This month it’s just David Boller on pencils, and a whole lotta people on inks ( Vancata, Amash, Decarlo, Aiken, Akin). One wonders just what happened in the making of this book. Well, Spider-Man’s about to be killed by Swarm. Jobbed out to yet another loser.
What on Earth is Ock wearing? Does he drive a limo in his spare time?
Well, ok. Vulture flies off with the thingie, people start to chase, then Strikeback teleports in front of him and zaps him in the face, which (For some reason?) Is the last straw in Leila deciding she knows who he is.
Ok, whatever. Leila and her thought-dead due start stomping all the actual supervillains so they can have a chat.
Spider-Man wakes up and starts punching bees, by the way. It’s very silly. Swarm villain monlogues for just a panel, then we’re off to see Stegron attack Strikeback. As he bashes her beloved ot bits, Leila wonders if she should help. I mean… why not? Well, who knows? Doc Ock has escaped to a secret lab elsewhere in town (He sure has a lot of those), where he has reconstructed his original arms “atom by atom.” He’s thinking the adamantium set will be harder to do as he takes off his makeshift ones to put the originals on when Answer appears. He announces he’s created “an interference field” for the thingie that lets Okc control him, so they’re fighting on even terms now. Whatever! Back at the fight, Vulture swipes the blaster for Leila for like the 8th time in 3 issues, but then Rhino charges him and steals it for at least his 2nd time. This is absurd.
Did Spider-Man just attack Rhino butt first?
This is terrible. Elsewhere, Ock gets the upper hand on The Answer, catching him with his original arms and preparing to kill him, but then his dumb cousin runs in ready to shoot him. Ock crushes his gun, of course.
Well, good for you, random guy, and good riddance. Back at the fight, Strikeback defeats Stegron, and Leila wants to kill him with the McGuffin, despite the fact that it gave him his powers and the first time it shot him and didn’t kill him the 2nd time. Strikeback says they have to return the blaster so they can embark on a new life together, but she’s not sure. Then Spider-Man randomly shows up, as he tends to do in this book, and webs Strikeback’s face.
Who’s gonna hunt Strikeback? Who even knows he exists apart from AIM, who let him go already? Who cares? I don’t. And I guess no one else did, either, as I’m sure it surprises you to learn this is his final appearance. Apparently, Leila rather improbably becomes a female Beetle in future issues of Thunderbolts, where it’s revealed he died somewhere off-panel, and then she dies in that. Right-o. No great loss! I swear there was a different female Beetle. There’s another female Beetle much later, but I thought there was one in the 80s, too. Ah, well. I’m sure I’m thinking of someone else.