Well, here we are! The epic finale in the slugfest between the fledgling hero, now known as the Scarlet Spider, and the veteran villain, Venom! Will Ben Reilly succeed where so many other heroes have failed? Will he defeat the Lethal Protector once and for all? (And will I finish this article in or out of the bathroom due to stomach issues? Stay tuned!)
Venom stood atop the skyscraper, lifting the broken and battered hero one handed by his neck! The Scarlet Spider’s feet dangled over the edge as Venom mocked him. Ben couldn’t help but wonder if he deserved this. He was nothing more than a clone after all. (Ugh! Stop with the pity party already and kick his ass, Benny-boy! Jeez! Am I right, folks?) That’s when the Scarlet Spider looked over to Scream. The woman within the symbiote was unconscious and barely breathing. That’s when rage overtook him! No! He wouldn’t surrender! Not when another human life was depending on him! Using all of his advanced strength, the Scarlet Spider balled up his fist and struck behind himself! The blow connected with Venom’s jaw, stunning him long enough for Ben to turn and deliver yet another powerful blow! This one sent Venom soaring across the rooftops, crashing straight through a billboard!
Venom doesn’t stay down for long though! As the Scarlet Spider swings towards his foe, Venom has already shot up a webline of their own, swiping at the hero with razor-sharp claws! Ben barely dodges! He’ll have to slow the villain down. He raises his web-shooter and fires countless orbs that explode upon impact into quick growing webbing! Soon, the symbiotic duo are completely encased, not unlike a deranged mummy! The hero attempts to take a breath and rest his open wound. He needs to plan. But an enraged Venom bursts through the several layers of ultra-strong webbing with an unearthly roar! Wasting no time, Venom pounces at Ben like a panther, sending them both over the building’s edge! (Damn, I nearly spit out my popcorn as I read the exciting words I just wrote! Damn, I’m good!)
The two trade blows back and forth in the small crater they’ve created in the street below! Finally, Venom seems to prepare for a killing strike! But too late! As the monster taunts him, Ben fires even more impact webbing balls into the symbiote’s open, fanged mouth! As they explode, the force begins to pull the Venom creature from it’s human host! As this transpires below, a lone figure dressed in a ragged cape watches from a rooftop with keen interest! The Spider then finishes his attack by firing a stinger bolt from his web-shooter! It hits Eddie Brock’s exposed skin, causing immense pain! While he’s stunned, the Scarlet Spider delivers blow after powerful blow to the villain! They connect with devastating results until, at long last, Venom drops! The mystery man from the rooftop stands, shocked. He will make his presence known soon. Ben Reilly will soon feel the mark of Kaine! (So cool! I have literal goosebumps! Who is this mystetious Kaine? Use Google. Who am I, your living encyclopedia? Presume much?)
Now separated from it’s unconscious and beaten human host, the symbiote lunges towards Reilly! It senses something familiar about him and longs for symbiosis! (What a cheating whore!) But Ben forces it away striking the already wounded alien creature until it drops. The Scarlet Spider then collapses, exhausted beyond words. Later, armored Guardsmen take Eddie Brock and the symbiote in to custody in separate containment chambers. Scream seems to have disappeared completely. The Guardsman takes the Scarlet Spider’s hand and thanks him as he shakes it. The Scarlet Spider then fires a webline upwards and swings away in deep thought. He just defeated Venom! Maybe he’s worth more than he originally thought. Maybe he can be a superhero after all!
End.
(P.S. I made it without running to the bathroom once! Yay, me!)
Here we are, Unspokenites! Its part three of my look back at not only the Scarlet Spider’s first night out as a hero, but his first battle as well! And what a first battle too! I mean, who goes and picks a fight with Venom when they’re just a rookie? (I’d be searching for someone wussy like Egghead or something.) Anyway, I present to you the story from “Web of Spider-Man” #119…..
The Scarlet Spider clings to the wall of a building, holding pressure to the webbing that’s holding his insides in place. Venom almost gutted him just moments ago. He needs to get home. Find a way to treat his wounds. Somehow, he manages to return to his apartment. Using his hooded sweatshirt, he ties pressure over the deep gashes on his side just as his webbing finally dissolves. He dresses in his civilian clothes and attempts a call on the telephone for help. But the blood loss is too great. He passes out in the building’s hallway. A neighbor discovers him and, despite her distrust, decides to get him to the hospital ASAP. (Man, I know this is a serious moment in the story, but who else would become a peeping tom if they were granted spider powers? Well? A show of hands? Liars!)
