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The Lords of Light and Darkness
Chapter 1 - The NestThe Nest, a hive of top-secret government activity stuck in the no man’s land of the Nevada Desert. Stephen Marchesi, special projects investigator for the US Senate, lands there and is let in by one of the automated MPs. He is apprehensive as he enters the Nest, unhappy about the secrecy surrounding the project. He is welcome in by Brian Mann, designer and project administrator of the Nest and one of the world’s foremost nuclear experts.
Mann introduces his seven colleagues, an international group, all of them busy with the problem of the world’s depleting energy resources. Bio-physicist Vic Norman, who is busy with how life fares under intense radiation. Jan Maarshall, electrical engineer who had created the robot guards of the project and named them Rakks (after the Rakshasas of Hindu mythology). Karen Lee, Stephen’s estranged ex-wife who ignores his presence, astronomer Si Fan Chung, Karen’s new lover who greets Stephen coldly. Radiation expert Martin Aaronson and project overseer Randy Tate, who greets him enthusiastically, while he thinks of her as little more than a girl Friday and figures she should have remained a stewardess.
Working behind protective glass is the group’s last member Arman Nila, who left India just before Mrs. Gandhi decided that scientists owed their mind to the state and he managed to take the secret of irradiating common minerals with him. He is working on the Nila Pile. The most incredible harnessing of energy known to man.
Karen warns she is picking up tremors on her instruments. There is an earthquake right beneath them. Mann shouts at Nila to stabilize the pile or they are all doomed! The others begin to panic and Marchesi sees why: the plexi-screen between them and the irradiated pile has been damaged. Nila, whose suit has been damaged as well, apologizes The pile begins to glow, something detonates. Stephen Marchesi dies and the Nest seems totally destroyed.
Chapter 2 - Day of the DemonsThe world’s first conference on manmade mutations is convening on a flying Boeing 747 with representative scientists from all nations as well as reporters. The giant plane is refueled in flight, so that the weeklong conference can continue uninterrupted while the plane circles the desert of the American southwest. They are just about to fly over the Grand Canyon.
Several scientists are discussing the role of outside factors like radiation on mutation. One of them, Sir Lionel, introduces Peter Parker, who is here as a reporter but still has a scientific background. Sir Lionel introduces Soviet scientist Dr Myshkin and his hapless translator / brother-in-law Boris.
Peter asks Sir Lionel why he singled him out and gets the reply that he is the only journalist here with a degree in physics and Peter’s professor asked him to watch over him.
They reach another part of the room where Senator Turner loudly lectures that he doesn’t care about cooperation with the East during a Cold War.
Peter recalls Turner is under investigation of the wrongful use of military funds. Something to do with the disappearance of his son in the Bermuda Triangle. Peter decides to take a picture of him, while Turner whinges about the mystery guests in first class. How Reed Richards convinced the airline to let them ride gratis he will never…
He is interrupted by Charles Xavier, flanked by his students, who replies that it is actually quite simple. While Richards was unable to attend, he knows about his interest in mutation. He is Charles Xavier and the young people behind him are his students.
More agitated, Turner shouts that Richards gets anything he asks for. Xavier points points out the public is showing gratitude. Wolverine steps up, growling that he doesn’t think the Senator gets the picture, so he will paint him one. Turner demands who he is. Wolverine grabs him by the lapel and snarls it’s none of his business and he doesn’t much like his tone. While Scott Summers tries to drag Wolverine back, Peter also gets between the men, reminding them this is a conference, not a wrestling match. People are supposed to be reasoning with each other. He is reasoning, his way, Wolverine retorts. Scott orders him to let the Senator go, almost blurting out his codename.
That moment the pilots scream in alarm. There suddenly is a black cloud in front of them. The instruments go crazy and they dive into the cloud. The engines die and the passengers are falling around.
He has let go of the Senator, Wolverine snaps, satisfied? Storm tries to grab Xavier. He tells her not to worry about him but find out what this is.
The flight attendant shouts they have broken out of the cloud and now several objects are flying at them coming from the ground like guided missiles.
Peter Parker recognizes them from a Daily Bugle story some years ago. They are Rakks, created by some Swedish scientist named Marshall. He recalls they are named after demons whose function was to guard the gates of hell.
The Rakks are suspended in mid-flight in front of the plane and fire energy beams from their eyes, shearing off the nose of the plane in mid-flight. The pilots are too injured to keep flying the plane. Xavier shouts that only Scott and Peter are close enough. They race to the cockpit to gain control of the plane. Peter Parker, in the meantime, has recognized several of the X-Men. Since they are taking care of things, he slips way to change into his Spider-Man costume. However, he’s forgotten to lock the door of the restroom. When the nauseous Senator Turner bursts in, Peter hides by clinging to the ceiling.
In the cockpit, Cyclops steers the plane. When the Rakks are about to attack again, he fires his optic blast at them. The Rakks burst into the cabin. One of them reaches for Xavier, though it then senses it is here for someone else. That moment, Spider-Man kicks it away. Xavier orders Banshee and Storm out. Spider-Man closes the hole after behind them to repressurize the cabin while he two flyers try to fend off the Rakks.
In the cockpit, another Rakk makes its way inside from under them through the baggage compartment. Colossus wrestles it away, while Cyclops is busy trying to land the plane. He throws the Rakk toward Wolverine and Jean, who with the help of Spider-Man take it out. While they joke Xavier sternly reminds them the plane is still falling. Spider-Man joins Cyclops in the cockpit. Cyclops explains he can land the plane but cannot decrease their speed.
Outside, Storm and Banshee still have to fight off the Rakks, who try to delay them while the plane is meant to crash.
Inside the cockpit, Spider-Man asks if Cyclops can land them in one piece if Spidey manages to slow the plane down. He creates a web parachute that slows down the plane’s descent.
The plane lands hard and Storm and Banshee wonder if the others survived. A moment later, Spider-Man jumps out followed by the X-Men. Jean Grey wonders why they were attacked. Xavier muses he senses that someone noticed their powers. Cyclops warns the conversation is beginning to upset their fellow passengers who are also emerging from the wreck.
The civilians wonder what is going on and Senator Turner shouts that the attackers were after the muties - or haven’t the others recognized their mystery passengers – the X-Men!
Cyclops snaps the X-Men just save their necks, and if Turner doesn’t understand, maybe Wolverine will have to hold him back from tearing into him.
The Russian scientist Dr. Mishkin tries to calm Turner down and points out that the X-Men didn’t attack them. What makes him so sure - unless they were behind it. Maybe commies and muties are working hand in glove! Turner rants.
Wolverine threatens him with his claws. The Russian tuts at their predilection for violence, then shows them a device, the world’s most sophisticated radiation detector, meant to be unveiled at the conference. He switches it on and announces he has never received such a strong level of radiation when he tested it on irradiated animals in his lab.
Colossus opines there are similarities between the device and the X-Men’s Cerebro. Xavier agrees. Jean Grey wonders who or what it is detecting. Finally, Mishkin points into the desert: the readings are coming from there, a slagged over mound. What’s left of the Nest. Storm adds the robots came from there as well.
Nightcrawler announces they must go there. Dr. Mishkin warms them that it would mean certain death to go there unprotected against the radiation. That mound is highly radioactive. He offers them his invention - anti radiation spray, which will protect them for an hour. He adds that it has never been tested. Spider-Man states Mishkin go himself with eight volunteers.
Chapter 3: Into… the Hellpit!And soon the seven X-Men and Spider-Man make their way towards the mound. They see a crack in the ground and figure that’s where the robots came from. Wolverine aggressively asks Spider Man if he thinks he can keep up with them. Spidey retorts he has been keeping up for years and since he doesn’t her people talk about the “amazing Wolverine,” he must be doing something right.
Xavier telepathically warns them of danger before his message is interrupted. They note he seemed to be in pain. Storm and Banshee fly beyond the screen of radiation.
Back at the plane, Myshkin asks his bodyguard Boris to get some water for Xavier, who seems to be in pain. Xavier replies he has been living in a nightmare.
At the mound:Spider-Man points out their flyers have been gone a long time and suggests they follow them. Wolverine snaps they can take care of themselves and he can’t recall asking him for suggestions. The two get ready to throw down when Nightcrawler steps between them, pointedly remarking only Wolverine needs stopping. He has fought beside Spider-Man before and he battles only when provoked.
Suddenly, the mound shakes beneath them, as if trying to shake them off. Then the tremors stop and the radiation screen grows brighter.
In the meantime, Storm and Banshee fly inside the Nest to see everything melted. Suddenly, laser beams attack Storm and Banshee suffers from a mental attack and falls down. Two figures, one male, one female, stand in the shadows. The chaos wheel has done well, the woman observes, referring to the glowing object in her hands. The man agrees, but these two are not the one. She agrees. She senses the one is still outside. They step past the two unconscious X-Men considering them of no importance.
Outside, the other X-Men and Spider-Man see something moving behind the radiation screen. Cyclops orders Jean to use her mental powers and scan them. Spider-Man warns them his spider-sense is tingling. Whoever it is, is dangerous.
