Tombstone

Background

After briefly catching a glimpse of someone from his past, Robbie Robertson became concerned that an old "friend" from high school had returned to New York. Lonnie Thompson Lincoln was a hired killer for the mafia and Robbie suspected that he was back in the Big Apple to work for Wilson Fisk. Waiting for Lincoln outside of Fisk's headquarters, Robbie attempted to follow him but was quickly reminded by Lincoln that living a long life meant staying out of his way. (Web of Spider-Man #36 and Spectacular Spider-Man #137) Lincoln was indeed working for the Kingpin and was in his office when it was attacked by the Hobgoblin (Jason Macendale). Hobgoblin demanded to know why he had been blacklisted from all mercenary jobs and the Arranger (Fisk's right hand man) told him he could get off the list by killing Spider-Man. The hulking Lincoln then tossed Macendale out of the highrise's window. (Web of Spider-Man #38)

The Arranger sent Tombstone after a mutant named Roland Rayburn (Persuader) to convince him to join their organization. Rayburn tried to use his power of persuasion to convince him to let him go but the power had no effect on Tombstone. He then took Rayburn to his boss. (Spectacular Spider-Man #138) Peter Parker soon received an urgent phone call from Robbie, telling him to come to the Bugle. Spider-Man soon arrived and foiled an assassination attempted against Robertson. The assassin claimed he didn't know who hired him. At Robbie's office in the Bugle, Spidey found a tape recorder with a note for Peter. The tape claimed that Robbie was guilty of murder, even if he hadn't actually pulled a trigger. Along with the tape was a file that linked Tombstone to many murders. Elsewhere, Tombstone was beating Rayburn at the Arranger's request. Arranger wanted Rayburn to use his powers to manipulate Wall Street for the Kingpin's benefit. When Rayburn tried to use his power on Arranger, Tombstone broke his arm. Robertson then called Tombstone and set up a meeting at Battery Park.

Spidey continued to listen to Robbie's taped confession. Robbie relayed how Lonnie had beaten him up in high school, when he was the editor of the school newspaper. Robbie had been about to write a story on Lonnie for demanding protection money from other students, when Thompson changed his mind for him. The two men parted company after high school and Robbie went on to become a newspaper reporter. Eight years later in Philadelphia, Robbie was working as a journalist and was covering a story involving a murdered mob boss, Ozzy Montana. Robbie agreed to meet the tipster but when he arrived at the waterfront, the man had just been killed by none-other than Tombstone. Robbie escaped but after threats from Lincoln, he and Martha moved to New York. Robbie continued to follow Lincoln's mafia career in Philly, feeling responsible for never speaking out. Still feeling guilty, Robbie decided to confront Lincoln at Battery Park. He intended to arrest the hitman and was armed with a gun but the bullet proof vest Tombstone wore saved him when a fight started. Robbie's back was broken by the thug. (Spectacular Spider-Man #139)

As Robbie lay paralyzed in a hospital bed, he was visited by his old friend. Robbie told Lincoln that he wasn't afraid of him...until Tombstone whispered something in his ear. Meanwhile, Spider-Man was interrogating a bartender at a sleazy bar, the same bar that the attempted assassin got his assignment to kill Robertson. The stuttering bartender told him that Tombstone was working for the Arranger. Meanwhile, a shadowy figure shot a patron that was about to shoot Spider-Man and the unknown person got away. At Fisk's headquarters, Tombstone and Arranger discussed that the mystery man had arrived in New York and was seen at the bar when Spider-Man was asking questions. Both men seemed pleased by the news, as Tombstone's return to New York had been meant to draw the mysterious person out. Peter Parker soon received a call at the Bugle, telling him to go to Liberty Island. Upon arrival, Spidey was attacked by a gunman, who turned out to be the Punisher. (Spectacular Spider-Man #140)

Punisher told Spidey that a District Attorney friend of his had recently been killed in St. Louis and he suspected it had been Tombstone that broke his neck. Punisher followed a lead to New York and to the bar that Spidey had been interrogating. He had been the one that shot the thug about to kill Spider-Man. He knew about the tape that Robbie had made and demanded that Spidey get it from Peter Parker. Spider-Man agreed to get it from Parker and left. Lincoln and some thugs were there to overhear the conversation and Tombstone had them go after Castle after the web head left. After the thugs failed against Punisher, Tombstone arrived at the Parker's apartment to confirm that they lived at apartment 302. He then followed Mary Jane to her modeling gig and lifted her up by her hair, demanding to know where to find her husband. (Spectacular Spider-Man #141)

Mary Jane was taken to the hospital, where incidentally Peter was talking with Robbie about what to do with the tape. After Peter learned about what happened and visited his injured wife, he got a phone call from Tombstone, taunting him to meet the hitman in Atlanta, Georgia. (Peter was about to start a book signing tour of his book, Webs, and his next city to visit was Atlanta.) Peter took a message at the book store, telling him to bring the tape to Tara Square at sundown. As Spider-Man, he was attacked at the rendezvous point by Tombstone. Despite being merely human, Tombstone managed to take the wall crawler by surprise and almost escaped with the tape. Tombstone was defeated and taken to jail. Arranger was unhappy to lose such a talented hitman but Lincoln had served his purpose: drawing out the Punisher and forcing him to his will. (Spectacular Spider-Man #142)

