Spider-Man and Zoids Vol 1 5

Spider-Man is writhing in pain after dislocating his shoulder, leaving him vulnerable to attack from the Puma, who has been hired by the Rose to kill the wall-crawler. Just as Puma is ready to strike the final blow, the Black Cat swings in and kicks Puma away from Spider-Man. Puma regains his balance and a battle with the Black Cat ensues. Using his heightened senses, Puma sees there is a special aura around the Black Cat. Even though he is unsure what level of danger it poses he opts to engage her nonetheless. Puma is unable to even touch the Black Cat because of her special powers. As he leaps to strike her, he falls through the rooftop they are fighting on. As the Black Cat is looking down the hole Puma fell through, Spider-Man awakens and he and the Black Cat head for Peter Parker’s apartment. Meanwhile, Puma follows them but decides to rest before engaging them again. He leaves because he already has both of their scents and knows that he can always track them down when he wants.

The scene shifts to another location in which we see the Kingpin being informed by the Arranger that the Rose has hired an assassin to kill Spider-Man. Kingpin instructs the Arranger to set up a meeting with the Rose. As this is going on, we are taken away to the hotel room of Thomas Fireheart (aka Puma) where he receives a phone call from his secretary, Jenna Taylor, informing him that the City Council in Heartsdale, New Mexico has approved the building of three of his four proposed shopping malls. We are whisked off to the Arranger informing the Rose that the Kingpin wants to have a meeting. Back to the hotel room of Thomas Fireheart, where he is making his transformation into Puma. After transforming he sets out to locate Spider-Man.

Thomas Fireheart and Peter Parker (Earth-616) from Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 257 003 — Spider-man fights Puma.

We are taken to Peter Parker’s apartment, where the Black Cat is giving Peter a recap of her fight with Puma. Peter comments on the fact that she still has not explained how she beat him. The Black Cat is still keeping the powers that the Kingpin gave her secret, so she avoids answering and leaves. Puma is waiting outside Peter’s apartment and sees the Black Cat’s departure as the perfect opportunity to engage Spider-Man. There is a knock at Peter’s door and it is Mary Jane. She is excited because she has found steady modeling work and wants to celebrate with Peter. Peter’s Spidey senses are warning him of danger and he tries to get Mary Jane to leave, but she refuses. Peter throws her out of his apartment just as Puma smashes through the window. Peter’s new costume (the black one from the alien planet) leaps across the room and covers him. Puma attacks him and cuts his back, but the costume quickly covers up the wound. Outside his apartment, Mary Jane is frantically banging on the door. Puma and Spider-Man crash through the window just as Mary Jane smashed through the door.

At that moment in another part of the city, the meeting between Kingpin and the Rose is taking place. Kingpin lets the Rose know that it is not his choice to have Spider-Man killed at this time. The Rose gives his assurance that the Kingpin’s wish is understood. We shift back to the battle between Puma and Spider-Man. They have moved the battle to a rooftop. As they are fighting Spider-Man tries to reason with Puma, to no avail. Puma lunges at Spider-Man and they both fall over the side. Spider-Man uses his webbing to stop their fall and they end up crashing through a window into a gym. Puma picks up a universal gym and throws it at Spider-Man. Spider-Man leaps to the side and is missed. However, with the weight and force that Puma threw it with, it slams through the wall. Spider-Man stops it from crashing down on the people below. As he stops the universal gym, the weight of it pulls him down with great force, in which he slams onto the top of a bus. Seeing that Spider-Man is weakened, Puma chooses not to kill him, as it would be unworthy of him to slay an opponent that was not at full strength. He leaves and heads back to his hotel room.

Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson (Earth-616) from Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 257 001 — Mary Jane Watson tells Peter Parker that she long ago knew he is Spider-man.

Back at the hotel room of Thomas Fireheart, Mr. Johnston and Mr. Varley show up to inform him that his services are no longer needed and he will be compensated accordingly. Mr. Johnston and Mr. Varley return to the headquarters of the Rose and fill him in on how Fireheart took the news. As this is going on the Hobgoblin (Roderick Kingsley) shows up and introduces himself. The scene shifts over to Peter Parker’s apartment where Mary Jane is waiting for his return. When he returns he tries to explain what all the noise was inside his apartment. She stops him and tells him he doesn't have to lie anymore because she knows that he is Spider-Man. She tells him that she has known for years and Peter is shocked.

