Spider-Man hitches a ride from the airport on a
helicopter following his return from the Florida Everglades (and the events of
Giant-Size Spider-Man #5). He gets off at the Daily Bugle where J. Jonah
Jameson is not at all happy that Peter didn’t get any photos after heading to
Florida at the Bugle’s expense! Out in the main office area, Peter runs into
Ned Leeds, who reveals that they took “Gwen” to a doctor and hands Peter an
envelope with the shocking details they discovered! Cutting to a federal penitentiary,
we find the Tarantula in the prison shoe shop fashioning new versions of his
signature pointed boots! He uses them to attack the guards and escape, climbing
down to the courtyard before scaling the wall where there’s a van waiting for
him, driven by his new partner the Jackal! As they drive off, the Jackal
promises that Tarantula is in the big leagues now!
Back in Manhattan, Mary Jane and Anna Watson pick up
Aunt May as she’s being discharged from the hospital. Mrs. Watson goes to get
the car, giving Aunt May and MJ a rare chance to talk. Aunt May asks Mary Jane
how things are going with Peter and she angrily admits that ever since Gwen
seemingly returned, Peter seems to have forgotten she exists! This especially
angers her due to their big kiss and realization about each other at the
airport that she’s worried was all for nothing. Aunt May is surprised at MJ,
and tells her not to let Peter go without a fight! She tells Mary Jane not to
let her pride get in the way and keep her and Peter apart when they need each
other most! Later, Spider-Man swings around, still mulling over what he learned
from the folder Ned gave him. According to the doctors, this new Gwen is a
clone, grown from the cell tissue of the original Gwen, who’s memories end
shortly before Gwen’s death. The gravity of the revelation hits Spidey and he
lands in front of a mirror store. He hallucinates Gwen coming out of a mirror
and freaks out, not wanting Gwen to come back if it could mean losing her
again! He takes his frustrations out on the mirrors in the store, smashing them
to bits in his stupor before he realizes what he’s doing!
Spider-Man is then stopped by two cops, who tell him
to come out of the store with his hands up! As Spidey wonders what he’s going
to do, the Tarantula takes the cops by surprise, before he attacks Spider-Man
as well! Spidey and Tarantula’s fight takes them into the New York streets and
across the tops of several cars. Eventually, Spider-Man realizes that Tarantula
seems to be leading him in circles, keeping them in that same general area.
Tarantula then reveals this was part of his trap as he knocks Spidey into an
oncoming bus! The two continue their fight on the bus, as the passengers run
off in terror and the driver seems oddly unfazed. The bus continues swerving
and speeding around, making things even harder for Spidey, before it makes a
sudden stop and the Gwen clone gets onboard! While Gwen sits there,
unresponsive as a robot, the bus driver reveals himself to be the Jackal in
disguise, all of this a part of his plan to get Spidey exactly where he wants
him!
The bus speeds off once again, while Spidey contends
with the Tarantula, crashing into a car as it makes its way to its destination.
Eventually, the bus stops at the Brooklyn Bridge, the very place where Gwen
Stacy died! The Jackal and Gwen exit the bus and begin to make their way to the
top, as Tarantula knicks a distracted Spidey with one of his poison-tipped
spikes! Spidey quickly passes out and awakens later to find himself chained up
at the top of the bridge! The Jackal reveals that he’s responsible for the Gwen
clone and that he’s going to kill Spider-Man for, as he sees it, killing Gwen
at that very spot those years ago! He orders Tarantula to kick Spidey off the
bridge, and as he falls, with his arms and legs completely chained, Spidey
wonders how he’s going to get out of this! To be continued!
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