Last of the Heroes

As the city struggles with the loss of its greatest heroes, Daredevil has been doing his part to deal with the sudden uptick in crime.[1] When a high-tech bank robber named Bolt tries to rob a bank, Daredevil is there to stop him. The man without fear easily takes down the novice criminal and begins questioning Bolt on where he got his suit of armor. Bolt doesn't want to talk out of fear of his safety and that of the family. Instead, he provides Daredevil with information on the meeting that Don Fortunato has called on Staten Island. It is with all the other rival crime bosses and it is a meeting that Fortunato promises will end with the death of Spider-Man. After hearing this, Daredevil tells Bolt to contact Matt Murdock to represent him in court and swings off to save Spider-Man.[2]

At a private estate on Staten Island, Don Fortunato addresses a large gathering of criminals. Behind him are his rivals, Caeser Cicero, Silvermane, the Slug, Hammerhead, Nguyen Ngoc Coy, and Gaven Thorpe. He has gathered them to join his new criminal empire which is now backed by the terrorist organization known as Hydra. To cement his position as undisputed ruler of the underworld, Don Fortunato unveils Spider-Man who has been restrained. By the end of the evening, the Don intends to unmask the wall-crawler and then kill him before all who have gathered. The wall-crawler can't believe how he got into this situation, as he only came to Don Fortunato's property thinking that Jimmy-6 was going to kill the elderly mobster. In reality, Jimmy came to protect the Don, because he is Fortuanto's son, this ultimately leading to the wall-crawler's capture. This makes Spider-Man regret saving Jimmy's life and allowing him to stay in Ben Reilly's apartment.[3] By this point, Daredevil has arrived and is staking out the scene. That's when Don begins the next part of his meeting, bringing out Tombstone who foolishly thought he could attack the Don at his home. He has also brought a number of innocent people that were taken from the territories owned by the various mobsters. They are to be executed as a show of force The Don then explains if anyone betrays him in the future he will then cut a swath of death and destruction across the affected territories until the dissenting mobster in question is driven out of the city by the very people they control. With the rival mobsters standing in silent agreement, Fortunato orders Jimmy-6 to proceed with the execution.

Unfortunately, Jimmy refuses to kill innocent people and protests this. However, his protests fall on deaf ears, and the Don orders him to comply. Jimmy then pulls a gun on the Don, prompting all the other gangsters to call for Jimmy-6's death. Don Fortunato then tells Jimmy that he will no longer be considered part of the Fortunato family. As the two men argue with each other, Spider-Man uses the distraction to attempt to break free from his bonds. Using all of his strength, Spider-Man manages to break free and quickly uses his stingers to knock out the rival mob bosses. No sooner is he free do the other gangsters begin opening fire, but he easily dodges the hail of bullets thanks to his spider-sense. That's when Daredevil makes his presence known and helps Spider-Man free the innocent hostages. The two heroes cover the fleeing people from mobsters and Hydra agents alike. When they get off the property, they are suddenly rescued by Jimmy-6 who has managed to steal a Hydra helicopter. Once they are all loaded onboard the chopper, Jimmy unleashes its payload of weapons on his father's estate. As they take off, Spider-Man spots Tombstone -- still in shackles -- trying to make his escape. There is an army of Hydra soldiers behind him trying to eliminate him. Unwilling to let anyone die, Spider-Man swings down and tries to rescue Tombstone. When a bullet severs his web-line, the wall-crawler is saved by Daredevil. As they get away, Daredevil makes a jokingly says he is glad he saved Spider-Man as he didn't want to be the only hero in town. Still, despite the overwhelming odds they now face, Spider-Man feels confident that things can only get better from here.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Daredevil, Jimmy-6, Hydra (Don Fortunato), Caesar Cicero, Gavin Thorpe, Silvermane, General Coy, Hammerhead, Tombstone, Angel

Continuity Notes

1. At the time of this story the Avengers and the Fantastic Four were believed to have been killed during the final battle with Onslaught in Onslaught Marvel Universe #1. They survived and currently exist in a pocket dimension as seen in the [[Heroes Reborn]] event. They will eventually return in Heroes Reborn: The Return #1-4.

2. The original twin towers of the World Trade Center are depicted as part of the New York City skyline here. This should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616. The original towers were destroyed in a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, and have since been replaced by the Freedom Tower.

3. Spider-Man saved Jimmy's life in Spider-Man #71.