#deathweb

Therak questions the Manipulator why he can't just beat 'em both up with his many strong spider limbs but the Manipulator tells Therak to stop being so dumb.

He wants to implicate Spider-Woman in murder crime so she'll have to join the spider-themed crime group. It's like how gangs make initiates do a murder, to weed out undercover cops, probably? Same general idea.

Spider-man reassures Spider-Woman that they can rescue Rachel together and that Deathweb doesn't dare harm the hostage, since she's their only leverage.

So he's very surprised when Spider-Woman belts him across the room and tries to psi-web him up.

Spider-Man: "For pity's sake, Avenger -- don't you see you're playing right into their hands? Don't force me to -- Aw, no! Not one of your psi-webs!" Spider-Woman: "It's the only way, don't you see? For Rachel to live, you have to die!"

Ooo, one of the greatest subcategories of contrived 'lets have him and you fight' comic book set-ups.

Spider-Man rips through the psi-web and tackles Spider-Woman into the bank of monitors, which start exploding and catching fire.

While Spider-Man is wondering how far he'll have to go so save his own life, Deathweb and co are worrying about the spreading fire.

Clemson fucks off, running out of the factory. Looking like an idiot when Deathweb easily trapdooraports outside in an instant.

Actually, the Manipulator was sorta expecting Clemson to not be able to run out before the factory exploded. He was just outright trying to kill the guy.

Then he has Antro trapdoor him and Therak away and tells Clemson he'd better keep running unless he wants to explain to the police why an abandoned factory burnt down.

Clemson does indeed keep fucking off but notes to himself that the Conclave can get someone else to middleman for Deathweb from now on. And if Spider-Woman makes it out of this, he's going to get his revenge on her. Because this is her fault somehow. Or he's still mad about being thrown into a wall.

Clemson kind of sucks.

I do doubt that Spider-Woman is dead because she was grappling with Spider-Man and Marvel isn't going to kill their specialest boy outside his own book. But in-universe, Clemson is being very optimistic considering the two heroes were in a factory that just exploded and is burning down.

Meanwhile, at the Avengers West Coast Compound headquarters, Scarlet Witch and Living Lightning are trying to reassure Larry Carpenter that the Avengers will provided security at the Liberty Party rally at the Hollywood bowl.

Iron Man is researching the venom he scraped off of Hawkeye's shoulder. And Wonder Man is fruitlessly trying to get him to discuss that both Spider-Woman and Spider-Man have gone missing.

Wonder Man wanders away from Iron Man, musing that the armored Avenger probably feels just as bad as the rest of the Avengers about Rachel getting kidnapped and can't bear to face her father. Who still doesn't know his daughter has been kidnapped because nobody told him.

Anyway, Deathweb THRAPP teleports in and starts kicking the shit out of Wonder Man.

He's having a bad time this arc.

After they clown on him for a bit, Arachne plants a device and all three Deathwebbers fuck off.

Wonder Man assumes that they were planting a bomb and starts ripping apart the console they stuck it in. But Iron Man tells him he'll take a look at it.

He - and then Wonder Man and Scarlet Witch - assumes that if it WAS a bomb, it would have already gone off. So it's probably something not bomb.

And Iron Man x-rays it to find it is not a bomb, it's a 'telemodule,' with a recorded hologram message on it.

When Iron Man plugs the telemodule into a display thingy, it projects the hologram message.

Hologram the Manipulator: "I chose this personal means to inform you that Spider-Man and Spider-Woman are dead. But this child is safe with me... and will be unless the Avengers West attend the rally tonight. A word to the wise."

The hologram message ends and Larry Carpenter changes his tune. Worried about his daughter (duh), he begs the Avengers to stay away from the rally. He'll get extra police protection assigned but the Avengers must stay away!

At the scene of the factory exploding and burning down, the factory exploded and burned down. The firefighters have come, gotten the fire put out, and have left. I don't know a lot about firefighting but would they just completely leave a location where there was a fire?

Anyway, they do.

And it turns out that Spider-Man and Spider-Woman aren't dead. They're living out yet another instance of Spider-Man's tendency to get buried under a mountain of debris. Thanks to Spider-Man having the good sense to create a cavity with his webbing and having Spider-Woman reinforce his webs with hers.

So they're buried but they have a little space to work and as Spider-Man tells her, he's been buried worse than this before. They can totally get out of this and it will be inspiring as heck.

But Spider-Woman has given up the task as hopeless. She's feeling guilt over trying to kill Spider-Man. Despite Spider-Man telling her he could tell at the time that her heart wasn't really in it. And more importantly, Julia has given up because he thinks there's no way she can save Rachel.

So Spider-Man sweetens the motivation pot. He tells her that he put a spider-tracer on Rachel when Deathweb grabbed her. He was saving telling her as a last resort because he wasn't sure if the tracer is still on her but dammit, get fired up with adrenaline like those women who lift cars off of babies or whatever!

Boom. Now Spider-Woman can say she lifted a heavy thing. Which is a rite of passage that all Spiders gotta do. Probably. I haven't done the math. But I bet Miles Morales has lifted heavy thing. I think Mayday Spider-Girl has, too.

