Showdown

Nova of the New Warriors has found Spider-Man floating in a river thanks to a tip from the police band radio that is inside of his helmet. The wall-crawler explains his battle against the Sinister Six and assures Nova he'll be fine, but looks as though he barely survived the beating of his life. The threat of the Sinister Six is more than he can handle alone. Unfortunately, just as Spidey is about to ask Nova for help, the New Warrior flies off to answer a distress signal from his teammates.

Elsewhere, Deathlok is in New York investigating the rogue cyborg that Spidey and Ghost Rider had battled previously.[1] Apparently, the government is working on a cyborg program and Deathlok wants to get to the bottom of it. Meanwhile, the Sinister Six have caught the attention of the anti-terrorist vigilante known as Solo, whom has marked them as terrorists and are now targets of his. At that moment, the Hulk has recovered from his own beating at the hands of Doctor Octopus, frightening the police who have arrived on the scene. The Hulk is furious and leaps away, vowing to smash Doctor Octopus when next they meet. By this time, Peter Parker has returned home and is working on new web cannons. As he works, his wife Mary Jane expresses concern about his health.[2] He assures her that he's fine, but wishes that he had some help against the Sinister Six. He had called the Avengers and the Fantastic Four, who was unavailable and doesn't know how to get hold of anyone else. She tries to take his mind off things but has to run off again because of another screen test for the Arnold Shwarzenheimer movie, much to Peter's disappointment.

Later, Spider-Man is searching for the Sinister Six prepared with a huge canister of web fluid on his back for the cannons he designed. As the hero passes the Daily Bugle, Solo teleports atop the newspaper's sign to attract Spider-Man's attention. Solo asks for Spider-Man's help to kill the Sinister Six. As the wall-crawler is against murder, he turns Solo down and swings away. However, as the web-slinger leaves, Solo tags him with a tracking device so he can find him later. Spider-Man follows the spider-tracer signal he planted on the Hobgoblin. He tracks the Sinister Six to a private research facility that experiments in other dimensions. His plan is to sneak up on the team and blanket the entire place in webbing. Unfortunately, he's spotted by Doctor Octopus before he can act. The hero unloads both cannons, but Otto blocks the attack with his adamantium arms and then proceeds to tear open the web fluid containers on the hero's back. Trapped in his own webbing, Spider-Man struggles to break free. That's when Solo teleports onto the scene with guns blazing. Solo apparently mows down the rest of the Sinister Six. Spider-Man breaks free and tries to stop Doctor Octopus when suddenly the warehouse explodes. This entire battle was all an illusion created by Mysterio. As the real Sinister Six retreats from the remains of the facility, Doctor Octopus commends the illusionist for a job well done. Back in the ruins of the research facility, Solo has been tricked into thinking Spider-Man is Doctor Octopus. Approaching Spider-Man's unconcious body, Solo prepare to shoot.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Mary Jane Watson, Hulk, Solo, Nova, Deathlok, Sinister Six (Doctor Octopus, Electro, Vulture, Mysterio, Hobgoblin)

Continuity Notes

1. This battle took place in Spider-Man #18.

2. Peter and Mary Jane are referred to as husband and wife. 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.

Diabolique! Part 2

Spider-Man has returned to the Metropolitan Art Museum to investigate why the Diabolique exhibit was setting off his spider-sense. This led to him being attacked by the statues that are part of the exhibit. Suddenly, one of them begins to transform, changing into the alchemist known as Diablo. The villain explains how he escaped captivity in Central America and upon learning about the Diabolique Cache and became determined to obtain it.[1] Disguising himself as an employee of the museum in order to get close enough take the cache.

As a scientist, Spider-Man doesn't believe in alchemy and thinks that Diablo is merely an illusionist like Mysterio. However, he is proven wrong when he tries to strike the villain and his fist bounces off like it struck rubber. Blinding the wall-crawler with some bright flares, Diablo explains that the cache is a number of long-lost alchemical materials from the 9th Century that were lost after he was imprisoned until his revival in modern times.[2]

He then confuses Spider-Man with some reflective mist that creates illusions of Diablo, allowing Diablo to begin using the rare artifacts in the cache to summon an electrical elemental demon. Although the creature is far more powerful of Spider-Man. However, the masked hero uses his knowledge of science to defeat the elemental. Pulling an electrical wire out of the wall, Spider-Man tosses it at the elemental that shorts it out. Although this almost kills both men, they quickly recover from the electrical jolt. Diablo then tries to appeal to Spider-Man telling him that he can use the objects in the cache to bring the dead back to life. Using some of the elements, Diablo appears to summon the spirits of Gwen Stacy and his Uncle Ben.[3] However, when the alleged spirit of Uncle Ben reminds Spider-Man about great power and responsibility, Spider-Man refuses to go through with Diablo's plans.

When Spider-Man tries to web up Diablo, but the villain spits out a tooth that has an alchemical solution that causes a nearby window to explode into a spray of metallic shrapnel. As Spider-Man protects himself from the debris, Diablo seemingly appears and the police arrive shortly thereafter. Hours later, after both Spider-Man and the police have finished their search for clues, Diablo appears, having hid himself and his cache using a "chemeleon cream" to hide their location. However, when he re-opens the cache, his centuries old preservative formula wears off and everything inside crumbles to dust. Furious, Diablo blasts open a hole in the wall and walks out. Although these priceless and irreplacable artifacts are gone, the villain begins thinking of new schemes, hoping that if Spider-Man interferes again, he will have the opportunity to destroy the wall-crawler.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Diablo

Continuity Notes

1. Diablo was apprehended in Central America in Alpha Flight #103.

2. Diablo was locked away and entered a state of suspended animation until he was accidentally freed by the Thing in Fantastic Four #33. Diablo states that he was freed in the 20th Century. This should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616.

3. Peter's Uncle Ben was killed by a burglar in Aamzing Fantasy #15, while Gwen was killed by the Green Goblin in Amazing Spider-Man #121.