Elsewhere, Venom swings toward the apartment of one Peter Parker in search of answers about this fake Spider-Man that they’ve just battled. The symbiotic duo crash through a window and examine the dwelling. Empty. Annoyed, they look elsewhere. (The subtlety of a triggered Gilbert Gottfried-sounding burglar alarm. Rest in peace, dude.) Their search next take them to the home of Parker’s Aunt May. Nothing. What’s been going on in their absence? Where is Spider-Man? At that moment, as Ben Reilly receives the last of his stitches at the hospital, a nurse casually leaves the room and searches out a phone. Finding one, she makes a hurried call to reporter, Ken Ellis, of the Daily Bugle. He had called earlier, offering cash to anyone who had news of a young man with a specific, serious injury that should arrive this night. Hanging up quickly, he rushes out the double doors and into a passing cab.
Ellis’ sudden departure does not go unnoticed. A being atop a building across the street uncloaks herself, becoming visible. (It’s a Disney-owned Predator! Run! Run before it forces you into it’s inevitably crappy movie!) It’s the female symbiote, Scream. She will follow this reporter. He will lead her to this new Spider. And through him, Venom. Then she will have hope again. Hope of controlling her alien “other”. She cloaks herself once again and follows the cab from the rooftops. Meanwhile, a room of gangsters speak to a shadowed man as he reads the newspaper. They demand he do what they hired him to do, murder the head of another crime family for them. This is his specialty after all. The mysterious man is called Kaine and he doesn’t like taking orders. Kaine ignores them and continues reading in silence. Now angered, guns are drawn and held on him. But Kaine merely knocks the large chandelier down onto many of the criminals with the throw of an unseen weapon, disarms two more men with ease, and finishes by burning the face of the most outspoken one with his mere touch. He dies in anguish! Kaine leaves the paper behind with the headline announcing the Scarlet Spider. Kaine whispers to no-one that he’s found something else more interesting to do.
Back at the hospital, as Ben lowers his shirt over his bandaged midsection, he overhears a commotion from behind his curtain. Peering out, he spies Ken Ellis pushing his way through the nurses. Frantic to conceal his identity, Ben leaps onto the ceiling and pulls the casing off of the overhead vent. He crawls through hastily, making his way to the roof in hardly any time. When Ellis bursts in, he’s met with an empty room. (I know I’ve felt like crawling to freedom exactly like Ben did to escape the utter boredom of the emergency room where I live! You need how much blood? How long does this test’s results take? Madness!) But when the Scarlet Spider reaches the rooftop, he finds he isn’t alone! Scream’s waiting for him! Good thing he thought to pull his mask on! She demands his aid in finding Venom. But Ben has had enough of this situation. He swings off quickly, leaving her to rage alone! Or did he?
Scream tears the rooftop to pieces in her anger, sending pieces of debris flying downwards to the people in the busy streets below! But the Scarlet Spider hasn’t left the scene quite yet. Half expecting this, he hid and waited. He catches and crushes as much of the falling pieces as he can before she swings away. Ben begins to think, what if he hadn’t been here to rescue these people below tonight? What if he’d ignored them and left them to save themselves? It reminded him of Peter’s Uncle Ben and how his murder could have been prevented should Peter have stopped a certain thief earlier that fateful night. Perhaps he’d forgotten Spider-Man’s lesson: “With great power comes great responsibility.” (Is anyone else sick of this constantly repeated credo? Ugh! It’s like the Spider-Man origin story in general. I consider leaping from a high window whenever it’s retold. Maybe it’s just me…..Nah.)
Later, the woman who saved Ben Reilly’s life knocks on his apartment door. She’s been wondering if he’s okay since his sudden disappearance at the hospital. (Yeah. And she saw his muscles while he was unconscious too. I bet that played no part. Women. What a bunch of perverts.) Ben answers but doesn’t remove the chain from his door. He apologies and tells her that he’s busy. She looks taken aback at his rudeness but nods and leaves. He closes the door all of the way and continues suiting up. He’s going to war against Venom! He may still leave this city, but it’ll be with a clean conscience because he’s stopped that creature! Elsewhere, Scream has absolutely lost it! She throws even more heavy objects from the great height of another skyscraper, putting countless more innocent people in harms way! She’s stopped rather quickly, though, as two feet hit her at great speed and with superhuman force! She turns. Venom has arrived and they’ve had enough! Venom knocks Scream down with a powerful punch to the face! They then pin her down and begin to literally tear the bonded symbiote from the human host’s very flesh!