Later, at the Liberty Party Hollywood Bowl political rally, Michael Galvan is getting the crowd fired up. He's turning the Avengers' unexpected absence into a boon by talking up the LAPD's ability to handle Deathweb if they show up. And that the police will also definitely solve the murder of that attorney who died at the start of this arc! Which has nothing to do with Michael Galvan, no sir!

Galvan: "While the Republicans and Democrats play games with the economy, we'll make this country's streets safe again..."

Larry Carpenter is listening to the speech from backstage and he has Doubts. How can he believe in law and order strong on crime third party candidates when his daughter is being held hostage.

Spider-Woman shows up and Larry tears into her that she's going to get his daughter killed.

But then Spider-Man also shows up with Rachel in tow.

Seems Deathweb left her locked up and unguarded in a Gardena trailer park.

Considering what a big operation the Manipulator is implied to be running, it's amazing he couldn't even spring for a babysitter. A normal, non-powered babysitter wouldn't have stopped Spider-Man and Spider-Woman but he really left his hostage entirely unattended?

What an idiot.

Speaking of idiots, Larry now tears into the heroes for presumed recklessness, saying they just barged into the trailer grand-standing and could have put Rachel in danger.

Julia tries to put his mind at ease? I think? by unmasking and revealing that she's actually his ex-wife and so wouldn't have done anything to endanger Rachel (except bringing her to the convention where she got kidnapped?). It does not work. Now Larry even more angry.

Larry Carpenter: "So this is what you've been up to, since you followed us out here! I don't know how you managed to bull your way into the Avengers West --but when the court learns you've been endangering your daughter, running around with masked musclemen -- you'll be lucky if you see Rachel in my presence on Christmas Day!"

Then he drags off a crying Rachel as Julia hangs her head and thinks maybe Larry is right. Maybe it would be for the best for her to lose all custody to her daughter.

ANYWAY DEATHWEB IS VERY INCONSIDERATE SO THEY DON'T LET THIS EMOTIONAL BEAT SIT. THEY THRAPP ONTO STAGE AND KILL MICHAEL GALVAN.

Wow. I really called that one wrong. I thought Galvan was the candidate that the Conclave was trying to get elected.

One of the police rush Deathweb and gets a belly full of venom from Antro but one good twist deserves another. That's not a cop, that's Living Lightning disguised as a cop.

The Avengers West heard and understood Larry Carpenter's plea for them not to risk his daughter by showing up and they said but what if we did anyway? But in disguise??

You'd think that its kind of reckless to risk a young child's life to protect a politician but case in point: the Avengers only revealed themselves because they saw Spider-Man and Spider-Woman were here and deduced that they had rescued Rachel.

Therak frets that they didn't bring their hostage with them but Arachne is sure that they can handle the Avengers just as easily as they did before. More easily! The Avengers are down Hawkeye and US Agent!

Except: here's the thing. Deathweb had the information advantage in the first round. The Avengers are known figures and Deathweb is new. Now the Avengers know what Deathweb can do AND have been planning for a rematch.

Scarlet Witch even calls out to Wonder Man that they're doing Plan A so I guess she was the one who was planning. I'm happy when writers remember that Scarlet Witch has been doing this gig for decades and could probably lead the team herself if she wanted.

Per the plan, Living Lightning immediately shorts out Antro's armor, since they learned from Hawkeye's electrical disruption arrow that would work.

And big, tough fighty guys Iron Man and Wonder Man go to engage big, tough fighty guy Therak.

Meanwhile, Spider-Man and Spider-Woman take turns punching Arachne in the face. Spider-Man is generally mad at people who take children hostage and kill people and Spider-Woman is specifically mad about the child that was held hostage.

Arachne manages to shoot her toxic web at Wonder Man, hoping to take him out of the fight so Therak has less on his plate. But the thing about Wonder Man is that he's an energy being shaped like a man. That kind of poison doesn't work on him.

With the rematch fight immediately going poorly for Deathweb, Therak tells Antro to get them out of here. Even with his armor shorted out (and I guess that verifies that there's a dude under that metal), Antro can still manage to teleport Deathweb away.

However.

Plan A accounted for that. That's why Scarlet Witch wasn't participating, despite not being distracted the whole time by being punched in the face.

She was focusing and reserving her energy for one big fight-winning hex. Twisting probability so that Deathweb teleported right back onto the stage, at a pre-planned point. So that the Avengers could blast them with all of their might the instance they popped up and before Deathweb could realize what happened and try to dodge or block.

SCARLET WITCH: MVP.

With Deathweb captured and Antro's ability to teleport disabled by removing his helmet, which is apparently where the teleport is stored, the Avengers wonder what all of this was about.

Like me, Iron Man was pretty sure that Deathweb was covering Galvan's ass by killing people that were going to air his dirty laundry. Y'know, up until the point where they killed Galvan. Now this whole thing is a bit more inexplicable.

So if not Galvan, then who benefits from this?

IMMEDIATELY, Galvan's running mate Wilson Lambert takes to the podium and delivers a stirring speech on how he's going to pick up the standard for poor deceased Michael Galvan, taken before his time, and he will carry Galvan's message of law and order to the American people!

Oh. Galvan was a martyr and Lambert is the puppet that the Conclave thinks will be easier to control. Especially if the mob connections are his, giving the Conclave blackmail material to keep him in line for their own goals.

