Undercover

Prologue

With Spider-Man wanted for the murder of Joey-Z, the wall-crawler has been forced to abandon his usual identity in favor of others. Now, wearing the Dusk costume he claimed from the Negative Zone, Peter Parker seeks to learn the truth about Joey-Z’s murder and clear his name.[1].

Now

A man wearing a hat and trenchcoat walks the fog-covered streets of New York City. Stepping in an alley, he is surrounded by ninja warriors of the Hand. Stripping off his coat and hat, the mystery man turns out to be the Trapster who the Hand have been hired to assassinate.[2] Although they initially mock him, the Trapster proves his worthiness as a fighter when he ends up gluing them to all the surfaces in the alley.

At that same moment, Peter Parker is trying to get into costume but ends up putting on mismatching parts, much to Mary Jane’s amusement. Stripping off these costumes, Peter complains how difficult it is to manage four different costumed identities in order to get around the bounty on his head and still effectively fight crime. Frustrated, Peter decides to go out as Spider-Man since that is who he is, by Mary Jane reminds him of the bounty on his head as well as the murder his alter-ego has been framed for. This doesn’t sit very well with Mary Jane who says she is too young to be sitting by the window wondering if he was killed by some super-villain. Peter apologizes as he leaps out of the window in his Spider-Man costume, but it falls on deaf ears.

Spider-Man soon meets in Cypress Hills Cemetery with Arthur Stacy and NYPD Detective Snipes.[2] There, Snipes confirms that the NYPD labs confirmed that the chemical composition of Spider-Man’s webbing is different than the webs that killed Joey-Z. However, nobody at the District Attorney’s or Mayor’s office cares. This leads Arthur and Spider-Man to conclude that Norman Osborn is applying pressure on law enforcement. Snipes also tells them that someone as put out a hit on the Trapster, a likely person who knows the truth. After Snider departs, Spider-Man vows to track down the Trapster and force him to talk. However, Arthur points out that this method might not work, reminding the wall-crawler how a “talk” with Norman Osborn is what got him into this mess. He then points out that the Trapster is vulnerable right now and could use a friend to confide in. Stacy suggests that this is the best strategy to use to keep the Trapster alive and get him to talk. Spider-Man quickly comes to Arthur’s thinking realizing that Norman Osborn hasn’t given him many choices.

Later that evening, Peter Paker is working on a paper at the Empire State University library with Mary Jane and Jill Stacy. When Peter asks Mary Jane if they can talk, Jill picks up on what’s going on and leaves so the couple can talk more privately.[5] When Peter tries to apologize to Mary Jane she gets cross with him and resigns to the fact that he is going to do whatever he wants to do anyway and she has a life to live, like studying an exam. She tells him to drop the subject before she makes him the subject of her next term paper. Later that evening, Peter goes for coffee and after Mary Jane declines an offer for a ride from Jill when she leaves. She is waiting for her husband but doesn’t hold much faith he’ll actually come back[6] As Mary Jane walks through the fog she trips but is instantly caught by Peter who has arrived wearing his Dusk costume. Mary Jane accepts Peter’s apology, telling him that the stress of everything is getting to her. However, she warns Peter to be careful, reminding him of what happened the last time he took on an alien costume.[7] She also admits she wishes that she didn’t know all about Peter’s other life. When Peter assures her that he’ll beat Norman Osborn this time but she has no choice in how he does it, Mary Jane gest upset again telling Peter that if that is the case, Norman Osborn has already won and walks away.

At that moment, in Times Square, the Trapster is walking the streets. His mind drifts back to his early days when he used his chemical expertise working for a major corporation. His revolutionary chemical adhesive made him rich, but he decided that using his skill as a costumed criminal would be more lucrative and started his criminal career, first as Paste Pot Pete and later as the Trapster. His thoughts are interrupted when he is suddenly ambushed by Dusk who tells the Trapster to come with him if he wants to live. Thinking this is an attack, the Trapster tries attacking Dusk, but this would-be ally evades his attacks. He is then ambushed yet again, this time by the Trapster. The Shocker decided to cash in on the hit put on his former partner’s head, something he will take pleasure in particularly after the Trapster allowed Spider-Man to live when they last worked together.[8] However, before the Shocker can land the killing blow, Dusk intervenes saving the Trapster’s life.

The two try to escape the Shocker, but the villain comes after them, cutting off their escape route by smashing through an electronic billboard. While the Trapster uses his paste to shield himself from the shards of glass, Dusk retreats just long enough for the Shocker to think he has abandoned his new ally. Dusk then ambushes the Shocker again, knocking him out. When the Trapster tries to kill him, Dusk convinces him that the battle is over and he should just leave the Shocker alone. As the two flee the scene, the Trapster asks Dusk why he saved his life. Dusk explains that he also has been screwed over by Norman Osborn and wants to get even and asks if the Trapster wants to help. The Trapster tells Dusk to lead the way, making Spider-Man wonder what he is getting himself into.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Mary Jane Watson, Arthur Stacy, Trapster, Shocker, The Hand

Continuity Notes

1. Spider-Man was framed for the murder of Joey-Z in Spider-Man #88. He will clear his name in Spider-Man #92. The bounty was put on his head during the Spiderhunt story arc.

2. One of the Hand ninjas mockingly calls the Trapster “Paste Pot Pete”. This is a reference to Strange Tales #104. When he first started his criminal career Peter Petruski called himself Paste Pot Pete. He later changed his name to the Trapster in Fantastic Four #34, but never lived down his original nom de plume.

3. Detective Snipes says he has come out of respect for Arthur Stacy’s brother. George Stacy was a detective with the NYPD until his death in Amazing Spider-Man #90.

4. Spider-Man was goaded into attacking Norman Osborn on camera in Spectacular Spider-Man #250. Norman then used the footage to damage Spider-Man’s reputation.

5. Peter remarks how well Jill has recovered from her gunshot wound. Jill was shot by one of Norman Osborn’s hired assassins in Spider-Man #87.

6. Peter and Mary Jane are referred to a 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.

7. Mary Jane is referring to the alien costume that Peter started wearing in Secret Wars #8. After discovering it was alive he abandoned it in Amazing Spider-Man #258. It eventually ended up in the hands of Eddie Brock who used it to become Venom, arguably one of Spider-Man’s greatest foes because he knows all of Spider-Man’s secrets. That was all explained in Amazing Spider-Man #299-300.

8. The Trapster and Shocker were hired by the Friends of Humanity to eliminate Spider-Man in Spider-Man #85-87. They were later ordered to spare the wall-crawler, unaware that Friends of Humanity leader Donovan Zane was being forced to call off the hit by the Punisher who was acting on the behalf of Norman Osborn.