Before I begin my newest article, I just want to say…. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ILOVESTARGIRL!!!
AMAZING SLINGERS ARC 3: GHOST OF THE PAST
(Because it’s a continuation of the previous story You Look Like You’ve Seen a Ghost.)
In New York the Slingers and Flash Thompson aka Agent Toxin will deal with Betty being kidnapped by her brother Crime Master. Miles, Kaine, and Ana, who had been dealing with Kraven the Hunter, Calypso, and the Grim Hybrid unite with the Slingers( May Parker, Normie Osborn, Sarah Stacy) Spider-Goblin/ an alternate Phil Urich is helping to find Betty but has quit the team because he’s thought of as a menace while they’re beloved. He doesn’t want to drag them down. Unfortunately, Crime Master’s operation is so secretive that no one has any idea where Bennet and Betty went. Any trace of them has seemingly been wiped away from anywhere within a mile of where the battle against the Slingers and Enforcers took place and from Betty’s apartment. They’re dealing with a secret organization now, which isn’t what they usually have to fight.
But, they’re still looking, meanwhile alternate earth Phil Urich/ Spider Goblin has returned home to his Uncle’s apartment, thinking that things can’t get any worse, when Ben Urich informs him they need to have a talk. He knows Phil hasn’t done anything wrong… but his Phil Urich still gives him horrific PTSD flashbacks and Spider-Goblin living here makes them worse. He can still visit and if he ever needs help, he’ll be the first one to help, but he can’t live here anymore. At home, Ben Urich is kidnapped by old Phil Urich villain from back when he was a hero, Angelface, who escaped from prison in my previous article.
So Ned Leeds will explain to the Slingers that the organization the chooses each Crime Master is powerful and mysterious and he knows almost nothing about it. Agent Toxin checks his ties in the government but isn’t able to find much. Like, the government is aware of a criminal cell known as The Masters of Crime, but they have nothing beyond that. Betty seems to have vanished off the face of the Earth.
At the same time, a press conference has been staged at Alchemax welcoming back Liz Allen from her time in Ravencroft, where she apologizes for her previous actions and explains her plans to take the company in a new direction dedicated to bettering humanity.
At this time, Agent Toxin, working alongside
-Doc Ock
-Clash
-and Sandman
-Ana Kravinoff
(Harry is at Alchemax so not there)
Discover a lead involving all the evidence from Betty Brant’s kidnapping being moved from the NYPD. They find out who did it, but he claims he doesn’t know who it was that told him to destroy the evidence, they just approached him in his house and threatened his daughter. Sandman empathizes with him, having a daughter of his own.
Ned Leeds is being kept in The Slingers Base for his own protection from The Masters of Crime right now. Miles and Kaine are watching him. However, when they learn from Ned more about how every criminal in the city, whether they know it or not, works for Crime Master, who is himself just a figurehead for the organization The Masters of Crime to use to hide their own involvement. Miles and Kaine think they should question Mayor Fisk, as he might know something, being the former Kingpin of New York. Both Miles and Kaine really dislike Fisk, so they end up rock-paper- scissoring to decide who gets to go after him. Kaine wins. Miles asks for best two out of three, Kaine refuses.
At the Mayor’s office, Kaine sneaks in and waits for Fisk in his chair behind his desk. Mayor Fisk arrives, and Kaine asks him about the Masters Of Crime. Fisk is surprised it took this long for the heroes to find out, and reveals some backstory. What he knows about The Masters of Crime is that they work something like a bank for the highest ranking gangsters in North America. They will finance your exploits if you promise to do favors for them in the future.
Because of this, they are actually the ones responsible for most of the gang related crime Spider-Man and his allies have been fighting since they were created.
Kingpin reminds Kaine he’s exonerated for his crimes, they can’t use any of this against him. He knows more but the only other thing he’s willing to reveal about them is that the have a base in Manhattan…. Directly beneath Battery Park.
Kaine asks why Fisk is helping. Fisk tells Kaine: because, I don’t like not being on top. Kaine leaves, promising that someday, he’s going to take Fisk down. “Better men than you have tried Kaine. I’m still right here”
Kaine leaves, and his next meeting arrives:
Crime Master and Mr. Negative!
It will be revealed to us that and Mr. Negative both consider Crime Master their superior, and that the secret society The Masters Of Crime have financed and given loans and troops to them, helping them in their ventures for years. With Kingpin, it can be assumed he was serious with Kaine that he has plans to usurp control from Bennett eventually because obviously he would be planning that, he’s Wilson Fisk. Crime Master thanks Fisk for setting the trap. Fisk thanks Crime Master. The Slingers have been thorns in his side for years. He is… grateful that the Masters of Crime are finally stepping in.
We move to the next issue, the full force of The Slingers, Spectacular Six, Agent Toxin, and Spider goblin are preparing to assault the base under Battery Park. They arrive to find….Crime Master sitting on a bench eating roasted peanuts. He informs them there is no base under the park, and Fisk was lying. Absolutely none of them are surprised. Crime Master explains if he is injured in any way, a random bomb will go off somewhere in the city. Since this conversation has started, four Spider-Tracers have hit him. They’ve already been deactivated. If any more are shot, two bombs go off, the spider tracers are really annoying.
Crime Master explains that they might have noticed an increase in crime. This will continue exponentially unless the Slingers are disbanded, the Spectacular Six are disbanded, Liz Allen steps down from Alchemax, and Peter Parker steps down from Parker Industries. This is an ultimatum, and also, he has sent out this same ultimatum to every news network in the city. You have a week to decide.
We cut back to Mr. Negative and Kingpin getting ready. Crime Master has decided to use these two to tear apart the city and turn the public against the Slingers as much as possible by having them not meet the demands and continue to fight.
Mayor Fisk issues arrest warrant for not only the Slingers and Spectacular Six, but for Peter Parker. Kingpin is very happy to do this. The Slingers and Spectacular Six are forced to abandon their bases as police raid them. The Slingers escape, but Ned Leeds is captured by police.
