Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #150

Story 'Guilty!'

This issue highlights Robbie's conviction for misprision of a felony. He soon finds himself sentenced to the federal penitentiary for thirty-six months. When he gets there, he learns that Tombstone is in the cell next to him.

As night falls, Spider-Man looks up at the Kingpin's tower and broods. If the Kingpin had not hired Tombstone, Robbie's old indiscretion would never have come to light but while Robbie is going to prison, the Kingpin remains safe in his penthouse. An angry Spidey decides to do something about that. He covers two blocks on his way to the Kingpin when he hears a scream. Forgetting his vendetta, Spidey swings down to the source of the scream, a subway kiosk. He peeks inside and sees four bodies on the steps leading down. As his eyes adjust to the darkness he also sees a large blue-tinged wolf with pupilless red eyes, slobbering and growling at him. And then suddenly, the wolf leaps right past him out onto the snowy street. With one glance, Spidey sees that the wolf is actually standing upright and has arms where he should have forelegs. (Or four legs.) He looks again and the wolf is already gone, vanished into the shadows.

For an instant, the web-slinger clings to a wall and can't believe he saw a werewolf. (You'd think Spidey would be used to such things by now. He has already met the Man-Wolf and Jack Russell, Werewolf By Night. And a couple of months before, he was fighting demons!) He decides it must have been "some nut in a monster suit" instead. But with the memory of "Inferno" still fresh, Spidey isn't quite sure. He again looks down into the kiosk and sees that one of the men is still alive. Quickly, he grabs the injured man and whisks him away to the hospital. The man mutters, "Tell the boss... set up... we were set up". Spidey asks him who his boss is and gets the answer, "Kingpin". The wall-crawler promises to deliver the message.

The snow gets heavier as the werewolf leaps from one rooftop to another and finally climbs down a fire escape. He opens a window and slips inside the building. And, out in her car, trying to keep warm with a cup of "terrible" coffee, Joy Mercado witnesses the forced entry. She has been worried about her friend Gloria Grant and, falling prey to her reporter's instincts, has decided to stake out Gloria's apartment. The snow is too thick for Joy to see clearly but it looks like a man has just climbed into the window. "Gloria, girl", Joy wonders, "What on earth is happening to you?"

Later, in Midtown Manhattan, the Amazing Spider-Man wall-crawls and knocks at the window of the office of the Kingpin. The big man is sitting at his desk in the darkness and is not happy to see Spider-Man at all. Spidey mentions that someone is trying to destroy the Kingpin's mob and is surprised to learn that the Kingpin has no idea what he's talking about. He fills the Kingpin in on the killings that have taken place over the last few weeks ("You're lying", says Fisk, "I would have been told".) then takes his leave, pleased with the result of the visit. Not only did he fulfill his promise of informing the mob boss of the attack but he has also planted a seed of doubt in the Kingpin's mind. Clearly, the only person who could withhold this news from him is the Arranger. And if the Kingpin starts to worry that the Arranger is no longer completely trustworthy, well then, according to Spidey, "Good". Back at the office, the Kingpin pushes a concealed button that summons the Arranger. "Get in here", is the instruction from the Kingpin, "I want a word with you."

At 6:45 the next morning, Gloria Grant wakes up without the need of an alarm clock, just as she always does, but this A.M. is to be a little bit different. She steps out of bed and nearly trips over Eduardo. He is naked, bleeding, and lying stretched out on her rug. He modestly covers himself with the rug, stands, and begs Glory's forgiveness for this morning surprise. "At times I do things I cannot remember," he tells her. Gloria doesn't care about any of that. Concern glows in her eyes as she sees he is hurt. She offers to help.

Eduardo sits on the edge of the bathtub as Gloria puts bandages on his wounds. He confesses that he and his brother are "at war with a man in your city". Then he asks Gloria to help him destroy his enemy. Gloria is shocked by the request and balks even more when Eduardo asks her to use her access at the Daily Bugle to find information on Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin. She stammers, "I can't" but then Eduardo kisses her, drops the rug that is covering him, and tells her, "If you love me, you can do anything".