Web of Spider-Man Super Special #1
Mortal Victory
This story continues from The Spectacular Spider-Man Super Special #1...
Spider-Man, the Scarlet Spider and Venom have teamed up to stop an invasion of Earth by the symbiotes.[1] While attempting to shut down a stargate that will bring an invasion force the trio is suddenly attacked by Carnage who has merged with a number of the symbiotes causing him to grow massive in size. While Venom fending off an army of the symbiotic invaders, Spider-Man and the Scarlet Spider are forced to face Carnage on their own. However, what little advantage the two wall-crawler's have quickly ends as Carnage continues absorbing more symbiotes into his body. Although this frees the humans the symbiotes it has enslaved, it makes Carnage even larger and more powerful than before. With the situation growing out of control, the two Spiders leap onto a symbiote ship and recover Venom to make a tactical retreat.
In New York, the streets are overrun by people who have been possessed by the symbiote invaders. There, Mary Jane has boarded up the home she shares with Peter Parker. Armed with a knife, she waits for her husband to return.[2] Hearing a noise coming from upstairs, Mary Jane decides to check it out and panics when she sees a symbiote standing in her bathroom. It turns out to be Venom, who has just arrived with the two Spider-Men, seeing his wife in a panic, Spider-Man calms her down. After a quick shower, Peter apologizes for frightening his wife but tells her that they needed to regroup before going back out to try and stop the symbiote invasion. Mary Jane doesn't like this, reminding Peter that he has other responsibilities, namely to their unborn child that she is carrying.[3] Peter quiets his wife, admitting that she is right.
Soon, the three men are weighing their options and trying to come up with a way to fight off the invasion. Eddie Brock points out that the symbiotes came to Earth when he separated from his other and it cried out in loneliness. Quickly changing into Venom, Brock thinks that perhaps he can use the symbiote's empathic link to one another to stop the invasion. He thinks that if he can find a way to amplify the signal of this link he can cause enough emotional trauma to shock the aliens into an inert state. When Peter gets up to join Eddie and Ben on this mission, Mary Jane understands when he says he needs to go. They soon arrive at the birth place of Venom, Our Lady of Saints Church, as it holds a powerful emotional connection to both Eddie Brock and his symbiote.[4] Spider-Man and the Scarlet Spider then go outside to give Venom the privacy he needs. However, once outside, the pair are surprised to see the massive form of Carnage waiting for them outside.
As the two fight a seemingly futile battle with the massive serial killer, Eddie Brock and his other separate. The agony of rejection, in a place that has such pain to both beings, causes the symbiote to cry out. Its sadness spreads across the empathic link between all the other symbiotes, forcing them to separate from their hosts. While outside, the two Spiders trick Carnage into smashing a fuel tanker, causing a massive explosion. At that same moment, the church is flooded by the invading symbiotes and they merge with both Eddie Brock and his other. That's when Eddie unleashes the full fury of his sorrow upon the creatures. Spider-Man and the Scarlet Spider are briefly tossed around by the flood of symbiotes, but they suddenly disappear as quickly as they appear. Rushing into the church, they discover that there is only Venom left standing. Spider-Man realizes and is horrified that Venom forced all the symbiotes into suicide. However, Venom insists that this was the only way to prevent them from conquering Earth and draining all life from the planet.[5] Before they can deal with Venom, he makes them think that Carnage is still standing and while they are distracted, Venom manages to flee.
In the aftermath of the invasion, Cletus Kasady is taken back into custody. Peter Parker and Ben Reilly return to Mary Jane where to begin recovering from the wounds they sustained in battle. While elsewhere, Eddie Brock has renewed faith in the symbiosis he has with his other and vows that now and forever he will always be Venom.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Scarlet Spider, Venom, Mary Jane Watson, Carnage
Continuity Notes
The actual name of the race of symbiotes is not named here. They are eventually identified as the Klyntar in Deadpool: Back in Black #1.