They meet with Peter Parker at J Jonah Jameson’s House, who since this has all begun, been leading the charge of a series of comically pro-Spider-Man podcasts. Basically, over the course of all of Jameson’s development in my series, he’s become basically the same J J Jameson, but now to the other extreme. He does still hate Spider-Goblin though, and is making comments to Peter about how he doesn’t like having “that one” in his home. Peter defends Spider-Goblin, and Jameson agrees to disagree. He tells all of them that Wilson Fisk is and always has been a crook, and they’re allowed to stay here as long as they want! If they need help against the Crime Master punk he’s more than willing to roll up his sleeves!
Agent Venom, being the only one of them not having an arrest warrant out for him, goes to break out Ned, as the Crime Master might try to kill him just for knowing of his existence.
We reveal while our main heroes are in hiding, they’re in contact with others such as Jackpot, Daredevil, Cloak and Dagger, and Morbius.
Mr Negative begins to wreak havoc in the city and The Slingers realize they have to head out and stop him even if it turns the city against them even more. While they’re doing this,
Doc Ock
Clash
Ana
Harry
Sandman
Decide to meet up with Agent Toxin after he saves Ned. Corrupt cops are prevented from killing Ned by Agent Toxin.
Mr. Negative has developed his skill set and trained to do some new powers related to dark force energy: he can turn people into demon energy beings of dark or light energy, not just dark energy. He dubs these creatures Black or White Goblins instead of Demons because he’s been asked by Bennett Brant to create more Goblin based tension whenever possible. With the controversy surrounding Spider-Goblin, it could really help make the Slingers look bad.
The Black Goblins have a frail-looking corpse-like appearance whose touch and breath can cause any living thing they come in contact becoming older and older until he/she was dead. The White Goblins look like creepy and pale smooth skinned newborns but in a weird Goblin form whose touch and breath can cause any living being he comes in contact keep getting younger and younger until he/she became nothing. They’re both incredibly creepy creatures.
The Slingers attempt to deal with them after they’re let loose in Chinatown so that Mr. Negative wants to remove the gangs from so he can take it over later, resulting in Kaine, usually the gruff and serious one, being transformed into a toddler. He has his memories and is very angry, but toddlers body. Miles Morales however, becomes a geriatric 90 year old only days from death which is taken a lot more seriously than Kaine’s predicament(which Sarah seems to constantly be holding in laughter about despite it actually being serious, it’s really the visual plus him trying to still do his adult gruff voice while being a kid she finds funny). Sarah Stacy, Agent Toxin, May Parker, and Normie team up with Cloak and Dagger to try and capture one of each Goblin so they can reverse this. Cloak and Dagger are implied to be having some sort of relationship issue but it’s not addressed because there are bigger issues. May Parker has a tense scene with what are basically horror movie monsters, but manages to hold her own, and humorously tries to convince herself in her thought bubbles about the times she fought Carnage and Inheritors and that after that this shouldn’t be scary at all, It’s a walk in the park.
Cloak and Dagger help them capture one of each Goblin then destroy the others in either a dazzling blast of light or by sucking them into the dark dimension and snuffing them out. This leaves them back as normal people. The remaining two are used to reverse the aging of Miles and Kaine.
But, Mr. Negative uses another of his powers(he’s been doing a lot of training) to switch Dagger into being powered by Darkforce Energy, and Cloak into being light powered. They also both hate each other. Big awesome fight, streets getting wrecked, energy daggers all over the place, dark force wormholes, and out heroes have to seperate the two. Cloak and Dagger are able to fight through their “Inner Demons” and through their mutual love for each other return to normal.
Meanwhile,
Harry,
Clash,
Ana,
Sandman,
And Doc Ock are attacked by
Chance
Big Wheel
Stunner
White Rabbit
Human Fly
and Mirage
A six team that actually has six people(Venom is on leave from the Spectacular team)
These villains are looking to collect the million dollar bounty on each of the heroes. They’re eventually defeated though.
Kristy Watson/ Jackpot and J J Jameson have a somewhat comical team up where they try to investigate the Masters Of Crime, eventually discovering through some sleuthing and asking around while showing Bennett’s picture, followed by some research on the internet which Kristy is much better at than Jameson, Bennett Brant has a personal doctor that visits him in his secret base for exams.
They find the doctor, who reveals the location of the secret base and that his young son is in the base and needs to be rescued. The base is revealed to be in a skyscraper. The heroes all meet up, Cloak and Dagger and Jackpot included, to attack the base, they save the doctor’s son, and it’s revealed Betty is being groomed to be the next Crime Master after Bennett dies. The Masters of Crime consider her a hard worker and a natural leader.
The reason for the personal doctor was he has a disease leaving him with two years left to live! Also in the base are multiple members of The Masters of Crime preparing to brainwash Betty, plus a series of stormtroopers in Fedoras and 1950’s suits.
Flash, realizing that there’s no telling who could be under Crime Masters payroll, calls in a favor and the US army swarms the base and takes Bennett and his goons in. They check to make sure this time and everyone is certain the real Bennett has been captured. This isn’t another body double. He’s actually being arrested.
Betty reveals to Eddie that it’s not over yet. They’ve struck a huge blow to the Masters of Crime, and a bunch of their secret files have just been seized by the army, but they’re going to want revenge……
Mayor Fisk ends the hunt for the heroes and publically thanks them through gritted teeth for their roles in protecting the city. He does ask the city to wonder, they beat the deadline, but would the Slingers have really stopped after the week deadline? With this question raised, people are less certain about the heroes and their reputation has been damaged.
Meanwhile, Mr. Negative is still on the loose, and is leaving the country for Shanghai.
Peter, already having to go to Shanghai for the Parker Industries Expo, where the name will officially be changed to Parker-Watson industries in a grand romantic gesture to show Peter and MJ need each other and are equal partners, takes the Slingers plus Ana and Doc Ock with him to track Mr. Negative down. Doc Ock because he’s part of Parker Industries, Ana because she and Miles wanted to go together.
Meanwhile, Mr. Negative wants revenge, and has met with Michael Tan, a disgruntled former employee of Parker Industries fired by Doc Ock in Spider-Man’s body because his attempts to create self replicating nanobots were too dangerous. With the help of one of Dr. Tramma’s body shops, Tan’s mind is dispersed into his nanobots, creating a new SUPERIOR SWARM!!!