Robbie went to trial for never going to the police about what he knew of Tombstone and was sentenced to 36 months in a federal prison. Unfortunately for him, Tombstone was in the jail cell next to him. He warned Robbie to not tell anyone that they were sharing a cell block. (Spectacular Spider-Man #150) Later on, Tombstone cornered Robbie in the prison laundry room with a group of inmates. He started choking Robertson, who was saved by an enormous inmate called Bruiser. (Spectacular Spider-Man #151) Tombstone sent a group of inmates after Bruiser while he and Robbie were in the prison yard. The giant kept Robbie safe but ended up in solitary confinement for the fight. Bruiser told Robertson not to worry because Tombstone wouldn't hurt him while he was in solitary. It was the rules of prison. (Spectacular Spider-Man #152) Tombstone made his move on Robertson and Bruiser as they were leaving the showers. A group of men shot at them with dart guns, badly injuring Bruiser and making the duo run to an empty cell. A thug went to get a key from someone workign for Tombstone and the cell was soon open. Robbie hoped that Lincoln would take his anger out on him and not Bruiser but the big man was quickly beaten to death in front of him. An alarm sounded and Tombstone and his men left Robbie with the body. (Spectacular Spider-Man #153)

Spider-Man soon came to check on Robbie and was soon betrayed by him. Spidey was attacked by Tombstone and as he was distracted, Robbie injected him with a poison that left him weak. The web head was soon chained to a wall and beaten by the hitman. Soon an alarm sounded, signaling the prison break that an outside friend of Tombstone's had put together. Lincoln used Spider-Man as a hostage as he made his way to the helicopters outside. Spidey managed to break free of the chains and fought off Tombstone's goons as Lincoln got away with Robbie in the helicopters. Barely managing to hold onto the choppers landing bars, Spidey stowed away. Lincoln saw him and was about to kick him off when Robbie tackled him and they fell out of the copter. Spidey tried to make the pilot go back for them but he said he couldn't find them in the trees. (Spectacular Spider-Man #155)

Tombstone and Robbie had fallen into the Susquehanna River, where Robbie washed up in Amish country. Lincoln also survived the fall and had an Amish man, Aaron, help Robbie back to his farm. (Spectacular Spider-Man #156) The two New Yorker's stayed with Aaron's family until Tombstone began to make subtle threats against them. Robbie had broken his leg in the fall from the helicopter, and now that it was healed, Tombstone decided it was time for a fair fight. Having worked out extensively in prison, Robbie knocked him to the ground and ran, with the killer close behind him. Lincoln threw Robbie into a mud puddle and was about to kill him when Robbie grabbed a pitchfork and stabbed him in the chest. Lincoln was stunned that his "friend"would hurt him and collapsed. Aaron came to see what was happening and Robbie asked him to take him into town. (Spectacular Spider-Man #157)

Tombstone survived and went to prison. He was later broken out by Hammerhead and became his lieutenant. Lincoln was soon insulted that his boss would hire the Hobgoblin (Jason Macendale) to kill Robertson. "Hey boss, Robbie's my pal from way back. Anybody's gonna kill him, its me." Hammerhead told him he was too involved and the job required an outside professional. Lincoln didn't listen and stood guard over Robbie from a distance with a sniper rifle as Hobgoblin attacked his "welcome home" party. He shot Hobgoblin's razor bats out of the air every time Hobby was about to deliver a death blow. One of the shots caused Hobgoblin's glove blast to misfire, blinding him. As Hobgoblin flew away, Tombstone reminded himself "Like I said, nobody kills my pal Joe Robertson...except me." (Spectacular Spider-Man #161)

Still working for Hammerhead, Tombstone forced Mark Raxton, the Molten Man, to steal a plant preservative called DIOX-3 from Osborn Industries. (Mark was an employee at the factory, which was owned by his brother in law, Harry Osborn.) The mob hoped to use the chemical to preserve the coca plant, which is used to make cocaine. If Raxton refused, they would steal it anyway and frame him for the crime. Raxton contacted Spider-Man and told him about the set up, hoping that the webhead would help. Spidey naturally agreed and was waiting when Molten Man arrived with Tombstone and his gang. Robbie Robertson had also been alerted to the crime and confronted Lincoln at the warehouse. Little did he know, but Lincoln had leaked word of the crime, knowing that Robertson would hear it and confront him. He intended to end their feud then and there, but he was shot by Robbie. Lincoln fell into a pressure room and was exposed to the DIOX 3. When Spider-Man, Molten Man and the Green Goblin arrived, Tombstone had escaped...through a wall in the pressure chamber. (Web of Spider-Man #66)

