Synopsis / Summary / Plot
In a skyscraper in Century City, Los Angeles lawyer Henry Drummond is working late when the lights go out. He sees a collection of glowing eyes in the dark. Something destroys his deskphone with a corrosive substance. Something hurls him across the room. And something pierces his neck. A security guard answers his scream and finds him webbed up on a wall - dead.
Spider-Man web-swings through New York heading to an NY Globe-Recorder press conference which promises to expose the mob connections of a Presidential Candidate. The only people who know the details are the whistle-blower Walter Weston and the Globe's lawyer who's currently in California (do you smell a connection?). Suddenly Weston is teleported onto the stage with a swelling on his neck. He falls off the stage dead. And his documents have gone missing.
Much to his surprise J. Jonah Jameson pays for Peter Parker to go interview the Candidates, who are currently in California.
Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch and U.S. Agent of the Avengers West Coast are discussing the news over breakfast in their Palos Verdes Compound. As well as the Republican and Democrat runners the Liberty Party's Michael Galvan is gaining ground on a law & order ticket. Predictably US Agent supports Galvan. Hawkeye gets into an argument with him and Wanda Maximoff tries to keep the peace. Living Lightning comes out of his bedroom with his girlfriend Mona (from #76-79's Hollywood adventure). Miguel Santos doesn't care which of the politicians might be dirty. They're all as bad as each other and he's not going to vote. Until indignant housekeeper Consuela tells him off. Iron Man and Wonder Man turn up just as the radio announces the death of Drummond the Globe-Recorder lawyer (told you so). They decide to investigate.
The last member of the team Spider-Woman is in civilian guise as Julia Carpenter meeting her ex-husband Larry to pick up their daughter Rachel. She's late because of traffic and he's angry as usual because he's needed at his new job as PR for the Liberty Party. When they get in the car Julia tells her daughter that she's got to answer an AWC call so she's taking her to the compound. Rachel's happy about that, but as usual she mustn't tell her father who doesn't know his ex-wife's a superheroine.
On the way Julia gives in and tells Rachel her super-origin. She met Larry Carpenter when they were undergrads, and at the same time she played tennis with post-grad Valerie Cooper. She dropped out of college to help finance Larry's progress. They got married and had Rachel. Later they got divorced and Julia got custody. (She is surprised to learn that her daughter knows about Larry's extra-marital affairs.) Mother and daughter continued living in Denver until Val Cooper offered her a job with the Commission On Superhuman Activities in Washington (Rachel Carpenter went to stay with her dad). They injected Julia with experimental drugs as research on super-abilities. 1 day they accidentally injected her with spider extract and she developed superpowers - strength, leaping, sticking to walls and creating psionic webs. They named her Spider-Woman (though she would have preferred Ariadne or Arachne).
Before taking up a role as a Government superhero she revisited Denver where she was zapped into space along with a whole chunk of the city (not including Rachel and Larry). This was her 1st published appearance in the 1st Secret Wars limited series with a load of other heroes fighting the Beyonder on Battleworld. When they were returned to Earth Julia took Rachel to live in Washington and Val Cooper put her in the Government mutant-hunting team Freedom Force (ex-members of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants) (Uncanny X-Men #206 and X-Factor #8-9). But the demands of this secret job meant she lost custody of Rachel to Larry.
When Freedom Force captured the Avengers in their Annual #15 Julia rebelled and set them free. She was now on the run and Iron Man defended her from bounty hunters in his #214. She turned herself in and Cooper gave her a 2nd chance as a lone secret agent with Mike Clemson as her handler. Spider-Woman did some jobs like that including 1 in Spectacular Spider-Man #125-126. Then Larry and Rachel moved to California and Val let Julia relocate too. She got involved in the Pacific Overlords story in our #70-74 and joined the team. (And Rachel met them and learned her mom's secret in #75.)
But strangely Julia *isn't* taking Rachel to the AWC Compound, she's going to meet Mike Clemson. (She hadn't really wanted to have Rachel today.) Julia is wearing her costume under her civvies so she meets him as Spider-Woman. Rachel sneaks out of the car and she and Clemson don't don't hit off at all. Spi gets angry and tells Clemson she quits the Commission. She doesn't think the CSA will come out into the open to sue her for breaking her contract.
After she's gone Clemson enters the abandoned factory where they met and reports to the Conclave - a group of silhouettes on screens who claim to be representatives of all arms of the Government secretly organised to control the US. They aren't that bothered that Clemson hasn't been able to recruit Spi to their cause. They are more concerned with another scheme involving a special operative (who we'll meet next issue) and 'death on 8 legs'.
Spider-Woman now drives to the Liberty Party's Convention to meet the rest of the team (but why are the AWC concerned with this 1 particular party?). She has a spare mask for Rachel to wear, but Rachel reminds her that Larry will be there too. The AWC aren't happy about the situation, and they have to remember to call Rachel Spider-Girl when strangers are around.
On stage Galvan's running-mate Wilson Lambert introduces him to the crowd. Galvan makes 1 of his law & order speeches and makes it seem like the Avengers are here to endorse him. Then the lights go out. Iron Man and Living Lightning provide some illumination to check the politicians are OK. Hawkeye spots someone swinging across the room and the team give chase leaving Lightning to maintain illumination and SpW to guard the candidates.
They corner their target and Hawkeye's flare arrow reveals it to be Spider-Man. But there are others in the room:- a 6-armed hulk with multiple eyes, an armoured figure and a female with spikes on her wrists. (We saw them briefly stalking Spider-Woman in #82. There they were named Therak, Antro and Arachne. Here they just call their group Deathweb.)