Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #11
The Ghost and the Machine
This story continues from Amazing Spider-Man Annual #25...
The Ghost has broken into an underground lab at Empire State University to steal a formula for synthetic Vibranium created by the Roxxon Corporation. This has put the industrial saboteur in opposition with Spider-Man, and the Black Panther. Their battle was interrupted by Roxxon's Arthur Dearborn who transformed into the Sunturion. Thinking all three parties were trying to destroy Roxxon's Nuform experiment, he has vowed to destroy them all. With the situation growing more complicated, the Ghost uses this moment to flee the scene. Sunturion turns his attention to both Spider-Man and the Black Panther. However, before he can attack them, he is stopped by Iron Man who demands to know why Dearborn is suddenly willing to commit murder on behalf of his employers. Sunturion states that all enemies of Roxxon must be destroyed and then tries to take a shot at Iron Man. As Iron Man fends off Sunturion, Spider-Man recognizes their opponent's powers being derived from microwaves. Spotting a nearby microwave projector, Spider-Man turns it on Sunturion causing him to revert back to Arthur Dearborn. Dearborn apologizes for attacking them, as the reappearance of his powers must have clouded his judgment. However, thanks to to the microwave blast from Spider-Man, Arthur can control his powers once more. That's when security arrives on the scene, but Dearborn tells them to stand down. When Spider-Man suggests they try and find out why the Ghost had come to the lab, Arthur regrets to tell them that Roxxon's experiments are classified and he cannot divulge anything to them.
After the three costumed heroes leave, a medallion worn by one of the security guards falls off and starts to melt. This raises concerns, but when Arthur tries to call his boss, Jonas Hale, but gets no answer. As such he decides to dig deeper into the development of Nuform and this only concerns his greatest fears. Nuform is nowhere near perfected and will start to decay eventually turning into the equivalent to the metal dissolving Antarctic Vibranium. Reading Roxxon's business plan, Arthur is horrified to discover that the company he works for is planning on moving ahead with the sale of Nuform in the hopes that they can develop a solution to the problem by the time it becomes a problem. Outside, Spider-Man, Iron Man, and the Black Panther spot Jonas Hale talking to the media to spin the situation. Iron Man suggests that they investigate things further through their own channels and touch base the next day. When Spider-Man returns to his apartment in Soho, he discovers that his wife Mary Jane is away at a premiere for the night.[1] With nothing else to do, Peter pulls off his mask and sits down in front of the television.
Meanwhile, at Fisk Towers, the Kingpin awaits the return of the Ghost. As the Ghost has turned against his former employers, he has set up sensors to detect the villain should he come to stab him in the back. Despite this preparation, the Ghost enters the Kingpin's office without setting off the alarm. The Ghost is furious that Spider-Man and his allies interfered with his mission. The Kingin is no longer interested in getting a sample of Nuform, and tells the Ghost that his mission has change from stealing a sample, to causing serious damage to Roxxon's holdings. The Ghost is satisfied with this new job and agrees. Unknown to everyone else, there is another player intending learn the secrets of Nuform, the robot known as Ultron. In a secret lab deep below the city, Ultron is building an army of synthetic army to assist him on his mission.[2] While the following morning, Peter Parker is arriving at Empire State University and is surprised to see that Roxxon is packing things up. Bumping into Chip and Ethan, two students at ESU, who are happy that Roxxon will be storing the Vibranium in their lab for the duration. With the Roxxon experiments scuttled, they hope that more attention will be made to their plant growth formula.
Later that evening, Spider-Man joins Iron Man and the Black Panther at a nearby Roxxon facility on Long Island. While inside the facility, Arthur Dearborn finally gets ahold of Jonas Hale and express his concerns, but they are quickly dismissed. As the three heroes sneak into the facility they are spotted by Ultron's synthetic army and the androids open fire on them. While security is distracted by the damage being caused outside, the Ghost sneaks in to commit his sabotage. Unfortunately, he is interrupted by Ultron, who has also used the diversion to get access to Roxxon's work as well. However, when Ultron tries to elimiante the Ghost, he finds his opponent harder to kill than he thought. While outside, the heroes discover they are fighting robots and pull out all the stops in order to destroy them and continue on with their mission. Intending to keep his employer's secrets safe, Arthur Dearborn has the facility databases loaded onto a helicopter in order to take it away. Iron Man confronts Arthur and tells him to turn over the data, but the security on board the helicopter begins to open fire upon the golden avenger. Knowing that they can't stop Iron Man with conventional weapons, Arthur Dearborn allows himself to transform into Sunturion once again and goes to confront Iron Man. While back inside, Ultron figures out a way to get around the Ghost's invisibility and intangibility powers. Using his eye beams to set off the emergency sprinklers.
With the water affecting his stealth abilities, Ultron blasts the corporate saboteur outside of the building. Seeing that this is a no-win situation, the Ghost decides to make his escape. On the surface, Spider-Man and Black Panther have finished off the last of Ultron's minions and turn their attention to the battle going on between Iron Man and the Sunturion.[3] In his attempts to neutralize Iron Man, the Sunturion accidentally damages the helicopter sending it falling to the ground below. However, Iron Man uses a magnetic force beam to lower the helicopter safely to the ground. Horrified that he almost harmed someone innocent, Sunturion stands down changing back to human form. He is angered when he discovers that Iron Man is downloading the data collected. Dearborn orders Iron Man to stop and threatens them to have them arrested. However, the three heroes refuse to allow Roxxon to cover up any dangerous secrets regarding their new discovery. Frustrated with the heroes, Arthur tells them to leave. Spider-Man and his allies then begin trying to determine who sent the androids to attack the facility. Outside of Empire State University, Ultron detects that his androids have ceased functioning. It's then that he is approached by Pembroke, the Kingpin's assistant who offers the Kingpin's resources, suggesting that if they work together they can both get what they seek. Although Ultron hates human beings, he decides that this partnership would suit his needs and accepts the Kingpin's offer.