We’ll show some of Tan’s backstory, and how in our initial back to the basics arc from my first article he was the reason Peter lost his Doctorate and the plagiarism was revealed. However, this in a roundabout sort of way led to Peter’s marriage, triumphant return, and status as one of New York’s greatest heroes, so Tan became very frustrated because of this. He also believes his genius isn’t being seen by the idiotic public, and that tiny people afraid of his ideas are holding back progress! But, the Parker Industries Expo showcases new technology, so he‘s going to show off his Nanobots by killing Peter Parker and Doctor Octavius! In a similar manner to Doc Ock, he seems to use the word “Superior” far more often than anyone else normally would.
Anyway, Peter will visit Lian Tang, the woman in charge of his Shanghai branch of Parker Industries and with his old Spider-mobile from the original Parker Industries the speed racing superhero Spider-Rider. On the night of the expo, Peter kisses MJ on stage, then Black and White Goblins alongside Superior Swarm attack.
During the attack, noticing something the Slingers don’t, Peter will have to leap into action and save a man from an attacker, doing an iconic spider pose as he does so. The Spider-mobile with Lian Tang in it will drive up and through buildings battling the massive nanobot Swarm. Tan will reveal his identity to Doc Ock, MJ, and Peter as the SUPERIOR SWARM and explain he will prove himself as their superiors by destroying everything they’ve built! Doc Ock finds the overuse of “Superior” irritating. Peter comments that it really isn’t that hard to be superior to the original swarm. He beat that guy with bug spray once. MJ questions if that really happened. Peter responds that it did, Tan demands of be taken seriously and tells them they will all watch as he destroys the cages they’ve built to keep superior thinkers like him down and and create a superior world in its place!
Spider-Rider researches Michael Tan’s prototypes, creates an electromagnetic pulse tuned to shut down his nanobots, and attempts to navigate through the cloud of bots to get to the roof of the Parker-Watson Industries Building.
The Slingers find Mr. Negative and battle through his Black and White Goblin’s before finally beating him. Spider-Rider shuts down Michael Tan, whose pieces, which still contain his consciousness, are taken away by shield.
Back in New York, Peter is healing from some minor injuries during the Superior Swarm thing. He’s called by Harry, who has reopened the old Coffee Bean in his spare time, the place their friend group would all meet back in college. Harry has taken to wearing shades all the time to hide his permenant goblin eyes.
In the coffee bean Harry and Peter meet up at a refurbished and reopened coffee bean, their hangout from the college years and discuss how they hated each other when they first met and how over time though, they became best friends. A joke is made about a turn of phrase “Pete’s a good egg.” that Harry often used in his college years.
This is revealed to be a surprise party to congratulate both Peter and MJ, who is being brought over after being picked up in Liz Allen’s limo. We see MJ doesn’t know about the party either, and thinks Liz has asked her into the limo because she needs to talk about something related to her prior mental breakdown and as MJ tries to help her, Liz realizes this and deadpan reveals they’re going to a surprise party. It gets a bit awkward, MJ ties to find some common ground between the two, asking how Stanley is. She barely ever sees anyone but Normie anymore.
We get into a bit how Liz and MJ both started as the fun, popular kids in school, but have gone in very different directions since then. MJ succeeds in getting Liz out of her shell after convincing her to have fun. They’re in a limo going to a party after all.
Liz and MJ both reach the coffee bean in good spirits and greet everyone. MJ pretends she didn’t know it was going to be a party. Flash Thompson is there with Betty, as are the Jameson’s and Robertson’s, Kaine and Sarah Stacy are together, May and Normie are there, Normie pushing Stanley in his wheelchair. Doc Ock, Anna Maria, and Michael Morbius are there too, Ana and Miles are in the group, Johnny Storm was invited, Clash is there, Flint Marco with his daughter, the alternate earth Phil Urich is there, Ben Reilly is with his family, Lily Hollister and Felicia Hardy are there. Puma is there as well. Kristy Watson/Jackpot is there. Matt Murdock and Cloak and Dagger. Everyone is in good spirits, Peter greets Ben and meets the family, then says hi to Lily and Felicia, who flew in from Symkaria to Shanghai for the initial rechristening of Parker Industries but arrived late due to a tussle with diamond smugglers. Normie see’s alternate Phil and tells him he doesn’t think he’s a villain. Felecia doesn’t believe Peter’s really retired for good, Peter tells her he thinks this is the real one. He’s happy, the city is safe. Peter Parker doesn’t need to be Spider-man anymore. A toast is made by Kaine to the best couple he knows… not including him and Sarah. Venom watches from a skylight and in thought bubbles congratulates Peter and MJ. Kaine and Sarah sneak out.
Felecia tracks Peter down and comments on him going off to Shanghai after Mr. Negative, trying to reason with the rhino, leading the search for Betty. He’s still being Spider-Man, just in a business suit. She says it in a joking way but it gets Peter thinking. He brushes it off and rejoins the party. Felicia heads over to Lily Hollister, who is talking to Harry and Liz.
We close with everyone happy and in celebration, and end this arc.
We get an epilogue issue to this storyline before we move into the next arc.
Mr. Negative has been defeated, as has Bennett Brant, but in a Masters of Crime stronghold, a new Crime Master has been chosen. The masters of crime tell the now masked Wilson Fisk that they have heard his desires for true power, and being he is a devoted knight of their army, they will grant him… temporary status as Crime Master. The deal: put Richard Fitzgerald and the LaMuerto’s in their place. If he fails…. they kill him.
Meanwhile, Ana Kravinoff has something important to tell Miles. Super villains have been becoming more powerful lately. But it isn’t every super villain, it’s super villains with a specific status: villains who primarily fight the Slingers.
Ana’s father taught her enough to be able to tell what the events of the past few arcs mean: their strengths and weaknesses are being tested, like wolf packs test for weakness in specific caribou before they attack the herd. They’re being hunted...
Spider Goblin thinks over what Normie said and resolves while preparing to meet a potential future roommate at an apartment he’s looking at to prove once and for all to New York and to his Uncle Ben that he’s not a villain! Normie’s words have touched him, and now he’s going to work to show everyone the best hero he can be. He arrives at the apartment, and we see his new roommate is the secret identity of Spider-Man villain: Boomerang. (Something similar is happening in the current Spider-Man books with Nick Spencer, and I wanted to do something with Boomerang so we’re starting at the same point but it will go differently.)