Okay. That makes sense.

Meanwhile, outside the Hollywood Bowl, Larry Carpenter is pulling Rachel towards his car. They can't go home because Deathweb might know where that is so he's going to take her somewhere else, somewhere safe.

The Manipulator, who is here now: "Is anyplace really safe in these troubled times?"

The Manipulator tells Larry that he employed Deathweb but they turned out to be so incompetent that he "should have known better than to trust them even to baby-sit."

Wow. Harsh but not untrue.

Anyway, the Manipulator is here to re-kidnap Rachel because there's value in having a hostage that gives him some leverage against the Avengers.

But Larry jumps between this menacing costumed man and his daughter and starts punching at him.

The Manipulator: "Oof! You really shouldn't -- exert yourself, Mr. Carpenter. After all, even a man in good physical condition has been known to have -- a heart attack!"

And he puts his hands on Larry's chest and the man screams in pain and collapses.

But Larry bought time for Spider-Man and Spider-Woman to show up and now they're between the Manipulator and Rachel.

Spider-Woman: "Why don't you order me to kill you this time, Manipulator? Now that I might just manage!" The Manipulator: "You again?! Outraged motherhood plus super-powers -- a formidable combination, even by my meticulous standards!"

And he doesn't want to fuck with that at all.

So the Manipulator throws a smoke bomb and fucks off, vowing that he's going to ditch the spider motif for his next scheme. It didn't work out.

Spider-Woman runs over to Larry, who is slumped against his car, clutching his chest.

Larry admits that he's known for months that he had a weak heart and that's why he was throwing himself into this new, high-profile PR job. Despite Rachel thinking that her dad just wanted to make money for the sake of money, he was trying to make money to provide for her.

Larry: "Maybe... n-neither of us... was quite as bad... as the other one thought... huh, Juliaaa..."

And he dies.

Feels like his last words were him trying to say that he understands how her being Spider-Woman tied into her unexplained absences and that he didn't actually think she was a bad mom.

Geez. I didn't expect him to die right after learning her secret ID. It seemed like something that was really going to complicate the custody disagreement but maybe that's why he did die.

Now Julia has custody by default. Now Julia is a full-time superhero and single mother. Use your Avengers money to hire a reliable babysitter. Squirrel Girl technically exists, is a good babysitter, and Iron Man knows her. Break continuity and hire her.

Anyway. Inside the Hollywood Bowl, Lambert is delivering Galvan's old speech and hyping up the crowd fro the Liberty Party. But he makes an important addition to the speech.

Lambert: "The economy is an important issue in this election -- and so is health care -- but the most important issue of all is the fear that grips Americans -- when they step out of their own front doors! Let Michael Galvan be the symbol of the fight against the kind of lawless terror we witnessed here tonight -- and let these assassins be speedily punished -- yes, even executed --!"

It's not hard to see the gears in Lambert's head turning.

Deathweb wasn't supposed to be captured. He's worried that they'll spill the beans under police interrogation.

He made a mistake here, though. Deathweb is tied up but they're not unconscious. They just heard Lambert try to throw them under the bus.

Problem 2: the Avengers are here. And Lambert tries to get the Avengers to summarily execute the supervillains they have at their mercy. And that's just not how the Avengers roll.

If the Avengers weren't on the stage, Lambert maybe could have spurred the crowd into performing mob justice. But the Avengers aren't going to do a murder.

And when Lambert states that he wants Americans to know he's not afraid of Deathweb, Arachne pipes up to say he never had to fear them. Because, for some reason, their orders were to kill Galvan but on no account were they to hurt Lambert.

Arachne has put 2 and 2 together on that one. And she asks Lambert if he can explain for the crowd why those were Deathweb's orders. And he suddenly gets very nervous and stammery.

And the crowd sees that Lambert was clearly affected by the accusation and suddenly isn't sure that Lambert is their guy.

The Avengers discuss amongst themselves and decide, oh, this makes sense.

Iron Man: "Maybe Galvan's real job -- though he didn't know it -- was to be assassinated." Wonder Man: "You mean -- so a man too lackluster to make a good candidate could sail into the White House -- on Galvan's blood?!"

I think even with the martyr angle, the Liberty Party would have had a hard time overcoming Americans' disinterest in third parties. But it's a halfway decent clever political conspiracy. You know, if superheroes didn't exist and the assassins weren't going to spitefully spill the beans because the candidate was going to try to clear up loose ends right in front of them.

Lambert tries to get the crowd back on his side by launching into the speech again but he's lost them. The crowd wanders away, having gained and lost faith in him awfully quick.

Scarlet Witch wonders whether they'll ever know the truth of everything that unfolded here.

Iron Man: "Killers only confess in public on 'Perry Mason' reruns, Wanda."

Good point. The Manipulator was handling this. There's not going to be a direct link between Lambert and Deathweb. Probably no legal fallout is ever going to fall on him. The suggestion that he got his running mate killed is enough to sink his political career.

Iron Man ponders that if Deathweb was just making false allegations, the implosion of Lambert's political aspirations is a real tragedy. Before Living Lightning points out that it's a tragedy anyway because multiple people are dead.

Which Iron Man concedes.