The following morning at Empire State University, Chip and Ethan are continuing their study on plant growth. They are surprised at the sheer number of police officers that are on campus that morning. They continue to work, happy to finally see Roxxon leaving the campus. As they work away, they are unaware that crates of Roxxon's Nuform are in the basement and the material is becoming unstable causing the nails in the crate to begin melting.
This story is concluded in Web of Spider-Man Annual #7...
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Black Panther, Iron Man, Ghost, Kingpin, Ultron, Roxxon Oil (Sunturion, Jonas Hale)
Continuity Notes
Peter and Mary Jane are referred to as husband and wife here. However, years later, their marriage is erased from existence by the demon Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. As such they should be considered a common-law couple here.
Ultron mentiosn his recent capture that occurred in Avengers West Coast Vol 2 #67. Ultron escaped from captivity in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #25.
Iron Men mentions his last battle with Sunturion. That conflict occurred in Iron Man #143.
Outlaw Justice, Part 2
In the forests of central Quebec the Sandman confronts a pair of hunters who are trespassing on the land owned by his employers and frightens them off. Heading back to his employer's mansion, the Sandman thinks about his current situation and how he tried to go straight, but ultimately he couldn't get steady work, hence why he took this job.[1] However, while his employer Boussard intends him to take down his operation on the inside, including rescuing Lebon, the daughter of a politician who was kidnapped by Boussard's terrorist group. Checking in with his "employer", the Sandman bites his lip as Boussard explains to Lebon that she will be let go once her father resigns from his post in the Canadian parliament.
Meanwhile, not far away, Silver Sable's Wild Pack prepares for the inevitable clash with the Sandman. Silver Sable meets with the two "hunters" who were actually scouting Boussard's location at the Sacre Croix monastery. With this important intel in hand, Sable tells the Rocket Racer, Will O' the Wisp, and Prowler to get ready for action. Although Wisp questions the morality of their mission, Rocket Racer is looking forward to the battle ahead. The Prowler, however, recalls how his wife was unimpressed that he took this job and fears what she might do when he gets home. Soon, the Rocket Racer takes out the sentries outside of the monastery. This allows the Prowler and Silver Sable to ambush the guards inside. When one of the extremists tries to incapacitate Rocket Racer with a sonic device, he is saved by the Prowler. As reinforcements arrive on the scene, they are caught off guard by the arrival of Will O' the Wisp. Soon they find themselves face-to-face with the Sandman, who warns the Outlaws not to interfere with his mission. However, Sable and her allies refuse to stand down, forcing the Sandman to ask who wants to fight him first.
This story is concluded in Web of Spider-Man Annual #7...
Recurring Characters
Outlaws (Silver Sable, Prowler, Rocket Racer, Will O’ the Wisp) Sandman
Continuity Notes
The Sandman decided to go straight in Marvel Two-In-One #86. He mentions how he became a reserve Avenger, that happened in Avengers #329 and that he "screwed it up" in Amazing Spider-Man #348.
One Track Mind!
The Rhino, in a quest to obtain as much money as possible, has broken into a bank vault with a group of armed guards.[1] After breaking into the bank vault, the Rhino is interrupted by Spider-Man. The interruption angers the Rhino who charges at the wall-crawler.
As he worries about others getting hurt, Spider-Man is slammed into the side of a construction vehicle by his foe. As Spider-Man battles with the Rhino, his hired men try to make a run for it. Unfortunately for them, the police arrive on the scene and arrest them. When they try ordering the Rhino to stand down, this does little but anger the Rhino even more. With lives at risk, Spider-Man outsmarts the Rhino into running atop a wooden cover over a subway construction pit. The villain ends up breaking through the floor and landing in a subway tunnel. The Rhino gets smacked around by passing trains, knocking him out and leaving him unconscious for the authorities to take into custody. When the robbers try to flee the scene, Spider-Man notices them and webs them up. When Peter Parker returns home to deliver what he went out for, his wife Mary Jane's wedding ring which she thought was lost. As it turned out, she left it in the dressing room on the set of Secret Hospital.[2] When Mary Jane asks what took him so long, Peter qups that he had to tie up some loose threads. At that moment, the police are trying to figure out of to get the webbed up bank robbers down off a lamp post.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Mary Jane Watson, Rhino
Continuity Notes
The narration states that this story takes place prior to Deadly Foes of Spider-Man #1. At that time, the Rhino was trying to earn enough money to remove the costume fused to his skin. He finally succeeded in Deadly Foes of Spider-Man #4.
Peter and Mary Jane are referred to as husband and wife here. However, years later, their marriage was erased from existence by the demon Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. As such, they should be considered a common-law couple here. As revealed in Amazing Spider-Man #638-639, in this new timeline, Peter and Mary Jane are still engaged. That said, one could assume that in the new timeline Peter went to recover her engagement ring as opposed to a wedding band.
