Stalkers In the Shadows

At Dannemora State Prison, the guards mock Boomerang's vow to break out of prison as they are returning the prisoner to his cell after supper. Boomerang has, however, palmed a spoon which he uses as a makeshift boomerang to disable to the locks to his and the Punisher's cells.

As the guards come and investigate the alarm that rings as a result, the Punisher waits with his cell door pulled – closed, but not locked – and when they are preoccupied with Boomerang gets the jump on them. The pair steal the uniforms off the unconscious men and flee to the top of the outer wall of the prison where they set up a rope of tied clothing to carry them out to safety. With the prison guards catching up with them, the Punisher betrays Boomerang by knocking him down into the waiting arms of the guards and escapes by himself vowing to kill the Kingpin.

While in New York City, Peter Parker is walking out of his apartment when he spots his landlady Mrs. Muggins attacked by druggies looking to score some easy money. Peter jumps in and scares them off, but when he realizes they were trying to stick her up for drug money, he begins to contemplate the city's drug problems and wishes there was more he could do.

He walks off to the bus stand, unaware that Cloak and Dagger have witnessed the entire the scene. Catching up with the drug addicts, the vigilante duo attack them, and using their powers, clean their systems of the drug and its addictions before vanishing as quickly as they appeared. However, before the rehabilitated group can enjoy their new lives clean from drugs, the Punisher jumps down and murders them all for having taken drugs in the first place.

Peter arrives at the Columbia Presbyterian Hospital where he tests out the police security that is protecting the Black Cat in her period of convalescence, recovering from her injuries. Finding the safety measures satisfactory, he changes into his Spider-Man uniform and greets Captain DeWolff and is granted permission to visit Felicia. Finding her still asleep, he kisses her and then contemplates what future they have together before leaving the hospital out the window.

As Spider-Man swings through the city, he muses over his recent encounter with an unknown automaton assailant,[1] and his contemplations over quitting school. His thoughts are cut off when his spider-sense goes off leading him to a condemned, abandoned building.

There he finds a bunch of dead junkies. When he's approached by Cloak and Dagger, Spider-Man assumes incorrectly that they had murdered the junkies and attacks them. Left with no choice, Cloak uses his powers to pull Spider-Man into the Darkforce Dimension within his cape. Ejecting him out of the dark void within him, Cloak and Dagger then show Spider-Man the truth: The junkies were shot down with a hale of mercy bullets and that the man who did it came to find out who sold them the drugs before leaving.

Elsewhere in the city, the Punisher is out to kill the man responsible for the drug proliferation in the city: The Kingpin.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Black Cat, Cloak, Dagger, Punisher, Boomerang, Mamie Muggins, Jean DeWolff

Continuity Notes

• The Punisher has been in prison since his arrest in Daredevil #184.

• Peter Parker recounts how he recently quit grad school. He made this decision in Amazing Spider-Man #243.

• Jean DeWolff talks about tighter security at the hospital after it was attacked by Doctor Octopus in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #79.

• Spider-Man recalls all his past loves up to this point:

  • Betty Brant, Peter's first girlfriend who he started dating in Amazing Spider-Man #7. However she eventually left him for Ned Leads in Amazing Spider-Man #18, as Peter's double identity pushed the couple apart.

  • Gwen Stacy was Peter's first serious relationship until she was killed in a battle between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin in Amazing Spider-Man #121.

  • Mary Jane dated Peter shortly thereafter, although she broke off their relationship with Peter after he proposed to her in Amazing Spider-Man #183.

  • Most recently, Peter attempted to pursue a relationship with Debra Whitman, until a mental break prompted her to return home in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #87.

  • Dagger is included among the women that Spider-Man thinks about, however, the pair have never had a romantic relationship up to this point.

• Spider-Man also recounts his recent battle with one of the Mad Thinker's androids, that was in Amazing Spider-Man #242.

• He also recalls how he failed to stop Cloak and Dagger from trying to kill Silvermane. That was in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #69-70.