And that was the Deathweb arc. Julia Carpenter gains one arch-nemesis and loses one ex-husband. The Avengers witness the implosion of a third party ticket that might have been a contender. And Spider-Man was around because spider-theming draws him near.

We're doing annual events and Infinity War for a while. When we get back to Avengers West Coast it will a story that Wolverine is guest-starring in.

First Spider-Man and then Wolverine? Is the book not doing well that it needs to bring in those two popular guys for a boost? I know that the book has something like fifteen issues left in the run before it gets revamped into Force Works. I wouldn't think it was in dire 'we need a celebrity cameo' straits but what am I supposed to think about back-to-back Spider-Man and Wolverine guest-star stories?

Anyway. Next time, the annual event Assault on Armor City. Featuring annuals for Darkhawk, Avengers West Coast, and Iron Man.

Also, the Big One grabs Iron Man and throws him at US Agent and Hawkeye. The armored Avenger barely manages to swerve out of the way with his boot jets.

And Spider-Man punches the Robot One who not only tanks the punch but also clings to the wall, making Spider-Man feel less special.

The Robot One (Antro, he's Antro. Girl One is Arachne, Big One is Therak) also squirts something out of his robot mandibles at Spider-Man. Spidey jumps out of the way, as he is wont to do. US Agent was behind him but he blocks the spray with his shield and then notes with some concern that the spray appears to be some kind of acid, since it's eating through the wall where it splashed off his shield.

Spider-Man webs up Antro's mandible nozzles and it would be nice if that solved the problem. But couldn't acid melt the webbing?

The big guy, Therak winds up fighting the Avengers' big guy, Wonder Man. Hawkeye tries to help by shooting concussion arrows at the spidery guy but they don't have much effect.

Based on Therak's strength and the red, glowing eyes, Wonder Man suddenly deduces that he has ionic strong-guy powers, same as him.

Out in the auditorium, Living Lightning is still lighting up the area to keep the audience from panicking. And, also, to keep any assassins from sneaking up under cover of darkness.

Security wants to escort presidential candidate Michael Galvan out but he argues that it would be dumb to leave through a blackout and here he has two Avengers protecting him.

Although, Spider-Woman kind of has split attention. Sure, one eye is watching Galvan to make sure he doesn't get assassinated. But her other eye is on her daughter, who is sitting near the stage in an extra Spider-Woman mask. And also, if she had a third eye, it would be on her ex-husband Larry Carpenter, who is here working PR for the Galvan ticket and Spider-Woman really doesn't want him to recognize her.

Back at the fight, Arachne keeps kicking Scarlet Witch's ass so she can't focus enough to use her powers. And Therak keeps kicking Wonder Man's ass.

That kind of leaves Antro by himself to deal with Spider-Man, US Agent, Hawkeye, and Iron Man. Just going by the numbers.

And US Agent and Spider-Man manage to corner Antro now that his spitters are all gummed up. But it turns out that Antro is based on a trapdoor spider.

Sorta based.

He's got teleportation powers that he calls trapdooring.

He trapdoors (THRAP!) out of US Agent's grip and then behind Iron Man after the armored Avenger blasts Therak off of Wonder Man.

Antro starts trying to twist Iron Man's head off and in Tony's estimate, he's strong enough to go through with it.

Back in the auditorium, Living Lightning is tiring out because of the sustained use of his powers at a high level. Thankfully, the power comes back on and he's able to switch off. Immediately. He falls down to the stage.

When he comments that he hopes he didn't scare the little girl by falling like that, Spider-Woman realizes that Rachel isn't in her chair.

She freaks out because her daughter is missing and abandons her post near Galvan to go look for her. Leaving an exhausted Living Lightning on guard duty alone.

I'm starting to see why Take Your Daughter To Work Day is not a good idea in the superhero industry.

Anyway.

US Agent sees Iron Man being choked by Antro and decides 'he's got this' and throws his mighty shield at Therak. Who also has Spider-Man and Hawkeye on his ass.

Spider-Man starts to wonder what the hell Deathweb is trying to accomplish. If they caused the blackout, why did they attack the Avengers instead of doing anything else when the superheroes got lured away from the auditorium?

US Agent suggests that everyone gang up on Therak and knock him out. So Arachne shows that her wrist spikes can shoot webbing and she webs all over him.

Agent boasts that with his super-strength, he can tear through webbing like spaghetti but then he passes the fuck out.

Turns out that her webbing is laced with neurotoxin. Which I guess is absorbed through the skin and very fast acting since it could only get on US Agent's face skin considering his full body costume.

Spider-Woman has been looking for Rachel and hears the commotion behind a door. Thinking Rachel might be in there, she bashes it open to find the Avengers fighting Deathweb.

Where things are going badly for the Avengers.

Arachne has turned back to keep Scarlet Witch distracted and out of the fight. US Agent is webbed up and drooling on the floor. Wonder Man has been knocked the fuck out. Iron Man is grappling with Antro in midair. And Hawkeye and Spider-Man are playing keep away from Therak.

It's actually very good that Spider-Woman abandoned her post and wandered over here because Arachne has decided to stop playing with Wanda and kill her with her toxic web like she killed the whistleblower in New York.

