One dawn, Spider-Man sits near the docks, brooding about his troubles and the recent return of Gwen Stacy. His enemy, the Meteor Man, descends in a balloon and attacks Spidey for interfering in MM’s plans (last issue). He carries Spidey into the air, continuing to pummel him with his super-strength. He slugs Spidey, sending him dropping into the river, and flies off….
At the Defenders’ Long Island HQ, Valkyrie encounters an angry Nighthawk, explaining he is mad at Spider-Man who wanted to take violent action against Meteor Man (last issue again) while Nighthawk, having studied the villain’s background, thought he needed a psychiatrist rather than a beating. When she learns he let Meteor Man get away, Val flies into a rage, accusing Nighthawk of abandoning his responsibility; she mounts Aragorn and flies off after the bad guy….
Two police officers see lights on in a de-sanctified church awaiting demolition. Investigating, they find the young people of the Innocents of God dancing wildly while the prophet Jeremiah presides over the scene. Jeremiah denounces the pagan cops for interrupting the scared rites and disintegrates them with a blast from his fist….
Spider-Man tunes into his portable police radio and learns that Meteor Man is robbing an antiques store. He heads for the shop and arrives at the same time as Valkyrie. The two heroes ignore a police officer’s warnings to stay away and enter the shop where they attack the bad guy but Meteor Man is too strong for them, warding off their blows before he crashes through the front window and flies off. Val and Spidey talk to the proprietor who tells them that the thief was looking for a particular figurine, the Rubinbach Venus; Spidey explains how Meteor Man gained his powers from gasses released from a meteor and is likely searching for other meteors, or items crafted from one, hoping to discover more such gasses. Spidey and Val dash out past the cops, jump on Aragorn and fly off. Their pursuit of Meteor Man is seen from the ground by Jeremiah and his followers and he devises a sinister plan. Meanwhile, Spidey and Val catch up to Meteor Man and there is another mid-air fight, ending with Val using Dragonfang to pierce the baddie’s balloon. Meteor Man plummets to the ground. The heroes discover he is alive because of his invulnerability but he should be taken to a hospital. Spidey hopes he gets psychiatric help, having decided that Nighthawk was right. Meanwhile, Jeremiah is watching them….