It is a redhaired man with glowing hands, who greets them as “mortals,” warning them he is Yama Dharma. He is death. Colossus runs toward him and gets blasted in return. Jean cries out his name and telekinetically tris to protect him. Yama Dharma notices that, but he must not harm her. The others, however, need not be spared. He fires at Spider-Man, who dodges his blasts.
Nightcrawler teleports behind Yama Dharma and attacks him. Thanks to the distraction, Wolverine manages to move in and slash him. However, instead of flesh and blood, there is only cosmic energy under the torn cloth, causing Wolverine to panic that this cannot be real.
Yama Dharma draws a knife, ready to attack Wolverine. Spider-Man leaps in to help Wolverine but suddenly a high-pitched wailing causes all of them to drop. Only Colossus holds on, trying to crawl towards Yama Dharma. However, Kali’s chaos wheel fells him too, though she commends his nobility.
Yama Dharma tells her that, if they weren’t so much alike, he thinks he might love her. She chides him that must never be, for he is keeper of the dead while she exists to create disorder among the living. They turn to the unconscious Jean Grey. She is the one they were waiting for…
Chapter Four: A Gathering of GodsA little later inside the mound, the X-Men and Spider-Man are trapped in a forcefield. Outside the forcefield kneeling is Jean Grey, dressed in her new Phoenix outfit. The gods stand before them looking at her expectantly. Jean begins to awake, hearing their voice in her mind. She awakes surprised and cries out “oh my God.” “Gods,” one of the eight glowing beings who used to be the scientists corrects her.
Jean tries to telekinetically free the others, but her mind blast bounces off the forcefield. Angrily, she shouts at the beings, demanding what they want of them. One of the eight introduces himself as Brahma and telepathically shares his story with Jean.
Flashback:As the explosion destroyed the Nest, Araman Nila was closest to the pile. His mind was the first, infusing all of them with the stuff of his thoughts while they were bombarded with radiation. Nine people died, yet death embraced only one. The other eight were reborn, molded and mutated by the myths from Hindu mythology… they became, Brahma the creator, Shiva the destroyer, Yama the death-god and Mara the dreamer, Vishnu the preserver, Ratri, the night, Kali the black madness and Agni lord of fire. Myths that shaped them into gods.
Present:In the meantime, Nightcrawler figures their own powers are holding them. He begins to teleport, while knowing that he cannot, but his power has created a rift in the field freeing Banshee. Banshee uses his sonic scream to free Colossus, who creates a rift for Cyclops. On and on, they quickly free the next one.
Jean, who senses what is going on, is busy distracting the gods, listening to their story. Brahma continues that their state is unstable. They must transcend this plane of being or die. Even now, they are drawing energy and, when they ascend, they will leave this world a dead husk. Jean protests that they would destroy the world for eight lives. Eight gods against a world of mortals, Brahma corrects her.
Only if the get the chance! Spider-Man announces, vowing they won’t let them. Kurt points out they still haven’t said what they want from Phoenix. Brahma explains they need a ninth to bind their energies and work as a focus to stabilize their path to godhood. One who in the end will become one with them. Such is the power they sense in Phoenix. Jean makes her disgust clear. Brahma retorts they will have her power and begins to glow.
Wolverine immediately attacks him. Brahma doesn’t react but Agni grabs Wolverine’s arm and burns him agonizingly. Cyclops shoots Agni and Spider-Man hits Yama, causing Ratri to trap Storm in darkness, while Kali attacks Nightcrawler and Banshee with the chaos wheel. However, this time the heroes are better prepared and cover their ears. Banshee unleashes a sonic scream at her and Kali cries to her husband Shiva for help. Shiva threateningly raises his trident but Cyclops shoots it out of his hand.
Phoenix tries to focus but can’t, as she finds herself under attack by Mara the Dreamer. She realizes he is trying not to harm her, just hold her while the others destroy the X-Men.
Colossus hits him and pushes him into Ratri, thus freeing Storm and Jean. Storm calls a thunderstorm down on their foes but they see that something is happening to the gods; they begin to lose shape and are breaking up. The end of all, Brahma predicts. Phoenix retorts it is just their end. Brahma states the energies of Earth are now bound to them and the world will die with them.
Cyclops begins to understand: they needed Phoenix to contain their force until they could become some other form of energy. Spider-Man suggests moving the gods from Earth to space. There has to be more than enough energy for them in space. Cyclops agrees. He tells Brahma to have his people link hands. They stand in a semi-circle with Phoenix standing in front of Brahma in the center, Colossus and Spider-Man are at each end respectively. Cyclops tells Phoenix to have Brahma’s mind energy flow through her. Jean screams in pain as she does so.
Cyclops tell Nightcrawler to tap the mental projection she is beaming at him and teleport it into the path of Cyclops’ upward eyebeam. Nightcrawler complies.
Banshee holds the interface in place with his sonic scream, containing the energy which gathers strength on the ground. Despite Storm acting as a cooling agent Spider-Man and Colossus are about to falter. Wolverine wants to intervene but Storm orders him back: If he breaks the linkage, he will kill them all.
A moment later, the gods disappear their essence traveling upward in a narrow beam of light until, safely away from the surface of the Earth, they transform into something else, causing astronomers to announce the birth of a new star.
Xavier telepathically contacts the team to tell them Dr. Myshkin’s device no longer registers any trace of radioactivity. They have done well. Now they have a plane load of people who know who they are, Spidey complains. Xavier curtly denies this before breaking off contact. Phoenix explains that he has blocked any knowledge of what happened or their involvement from the minds of their fellow passengers. Spider-Man muses he would be handy to have around when he needs to explain things to a certain Mary Jane Watson. Cyclops suggests he ask him once, just to see what he’d say.


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Nightmare in New Mexico!
Leaping down on the ground, the green-skinned, savage Hulk is pleased with himself: he has watched this town all night! He has seen no puny humans! It is good! He is tired. He decides he will rest here.
The street is deadly quiet, a fact that does not go unnoticed by him. The town smells funny. Where are puny humans? Why do they let the town smell? he wonders. He does not understand! Still, except for smell, finds the town still good. Everything still here – although the puny humans are gone. He realizes he is all alone in this town. He is all there is, so the town must be his town! Not puny humans’, but Hulk’s! He decides he likes this town, even with the funny smell! However, if town is his, he must clean, so he must be proud it has his name! He will start by turning this truck back up on wheels!
However, as he grabs the truck, its door comes off in his hands and a puny human falls out from inside. Hulk urges the little man – actually a child’s doll – to talk to him! Why was he hiding in truck? Where are the rest of puny humans? Grabbing the doll, he demands it answer him or Hulk will…
“Father?” someone suddenly interjects. Hulk smells that funny smell again and turns around to face a goat-like being, with horns and hooves – Woodgod. Seeing Hulk, Woodgod realizes the “green man” is not his father. He remembers now – his father is dead, killed by scream! He fears scream will take Woodgod… and the green man, too! Surprised and confused with his words, Hulk angrily tosses the damaged truck against him and tells him he’s wrong! Woodgod is surprised: why does the green man try to hurt him, to make him feel the scream? Has scream driven the green man mad?
Meanwhile, thirty miles due east of the dust-blown streets of Liberty, New Mexico, the X-Men are flying in their jet, together with Spider-Man. Banshee asks Cyclops if he thinks he’s being polite when he asks their webbed guest to be riding all the way back east on the hood! Scott makes him ashamed to be calling himself an X-Man! Spider-Man thinks their ground leader realizes that the rest of them would have a hard time clinging out here, but he hopes Cyclops is going to pay the dry-cleaning when it comes time to take the splattered bugs off his costume! Hearing him complaining, Wolverine snaps they could’ve let Spider-Man walk home!
Cyclops retorts they could’ve been walking with Spider-Man, if Phoenix hadn’t psychokinetically summoned the X-shuttle to pick them up. Colossus asks Professor X of his condition. Xavier replies he is better… but so tired. Phoenix promises they’ll have him back home soon. Charles believes they’re all forgetting the needs of their guest. Perhaps he doesn’t wish to return to New York. Scott realizes they’ve all been so shot since they battled the “gods” back at the nest that it never occurred to him to ask. He asks Spider-Man if he’s going their way. “Beats thumbing it!” Spidey replies. After all, there isn’t much in New Mexico to swing a web from, save for a rare cactus! So, they should count him in – as long as they are flying student-rates!
Suddenly, Nightcrawler notifies Xavier that their radar has just picked something, heading towards them and moving too fast to be in any manner a conventional hovercraft. Wolverine quips it’s probably an exterminator come to get the blasted bug-man off the bumper! Spider-Man now sees why the let Wolverine join this team. He’s more laughs than a bad case of heartburn! “Heads up, people…” he tells the X-Men: he just spotted their bogeys. Storm and Banshee fly off the jet for a monitoring of the ship. Cyclops asks Banshee what this is; not more of the Rakks, he hopes. Storm explains they’re not the robot-mutates they fought earlier. They appear to be some form of two-man hovercraft.