Miles and Ana explain to the entire Slingers Ana’s theory. Kaine comments if this is true, then the same person is responsible for Electro, the Enforcers attacking the Bugle, and all the destruction done by JuggerRhino in Texas.
Kingpin tells Jackal/Richard he should kill him for what he did to Vanessa(in Clone Conspiracy) Jackal explains that wasn’t him… technically. Kingpin comments he hates clones and continues. He should kill him... but since he allowed him to take charge as the New Crime Master, consider the debt paid.
Amazing Slingers Arc 4: Loud of War
So for this arc the Superior Six will be away on their own thing, as I have chosen to starting now spin the Superior Six off into their own book.
So with the Slingers now, we begin with LOUD OF WAR, the arc where we reintroduce Miles’ criminal uncle, who last we saw had managed to use stolen technology to make the carnage symbiote very docile and suggestible to his commands. This version of carnage is sleeker with a Prowler style face, and uses symbiote guns instead of symbiote axes, spikes, and knives.
He’s currently returning to New York by plane after about a year of international thievery.
Meanwhile down below in a highly secure bank, the speakers activate throughout the bank. A guard comments… “it’s… disco?” Hypno Hustler commands everyone in the bank to either present their valuables to him or if they’ve got the keys get the vault open. A guard, revealing to Hypno Hustler he’s listening to classical music in his earpods, attempts to shoot Hustler… before Shriek attacks him from behind! Hustler explains he and Shriek don’t have a lot in common… Shriek cuts in she picks the music next time. Hustler continues. “But the Bonnie and Clyde act really works for us. Can you dig it?”
They rob the bank and as cops arrive outside, Shriek turns the bankgoers into an angry mob as a distraction as her and Hypno Hustler escape out the back. Hypno Hustler: “Lets book it!”
You know how Dark Knights Metal got a specially released soundtrack to coincide with the comic? This specific issue needs that.
The Slingers arrive,
Hypno “ It’s the man!”
and Normie and May attempt to separate the mob. Miles, Kaine, and Sarah attack Hypno Hustler and Shriek. Sarah is surprised as Hypno Hustler appears to actually be…. shockingly competent and effective as a villain and is successfully fighting back against the Slingers. Kaine explains he knows from experience, the name sets your guard down, but Hustler is actually very dangerous.
Hypno Hustler: “Feel the Funk Fool!”
Shriek begins fighting Imp and Spidergirl, (she loves children so if she gets an opportunity to fight them she will take it. FWI: children do not love her)
Miles manages to take down Hypno Hustler from behind while camouflaged using his venom blast, but Shriek escapes with Doppelganger, screaming to the captured Hustler that it’s over and she’s breaking up with him.
So anyway, The Slingers
Miles
Sarah
Kaine
Imp/ Normie
Spider-Girl/ May
All question Hustler on the whereabouts of Aaron Davis. Hustler claims that he did a job with the guy and he was a cool cat but they don’t keep in touch.
Eventually, after promises that he can start a prison band, he reveals Aaron is at a fancy hotel.
Miles struggles with his Uncle being a super villain and if he’ll be able to fight him again if it becomes necessary. He also wishes Ana was here, but she’s in the Spectacular Six book. The team goes to track him down to a hotel he might be at, but discover he’s gone, and blueprints of the Parker Industries lab MJ keeps the Iron Spider suit at. The team leaves and rushes to get to it, but while they’re on the other side of town Aaron is using the docile Carnage suit, now enhanced with a few bits of gadgets and tech, some of which keeps it under Aaron’s control, some of which is to make thievery easier. He’s already snuck into the lab and has, by sending out small bits of carnage onto guards and scientists, has the symbiote use its control over people it’s in contact to knock everyone out.
He grabs the Iron Spider suit as The Slingers arrive, and Carnage. Eventually, it’s revealed to be a ruse and just a piece of carnage wrapped around an unconscious guard. A piece which crumbles to dust after being away from full carnage too long. Aaron meanwhile, escapes in the Iron Spider and heads to a safe house where he prepares his escape out of New York so he can meet representatives of the Delvadian government in international waters in 24 hours. Meanwhile, Shriek discovers what Davis did on the nightly news and on learning no one was seriously harmed in the robbery, freaks out about Aaron not honoring Cletus’s memory. She angrily explains this to her “child” Doppelganger and decides she’s going to honor Cletus by killing Aaron Davis the way Cletus would have wanted it… with ultra violence.
Meanwhile, the Slingers use the tracker on the Iron Spider to find its locations. Aaron, while examining the suit, discovers the beeping tracker and destroys it, but realizing it’s too late, decides to get in the suit and escape. At this point, Doppelganger and Shriek attack, Shriek using sonic power against Aaron’s symbiote. However, he still has the Iron Spider, and The Slingers have just arrived!
We get a cool fight, Shriek uses her powers to turn a crowd of people into an angry mob. Miles tries to protect his uncle as May and Normie try to keep the people in the mob from hurting each other, and fight Doppelganger. Kaine and Sarah fight Shriek.
Shriek goes after Davis, leading to a moment where Aaron jumps in front of Miles to protect him, seemingly at the cost of the Carnage symbiote. Miles is grabbed by the mob and Shriek then battles Davis solo.
At this point, where things are at their worst, Kate Bishop arrives to disperse the mob with tear gas arrows, save Normie from Shriek, who had been using her sound powers against him, and befuddle Miles Morales, who dated a Kate Bishop on earth 1610, who not only was not a master archer, but was a devoted hydra agent. So this is wierd for him. Aaron manages to escape in the Iron Spider as Kate battles Doppelganger and Shriek alongside the Slingers. Miles attempts to check if she’s a Hydra Agent with a whispered “Hail Hydra” and she points the bow at him. He claims it was just a test and that he’s been doing that every time he meets a new hero since Secret Empire when Cap turned bad. Shriek creates a blinding flash of energy and escapes.