Spider-Woman psionic web whips Arachne into the wall. Given a moment where she's not being punched in the face, Scarlet Witch immediately uses her hex powers to make the floor collapse under Therak's feet.

Spider-Man is like wow it's lucky that randomly happened! And Hawkeye criticizes him for not being a better Avengers reservist and knowing what his hypothetical teammates can do.

The reservist team seemed like such a cool idea at the time and then competing interests took Sandman away from it and Spider-Man is always too busy to guest star in Avengers. He showed up this time but for Spider-Man reasons. He didn't even know the Avengers were going to be involved.

Hawkeye uses a blast arrow to bury Therak in ceiling rubble. ... Wow, the Avengers are really destroying this convention center. But given a reprieve from big punchy dude, Hawkeye is able to line up a shot on Antro and hit him with an electrical disruption arrow.

Explicitly the same kind that he used against Living Lightning in issue 80. Cool that one of Hawkeye's convenient arrows got pre-established in a training session.

Therak manages to rip himself loose of the floor and all of the rubble. Just in time for Rachel to actually wander into the scene looking for her mom.

Antro, having just recovered from being arrowed, nabs Rachel to use as a hostage and then spritzes Hawkeye with his mandible acid.

Therak wants to continue the fight but Antro says they've done what they needed to do. He trapdooraports out with Arachne, Therak, and Rachel.

The Avengers start to pick themselves up after the fight. US Agent is out cold. Iron Man sprays soothing foam from his hands to neutralize the acid sprayed onto Hawkeye's shoulder. I guess Iron Man can shoot soothing foam from his hands. That certainly seems plausible. He's got many fun features. And Spider-Woman is just in shock that Rachel was taken.

Security finally shows up and Iron Man explains to them what happened. Without mentioning that Rachel was kidnapped.

After security leaves to check the rest of the center for Deathweb, Iron Man tells Spider-Woman she's off the case. She's going back to HQ to sit this one out.

Spider-Woman: "You expect me to just hang around there, while Rachel -- ?" Iron Man: "She wouldn't be in danger, if you'd stayed at your post. You followed us -- and she followed you. Now you're too personally involved, so you're off the case." Spider-Woman, storming off: "Like blazes I am!"

Wonder Man tries to point out to Iron Man that Spider-Woman is unlikely to politely go to HQ and wait patiently but then presidential candidate Michael Galvan arrives to thank the Avengers. And he brings the press with him to report on him thanking the Avengers.

Galvan: "This 'Deathweb' gang may have gotten away -- for the moment -- but they didn't achieve their aim of disrupting this convention. If people in this country ever feel safe again -- it will be thanks to you Avengers West." Running mate Wilson Lambert: "And to Mr. Galvan!"

Wonder Man bitterly notes that Galvan and Lambert have managed to make it sound like the Avengers West are at the convention to endorse them.

Iron Man: "What did you expect, Simon? They're politicians."

Also, Iron Man tells US Agent and Hawkeye to go to the hospital for web-poisoning and shoulder acid injuries. So the Avengers are down three people for the rest of this story.

Ha ha, as if Julia is going to stay out of things. Lol. Lmao even.

Later, at presumably the same abandoned factory from last issue, Mike Clemson arrives to meet with THE MANIPULATOR.

A costumed GI Joe looking villain who is working with the Conclave. That secret government conspiracy Clemson works for.

Hilariously, the Manipulator makes Clemson wait while he takes a call from DC to have a White House staff 'hassled' to send a message.

Clemson has big problems with the services that the Manipulator provided the Conclave. I.e., Deathweb. I.e., Deathweb kidnapping children.

So the Conclave is behind the assassinations on people that are going to spill the beans on a presidential candidate's mob connections. Which basically means that the Conclave is trying to get Galvan elected.

They're pinning their hopes on a third party candidate. Maybe they're not a very good conspiracy.

I don't mean morally. I mean, that's a long shot even if you keep Galvan's indiscretions out of the media. Sure, Galvan apparently is pushing Tough On Crime hard but every politician always says they're Tough on Crime. It seems like if a Tough On Crime third party candidate does get popular, the most that's going to happen is splitting the Republican vote.

You're not a very good conspiracy, the Conclave!

ANYWAY.

Mike Clemson tries to tell the Manipulator not to disrespect him because he represents the Conclave, dammit! But the Conclave telecommutes in to undermine him by speaking for themselves. And while they share the Concern about how the Deathweb thing went, they accept the Manipulator's promise that he's got this, swearsies.

Clemson, mad that the Manipulator made him look like a fool in front of his secret government conspiracy what REALLY controls the country, tries to tackle the Manipulator but falls through him because the Manipulator was a hologram. He was ALSO telecommuting in. Clemson is the only idiot who came in person.

Oh, also, Spider-Woman came in person.

But she still has no idea about this Conclave stuff. She came here because the Avengers tried to bench her so she wants Clemson to use the government's resources to help her find her daughter. In exchange, she'll do that job that Clemson wanted her to do.

Clemson doesn't want to work with her, though. Because she through him at a wall. And, also, she's a loose cannon, not reliable, and she through him at a wall.

Spider-Woman threatens to go over his head and talk to Val Cooper so Clemson pulls a gun on her. WHICH IS A MASSIVE ESCALATION if this was a normal situation so he's kind of showing his ass on the secret conspiracy thing.