Via radio, Colonel Tremens notifies one of the pilots: “Tremens to Floater 2: Nearing Infected Area!” The soldier informs his superior that he monitors a UFO crossing at low altitude over restricted area. Tremens reminds him his orders: anything alive in Liberty is the enemy! Banshee realizes they are shooting at them! Ororo assures him the two of them can handle the missiles aimed at them; what about those already past them and aimed at the other X-Men?
Just then, Spider-Man watches as the other missiles are indeed to find their way on the X-Men’s ship. Spidey quips that maybe he should’ve walked! Scott tells him to get his head down… and fast! Colossus wonders what Cyke is about to do. Cyclops instructs him to shield the Professor and the others and leave the rest to him. His eye-beams turn on wide-focus and Cyclops explodes the oncoming missiles in mid-air… all save one.
The remaining missile crashes on the X-shuttle. Spider-Man loses his hold on the shuttle and starts falling. He realizes he’s too low to whip up a web-chute, and falling too fast to be able to roll with the impact – not that he’d make it even then, because those rocks below look awfully eager to skewer him! Thankfully, Banshee intervenes, arguing that they can’t have that, and rescues him. Spidey tells Sean to remind sending him an atomizer for Christmas, along with a lifetime supply of throat lozenges! Banshee assures he will do that; he can count on it! Cyclops instructs Banshee to bring Spider-Man down on their shuttle. There’s something on the view-screen he thinks Spider-Man ought to see.
Spider-Man comes down with Banshee and they all watch a communication they’ve just intercepted: one of the soldiers is shown on the monitor, reporting to Colonel Tremens. The soldier reveals that the UFO has vanished from the tracking-screens… but the main job now is to concentrate on what’s happening in Liberty itself. Nightcrawler wonders if he means them by “UFO.” The agent then cuts into a satellite transmission on screen, according to which something has gotten through the “dead zone” and has confronted their target on the town’s main street. The quarantine has been broken – and the major needn’t remind his men that anything going into Liberty, can’t be allowed to go out!
Spider-Man realizes he’s talking about wiping the Hulk off the map – and that means, bye-bye Bruce Banner. And while that’s easier said than done, Peter can’t just walk away while they try to do it. Besides, there’s a story in all this that Jameson would give his eye-teeth for… and here is his little-roving photographer mere miles away!
Professor X telepathically addresses Banshee. Sean already knows; he doesn’t have to read minds to know what’s ailing Spider-Man. He thinks Spidey will be needing a ride to that town… and, since the X-Men will be having to take the Professor back east, Banshee is offering him his services.
Once Spider-Man has accepted, the X-Men begin to take off. Cyclops tells Sean they’ll be cutting their speed to give him time to catch up. He tells Spider-Man to take care and wiggle a web for them! Spidey assures him he will! Banshee tells him that, if they’re going, they’ll better be off. It is only a fast thirty miles or so to the place called Liberty.
On Liberty, Woodgod makes Hulk mad, what with his horns and funny goat-leg! Hulk believes Woodgod tries to take the town from him! And for that… Hulk will smash! Woodgod believes that scream has taken Hulk, the way scream took Woodgod’s own mother and father, the way tried to take Woodgod himself. But he did not let scream take him! He fought scream, and man, when he came in his ships, bringing pain to Woodgod!
Hulk notices that Woodgod talks as much as puny humans. It makes his ears ring; it makes him mad! He proceeds to batter Woodgod with fragments of wood! Now Woodgod begins to understand: the Hulk is just like the others who brought the scream to Woodgod; who brought him pain! His eyes turning red with no pupils, Woodgod lashes at him. Hulk is surprised that the goat-man is attacking him. Woodgod clarifies he’s tired of only receiving pain, and giving nothing in return! Kicking Hulk away, he tells him he’s had enough, and promises to him!
Emerging from a pile of wood, Hulk retorts that no one kills him – no one! Hulk is the strongest one there is! He promises to smash Woodgod! Suddenly, though, he feels dizzy. He wonders what’s wrong with him. Trying to ignore his predicament, Hulk asserts it’s nothing; Hulk is Hulk! He intends to teach goat-face that he is the strongest…
A savage snarl curls his lips and his massive arms lift five or so tons of truck above his head. However, even without the strange, mind-numbing buzzing in his head, it is doubtful whether Hulk would understand that when metal automobile touches severed high-tension wire the results are usually quite electrifying!
Hulk screams with pain at electrocution. He begins feel weak; what is happening to him? He realizes he can’t hold the truck anymore. He has to drop it, before it crushes. He finally changes fully into Bruce Banner, his human form – he’s no longer the Hulk. But why does he feel so… feverish? Why is he burning up? He wonders what the Hulk has gotten him – them – into this time. Bruce then collapses in the purple dust that coats the town of Liberty.
Woodgod is surprised: the green man has gone and has left this one to his place. He asks the unconscious Bruce who he is. He soon discerns the man does not move or answer. Perhaps he has been claimed by scream… like all the others – all except Woodgod! Above him, more hovercraft appear, gliding downwards, and Woodgod hastily takes leave.
Elsewhere, the flying Banshee is still carrying Spider-Man on the air. He confesses he’s a wee bit old to be carrying a weight such as Spider-Man so far! Peter wonders if that means what he thinks it means. Banshee clarifies he’s afraid that he might drop Spidey. Just then, Spidey slips out of Banshee’s arms and gets tangled on some trees below. He sees what Sean means! Still, Banshee did the best he could, so Peter should do his part to see that their landing at least, is a soft one. As both he and the fatigued Banshee freefall, Peter whips up a web-net that cushions their impact on the ground.
“Not a second too soon, laddie!” Sean thanks him. They were like to have been impaled on this pincushion of a forest! Spider-Man notices there’s no sign of any fire, and the trees do seem to be alive in a disgusting sort of way! Banshee quips that’s for Spider-Man to cipher out. Sean himself has to be rejoining the X-Men, and they don’t save dinner if one’s late! Spidey sees him off and thanks him for the lift.
After Banshee is gone, Spider-Man watches some floaters flying overhead again, winging it towards the town they saw on the view-screen. He hopes Banshee managed to fly out under them without being seen. They probably didn’t spot Peter because this must be the “dead zone” they threw up around Liberty – a zone where nothing is supposed to be able to live. He wonders how that explains him.
Meanwhile, in the town, one of the floaters has located Woodgod – the same creature that wrecked ‘A’ group the previous day. Woodgod is indignant that they attack him again – haven’t they learned once? One of the pilots tells his colleagues to watch out. This bug-eyed monster is supposed to be awfully strong… and it looks like he’s up to something!
Woodgod grabs a tree trunk and begins slamming it against the floater closer to him. Can they not leave him in peace? The peace of his father? The peace that comes to all? The peace of death? Must they bring the scream to Woodgod over and over and over?! One of the pilots in the floaters further away asks by radio what’s going on. The pilot of the floater under attack by Woodgod announces the creature got them; they’re going down!
Close nearby, Spider-Man watches the scene. He recognizes Woodgod as the guy he saw on the screen – and he’s just taken out the National Guard! He thought the Hulk was supposed to be here. But there is no time for that now – not when it’s his civic duty to keep their fighting air force in one piece, at least until he can stop and figure all this out. He immediately shoots web and uses it to cushion the fall of the pilots who evacuate the collapsing floater. One of them wonders what netted them. Spidey reveals himself.
The two men approach him, both dressed in containment suits. Spidey asks them if they mind turning up their suit radios. From this side it sounds like they’ve got a mouthful of Cheerios! One of them, the man in charge of this operation, Colonel Tremens, tells him to knock off the jokes. He informs Spider-Man he’s in a restricted area; he should be dead! This town ceased to exist thirty-six hours ago, when a drunken farmer busted open a tank load of nerve gas!
Spidey is shocked. Lord save that old Russian – Doc Mishkin! He realizes it must be that anti-radiation mist he sprayed on him and the X-Men that’s somehow keeping the gas from affecting him. Still, he declines to reveal to Tremens how he’s alive – that’s his business. And he thinks it’s Tremens’ business to come up with some answers. Just how do you wipe out a town full of people, and keep it from the American public? And who – or what – was that monster that knocked their floater out of the air back on the street? Tremens advises him to not overreach himself. Spider-Man is something of a wanted man, if he remembers right, and it wouldn’t have been too hard to suggest to the press back East that he caused all this…
“Oh, Lord!” Tremens suddenly screams, his eyes widening with terror. Peter feels his spider-sense tingling like crazy. As he turns around, he faces Woodgod. “Go to scream, man!” Woodgoat growls and punches him with all his might, sending him flying into a small water tank.
Emerging from the water, the soaking Spidey tells Woodgod that he doesn’t know who he is, or what his problems are, but he just made this little webspinner mad! Woodgod urges him to come, then. He will kill him, just like he killed the green man behind him! Spidey looks behind him, only to see the unconscious Bruce Banner laid on the floor. He decides that anyone who can knock off the Hulk has got to be put under the wraps – and shoots his web at Woodgod, binding his hands.
Woodgod screams that he will not be bound and indeed tears through his binds. Peter is troubled: this guy has got muscles under all that hair, and he’s willing to use them on him. Which is just great, because he’s got a hunch the military boys are in the wrong here, and he’s going to be fighting on the wrong side, as usual.
