Startling developments! We begin with The Shocker, who, it turns out, Bags does a fine rendition of, attacked by some kinda flying thingy.
Last time being The Deadly Foes of Spider-Man #4, of course. Spidey webs Shocky’s hands and prepares to deliver the knockout when a security guard stumbles up onto them. Shocker zaps him out the window into the usual “save him or catch me” scenario. Returning the guard to the room, Spidey finds the owner of the business bemoaning the situation. Mr. Trevor Adkins reveals Shocker took the company’s client list. Spidey asks if he can get a copy for tracking his foe down, and the guy is cool with that. What’s his company do? No one says yet.
Shocker was terrified of The Scourge in Deadly Foes, but it’s been a bit. Feel like Scourge’s time has passed in comics. Ah, well, look at this next page:
Who could those people be?
Gosh, WHO could those people BE? What a puzzler! An hour later, Peter’s at school, where previously unseen classmates Jack & Cindy are working on this aging thing. They show Peter one they did of JJJ 20 years older for a laugh as a weird transition to JJJ at The Bugle, where The Shocker is smashing up their records department. So JJJ calls in… Silver Sable’s WIld Pack? “Jameson keeps us on retainer to handle yahoos like you!” So some of Silver’s trained soldiers just… hang out at The Bugle all day? I mean, it does get attacked by villains way more often than most businesses, but still… really? Anyway, Shocker escapes them, leaving a big hole in an elevator shaft and a lot confusion behind him.
Whatever it is, I can tell you I sure don’t remember.
WHO COULD THOSE PEOPLE BE? Really not being subtle here. Peter is at home, MJ out doing soap opera-related work. Cross referencing the info Shocker stole has led him to Moeed Labs, makers of a special air compressor meant for the space program, who are customers of the still-unnamed security firm. Peter’s about to go investigate when Aunt May shows up, still trying to talk him out of being a crime photographer. He tells her they’ll have to talk later and just leaves her there alone while he’s off to Spider-Man around. But she looks at his papers and sees the address he’s going to, and decides to go after him. This is very weird and random. Elsewhere, Shocky has found the compressor, which he thinks will make his shockers far more powerful, but then it’s webbed out of his hands and he’s being kicked in the face.
May, what are you doing?
The distraction allows Shocker to get his compressor, which of course is shaped more or less lie a backpack and of course somehow fits right into his gear despite not being designed for it. Spider-Man figures Shocker’s protected from the now-amped-up power of his gauntlets, but the compressor isn’t, so he leaps onto his foe and grabs some hoses, hoping it’ll feedback and stop working, and it does, causing an explosion.
He’s gonna get a real boot out of this? Is he now? That’s an odd expression. Well, it certainly seems like we’re all set for the return of Peter Parker’s parents! We’ll see how that goes in the next ASM. but first: other things.