Meanwhile, Aaron discovers Carnage is alive, just very injured and recuperating inside his blood stream. He’s going to be out of the picture for a while as he heals. He heads to the Delvadian nuclear submarine off the coast of New York in his Iron Spider suit to sell it as Miles wishes his team had someone good with tech to search his uncles computer and find where he’s going. Unfortunately Doc Ock and Clash are in their own book with the Spectacular Six now. However, they’re able to send it in to Parker Industries and Miles quizzes Kate, who is guest starring in this arc of the book. She’s seemingly nothing like his ex-girlfriend, but also similar in some key ways, so this is very weird and he wants it to be over soon. They discover he’s made a deal with the Delvadian government and is meeting them off the coast, so they head out and sneak aboard the sub Aaron Davis is now within. Doppelganger and Shriek have also snuck aboard.
Aaron prepares to sell the Iron Spider, and we learn the nuclear sub has high tech escape pods that shoot into the sky like rockets. He plans to travel in the sub as Carnage regrow son him until they reach Delvadia in South America.
Then we get the big action set pieces, a fight in the sub,
Aaron Davis is realizing that with the Iron Spider suit he should be far harder to beat, but he’s feeling tired, slow, and he doesn’t know why.
Shriek accidentally causes a meltdown and everyone has to evacuate. With various areas of the sub waterlogged, The Slingers collect unconscious Delvadia Soldiers and get into pods. Miles orders the other Slingers and Kate to escape while he searches for any remaining survivors, but Kate remains, and Aaron Davis trapped under rubble, Aaron tries to forces Miles to leave without him, but he refuses. Kate can’t use any explosive arrows because they’re in a pressurized submarine.
Miles begins the Spider-Man lifting rubble sequence in an attempt to save Aaron…. when Aaron shoots out some regrown carnage on Miles’s and Kate’s faces to temporarily mind control them both into getting into a pod and leaving. Then Shriek arrives with Doppelganger as the pod locks.
By the time the symbiote stuck on their faces crumbles they’re trapped in the pod, about to take off.
Aaron hears a voice. The symbiote, offering to protect him and get him out from rubble…. if it’s given control.
The Iron Spider suit Aaron is in is torn open, revealing within, classic comic design Carnage! Carnage begins to laugh, revealing to Davis that “after all those years of complete symbiosis, true symbiosis, you would have to be an idiot to think killing me would be enough to take me out.”
In all of my stories, the carnage symbiote has been inherently violent and psychotic, because symbiotes are affected by their hosts just as much as as symbiotes effect people! And all those years of being one singular being down to dna, more symbiote than even Venom and Eddie, why would you think killing Cletus Cassidy’s human parts would be the end of it? Cletus’s mind… his consciousness has been hiding in the symbiote! He was kept under control by Aaron’s tech, but Aaron had no idea what he was dealing with! And now, the healed, rested, and more powerful symbiote has broken through the defenses, and its inside Aaron David’s brain!!! Cletus Cassidy, within an all new body… lives, and while before, he had been trapped, now Aaron has taken his place.
Shriek reunites with Carnage and his “son” Doppelganger, and they kill a few Delvadian soldiers trying to get into an escape pod, taking their place and launching themselves miles into the sky as below, the nuclear sub explodes in international waters!!!
Miles, who has also taken off, vows to save his Uncle from the Carnage symbiote.
We cut to Hypno Hustler preparing for the first show of his new prison disco band, as we slowly reveal that several instruments have been slightly modified by Hustler in a remarkably well planned and highly orchestrated escape plan. The sonic vibrations of Hypno hustlers guitar blow up all nearby glass, destroying all light bulbs, the result of which is a prison riot. Hustler rushes out of the room using a sonic grenade disguised as a microphone and flying away by strapping the hoverboard cymbals of a drum set to his feet.
“Dyno-Might!”
Meanwhile, in a flash of light an angry and determined Spider-Man 2099 returns from the future into a New York alley.
Spectacular Six Arc One: Burnin’ For You
What is at this point the Spectacular five because Venom is still gone train, we get to see all the characters interactions and quirks. Ana is a loner, Sandman isn’t too smart but makes up for it in heart, Clash is the tech wizard, Harry is pretty interesting as a character, being scarred by chemicals to permanently have Goblin eyes while trying to atone for past mistakes and be a good father at the same time. Doc Ock is the somewhat arrogant leader. Everyone on this team has a mistake they’ve made that they want to atone for. Everyone on this team has regrets regarding who they used to be. For this arc we go into some Osborn family stuff and see the Spectacular Five aren’t the only ones with ghosts. Liz Allen has returned and is retaking her company after it had previously been run during her time in Ravencroft by Interim CEO Mark Raxton, aka her stepbrother, aka Molten Man. The specter of The Rose, her secret identity when she was trying to destroy the goblins, still lingers as a literal spectre, following her around silently in her mind before disappearing. Currently, she can’t get the image of her son becoming the heroic Goblin the Imp out of her head and is trying to use meditation to get rid of some of this. No one else knows about this, and everyone thinks she’s cured of all mental problems and fit to run a company again.
Ana has a strong dislike towards Doc Ock as he killed Uncle Chameleon, a person who she has thought about using her inhuman powers on to bring back to life, but has decided against it as she’s vowed never to use those powers again. She does want to be a hero though and a better person, and break away from her family. Also she hasn’t been able to see Miles lately because of both teams being so busy. To deal with stress she’s been hunting a mysterious serial killer that has been stalking Manhattan, who when she finally tracks down, is revealed to be Massacre/ Marcus Lyman. A villain that while unpowered does not feel any emotions including fear, and possesses genius level intelligence. He also carries an arsenal of guns and weaponry with him. There’s a fight between Ana and Massacre, he manages to graze her with a bullet and escape. Ana wonders if she’s getting soft and sloppy from not training as often due to having more of a social life now. She informs the Five that Massacre is alive again, probably because of the Jackal, and is killing people.
Liz takes Normie to the Parker’s to work on a class project with May, and discovers that hallucination The Rose is in the car and talking now about how the kid is dangerous.
We learn from Doc Ock, who fought Massacre as Superior Spider-Man, Massacre’s crimes don’t subscribe to any logic or reasoning that he’s able to understand. He possesses no living relatives or connection to the world, he doesn’t feel empathy, and an urge to kill might be the closest thing he’s able to get to an emotion. It’s probable that he seeks it out. Ana is sent out to track Massacre once more, discovering in a shocking twist after hours of tracking everywhere he’s been over the last twenty four hours that the only place he can be now is…..in Harry Osborn’s House!