Suddenly, his spider-sense is warning him again of something behind him. He turns only to see Bruce up and awake – and transformed into Hulk again. Moreover, he now sports red eyes just like Woodgod. Spidey nervously quips that’s a nice pair of red eyes they’ve got there; a matched set! Caught in the middle between the two of them, he announces he’ll just be moseying along and is about to see them off! Hulk retorts that the “bug-man” is not going anywhere! He remembers the bug-man; he has fought him before! He decides he will not fight goat-face… he will smash bug-man instead!


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Introducing, Captain Britain
It’s a day like any other for Peter Parker aka Spider-Man. Translation: he overslept. So he’s winging his way over the rooftops to get to the office of the Dean of Students as quickly as possible, as he was meant to be there at 9.30.
Peter worries what this could be about: his grades, his spotty attendance record, the scholarship… reasons enough to worry. Maybe it’s good news for once. Doubtful, he admits, as he enters a university building through a roof window and changes into Peter Parker. Around campus, he has turned into a walking joke, he tells himself. He heard that one of his professors has the theory based on Peter’s class attendance record that Peter Parker doesn’t exist.
Peter races into Dean Beatty’s office, profusely apologizing. The Dean pointedly looks at his watch, sarcastically replying they’ve only been waiting for an hour. Traffic, Peter explains and asks if there is something wrong. Quite the contrary, the dean tells him. There’s someone he’d like Peter to meet. He points at a conservatively dressed blond young man Peter’s age: Brian Braddock, exchange student from Thames University in England.
Peter doesn’t understand and the dean reminds him of the questionnaire they circulated last spring to scholarship students. With its fiscal problems the university has found it necessary to farm foreign guests out among E.S.U. students with private apartments. Peter gets it and protests. The dean point out that Peter’s place has more than enough room and he did sign the consent form. The university will also pay fifty dollars a week towards Brian’s room and board.
Peter could use the money. Having no choice anyway, he agrees and welcomes Brian to the Big Apple. With that settled, the Dean throws them out and Peter suggests he introduce Brian to his pals at the Coffee Bean.
Meanwhile, at London Heathrow, two sinister gentlemen are invited into a private jet, where a man dressed in a white suit and sitting upon what could be called a throne asks them to step forward. Roak and Moran are nervous. They have heard that Arcade was a strange one, but, Roak informs his colleague, he is still the best assassin in the world. Arcade asks what he can do for them. Roak explains that they represent the Commission, the top European hierarchy of the Maggia. They need a man eliminated. They hand Arcade a file showing the picture of Brian Braddock.
He sure doesn’t look worth a multi-million dollar fee, the assassin states, unimpressed. He isn’t, the men explain. But their computers indicate that he is one of a number of people who may be a superhero named Captain Britain, whose activities have crippled their operations in recent weeks. They want to nip this problem in the bud. Their own people will handle the targets in the U.K. and in Europe but Braddock is in New York. To avoid complications, they felt using an American uh … mechanic was more appropriate.
They are not aware of an eavesdropper outside, a policewoman. She knows that she can handle the hits planned for England, but the Braddock boy is on his own, she fears.
In Peter Parker’s Chelsea pad, Brian seems to have fallen asleep after a night on town with Peter and his friends, which suits Peter just fine. However, Brian cannot actually fall asleep. He is too excited about being in America for the first time. A room away, Peter now dressed as Spider-man plans to exit through the window. Suddenly a firetruck with blaring sirens passes. Alerted by the noise Brian comes running into the room and see Spidey leaving.
Brian has heard conflicting reports about Spider-Man, but nobody runs like that, unless he has something to hide, he decides. Plus, Peter has strangely disappeared. He touches the amulet around his neck and turns into Captain Britain.
Using his Star Sceptre, he flies outside, following Spider-Man. Spidey wonders how this could happen. He locked the door to his room. But Brian came bursting in like it wasn’t even closed.
That moment, Cap is upon him and attacks. As Spidey falls, Cap swoops downwards to catch him, but Spider-Man, who curses himself for ignoring his spider-sense, catches himself, courtesy of his web. Who is this guy anyway, he wonders. The Red Baron?
Spidey attacks Cap from behind, making a stupid joke. The British hero retorts by hitting the web-slinger with his star sceptre and some bravado of his own. Spidey realizes that he knows the voice. He grabs Captain Britain by the ankle, attaches his feet to the wall and swings Cap around. However, Cap shrugs the move off. Unfortunately the wall isn’t as resilient.
Cap hits Spidey, who flees finally choosing a construction site as their battle site. Spidey grabs an I-beam, while still musing about the familiar voice. He throws the beam at the flying Cap who fends it off with a forcefield courtesy of his Star Sceptre.
Not wishing to learn what power Cap can demonstrate next, Spidey enters the building. Cap follows announcing that it will take more than acrobatics to throw Captain Britain off his trail. Hearing that his pursuer is British, Spider-Man finally realizes that Cap has to be Brian Braddock.
Spider-Man attaches himself outside the building and, when Cap comes flying after, he takes away his star sceptre with his webbing. Bereft of that tool, Cap falls. Still pondering the irony of actually receiving a superhero as a roomie, Spider-Man catches Cap while at the same time trapping him in his webbing.
He tells his prisoner that, if he was the crook, Cap believed him to be he would have let him die. With that, he frees him. Cap asks why he was in Parker’s flat and Spidey explains he and Parker have an arrangement. Parker takes pictures of him in action and they split the Daily Bugle’s paycheck. Cap apologizes.
Spider-Man asks how Cap got into this ‘crazy racket’ anyway and Captain Britain begins to explain.
(Captain Britain’s story / flashback)
It was part accident, part… fate, he begins. Months ago, he was fleeing for his life on a motorbike, fleeing from the armored servants of Joshua Stragg aka the Reaver, who was trying to kidnap the entire staff of the Darkmoor Nuclear Research Facility. Stragg couldn’t allow any witnesses to escape. The hovercraft blocked the road and Brian went off the cliff.
He should have died but a voice awoke him and he dragged himself to the source of that voice, dragged himself to the Siege Perilous. Suddenly, in a flash of light, the glade disappeared and gave way to what appeared to be a circle similar to Stonehenge. Outside stood two tall ghostly figures, that of an elderly man and a beautiful young woman.
The two explained that they needed a champion, a symbol. Brian refused. He is no hero, he is a scholar, besides the country has outgrown the need for such a symbol. The elderly man becomes agitated, but the woman reminds him that fate brought the boy there. He must be allowed to make his choice. She reminds Brian of the evil of Joshua Stragg and asks who is meant to stand against men like him. They offer him great power but also great responsibility. All he has to do is choose his mystic talisman – the sword or the amulet.
Brian decides that he is a scholar, not a warrior, therefore he can only choose the amulet. As he touches it, his body is transformed by purest energy. In that instant, his life was changed forever and Captain Britain was born to fight villain after villain.
(present)
Sure beats getting bitten by a radioactive spider, Spidey comments. ‘Uh-oh,’ he suddenly mouths as he sees a police helicopter. Moments later, the police order them to stay where they are until they are taken into custody. Spidey tells Cap to get out of there. While they are fleeing, he muses that he and Cap have hit it off awfully fast. In a lot of ways, Cap reminds him of himself.
A half dozen police cars come closer, led by Captain Jean deWolff, who is looking for the two if them. Spidey and Cap, in the meantime, have hidden in a back alley and Spider-Man wonders what’s up. That’s an awfully big turn out. Cap reminisces that not too long ago he himself was chased by the entire metropolitan police.
Looking on the right, he wants to cross the street, not aware of the truck coming in from the left. Spidey pulls him back and reminds him that, in the USA, cars drive on the right. He was looking the wrong way for traffic. Wouldn’t do for Cap to be the first superhero mashed by a garbage truck. Suddenly, his spider-sense tingles. Before he can react, the garbage trucks’s scoop pulls up the two of them. Within moments, things return to normal and one of the two men within the truck starts emptying trash cans.
A police car pulls up and Jean deWolffe asks if they have seen Spider-Man. The man knows nothing and asks his boss who is sitting at the trucks’ wheel. Has he seen those jokers the lady cop is looking for? No, he hasn’t seen one blessed thing, Arcade replies and starts laughing madly once Jean deWolffe has driven off.


[User]
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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
Murderworld
Spider-Man slowly awakes from all embracing darkness to find that he is imprisoned in some kind of translucent globe. Next to him, Captain Britain is in the same situation, captured in another globe. With grim humor he pronounces that he assumes they are alive. Because, if they are dead, then Heaven must be a very strange place, indeed. Assuming this is Heaven. Isn’t he the cock-eyed optimist? Spidey shoots back. He’d like to know what this is all about.
It’s about murder, friends, a voice announces. It is Arcade, sitting in an observation room, surrounded by his henchmen Miss Locke and Mr. Chambers. Arcade goes on to explain to Locke and Chambers that the Maggia is paying him a million bucks to kill a college student named Brian Braddock because he may be Captain Britain. How much are they going to pay for the good Captain himself? Plus Spider-Man to boot? He hasn’t looked forward so much to a game in years.