Then Spider-Man shows up and thwipps the gun away from Clemson. Turns out that Spider-Man followed her because she went away angry. Well, he hitched a ride on top of her car.

Spider-Man: "Us spider good-guys have to stick together, right? Besides I'm no better at taking orders than you are."

Reading between the lines, since Spider-Man was in town on his own business and not part of the Avengers team, he ditched them to go help Julia because he knew she was going to ignore the order to stand down to go off and look for her daughter herself.

You're a cool dude sometimes, Spider-Man.

Case in point, without really knowing anything about the situation beyond that this guy pulled a gun on her, Spider-Man offers to splatter Clemson against a wall for her.

Clemson tries to get Julia to bail him out and she's like you pulled a gun on me!

Instead, she pulls out her Avengers communicard to tell the Avengers that she went off on her own despite orders to stand down. But a spray of acid destroys the card as Antro and Therak of Deathweb show up.

Spider-Man assumes that Deathweb followed them but Spider-Woman more correctly assumes that Deathweb is somehow connected to Clemson.

Which Therak confirms to Antro's irritation.

Then the Manipulator shows up. In person this time. Which he demonstrates by psychically making Clemson shut up when Clemson starts yelling at him for sending another hologram.

Since the Manipulator mentions Rachel by name, Spider-Woman realizes he knows where her daughter is. Which the guy quickly confirms by putting up a video feed of Rachel being held captive by Arachne.

So the Manipulator offers a deal.

He'll release Rachel back to Spider-Woman. If she kills Spider-Man.

Spider-Man:

Some days it doesn't pay to guest star in other books.

Next time, we're still covering Avengers West Coast! Finishing up this arc with issue #86 because after this, we're in event territory for three posts in a row. Or more if I can't fit everything in one post per thing.

Avengers and Avengers West Coast are in separate annuals events and also Infinity War happens. This is just so much stuff. Why you gotta be like this, 90s Marvel?

But is web on a guy enough to bring in Real Star Spider-Man? The narrative hops over to New York to ask that very bold question.

Peter Parker, Spider-Man, is currently intrigued by political scandal. Somehow-worse-than-the-Daily-Bugle tabloid the N.Y. Globe-Reporter is promising that it can prove one of the 1992 presidential candidates is IN BED WITH THE MOB!

Yup, scandalous information about the Republican, Democrat, or totally-real Liberty Party candidate.

Peter thinks its pretty crazy that everyone is taking the claim seriously but also Jameson is taking it seriously and has yelled at him to go take pictures, pictures of press conference.

At the press conference, in the green room, the whistleblower Walt Weston is preparing for his press conference presentation. But the Globe-Repoter lady Mavis Reilly hears a weird THRAP noise and when she turns back around Weston has vanished.

And with another THRRRAP noise, he appears in front of the press conference. He seems disoriented and suddenly falls off the stage.

By the time a doctor gets to him, Walt Weston is already very dead and also with a very swollen neck.

Peter is ready to dismiss this whole mystery as something he'll just have to learn about through the news like everyone else. What he really wants is for Jameson to send him to California to interview the presidential candidates about this!

(Jameson sends him to California)

boom, we have Spider-Man in Avengers West Coast turf.

Meanwhile, the next day over at the Avengers West Coast Compound, the Avengers West Coast are sitting around the kitchen table discussing the news of the day.

Hawkeye comments that "if [the Globe-Reporter] said it was raining, I'd slap on some suntan lotion" but maybe they were onto something if someone went so far as to kill the whistleblower about it.

Hawkeye was also checking the paper to see where each major presidential candidate are giving speeches that day. You know, the unnamed Democratic and GOP front-runners (Clinton and HW Bush) but also Michael A Galvan, candidate for the Liberty Party.

The Liberty Party is making some waves by hammering on Law and Order as the hot-button issue.

Galvan definitely has US Agent's vote.

Hawkeye says Galvan is "the next thing to a Nazi" and US Agent calls him a bleeding heart type who wouldn't know a Nazi if he tripped over him.

Scarlet Witch tells the both of them to stifle because the Avengers have a rule - no political talk over breakfast.

Then Living Lightning wanders into the kitchen with his new girlfriend Mona, from the recent Night Shift arc.

There's a distinct element of walk of shame to this with Mona seeming nervous to have walked into the same room as a bunch of Avengers while wearing an unbuttoned shirt and her underwear. But the Avengers live in bungalows, not in the main house. But I don't know if Roy Thomas knows that or not. But if that's still the case then they would have to wander across the lawn and into the main mansion building and at that point, the decision not to put on pants becomes very deliberate.

Lighting is also half-dressed but he's also half-asleep so I don't think he cares.

Anyway.

US Agent asks the two which candidate they think the whistleblower was going to whistleblow on.

Mona seems checked into the current events, being surprised that the press conference hadn't happened and learning from Hawkeye about the murder.

Living Lightning though?

Living Lightning: "Nah. Who cares? One politician's just as dirty as another. I don't figure I'll vote..."

And this aggros Consuela, the recurring maid character at the Avengers West Coast Compound.

Consuela: "For shame on you, Miguel Santos! So many problems for your people -- and you won't even vote?"

