Untold Tales of Spider-Man #18
Unseen Dangers
While out looking for photos to take for the Daily Bugle, Spider-Man's spider-sense narrowly warns him of an ambush by the Headsman. Dodging the attack, Spider-Man recalls his last encounter with this foe and how he just barely managed to defeat him.[1] Unable to fight off this foe, Spider-Man allows himself to be knocked off the side of a building and pretends to be crushed to death under raining debris so he can slip away from the Headsman unnoticed. Changing back into Peter Parker, he slips out of the basement he escaped into and walks onto the street. The reason why Peter did not want to engage in a prolonged fight is that he was due to meet up with Betty Brant and take her out to dinner. His efforts to convince Betty that she is the only girl that he is seeing is quickly dashed when the bump into Liz Allan and Flash Thompson. Liz, smitten with Peter, manages to convince them all to have a double date together. As they sit down to dinner, Peter feels cornered as he is getting stern looks from both Betty and Flash, as Liz gushes over Peter the whole time.[2] However, later that evening, when Peter walks Betty home, she tells him that it wasn't his fault that Liz and Flash tagged along and even kisses him goodnight.
With his date now over, Peter changes into Spider-Man and goes back out on patrol. Spotting some thieves stealing fur coats, he sets up his camera and makes quick work of it, leaving the criminals webbed up for the authorities. At that same time, the Headsman has gotten an audience with mobster Lucky Lobo. When he tells Lobo about how he apparently killed Spider-Man, the mobster is intrigued enough to offer him a position in his organization. However, the offer is quickly quashed when one of Lobo's men bursts in to tell him about how the wall-crawler busted up their fur coat robbery. Furious that the web-slinger had tricked him, the Headsman trashes Lobo's office in a fit of rage and storms out to hunt down Spider-Man. As Lobo is assessing the damage he is approached by another figure, who assures him that he can not only eliminate the web-head, but also a failure like the Headsman as well.
The next day, at Midtown High School, Flash is just saying goodbye to Tiny McKeever when he bumps into Jason Ionello. He tries to tells Jason that it is not his fault that their classmate, Sally Avril, died recently.[3] However, the topic quickly changes when Jason points out that Liz is talking to Peter Parker again. Jealous, Flash steps in an interrupt their conversation to invite Liz out to see Spider-Man in action. Although he has no idea where he can find the wall-crawler, he loads up Liz and Jason into his car and they go driving around the area to try and spot the masked hero. Wanting to make Flash look good in Liz's eyes again -- so she will leave him alone -- Peter changes into Spider-Man and follows after them waiting for the right moment to make an appearance. Unfortunately, as the novice hero bounds off the hood of Flash's car, he is ambushed by the Headsman who just happened to track him down. When the two combatants end up on a rooftop, Flash insists that they go up there to watch the fight. Rushing into the building, Flash ends up at the loft apartment of an artist and asks him to let them up to the roof.[4] The artist tells the youths to go away, but suddenly Spider-Man and the Headsman come crashing in through the skylight.
In the ensuing battle, the floor of the apartment gives way under Liz, prompting Jason to reach out and grab her. He holds on to her as best he can, but part of him fears that she will die just as Sally Avril did. Seeing that Liz is in danger, Spider-Man uses his webbing to slingshot the Headsman out of the building long enough for him to get everyone to safety. When the villain tries to head back and renew his attack, he is confronted by a new costumed villain calling himself the Green Goblin. The Goblin calls the Headsman a failure and that his ex-employer wants the Headsman's equipment back. When the Headsman tries to put up a fight, the Goblin instead activates a device that shorts out all of the Headsman's weapons. The resulting jolt knocks the Headsman out, prompting the Green Goblin to leave him to the authorities. When Spider-Man comes out looking for his foe, he is left to wonder who could have put the Headsman in the state he is found in. With Flash and the others coming out and the authorities arriving on the scene, Spider-Man slips away so he can change back into Peter Parker and snap photos for the Daily Bugle. Hearing the people in the crowd blaming Spider-Man for this angers Flash. When Peter jokingly suggests that Flash start a Spider-Man fan-club, Thompson takes the suggestion seriously and decides to do just that.[5] While Peter would normally be touched by Flash's love of his alter-ego, he cannot help but wonder who defeated the Headsman so easily and if that person will come after him next.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Headsman, Flash Thompson, Liz Allan, Jason Ionello, Lucky Lobo, Green Goblin, Betty Brant, Tiny McKeever
Continuity Notes
Spider-Man last fought the Headman in Untold Tales of Spider-Man #8.
Liz mentions the party that Peter threw for Tiny McKeever and Jason Ionello. That happened in Untold Tales of Spider-Man #16.
Sally was killed in a car accident in Untold Tales of Spider-Man #13.
Among the artwork on display is a painting of a sock with a hole in it, the wearer's toe poking out. This painting will later go on display in an art gallery in Amazing Spider-Man #22.
Flash does start his own Spider-Man fan club, as seen in Amazing Spider-Man #18.
