Home Is Where the Terror Is!

In the sewers below the Daily Bugle, Spider-Man is searching the fetid tunnels searching for any boobytraps that Doctor Octopus had planted during the time he had his base of operations there.[1] His search bears fruit when his spider-sense locates one such device. When the hero disarms it, he is unceremoniously blasted with a torrent of sewer water. The hero leaps out of the sewer, furious that his clothes were ruined in the process as he has to go to a party in an hour. At least, he is able to web-sling back home to get a change of clothing. As he swings away, he fails to hear a woman calling out to him from a nearby alley. The woman thinks they should go after Spider-Man since he thinks that she and her partner are dead. The woman's companion tells her that they need to find Ann Johnson and teleport away.[2]

Later, on the Upper West Side, Peter Parker, his wife Mary Jane, his Aunt May, and her boyfriend Willie Lumpkin arrive outside the old Poseidon Hotel.[3] The old hotel has been renovated and is about to be opened as a new homeless shelter for those who have built a shantytown in the area. The Parkers have come for a charity gala to celebrate its opening. Once inside, they are surprised by how lavishly it the old hotel has been restored to its former glory. Among the patrons is Ann Johnson, who is working as a server for the gala. She is a future resident of the new shelter and is happy they allowed them to work for the gala to show the benefits of this new facility. While down in the sub-basement, among the squalor and rats, a trio of individuals arrive to enact their plans. Back upstairs, Peter watches as his family begins to socialize. Suddenly, he is confronted by someone who appears to be Stilt-Man, but it is actually Flash Thompson in costume. Flash, Betty Brant, and Felicia Hardy were all led to believe that this was a masquerade party. While Felicia had no problem arriving dressed as the Black Cat, Betty is mortified to be one of the few people in costume. This development has brought amusement to both Harry Osborn and his wife Liz.[4]

That's when Joe Robertson grabs Betty to bring her to the gala dias with the rest of the Daily Bugle staff that are to present an opening toast given by publisher J. Jonah Jameson. As Jameson takes the stage, Peter Parker's spider-sense begins going off, warning him that there is somebody underneath the steps of the dais. While Peter's sense of alarm grows, Jameson begins giving another one of his long-winded speeches as the patrons go about their business. While downstairs, Ann Johnson needs to take a break and decides to go down into the basement to rest her feet, unaware that there is something in the basement stalking her. As she changes out of her servers outfit, Ann gets time to think about what has happened to her recently. Particularly her recent discovery that Tyrone Johnson was actually the costumed vigilante known as Cloak.[5] That's when she notices someone running by. They escape into the sub-basement before she can get a good look at them. While back upstairs, Kate Cushing confides in Glory Grant that she fears that Jonah will never forgive her for siding with Thomas Fireheart during his brief takeover of the Daily Bugle. Glory can relate, since she also betrayed Jonah's trust due to her relationship with Eduardo Lobo.[6] Also among the patrons is a man named Boxtel, much to the surprise of Mr. Munson the man behind the charity.

Suddenly, a sandbag falls from the ceiling and smashes the stage, sending everyone into a panic Slipping under the dais, Peter Parker discovers that someone intentionally cut the sandbag loose. Noticing that the supports were damaged, Peter uses his web-shooters to shore them up. Munson takes the stage and assures people that it the sandbag as an accident and is nothing to be worried about. However, a massive curtain falls from the ceiling next, covering everyone on the dais. This causes a panic among the other patrons. While the Osborns, Flash Thompson, and Felicia Hardy try to keep people calm, the lights go out. Still, under the dais, Peter Parker spots a flurry of rats as well as a strange figure lurking around in the darkness. His spider-sense warning him of trouble, Peter changes into Spider-Man and follows after them. Following the rodents down into the sub-basement, Spider-Man spots three bizarre humanoids around Ann Johnson, who is holding a baby. Recognizing Ann, Spider-Man assumes that she and the baby are in trouble and swings down to her rescue. As Ann tries to warn him that he doesn't know what's going on, he is attacked by the two male beings that are concerned about the baby. The large one manages to throw Spider-Man to the ground into a pile of rats. As the wall-crawler fights his way fee, the massive brute is prepared to slam the hero with a wood beam. However, both he and Spider-Man stop fighting when they see Ann willingly hand the baby over to the small humanoid, a woman called Pester. Spider-Man realizes that he made a snap judgment.

