Webspinners: Tales of Spider-Man #18

Mar 27

Mar 27 Webspinners: Tales of Spider-Man #18

Hero of the People Part 2

Hired by Silver Sable to help liberate the tyrannical ruler of Belgriun, Spider-Man only agreed to join the mission because king’s daughter, 11-year-old Bogrdana, is also being held prisoner as well.[1] Helping the revolution are the Sinister Syndicate whom the people of Belgruin are celebrating as heroes. To make matters worse, Spider-Man has been caught trying to sneak into the city and is now shackled to a statue of the disposed of king. After being pelted with fruit, Spider-Man is confronted by Boomerang, who refuses to reveal why the Sinister Syndicate are really helping the revolution. That’s when the freedom fighters begin telling people to go to their homes as the city is under martial law. That’s when Sandman and Silver Sable drop their disguises in their attempt to free Spider-Man. However, the distraction is all the wall-crawler needs and he breaks free from his chains as Boomerang isn’t looking and knocks him out. Spotting a child caught in the chaos, Spider-Man quickly scoops the girl up and gets her to safety. Silver Sable then orders Spider-Man to follow her as they still have the element of surprise on their hands.

Inside the castle, Gregory — the rebel leader — tells Bogdan how they caught one of his spies and orders him to surrender and face justice for his crimes. However, the former king of Belgriun refuses to admit defeat. That’s when one of Gregori’s men tells him something that prompts him to check on his American allies. He catches the members of the Sinister Syndicate going through the royal treasury and demands to know what they are doing. Hydro-Man explains that they are taking payment for their helping liberate the kingdom. When Gregori protests this, he is killed by Doctor Octopus, the Sinister Syndicate’s employer. The Beetle questions if it was necessary for them to kill Gregori. Octavius explains that they need no resistance when they clean out the treasury. Since nobody else will stand up to Octavius, the Beetle stands down. That’s when Speed Demon arrives and warns them that Spider-Man got loose. Otto then orders the rest of the Sinister Syndicate to set up explosives to cover their escape. The Beetle protests this as he didn’t sign up to murder innocent people but is forced to stand down again when Doctor Octopus demonstrates his power by crushing a safe with his mechanical arms.

In the hallway, Hydro-Man finds the other resistance fighters have been knocked out and catches Silver Sable as she is trying to escape with the king and his daughter. Sable sends Bogdan and Bogdana ahead while she deals with Hydro-Man. Meanwhile, the Beetle watches as the Rhino loads up their helicopter. He is having misgivings as he considered Gregori a good man and didn’t deserve to die. That’s when the Sandman ambushes the Rhino, leading to a battle between the two. Leaving the two combatants to their own devices, the Beetle enters the castle and thinks about how good it felt to be a hero when suddenly he is ambushed by Spider-Man. The Beetle tells the web-slinger to leave him alone and save the king and his daughter. When the web-head says that someone else is doing that, the Beetle reveals to Spider-Man that Doctor Octopus is the mastermind behind this. This causes Spider-Man pause, leaving him open to attack by the Beetle. However, the villain isn’t doing this to defeat Spider-Man but to position him to see the bombs set up by his allies. After revealing these explosives to Spider-Man, the Beetle makes a hasty retreat. Elsewhere in the castle, Silver Sable manages to defeat Hydro-Man by dropping a chandelier on him. After the electricity knocks out Hydro-Man, she continues escorting the king and his daughter out of the building. At that same moment, Spider-Man finds the timer for the explosives but his attempt at shutting it down is interrupted by Doctor Octopus and Speed Demon. While outside, Sandman has just defeated the Rhino, but he is ambushed by the Beetle who manages to escape with the helicopter full of loot.

Meanwhile, Spider-Man’s battle against Doctor Octopus and Speed Demon turns to his favor when Otto is blinded by Spider-Man’s webbing. This, combined with their inability to coordinate their attacks, prompts Speed Demon to get fed up and flee. Sent into a rage, Doctor Octopus then begins flailing his arms around in an blind effort to stop Spider-Man. By this time, the timer has almost run down forcing Spider-Man to flee before the bomb goes off, leaving Doctor Octopus to be buried alive in the rubble. While outside, Silver Sable spots Beetle escaping and uses a bazooka to blow up the remote piloted helicopter, causing all the stolen loot to rain down on the people below. In the aftermath of the battle, King Bogan is furious that Silver Sable has inadvertently caused his wealth to be distributed among the people, but Sable is unphased as she accomplished her intended goal — saving the life of Bogan’s daughter.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Silver Sable, Sandman, Doctor Octopus, Sinister Syndicate (Beetle, Boomerang, Rhino, Speed Demon, Hydro-Man), Bogdan Radischev, Bogdana Radischev