Dizzy and confused, Tombstone staggered in the streets and was attacked by three armed punks looking to rob him. He quickly beat them and was uninjured when shot by one of them. Later that night, he arrived at the Long Island home of his boss, Hammerhead. He quickly killed the machine gun toting guards when they opened fire on him, then interrupted his boss's movie. He let Hammerhead know that things were going to be different from that point forward. (Web of Spider-Man #67) Tombstone contacted Robbie, wanting to meet. Robbie went to Hammerhead's mansion, where he found the mob boss to be badly battered. Tombstone then showed up and thanked Robertson for shooting him, as it ended up making him stronger than ever. Lincoln then considered them to be even and the feud was over. Spider-Man then arrived and a fight broke out, ending when a bullet hit an ammo storage and caused an explosion. (Web of Spider-Man #68)

Lincoln survived the explosion and again went after his old boss at his office. After Hammerhead's goons failed to kill him, Hammerhead tried to do it himself...and ended up with broken leg. Tombstone also broke Hammerhead's hand, which caused him to pass out. Declaring himself the new boss, Lincoln ordered Hammerhead to be sent to Arizona. He wanted to join the council of mafia leaders, who refused to accept him. Lincoln took out his anger on their messenger, whom told him that it was only one man, Nick Kaska, who voted him down. Lincoln and his gang soon arrived at Kaska's club and a fierce gun fight broke out. Tombstone survived a rocket launcher attack, falling through the floors to the basement. The explosion ruptured a gas line, threatening to blow up the neighborhood. Fire fighters and paramedics soon arrived at the scene. As Tombstone was about to kill two medics and escape in their ambulance, he was stopped by Flash Thompson. (Spectacular Spider-Man #204)

Flash was beaten up by Tombstone and was nearly killed when Spidey showed up. Lincoln threw the nearly unconscious man at the webhead, who caught him. Lincoln escaped in the ambulance and Spider-Man didn't have time to tag it with a spider tracer. He later showed up at the mobster council, still demanding to take over Hammerhead's seat. Nick Kaska is there, and still refused to let him have a seat. He changed his mind and decided to send Tombstone after Spider-Man, claiming that if he can kill the webhead, he can take over Hammerhead's position. Kaska doubted that Tombstone could kill his long time enemy and Lincoln planned to kill the council after killing Spidey. Meanwhile, the Black Cat is still angry that Tombstone had injured Flash Thompson (they were dating at the time) and was swinging her way to his warehouse when Spidey started to follow her. She arrived first, and took out two of Tombstone's thugs but was beaten by Lincoln. Spider-Man showed up soon after and the fight made them crash through a wall and fall into a river. Soon, Tombstone emerged, holding Spidey's mask. (Spectacular Spider-Man #205)

As Tombstone gloated over his victory, Black Cat came to and dove into the river to find Peter. The gang left and Peter eventually pulled her out of the river. Later, Tombstone was again meeting with the council and presented them with Spider-Man's mask. Kaska was again unimpressed and insulted Lincoln. Fed up with Kaska, Lincoln smashed the table and was about to kill him when Kaska's goons opened fire. Tombstone shoved Kaska out of the highrise's window, where he was barely rescued by Spider-Man. Spidey returned to the meeting room and eventually he and Tombstone fell out of the window, to the pavement. Lincoln got up and continued to pummel the webhead. Badly battered, Spidey webbed his hand like a boxing glove and hit Tombstone with everything he had. Lincoln laughed at him, then fell to the ground. (Spectacular Spider-Man #206)

For a while, Tombstone became an enemy of Darkhawk, Daredevil and Luke Cage.

"Web of Life"

When Tombstone returned to Spidey's neck of the woods, he faced off against the Scarlet Spider. Tombstone had just broken out of prison and all Ben had to do to find him was follow the trail of bodies. They battled it out on the top of a speeding armored car, which was soon out of control when Lincoln knocked out the driver. Scarlet jumped in front of the truck and stopped it before it could hit a restaurant full of people. Tombstone again went after him but was knocked out when Ben hit him over the head with a street light. (Web of Spider-Man #120)

"Family Plot"

When he got out of prison, Tombstone was again trying to climb the ranks of the New York mafia. By this time, Ben Reilly had taken over as Spider-Man and he was working at the Daily Grind coffee shop. A co-workers husband, Steve Marlowe, gets into an argument with his wife and Ben found out he was in the mafia. As Steve left, Ben thought he looked familiar. Later, Marlowe was meeting with his boss, Tombstone, who gave him and others the order to kill the police chief. The hit went off, despite the interference of Spider-Man and the Punisher. Marlowe escaped and made it back to Tombstone's hideout. Spidey had followed him, but so had the Punisher. As the two heroes bickered, Marlowe set off a bomb that allowed him and his boss to escape. (Spider-Man/Punisher Family Plot #1)

