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Comments: |
This special team up issue of the Marvel Treasury Edition series involves the two heroes battling against Doctor Doom and The Parasite. Wonder Woman and the Incredible Hulk also feature though they have a minimal role to play in the storyline itself and are only featured on the back cover. It has been suggested that the only real reason for their inclusion was to cash in on their TV show appearances.
In the case of Wonder Woman, she gets to meet the web crawler himself face to face in the only known instance this has happened pre crisis, although they were to team up again post crisis in Marvel's Unlimited Access #1.
Her 'walk on' part gives her a few panels of action but her insignificance to the plot are highlighted by the ending. We never actually get to see what happens to her but her 'rescue' by Superman is casually dropped into the conversation as almost a passing comment!
Note that due to the small part she plays in this storyline only a general summary of the plot is provided, although a little more detail is provided of her actual encounter with Spiderman.
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Synopsis: |
While on patrol, Spiderman surprises a group of burglars trying to break into a construction site. He mops up the thieves but as he prepares to make his exit before the police arrive his Spider sense tingles as if there is something threatening about the site itself. As he departs, far below Doctor Doom watches his departure musing on the irony of common burglars unwittingly trying to break into his secret complex. The underground network, like many others around the world under major cities, is almost complete forming part of his master plan, Project Omega. As part of his scheme, Doom now uses his equipment to control the Incredible Hulk, guiding him towards the city of Metropolis.
Meanwhile Clark Kent at the Daily Planet hears incoming reports about the trail of destruction being left behind by the Hulk. As the raging creature reaches midtown Clark manages to break away from the other reporters and changes into Superman. He confronts the Hulk in the street trying to reason with him but is unsuccessful and finds himself in a savage brawl against the powerful creature. As onlookers watch in horror the Hulk manages to punch Superman so hard that he sends the limp Kryptonian sailing miles across the city to finally slam into a concrete pier. Amongst the crowd is Peter Parker who takes the opportunity to dive into an alleyway and change into Spiderman.
As the web crawler prepares to confront the Hulk himself though, the Man of Steel drops from the sky and lands between them. Spiderman is amazed that he is still alive! The Hulk charges Superman and pounds his chest in a rage but the Kryptonian holds him at bay. Over the roars of the green skinned creature Superman detects an ultrasonic noise and using his super vision sees a micro drone lodged in the Hulks ear. He swiftly removes it and destroys it. The Hulk begins to calm down and eventually turns back into Dr. Bruce Banner.
Spiderman slips back into the alley and changes back into his civilian guise as Superman asks the police to take the innocent Banner into the custody of S.T.A.R. Labs to see if they can help him. As the Man of Steel flies off a figure emerges unseen from the rubble. It is a villain known as the Parasite who, due to cracks in his underground cell caused by the Hulk's rampages above, has managed to free himself. Extremely weak, the Parasite needs to feed off another person's life force and coincidentally manages to syphon some of Peter Parker's who is standing nearby. Suddenly feeling faint, Parker is caught by a passing Jimmy Olsen who recognises him as a photographer for the Daily Bugle and suggest he works for the Daily Planet for a while.
Meanwhile, Superman has deduced that the incident with the Hulk was just an elaborate jailbreak designed to free the Parasite. He knows of only two villains who could have engineered such a ploy - one is Lex Luthor who is still in prison and the other is Doctor Doom. He decides to visit Doom at the Latverian Embassy where he resides free from Prosecution. He is greeted by Doom who reveals that he intends to control the world. He then unleashes a Kryptonite trap on Superman who manages to escape but realises he can do nothing to prosecute Doom while on Latverian premises. As Superman leaves the Embassy the Parasite emerges from his hiding place and asks Doom why he had not been given the opportunity to feast off Superman's powers. Doom tells him to be patient.
Clark then gets a freelance job at the Daily Bugle to avoid endangering people close to him at the Daily Planet if Doom decides to strike at him again. He uses the next few days to search for clues as to Doom's plan but finds that the villain keeps his operations pretty clean. He decides to go to Latveria itself and flies low to avoid being detected on Radar, but Doom's sophisticated equipment tracks him all the while. Superman sees some unusual construction work going on and remembers the recent robbery in Metropolis that took place near a similar construction area. He duly returns to the city to investigate further.
Elsewhere, an increasingly impatient Parasite demands to know when they will capture Superman. Doom tells him it will be soon and shows him a stasis tube in which the Hulk is now imprisoned. Doom tells the Parasite that it had been easy enough to break into S.T.A.R. Labs and free the creature. Another empty tube stands next to the Hulk and Doom tells the Parasite that this container awaits one other specimen...
