Spectacular Spider-Man #204
Takeover!
Tombstone has come crashing in on the penthouse home of his former employer, Hammerhead. He then tells Hammerhead that he is taking over, but Hammerhead is not going down without a fight. Unaware that Tombstone now has enhanced strength and rock-hard skin, Hammerhead is easily defeated.[1] To prove his superiority, Tombstone breaks one of Hammerhead's arms and legs. When told to retire, Hammerhead meekly agrees and is carried out by his men. Satisfied with his latest conquest, Tombstone sits down in Hammerhead's chair and begins to muse about how New York City is about to experience a version of Tombstone they have never seen before.
Meanwhile, Harry Osborn's lawyer has called together the people mentioned in Harry's will.[2] Joining his wife Liz, his son Normie, and brother-in-law Mark Raxton, are Peter Parker and his wife Mary Jane, as well as Flash Thompson and his girlfriend Felicia Hardy.[3] With everyone gathered, the lawyer puts on a video recording of Harry, that stands as his final will and testament.[4] Harry's video starts by addressing Liz and their son. He tells them that the family business and fortune is being passed on to them so they can live happily and comfortably for the rest of their lives. He then addresses Flash Thompson, telling him that he has invested fifty thousand dollars into the youth program that Thompson had been working on. Lastly, he addresses the Parkers, pausing long enough to put on his Green Goblin mask. Harry tells Peter that he is leaving him his mother's jewelry box as a moment of their friendship. However, he tells Peter not to open it, as it will open in its own time, containing a big surprise to remember Harry by. With the video over, Liz breaks down in tears. While everyone is comforting her, nobody but Felicia notices when Peter leaves out a nearby window after collecting the jewelry box from Harry's lawyer.
Unwilling to be manipulated by the Green Goblin once again, Spider-Man swings to a nearby garbage barge. There, he decides to force the jewelry box open and see what is inside. There, he is shocked to discover a simple sheet of paper with the word "Gotcha" written on it. Spider-Man becomes furious and begins smashing the piles of junk around him. He has come to the conclusion that Harry somehow faked his death, and swings away. Meanwhile, Tombstone meets with a councilman representing the other mobs in New York City. He tells Tombstone that his application to join their inner circle has been rejected. Furious, Tombstone grabs the man by the head and begins smashing him around the room. This prompts the councilman to tell Tombstone that he was blackballed by a rival mobster named Nick Kaska. Sending the man away, Tombstone calls Sandoz, his right-hand-man. He tells Sandoz to prepare the rest of the gang, he not only intends to go up against the council but take it over.
Later that evening, after Liz Osborn puts her son to bed, she is horrified to see Spider-Man climbing into her apartment. Liz tells the wall-crawler to go away, but Spider-Man tries to explain to her that her husband was the one that came after him. When he tries to tell her that he thinks that Harry is still alive, this angers Liz who begins hitting the wall-crawler. The commotion brings Mary Jane downstairs to see what the problem is. Seeing Spider-Man in Liz's apartment, Mary Jane tells him to leave, reminding the wall-crawler that Liz is in mourning. Realizing that he is acting crazy, Spider-Man makes a hasty retreat, leaving Mary Jane to console Liz Osborn. Remembering Harry's funeral and reading the coroner's report, Spider-Man comes to the conclusion that this was another jest from beyond the grave and that Harry was still able to attack him with no defence.[5]
Elsewhere in the city, Tombstone and his men pull up in front of Club Kaska and burst in with guns blazing. Tombstone demands all the patrons in to hand over their valuables. Watching this from the security monitors, Nick Kaska's men decide remove Tombstone and his men from the property. Tombstone makes short work of these guards, prompting their leader to try and kill him with a rocket launcher. Although the rocket sends Tombstone crashing through a number of walls, he is unharmed when the munition explodes. However, it does uncover a gas line, which Tombstone intentionally ruptures. Not far away, Spider-Man's spider-sense begins going off just moments before the gas main explodes. Spider-Man then swings into the neighborhood to rescue those endangered by the fires. From an alleyway, Tombstone spots the wall-crawler performing the rescues and decides that he doesn't want to deal with the masked hero. When an ambulance pulls up to the alleyway, Tombstone accosts the ETMs in order to steal the ambulance. That's when the driver, Flash Thompson, emerges from the vehicle and orders Tombstone to put them down. Unintimidated by the demands, Tombstone puts the two men down and begins walking toward Thompson.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Mary Jane Watson, Liz Osborn, Flash Thompson, Felicia Hardy, Tombstone, Hammerhead, Normie Osborn, Mark Raxton
Continuity Notes
Tombstone gained these powers after being exposed to chemicals in Web of Spider-Man #66.
Harry Osborn seemingly perished battling Spider-Man in The Spectacular Spider-Man #200. However, he secretly survived as explained in Amazing Spider-Man #581. Harry will resurface again in Amazing Spider-Man #545.
Peter and Mary Jane are referred to as husband and wife here. However, years later, their marriage was erased from existence by Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. As such, they should be considered a common-law couple here.
This video is depicted as being recorded on a VHS tape. This should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616 as VHS technology is considered obsolete.
The "body" of Harry Osborn was actually a bio-duplicate created by Mysterio, as revealed in Amazing Spider-Man #581.
