Sleepwalker #6

Background

Spider-Man has been taken captive by the crime lord, Crimewave after Spidey teamed up with Sleepwalker to stop a robbery of a charity event taking place on a yacht. Crimewave, using his bazooka, blew up the ship as it drew close enough to the dock he was standing on, seeming to take out both Spider-Man and Sleepwalker in the blast.

Story 'Web Of Confusion'

We pick up right where we left off in the last issue with Spider-Man tied up in chains on Crimewave's table. Crimewave throws the fact that it was him who defeated Spider-Man and that they are going to video record him finishing the web-head off as well as revealing to the world his secret identity. The Kingpin is a little less excited about the events taking place. He sees Crimewave's actions to be humiliating him in front of all the other crime bosses, so he leaves in a big tiff. Crimewave starts in on how the Kingpin is now finished and he's now the big boss in town.

Meanwhile, Sleepwalker has pulled himself out of the river only to find himself at the barrel end of Carmela's gun. Before she can kill him another gun, whose wielder is outside of the panel, points at her and tells her to drop her weapon.

Back inside Sleepwalker has found Spider-Man who Crimewave has placed aside as they wait for the video equipment to return. Instead of releasing Spidey, he uses his eye-beams to create something that will aid him in his surprise attack idea, which we don't find out about until later. Spider-Man is of course less then thrilled about it.

With the video equipment set up, we see Crimewave bragging about how they are going to kill Spider-Man and how this will guarantee his place in the crime world, but first they'll remove the mask. As he pulls it back we see Sleepwalker's head instead. Apparently what Sleepwalker was using his eye-beams on was a replica Spider-Man costume. The thugs are shocked believing that what they've just seen is real and that Spider-Man isn't really human at all. But before anything else can happen Spider-man swings in and the duo take on the crime bosses and their men.

Crimewave gets away of course, but Sleepwalker believes he knows where Crimewave will be so Spidey jumps onto his back as they fly off over the water. Sleepy reveals that he has Crimewave's hideout location written on a piece of paper but before Spider-Man can ask him where he got it, Rick Sheridan awakes back in his apartment back in Brooklyn causing Sleepwalker to vanish back into Rick's mind. Without his back to stand on Spidey falls into the water for the second time in two issues.

Spider-Man makes it back to land and is less than happy about his soaked costume. Later that evening he makes his way to where Rick lives, confronting the youth, asking about Sleepwalker and where he can find him. Rick says that he can get Sleepwalker for Spider-Man but that it'll take some time. As Spider-Man waits outside, Rick is inside trying desperately to fall asleep. Hours pass until finally Sleepwalker emerges from the apartment where Spider-Man is anxious to put a stop to Crimewave.

At a New York fashion show, Crimewave is busy muscling the fashion designer to transfer a million dollars into his Swiss Bank account. Crimewave has taken all the models and the clothes they are wearing for ransom and if the money isn't transferred, the models are going to miss the show which will cause the designer to lose millions in sales. Crimewave gives him a cell phone and tells him to call when the transaction is complete.

Outside we, as well as Sleepwalker and Spidey, see the models being loaded into a van. Inside the girls are upset about maybe missing the show and not getting paid but Crimewave, being the swell guy that he is, gives each of the girls a grand for their troubles. But as Spider-Man and Sleepwalker show up, ripping part of the roof off the van, Crimewave takes his money back and pushes some buttons on his remote control, causing the van to go into attack mode with guns and mechanical arms attacking the two heroes.

In all the confusion Crimewave and his gang leave the vehicle and yell to the heroes still inside that it's rigged to blow up at the push of a button. Making sure the camera is focused on them he activates the bomb, exploding the van and all inside.

Crimewave thinking he won runs over to the wreckage only to have Sleepwalker and Spider-Man jump out of a hole in the ground Sleepwalker created with his eye beams and covered by a web barrier supplied by Spidey. Saving the girls from the explosion and catching Crimewave is their reward.

Later, Sleepwalker and Spider-Man are saying their apologies to one another when Spidey asks Sleepwalker where he got that piece of paper with the information about Crimewave still on it. Here Sleepwalker tells him that back at the docks he was saved by a "very large man" who made Carmela drop her gun and write Crimewave's next heist down on the paper for him. So in the end the Kingpin helped the two heroes put a stop to Crimewave before he could get too powerful and pose a threat to his power.

Epilogue: Back at Rick's apartment we find Sleepwalker saying how grateful he is to the sleeping Rick, when all of a sudden, instead of Rick waking up and having Sleepwalker vanish, it is Rick who disappears. Leaving a nice opening for next month's issue.

General Comments

Spider-Man has been taken prisoner by Crimewave, who plans on unmasking and killing the hero in front of a camera for all of New York to see, but before he can Sleepwalker trades places with Spider-Man to fool Crimewave and his thugs as they unmask who they think is Spider-Man, only to find the face of Sleepwalker underneath. Crimewave gets away but the next night Sleepwalker and Spidey show up at a fashion show where Crimewave is holding the models (and their clothes) for ransom. The heroes put a stop to Crimewave and Sleepwalker reveals to Spider-Man that it was the Kingpin who made Carmela, one of Crimewave's thugs tell Sleepwalker where Crimewave could be found.

Overall Rating

Just a good, above average issue. Nothing too great about it but nothing to really complain about either. It's like a sitcom on TV, you don't really learn anything by the end but you're entertained for a little while.