Peter and Mary Jane are referred to as husband and wife here. However, years later, their marriage is erased from existence by Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. As such they should be considered a common-law couple here.
Mary Jane announced that she was pregnant in The Spectacular Spider-Man #220.
The church is where Spider-Man attempted to kill the Venom symbiote when it attempted to bond to him in Web of Spider-Man #1. It is also the place where it first bonded with Eddie Brock, as seen in Amazing Spider-Man #300.
Here Spider-Man and his allies are led to believe all the space-born symbiotes were killed here. However, this is revealed to be an incorrect assessment when the Klyntar home planet is later visited in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 #21-22.
Where Monsters Dwell
This story continues from The Spectacular Spider-Man Super Special #1...
After a long day at Empire State Hospital, Ben Reilly takes a show in the locker room and has nothing to look forward to but a twelve-hour shift that begins in the morning. That's when he finds Rick Barron getting changed. Even though Barron has taken a strong disliking to Reilly, Ben tries to strike up small talk, but Rick is uninterested in making idle conversation.
While upstairs, Doctor Noah Purl rushes to get his reports done on the experimental treatments he had conducted to save the life of Cary Armstrong to present American Medical Association. Although he has to justify conducting the experiment, he thinks about his old colleague Curt Connors and thinks that he would have applauded his work if he was something more than the Lizard. As he works he is unaware that the man-monster is lurking behind him in the shadows.[1]
Back downstairs, Rick coldly brushes off Ben and heads to the shower. As Reilly goes through his own locker, he thinks about how he should be out searching for the Lizard. His thoughts are interrupted when Toni Moore enters the men's locker room and snaps Ben with a towel. He is mortified because Toni is in a relationship with Rick and has been intentionally flirting with him, earning Barron's ire. As he's trying to talk her into waiting for Rick outside, Ben's spider-sense begins going off warning him of danger from upstairs. Rushing out of the locker room, Ben quickly changes into the Scarlet Spider and rushes in on the Lizard, who has been ripping apart Noah's office. He grabs the creature by the tail and begins swinging it around. Suddenly, the Lizard rips free from its tail and is sent flying across the room. That's when the Spider realizes that Noah is in serious trouble. Before he can decide what to do, the Lizard gets up and flees out a nearby window. With Noah in distress, the Spider is forced to stay behind and stabilize him. After paramedics arrived, the Scarlet Spider leaves and, unable to find any trace of the Lizard heads back to his apartment. He thinks about how much his life has changed since he moved into this hotel, primarily the death of Aunt May and the revelation that he was the real Peter Parker and not a clone.[2]
With his new job, Ben decides to look for a more suitable apartment in the newspaper. However, he can't help but get upset about how the press is giving a lot of attention to Armstrong who assisted the Spider during his battle against the Lizard.[3] Deeper into the newspaper he finds a story about Gabriell Greer's new art exhibit. This causes him to think about how she had been getting close to Cary Armstrong, much to his dismay as he was developing a romantic interest in her as well. When Ben goes knocking on her door, he discovers that she isn't home. Even though it is none of his business, Ben can't help but change into the Scarlet Spider and swing over to Armstrong's apartment. There he spots Gabrielle in the apartment with Cary. Noticing that Armstrong is standing in the nude, he assumes the worse and heads up to the roof, certain that Cary spotted him. However, Ben is mistaken as Gabriell was only sketching him for her latest piece of artwork. Soon Armstrong goes up to the roof to meet with the Scarlet Spider. Keeping his personal issues to himself, the Spider asks Armstrong to join him in hunting down the Lizard. This is a mission that Cary is more that willing to assist on.
