Death from Above!

This story continues from Incredible Hulk #349...

Spider-Man is swinging across Las Vegas to catch the shuttle back to the airport so he can head back home. He can't wait to get back, especially after his recent encounter with the Warzone and Hulk. Once he arrives at the airport and changes back to Peter Parker, the hero finds himself lost in the airport trying to find the airline that he has been booked on. Pointing in the right direction he finds himself at the service counter for Rattlesnake Airlines owned and operated by Morris "The Snake" Diamond. Peter is amused by the man, who looks and acts like a stereotypical Texan.

Meanwhile, the Vulture flies across the desert and returns to a cave that he has set up as his base of operations. There among a number of taxidermied animals, he rants and raves about how he has been mocked and ridiculed for his genius. The most recent insult was when he attempted to sell his specially made dice to Morris Diamond. Morris refused to buy them for the million dollar price tag. When the Vulture returned to his hotel room he was shocked to discover that Diamond had his men break into his hotel and stole his dice. Recalling all of this throws the Vulture into another fit of anger and he vows that Morris Diamond will die by his hands. Meanwhile, aboard the Rattlesnake Airlines plane, Diamond and his friends are being obnoxious. The flight attendant, Sara Glenville, goes to serve Peter Parker she recognizes him from a recent appearance on a late night television show. Suddenly, Peter becomes tense when his spider-sense begins going off. At that moment, the Vulture ambushes the plane and throws a bomb at it. The explosive damages the plane and causes it to nosedive.

Aboard the plane, Sara tries to get everyone to jump ship, but can't get the exit door to open. Peter uses his strength to pull it open and they all begin putting on parachutes. As they drift to the desert below, the Vulture flies by to gloat, leaving the passengers to ponder their fates. Seeing his old foe, Peter wonders what is going on. Once on the ground, Sara suggests that they go back to the plane so rescue teams can find them much easier. This is met with mockery from Diamond and his men and one of them even pistol whips her for speaking out of turn. Angry, Peter is about to do something, when the Vulture returns. He grabs Diamond and flies off with him to get his revenge. Diamond's bodyguards follow after the Vulture, leaving Peter with Sara. With Sara out cold, Peter knows that there is only one thing that he can do. Changing into Spider-Man, the wall-crawler picks up Sara and carries her with him as he follows the trail of Diamond's minions.

Meanwhile, at the Vulture's lair, the villain demands that Diamond return the notes he stole on the secret plastic that he used to create his trick dice. Morris begins to laugh because the notes were in the plane that the Vulture shot down. Furious, the Vulture threatens to inject Morris with his taxidermy formula when Spider-Man suddenly arrives on the scene. Their fight takes them outside of the cave, where Spider-Man is distracted when Sara is threatened by a mountain lion. While this is going on, Morris' men catch up and free their boss and try to flee. During the struggle, Spider-Man is injected with the Vulture's formula and dropped to the ground. His body stiffening up, Spider-Man manages to land a knock out blow on the Vulture before passes out. When the wall-crawler wakes up, Sara and the authorities have apprehended Morris, his men, and the Vulture. Sara explains that she was an undercover agent of the CIA investigating Morris Diamond. With the battle over, she was able to get the Vulture to release an antidote for the Vulture's serum. With everything wrapped up, Spider-Man asks for a lift back home.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Vulture

Continuity Notes

• These are the same dice that the Vulture was trying to sell in Web of Spider-Man #24.