Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963 series) #109

Head still reeling from last issue, Peter contemplates how he’s going to get away from Gwen to chase after the captured Flash! An officer returns Peter’s shoes, which he claimed got knocked off him from the explosion, and Peter heads to the bathroom to clear his head, where he gets an idea. He spins a web dummy and dresses it in his clothes, swinging off with it to make it look like Spider-Man is abducting Peter Parker! Of course, this only serves to freak Gwen out more, but Spidey can’t think about that now. He combs the city, hoping to get a read on the tracer he placed on the giant man who kidnapped Flash. He nears Greenwich Village, and his spider sense starts tingling like crazy, even though Flash is nowhere in sight! That’s because Doctor Strange has located Spidey in his astral form, claiming he needs his help! Though Spidey can’t see Strange’s astral form, Strange leads Spidey back to his Sanctum Sanctorum by his voice and a spell to keep him in the right direction.

When Spidey arrives at the Sanctum, Strange reveals he’s aware of Spidey’s search and produces a mystical view of where Flash has been taken. Spidey and Strange see Flash taken before the unmoving form of the High Priest! His followers reveal that rather than dying, he instead fell into a trance and only by Flash’s death can he be restored! At the appointed time, they plan to sacrifice Flash in a ritual to send his lifeforce into the High Priest! Sha Shan, the Priest’s daughter who helped Flash before, then enters, revealing she survived the bombing as well! She claims there’s nothing she can do to help Flash this time! With that, Spidey and Strange make haste to go save Flash from his fate! Some time later, Sha Shan visits Flash in his cell. She reveals that after the bombing, Flash had been knocked unconscious and she was able to get him back to his camp. She then discovered her father’s condition and was unable to talk his followers out of their plan for revenge. She pulls out a knife and is seemingly going to kill Flash before the others stop her, telling her they must wait until the time is right!

Meanwhile, a frantic Gwen storms into Harry’s apartment to tell him what (she thinks) happened to Peter. Having forgotten she was there, Aunt May hears the whole thing, and is instantly worried what happened to her boy. Gwen’s grief causes her to blow up at Aunt May, saying that Peter’s a man and she should learn to let go of him a bit. She apologizes as soon as she calms down but Aunt May admits that she could be right, perhaps she has been smothering Peter too much! Back with Flash, he’s about to be sacrificed for the ritual when Spidey and Strange arrive right in the nick of time! Spidey frees Flash and tussles with the giant once again, holding off all of the Priest’s followers while Strange focuses on a delicate spell! Flash finds Sha Shan, who clarifies that she was planning to free him earlier, not kill him, while Strange awakens the High Priest from his trance! Sha Shan and her father are reunited and he clarifies that Flash had no hand in what became of the temple, tying everything up. Spidey and Strange part ways, leaving Spidey to stress about competing with Flash for Gwen’s affections!