Just then, small orbs are fired upon Venom from behind! Venom turns, confused. The Scarlet Spider stands where the tiny balls were shot from. The pellets suddenly explode with webbing and it covers Venom’s face so quickly and completely, that even they must struggle to tear it off! The hero states that he calls his new invention impact webbing, and he’s brought plenty to end this fight! The two square off. The final battle is here at last!
Boy, these characters from Marvel’s Golden Age sure are awesome, eh Unspokenites? I for one was always fascinated by them. It’s sad that so little of them still exist today really. (Except for the Whizzer in his yellow costume. Him, you can keep! Ha! Just kidding.) Anyway, I bet you’re wondering what happens next in our titanic tale! Well, wonder no further! The Unspoken Decade proudly presents “Invaders” #3…..
The Human Torch had had enough! He bursts into flames and melts his way out of his see-through prison! The Whizzer asks to be freed too, but the Torch is too enraged to be stopped now! The flaming android melts the surrounding Nazi soldiers’ guns as he flies towards the members of Battle-Axis! Dr. Death orders Volton to hurl a beam of electricity his way. He does, but the Torch is too fast! But as he evades, he’s suddenly struck powerless by a high-powered hose from the lab’s ceiling! Now without his flame, he plummets right into Strongman’s path! The muscle-bound villain uses the Human Torch’s momentum and his own superior strength to knock the hero out with a single punch! He’s then drug into a fresh prison chamber. Dr Death then walks towards the Torch. Peering in at him, the Nazis asks if he’d like to know his identity! The Torch seems unconcerned until the villain pulls off his face mask! (And reveals himself to be…..Shaq! Man, he really is in everything these days!) He is James Bradley, assistant to the man who created the Human Torch! He explains that he had begged his partner not to go public with the Torch, but his pleas were ignored. Disgusted, he stormed out of the lab before the press arrived. Years later, he was thrilled to become Dr. Death for the Third Reich when they approached him if it meant getting his hands on his old co-creation!
The Human Torch now knows why this Dr. Death betrayed his country. But what of these others? He demands answers. The Spider Queen is the first to answer. Her name was Sharon Kane and her husband had been a scientist that had invented a super-strong web fluid for Washington. All was well until the day he was gunned down by Russian spies! Soon after, America allied themselves with Russia against Nazi Germany when they entered the war! That’s why she fights against her homeland. The next to speak is Strongman. He was named Percy Van Norton. He’d been a millionaire, but even his money couldn’t take away the sting of being relentlessly teased as a youth. So he took an experimental formula that enhanced his strength and durability. He knew the Nazis valued strength, so when Dr. Death approached him, he was more than willing. The Human Meteor had been called Duke O’ Dowd and had received his powers by crashing his plane in the Himalayans and discovering the secret city of Bayakura. The denizens there taught him how to convert his atoms into pure energy. He had started out a superhero, but when he learned that America was working with the British he so despised, he joined the opposite side. Volton spoke up next. He remembered nothing of his human life or why he’d joined the cause. He just remembered being struck by a bolt of lightning. (Well, that was a simple and right to the point origin story. Genius! Gotta love a deeply motivated character.)
While the villains are in such a talkative mood, the Torch questions them further. Where are they and what is their master plan? Dr. Death replies with pride that they are beneath the Mojave Desert where they have constructed a giant oscillotron. The machine’s job is to create an earthquake so destructive, that the West Coast would break off, killing numerous Americans and forcing the U.S. out of the war! Without their powerful ally, England would be forced to surrender next! This would leave Russia to battle all of the Azis Powers alone! The Whizzer cries out in rage, but he is simply ignored and the Human Torch is doused once again with water within his cell. Meanwhile, as Captain America flies the Atlantean aircraft high above the desert, Miss America demands to know of the villains’ secret location from the Silver Scorpion. The new, armored heroine seems unsure. Miss America next asks how this woman even knows of the armor she now wears. The Silver Scorpion replies that she had accompanied her fiancée to work often as he served as a guard to a scientist that was creating the armor. The scientist had needed a model to fit the armor around and chose her. (I bet he did! Pervert! I applaud your ingenuity, good sir.) The heroes know the rest of her sad tale.
