Spectacular Spider-Man #90
Where, Oh Where Has My Spider-Man Gone?"
This story follows the events of Secret Wars #12...
The Black Cat swings through the city trying to contemplate the fact that she allowed the Kingpin, one of her lover Spider-Man's deadliest foes, give her super-human abilities. She considers the cost of having these powers to make her Spider-Man's equal against super-powered villains compared to selling her soul to the proverbial devil to do so. She decides to go down to the street level and take a walk to try to get her head on straight. Walking down the street she is unaware that a group of muggers are sneaking up behind her. Before they can jump her, her bad-luck powers kick in tripping up the crooks and giving the Black Cat and easy victory over them.
After the encounter, she decides that it's best to tell Spider-Man about her abilities but not tell him how she got them. Figuring that when the Kingpin comes to collect his marker from her, she will stiff him on their deal so that she can stay on the straight and narrow. She then goes out seeking Spider-Man to tell him a false story about how her powers were apparently latent. Her first stop is Peter Parker's apartment, which she finds empty, and so she leaves him a note and goes out the front door. On her way out she runs into Peter's landlord Mrs. Muggins who tells her that Peter hasn't been home for days and that if he's boarding another person in the room she's going to charge him more rent. Felicia bolts out of there before she has to answer too many sensitive questions and blow Peter's secret identity.
The Black Cat then pays a visit to Captain Jean DeWolff to see if she's seen Spider-Man. While DeWolff has not, she tells the Black Cat that a number of the cities super-heroes went missing recently and that Spider-Man may have been one of them. When a rookie cop bursts in and draws a gun on the Black Cat, her luck-powers spring on him allowing her to escape. The experience makes her decide not to be so candid about telling people about her powers so that she can have an edge against Spider-Man's enemies in the future. The Black Cat next goes to the Daily Bugle and starts asking around to see if anyone there has seen Peter Parker recently. This gets her in a spat of words with J. Jonah Jameson, however, this is defused when Joe Robertson pulls her into his office with a tall tale about how the Black Cat is helping on a story with local night prowlers. When he gets her in seclusion he asks her what's going on. She explains that she is looking for Peter Parker, and like everyone else, Joe hasn't seen him for days. The Black Cat then decides to leave and seek others for help in tracking down her lover.
Swinging past Avengers Mansion, she decides to pay another visit to see if the Earth's Mightiest Heroes might know something. With her new powers, she easily gets past the security system until it's augmented by the Scarlet Witch's powers. There, she learns that she and the Vision have not seen him since they petitioned Spider-Man to join the group. They explain that they are attempting to expand their ranks and offer her membership. She is surprised based on her criminal past, however, the Vision and Scarlet Witch point out that a lot of Avengers past and present were former villains and that the Vision himself was created by one of the Avengers worst foes. Black Cat thanks them for their offer but leaves to continue her search for Spider-Man.
With nowhere else to look, the Black Cat hops a train into Queens where she pays a visit to Aunt May's boarding house to see if she has seen her nephew. Going into a random window she startles one of the women living in the boarding house. Seeing that she has frightened people and doesn't know which person is Peter's Aunt, she tells them that she was going to a costume party and was trying to make for a dramatic entrance and must have picked the wrong house. Hiding out in a tree on the property, Black Cat once more mulls over if she should tell Spider-Man about her powers when she is suddenly startled by his arrival. She is surprised to see him wearing a new black costume, to which he tells her is a very long story. When he asks her again what she is doing here, she tells him that she missed him and only wanted to see him.
Recurring Characters
Black Cat, Jean DeWolff, J. Jonah Jameson, Joe Robertson, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Edwin Jarvis, Mamie Muggins, Aunt May, Nathan Lubensky, Martha Lund, Rose Palermo, Victor Palermo, Sophie Lund, Arthur Chekov, Spider-Man
Continuity Notes
Black Cat recounts her battles alongside Spider-Man against Doctor Octopus, the Owl, the Hobgoblin, and Mister Hyde. These events occurred in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #75-76, 85 and 88 respectively. She got her new powers from the Kingpin in last issue.
The Black Cat muses how she can probably wriggle out of her debt to the Kingpin, recalling how she once stole a device from him very easily. That happened in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #74.
The Black Cat is unaware that Spider-Man was one of many heroes that were abducted by the Beyonder. Peter was abducted in Amazing Spider-Man #251. His activities were chronicled in Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1-12.
The Black Cat's distaste for mentioning Spider-Man by his real name is due to the fact that she is not attracted to Peter Parker, only Spider-Man. Something she learned in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #87 when he revealed his secret identity to her.
Jameson is not happy to see the Black Cat because of their last encounter when she and Spider-Man saved him from the Human Fly in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #86.
Spider-Man was offered membership in the Avengers recently in Avengers #237.
The Avengers with criminals pasts that are highlighted are: The Hulk, who was a founding member of the team in Avengers #1, Hawkeye, Quicksilver, and the Scarlet Witch joined the Avengers in Avengers #16, Wonder Man was a former Avengers foe until he joined the team in Avengers #158, lastly, the Vision himself was built by Ultron in Avengers #57 to destroy the Avengers, he later betrayed his master and joined the team.
Spider-Man obtained his new costume when his traditional red-and-blue costume was damaged. This happened in Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #8.