Hawkeye turns on the radio to catch Miguel up on the current events and that's how the Avengers hear that Henry Drummond, attorney for the Globe-Reporter was also murdered. He was the only other guy who knew the information that whistleblower Walt Weston was going to share.

He was found with his neck broken and stuck up in a giant spider web. AS WE SAW IN THE OPENING.

This news is enough that Iron Man and Wonder Man (who have just come in) decide that the Avengers are going to look into this situation!

An hour-ish later, Spider-Woman Julia Carpenter arrives at Newport Beach to pick up her daughter for her custody day.

Her ex-husband Larry is not happy that she's late. She tried to call but Larry's phone was busy and he doesn't have call waiting!

Larry is also not happy because he recently got hired to do PR for the Liberty Party and then a double murder happened so now he has to deal with that!

As Julia and Rachael drive off, Julia asks about Larry's new job. Rachel says her dad is excited that the job will make him a lot of money.

Julia: "He just wants enough to take good care of you, Rachel." Rachel: "I think he just likes money -- and feeling important." Julia: "Hey, little lady -- you know I won't have you talking that way about your dad."

Julia is worried about Larry poisoning Rachel against her. So she's trying very hard not to do the same thing back. But Rachel is getting disillusioned on her own.

Anyway, the Avengers called an emergency meeting (on Julia's custody day, oh no!) so she has to take Rachel to the Avengers HQ with her.

Rachel is thrilled about that.

Remember how she likes superhero stuff? Even getting kidnapped to another dimension hasn't dimmed her enthusiasm. She loves that her mom is a superhero and hangs out with other superheroes.

Since it's a long drive, Rachel asks to hear a story and Julia offers to tell the story about how she became Spider-Woman.

A story that Rachel has asked to hear MANY times but Julia refused.

I don't know how long ago that crossover with the Fantastic Four was where Rachel admitted to Julia she knew she was Spider-Woman but apparently since then she's been asking a lot. And now Julia finally feels like sharing all the deets.

So Julia starts her tale all the way back in college, where she met Valerie Cooper, her tennis buddy. And she also met Larry. Julia dropped out of college so she could work to pay Larry's way through college. Larry got into PR and also got into cheating on Julia.

Around about when Rachel was five, Julia found out and divorced Larry.

She thought Rachel didn't know the reason why, because the ex-couple were trying to keep the sordid details from their daughter, but Rachel reveals now that she overheard Larry bragging about it to some guy friends when he thought she wasn't listening.

Rachel is a lot more perceptive than the people around her think.

Anyway, Julia asks Rachel not tell her dad that she knows. Because she's still trying to be the bigger person in this divorce.

The story continues. A few years ago, Valerie Cooper was passing through Denver and decided to phone up Julia since she knew she was in the area. Julia mentioned she was looking for a better-paying job and Val said she might have something for her.

Val flew Julia out to Washington DC to work with a top-secret government commission on superheroes.

It's okay to tell Rachel about this top-secret project. She's very good at keeping secrets.

Seriously, though, Julia stresses to her not to tell anyone else about this. She could simply leave out the details that are top-secret but then how would the audience hear them? This is for our benefit, too.

Anyway. The well-paying job that Val wanted Julia for was guinea pig for human experimentation.

At that point, you have to wonder if Val is really her friend.

Anyway, while Julia was being injected with all kinds of things, the government scientist 'accidentally' injected her with spider extract. Logically, this gave her spider powers. Logically.

It would be weirder if she didn't get superpowers from it.

Anyway. You know the drill. Super-strength, super-agility, wall-sticking, PSYCHIC WEBS.

The government scientists realized 'hey, this lady has Spider-Man-esque-ish powers. We'll call her Spider-Woman.'

Julia would have preferred Ariadne or Arachne because Julia seems to be a mythology nerrrrd.

Anyway, since the point of Julia existing is to continue to squat the trademark, she gets outvoted and has to become Spider-Woman. Plus, she's not a freelance hero getting to call herself whatever she wants. She's a government guinea pig, now a government employed superhero and if the government says 'you're Spider-Woman' you say 'how high?'

ESPECIALLY because the whole reason for this job was to get paid better and she was now getting paid better.

Right before actually starting work as a government superhero, Julia took time off for a short trip to Denver to see Rachel. AND THEN SECRET WARS HAPPENED.

SECRET WARS WAS HER FIRST RODEO.

Poor Julia.

And when she got back from Secret Wars, Val stuck her on Freedom Force. You know, the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants but now gainfully employed as the government's thugs? So, Julia didn't love that.

And Larry didn't love Julia relocating Rachel to Washington DC and not being clear what her new, well-paying job was. He sued for custody of Rachel and Julia couldn't tell the court what her job so she lost.

Wow. You'd think Val could bullshit up some government cover job for Julia to help her out but Valerie Cooper just sucks. Bad friend.

Julia buried herself in her work to distract from her problems but then the government declared the Avengers criminals and sent Freedom Force to arrest them -- all because Quicksilver made up some bullshit and Henry Peter Gyrich ate it up.

The captured Avengers were put in the Vault prison, Julia helped bust them out, Julia got in trouble with her government job.

