Shan Nguyen

Continuity Notes

• The Molten Man recounts his past encounter with Spider-Man. That happened in Amazing Spider-Man #173.

• Spider-Man fears that this stress will cause him to revert back to the Green Goblin. Harry took up the mantle from Amazing Spider-Man #136-137.