Harry will burst in through the windows and attack Massacre. Molten Man( a sixth former villain) will arrive, having been visiting to ask Liz about someone reopening old Goblin-cide based files.
Liz will wonder if it could have been her, then try to get both the kids out of the house as Massacre fights Harry, Massacre attempts to shoot Stanley, but will be stopped by Molten Man, before revealing the reason he’s here to Harry: Our brother sent me! Harry comes to a realization that Lyman-Massacre’s last name, is his mother's last name. Liz, hearing that Massacre is part of the family line, seems to break with reality, and her Rose personality begins to take over as she leaves the children outside and runs into the house. Doc Ock and Ana grab the children and get them away, as Sandman joins the fight, being accidentally blasted partly into glass by Molten Man. Sandman struggles to find more sand to rebuild his body as Liz Allen rushes in, grabbing a discarded gun. Massacre shoots at Harry, but Liz, having retaken control of her mind, leaps in front of Harry and takes the bullets. At this point Massacre is grabbed by Doc Ock. Harry though fights Doc Ock off in an attempt to kill Massacre, thinking Liz is dead, but is taken down by Ana. An operation is done and Molten Man/ Mark gives blood to Liz in a transfusion.
Moltan Man will not be a permanent member of this team, he just served as the sixth hero for an issue.
Harry learns from Lyman that his mother, who Norman had always told him was dead, is still out there somewhere, having raised Massacre in his early years before running away to escape from Norman, who had been abusive to her and was still hunting her. Harry resolves to find his long lost mother.
Ana decides that while she’s become less effective as a hunter due to her emotional connections, Massacre is a good example of an emotionless killer, something she doesn’t want to be. Doc Ock, who up to this point has been seen from Ana’s point of view as a very arrogant self-righteous person, contacts Ana to tell her he understands why she’s not comfortable working on a team with him, and if she wants she can switch teams to the Slingers, but she did a great job today and saved Normie and Stanley’s lives. I think I’m keeping Ana on the team but haven’t decided, so I’ve set up characters within this arc to replace her if she does leave. (Either Liz, gaining Molten powers, or maybe Molten Man himself) Also, if she doesn’t leave, then if Venom goes. Because, while Venom was a hero on earth 666, he’s kinda had a more intense way of doing things here, and at one time was the number one villain of Spider-Man. He’s also a bit insane, so while he could become the hero that he thinks he is, if it doesn’t work out we have back ups.
Liz wakes up, and discusses with Harry, alongside MJ and Peter who came to visit in the hospital she’s still not cured, but whatever is left of The Rose, she’s beaten it.
We get a backup story in the final issue of the arc after this from the point of view of Gabriel Stacy. Now Gabriel, he’s gone completely insane, so a story from his point of view jumps around and is a bit weird, he’s been in hiding. He’s alone, he lacks funding, since he killed Silk. He’s very proud of that achievement. His Goblin Queen, the demon Karlicuper( who is Carlie Cooper, revealed to have been a succubus working for Mephisto), didn’t see that as a win though, she thought he should have killed all of The Slingers. So she left him. Just like his sister did. He hates them both now. He went looking into his family history. He found Massacre, preparing for a… um… Massacre. The closest thing he had to a real brother(Harry doesn’t count Harry is a traitor). Both Massacre and Gabriel were looking for emotional connections to other people. Real emotions in general in the case of Massacre. Of course, Massacre doesn’t have the blood of an Osborn. He wasn’t good enough to be granted Norman’s blood, he should just kill Massacre…. but he could be someone useful. Gabriel is done with him. Gabriel is now plotting his revenge. He will prove himself as a true heir of Osborn. He doesn’t want to be called Gabriel anymore. Gabriel is basically the masculine version of Gwen. He’s no Gwen. Silk was his Gwen Stacy and she’s dead. He killed her and it’s the best thing he’s ever done. He’s a Goblin. The Grey Goblin, The Goblin King! The One True Goblin! He’s going to prove himself. He’s going to win Karlikuper back, and he’s going to get revenge on every last one of the Spiders! There’s someone out there who offered to help him…. he gave him his card: RICHARD FITZPATRICK. The Jackal.
Amazing Slingers Arc 5: Mother of Pearl
We begin with a determined and angry Miguel O’ Hara returning from the year 2099 in a flash of light. He heads to the Slingers Home base, an old Master Planner base in Manhattan that has been redone as the home of the Slingers. Inside, Miles is distraught over his uncle’s body being taken over by the consciousness of Cletus Kasady that now only exists in the symbiote, as well as the weirdness of his ex girlfriend from the ultimate universe still existing but being a completely different type of person here. Combined with both of these things is the crazy amount of stress he’s been under lately, having to hold the Slingers together as their leader. It wasn’t that long ago Silk was killed by Gabriel Stacy and he’s still in hiding….
He’s the only one in the base right now. May and Normie are at their homes. Kaine and Sarah Stacy are gone as well, fighting evil ninja cult The Hand Miles thinks…
Miles is feeling alone right now but he can’t call his girlfriend Ana Kravinoff since she’s on a mission with the Spectacular Six.
These thoughts are soon interrupted when 2099 Spider-Man bursts in to tell Miles he’s destroyed the future!
Miles is able to get Miguel/Spider-Man 2099 to calm down, and 2099 promises to explain if the Slingers and The Spectacular Six both come to the base. Kaine and Sarah are a bit mad to have to come to the base as they had, after defeating the evil ninjas, decided to end the night going to see a movie together.
Miguel o Hara explains that after his last mission in 2018, he returned to the future, only to find it changed completely. All of it ties back to an apocalyptic scenario that allowed Alchemax to take over the world! And the only reason they were able to take over is that Liz Allen was in charge! He has to stop Liz Allen!
Harry attacks Spider-Man 2099, and is seperated. Kaine tries to reason with Miguel, but reasoning with people isn’t really his strong suit. He’s able to get across that he understands Miguel’s side of things, he just lost his whole world, I understand, I used to think I was Peter Parker, but stopping Liz isn’t the way to do this! They don’t even know how the apocalypse scenario happened. 2099 insists, Kaine loses his cool, they fight, 2099 calms down, apologizes, and says that Kaine is right.
