The Legion of Losers!

Spider-Man is swinging across the city trying to find some sign of the Chameleon who managed to escape capture after a botched attempt of attacking his wife, Mary Jane.[1] He hopes that Doctor Ashley Kafka, who had been treating the Chameleon at Ravencroft Institute is having better luck than he has. As he swings across the city, he can't help but be impressed by the fact that Mary Jane was able to defend herself against one of his oldest foes.

However, things aren't going well at Ravencroft, as Senator Roeberg has come to assess the situation. She is furious at Doctor Kafka for allowing the Chameleon escape one month before he was supposed to go to trial. After a series of mishaps at the facility, Roeberg informs Ashley that she is placing Leonard Samson in charge of Ravencroft. When John Jameson tries to protests this move, Roeberg fires him on the spot. The sudden arrival of Spider-Man in the meeting does little to calm the Senator, who points out that the masked hero is yet another justification for her decisions an orders them all to leave the building within a half hour. When Spider-Man apologizes for making things worse, Ashley tells him that it is not his fault as she brought this on herself. Unfortunately, she is no closer to finding the Chameleon either. When she suggests that the villain might be on a vacation in the Bahams, Spider-Man somehow thinks that's not the case. As he says this, Spider-Man is unaware that Kraven the Hunter -- the man who was responsible for the Chameleon's disappearance is roaming somewhere in the city.

Meanwhile, in the Midtown Bank in Manhattan, the Spot opens a portal into the bank vault so he and his associates, the Grizzly, Gibbon, and Kangaroo can gain access and steal the valuables inside. However, the Grizzly is not satisfied with bank heists as he gathered these villains together to get revenge against Spider-Man. When the Spot mocks their leader's track record against the wall-crawler, Grizzly tries to punch him. Unfortunately, his fist passes through one of the Spot's portals causing not harm. Fed up, the Grizzly decides that he is going to go out looking for Spider-Man and convinces the Gibbon to tag along with him. Not thinking, Grizzly opens the bank vault, setting off the alarm they managed to avoid teleporting in. With the authorities on their way, the Spot and the Kangaroo decide to take their stolen loot and depart. At that same moment, the Gibbon expresses concerns about clashing with the authorities. Although the Grizzly dismisses the police as a threat, they are surprised to see a squad of New York's finest surround the building and orders them to surrender. While at the Daily Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson is on the phone with his wife Marla, telling her that he can't go home until he has finished his latest editorial. He tries to explain how important this piece is, however when he admits that it is another anti-Spider-Man rant, Marla hangs up on him. Without any sense of irony, Jameson blames his wife being mad at him on Spider-Man. Still, he decides he has done enough work for one day and decides to head home. As he leaves the office, Jonah thinks about how much he hates about Spider-Man, when a hero like his son John, is reduced to working as security at Ravencroft institute while the wall-crawler "hogs all the glory". He dismisses the idea that his wife says his obsession with the wall-crawler will ruin his reputation as a journalist. When Jonah calls for the elevator he is shocked when the doors open revealing the villain known as Jack O'Lantern waiting for him inside. When the newspaper publisher tries to flee, Jack yanks Jonah into the elevator.

Elsewhere in the city, Spider-Man continues his search he can't help but feel sorry for Doctor Kafka even if she was responsible for the Chameleon escaping.[2] Despite this, he thinks about the good Ashley has done, particularly curing Edward Wheland the man formerly known as Vermin.[3] He also thinks about the other villains that Spider-Man put in Ravencroft, notably Carnage and Shriek and how Ashley always believed that even the most psychotic patients deserved compassion and could be cured. Soon, Spider-Man hears gunshots and decides to go and check it out. Not far away, Grizzly and the Gibbon are fleeing the police under a hail of gunfire. They manage to evade the police by ducking into the basement of a building. Unfortunately, they run right into Spider-Man, who feels sorry for the misguided pair as they aren't real threats.

Adding insult to injury the battle begins turning in Spider-Man's favor when the Grizzly gets his fist stuck in a wall. That's when the Spot and Kangaroo teleport in to help their allies. The sudden appearance of two more of his most ridiculous foes distracts Spider-Man long enough for Gibbon to strike him. While the wall-crawler is disorientated, the villains take the opportunity to retreat back to Grizzly's apartment. Meanwhile, in Hoboken, Betty Brant decides to visit Flash Thompson against her better judgement. However, she is worried about Flash after he admitted that he might be developing a drinking problem. When Flash answers the door, Betty is shocked by how drunk he is. She is even more concerned when Flash brushes off how much he has actually drank and jokes about his father's drinking problem when Betty mentions how his apartment reeks of booze. This upsets Betty who doesn't think this is a laughing matter and decides that if he can't take this seriously she is going to leave. Seeing her getting up to go, Flash breaks down and begs her not to go, telling her that he doesn't want to end up an alcoholic like his father. Realizing that this is a serious issue that she will have to shoulder for the long haul, Betty decides to bit the bullet and agree to try and help Flash get through this problem. However, she tells him that she can't fix any of his problems and he has to be ready to help himself. Grateful for her help, Flash hugs Betty tightly.

Back in Manhattan, the Spider-Man Revenge Squad has the wall-crawler prisoner in the Grizzly's apartment thanks to the Spot's powers and are now trying to figure out what to do with him. While the Spot insists that they kill Spider-Man, the Gibbon doesn't want to take things that far, as he thought that they were only going to beat the masked hero up. The Grizzly is also having second thoughts, thinking about how fairly the wall-crawler had treated them and suggests that they give the money back. The Kangaroo refuses to return the money and he and the Grizzly comes to blows. The Spot tries to help the Kangaroo by punching and kicking the Grizzly through his portals. However, the Grizzly and Gibbon manage to grab the Spot's limbs and trying to pull him through multiple portals at once shorts out the Spot's power, knocking him out. This also frees Spider-Man, who was playing possum in order to learn what was really going on. Realizing that while the Grizzly and Gibbon were misguided they didn't really want to rob the bank and promises to talk to the police when he turns in the Spot and the Kangaroo. After the wall-crawler leaves, the pair are inspired to become heroes and begin planning their debut into heroics.

While back at the Daily Bugle, one of the night watchman waits impatiently for the elevator to come down to the lobby of the building. When the doors of the elevator finally open, he is shocked to find J. Jonah Jameson's bloodied body inside.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, J. Jonah Jameson, Betty Brant, Flash Thompson, Kraven the Hunter, Jack O’ Lantern, Legion of Losers (Grizzly, Spot, Gibbon, Kangaroo), Ashley Kafka, John Jameson

Continuity Notes

1. Peter and Mary Jane are referred to as husband and wife here. However, years later, their marriage is erased from existence by Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. As such they should be considered a common-law couple here.

2. Ashley Kafka broke the Chameleon out of his cell so she could continue his treatment without government interference in The Spectacular Spider-Man #242. However, he used this opportunity to escape.

3. Kafka managed to cure Vermin during the course of The Spectacular Spider-Man #194-196.