Superior Foes of Spider-Man #3
A New Sheriff in Town
Boomerang decides it’s now time to talk about SIlvermane. Silvio Silvermane was the leader of the Maggia and an old time mobster with roots tracing back to Sicily. However, age began to catch up with him and he tried everything to prolong his life and eventually created a cybernetic body for himself.[1] Some time later, Silvermane ended up in a gang-war with the Owl and his gang. This took place in a junk yard and Silvermane ended up getting dumped into a car crusher.[2] Although Silvermane was considered dead a rumor persists that Silvermane’s head managed to get free and survived. It’s now believed that whoever controls the head of Silvermane controls the Maggia.
Boomerang has since heard a rumor that Silverman’s head was found by son of the scrap yard owner who took it home to build a new robot body. At first, Silvermane tried to get away from this kid but eventually came to enjoy his new life and befriended the little boy. He eventually taught the boy and his mother how to protect their family business from local hoods. Given a new body of sorts — a radio controlled monster truck — Silvermane learned to love being part of a real family. However, Fred Myers knows this is bullshit as he knows that Silvermane’s haid was actually taken by the Owl who keeps it locked away so nobody can see it. He figures that the reason why the Owl doesn’t use Silvermane to take control of the Maggia is because he enjoys the bloodshed caused by organized crime. He also believes that nobody is looking for him because everything secretly though Silvermane was an asshole.
Fred moves away from this subject to talk about something else. Mach-VII, his new parole officer and someone he hates with a fucking passion. He meets with Abner at a diner for breakfast and Jenkins tries to convince Fred that they were friends back in their days with the Sinister Syndicate.[3] Fred points out that Abner — aka the Beetle back in those days — once got him arrested and they are not friends.[4] Abner wants to look past their differences and help Fred get his life on track, saying that he is the pilot project to a new type of parole program that takes a softer approach to reforming criminals. Abner wanted to help Fred because of their past history.
This causes Fred to think about thier past. He recalls how they were in the Sinister Syndicate together and this led to a rivalry in which the Beetle double crossed him on more than a few occasions. He also remembers how the Beetle joined up with the Masters of Evil when they posed as superheroes calling themselves the Thunderbolts. At that time, Abner retired his Beetle costume and became Mach-I.[5] The crazy thing is, Abner Jenkins actually reformed. While Boomerang, in principal, doesn’t mind a crook going straight because that means more loot for the rest, he cannot stand it when they becomes heroes because he views that as betrayal. He also hates Mach-VII’s costume because it makes him look like a dildo.
As they leave the diner, Abner asks about other crooks they used to work with and learns that they are either in jail or dead.[6] While Abner stops for a photo-op with some fans, he tells Fred that people in their line of work doesn’t retire and asks him to meet with some people he knows. He then hands Myers his business card and asks him to call anytime he needs some advice before taking off. As he departs he knows that Fred can be a hero, in fact he’s seen it before. Fred knows Abner is talking about the time Boomerang was a member of the government sponsored version of the Thunderbolts. While this is true, Fred only joined the group because it got him out of a 20-year sentence at the Raft.[6] He only did it to save his own ass and is glad that he is with a crew of people who get him.
However, Fred is in for a shock when he returns to the Sinister Six’s hideout and learns that they want to fire him as their leader. This is because he has a super-hero as a parole officer. Fred tries to defend himself pointing out everything from his experience and the fact that a group called the Sinister Six can’t just have four people.[8] He also points out how he stood up to the Punisher the other day while the rest of them ran for it. The Shocker, who knows the truth, is about to speak up but decides to keep quiet when Fred challenges him. When he tells them they need him for the heist to get Silvermane’s head, the Beetle proves they don’t by presenting a map Fred provided of the Owl’s hideout with a big red X showing where the head is being kept.
Realizing he doesn’t have a leg to stand on, Myers goes to a bar to drink his sorrows away. He eventually calls Mach-VII. Abner is glad Fred call and he takes him to a church basement where a Vill-Anon meeting is taking place. Seeing all the d-list super-villains who are present convinces Fred that he’s in hell. He takes a cup of coffee offered by the Hippo and spikes it with his flask before sitting down for the meeting.
The first speaker is Desmond Charne, aka Mirage. He tells them about the incident that turned him to crime. He was in love with a woman named Amy. One day they were terrorized by Fin Fang Foom, who grabbed Amy. Luckily, Thor and Iron Man came and saved the day. However, Desmond’s inaction spelled the end of their relationship because she started fetishizing Iron Man to the point where he had to wear a helmet in bed with her. Furious, Desmond became Mirage and started a life of crime, figuring it would help him score with the ladies since women like a bad boy. He remembers how his first caper, robbing a wedding, turned out to be a disaster when Spider-Man arrived and stopped him.[9]
His super-villain career was failure after failure nothing stuck until the day that Mirage was among the villains massacre by the Scourge of the Underworld at the Bar With No Name.[10] His only claim to fame after was that Captain America disguised himself as Mirage in order to bring Scourge down.[11] He cheated death when the Hood used magic to bring all of the Sourge’s victims to eliminate the Punisher.[12] However, not long into his second chance of life he was shot three times in the head by the vigilante.[13] Somehow, Mirage came back to life again in the hospital. Now this is his third chance and nobody knows he is still alive and nobody cares. The other villains pull Desmond into a group hug and with the Hippo forcing Fred to join in.