As this conversation is going on, Namor takes this time to ask of the Blazing Skull’s origins. He answers that he was once a journalist named Mark Todd and that he had been on assignment during a war in China. He was forced underground during an attack and encountered a race of beings that had flaming skulls for heads! There, they taught him how to become immune to flames and gifted him a mask to look as they did to the surface world. This was to fight injustice incognito. He later learned how to make his own flesh appear transparent. To put the Blazing Skull at ease, Cap tells him that this was no more strange than his or the other Invaders’ origins. (Like…..heehee…..the Whizzer…..getting super speed from a…..hahaha…..blood transfusion from a…..mongoose! Haw! Haw! Haw!) These talks however have not stopped Miss America from grilling the Silver Scorpion. She questions her once again about the villains’ hideout. Things become so heated up between the two females, that the Scorpion suddenly shouts out that she lied! She knew nothing of their evil plans and overheard only a vague statement about a “dead lake”. Before Miss America can say anymore, Captain America motions for her silence. They are flying over the Mojave Desert right now. Doesn’t this place have craters called “dead lakes”? And if so, couldn’t Namor’s Atlantean ship detect them?
The Sub-Mariner confirmed that this was in fact so. Scanning the desert, the ship’s sensors quickly picked up a crater that had been covered up, comoflauged in some way! Cap decided they should keep their distance until a plan could be formed. But too late! Anti-aircraft guns came out of concealed spots in the desert sands and began firing upon the Atlantean ship! They made a crash landing! But, unable to wait any longer for her beloved, Miss America burst from the craft and flew down with the guns as they sank back into the earth! She found herself inside of an enormous high-tech base, full to bursting with Nazi soldiers! She was discovered immediately! But the heroine knew how to deal with their like! She fought her way through, knocking the Ratzis around like bowling pins! But, so concerned was she with the soldiers, that she missed a sneak attack by the Human Meteor and Volton! (Geez. Maybe if she’d waited for the others before attacking? The Whizzer must be some man in the sack! Giggle.) She’s then ensnared by the Spider Queen’s webbing and pulled forcefully to the ground!
But never fear! The Invaders burst into the Battle-Axis headquarters, ready to rescue their friend and cripple this whole evil operation beyond repair! Dr. Death plunges a syringe into Miss America’s arm and she slips into unconsciousness. He then orders a nearby man in a lab coat to activate a device he calls the Dimension Smasher! As Captain America and the Blazing Skull battle the behemoth known as the Golem, Silver Scorpion fights against the Spider Queen! Still unsure of her armor’s capabilities, she manages to fire an energy blast that gives her foe pause! Next, Namor slowly advances upon Volton through his barrage of electrical blasts! It seems as if our heroes are winning! Battle-Axis is quickly losing ground! That is until the Dimension Smasher hums to life! And then, emerging from the smoke, hovers in a strange alien being! Some know him as the Vision! But he calls himself Aarkus, Destroyer of Evil! (“Destroyer of Evil”? Sounds like a plus actually for the Invaders. Who’s more evil than Nazis after all? Not counting New England Patriots’ ex-quarterback, Tom Brady, of course. That joke was for you, mom!)
The Vision surveys his surroundings and studies those that surround him in awe! Captain America looks to the strange being and pleads that, if he is against all things evil as he says, that he join them in their fight. But instead, the Vision floats past Cap and towards Namor. He raises one hand and places a single finger upon the Atlantean hybrid’s brow. Namor suddenly freezes into a block of ice! Volton exclaims in shock that the Vision is on their side! Dr. Death merely states that why wouldn’t he be? They control his way home! Next, Vision attacks the Silver Scorpion, knocking her out! The Golem finishes the job by defeating Captain America and the Blazing Skull with his mighty fists! The Invaders all now lie defeated! Who will save America now?
To be concluded!
(And don’t forget to donate all unnecessary metals to the war effort! Keep ’em flying, boys!)
The Unspoken Decade: 90's Comic Book Blog Extraordinaire 