After they escape, Marlowe took Lincoln to hide at his home. Little did he know, but his young son had run away from his mother's house to live with his father. Tombstone took the boy hostage to guarantee that Marlowe didn't screw up when it came time to assassinate the Mayor. After Steve arrived at the Mayor's mansion, he was stopped by the Punisher. Back at Steve's loft, Little Steve tried to make a run for it ad was about to be ended by Tombstone when the boy's mother burst in. Spidey used the momentary distraction to attack Tombstone. The fight raged until the Punisher arrived with Steve, Sr. When Steve stood up to Tombstone, the gangster shot him. Punisher shot a rocket launcher at him but Tombstone still escaped. Punisher left and Spidey consoled Steve Junior, telling him that because his father was a bad man, does not mean he also will be. (Spider-Man/Punisher Family Plot #2)

"Hydra"

Tombstone later showed up at a meeting of mafia leaders, discussing their mutual enemy: the Don Fortunato. They were gathered by General Nguyen Ncog Coy, a military strategist from Madripoor. The gathered mafia leaders consisted of Hammerhead, Tombstone, Gavin Thorpe, Silvermane, Caesar Cicero, the Rose (Jacob Conover) and the Slug. Once they all agreed to work against Fortunato, Tombstone was sent with some goons to kill him. When they arrived at his estate, they found that Fortunato's son, Jimmy Six, and Spider-Man were already there. After the goons were beaten (Spidey knocked a huge bookcase on top of them) he and Tombstone went mano a mano. The fight went badly for both of them, as Fortunato used the electrified flooring to stun both of them. His allies then arrived and he revealed that he had been aided all along by the terrorist group, Hydra. (Spider-Man #73)

The captured Tombstone, his goons and Spider-Man were then given over as a peace offering by the other crime lords to Fortunato. At that moment, Daredevil arrived after hearing that Spider-Man was at Fortunato's mansion. Jimmy Six turned against his father and Spidey used the distraction to free himself from the electrified shackles. He rushed the mob goons to freedom and was met outside by Daredevil, whom helped him with the Hydra terrorists. They escaped in a helicopter, piloted by Jimmy Six. As they left, they saw Tombstone running from the fight, still in his shackles. They caught the hitman and all flew to safety. (Spider-Man #74)

"Heartbreaker"

Lincoln was next seen after a bank robbery, having suffered a heart attack. He was taken to a special prison by the FBI, one that negated a prisoner's powers once they entered the building. His cell mate was Jonathon Ohnn, the Spot. Tombstone made him part of his new gang, along with Rocket Racer, Big Ben and Hypno-Hustler. Lincoln got into a fight with another inmate (Kangaroo (Hibbs) in the lunch room and was soon beaten by him. Tombstone retaliated by having his crew attack Hibbs in the prison library. Tombstone was about to stick him with a pair of scissors when the guards stopped him and put him in solitary. In his weakened condition after the heart attack, no one expected him to last long in there. (Spider-Man's Tangled Web #16)

In solitary, Tombstone was found laying face down, seemingly dead. The doctors resuscitated him but he clearly needed emergency surgery. As the medical wing of the prison was still under construction, Tombstone was transported to a mainland hospital with a guard that wanted to kill him. The ambulance crashed due to a disturbance outside. When the guard came to, he found Tombstone standing over him. Weeks later, Tombstone was relaxing at a New York mansion when the Spot appeared. He had supplied the disturbance that caused the ambulance to flip over but had also been the one to rat out Tombstone for trying to kill Kangaroo. In payment, Tombstone broke his neck. (Spider-Man's Tangled Web #17)

"Shush"

Tombstone briefly joined Norman Osborn's Sinister Twelve, after Osborn was broken out of prison by Spider-Man and the Black Cat. The Twelve were left to deal with Spider-Man while the Goblin went after Mary Jane but they were stopped by the timely arrival of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. (Marvel Knights Spider-Man #11)

"Suicide Kings"

Tombstone got involved as a bookie and one of his clients was a wealthy man named Conrad O'Shea, who owes Lincoln a large sum of money. Conrad hired the mercenary called Deadpool to kill Tombstone and gave him an address to find him. When 'Pool arrived there, he found a bomb instead of his target and the apartment blew up. Video of the explosion was put on the news, with doctored footage of Deadpool setting the explosion. Tombstone had altered the footage to pin the blame on Deadpool. (Deadpool Suicide Kings #1)

The Punisher, having seen the doctored news story, came to kill Deadpool, whom escaped. Deadpool found help from Daredevil and Ben Urich, who pointed him toward John O'Shea, Conrad's father. John was sympathetic to them and told them to investigate Tombstone. As Deadpool found more clues, he was webbed up by Spider-Man, whom also assumed that Wade was guilty of the apartment bombing. As they argued over his innocence, Deadpool's head exploded from a high powered arrow, fired by the Punisher. (Suicide Kings #2 & #3)

After his head regenerated, Deadpool and Spidey got into an argument over movie trivia and Daredevil left them in disgust. He did leave them a list of possible addresses to find Tombstone. After Deadpool checked out one of the possible addresses (a strip club), he was again confronted by the Punisher and goons. After convincing Punisher that he had nothing to do with the apartment bombing, they worked together. They interrogated a frequent gambler of Tombstone's who gave them his location. Tombstone escaped from Deadpool and Punisher and they gave chase on some motorcycles. Spider-Man arrived just in time to save Wade from an oncoming semi but they then faced Tombstone under a bridge, with The Wrecking Crew, whom Tombstone had recruited from The Hood. (Suicide Kings #4)

