Synopsis / Summary / Plot
Last issue Spider-Man harboured doubts about Goddess' Infinity Crusade after she left her flock in her cathedral on Paradise Omega to sink into the planet in her cosmic egg. Her priestess Moondragon accosted him and then he found himself in a nightmare New York assailed by his friends and foes.
This issue we see that they are Aunt May and dead Uncle Ben, Mary Jane, dad Richard Parker and J Jonah Jameson along with Carnage, Goddess, Green Goblin and Venom. But now we see that they are actually heroes gathered together by Moondragon (as seen in Marc Spector: Moon Knight #57). MD makes Spidey think he's fighting them as Peter Parker. Gamora attacks him as Mary Jane in her Secret Hospital TV role. Archangel is Green Goblin whose razor-bats impale MJ. But webbing reveals that under his GG costume dead Harry Osborn has green skin. JJJ in a clown costume is actually Sasquatch who Peter throws into Archangel/Goblin.
Before finding out who the other identities are we pop back to the real New York where Mary Jane and Liz Osborn are working out while Aunt May looks after young Normie Osborn. Liz is worried about Normie after his father Harry's recent death. MJ is worried about Peter's handling of his parents' recent *return* from 'death'. Meanwhile Betty Brant and Robbie Robertson sneak into the Empire State University science labs to investigate suspicious experiments headed by Jameson's wife Marla Madison. But that's all we get of ongoing subplots this issue.
On Paradise Omega Invisible Woman, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch and Thor attack Peter as Aunt May, Uncle Ben, Goddess and Richard P. Peter reacts mainly defensively and then escapes using a web glider. But Moon Knight brings him down with his truncheon line and he has to dodge his crescent darts. PP sees MK as Venom and Multiple Man as multiple Carnages. But then he makes a 'leap of faith' off an ESU roof ...
... and lands as Spider-Man in front of the cathedral on Paradise Omega. He realises the 'battle' has shown him how useless his never-ending fighting supervillains has been compared to Goddess' plan for universal good. So now he's fully committed. We see Goddess in her egg preparing to put her plan into operation. But on Earth on the other side of the Sun we see the left-behind heroes readying themselves to oppose her.
Story 2: Acid test (starring Nightwatch, part 2 of 3)
Pencils Bill Wylie. Inks Tim Tuohy.
Last issue Nightwatch stopped a gang from stealing stuff from the Natural History Museum. But their leader donned a Macedonian deathmask which killed him and took over his corpse as Deathgrin.
NW tries to stop the villain leaving but any contact gives him acid burns. DG is also superstrong and invulnerable. He breaks through a wall to where police are waiting outside. They open fire at him with no effect. Deathgrin starts knocking down pillars of a colonnade, threatening to bring the roof down on the cops but glider-cloaked Nightwatch swoops them out of the way. The masonry buries Deathgrin but he burns his way down to the sewers. He swears revenge on our hero, who swears to stop him.