X-Men and Spider-Man #2
Last Hunts
Many Years Ago…[1]
Spider-Man has just survived his final battle with Kraven the Hunter, which began with Spider-Man being shot and buried alive and ended with a battle with Vermin and Kraven himself committing suicide.[2] He has returned to Kraven’s home because he unmasked Spider-Man and wants to make sure there is no evidence that could tie Peter Parker to Spider-Man. He doesn’t find anything about him, but he does find something about the X-Men and decides to bring it to the team in Westchester, even though it is information about the original team and not the current iteration.
Storm says none of the original team are around and says that they are currently busy.[3] Wolverine tells Spider-Man that they are currently at war with a group calling themselves the Marauders who have declaired war on other mutants and they are occupied with treating the wounded and burying the dead.[4] Spider-Man understands that they have other priorities, but he tells them how Kraven kept detailed files of a battle he and the Blob had with Spider-Man and the original X-Men a few years back. He gives them the condensed version and says that at the time Kraven was hired to collect DNA samples from the X-Men. The current team still isn’t overly interested until Spider-Man mentions the guy who hired Kraven was someone called Mister Sinister. The X-Men know that Sinister is the mysterious leader who send the Marauders on their murder spree and when Kraven’s files contain the location of where he met with Sinister, the X-Men offer Spider-Man to tag along while they check it out.[5]
Spider-Man, Wolverine, Storm, Rogue, and Dazzler soon arrive Sinister’s hideout, they discover that it had been abandoned a while ago. However, Wolverine picks up the scent of his old enemy, Sabretooth. Uncovering a secret passage way, Wolverine insists they go down. When Spider-Man suggests they get the rest of the X-Men, Rogue tells him that this is the entire team, at least those who are well enough to fight. Although Spider-Man thinks this is just leading to an ordinary sewer, the X-Men recognize it as the Morlock tunnels.[6] They are soon confronted by Sabretooth and his fellow Marauders: Riptide, Scalphunter, Scrambler, Arclight, and Vertigo.
As the battle begins, Vertigo tries to use her powers to disorientate her foes. However, Spider-Man’s spider-sense helps the web-slinger take her out of the fight. He then learns that Storm can’t generate a much needed windstorm because she no longer has her powers, but this doesn’t make her harmless as she easily takes out Scrambler.[7] Between the Marauders attempting to use leathal force and witnessing Wolverine gore Sabretooth with his claws, Spider-Man thinks both sides of this battle are insane. With the tide of battle turning, the Marauders decide it’s time to escape and Arclight covers their escape by collapsing the tunnel.
Once Spider-Man and the X-Men have dug themselves free they discover a hidden chamber where Mister Sinister has been trying to clone the original X-Men, with mixed results judging for the horribly deformed husks they find. That’s when the Marauders resurface and Harpoon uses one of his energy charged weapons to blow up the lab, destroying all evidence of Sinister’s work. As the X-Men and Spider-Man flee the tunnel, Spider-Man wonders if the things they saw in the lab were still alive. Storm isn’t certain, but figures that they were put out of their misery if they were. The X-Men are unnerved by this experience, finding that every new thing they learn about Mister Sinister is more disturbing than the last. Storm assures Wolverine they’ll find this mystery menace soon enough and bring him to justice.
At that moment, Mister Sinister pays a visit to Kraven the Hunter’s grave site. He doesn’t understand why Kraven committed suicide when he had so much untapped potential. However, Sinister assures that Kraven’s legacy will live on thanks to the DNA sample he provided years ago.
Recurring Characters
X-Men (Storm, Wolverine, Rogue, Dazzler), Spider-Man, Marauders (Mister Sinister, Sabretooth, Vertigo, Riptide, Scalphunter, Arclight, Harpoon, Scrambler)
Continuity Notes
Chronologically this story takes place not long after Kraven’s Last Hunt and the Mutant Massacre story arcs. Chronologically this story takes place between Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #132 and Power Pack #33 for Spider-Man and X-Men Versus the Avengers #4 and Uncanny X-Men Annual #11 for the X-Men, or “year seven” of the Modern Age. This story takes place roughly four years after issue #1 of this series.
This, of course, was what happened during Kraven’s Last Hunt (Web of Spider-Man #31-32, Amazing Spider-Man #293-294, Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man #131-132)
At the time of this story none of the original X-Men are in contact with the current team. Unknown to everyone at this time the original X-Men are masquerading as the mutant hunting organization called X-Factor beginning in X-Factor #1.
This, as you probably guessed, is a reference to the Mutant Massacre story arc. The X-Men’s involvement in this storyline was chronicled in Uncanny X-Men #210-213 (See also: New Mutants #46, Thor #373-374, X-Factor #9-11, and Power Pack #27) Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, and Colossus were injured in the attack while the Morlocks were mostly wiped out (hence the whole massacre thing.)
At the time of this story, the X-Men had yet to meet Mister Sinister. They will finally encounter him until Uncanny X-Men #243.
It’s implied here that Sinister had been experimenting on the Morlocks. It’s later revealed in X-Men: Prime #1, that Sinister discovered someone using his own genetic techniques (the Dark Beast from the Age of Apocalypse reality of Earth-295) and this is why he ordered the Morlock’s destruction.
At the time of this story, Storm had recently been robbed of her powers by a power nullifying weapon in Uncanny X-Men #185. This remains as the status quo until her powers are restored in Uncanny X-Men #226.