Appearing in "Cowboys and Idioms"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Fantastic Four #272

Featured Characters:

Fantastic Four

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

Nathaniel Richards (First appearance)
Warlord (First appearance)
Warlord's Mutates
- Gont (First appearance)
- Other mutates

Other Characters:

The Kid (First appearance; dies)
Arthur Richards (First appearance)
Bret Colby's posse
Doctor Doom (Mentioned)
Avengers (Mentioned)

Races and Species:

Humans

Locations:

Earth-616
- Sol
  - Earth
    - North America
      - United States of America
        California
        Central City
        Richards Family Estate
        
        Tombstone, Arizona (Referenced)
        
        Dodge City, Kansas (Referenced)
Earth-6311
- Other-Earth
  - Warlord's Fort (First appearance)
  - an "Old West" desert town

Items:

Vehicles:

Mechanical Rocket-Powered Horses
Striders (First appearance)

Synopsis for "Cowboys and Idioms"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Fantastic Four #272

Having discovered a time platform in the laboratory of Reed Richards' long lost father, the Fantastic Four and Wyatt Wingfoot have decided to use the device to try and search for him. After the final preparations are made, Reed has the family butler -- Giles Peacock -- activate the device and the group are transported sideways in time to a parallel universe where Reed believes his father may have been lost. The group materializes in a strange desert where they spot what appears to be a town patterned after an old town of the American Frontier surrounded by bombed out craters. Seeking to learn more about this mystery, Reed sends Sue to do reconnaissance while invisible, stressing to her that it is important that she goes unseen until they can learn more about where they are. As Sue makes her way to the town she wishes her husband would stop treating her like she is delicate. Examining the blast craters she notes that they are quite old. Once she reaches the town she turns invisible and remarks about how it looks like Dodge City circa 1884. As she looks around, she suddenly witnesses a cowboy being thrown out of one of the buildings. This cowboy, dubbed the Kid, is being challenged to a draw by the local outlaw Bret Colby. As they prepare to draw, Sue decides to step in as she does not want there to be unnecessary bloodshed. When the two gun fighters draw, Sue puts up an invisible wall between them. She is surprised to find that they are not carrying six-shooters but high tech weapons of some future time. Colby, using a heat-seeking bullet, watches as his shot leaps over the invisible wall and strikes the Kid in the back, killing him instantly.

Realizing that something was interfering with his fight, Colby begins to look around. Unable to see any trace of anything he decides to use the infrared scanner on his gun. Sue tries to stop him by turning it invisible, but Colby can still figure out how to fire the weapon and begins firing it in her general direction. With her cover blown, Sue erects an invisible shield around her and makes herself visible so she can barrel through Colby and run out of town. As Sue gets out of town she is suddenly surrounded by three of Colby's men, riding rocket powered robot horses. Seeing that Sue is in trouble the rest of the Fantastic Four leap to her aid, She-Hulk belting out the Thing's old battle cry of "It's Clobberin' Time". The Fantastic Four make short work of the three cowboys and their mechanical steeds. As Sue tries to explain what happened, the group is then attacked by a massive tripod device resembling the martian ships from H.G. Wells' novel War of the Worlds. The device stomps on She-Hulk and when Johnny tries to use his flames to free her, is manages to cover him in particles of carbon, snuffing out his flame. As the tripod begins to move, Sue notices that She-Hulk has punched a hole into the robots foot and is smashing her way up the inside of its leg. With the leg trashed, the tripod topples over in a heap. She-Hulk then bursts out and liberates the masked pilots inside.

By this point, Bret Colby and his men have arrived on the scene who explains that he attacked Sue because he thought they were with the Warlord. When Reed tells them that they are not with the warlord, Reed introduces himself. This causes a start with Colby and one of his men, who believes that Warlord is a Richards. Wondering if Reed is family to the Warlord, they decide to try to use the situation to their advantage. Meanwhile, She-Hulk unmasks their attackers and they are shocked to discover that they are nothing more than cave-men in high tech armor. Reed explains that these throwbacks of humanity are controlled by neurological devices in their helmets. As Reed muses over the bizarre mishmash world they have found themselves on, the Fantastic Four are unaware that they are being monitored from afar.

When one of the guards monitoring the course of events he asks his mistress if they should inform their ruler of what is transpiring. The woman tells the guard that she will bring the news herself. The hard faced woman then has her servants remove the armor she is wearing and dresses her in a fine gown. It is a softer, gentler woman who then enters the chambers of her husband and son to bring news to the ruler of this society... Nathaniel Richards, Reed's father.

Links and References

References

Spider-Man and Zoids Vol 1 5

Appearing in "Zoids"

Synopsis for "Zoids"

Appearing in "Beware the Claws of Puma!"

Synopsis for "Beware the Claws of Puma!"

Appearing in "Cowboys and Idioms"

Synopsis for "Cowboys and Idioms"

See Also

Links and References

References

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