Superior Foes of Spider-Man #15

Dec 2

Dec 2 Superior Foes of Spider-Man #15

Down Time

Overhearing his teammates in the Sinister Six talking shit about him, the Shocker has ambushed them. With the head of Silvermane, the Shocker pronounces himself the new crime boss in town.

Ever the schemer, Boomerang pretends to be glad that the Shocker is still alive. Since it was Fred who betrayed him to start, the Shocker kids him away. Herman then scolds them all for treating him like garbage when all he wanted was to be part of the team. The Beetle admits that the Shocker is right and blames this all on Boomerang’s leadership. However, this is all a ploy to get close enough to Herman to blast him in the head with her miniature repulsor rays. Silverman isn’t surprised this happened and when the Sinister Six begin to wonder what to do with him the disembodied cyborg mobster tries to make a quick escape.

Meanwhile, Hammerhead — shaken from seeing his boss for the first time since his alleged death[1] — has begun a therapy session. He admits that seeing Silvermane made him as scared as the two-bit thug he used to be. However, he has decided to take charge of his life and intends to stand up to Silvermane when next they meet. That’s when one of Hammerhead’s goons interrupts to tell his boss that he’s not a doctor. When he asks what happened to his usual therapist, the goon explains that everyone that has seen Hammerhead in the past has either dead or in witness protection. With nobody left, Hammerhead had his own men sit down and listen to his problems thinking this would work. When his minion points out that a mobster with a psychiatrist is kind of hackey now, Hammerhead responds by beating him senseless.

Back at the Sinister SIx’s safe house, they have cornered Silvermane and the question comes up again: Just what are they going to do with him? They know that whoever has Silvermane’s head controlls the Maggia, but none of them actually stopped to think how the process works or who to contact. Surprisingly, the Beetle is able to find the information on the internet. They are supposed to contact the Maggia and have a sit down dinner to hash out the deal. When the Beetle suggest they treat Silvermane carefully, Boomerang agrees because this is business.

While at the Owl’s hideout, the rival mobster continues to rage over the fact that his painting of Doctor Doom has been stolen. That’s when one of his men returns with one of the crooks he hired to help the Sinister Six steal it back from the Chameleon. The captured crook is Mirage and he pleads with Owl not to hurt him. Luckily, all the Owl wants to know is where he can find Fred Myers, aka Boomerang. Unfortunately, Mirage doesn’t know where Myers went to ground. That’s when the goon who brought him in reveals that he’s actually the Chameleon in disguise. He assures the Owl that Mirage is telling the truth, having already applied the necessary pressure to get it out of him. Before the Owl can shoot him in the face, the Chameleon admits that he originally hired Boomerang to steal the painting from him. However, Fred has now stolen something from the Chameleon and he suggests an alliance to get back what Boomerang stole from them.

By this time, the Beetle has drafted an e-mail to the Maggia and sent it off with a photo of Silvermane’s head. With that out of the way the Sinister Six then decide what they should do with the Shocker. They take him out to a cemetery where they put on a funeral service. The Shocker, who is not dead, pleads with his teammates not to do this. His please are ignored and after Speed Demon shuts the coffin, Overdrive uses his powers to turn a wheelbarrow into a backhoe to bury him alive. That’s when the Beetle gets a response from the Maggia asking them to meet at the riverside docks. When Boomerang suggests they celebrate with drinks, Speed Demon reminds him that they just buried a friend. Fred responds by telling them that Herman would have wanted them to be happy.

They go to a local bar to celebrate their theft of the Doctor Doom painting and stumbling upon the head of Silvermane. The festivities are interrupted when Man-Mountain Marko and a number of other villains hired by the Owl to help them steal back the Doom painting come looking for revenge after they were abandoned to the cops. When Speed Demon asks Boomerang what they should do, Fred has a simple answer: bar fight. The other villains put up one hell of a fight but the Sinister Six manage to defeat them all, something that surprises the group. Getting some bottles for the road, Boomerang congratulates his colleagues for finally fighting as a team. He tells them that he has always believed in team loyalty and that they should stick each other and stick together.

However, the moment the split up each member of the Sinister Six begins preparing to sell the others out. Overdrive meets with his old boss Mister Negative, offering him the head of Silvermane and a seat in the Maggia in exchange for clearing the debts he owes for the nano-bacteria treatments that gave him his powers. The Beetle goes to her father, offering him the Maggia spot. At first he doesn’t buy it until she shows him the picture she took of Silvermane earlier on. Tombstone is so happy he hugs his daughter. Speed Demon goes to Madame Masque to make a similar offer. When she asks why he came to her, since they have had no past affiliation, James admits that he only came to her because he thinks she is hot.

Boomerang continues to think about how he and his gang needs to stick together, seemingly unaware of the fact that the rest of the team is actively trying to betray him.

Recurring Characters

Sinister Six (Boomerang, the Beetle, Override, Shocker, Speed Demon), Silvermane, Hammerhead, the Owl, the Chameleon, Mister Negative, Tombstone, Madame Masque, Cyclone, Kangaroo, Man-Mountain Marko, Shriek, Mirage