After the meeting, Mach-VII takes Fred on top of a bridge to talk about the meeting. Fred admits that it hit close to home and he has been thinking about a clean break. This is all bullshit because Fred just wants revenge against the Sinister Six. So he tells them about the Six’s job to steal Silvermane’s head and asks if he could tip off some heroes so it doesn’t look like he snitched. Mach-VIII says he knows someone to call. Later that night, the Sinister Six’s mission is interrupted when Luke Cage and Iron Fist come crashing through the wall.
Recurring Characters
Sinister Six (Boomerang, Beetle, Overdrive, Shocker, Speed Demon), Mach-VII, Mirage, Porcupine, Doctor Bong, Hippo, Silvermane, the Owl, Hammerhead, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Inspector, (in flashback) Fin Fang Foom, Thor, Iron Man
Continuity Notes
Boomerang mentions how Silverman first tried an anti-aging formula before switching to a cybernetic body. The facts:
Silvermane originally attempted to regain his lost youth using a formula from the Lifeline Tablet. Unfortunately for him it caused Silvermane to age into nothingness. Luckily, the process was only temporary and he snapped back to that of an elderly man, all be it not quite as elderly as before. See Amazing Spider-Man #73-75 and Daredevil #123.
Silvermane later cheated his impending death by obtaining a cybernetic body in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #70.
For more on Silvermane’s apparent demise see Amazing Spider-Man #618-620.
Boomerang and the Beetle were founding members of the Sinister Syndicate back in Amazing Spider-Man #280.
Boomerang and Beetle’s rivalry was documented in Deadly Foes of Spider-Man #1-4 and Lethal Foes of Spider-Man #1-4.
Abner Jenkins was the Beetle form Strange Tales #123 until he became Mach-I and joined the Thunderbolts in Thunderbolts #1. Although he joined the group to secretly take over the world while posing as heroes, he legitimately reformed when this plan fell through and continued being a hero.
Abner refers to the crooks as “Jimmy” and the “guy with the antennae”. “Jimmy” could be a bunch of different guys. The only guy with the “antennae” that was dead at the time of this story was Humbug, who died in Heroes for Hire (vol. 2) #15. However, to date there haven’t been any stories where Boomerang and Beetle worked with Humbug, so I guess if this is who they were referring to then perhaps this is a previously untold story.
Boomerang joined the government sponsored Thunderbolts in Thunderbolts #156, eventually leaving the team when it disbanded in Dark Avengers #183.
There is a lot of references made during this bickering session, let’s deal with them all at once:
It’s mentioned here that Mach-VII is no longer a member of the Thunderbolts. He left the team in Dark Avengers #183.
Speed Demon points out that Mach-VII skipped calling himself Mach-VI. Each time Abner upgraded his equipment he changed his name to reflect each iteration of armor. He started off as Mach-I (Incredible Hulk #449), Mach-II (Thunderbolts #37), Mach-III (Thunderbolts #57), Mach-IV (New Thunderbolts #1), Mach-V (Thunderbolts #144). He has not operated under the name Mach-VI. More recently, following this series, he skipped ahead and started calling himself Mach-X in Thunderbolts (vol. 3) #1.
It’s point out that Jenkins had never been a member of the Defenders. That’s not entirely accurate. When he was the Beetle he joined a group of villains who posed as the Defenders in Defenders #63-65 until their heroic counterparts busted them.
Boomerang states that the then-current team of Defenders were all women. He is referring to the group that was active from Defenders (vol. 4) #1-12. However, the assessment that the group is all women is not accurate in the slightest.
Demond made the mistake of trying to hold up the wedding of Betty Brant and Ned Leeds back in Amazing Spider-Man #156. Pro-tip: never rob a wedding when one of the bride and groom’s besties is a super-hero, as was the case here since Betty was friends with Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man.
Mirage was killed along with 17 other villains who were murdered by Scourge in Captain America #319.
Captain America later captured Scourge by disguising himself as Mirage in Captain America #320.
Mirage was resurrected by the Hood in Punisher (vol. 7) #5.
The Punisher put three bullets in Mirage’s head in Punisher: In the Blood #2.
Topical References
Dated pop-culture references: Fight Club