They beat The Wrecking Crew and as Tombstone and Conrad escaped, Conrad was thrown to Tombstone's hungry pigs. Deadpool saved him and learned from him exactly what was going on: Conrad O'Shea made a bet with Tombstone on the outcome of a basketball game. Shantee Williams, the star player had an altercation with Deadpool and decided to pull a gun. This resulted in a trip to the emergency room and some expensive surgery to reattach his fingers. As a result Conrad lost the bet. As it turns out it was a very large bet. Tombstone agreed to a double-or-nothing bet with Conrad. Tombstone frames Deadpool for the bombing and then sits back to see if Deadpool can survive the next 24 hours. Conrad had bet that Lincoln couldn't kill Deadpool. As Tombstone was about to leave in his helicopter, Deadpool called him out. The fight became personal and Wade gained the upper hand, threatening to stab Lincoln in the eye and impale his brain, Lincoln's one vulnerable spot. He confessed and was taken into police custody. (Suicide Kings #5)

"Origin of the Species"

Lincoln stayed low for a while, but took a job from Doctor Octopus to kidnap the newborn infant of Lily Hollister and Norman Osborn. Octavius believed that the Goblin Formula that was produced by the mixing of Hollister's and Norman Osborn's DNA would cure him of his deteriorating physical condition. Tombstone and Shocker chased the very pregnant Lily to a restaurant, where Harry Osborn, Peter Parker, Carlie Cooper and Mary Jane were having lunch. Lily gave birth during the fight and just after Octavius arrived to take the newborn. (Amazing Spider-Man #642)

After Spider-Man escaped with the infant, Lincoln followed Cooper back to the apartment where Lily and Mary Jane were hiding. He had overheard her mention that she knew Lily Hollister personally and reasoned that he could find the infant if Spider-Man brought it back to its mother. Carlie tried to shoot him but it was the remote controlled glider, summoned by Lily and driven into Tombstone, that saved them. (Amazing Spider-Man #645)

"Superior Spider-Man"

Lincoln was one of the three mob bosses captured by Spider-Man (Octavius) as he set out to prove himself better than Peter Parker. (Superior Spider-Man #10)

"Superior Foes"

After he got out, he came to his daughter's rescue, who just happened to be the new Beetle. Janice and joined the new Sinister Six (made up of Boomerang, Speed Demon, Shocker and Override. Yes, there were only five member of the Sinister Six. The Living Brain had been captured.) whom were captured by the Owl. She sent her father a text and he came to rescue her. (Superior Foes of Spider-Man #6)

Lincoln was actually a good, if amoral, father to Janice. He proudly remembered helping her with her first scam, where she attended a girl's birthday party and stole all of gifts. He paid her way though law school and discouraged her from becoming a costumed criminal. He expected her to make a living as a financial lawyer where she could steal more than he ever could. She was bored with the job and decided to join Baron Zemo and the Fixer when she was representing them. She ended up joining Fixer and became the Beetle. (The Superior Foes of Spider-Man #7)

"Spiral"

After Wilson Fisk had been dethroned from being the Kingpin of Crime, the lower mob bosses began to prepare for the inevitable gang war for power. The police had corned Tombstone and his gang at a construction site, thinking that he was using it as a front to build a gang army. He was eventually captured by Spider-Man and arrested by the police, but was soon free after a judge declared that the search warrant was defective. (Amazing Spider-Man #16.1 vol 3)

Various other gangsters, such as Hammerhead and Goblin King (Phil Urich) tried to take over Tombstone's territory before he was released. The gangs were closely watched by Spider-Man and Wraith, who was also police office Yuri Watanabi. However, Watanabi was corrupt and also working for the Chinese mob boss, Mr. Negative. (Amazing Spider-Man #17.1 vol 3) Wraith was sent to kill Tombstone while he was in prison, after learning of a planned jail break involving the Enforcers (Ox, Fancy Dan, Hammer Harrison, and Snake Marston.) They were led by the new Crime Master, who wanted to break he and Hammerhead out and gain their loyalty, and thus the loyalty of their gangs. They were joined by Black Cat, who wanted to take Fisk's place as Kingpin. While Spider-Man dealt with the Enforcers and Black Cat, Wraith shot Tombstone. (Amazing Spider-Man #18.1 vol 3)

Wraith denied that she shot the gangster, saying that she picked up the gun after he was shot by one of Mr. Negative's thugs. Later, Black Cat told Spider-Man that removing Tombstone and Hammerhead had been Mr. Negative's plan the whole time. They held the most power over various territories and with them in prison, lesser criminals took advantage of the power vacuum. (Amazing Spider-Man #19.1 vol 3)

"Running With the Devil"