Whatever he does on his regular size machine will be duplicated down below. He activates his pinball machine and Cap and Spider-Man’s globes are also bounced into a huge pinball machine.
They quickly find out that the bumpers send near killing electrical charges through the spheres, painful, but leaving their victims conscious. Worse, with the motion of the spheres, there is no chance to get any decent leverage. Spidey wonders why their captor is making them go through this. After all, he had him and Cap cold. Why not simply kill them then and there?
The bar pushes Spider-Man away from the dead ball slot. Unwilling to blow that chance, Spidey presses against the sphere’s walls… and nothing happens. For a moment, he doubts himself but, recalling his girlfriend, Mary Jane Watson, he refuses to just give up. He finally manages to smash he sphere.
Captain Britain isn’t that lucky. His sphere is on a straight course towards the dead ball slot. Spidey creates a web bump that bounces the sphere up into the air. Figuring out what Spidey is doing, Cap hits the sphere from the inside the same moment Spider-Man hits it from the outside and they manage to shatter it.
How is he? Spidey asks Cap. He’s felt worse, but he doesn’t remember when, the British hero jokes. Spidey tells him to stay loose. He has the uncomfortable feeling: the best is yet to come. Aptly put, Arcade agrees in his control center, because it is time to put another ball into the game.
The two heroes suddenly hear a rumbling sound as a huge ball comes rolling at them. Suddenly spikes appear on its surface. They momentarily don’t know what to do.
Shame on them, Arcade pooh-poohs in his control booth. They are not reacting any better than the other “guests” who entered his world of life and death. His doomball has frozen them in his tracks right where he wants them – albeit only for an instant. Their mistake, because the only thing they had to fear right now was fear itself.
The ball fades away, having been only a hologram and the two heroes fall down two separate trapdoors. Chiding himself as being dumb, Spidey glides down a chute, swearing that he expects any moment to run into a little girl and a rabbit with a pocket watch. He lands hard and a cowboy type with a heavy drawl orders him to draw.
Captain Britain glides down another tube, surprised that in spite of the danger this is absurd fun. He lands and turns to see an obvious way through another room. He is suspicious, then he sees that it is a sort of prize chamber and, within a transparent cage, is his girlfriend, Courtney Ross.
Arcade suddenly addresses him and explains that in order to rescue her all he has to do is drop her capsule down the clearly marked chute on the other side of the prize chamber. He has his word of honor that, once she’s down that chute, she is out the game and safe. But, until then, her life is up for grabs. He tells Cap to move. Courtney has about two minutes of breathable air left to her.
Cap starts striding towards Courtney, passing a hall of funhouse mirrors. Strangely enough, his distorted reflections come to life and begin attacking him. A brawler reflection starts hitting him, while a thin one does an imitation of Mr. Fantastic, wrapping the real Cap up so tightly he can barely move. But with Courtney’s life at stake it takes more than warped images of him to hold him. He lashes out wildly, frees himself and starts running towards Courtney.
Meanwhile, the cowboy cyborg again orders Spidey to draw, as he starts shooting at him. Spidey evades the shots and settles the fracas with his fists by literally tearing the robot apart who wheezes a final Yuh … got … me . pardnuh. Shaking his head, Spidey complains that loony bin is like that old joke: ‘it only hurts when I laugh’ … and this place has got him laughing all the time.
Suddenly, he finds himself being strafed by warplanes. The entire Western atmosphere is replaced by a wartorn landscape. He starts running and complains that this is the kind of war only John Wayne could love. And he is stuck right in the middle of it. He realizes by now that everything in Murderworld is part real, part illusion, only he can’t tell which is which. And in this case what he doesn’t know, can kill him. He starts to reason. He hasn’t moved. That means he must still be in the tunnel. That means he has to ignore the sensoral images around him and find the tunnel wall.
He tears off a panel, finding circuitry behind and, better yet, a maintenance shaft. Marveling at the electronic hardware he sees, he figures that whoever built this pace must be a grade-A genius. He wouldn’t know where to begin sabotaging the place. He hopes Cap is doing better.
Cap has reached the window that separates the prize room from his. It’s a giant treasure scoop, with Courtney as one of the prizes who has to be grabbed by the scoop. He recalls playing the normal sized versions of the game at fun fairs back home and his luck was always lousy. He figures he can use the handles before him to operate the scoop. Before he can act, the door behind him slams shut and Arcade’s voice announces that this is just to make the game more interesting, as water comes rushing in… How long can he tread water, Arcade asks.
The evil genius tells his henchmen that he hasn’t enjoyed himself that much in years. Finally, he is up against opponents worthy of his genius. Miss Locke informs him that the sensors aren’t picking up Spider-Man anymore. Mr. Chambers adds that there are malfunction read-outs from the central power core. Arcade furiously tells them not to disturb him in the middle of a game. If there is a problem they are to deal with it. He’s busy.
So is Spidey, as he tears apart things, recalling an adage told to him by the Thing: ‘When in doubt, smash everything and pray you’re somewhere else when it all goes blooey.’
Cap finds that not only the chamber is filling with water, now the grab’s acting up. Time’s running out for him and Courtney, as the water level has almost reached his nose. He has one decent chance at her. Miss and neither of them will live long enough for a second try.
At that very moment, around the proverbial corner, Spidey looks down through a hole in the ceiling and leaves the maintenance shaft.
Chambers and Locke find that their sensors have picked up Spider-Man again and he is right outside.
Hearing no tingling from his Spidey-sense Spider-Man figures he doesn’t have to worry about booby traps. He tries to open the door to the control center but finds it locked.
Arcade presses a button and a sliding panel to the left of the door opens. Spidey sees a sealed chamber with a sort of well in the middle. Not the subtlest invitation to a trap he has ever received, he remarks. No thanks. Then, however, he sees Captain Britain at the bottom of the well, strangely holding himself under water as if his life depended on it. Sighing, Spidey hopes he won’t live to regret this as he swings inside. Of course, the door shuts behind him.
He cracks open the sealed chamber to free the Captain, who tells him to forget about him and get Courtney. They rush towards the capsule and together manage to crack it open.
Cap helps Courtney get up and promises everything will be all right. Spidey doubts that, as he senses a familiar tingling and the next moment the room fills with gas. He desperately thinks to himself that the damage he did back in the tunnels must have has some effect, but with his luck he probably just shorted out their coffee machine.
Chambers warns Arcade about the systems and Arcade tells him to stuff it. He’s too much into the game and can’t wait to see what Spider-Man comes up with next. The answer comes somewhat sooner than Arcade expected, as the systems overload and the whole complex begins to blow up.
Spidey hears that and, once again, starts tearing at the panels and the three of them make for the tunnels behind, braving the horrible smell.
It’s almost dawn and the streets of Midtown Manhattan are empty as the three of them exit from a sewer to run right into a police car. The trigger-happy cop intends to take them in. That moment, Captain deWolffe’s car stops and she tells him their job is to bring Captain Britain in, not play gang busters. She takes charge of the three and asks where they’ve been, apart from the sewers.
De Wolffe explains that, according to Interpol, the Maggia put out a million dollar contract on Captain Britain, among some others, but some lone wolf got their top hierarchy first. The police had meant to warn Captain Britain when they heard he was in New York. She stops the car and tells Spidey to get out. She owes him, so he can take off while she makes excuses to headquarters. Spidey thanks her and tells Cap and Courtney to take care. His thoughts turn to Arcade and he muses that they probably haven’t heard the last of him.
Elsewhere, Arcade, Miss Locke and Chambers wade through the ruins of Murderwold. Miss Locke adds more bad news. Roak and Moran are dead and they will receive no payment from the Maggia. As far as they are concerned, they never even heard of him or Captain Britain. Arcade tells them to forget Captain Britain; he isn’t important. Chambers remarks that Spidey and Cap beat him fair and square. What is he going to do now?
Do? Arcade asks. With a broad grin, he turns around and informs them that he is going to rebuild, of course, bigger and better than before. And, when they are ready, they are going to invite Spider-Man for a rematch. And guess who’s going to win?


[User]
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[Assistant]
When Slays the Silver Samurai!
‘Tis the month after Christmas and things are now looking up in the world. Somehow, the Yule-tide spirit has carried over into the New Year. People are smiling “hullo” in the streets and all of a sudden, New York has become a beautiful city once more. Of course, for some, peace does have its draw-backs…
Swinging over the snow-covered streets of New York, Spider-Man thinks to himself ho-hum. Another slow, boring patrol bites the dust. He might as well go home and crack the text books. The way the crime rates been dropping lately, he’s just wasting his time. Just then, Spidey sees four men running on a rooftop and thinks to himself that it looks like he spoke too soon. Those guys could be “honest” citizens out for an evening’s stroll but somehow, he doesn’t think so.
When a man exits the roof-top door and yells out to the thieves to stop, one of the burglars shoots a pistol and says to his partner, Ernie, that he had said the old man was out cold. Joe begins to apologize to Ernie but is told to tell it t’ the boss while he puts the jeweler on ice permanently. Swinging in, Spidey kicks Ernie in the head. As he does, he tells him if anyone’s getting put on ice, it’s him. Say, for a ten-to-twenty stretch in Attica. Don’t fret though; he’ll have his pals there to keep him company.
