The Most Dangerous Player

Sent on a gauntlet against 99 villains, Spider-Man has found himself aboard a submarine. There he finds Nitro strapped into the sub’s nuclear power supply in the hopes of finally ending his life for good. Moments before Nitro explodes, Spider-Man manages to escape out a torpedo tube and is launched to safety as the submarine explodes.

Spider-Man swims to shore and exhausted from his ordeal blacks out on the tropical beach. When he wakes up, he finds himself in a bed in a luxury hotel room. His first thought, other than this being a weird place to wake up, is of Mary Jane even though they have broken up.[1] When he goes down to the hotel lobby, he is upset to see Kraven the Hunter is behind the front desk. Spider-Man is still exhausted and asks if they can fight another time. However, Kraven insists that the hunt must go on. Suddenly, the room beings to shake and moments later the Rhino, the Scorpion, and the Jackal all come crashing through the front door. Spider-Man grabs a bit stick and hits the Rhino across the face, but realizes that he is outnumbered and tries to run.

The Scorpion attempts to follow him but Kraven shoots him dead. Spider-Man is then ambushed by the Iguana, who is also shot dead by Kraven. Spider-Man then flees into the jungle outside the hotel where he hides out until night time. He is found by the Owl, who tells him that Kraven has gone insane and that the only way out is getting a boat moored on an adjacent island. However, Spider-Man won’t make it through the jungle alive with Kraven out there so the Owl tries to fly him there instead. Unfortunately, they are spotted along the way and the Owl takes a bullet through the shoulder. Spider-Man ends up falling into the jungle below, the fall knocking him out.

When he wakes up he makes it to the other side of the jungle, but discovers he is entirely out of web-fluid. This is when Kraven catches up to him and refuses to back down, calling Spider-Man on his bluff that he called on allies to help him. When Kraven lunges at the web-slinger, he easily leaps out of the way and knocks him out. He soon finds the boat the Owl was speaking of and uses it to leave the island. After hours at sea, Spider-Man comes to shore in Malta, although he mistakes it for Morocco. As he looks for help on the mainland he is shot in the back of the head by a sniper.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man

Continuity Notes

1. Peter and Mary Jane dated on-and-off for years dating back to Amazing Spider-Man #42. At the time of this story, the pair had broken it off — seemingly for good — circa Amazing Spider-Man #545.