Tombstone and Hammerhead showed up unannounced and uninvited to a charity event hosted by Wilson Fisk. They were unhappy with Fisk's attempt to appear like a legitimate businessman and Tombstone threatened to remind the assembled guests just who the Kingpin really was. Fisk responded by picking him up by the throat and slamming him into a table of hors d'oeuvres, breaking the table. Fisk only let up when a woman screamed to call the police. Hammerhead and Tombstone quietly left. (Kingpin #2)

Lincoln later paid a visit to Sarah Dewey, a former award winning journalist that was working with Fisk on his biography. He told her that she was one of the select few people to meet him: one's that are smart enough to ask the right questions, but not smart enough to know the consequences. Once he found out she was a reporter, he told her she was unlucky, because feds and gangsters he just scares. Reporters just end up dead. As he pulled a knife, she told him she was writing a book on Kingpin and he said Fisk was washed up. She offered to interview him and keep it anonymous and he was happy to tell her some of his stories.

Somehow the recording of their conversation was leaked to the media and the news reported that Tombstone had confessed to numerous crimes, including the murders of two lieutenants of the Owl. After Sarah went to Kingpin for protection at a restaurant, they were interrupted by two of Tombstone's crooks. They fled out the back door, where two more of Lincoln's thugs were waiting. (Kingpin #3)

”A World Without Love”

Tombstone met with other gangsters to talk with the resurrected Richard Fisk, the Rose. Fisk arrived with Digger, a Hulk-level amalgamation of dead mobsters. Rose was making demands that Tombstone was unconcerned with. Fisk didn’t have territory, so hadn’t earned respect. His henchwoman, White Rabbit, offered to take out Digger but Lincoln had her stand down. He and Fisk agreed to have their people make an exchange in Harlem.

Lincoln then met with Randy Robertson, who awkwardly asked his permission to marry Janice. He told Randy that at one time, he’d have broken his back just for asking but they both knew that Janice would do whatever she wanted anyway. That was as close to a Later, the exchange between Fisk’s men and Lincoln’s for a Green Goblin glider went bad when Spider-Man showed up. Afterwards, Tombstone found Peter Parker and let him know that he knew that he and Spidey were connected. He wanted Peter to pass along a message: Spider-Man‘s constant meddling meant that he was now Tombstone’s personal project. Digger later carried out the Rose’s orders to blow up Lincoln’s penthouse. Tombstone survived but was very unhappy. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 6) #1)

When Janice heard about the attempt on her father's life, she went to see him. When she offered to get her Sinister Six together and hit back at the Rose, but Tombstone told her to take a vacation with Randy. Things were going to get ugly and he didn't want her to see what he was going to do. He wanted to be a calm and stable father for her but what he was going to do was neither. She agreed to leave. Later, Spider-Man caught the White Rabbit and her goon. She told him where to find Tombstone and after he left, she told the goon that she lied.

Tombstone surprised Crime Master at one of his safe houses and told him he was sending a message. He was coming for him. Tombstone had him call his men and say he needed help and to bring everyone. It was going to be loud. Spider-Man found him at Crime Master's hideout, and all of the Crime Master's thugs were dead. Tombstone had Crime Master tied up in the back of an armored car and was waiting for him. He had already stolen two car loads of guns from C.M. and was going to make an example of him. During the fight in the armored car, Tombstone crushed Spidey's ribs. The car ended up at the docks, with a smiling White Rabbit. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 6) #2)

Deep under Tombstone’s headquarters in Harlem, Spider-Man was badly beaten and held in metal restraints. He told Tombstone that he went after him because he was a bad guy and Spider-Man is a good guy. Tombstone explained that people don’t assign “good” or “bad” to animals, they even show them more sympathy than other people. Tombstone had been a poor kid and was often hungry. He was scrawny and his lunch tickets were usually stolen by other kids. He learned to whisper everything he said, so people had to get close. That’s when he’d bite them with his filed down teeth. He kept the whisper, so other people knew they’d have to get close to him. He was going to kill Randy for disrespecting him by asking to marry Janice. At the same time, his men were dressed like the Rose’s goons and were going to cause some mayhem. Some goody goody would blame the Rose and take out his enemy. Spider-Man begged him to stop but it was too late. Spider-Man was sealed underground. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 6) #3)

At Tombstone's Harlem headquarters, White Rabbit brought him Robbie Robertson. Tombstone told Robbie that Robbie never wanted to be his friend, which hurt. Now Randy wanted to marry Janice and Robbie still wanted nothing to do with him. People were going to talk and that made Robbie a loose end. Later, Spider-Man escaped from his capture and called Randy to tell him that Tombstone had his father. When Randy showed up in Harlem, he found Tombstone and his father talking about the upcoming wedding. Janice was with him and wanted to know about her father's war with the Rose. He told her that he didn't do that anymore and had left the Rose to the proper authorities. At that moment, Spider-Man had defeated the Rose and realized that he'd been played. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 6) #4)

