You’re Rubber, I’m Glue

Spider-Man is trying to take a break and eat some lunch when some boys spot him and begin asking him questions about who he is stronger than. They then start asking Spider-Man about his powers and intelligence. When the web-slinger says he’s pretty smart, the two boys begin mocking him. That’s when he hears an explosion and is relieved that he has an excuse to get away from these kids.

He soon finds Electro attempting to rob a bank and immediately begins mocking him. However, Electro says he is prepared for Spider-Man this time and his powers are being boosted by an AIM power pack. Unfortunately, Spider-Man can figure this out for himself and quickly pulls the power pack off with his webbing. Electro then hurls a bolt of electricity at the wall-crawler but he uses the AIM device to deflect the blast, destroying the device. This also stuns Spider-Man. Electro then prepares to land a killer blow but the exploding power pack has caused the fire sprinklers in the bank to go off. Shorted out, Electro makes his escape.

Meanwhile, Spider-Man finds it difficult to pull himself off the ground because his clinging abilities won’t let go forcing him to pull chunks of the floor off with is hands and feet. Web-slinging is no easier a feat as Spider-Man ends up sticking to everything, including his own webbing and ends up slamming into the side of a building.

By the time he gets home, Spider-Man locks himself in his room while he looks for a way to reverse this condition. When Mary Jane comes home and asks to come in, Peter tries to hide his condition but has to let her in when she hears a dog barking.[1] She gets a good laugh when she sees all the things that are stuck on Spider-Man, including a small poodle. Mary Jane then helps Spider-Man peel everything off his body. As she cuts the poodle loose she suggests that he goes to the Avengers of the Fantastic Four for help. However, Peter insists that he can resolve this situation himself, and doesn’t want to go running to either group for help again. That’s when he sees another explosion and relieved he can leave this conversation as well.

When Spider-Man catches up to Electro this time, he’s in the middle of a fight with the Thing and Human Torch of the Fantastic Four. Joining the fight, Spider-Man ends up getting stuck to the Thing, but he turns this new humiliation into a victory by shifting the Thing around so Electro is pinned under Ben Grimm’s rocky hide. Mister Fantastic then appears before them via a holographic projection and tells Spider-Man that he has been monitoring the situation from the Negative Zone and has come up with a solution and has dispatched his son Franklin to help reverse Spider-Man’s condition. Thinking this is hilarious, the Human Torch speeds off to get a camera so he can take a picture of this scene before it gets undone.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Mary Jane Watson, Electro, Fantastic Four (Thing, Human Torch, Mister Fantastic)

Continuity Notes

1. Mary Jane asks Peter if he gave himself six arms again. This is a reference to Amazing Spider-Man #100-102 when, in an attempt to remove his powers, Spider-Man grew four extra arms instead.

Topical References

• Reed states that his Personal Digital Assistant came up with a solution and that this is the device that Franklin is bringing. This should be considered a topical reference as PDAs are considered obsolete due to the proliferation of smartphones that can carry out many of the same functions.

Amnesiac

A man wakes up in an alleyway with a huge head wound with no memory of who he is, or how he got there. Checking his pockets the man finds his wallet and learns that his name is Michael Hotham and a number of basic facts about who he is. Trying to ignore his pain, Hotham gets up and leaves the alley. Starting to panic, he walks down the street, as the other pedestrians give him wide berth instead of trying to help. Spotting an ambulance in the distance, Michael tries to reach it but doesn’t have the energy. Falling to his knees, Michael looks up and spots Spider-Man swinging by and it akes all of his strength to muster up the energy to shout at the wall-crawler for help.

Spider-Man finds Michael’s amnesia story incredible to believe and is shocked when he asks to be taken to the police. Spider-Man takes the injured man to the spot where the ambulance is up the street. There he finds the police gathering evidence at the murder scene. Spider-Man hands “Michael” over to the cops who then arrest him. As it turns out, this man was not Michael Hotham at all, but a mugger who killed the real Michael Hotham in order to rob him. As the killer is being booked and shoved into a squad car, Spider-Man theorizes that the thief must have run into a lamp post and causing his injury and in his confusion was convinced that he was his own victim.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man

Continuity Notes

1. Michael Hothman's drivers license states that he was born in July 1973. The date should be considered a topcial reference. Modern readers should interpret this to mean that Hothman is around 32 years old at the time of this story (as opposed to being born on a specific date.)