Meanwhile,
Peter Parker is back on patrol as Spiderman and decides to check out the construction
site that had sent his senses tingling. He discovers a steel plate in the ground
and rips it open to reveal a giant underground complex. As he makes his way
down the corridor he finds unconscious guards littering the floor as if a tornado
has gone through the place! He peers around a corner to see armed guards firing
at an unseen opponent. As he looks further into the room he sees Wonder Woman
deftly deflecting their deadly firepower. A Bolo and a net are thrown at her
but she gracefully leaps up to avoid capture. Elsewhere, Doctor Doom and the
Parasite watch the fight on a monitor screen. As he curses his men for failing
to subdue her Doom suddenly picks up Spiderman on the monitor. At the same moment
the Amazing Amazon also spies the web crawler hiding in the shadows. Doom sees
an opportunity to turn friend against foe and uses the speaker system to bellow
"Behold your quarry, Spiderman! The female is our enemy and she must die!
Attack!"
Spiderman realises it is a ruse but Wonder Woman does not and she rips up a large piece of machinery to throw at him. She says to him that she has often heard he was on the wrong side of the law and had even considered hunting him down herself once of twice. She hurls the debris at the protesting Spiderman who manages to duck just in time. She then unhooks her magic lasso and tells him that it will force him to tell the truth. If he is not in league with whoever lured her here, then he has nothing to hide. He shoots his web and swings out of the way of the golden rope, saying he will not let her hog-tie him on their first date! She then tells him she takes his avoidance of her lasso as an admission of guilt. Clinging to the ceiling, Spiderman thinks to himself that her smug, self-righteous attitude makes him want to belt her one - after which she would probably knock his block off! He decides that trying to fight her will be a big mistake and smashes the nearby fuse box for the lights instead.
The room is plunged into darkness leaving the Amazon Princess at a distinct
disadvantage to Spiderman's Spider sense. He lets himself down from the roof
and taps her on the shoulder, telling the surprised Wonder Woman that she can
relax as he is not going to hit her. He continues that he could have been 'clobbering'
her right now but he is not because he is one of the good guys.
She says that he has made his point but that it is his own fault that people
do not trust him because of his 'creepy routine'.
As the two heroes converse, the guards don night vision goggles and prime their concussion rays. They take aim at the unsuspecting Wonder Woman as she tells Spiderman that they had better find their way out of this place. The web crawler's Spider sense suddenly tingles, warning of the danger but it is too late for Wonder Woman who is hit squarely in the back by a blast. As other guards try to grab Spiderman he leaps out of their way. A valiant Wonder Woman tells him to get away to safety as she finally falls under a relentless barrage of fire!
The unconscious Amazon is dragged unceremoniously away as Spiderman tries to go after her but cannot get past their blasters. The men load Wonder Woman onto a special underground train and one of them asks if she is to be liquidated, as it would be a great shame to waste one so lovely. His colleague replies that she is 'mere cargo' and he should be careful of his words as Doom has other plans for her. As the train sets off towards Metropolis, Spiderman attaches himself unseen to the back of the train.
Soon, in the bowels of Doom's Lair the train arrives and the men prepare to take Wonder Woman to the stasis tube. But the Parasite stops them and says that he countermands their orders and that he wants her to himself. As a scuffle breaks out Doom interrupts and asks the Parasite if he desires the woman? He replies that he wants to feel her great power course through his body.
Doom
decides to reveal the full extent of his Project Omega, saying it will provide
all the power the Parasite so craves. A map shows installations underneath every
major city in the world. Once the countdown is complete they will begin emitting
a peculiar radiation which will permeate the Earth's crust. Every molecule of
fossil fuel will be turned to sand causing economic chaos across the globe.
Doom will then offer the world his own energy source using a specially built
fusion reactor and hold every government to ransom. Of course, some nations
will oppose his rule and so he intends for the Parasite to absorb the powers
of Wonder Woman, the Hulk and eventually Superman so he can serve as Doom's
protector.
As the two villains prepare to capture Superman, Spiderman has overheard the plan and as he makes his way back to the surface to get help he encounters an arriving Superman. Spiderman tells the Man of Steel about Doom's intentions. The two heroes then enter the base and confront the villains. A fight breaks out but both Spiderman and Superman are eventually overpowered and captured. As Doom prepares to drain an unconscious Superman's powers the web crawler manages to use his web shooter to snare Superman, pulling him free. The two heroes then pursue Doom and the Parasite through the base. Another fight ensues and the Parasite is knocked out. Doom sets the fusion reactor to overload and the two heroes have to work together to make it safe. In the meantime Doom manages to escape and is chased back to the safety of his Embassy. The Man of Steel and the Web Crawler then bid each other good-bye and go their separate ways.
Sometime later in the offices of the Daily Planet, Clark Kent explains to the listening Jimmy Olsen, Perry White and Lois Lane about how Superman had then returned to the base after chasing Doom and freed Wonder Woman. However, the Hulk had already escaped by that time from his cracked stasis tube and had disappeared...
Meanwhile back in New York, Peter Parker returns to work at the Daily Bugle and as he gets a grilling from his boss Mr. Jameson, thinks to himself that there is no place like home!
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