The Robertsons left Tombstone's mansion after brunch and when he went back inside, he found Spider-Man waiting. Spidey admitted that he was beaten, they were a team now. In fact, he decided that they should keep the team together. He would show up at al of the mob meetings and take down Tombstone's enemies. That was exactly what Tombstone didn't want, knowing it would make him a marked man to the other gangsters. Spider-Man didn't have enough evidence to put him away and putting him away would only create a power vacuum anyway. He told Tombstone to behave himself. He mentioned that one of the Rose's men found out where Tombstone had been keeping some product that he'd been shipping. At that moment, White Rabbit called to say that Digger was tearing apart one of Tombstone's hideouts. Spider-Man told him that they were even. He was also sorry that he didn't get what he had needed as a kid. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 6) #5)

”Spider-Man’s First Hunt”

While he recovered in the hospital, Spider-Man unplugged his ventilator and swung away laughing. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 6) #34)

”Gang War”

When Lincoln woke up from his coma, he saw that Robbie was keeping watch over Randy. (Randy had been hit by Hammerhead to end his rabble rousing. He and Mayor Luke Cage had been trying to overturn Fisk’s Law, a law created by former Mayor Wilson Fisk that outlawed superpowered vigilantes.) Robbie was not eager to see his old “friend,” seeing as his business had nearly killed his son. The only reason that Robbie hadn’t stepped in his oxygen tube was because he might be helpful. Tombstone looked outside and saw the chaos caused by the new gang war. Tombstone left the hospital and found Spider-Man and She-Hulk, telling them they were going to take down some mob bosses. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 6) #39)

Tombstone showed up at the meat packing district and confronted the Tracksuit Mafia, who were going to burn down the warehouse where the Inner Demons were hiding. Spider-Man and She-Hulk appeared behind the gang and it wasn’t long before they were done. The Inner Demons escaped during the fight but Tombstone was fine with it. They were running into Lady Yulan’s territory and if they chased the Inner Demons, then Yulan and her vampires would flee into Downtown. He knew how it all worked and they retired to his mansion.

He told Spidey and She-Hulk that Fisk was planning on meeting with him, which instantly set off Spider-Man. Tombstone said that after being seen working with Spider-Man, his career as a gangster was over. He wanted the gang war finished before his daughter was hurt and that meant dealing with Fisk. The heroes were surprised to see the Fisk in question was Wilson, not Richard. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 6) #40)

Kingpin informed them that the Rose was moving on Janice’s territory and he was sending a small army to help his son. Tombstone demanded that Fisk call it off and the fight began. The blood flew from head butting and biting but suddenly Fisk’s phone rang. He took the call and told Tombstone it was over. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 6) #41)

Fisk explained that the fight between Beetle and the Rose ended in his favor. Tombstone was about to tear his heart out when She-Hulk warned him that Fisk was being evasive, so there was something he wasn’t telling them. Tombstone spoke with Janice over the phone, who said she was ok and the Rose was beaten. Fisk wanted his son to lose, to keep him out of the war. He had only battled the heroes to blow off steam from some bickering with his new wife, Typhoid Mary. Before he left, Kingpin said that Madame Masque was moving against the Maggia, not the gangs. Later, Tombstone said he was worried what would happen if Janice won the gang war. Spider-Man said he wasn’t going to find out because he was building an army of his own. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 6) #42)

In Central Park, the gangs went about their final battle and Tombstone picked out Shotgun. Madame Masque’s magic wore off of Shotgun and he explained the he was a federal agent sent to observe the gangs. He had been sent to observe Janice, who was deemed a bigger threat than her father. He knocked Shotgun out and found Beetle, telling her he didn’t want her to become him. She refused and he tore the wings off her armor. Anyone that might control New York’s gangs had to be a monster and he wouldn’t let her become one. He knocked her out and took her place. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 6) #43)

As the final fight raged between vigilantes and gangsters, Tombstone ordered White Rabbit to leave. They were going to escape and let the others finish each other off. After the dust cleared, Rabbit and Tombstone discussed Janice. He hoped he’d made himself clear and she wouldn’t come back. Meanwhile he promoted Rabbit and the rest of the Sinister Syndicate, pleased that they had beaten the competition. Rabbit remained him that the others had seen him work with Spider-Man and that it wouldn’t be forgotten. It had been a necessary agreement and Spider-Man still showed up. He owed him but was still going to beat him to death in front of the world. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 6) #44)

At Ryker's Island, Tombstone met with Spider-Man via face to face phone call. Tombstone wanted to know if it was Spider-Man's idea to use Janice against him, which Spidey replied was on her father. He told Tombstone that She Hulk had told him that he wasn't getting out of prison any time soon, just as a guard announced that Tombstone was going free. Later, Tombstone called White Rabbit and told her that his spies learned that Randy and Janice would be hidden from him soon. Rabbit was reluctant to be the one to kill Janice and he reminded her who her boss was. When the White Rabbit and Sinister Six attacked the armored vehicle transporting Randy and Janice, she found that She Hulk had taken Janice's place. At that moment, Tombstone showed up at his daughter's apartment with a gun. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 6) #57)

