Cold Hearts

Having completely abandoned his identity of Peter Parker, Spider-Man stalks the city looking for criminals to punish.[1] Spotting a man attempting to mug a woman in an alley, Spider-Man quickly stops him and leaves the thug webbed onto the floor. Meanwhile, a woman breaks into a classified government facility. Trying to keep her haunting memories at bay and desiring revenge, she begins putting on a suit of armor that is being kept at the facility. The woman -- calling herself Coldheart -- is interrupted by guards just as she finishes putting on the armor. She quickly incapacitates them with her energy charged swords. She is furious that she was retired and her clearance revoked. However, she refuses to stay in retirement until she has eliminated a pair of super-powered individuals.

Meanwhile, the Hobgoblin has decided to wrap up some unfinished business now that he has gained enhanced powers. He pays a visit to the home of his ex-wife, Karen, in order to reclaim his son, Jay. After knocking out Karen's new boyfriend, the Hobgoblin then takes his son away. It's not long before the authorities arrive on the scene to try and stop the Hobgoblin from kidnapping the boy. Spider-Man also learns about the attempted kidnapping and storms into the building, intending to take in Hobgoblin for murdering Demogoblin. When reports of Spider-Man come in, Coldheart is satisfied that two of her targets are in one place. At that moment, in Russia, Vladimir Kravenoff use undergoing the process to gain the powers of his late father.[2] Vladimir ignores Gregori's concerns, intent on getting these powers so he can make his father proud.

Back in the United States, Spider-Man confronts the Hobgoblin in his ex-wife's home. The villain tells the wall-crawler to get lost as this doesn't concern him. The Hobgoblin then begins to gloat how things are finally coming together for him. This causes Spider-Man to think about all of his recent problems, Aunt May being in the hospital after suffering her stroke,[3] the fact that he is having troubles talking with his wife Mary Jane,[4] and lastly, the impostors who were posing as his parents.[5] Spider-Man is made furious by all this, and is about to attack the Hobgoblin when his webbing is frozen solid by Coldheart.

This interruption allows Hobgoblin to escape with his son. Coldheart blames both Spider-Man and Hobgoblin for what happened to her family and intends to eliminate the wall-crawler then go after the Hobgoblin herself. Spider-Man refuses to let her stop him from doing his job, but she stuns him with the cold energy from her swords. She blames Spider-Man for what happened to her son, but Spider-Man is more concerned about the safety of Hobgoblin's son. After knocking her aside, he swings away. Spider-Man catches up to Hobgoblin and his son on a nearby rooftop. He interrupts the tense situation. The wall-crawler allows to let his rage get the better of him, wanting to put the Hobgoblin away for good. He warns the villain that he is coming after all his foes. Realizing that he is losing the battle, Hobgoblin gets some distance from Spider-Man by tossing a pumpkin bomb and flies away. As the wall-crawler recovers from the blast, Coldheart arrives and attempt to eliminate him. However, Jay Macendale stops her, saying that the hero saved his life. Thinking this for a moment, Coldheart spares the wall-crawler and leaves. When Spider-Man recovers from the blast, he quickly gets over the fact that both his attackers are gone because he rescued the young boy, and that is more important.

At that moment, out west, a strange man has collected his last paycheck from the diner he was working at so he can head east. His former co-workers are concerned because he was so troubled, and they hope everything turns out all right.[6] While back in Russia, the process to give Vladimir Kravinoff his father's powers. With the operation a success, he decides that his next move is to go to the United States and destroying Spider-Man.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Coldheart, Hobgoblin, Vladimir Kravinoff, Gregor, Ben Reilly (unidentified)

Continuity Notes

1. Spider-Man abandoned his identity of Peter Parker after learning that his Aunt May had suffered a stroke in Amazing Spider-Man #392. The narration states that Peter has been Spider-Man for years. Spider-Man first got his powers in Amazing Fantasy #15. Per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616, Peter has been Spider-Man for roughly nine years at the time of this story.

2. Kraven committed suicide during the Kraven’s Last Hunt story arc.

3. Unknown to Peter at this time, the woman in the hospital is not his Aunt May. May was secretly replaced with an impostor by the Green Goblin sometime during Amazing Spider-Man #392. This deception is not revealed until Spider-Man #97.

4. 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.

5. This couple surfaced claiming to be Peter's parents in Amazing Spider-Man #365. They were revealed to be impostors in Amazing Spider-Man #388. The real Richard and Mary Parker died on a mission two decades earlier, as seen in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5.

6. This mystery man is the clone of Peter Parker, last seen in Amazing Spider-Man #149. How he survived is revealed in Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal #1. His identified in The Spectacular Spider-Man #216