Brooklyn Avengers Part One

In Brooklyn, New York, an elderly woman is returning from shopping when she suddenly collapses dead on the sidewalk. One of the witnesses is a telepath named Psi, who sends out a warning to his allies, telling them that it has happened again and that someone is killing the Brooklyn Avengers.

Later, in Manhattan, Spider-Man is busting a ridiculous criminal named King Bee. The web-slinger is briefly distracted by Psi who asks Spider-Man if he remembers him. Unfortunately, Spider-Man does and this momentary distraction allows the King Bee to make a run for it. Psi tries to help by using his telekinetic powers, but his lack of skill ends up sending Spider-Man flying into his foe. Luckily, the force of the collision knocks King Bee out long enough for Spider-Man to web him up.

When Psi mentions that the Brooklyn Avengers need his help, Spider-Man thinks back to how he was once a member of this group. This was during his early days as Spider-Man. He was approached by Psi and his brother Fi and asked to join the group. At the time, the official Avengers hadn’t been around very long and the novice Spider-Man assumed that this group was a franchise affiliated with the actual group.[1] Spider-Man discovered that these Avengers were nothing like the official team with powers that were almost useless. Their roster included Psi and Fi brothers who had mental powers, Rotary who could spin any object, the Hypst’r who had the power of mesmerism, Paintball who could generate bursts of paint, Mints who had the ability to turn candy into weapons, and lastly Boilermaker who could intuitively repair any machine. Apparently, the group all lived in the same brownstone in Brooklyn. One day, their landlord read about a bedbug infestation plaguing the city and hired exterminators to fumigate his building. The only problem was that the landlord failed to inform his tenants and they were all exposed to radioactive bedbug spray.

Now Spider-Man is swinging Psi back to Brooklyn. He asks Psi if this is more than a social call. Psi tells the web-slinger that he thinks that someone is picking the Brooklyn Avengers off one-by-one. In the last few days, both Rotary and Mint died, and Psi suspects foul play. Spider-Man points out that Rotary and Mint were already in their twilight years. Psi ignores this and points out the brownstone that serves as their team’s headquarters. Spider-Man finds that the years have not been kind to the Brooklyn Avengers. He is surprised to see how Paintball grew up, recalling how he had a crush on her back in the day until her behavior scared him off. He also learns that their brownstone is the only stand-out in a neighborhood gentrification plan and their home is falling apart, mostly because their super-intendant is Boilermaker, and she hasn’t been able to fix much lately. Hypst’r also says that they haven’t fought crime in years and he only bothered to put on his costume because Psi begged him to do so.

This is when Psi once again says they need to find the person who killed Rotary and Mint. When Spider-Man tries again to make Psi see reason, Fi pulls him aside. He tells the web-head that his brother hasn’t been struggling with depression and hasn’t worked in a year. He figures his brother needs this. Spider-Man reluctantly agrees to help. Fi uses his powers to bring his computer up to the roof so they can look through the files they have kept on their rogue’s gallery to see who might be responsible for the murders. Unfortunately, Boilermaker accidentally knocks the computer over, smashing it to pieces. Luckily, Paintball kept a scrab book and the look it over.

The first villain they look at is Facelift, the first foe they fought after Spider-Man joined the team. Spider-Man vividly remembers the Brooklyn Avengers being pretty useless, and he ended up busting Facelift in a matter of seconds.[2] Facelift is written off because he apparently died in a prison forklift accident. The next on the list is Red Hook. The team fought him not long after he was laid off from his job working the docks. He then terrorized his former place of employment with some really sharp hooks. When Red Hook tried to flee in a boat, most of the team stupidly ended up falling off a pier, leaving Spider-Man to bag him again.[3] However, Hypst’r tells them that he ran into Red Hook recently and learned he ended up finding religion while in prison and now helps underprivileged children. The next on their list was a small-time mobster named Jerry Mander. Spider-Man remembers this battle taking place in a children’s park. After saving the rest of the team from a hail of bullets and webbing up Jerry and his gang, Spider-Man had enough and quit the team.[4] Luckily, nobody focuses on this. Instead, Fi recalls that Jerry Mander is now borough president.

When Spider-Man sarcastically suggests they go to his office to question him, the Brooklyn Avengers take it seriously. As it turns out, Jerry Mander’s office operates out of an Italian restaurant. However, when they question him, Jerry is only interested in getting Spider-Man to endorse him when he tries running for mayor in a few years. It quickly becomes clear that Jerry is not responsible and they soon leave empty-handed. Psi insists they keep looking into Jerry Mander, but Spider-Man decides enough is enough. He tells Psi that the Brooklyn Avengers weren’t around long enough to rack up enemies and tries to get him to see the truth: That Rotary and Mints died of old age. Psi is hurt by this and walks off without another word.

Feeling bad for being so harsh, Spider-Man returns to the Brooklyn Avengers brownstone for a cup of Hypst’r’s funny tasting tea.* Suddenly, Fi is struck by a painful telepathic distress call from his brother. When they race down to the street, they find Psi dead with a red hook jutting out of his chest, making Spider-Man think that there might be someone killing off the Brooklyn Avengers after all.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Brooklyn Avengers (Psi, Fi, the Hypst’r, Boilermaker, Paintball, Mints, Rotary)

Continuity Notes

This issue is part of the 50th anniversary of Spider-Man. Previously canceled Spider-Man titles were briefly brought back with new .1 issues that continue where the series left off. This issue takes its numbering from the first volume of Web of Spider-Man which ended after 129 issues in 1995. However, this story takes place in the era in which it was published. Per the Marvel Chronology Project, this story follows the events of Peter Parker: Spider-Man #156.1

1. Per the MCP, Spider-Man was approached to join the Brooklyn Avengers after the events of Untold Tales of Spider-Man #2. Which took place around the time the Avengers first formed in Avengers #1. Per the Sliding Timescale, Spider-Man’s short-lived stint with the Brooklyn Avengers happened roughly 12 years prior to the main story.

2. The MCP places the Brooklyn Avengers battle with Facelift as happening after the events of Amazing Spider-Man #7.

3. The Red Hook battle took place between a flashback from Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #20, and Untold Tales of Spider-Man #4.

4. The Jerry Mander battle happened between Avengers #3 and Amazing Spider-Man #9.

* Probably because it’s laced with magic mushrooms. Don’t drink it Spidey!