Just before opening fire, he told his daughter that he hadn't wanted her to see this side of him. She ran and got into her Beetle armor but he stunned her with a grenade. He began to strangle her but was stopped by Spider-Ma. Janice fled out the window but was grabbed by her father, who was pulled back inside by Spider-Man. Spidey had his head knocked into a wall before Tombstone went out the window and down the street to an office building. In an empty room, he was tackled by Spider-Man and Tombstone's eyes were scratched by Janice. Spidey and Tombstone exchanged punches and the blood flowed before Tombstone pushed both of them out a window. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 6) #58)

After they hit the ground, Tombstone began to strangle Spider-Man but stopped when he saw Janice run into the subway. He stopped Janice just as she was about to enter a train, yanking her by the hair. Spidey stopped him by hitting him with a light pole, letting Janice escape into the train. Tombstone chased the train but was knocked onto the tracks and traded punches while dodging trains. Tombstone said Spider-Man couldn't fight dirty, so he got his hands crushed. As he continued to beat the gangster, Spider-Man yelled at him to stop. Spidey was winged by a passing train while saving Tombstone, leaving him stunned. Tombstone picked up a rock to hit him with and Spidey said he wasn't just saving Janice. Tombstone dropped the rock and sat next to his passed out enemy. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 6) #59)

Back in the court room, the judge chided Tombstone for fighting across the city while on bond and reminded his lawyer that the case was based on the testimony of Janice, who had fled New York. The judge went on to say that the only statements he could find that weren't conjecture or hearsay came from Spider-Man, a masked vigilante. He declared that Spider-Man's attack on Tombstone tainted the case, and taking into account Janice's absence, dismissed the case. Outside the courthouse, Tombstone approached Peter, telling him to pass a message to Spider-Man: he'd gotten to the judge. He wanted Spider-Man to know that he'd won fair and square but that's not how the world works. As he walked away, he told Peter to thank Spider-Man and he'd know why.

As Tombstone had a drink in Harlem, White Rabbit told him that she was leaving and not coming back. He assumed it was about him sending her after Janice and she admitted that she couldn't do it. Rabbit asked why he didnt kill his daughter and he didnt answer. She left and took Kareem with her. (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 6) #60

Appearances

Cover Date	Appearance Information
Mar 1988	App: Web of Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #36
Apr 1988	App: Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #137
	Background and confrontation with Robertson, including the prison issues
May 1988	App: Web of Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #38
May 1988	App: Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #138
Jun 1988	App: Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #139
	Origin told by Robbie Robertson
Jul 1988	App: Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #140
Aug 1988	App: Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #141
Sep 1988	App: Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #142
Apr 1989	App: Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #149
May 1989	App: Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #150
Jun 1989	App: Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #151
Jul 1989	App: Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #152
Aug 1989	App: Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #153
Oct 1989	App: Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #155
Nov 1989	App: Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #156
Nov 1989	App: Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #157
Feb 1990	App: Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #161
Apr 1990	App: Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #163
Jun 1990	App: Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #165
Jul 1990	App: Web of Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #66
	Gains super-abilities after a chemical accident
Aug 1990	App: Web of Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #67
Sep 1990	App: Web of Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #68
Date TBD	App: Daredevil (Vol.1) #292
Date TBD	App: Daredevil (Vol.1) #293
Dec 1991	App: Darkhawk #10
	Gets the Darkhawk amulet
Jan 1992	App: Darkhawk #11
Feb 1992	App: Darkhawk #12
Mar 1992	App: Darkhawk #13
Apr 1992	App: Darkhawk #14
May 1992	App: Darkhawk #15
May 1992	App: Cage #2
Jun 1992	App: Cage #3
Jul 1992	App: Cage #4
Aug 1992	App: Daredevil (Vol.1) #307
Date TBD	App: Nomad (Vol. 2) #4
Sep 1992	App: Daredevil (Vol.1) #308
Oct 1992	App: Daredevil (Vol.1) #309
Sep 1993	App: Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #204
Oct 1993	App: Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #205 (Story 1)
Nov 1993	App: Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #206 (Story 1)
Jan 1995	App: Web of Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #120 (Story 1)
	Battle with the Scarlet Spider
Feb 1996	App: Spider-Man/Punisher: Family Plot #1
Feb 1996	App: Spider-Man/Punisher: Family Plot #2
Dec 1996	App: Spider-Man Team-Up #5 (Story 1)
Oct 1996	App: Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #73
Nov 1996	App: Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #74
Aug 2001	App: Thunderbolts #53
Nov 2003	App: Alias #26
Sep 2002	App: Spider-Man Tangled Web #16
Oct 2002	App: Spider-Man Tangled Web #17
Mar 2005	App: Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #10
Apr 2005	App: Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #11
Nov 2010	App: Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #642 (Story 1)
Nov 2010	App: Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #643 (Story 1)
Nov 2010	App: Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #644 (Story 1)
Dec 2010	App: Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #645 (Story 1)
Jul 2013	App: Superior Spider-Man #10
Feb 2014	App: The Superior Foes of Spider-Man #6
Mar 2014	App: The Superior Foes of Spider-Man #7

Thanks To

 The assistance of the Marvel Chronology Project is gratefully acknowledged.

 Some of the above information is extracted from the various versions of the Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe and the more recent Marvel Encyclopaedias.