Back upstairs, the patrons are starting to panic, while Harry and Liz Osborn try to keep things orderly. It's then that Aunt May realizes that Peter isn't around and she beings to worry about him. Also among the crowd are Victor and Rose Palmero, Victor suggests that they go up to the front of the line to help the Osborns keep people orderly. While Nick Katzenberg tries to push his way through, he is forced to back down thanks to Flash and Felicia. Meanwhile, Munson finds Boxtel's tie and cumberbund on the ground and starts to get a bad feeling. Back downstairs, Spider-Man is introduced to the three Morlocks and their baby. Pester and the massive Ent are the parents of the child, as well as Mother Inferior who can only speak to rats. Ann explains that they had claimed the Poseidon Hotel as their new home after they fled the Morlock tunnels during the Mutant Massacre.[7] Not understanding what was happening, the Morlocks were committing the acts of sabotage in order to reclaim their new home.

While back upstairs, people are getting more panicked when suddenly the costumed mercenary known as Firebrand arrives to burn the building down. His flames cause everyone to panic and flee.[8] At that moment, Cloak and Dagger appear outside the burning hotel, having tracked down Ann Johnson's location. Seeing the people fleeing, the pair witnesses as the front of the building collapse, trapping many people inside. The pair fear that Ann may be one of those who are trapped. At that moment, in the sub-basement, Spider-Man and Ann have been buried under falling debris while Spider-Man was busy using his webbing to protect the family of Morlocks.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Mary Jane Watson, Aunt May, Flash Thompson, Felicia Hardy, Harry Osborn, J. Jonah Jameson, Joe Robertson, Firebrand, Willie Lumpkin, Anna Johnson, Liz Osborn, Marla Madison, Kate Cushing, Betty Brant, Nick Katzenberg, Joy Mercado, Ben Urich, Randy Robertson, Amanda Robertson, Martha Robertson, Victor Palermo, Rose Palermo, Morlocks (Pester, Mother Inferior, Ent), Cloak, Dagger

Continuity Notes

1. Doctor Octopus operated out of the service tunnels of the Daily Bugle in The Spectacular Spider-Man #175-176.

2. This pair is Cloak and Dagger. Spider-Man was led to believe they are dead following their battle against Mephisto in Cloak and Dagger Vol 3 #18.

3. Peter and Mary Jane are referred to as husband and wife here. However, years later, their marriage was erased from existence by the demon Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. As such they should be considered a common-law couple as opposed to husband and wife.

4. Harry quips that he and Liz are dressed like Donald and Ivana Trump. This should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616. Particularly because the couple divorced in 1992.

5. Anna is Tyrone's twin brother. Something she discovered when he briefly lost his powers. This was chronicled in Cloak and Dagger Vol 3 #17-19.

6. When Thomas Fireheart bought the Daily Bugle in The Spectacular Spider-Man #156, Kate remained on as city editor. Fireheart later sold the Bugle back to Jameson in The Spectacular Spider-Man #171. Glory was romanced by Eduardo Lobo in order to get information about the Kingpin during a gang war starting in The Spectacular Spider-Man #146. Their relationship came to a tragic end when Glory accidentally shot Eduardo while trying to shoot Spider-Man in Web of Spider-Man #55.

7. The slaughter referred to as the Mutant Massacre was caused by the Marauders who were sent by their leader, Mister Sinister, to eliminate the Morlocks. This massacre was opposed by the X-Teams, Power Pack, and Thor.

8. Flash Thompson notes how the original Firebrand was killed "years ago". Gary Gilbert was one of the many costumed villains murdered by Scourge in Captain America #319. The reference to Firebrand dying "years ago" should be considered a topical reference denoting the time between publications since Firebrands death (1986-1991). However, per the Sliding Timescale, at the time of this story, the original Firebrand has been dead for roughly a year.

Continuity Errors

1. Martha Robertson is depicted as one of the people helping the patrons injured by the falling sandbag. She is depicted as Caucasian here, which is a coloring error as she is actually African-American.