Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #74

Background

In post-Onslaught new York, evil things are afoot. All of the key figures in the underworld have combined efforts against the one man who could rule the mob; Fortunato. Peter, using his newly-regained powers, eavesdrops on a meeting of a lot of Spidey' old foes. Hammerhead, Tombstone, the Rose, Caesar Cicero, the Slug, Silvermane (I thought he was dead), a many others are all plotting to kill Fortunato. But when Spidey gets involved, he ends up a captive!

Story 'Last Of The Heroes'

Spider-Man is being held in a set of huge, electronic shackles. Fortunato offers his execution as a sign of his "good will" and "strength". Jimmy 6, (the mobsters who's been kicking it at Ben's and who also happens to be Fortunato's son), stands by, supposedly obedient to his father. The evil one-eyed man brings out the captured hit men, including Tombstone, who pulled the unsuccessful assassination attempt on Fortunato. They also will be sacrificed in the name of "good will" from the other mob lords.

Meanwhile, Daredevil (off a tip gotten from a lame-duck named Bolt) gets word of Spider-Man's demise, and swings on out to Fortunato's hideout. He gets a look at the scene, and recognizes Hydra. At the same time, Fortunato's men level their guns at the victims' heads. Jimmy 6, pushed beyond the limit, then lowers his own barrel at Fortunato, vowing to fight his wishes. Spider-Ben tries to free himself of his metal prison, as Jimmy keeps the party distracted. With one final try, Ben frees himself, and goes into action.

Taking out the biggies with Stingers, Spider-Man shows the hostages to freedom, and meets up with DD on the outside of the compound. They trash a bunch of Hydra, and jump on a helicopter, driven by Jimmy 6 himself! As they fly away, Spider-Man sees Tombstone (still encased in his own shackles) running away from the gunfire. Ben swings down and picks up Tombstone, only to have his web-line cut by an energy blast. No problem, because Daredevil is there with the save, and they fly away to freedom. The End.

General Comments

For such a big build-up, this issue was a real let-down. The inclusion of Daredevil really seemed to serve no purpose, and all the action seemed to have little direction. For the past few issues, such importance has been placed on Fortunato, but in the end he's just another megalomaniac mobster. I also think that the (father/son = good/evil) plot device has been used plenty lately. Everything that happened in this book was predictable, and run-of-the-mill. There was no mention of Peter, or the whole clone-story.

Overall Rating

Two measly webs. There was little I liked about this issue - even with Daredevil making a show. It seemed extremely anti-climactic with Fortunato, and I know that everybody's got more important things to do for Spider-Man #75 than worry about Fortunato.