Swinging over towards the jeweler, he grabs him and takes him to safety. The jeweler asks wha? He’s Spider-Man. Spidey quips “really, I hadn’t noticed.” Placing him in safety, Spidey tells him stay there ‘til the fight’s over. It shouldn’t take long, then call the police. As Spidey heads back to the burglars, the jeweler calls out to him that he doesn’t understand. He’s helping him b-but the Daily Bugle says he’s a menace.
Two of the remaining burglars notice that the wall-crawler’s comin’ back. They have to cut loose, they’ve been there too long already. Kicking the two shooters in the face simultaneously, Spidey tells them that’s been tried before, bunkies, by better men than them. Notice how well they succeeded? When the fourth man makes a run for it, Spidey yells out to him no he doesn’t. This was a nice peaceful year until they came along and brother, they’re going to pay for messing it up. With that, Spidey slams the burglars face into the ground. Pulling him up, Spidey tells the burglar to make with some answers before he really gets rough. Who sent him? Spidey then realizes that it’s no good, he hit the man too hard, he’s unconscious. He guesses New York’s finest’ll have to puzzle this one out on their own.
At that moment, Spider-Man’s spider sense begins to tingle like mad. There’s someone behind him! When the person behind him swings at him with an energy sword, he tells Spidey he’s incredible. His approach was as silent as death itself, yet still he heard him. For all the good it did him. Dodging the attacks, Spidey notices that his attacker is hitting him with a sheathed sword and more than that, some kind of energy field. With his attacker’s last backhand, Spidey is knocked off the roof. Before he falls to the ground, he grabs the window ledge. When he does so, he remarks that all he needs is a minute to pull himself together and then he’ll…
Grabbing his arm, Spidey’s attacker tells him “you don’t have that minute American.” In fact, he has no time left at all. With that, his attacker slams Spidey up against a wall. In a heap on the ground, Spidey thinks to himself that the impact felt like it pulverized every bone in his body. He hit him too fast, too hard. He’s blacking out… Heck, he doesn’t even know who… he… issss….
Standing over him, his attacker asks so this is the celebrated Spider-Man. Ha, he’s faced deadlier opponents in the training arenas of his youth. But he fought with courage, he’ll give him that. It’s a pity that courage means nothing against the martial arts skill and the raw power of the Silver Samurai! Were these more honorable times, his courage would have earned him his life but those times are long dead. And because none must know of his presence in this city, he must die as well.
On that note, we cut back in time a few minutes and shift our scene downtown to a certain east-side barber shop. And a certain woman, who pushes the door open the weather-beaten door as if she’s expected. Entering the room, the woman calls out to Roscoe and asks him how life has been treating him. When she gets no response, she calls out Roscoe and Angela’s name. A quick thorough search gives the woman her answer: the shop is deserted. Taking a seat in a barber-shop chair, she discovers there is still hot lather in the shaving bowls and the electric clippers are running. Whatever’s happened there must have happened just minutes ago. She’d better get below and see if she can help.
As the chair lowers, she remarks that it’s a good thing Nick Fury gave her the elevator chair’s manual override control sequence. Otherwise, she’d be stuck up on ground level, no use to anyone. Once in the secret room below, the woman asks what’s going on there but finds the reception area as empty as the barber-shop. Removing her coat and hat, she states that means the Black Widow’s help is needed more than ever. Because these disappearances can only be the result of enemy action. If so, then it was a strange sort of attack, one that occurred so quickly, so completely that nobody had time to resist. It’s eerie, almost frightening how vast and silent the headquarters is when you’re alone. And the Widow is alone, as her search of the complex soon tells her. Here, too, there’s hot food, half smoked cigarettes on mess tables and computer consoles. Those same consoles registering situation normal/condition greet. It’s as if everyone disappeared suddenly, only an instant before the Widow arrived.
Composing herself, Widow mentions that it’s the Marie Celeste mystery all over again. Only this time it’s the middle of Manhattan instead of the mid-Atlantic. She’s got to get hold of Fury, assuming he wasn’t there when it happened. She’d better do it in person too. The communications system may be bugged. Making her way over towards a nearby aircar, Widow remarks that it was Fury’s call that brought her back to New York in the first place. He wouldn’t go into details, but now that she thinks of it, she’d swear he sounded scared. Who knows, maybe this will turn into no more than an elaborate April Fools’ joke done two months early. Sure it will, and Natasha Alianovna Romanoff will turn into Tsarina of all the Russians.
Just then, across town, Widow sees a flash, an energy flare close by that’s too close to ignore. It may have something to do with this S.H.I.E.L.D. nightmare. The Champions’ aircar will have her there in just a few seconds. But in those seconds, Widow, a sentence of death can be pronounced the executioner in the act of carrying it out.
Reaching the location of the flash of energy, Widow recognizes the man with the sword as the Silver Samurai and he’s about to murder Spider-Man. Her reaction is instinctive, and as deadly as her namesake. She firewalls the throttle and lets the aircar do the rest, crashing into Samurai. When she does, she recognizes that the Samurai’s armor absorbed most of the impact. He’s just stunned and once he recovers, his energy sword can cut the car to pieces. As long as she stays airborne, she’s at his mercy. So the sooner she takes this fight down to the ground, the better. And this building site looks made to order. With any luck, no innocent bystander should get hurt.
Once on the ground, Widow faces off against Silver Samurai. Noticing her, Samurai mentions that she is Daredevil’s lover, the woman Mandrill snared in his hypnotic spell and made his slave. Widow tells him that’s right, only she’s his own woman now, nobody’s lover, nobody’s slave. Can he say the same? Or is he still Mandrill’s errand boy? Samurai tells her “silence witch.” He served Mandrill in payment of an ancient debt. Leaping at him and landing with a kick, Widow asks Samurai that he’s now paid up? She doesn’t believe it. Widow then demands to know where he is, where Mandrill is. Elbowing her in the back of the head, Samurai tells her that even if he knew, he would not tell her.
Leaping away, Natasha calls herself a fool. She let her anger make her careless. She has to remember her training. He may have the edge in size and raw power but she has her speed, her skill. She also has her widow’s bite. It’s not quite in the same league as an energy sword, she’ll admit but it’ll have to do. Unleashing her blast, and discovering that it’s had no effect, Widow realizes that she was wrong, looks like they won’t do. Preparing to strike, Samurai tells Widow that resistance is futile. He defeated Daredevil, killing her will be no trouble at all.
Just then, Spider-Man swings into the action and barrels Samurai over. As he does, he asks if this is a private party or can anyone join in. Collecting himself, Samurai curses Spider-Man under his breath. He thought he’d stay unconscious longer than this. He would dearly love to battle them, and slay them both. But he dares not jeopardize his mission; he has the prize he sought. If he can make them divide their attention, he can defeat them one at a time. One stroke of his sword should give him the diversion he needs to accomplish that. At that moment, Widow points out to Spider-Man that Samurai is cutting through the building’s main utility core. Spidey tells her to tell him about it and then tell him how they stop him.
One stroke, that’s all it takes. Slicing through concrete, steel, power cables, support beams, tearing at the basic structure of the building, the shock setting the fifty-story tower vibrating like a tuned fork. On ground level, this isn’t so bad but on the upper floors… On one of the upper floors, a worker loses his balance and begins to fall over the edge. When he does, Black Widow points him out to Spider-Man. Rushing up the side of the building, Spidey tells Widow that she’ll take care of him. She just needs to keep the bargain basement Belushi hangin’ around ‘til he gets back.
Continuing to make his way up the building, Spidey thinks to himself that if only rescuing the guy was as easy as he made it sound. He’ll be near terminal velocity when he reaches him. He tries to grab him and he’ll tear him off the side of the building. He’ll only have one chance to save him. First things first – he needs something to anchor himself to, namely this vertical girder. And now he goes for the jack-pot. The speed he’s falling, if he snags him with his web wrong, his neck‘ll snap like a dry twig, like Gwendy’s neck snapped. He then tells himself to cut it out. He starts thinking like that and the man’s dead for sure. Nice and easy, no jerks, just a smooth pendulum swing. When he reaches the top of the arc, a gentle tug’ll drop him right into his arms. Trouble is, he can’t hold onto him and the building which is his cue to break and enter, Spidey-style.
After saving the man, the man tells Spider-Man to wait a minute. Where does he think he’s going? Spidey tells him down, as fast as he can. ‘Cause the Black Widow’s still dancing a tango with the clown who took a slice outta his building. The man pleads with Spidey to listen to him, that’s just the point. Those four core pylons are all that holds the tower up. If one of them’s been cut through, the entire building could pitch over. Once a shudder occurs, the man informs Spidey that the collapse has already begun. Grabbing hold of the man, Spidey tells him he gets the message and to hold on tight, they’ll be down in a minute. Though what they’re gonna do once they get there is anybody’s guess. Looking over at Black Widow battling the Silver Samurai, he notices that she’s holding her own. The man tells him to forget about him, the building.
