Todd Nauck is filling on Sensational again, so get read for more weird looking, stumpy versions of your favorite characters. Andrew Henessey inks. Sandman/Hydro-Man. I wonder how often this match up has taken place. Certainly been a long time since we saw the first one in ASM 217. We get rolling with Aunt Anna and Hope from next door working on sign language as Peter rushes by.
On the one hand, this random girl taking over Anna’s life is weird, but on the other, introducing a signing character is pretty cool. But, remember, she saw Spider-Man leaving the Parker house back in SSM 21, so…
Where is this going? Peter shows MJ the Bugle headline about him being in on the kidnapping, but she says she’s sick of The Bugle, of Norman, and of Spider-Man. She says they deserve a break as they head to catch a bus. Meanwhile, Hydro-Man is back in town already, taking a bath made of himself in a rented room, when he finds out about the bounty on Spider-Man, and decides to try to collect. And elsewhere, Silver Sable & Sandman discuss whether Spider-Man’s really doing all this. And since she suspected Ben wasn’t the genuine article, she decides to go find out of the Spidey accused of murder and kidnapping is. Later, at The Bugle, Peter is apologizing to Billy for missing a movie, and they’re gonna go to lunch when Peter is recognized by a familiar newcomer…
Awkward and already dated REM reference! It’s Desiree, one of Ben Reilly’s potential paramores. Andyes, Hydro-Man’s plan to draw Spider-Man out is happening in the background, which is pretty fun.
What on Earth is this? Couldn’t he just say he’s gonna go get pictures of Hydro-Man? I guess Billy would want to go. Well, he’s got a bunch of captives in a water tower, and while I think they’re supposed to be adults, Nauck’s weird, stumpy people makes it look like he’s kidnapped a whole class of children from a distance. He’s waiting for Spidey to show, but…
Maybe this really is only their 2nd meeting. We cut away from there to see Adrian Toomes’ lawyer getting him early parole on account of him being old, as if he hasn’t been old the whole time, and he’s got a Daily Bugle that indicates he’ll be after Spidey soon, too. Back at the fight, Spider Man shows up, and is trying to just sneak by and rescue the hostages, but the crowd keeps yelling that he’s here.
While he tries to get their trust, Hydro-Man blasts Sandman into the water tower’s legs, and it begins to tip over, with everyone still inside.
Unable to find a way to get the others out of the door, which is now on the ceiling as the tower leans, Spider-Man dives down under the water to try to punch a hole out. And soon, at the fight, Hydro-Man notices he succeeded as his hostages flee the scene. Sandman decides Silver must be in place and decides to wrap things up.
Takes care of that! What a weird way to win. With the battle over, the cops are able to turn their attention on the alleged murderer still loading people out of the tower. Spidey can’t just leave, tho, because there’s an unconscious woman with hypothermia who needs help getting out. But he can’t just swing her out, because the assembled idiots will shoot at them. So…
“Deked?” What?
What could that be? If you don’t know, the answer is truly insane. More clues are probably coming next post.