Spider-Man and His Fearsome Frenemies

The news has been reporting non-stop about how Spider-Man has recently recruited the former members of the Sinister Six to help in his war on crime. This raises concerns across the city from Captain America, Mayor J. Jonah Jameson, SHIELD director Maria Hill, the current Sinister Six, and NYPD’s Carlie Cooper.[1] With the latest footage of Spider-Man and his Superior Six fighting a Hydra Dreadnaught, the press asks the question: What’s next for Spider-Man and his new team?[2]

While at Spider-Man’s secret hideout under Battery Park, Electro vows to kill the wall-crawler once he and his allies finally get free. As Mysterion protests his inclusion on the team, the Chameleon notes that Spider-Man is acting totally contrary to how he has acted in the past.[3] Spider-Man suggests they look at themselves in the mirror before judging him. He then dismisses their concerns so he can focus on examining Alchemax’s Quantum Particle Engine to find out why the Wrecking Crew would want to steal it. He determines that it could teleport matter in a destructive fashion. That’s when one of Spider-Man’s alarms alerts him of a crime in progress, he tells the Superior Six to get ready.

Meanwhile, Selah Burke is woken up by her alarm at 8 am. After getting ready she attends classes. At lunchtime, she tries to check in with her father and he tells her that he is too busy to talk. Soon it’s 1:30 and Selah goes out on patrol as Sun Girl. Listening to the police scanner she hears an APB about a crime in progress in the Bronx. Going there, she finds Whirlwind on the rampage. When Sun Girl confronts him he tells her to get lost. That’s when, as Whirlwind was hopping, Spider-Man and the Superior Six arrive. As it turns out, this was all a trap set up by the Masters of Evil, which includes the Absorbing Man, Titania, the Wrecking Crew, Mister Hyde, and Blackout. Seeing the sheer number of villains that have been gathered, Spider-Man realizes that this is nothing more than a diversion.

He’s not wrong, as at that moment Lightmaster has arrived outside of Parker Industries. As the battle rages at the Bronx, Spider-Man realizes that his Superior Six are outmatched by the sheer numbers and power of the Masters of Evil. He summons one of his spider-walkers from Spider-Island, but it is quickly taken down by the Absorbing Man and Titania. With the Superior Six fairing poorly, Spider-Man decides it time to break off from the battle and head back to Parker Industries. However, he has to go back and save Sun Girl when she foolishly fires her light weapon at the fuel truck thrown at her by Thunderball. That’s when Lightmaster arrives with the QPE and tells Spider-Man that it is too late. Spider-Man can’t believe that the Masters of Evil is being led by such a pathetic excuse for a villain. Sun Girl on the other hand are shocked to see Lightmaster for reasons that are all her own. As Spider-Man tries to convince the Masters that Lightmaster couldn’t possibly pay them, the villain recognizes Sun Girl as his daughter.

This creates the distraction that Spider-Man needs to recover the QPE. He then orders the Superior Six to keep the Masters of Evil at bay while Lightmaster and Sun Girl match their powers against one another. However, between the two, Sun Girl proves to be more powerful. With the QPE back in his grasp, but needs one last diversion to get away from the Masters of Evil. Spider-Man orders Sun Girl to blast the QPE and her powers teleport Spider-Man, Sun Girl, Lightmaster and the Superior Six to another location. Spider-Man is slow to notice that they are on a beach and before he can be prepared the Sandman snaps free of his mental control and uses the sand to increase his size. Spider-Man realizes to his horror that the Superior Six are now free from his control.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Superior Six (Chameleon, Electro, Mysterio, Sandman, Vulture), Sun Girl, Masters of Evil (Lightmaster, Absorbing Man, Blackout, Mr. Hyde, Titania, Wrecking Crew (Wrecker, Bulldozer, Thunderball, Piledriver), Whirlwind), Carlie Cooper, Captain America, Edwin Jarvis, Maria Hill, Phil Coulson, Sinister Six (Boomerang, Beetle, Override, Shocker, Speed Demon), Dreadnaught, Baron Strucker

Continuity Notes

1. Here’s why this cast of characters are so concerned:

   • Generally speaking, everyone has become concerned about Spider-Man due to his brutalizing Boomerang (Superior Spider-Man #1), the Vulture (issue #3), as well as Screwball and the Jester (issue #6). He also killed Massacre as seen in Superior Spider-Man #5-6.

   • Captain America has been concerned about Spider-Man’s activities to the point that the Avengers put him on probation. See Superior Spider-Man #8.

   • J. Jonah Jameson refers to Spider-Man as a blackmailer here because when he gave Spider-Man orders to kill the Spider-Slayer, Spider-Man recorded the incriminating request and threatened to leak it to the public unless Jonah played ball with him in the future, see Superior Spider-Man #11-13.

   • Maria Hill asks Phil Coulson to review the footage of the Chameleon escaping SHIELD custody. Spider-Man broke the Chameleon out in Avenging Spider-Man #20-21.

   • This is a concern to Carlie Cooper because she has been investigating Spider-Man since he beat the Vulture in Superior Spider-Man #3.

2. It’s interesting to note that Baron Strucker is depicted in the bottom left of the one-page splash of the Superior Six fighting the Dreadnaught. This is because, when Strucker was last seen, he was killed in Secret Warriors #27. His apparent resurrection was later confirmed in All-New All-Different Marvel Point One #1. At the time of this writing (December 2020), it is not explained how Baron Strucker was restored for life.

3. Mysterion points out that he is not the real Mysterio. He is actually bought the “franchise” from Roderick Kingsley since the real Mysterio is imprisoned in the Ultimate Universe. See Amazing Spider-Man #697, Spider-Men #1-5, and Avenging Spider-Man #22.