Shadowgames

Swinging through the city, Spider-Man is suddenly ambushed by a team of super-powered individuals calling themselves Shadowforce.[1] The group includes flying energy projector known as Airraid, the size-changing Oversize, the air solidifying Hardtime, the feral Ambush. The wall-crawler avoids all their attacks, but as he swings away, he slams into some solidified air thrown up by Hardtime. As he recovers from the impact, Spider-Man thinks back to how he found himself in this situation...

Earlier:

Peter Parker was running late and had to web-sling across the city in order to get to the Boys Club on time to meet up with Flash Thompson to teach the kids about his job. When he arrives he learns that Flash went out to try and convince Spider-Man to come in, telling the kids that the wall-crawler is much cooler than Peter Parker. As he begins his demonstration, Peter is interrupted when Flash returns. That's when one of the kids looked out the window and saw the members of Shadowforce on the rooftop across the street. As they are hunting for the wall-crawler, Peter told Flash that he needed to go and take pictures of this for the Daily Bugle. In reality, he was slipping away to change into Spider-Man again.

Now:

A Spider-Man pulls out of his fall, he sees that Flash Thompson has come out with the Boy's Club kids to take photos. He swings by to scold Flash, telling him the kids to get to safety. The momentary distraction allows Oversize to grab the wall-crawler's web-line. That's when Hardline spots people taking photos of the battle and reports back to his superiors at Shadowbase. His commanding officer informs Hardline to stick to their mission and they will handle the photographers. Meanwhile, Spider-Man is dodging out of the way of a gun-toting Shadowforce member known as Firefight. In order get out of the line of fire, Spider-Man swings into proximity of the last member of Shadowforce, the power-mimicking Mirrorshade. Not only does Mirrorshade begin adapting Spider-Man's appearance and abilities, it also picks up the wall-crawler's thoughts. It particularly focuses on Spider-Man's thought about wanting to kill Flash Thompson. This distracts Spider-Man long enough for Airborn to strike the web-spinner with tranquilizer darts. Shadowforce takes Spider-Man prisoner and flies away.

Seeing the capture, Flash Thompson takes the photos to the Daily Bugle to also get some help. However, Joe Robertson tells Flash that he has to develop the photos before he decides to print a story about the battle. Realizing that this is getting him nowhere, Flash storms out, wondering what to do next since the cops didn't believe him either. On his way out, Flash asks the secretary if Peter Parker has been around, and is told that he hasn't been by the office recently. Instead, Flash gets the phone book and uses the Bugle's phone to place some calls. He tries calling the Avengers and the Fantastic Four, but neither group are around.[2] He then tries to contact X-Factor, even though they are located in Washington, D.C. When the operator asks if the people who kidnapped Spider-Man were mutants, Flash insists that they were to ensure that X-Factor comes to investigate the kidnapping.

Soon, X-Factor arrives in New York City, they begin searching the scene of the battle for clues. Strong Guy is unhappy with this duty, because he would rather fight super-villains, not search for them. Havok reminds them that this is a job, not a hobby and to stick to the task at hand. While Wolfsbane finds hair samples, Polaris pulls some metal debris that may have fingerprints pressed into them. Sending the data to Forge back in Washington, he comes back with the records of six incarcerated criminals. Havok wonders what if they broke out of prison, and if so, why their records have not been updated. Meanwhile, at the Daily Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson and Joe Robertson go over the photos that they got from Flash Thompson. Just as they decide to run with the story, they are interrupted by two government agents. They demand that Jameson not publish the story, citing natural security reasons. Jonah refuses to be intimidated, telling the men that he is more determined to run with the story since he is being threatened by the government.

Meanwhile, Spider-Man wakes up on an examination table in a lab and breaks free from his restraints. Before the technicians can seal the lab, the wall-crawler knocks them out. Sneaking around the facility, Spider-Man finds the members of Shadowforce asleep in another lab. Wanting to know what is going on, Spider-Man finds the database and knocks out the guard and begins hacking into the database. While back at X-Factor's temporary headquarters, Forge tries to learn more about these six missing convicts. Although he is stonewalled by government officials, Forge manages to hack into their database. At this point, Spider-Man has managed to break into Shadowbase's computers. He learns that they are a secret government project called Project: Homegrown. Using data on the creation of Captain America, the Fantastic Four, and the Hulk.[3] He also learns that the project is under the command of General Macauley Sharpe. Keeping this project a secret, Sharpe used convicts as test subjects. Unfortunately, they have not found a way to stabilize the process, so the members of Shadowforce wears specially made harnesses to temporarily give them power. Wanting permanent results, Sharpe began deploying Shadowforce to capture super-heroes in order to learn how their powers work.[4]

After he finished going through the records, Spider-Man makes a copy of the data. He then notices Mirrorshade in one of the security monitors. Saying he wants to kill Flash Thompson, the Shadowforce member leaps out a nearby window. Before Spider-Man can go after him, and stop him from killing Flash, X-Factor comes smashing through the wall. The group's entry alert General Sharpe who wakes up Shadowforce and orders them to kill them all. Caught in the crossfire, Spider-Man wonders what he should do next.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, X-Factor (Havok, Polaris, Strong Guy, Multiple Man, Wolfsbane, Forge), Flash Thompson, J. Jonah Jameson, Joe Robertson, Shadowforce (Airborne, Ambush, Oversize, Hardtime, Firefight, Mirrorshade), Macauly Sharpe

Continuity Notes

1. The narrative of this story states that this story takes place prior to X-Factor #100. Chronologically speaking, this story occurs after X-Factor #95. The reason why this is mentioned is that this story was published after X-Factor #100 was issued. In that story, the Multiple Man appeared to die of the Legacy Virus.

2. At the time of this story, the Avengers are in Genosha as seen in the Bloodties event.

3. Captain America, the Fantastic Four, and the Hulk all got their powers in Captain America Comics #1, Fantastic Four #1, and Incredible Hulk #1 respectively.

4. Among the heroes on Shadowforce's records include the Thing who is wearing a mask here. This is because, at the time of this story, his face was scarred by Wolverine in Fantastic Four #374. His face ultimately gets healed in Fantastic Four #409.