They look into it, trying to figure out how it happened, but they can’t find anything. Spider-Man 2099 is feeling defeated, he’s wondering if that world is the only world left for him. Then… in the prison Massacre is being held in, a mystery figure flashes through a time portal into his cell, presenting him with huge futuristic guns, and they both leave to the future. The Slingers and Spectacular Six discover what happened, and the team leaders (Miles, Doc Ock) decide to go to the future to bring Massacre to Justice!
Meanwhile, we get Sarah’s point of view, and the absolute shock and horror of learning Gabriel Stacy is back.
Spider-Man 2099 prepares them, explaining to everyone that they aren’t allowed to look at any historical records or try to change their own histories using information from 2099, as it could alter the timeline even more.
We flash forward…. to a very different 2099. A bright and shining 2099, a utopia of idyllic parks right in the middle of an energy efficient Manhattan. Kaine notices a man running with a purse, and thinking he’s a mugger, tackles him! Then it’s discovered he was actually bringing the purse to a woman who forgot it on the bus. He informs Kaine contact sports have been outlawed, and if he does that again he’ll be reported to Mother of Pearl!
A group of robot police appear and demand the heroes remove their masks, claiming all vigilantism has been outlawed. Refuse to comply and you will be reported to Mother of Pearl. There’s a fight, and Ana, Miles, Harry Osborn, and Spider-Man 2099 are captured. The others escape and attempt to regroup, discovering more about this new world, seemingly a idyllic utopia but only that way because everyone has been brainwashed into behaving. Kaine and Sarah both find everyone smiling really creepy.
Meanwhile, Miles, Ana, Harry, and Miguel O’Hara are brought to be “processed.” And learn that anyone who dresses in Superhero costumes is thought of as a “Goblin sympathizer” They’re brought before Mother of Pearl, who looks regal and queen like, but with a giant pearl for a head. At seeing Harry, the shocked Mother of Pearl removes her helmet to reveal an older, but not much older as there is anti-aging medicine in this future: Liz Allen!
Meanwhile in the past, Liz Allen and Alchemax investigate Massacre’s prison break and they discover, using some technology they had created back when Alchemax was more villainous and dealing with a time displaced Spider-Man 2099 that one of their theories work. Using leftover time travel energy from the cell they can reopen the wound in time and space as long as they do it quickly before its fully healed. They do, but because this is Alchemax’s first attempt at replicating time travel, something goes wrong and Liz gets sucked in and deposited in 2099.
The still free heroes decide to head to Miguel O’Hara’s home, which Doc Ock remembers the way to from when he was in Peter Parker’s body. Clash examines some of the future technology and is fascinated by it.
They head there, and discover robots cleaning the place and no food, just protein cubes with “Mother’s Seal of Approval.”
Meanwhile, Massacre discovers the one who freed him was the punisher of 2099: Jake Gallows! Jake is the leader of an underground resistance force dedicated to the freedom of the old world and toppling Mother of Pearl’s dictatorship!
In this world, violent psychopaths are a thing of the past, but to defeat Mother of Pearl, that’s exactly what they’ll need! You will be supplied with weapons, body armor, and any intelligence info you desire! Your mission is to be a figurehead for anarchy, the people have been conditioned to obey Mother of Pearl, and your job is to wake them up and turn the people against her!
They send Massacre out and he begins to wander the streets emotionless and unfazed by the future around him, before attempting to strangle a man to death. On noticing the man isn’t fighting back, he stops. The man catches his breath and tells Massacre contact sports have been outlawed. Massacre questions why he didn’t fight back. The man tells him Mother would be unhappy if he did that. Massacre gives the man a gun and tells him that then he should kill Mother. The man gasps in shock and tells Massacre he could never! Mother has done nothing but help and care for him! Now, put these “guns” down and smile because the droids will be sweeping the area soon. Massacre blows up a police robot with a bazooka. The citizen’s smile fades. “That was… so easy. I don’t understand….”
We cut to a few minutes later, where chaos and anarchy is in the streets as followers of Massacre destroy Mother of Pearl’s robot army and topple statues of her.
Meanwhile, Liz walks through a more peaceful area of the city and realizes if she’s going to get home, she needs to find Spider-Man 2099. She finds the city to be peaceful, but strange. She begins questioning people as to where Spider-Man is, and is arrested by robots. No mentions of the before times are allowed. She’s taken to a processing plant where she manages to escape from a near electric shock session as an angry mob destroys the building. In Jake Gallows base he reads passages of THE PUNISHER’S WAR JOURNAL to his people before they all put on shoulder pads, punches, get big guns, and head outside to join Massacre, calling for a return to the before times!
Liz is almost stampeded by the growing mob, but is saved by her son Normie, who takes her back to Miguel O’Hara’s apartment.
She learns from Kaine, Sarah, Clash, Sandman, Doc Ock, May, and Normie about this future and how they’re planning to travel to the futuristic palace in the heart of the city to save their captured fellow heroes, as they saw the robots taking them there. Liz demands to come with them, but they refuse as she has no powers. She confesses after her recent blood transfusion: she’s been experiencing changes.
She reveals her Molten Man like abilities,
and says she can be like them now! A hero! She’s thought of a name and everything! “Starblaze!” Liz is pretty excited but the heroes are hesitant. Doc Ock, May, and Normie vouch for her and they go to the palace, fighting robot guards who demand for a stop to contact sports. Liz thinks to herself jokingly that this future isn’t all bad, at least she wouldn’t have to worry about Normie and Stanley getting hurt.
Meanwhile, Mother of Pearl explains to Harry why she did all of this, explaining that after a great world war she had no other choice. What little remained of humanity was on the brink of collapse. She had to restore order. Harry finds the laws she made selfish, as a lot of the stuff banned ties back to stuff she dislikes. He asks his future wife to try and reconsider this world she’s created. It isn’t right. Mother of Pearl reveals that she wanted to create a better world for Normie and Stanley. Harry is confused, and questions where they are. Mother of Pearl reveals: They died in the World War. At this point the second group of heroes bursts in. Liz and Harry reunite, Kaine thinks to himself how nice that is. Everyone learns what’s going on. A shocked Liz Allen tells Mother of Pearl that she’s seen the lobotomies and the robot police, it’s on a different way, but she’s just as bad as a Goblin!
