—May "Mayday" ParkerIs it my imagination... or is this costume gripping a tad tighter? Maybe the dryer wasn't the best idea.
Appearing in "The Games Villains Play!"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Mary Jane Watson-Parker
- Peter Parker
- Benjy Parker
- Courtney Duran
- Moose Mansfield
- Jack "JJ" Jameson
- Chesbro
- Brenda Drago
- Normie Osborn
- Black Tarantula (Fabian LaMuerto)
- Chris Jarkoer
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "The Games Villains Play!"
Doctor Octopus (Carolyn Trainer) bursts into a city chop shop. She effortlessly disarms and thrashes the ones resisting her with her robo arms, as she calmly corrects them to call her Doctor Octopus instead of Lady Octopus. She extends an offer to the crime boss there, Richard "Handsome Richie" Valentine, to go into business together. She would give him access to her powers and technology, in exchange for money. Valentine considers it, but she puts him under duress.
At the Parker home, Mary Jane gingerly picks up May's Spider-Girl costume and finds it disgustingly smelly. Downstairs, Peter asks May if she's going after Lady Octopus. May says she hopes the Avengers will take care of her. That comes as a relief to Peter; he fought Lady Octopus back in his day, and she was a difficult opponent.
At school, Moose shows May and Courtney a headline about Lady Octopus in the newspaper. While Moose feels it was fate for Spider-Girl to encounter an Octopus foe like Spider-Man had. JJ Jameson secretly self-promotes by suggesting Buzz (his alter ego) will defeat her. Moose casts doubt on that: the paper, Moose reports, says that Buzz and Spider-Girl are working together. JJ performatively suggests that Buzz will capture Ock, solo, by the weekend. Despite May knowing JJ is Buzz's secret identity and that he is shamelessly self-promoting, she does wonder if JJ has a lead on Ock that she does not.
A young man (Chris Jarkoer) tries to approach May to talk to her, but May has to take a call. It's Chesbro, the Black Tarantula's man, and he is calling with new information for Spider-Girl: Lady Octopus has allied herself with Richie Valentine, a member of Canis's crime family. May asks why Black Tarantula would be helping her; Chesbro does not know his master's intentions, but he does share one more shred of information: a European cartel has been inquiring about Normie Osborn. May seems shaken up by this.
May spends the day at school worrying about Normie. At home, she tries to clean her costume, but her impatience causes her to unwisely put it in the dryer - and it shrinks!
Cut to Spider-Girl patrolling in a spandex suit that is shrunk, and much tighter on her than usual. Her sleeves cannot even cover her forearms. She visits the hospital where Normie has been recovering from gunshot wounds sustained several issues before; Brenda Drago (Raptor) is there, and reports to Spider-Girl that Normie is just downstairs for tests. But Brenda wants Spider-Girl's advice about whether it would be too forward for her to ask Normie to get engaged. Spider-Girl offers encouragement, but then leaves quickly.
Out in the city, Spider-Girl narrates her inner turmoil, as she still has unresolved feelings for Normie. She distracts herself by trying to home in on the tracer she left on JJ, but it is no longer transmitting. Instead, she goes to Valentine Motors to follow the lead given to her by Black Tarantula. Her spider-sense goes off, giving her just enough time to avoid being swatted by Lady Octopus's tentacles. Ock recognizes the stingers that Spider-Girl tries to use on her, and inquires if Spider-Girl is related to the original Spider-Man - a daughter, niece, student... girlfriend? That last one elicits and gross-out reaction from Spider-Girl. Ock takes advantage of her distraction, and hurls her through a skylight, and right into Valentine's armed gangsters, who put Spider-Girl at gunpoint. She gets back into action, striking several at once with an aerial maneuver - and her shrunken suit keeps tearing from the strain. She makes repairs on the fly with her web-shooters, and keeps up the fight.
The scene shifts to the hospital, where Brenda has clearly just proposed to Normie. Normie hesitates, and finally settles on, "We need to talk."
Back at the garage, Spider-Girl is easily managing against a set of gangsters trying to take her out, but has to keep repairing her costume. Valentine pleads for mercy when Spider-Girl gets to him, but incorrectly assumes she's there to intimidate him on Lady Octopus's orders for not accepting her offer. Spider-Girl departs in the blink of an eye, and heads home, her costume barely holding together - but Lady Octopus intercepts her and thrashes her around. She tells Spider-Girl that her arms are improved over Octavius's old design, and now have enhanced battle strategies programmed in. Spider-Girl continues to be thrashed, even rolled up in some roofing and smashed against a wall. But for now, Doc Ock is content to toy with her, and does not deliver the death blow.
Recovering after Lady Octopus leaves, Spider-Girl takes a call from Chesbro. It is plain from Spider-Girl's voice that she lost the fight; Chesbro reiterates that Black Tarantula is willing to assist her. Spider-Girl asks if Chesbro can be any more clear about what threat faces Normie Osborn, but Chesbro only answers cryptically that it is a threat from someone whose reach has often extended beyond the grave.
At Black Tarantula's hideout, Chesbro reports Spider-Girl seems displeased, and asks what his master wants with her. Black Tarantula - who is weightligting - indicates she may be useful in helping him assimilate into the New York underworld. And - "she is rather fetching, no?"
Notes
- Black Tarantula takes up residency in New York City. He will continue to have a regular presence there through this series, Amazing Spider-Girl, and Spectacular Spider-Girl.