As she battles the Samurai, Widow sees Spidey swinging by and thinks to herself that it’s about time. The Samurai’s sword’s been coming a bit too close for comfort. Seeing Spidey run off with the man towards the building, the Widow exclaims no. She doesn’t believe it. Spider-Man’s running away, leaving her to fight the Samurai alone.
Reaching the damaged base of the building, the man informs Spidey that the damage is worse than he imagined. They’ve got to evacuate the area. There’s no way they can prevent total collapse. Spidey asks the man if he minds if he tries. When he lifts up a steel beam, the man mentions it weighs tons, but… Spidey replies that he knows and proceeds to wedge it in under the base floor, right against the weakened pylon. That oughtta brace it. When it starts to bend, the man remarks that he knew it. One girder can’t take that incredible strain.
Spidey asks that he wants more? Lifting up another beam and placing it up against the wall, Spidey says that he guesses there’s no time to call Iron Man but he doesn’t think he can keep this up. How many more does he need? The man informs him that he estimates thirty, thirty-five to be safe. But he needs to hurry, the tower could fall any minute. Securing the beams with his webbing, Spidey asks thirty? His back’s killing him already. His arms… But he’s got to keep going. If fifty-some stories of building falls over there in mid-town…
Just then, his spider-sense begins to tingle and he turns around at the last moment to see Samurai attacking him. He begins to wonder what the heck he does now. If he wastes time with him, there could be a disaster. Slicing Spidey’s webbing with his sword, Samurai calls him a fool and adds that his webbing is useless against the power of his sword.
Just then, Black Widow flies in and kicks the Silver Samurai away from Spider-Man. When she does, Spidey tells her that he was worried for a minute he had killed her. Widow replies that she just had to catch her breath. She’s back and she realizes what he’s trying to do so go do it. She’ll hold the Samurai off till he’s done. Hurry!
And so it begins, Spidey swinging the huge “I” beam girders off their storage pile, then wedging them against the crippled core pylon and lashing them tight with his webbing. First one girder, then two… ten, then twenty. Then the numbers blur and his super-human effort becomes a never ending nightmare. Lifting up another beam, Spidey states that his webbing is running low. He’s already used most of his spare cartridges. The strain is incredible but he can’t give up now, he won’t.
Meanwhile, on the far side of the site, Widow continues to doge Samurai’s sword. Samurai mentions to her that she’s tiring and their battle is all but finished. Widow thinks to herself that it’s not far from the truth. He’s got her on the defensive, pushing her hard and Spider-Man’s still working on the building. At that moment, Widow’s random thought distracts her for only a moment and the Samurai strikes. Backing up, Widow notices that the energy backlash from his sword jangled her nervous system like electrocution. And now he’s backed her into a corner. She has to clear her head, she feels so woozy.
On the other side of the site, Spider-Man places the last beam in place and the building is safe. Upon learning that he’s finished, Spidey tells the man that he better split fast. The Samurai’s still loose. Witnessing Samurai take another swipe at Widow and hearing him say one more stroke will finish her. Prepare to die! Spidey remarks not if your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man has anything to say about it…
Attempting to use his webbing, Spidey discovers that he’s out of fluid. Realizing he has to do something, Spidey picks up a steel rod and tosses it at Samurai, knocking him away from the Widow. Spidey then calls out to Widow there’s her chance, get out of there. However, when she attempts to do so, Samurai backhands her and knocks her to the ground. Turning his attention to Spidey, Samurai tells him it’s his turn.
Facing him, Spidey thinks to himself that the Silver Samurai is more than a match for any super-hero, especially one who’s dead on his feet from fatigue. Spidey proceeds to tell Samurai that he’s got news for him. If he’s dead, then he’s one heckuva lively corpse. Dodging the Samurai’s sword swipes, Spidey asks Samurai what’s wrong. Can’t he hit a moving target? He means, he’s only using his spider-speed… While he does, Spidey thinks to himself that it’s killing him but if he can get in one good shot. Punching Samurai across the face, Spidey asks him if belting women from behind is the best he can do. Punching Samurai herself, Widow tells Spidey her turn; an opportunity to pay back the Samurai back for a debt that’s long overdue. Spidey tells her nice shot and if this clown had any sense, he’d be out cold by now. But since he’s still on his feet, and he’s a guy who hates loose ends, the pleasure’s all his. With that, Spidey knocks Samurai out cold with a thunderous blow.
With the Samurai down, Spidey tells Widow that he thinks they won. Widow replies by a knock-out. But she wonders what this was all about. Why was he trying to kill him? Spidey tells her that he and some goons ripped off an antique store over on Madison. Reaching into Samurai’s belt, Spidey is surprised when he pulls out a clay statuette. Turning to Widow, he asks her if she gets the feeling they’ve all been had. Widow tells him she doesn’t know. She wonders if they ever will.


[User]
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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
Night of the Living God!
Muir Isle, a lonely island in Scotland’s outer Hebrides, where Moira MacTaggert set up her mutant research center 20 years ago. Currently, it is also the home of former X-Men Lorna Dane and Alex Summers aka Polaris and Havok, who are currently out for a walk in the cold, unware they are being watched by men with old-fashioned Egyptian headdresses and loincloths.
With the island’s other inhabitants Moira and Jamie Madrox in Edinburgh for the weekend, they have the island all to themselves. They’ve been working hard since they arrived, trying to salvage what little Magneto left intact of Moira’s lab.
Suddenly, they are attacked by an energy blast. Havok fires back one of his own, assuring Lorna he has his power more under control now and won’t kill those creeps. Another energy bolt comes from the flying ship the strangers use, with one of them warning the others not to harm the boy. Havok finally realizes those guys are dressed like the Living Pharaoh’s old mob.
Polaris uses her magnetic power to bring down the ship. They are unaware that two more men are scaling the cliffs behind the couple. Figuring they have no order to take the girl alive, one of the men fires at Lorna, who loses her footing and falls into the icy ocean. Before Alex can help, the jet shoots out some snare that wraps itself tightly around Alex’s body and neutralizes his power to boot. The men talk about giving him an injection to render him unconscious. Alex begs them to make sure Lorna doesn’t drown. He will come with them, he promises. The men figure she is expendable and transport him aboard. They leave, not seeing how a hand grabs the rocks from the ocean.
Dawn in Scotland means two in the morning in New York. Most of the Empire State University Campus is deserted but there is light in the science building, especially the advanced chem lab, occupied by the very tired senior, Peter Parker.
The time has come the walrus said… to call it a night, Peter yawns. He’s been studying six hours without a break. Between school and worrying about Aunt May, he hasn’t had much time left for super-heroics. Good thing life’s been quiet.
As he gets up to leave, he notices light in Professor Craig’s office, but he left hours ago. He eavesdrops and realizes someone is in there, someone who is trying very hard not to be found. In fact, there are more members of the Living Pharaoh’s gang, who have searched for and found their master’s mystic Ankh.
Peter webs the door shut, then quickly changes into his Spider-Man uniform. However, when he hears a whirring sound he realizes he was wrong. Those men didn’t use the door. They have a ride hovering outside the window.
Inside the room, the men gloat that soon nobody will dare oppose their master’s will once he has ultimate power.
Spider-Man breaks through the door and embarrassingly gets caught in his own webbing, allowing the villains to get away. Spidey at least manages to throw one of his trackers onto the ship, though he still feel like an idiot.
On Muir Isle, Lorna Dane has managed to drag herself ashore. Shivering and desperate, she calls the X-Men’s home in Westchester, but nobody answers. She wonder why nobody is at home - it is three a.m. in New York. And, even if the X-Men were on a mission, Cerebro should have taken the call. Only one other option. She prays he is there.
Lorna is in luck. The Beast – currently an Avenger – greets her with a joke. When Lorna starts talking, he becomes serious and promises her he will handle things on this end. She is just to take care of herself. It won’t do at all to bring Alex home in triumph, only to have her dying of pneumonia.
Beast heads toward the Quinjet. His teammate Thor reminds him they are on standby. Something’s come up, is Beast’s cryptic reply.
Thor is surprised. Beast deserts his post, then takes a quinjet, which Agent Gyrich has forbidden them to do. Beast’s words were jocular, but his demeanor was grim. Thor fears what plagues his teammate is a matter of life and death.
Spider-Man sees the Quinjet passing by and wonders what’s up. He lands on the street where he last sensed the tracer before it was either discovered or the ship was put behind a shield. He sees an ambulance stopping, with men also dressed in Egyptian garb. He follows them to a mansion and realizes it is an embassy, though he doesn’t know of which nation. With his luck, though, it’s probably Latveria. He jokes he has no idea what Dr. Doom would do with these refugees from The Ten Commandments meets Star Wars.
Spider-Man watches as the men from the ambulance take out the tied up Havok in a hurry, as the stasis bands holding him have reached saturation point.
Spider-Man attacks the two men and begins to free Havok, but finds they are soon joined by more goons. By that point, Havok has freed himself. Spider-Man suggests he take cover while he takes care of them. Havok snaps that those animals have killed the woman he loves and now they’re gonna pay as only Havok can make them pay! With that, he blasts away. Spider-Man is amazed by his power. For a moment, Havok seemed like a living star.