Mother of Pearl is having a breakdown over not only getting told off by her past self, but also seeing Normie alive. At this point she learns from her robots that her people are rebelling, led by Massacre and Jake Gallows/Punisher 2099. She begs the heroes to keep her civilization from falling apart, claiming New York 2099 is the capital of the world in this future. If it falls, everything will be thrown into the dark ages. Her robot army is only equipped to deal with one or two people at a time, and never anything like Massacre. The robots only have the most basic weapons. The heroes decide to deal with Mother of Pearl after defeating Massacre, and go to fight his army, which is destroying protein cube factories and now heading to the zoo too kill and eat their food the way it was described in before-time text. We see Jake Gallows is the real leader and Massacre is just a figurehead going along out of an urge to kill. The heroes battle Jake Gallows, Massacre, and the rebels. Jake Gallows, noticing Massacre trying to shoot May Parker, and jumps in the way, refusing to allow a child to die. An injured Punisher 2099 attacks Massacre, realizing he’s made a terrible mistake, and Massacre has perverted his cause into something evil.
He’s saved by the heroes as Massacre takes over and demands his troops kill indiscriminately to destroy mother. Jake Gallows is offered healing cubes which will heal his bullet wounds immediately, but he refuses them as it would be a betrayal of Frank Castle’s memory. He instead duct tapes all of his wounds closed and joins the Slingers in the fight against Massacre. Massacre is defeated and Jake Gallows calms the rebellion, telling them he’s been given a chance to speak with Mother of Pearl to discuss terms. The heroes decide to wait around to make sure everything goes well. While this is going on, Sarah sneaks into Massacre’s holding cell in the palace, and demands to know where her brother is. He tells her he won’t talk, and also comments he’s unable to feel pain. Sarah realizes what she’s doing is wrong and leaves. She then discovers a hall of records in the palace.
Sarah breaks into the hall of records, searching for a name:
“Paris, France”
“Gabriel Stacy”
ONE MATCH FOUND
She clicks on it, then searches for any records on him. She discovers most of it is empty past 2017. The only things she can find in 2018 and beyond is something called “Spidercide” but it’s just one of his several alias’.
Grey Goblin
American Son
American Goblin
Goblin Knight
Goblin King
Spidercide
She decides to search for prison records, again finding no info past 2017. She searches for his date of death.
“DATE UNKNOWN”
Meanwhile, Kaine looks over an engagement ring he’s been carrying for the past few weeks. From the first moment of his life as a clone it’s been nothing but bad things happening to him, experiments that warped his body, horrible pain, nightmarish visions, for a while he didn’t even know if he could be happy, but then things started to change. He found friends. He was cured of the mark of Kaine, he fought back against Jackal, he’s lived a real life, and he’s happy. He didn’t think he could be but he is. He’s incredibly happy! He’s swinging over the 2099 city ecstatic. Tonight he’s going to do it! He swings back into the palace, noticing Jake Gallows followers in the streets below waiting for word on how Mother of Pearl will change the world for the better. He swings into the palace through a window, and discovers the hall of records doors open. He wonders what the harm could be to do a quick check, and heads in.
Kaine searches the database of names, he wants to check, he wants to see his future. He searches:
“New York, New York”
“2018”
“Sarah Parker”
NO MATCHES FOUND
Meanwhile, Mother of Pearl is taking a break from rewriting laws with Jake Gallows, when suddenly, The Rose arrives, telling her she’s waited a long time, but now she’s finally letting her out again.
Mother of Pearl questions what her long dormant split delusion is doing here. The Rose explains she’s here to fix things where she’s screwing up! Look out there! They’re surrounding us, all over the palace, even inside! They’re scaling the walls! The goblins are coming! You have to destroy them!
Mother of Pearl reveals her Molten powers, and prepares to kill Jake Gallows! Within the palace, a nuclear bomb, the last nuclear bomb in existence, is activated using “The Rose Protocol”
The Slingers see what’s happening between Mother of Pearl and Jake Gallows, and intervene, saving Gallows from death. We learn Mother of Pearl’s powers are far beyond her past self’s as she had years to build them up. She can fly, unlike her previous self, and her flames are much hotter and stronger. Mother of Pearl is eventually snapped out of insanity by the sight of Normie and her husband, and she reveals to the heroes the nuclear bomb is set to go off. There’s no way to stop it, The Rose made sure of that! Realizing there’s no other way, Mother of Pearl was picks up the nuke and flies into the atmosphere, saying goodbye to her family. The nuke goes off in space over the earth, and Mother of Pearl is presumed dead.
With it all over, Liz Allen decides it’s her responsibility to stay in 2099. A version of her created this future and she needs to fix it. Spider-Man 2099 and Jake Gallows resolve to work with her. Liz asks Harry to take care of Normie and Stanley, and promises to return to 2018 as soon as she can. She loves them and she’ll see them soon. The heroes prepare to travel back in time, getting Massacre in cuffs, and as they prepare to leave, Kaine changes.
Kaine tries to think back. He’s not fully sure, maybe he has, but he doesn’t think he has ever worn a full suit with a tie before. He doesn’t think about the historical records. They were missing a lot and maybe they were wrong. Only way to know is to try.
He goes to meet Sarah. She asks about the suit. He prepares to propose.
A light flashes.
Miles, May, Normie, Kaine, Ana, and Sarah find themselves on a beach. In the distance, a steampunk pirate ship, we show the captain: SILVER SABLE.
Ana turns around, and Cindy Moon is on the beach. YOUNG CINDY MOON.
“What….Ezekiel? Who… who are you guys?
Hold on….I’m out of the bunker!”
To be continued…...
…..
…..
….I am proud of that cliffhanger.
…..
NEXT TIME
-Silk!
- a multiverse spanning Spider-verse based story
-Richard Fitzgerald’s plan
-the Scriar cult
-Australia!
-the formal return of Gabriel Stacy….
- A Spider-Goblin miniseries!
-PS4 Spider-Man!
….and more!