They decide to check out the Bronx Zoo and sure enough, they find traces of the Lizard on the property. When the creature tries to ambush Armstrong, the Scarlet Spider leaps down and joins the fight. Fighting off its attackers, the Lizard frees a number of the animals from their cages before fleeing. The Spider uses his stingers to stun some of the animals but goes after the Lizard when it flees into the reptile room. Turning up the air conditioning, the Scarlet Spider then hoses the Lizard down with a pair of fire extinguishers. The sudden cold causes the Lizard to go into a state of suspended animation, allowing the Spider to wrap the creature up in his impact webbing. By this point, Armstrong has finished rounding up the rest of the animals as the authorities arrive. Soon, the Lizard is bundled up to be shipped to the Vault. The Scarlet Spider then tries to get ahold of Martha Connors to tell her about the Lizard's capture but there is no answers. Unknown to the Spider, Martha packed herself and her son up and left town.
The next day, Ben Reilly is doing his rounds when he spots Cary Armstrong visiting Dr. Purl in his hospital room. Because he wasn't around to protect Noah from the Lizard he considers himself a failure. Hearing this, Ben disagrees, thinking that if Noah was able to know how he helped bring the Lizard to justice, the doctor would be proud of him.
Recurring Characters
Scarlet Spider, Lizard, Strongarm, Gabrielle Greer, Rick Barron, Noa Purl, Toni Moore
Continuity Notes
Curt Connors developed a serum to try and regrow his lost arm back in Amazing Spider-Man #6, turning himself into the Lizard. This story implies that the Lizard creature seen here is actually Curt Connors who was last seen in Web of Spider-Man #111. This creature is not Connors, but a lizard turned into humanoid form as explained in The Spectacular Spider-Man #238.
These two facts would later be proven to be inaccurate:
The woman everyone thought was Aunt May died in Amazing Spider-Man #400. However, this woman was an impostor who took May's place sometime in Amazing Spider-Man #392. This deception will ultimately be revealed in Spider-Man #97.
Ben Reilly was told that he was the real Peter Parker in The Spectacular Spider-Man #226. However, this is a lie and part of a massive deception orchestrated by the Green Goblin as revealed in Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal #1.
Among the newspaper headlines is one about how actors Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger are fighting over the right to Howard the Duck. Although this is a joke headline, the actors named here should be considered topical references per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616.
Cats & Robbers
Learning that Mikkal's, a fancy rooftop restaurant in Manhattan, is going to be robbed, the Black Cat watches the establishment from the roof across the street. As she waits, she thinks back to how she found herself in this situation. She had heard about the robbery plot through her contacts in the criminal underworld. With that, she went to warn Mikkal of the situation and offered her services as a security consultant. However, the sexist restauranteur dismisses her off, saying that his security can do more than a mere woman can. After hearing this, the Black Cat has decided to watch the place get robbed, so she can gouge Mikkal with a massive finders fee when she recovers the stolen property. That's when she spots the two thieves in question, two fetish-clad crooks calling themselves Leather and Lace.
The Black Cat stands back and waits for the robbery to begin when she spots her ex-boyfriend Flash Thompson is dining at Mikkal's, apparently on a date.[1] Although she still hasn't resolved her feelings with Flash, the Black Cat realizes that she can't stand back and potentially let him come to harm during Leather and Lace's robbery. She then leaps from her lookout and confronts the two thieves. Although Leather has superior strength and Lace is able to let off blinding flashes of light, the Black Cat's agility and speed allow her to gain the upper hand and prevent them from attacking the restaurant. The whole time, Flash Thompson has his date with a woman named Cinda, unaware that his ex-girlfriend is fighting for her life mere inches away.
Ultimately, the Black Cat wins and sends the unconscious forms of Leather and Lace crashing into Mikkal's office through the skylight. She then tells the business owner that she owes him. Moments later, Flash and his date are finished dinner. He is about to pay when the waiter informs Flash that his meal is on the house. Unaware that this was part of the deal that Felicia arranged with Mikkal.
Recurring Characters
Black Cat, Flash Thomspon
Continuity Notes
At the time of this story, the Black Cat and Flash Thompson had recently broken up in The Spectacular Spider-Man #210.