Electrical Problems!

Some Time Ago….[1]

The Fantastic Four are battling a giant mummy called Gomdulla that is terrorizing the city. As Mister Fantastic wraps his body around the mummy’s head, he instructs the Human Torch to use a nova flare to blind the monster. However, the Invisible Girl points out that this could light the monster on fire and how that’s the last thing they want to see. When Gomdulla tries to grab her and the Fantasti-Car, Sue uses a force field to protect herself. On the ground, the Thing continues to pound the monster’s ankles to little effect. That’s when Spider-Man arrives on the scene and uses his webbing to hoist the Thing up to Gomdulla’s face where he lands a knockout punch. With the danger passed, the Invisible Girl thanks Spider-Man for his help.

Later, Peter Parker turns over his pictures of the battle to J. Jonah Jameson at the Daily Bugle. Jameson thinks the pictures are worthy of the front page, but refuses to give Peter a raise even though his Aunt May’s electrical bill is coming up. Instead, he tells Parker to go out and get pictures of Spider-Man committing crimes. When Peter points out that Spider-Man was actually helping the Fantastic Four, Jameson ignores this because it doesn’t support his narrative that the web-slinger is nothing more than a menace.

The following day, Sue Storm is upset to see that Spider-Man is being called a menace when he helped them defeat Gomdulla. When she asks the other members of the Fantastic Four for their thoughts on Spider-Man, they are all dismissive about the wall-crawler. When Johnny agrees with the Bugle’s position that Spider-Man is a menace because it must be true if it’s being printed, Sue then confronts him about a twenty-six thousand dollar invoice the Fantastic Four just received from Machismo Motors. Johnny flusters for an answer, but Sue tells him to save it as she is going down to the bank and canceling the payment.

As fate would have it, both Peter Parker and Sue Storm are at the same bank branch when Electro arrives to rob it. While Peter slips away to change into Spider-Man, Sue turns invisible so she can try to ambush Electro herself. She pauses just long enough to contact the rest of the Fantastic Four to come and back her up. She then picks up a brick and tries to sneak up on Electro to knock him out. Meanwhile, Spider-Man is crawling along the ceiling and when he goes to confront Electro, he doesn’t see the Invisible Girl and accidentally knocks her out despite her attempts to warn Spider-Man that she is there. The blow knocks Sue unconscious, making her visible again. As Spider-Man checks on her, the rest of the Fantastic Four arrive and assume that Spider-Man is helping Electro rob the bank and that he just attacked Sue. This leads to a fight between Spider-Man and the Human Torch and Thing, which is further antagonized by Electro. Meanwhile, Mister Fantastic tends to the Invisible Woman. In the ensuing battle, Spider-Man is able to take down the Torch by shattering a fire hydrant. However, he has no idea how to stop the Thing and as he braces himself to receive a blow from the walking-rock pile, he is saved by an invisible force field put around him by the Invisible Girl.

Now that she is back on their feet, Sue tells the other that Spider-Man hit her by accident while they were both trying to stop Electro. They quickly find the villain, who is still hiding in the bank, and when he tries to zap them Sue is able to protect everyone with force fields. Sue then pins Electro’s feet with another force field allowing Spider-Man to knock Electro out with a single punch. In the aftermath of the battle, Sue apologizes for her teammates attacking him since they bought into the Daily Bugle’s bad press instead of remembering how the web-slinger helped them defeat Gomdulla earlier. Spider-Man is touched and as he leaves, he figures it was a good enough day despite the brawl with half of the Fantastic Four. However, when Peter Parker returns home he discovers that the electricity has been cut off, which is ironic because he was prevented from paying Aunt May’s electrical bill because Electro attacked the bank.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Electro, Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Girl, Human Torch, Thing), Gomdulla, J. Jonah Jameson, Betty Brant

Continuity Notes

1. This story takes place during early on in the career of both Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four happening around Amazing Spider-Man #14. Per the Marvel Chronology Project this story takes place between Spider-Man’s appearance in Tales to Astonish #57 and a flashback from Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America - Spider-Man #1. The Fantastic Four appear here between the events of Fantastic Four #28 and 29.

Namesake

Venom grabs a newspaper from someone off the street because the headline caught his eye. He is surprised to see that there is a new female Scorpion on the scene and, worse, that she is a hero.[1]

At that moment, the Scorpion is furious at her SHIELD handler, Derek Khanata, for sending her in a battle against opponents using live rounds. She thought that he was setting up fake battles so she could infiltrate the underground network of unregistered superheroes.[2] Khanata explains that in order to make her seen like a believable group they have been sending her after real targets that have a high enough profile to get the media’s attention. That’s when Noriko Nagayoshi tells them that someone calling themselves “namesake” on the capisright.org message board asking for Scorpion to meet with her.

Thinking that this is their connection to the underground, the Scorpion follows the directions to the meeting place in Tryon Park. When she arrives, Scorpion’s SHIELD handlers warn her to be careful. However, she is unconcerned, reminding them that she once took on the Hulk, but they reminder her that he only defeated him after the monster reverted back to Bruce Banner.[3] Under a bridge, she is attacked by Venom, who tells her that she took his name and he has come to take it back. Since Venom refers to himself by his real name, Mac Gargan, the operatives at SHIELD are able to pull up his file and tell the Scorpion that Gargan previously operated under the Scorpion name before becoming the latest host to the Venom symbiote. They also tell her that the symbiote is vulnerable to loud noises and fire.

Spotting a nearby church, the Scorpion lures Venom to the Cloisters Church just outside of the park. However, as she tries to get up to the bell tower, Venom snares her in his webbing. Suddenly, her body — which processes toxins to create her deadly scorpion stings — reacts in a strange way, creating a nano-symbiote to help her fight Venom. She easily overpowers him, but the nano-symbiote created by her body quickly crumbles to dust. The symbiote, fearing for its life, convinces Gargan that it is time to flee. With the battle over, Khanata tells the Scorpion that the police will handle things from there. She congratulates the Scorpion for a job well done, pointing out that most people try living up to their namesake, while she beat the crap out of hers.

Recurring Characters

Scorpion, Venom, SHIELD (Derek Khanata, Noriko Nagayoshi, Ayna Sareva)

Continuity Notes

1. A few facts about this story right out of the gates:

   • Venom, aka Mac Gargan, was the original Scorpion operating under that identity from Amazing Spider-Man #20 until he bonded with the Venom symbiote in Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #9.

   • Carmilla Black became the heroic Scorpion in Amazing Fantasy (vol. 2) #7.

   • The narrative states that this story takes place before Civil War: Choosing Sides #1. Prior to this Venom was a villain until he was captured by the Thunderbolts and joined their team in order to avoid prison time.

2. This story takes place during Civil War #1-7, which saw the superhero community torn in half after the United States government passed a law that required superheroes to register with the government. The underground network of heroes the Scorpion is referencing here is the one organized by Captain America to fight against the Super-Human Registration Act.

3. Scorpion’s battle with the Hulk happened in Incredible Hulk (vol. 2) #87.