Mutanthood's End

After stunning Spider-Man, Herbert Landon orders his men to take the wall-crawler to his lab. Incorrectly assuming that Spider-Man is a mutant, Herbert intends to use the hero as a test subject in order to fix the "mutant problem". They then carry Spider-Man to a nearby helicopter and take off. Meanwhile, the Hobgoblin is furious that Spider-Man interrupted his attempts to blackmail Landon for stealing company money. Frustrated he goes to his favorite dive bar for a drink. As he tells his sorrows to the bartenders, some other patrons begin making fun of the Hobgoblin.[1] Overhearing their jokes, the Hobgoblin loses his temper and easily trounces them. Still furious, the Hobgoblin decides to go hunting for Landon, Spider-Man and the Beast and settle scores once and for all.

Meanwhile, Landon and his men arrive at a Brand lab facility in Queens. There he confronts the Beast who had just recently been taking prisoner. The Beast tries to explain to Landon that he is Hank McCoy, but Herbert refuses to believe it.[2] At that same moment, the Hobgoblin crashes into Herbert's lab in Manhattan. Discovering that Landon isn't there, he begins searching through the files to find out where he might be. Back in Queens, Spider-Man wakes up and finds himself in a cage next to the Beast. The pair have been suspended over a vat of chemicals that will strip a mutant of their powers. Spider-Man tries to explain to Landon that he is not a mutant, but this explanation falls on deaf ears. The Beast demands to know why Landon was doing this, and Herbert responds that he was continuing Hank McCoy's work as he had convinced himself that the Beast murdered the real Hank McCoy and stole his identity. He suffered a setback when the original Brand Corporation -- a Roxxon subsidiary -- was shut down by Spider-Man.[3] However, instead of creating a cure for mutation, he really created a formula that would turn mutant DNA into cancer that will slowly kill those exposed to it.

Before Landon can drop the two heroes into the vat of chemicals, the Hobgoblin comes smashing into the lab. He blasts the Beast's cage, causing him to fall, but he is saved by one of Spider-Man's web-lines. As the two heroes struggle to get free, Landon tries to face off against the Hobgoblin. Finally free, the web-slinger tries to pull Herbert out of the way but an exploding pumpkin bomb causes them both to fall into the vat. The Beast knocks out the Hobgoblin and rushes to their aid. Although Spider-Man was protected by his costume, Herbert Landon was not so lucky as, when they emerge from the vat, he begins to transform into a monstrous form. The two heroes then subdue the mutated Landon. With the battle over, the Beast tells Spider-Man that he is going to work on a way of curing Landon so he can face justice for his crimes. With that, Spider-Man takes the Hobgoblin and takes him off to the authorities.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Beast, Hobgoblin, Herbert Landon

Continuity Notes

1. Mention is made that the Hobgoblin used to be Jack O'Lantern. He assumed this role in Machine Man #18 until he usurped the Hobgoblin identity in Amazing Spider-Man #289.

2. Hank McCoy worked for the Brand Corporation from Amazing Adventures Vol 2 #11-17.

3. The original Brand Corporation was shut down after Spider-Man exposed the fact that they transformed the Tarantula into a monster in Amazing Spider-Man #236.