Eventually, the two of them prevail against the number of their foes. Spider-Man believes that’s the end. Alex grimly informs him it just started. Beating the flunkies means nothing. They need to beat their boss!
That moment, they are hit by a blast courtesy of their leader, the Living Pharaoh. Seeing the man in his Egyptian get-up, Spidey asks if he is for real? Very much so, is Havok’s grim reply.
The Living Pharaoh gloats he has been waiting for this a long time. Before the night is over, one of them will emerge triumphant – and it will be him!
Spider-Man tries to provoke him, to distract him from Havok who caught the brunt of the blast. However, this earns him another energy blast and he is punched through the wall. On the other side, a young woman is horrified fearing he is dead.
A fear shared by Havok. That’s two lives the Pharaoh owes him! Things have changed, he announces, since they last met. He is no longer a kid! He knows what his power is and he is no longer afraid to use it!
The two mutants blast at each other, equal in power none giving in. The stalemate might last forever, but one of the goons throws a chain with an Ankh pendant over Havok’s head and immediately Havok is paralyzed. As the Pharaoh had planned. Havok is completely helpless. The Pharaoh orders his henchmen to take Havok to his lab, while he prepares himself for the transformation.
The two henchmen quickly carry Havok to a subbasement. Alex Summers is aware of everything going on but he cannot move. He knows what is coming, too. His power and that of the Living Pharaoh are inextricable linked, with Havok the dominant part of this gestalt. So long as he is alive, the cosmic power they share flows to him, not to the Pharaoh. But should Havok die, then that near infinite power belongs to the Pharaoh alone.
The men put him down on a slab and inform him that unlike last time the Pharaoh wants his power, not his life. A casing is put over him and one man explains that this tube will amplify the power he and the Pharaoh share and transfer it to the Pharaoh. At the same time, the systems will keep Havok, his living battery, in peak shape.
However, they cannot close the casing, due to the webbing of Spider-Man, who crouches above them. The men are surprised. The blast should have pulverized him. Spidey makes a quip, not letting on that the blast while causing no broken bones did take a lot out of him.
He quickly kayos the two men, and thinks aloud that he will probably just have to remove the Ankh to help Havok.
That moment, the Pharaoh stalks into the room and orders him to stop or he will feel the wrath of one who is the personification of the gods Horus and Osiris.
Unimpressed, Spider-Man mocks his skimpy metallic costume. Is he trying out for The Wiz or Star Wars 2? Not in a mood for jokes the Pharaoh tries to blast him again, Spider-Man easily dodges the blasts, aware that the Pharaoh has to be careful not to hit Havok or any equipment.
Spider-Man hits him hard and the Pharaoh stumbles back against the casing. While the webbing holds, the piece of ceiling it is attached to drops and so does the casing, encasing Havok. Immediately the cosmic energy is transferred to the Phararoh who begins to transform into something more powerful. He grows to giant size as he once more turns into the all-powerful Living Monolith. He bursts through the lab’s ceiling as he grabs Spider-Man and booms the hero will be the first to fall before his irresistible might!


[User]
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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
Whom Gods Destroy!
Manhattan is in a panic as the giant Living Monolith stomps through the streets, shouting the gods of Egypt should rejoice. He walks the Earth one more! He orders the people to flee, lest he crush them beneath his heel. In one of his hands he holds a prisoner, Spider-Man, who realizes five minutes ago when he was just another supervillain he could have handled him. But now that he’s absorbed Havok’s cosmic power and transformed himself into some kind of living god, Spider-Man has no prayer. Nevertheless, he figures he has to keep him occupied and give the crowd a chance to flee.
He webs the Monolith’s eyes shut, but the villain simply tears the webbing off, shouting the arachnid has gone too far. He tosses Spider-Man away, vowing he will pay with his life! The acceleration nearly takes Spidey out. He fires a web blindly and hopes he hits something, but misses. However, before Spider-Man can hit the ground, he is caught by the mighty Thor, who promises the death goddess Hela shall not claim him, while he is here to give aid.
Thor lands with him on a rooftop and asks what is going on. Spider-Man gives him the short version; He tracked some burglars and found out they had kidnapped Havok as well. The guy behind all this, the Living Pharaoh, needed Havok to amplify his powers. Spidey almost stopped him but he blew it. And then the Pharaoh was transformed into the Living Monolith. And from the looks of it, he is still growing. Thor tells him to stay. He will battle the Living Monolith.
The villain walks down a rush hour-filled Fifth Avenue. It might have been a massacre, but the Living Monolith decrees it more befits a god to walk the sky… and so he does.
A moment later, he is attacked by Thor who smashes his hammer Mjolnir into his face. Unimpressed, the Living Monolith swats Thor aside and he is hurled through a shop window. Chastened, Thor realizes he underestimated his foe. His power may well rival that of the Destroyer or Thanos. Nevertheless, he flies toward the Monolith again.
The Monolith blasts his cosmic energy at Thor, who swirls his mallet to shield himself from the effect.
Meanwhile, Spider-Man admits to himself that he hasn’t felt as useless since he and the Thing helped the Avengers fight Thanos, and it is a feeling he doesn’t like. Instead of staying put, he decides to help by using his brain. He looks down at the embassy, where Havok is still stashed in the crystal sarcophagus wearing the Ankh amulet. Spidey recalls that the Ankh keeps him paralyzed and the casing absorbs his energy and transfers it to the Monolith. So, if the casing is destroyed, the Monolith’s power should go pffts.
Spidey calls out to Thor and tells him to free the kid in the coffin and his foe is beaten.
Thor is not quite happy about that strategy but intends to follow Spider-Man’s advice. He throws Mjolnir towards the coffin. The Living Monolith laughs. Gloating, he reveals that the coffin is booby-trapped. Should the casing be damaged, Havok dies and then his power will belong to the Monolith forever!
Spider-Man throws a webline at Mjolnir and another at the roof, intending to hold Mjolnir. He manages to divert the hammer’s course. Instead, however, the hammer crashes through several rooms of the embassy, dragging Spider-Man with it.
As the hammer is about to return to Thor, Spidey shouts he wants to get off. Thor catches him and comments wryly that Spider-Man’s command of the arts of war equals that of his comrade Volstagg. He gets the feeling he’s just been insulted, Spidey complains.
The Living Monolith walks on, believing he has won. Thor muses the Monolith fancies himself a son of the gods of Egypt, though Thor has met them and knows he is none of them. Let them see how well he fares against a true son of Asgard!
Thor swings Mjolnir and it hits the Monolith in the back, managing actually to cause him pain. The impact causes skyscraper windows to burst and the Monolith loses his balance and drops into the ocean, almost wrecking a sea vessel.
Seeing the men in need, Thor hurries to help. That moment, the Monolith’s grabs the ship and throws it at Thor. The thunder god creates a breeze to nudge the crew to the shore then creates a giant storm and vows they will see which of them is truly worthy of the title god.
Swinging nearby, Spider-Man is impressed by Thor’s prowess but fears that the Monolith has a near infinite energy source. Can Thor beat that? He swings atop the roof of the Empire State Building and asks a couple on the observation platform if he can use the binoculars they are hogging. The woman is in a huff until her husband chides her. Spider-Man watches the battle and realizes Thor has created a hurricane half a mile wide. Despite himself, he swings to join the battle after thanking the couple, even as the wife decides she’d rather see the Rockettes.
Spider-Man has an idea that might save the day. He returns to the embassy, figuring the Monolith ordered his goons to take away his battery to safety. Indeed as he arrives, he sees the goons loading the paralyzed Havok into a truck. Spider-Man quickly takes out the men and starts examining the coffin to find the booby trap.
Not far away, Thor is holding his own against the Monolith and expects to win, but he finds his foe does not fall under the barrage of lightning bolts. He has to push his power to its limits merely to keep the Living Monolith at bay. The Monolith announces he has taken Thor’s measure and found him wanting. Thor claims to be a god, but he commands cosmic powers and will be triumphant! The Monolith begins to glow more and more brightly with energy.
In the meantime, Spider-Man has found the control circuit and faces the classic dilemma: Cutting which wire will free Havok or blow him up. He tests the three wires with his Spider-sense and then cuts the right one. He succeeds and frees Havok from the paralyzing ankh. A furious Havok is free and shouts the Pharaoh’s name as he begins to glow with cosmic energy.
In the air, the Living Monolith weakens. Thor wants to strike him but suddenly finds his foe gone. He calls off the storm and is relieved to see that the coast guard has rescued the crew of the ship, but of the Monolith in either incarnation there is not trace.
Thor joins Havok and Spider-Man and realizes that Spider-Man saved the day. After they compare notes, Spider-Man surmises that, after Havok was freed, the Monolith shrunk to human size and was blown away. It would take a miracle to survive that. Havok is sure he has survived, then he remembers that Lorna fell into the ocean thanks to the Pharaoh’s goons. He needs to get back to Muir Isle!
Spidey asks if the Avengers can help. Thor replies that Avengers currently mustn’t use their government equipment, but Tony Stark can help. Havok will be home by nightfall. Spidey tells them goodbye and hopes Lorna is well.