Thanks to help from Iron Man, Julia got to keep her government job but apparently Val decided that the problem was that Val being her (bad) friend meant conflict of interest so Julia was given a new handler, in the form of sketchy Mike Clemson.

So Julia worked under Mike's handlage for a while, doing government jobs as a government superhero. Even getting the okay to move out to California when Larry moved Rachel out there. And then US Agent was sent to kill her but instead didn't and Julia wound up helping the Avengers with the Pacific Overlords arc and got invited to join the team. So she joined the team.

And now she's going to quit her government job!

She drives out to meet Mike Clemson at an abandoned factory to find out why he wanted to see her. He gives her shit about bringing her daughter to the middle of some intelligence operation he's in the middle of and then Rachel punches him in the knee for being mean to her mom. Mike shoves the child and Julia doesn't care for that.

She tosses him across the lot and tells him that she quits. Frankly, she was already going to quit. She was willing to help him out one last time out of lingering loyalty. Until he was a dick. So now she's double quitting.

He yells that she's under contract with the government but I doubt that the government has that contract under Julia Carpenter's name (otherwise, they could have bullshitted up a cover job for her when she was getting custody sued). The government could expose her secret ID to the world but that would expose the secret government commission that she was working for and she's betting they don't want to do that.

So she tells Clemson to fuck off and drives to go meet up with the Avengers. HER NEW JOB THAT RESPECTS HER.

Mike Clemson heads inside the abandoned factory and reports to a shadowy group called the Conclave that he won't be able to get Spider-Woman to join their cause.

A secret government commission and now a secret conclave? I knew Mike Clemson was shady.

The Conclave, by the by, is "a grouping even more secret than the Commission -- one composed of members of every governmental organization and dedicate to secretly controlling the policies of the country."

One of those 'if I told you, I'd have to shoot you' level of secrets.

The Conclave isn't too bothered by the news, anyway. Spider-Woman was considered a useful tool when she was an employee of the Commission. But not so useful that she's worth making a big stink about dragging back.

Clemson also implies that the Conclave has something to do with Deathweb as he ominously declares "the American public is about to learn -- that death has eight legs!"

Anyway, since Julia is still bringing her daughter to work day, she gives Rachel a spare mask to wear just so normal citizen Rachel Carpenter isn't photographed hanging out with the Avengers.

Julia belatedly remembers that Larry is going to be at the convention center she's headed to and hopes that he doesn't recognize his daughter if they run into him.

Julia. Pls. I'm sure that the Avengers have- oh, wait. They don't have childcare facilities. Scarlet Witch had to vet and hire her own.

When Spider-Woman arrives at the convention center, the Avengers give her shit for bringing her daughter to work.

THEY KIND OF HAVE A POINT. BUT ALSO, THE AVENGERS DON'T HAVE CHILDCARE CONTINGENCIES.

This is because they're a bunch of no-child-having adults who tend not to be able to stay married.

Also, because they have no Jarvis. You know that Jarvis would babysit the hell out of Rachel. He babysat Franklin Richards when the Fantastic Four had to stay in Avengers Mansion.

So Julia also has a point. Rachel has to be somewhere and if she can't be here then Julia has to go, too.

The Avengers West Coast decide that this is a later discussion since they're needed now.

After the Avengers enter the auditorium, Hawkeye points out that Scarlet Witch, specifically, was kind of hard on Julia.

I don't think she was harder on her than US Agent but okay.

But Wanda is coming from the perspective of a fellow mother, who lost her own children, and who doesn't want Julia to go through that.

Anyway. Michael A Galvan for the Liberty Party takes the stage to thunderous applause from idiots. Galvan claims that him taking the stage proves that he's not the candidate whose dirty dealing was going to be revealed by the press before those mysterious murders and to show that he's not afraid of being randomly assassinated!

Michael A Galvan: "The economy is an important issue in this election -- yes! Health care is an important issue in this election -- yes! But the most important issue of all is the fear that grips Americans -- when they step out of their own front doors! That's why I'm so happy to see, among all you delegates today -- the famous Avengers West Coast, champions of the law and order which is the main concern of the Liberty Party!"

In the crowd, Iron Man seethes at the shout out. But the Avengers being here makes it seem like they endorse Galvan's platform. Which US Agent argues that they should.

But the lights in the hall suddenly go out and Iron Man calls for the Avengers to protect the candidate immediately!

While Iron Man and Living Lightning get to the stage, Hawkeye and Scarlet Witch spot a shadowy figure hopping around the ceiling.

Iron Man has Lightning keep the auditorium lit while he and the rest of the Avengers chase the intruder.

US Agent tries to tackle the intruder when they corner him in a side room but Agent gets his ass kicked.

Hawkeye shoots a flare arrow, a flarerow, which reveals the mysterious figure is actually just Spider-Man, starring in this book.

But, seriously, he's here to superhero too and has nothing to do with the black out.

Then the doors shut behind them and the real culprits reveal themselves.

IT'S DEATHWEB, JUST AS THE COVER FORETOLD

There's a robot one, a big monstery one, and a girl one. And Spider-Man would love to stress that they've nothing to do with him. Yes, he's starring in this issue that's properly introducing them but that's entirely coincidental.

(I'm onto you, Parker).

Next week, Avengers #349 before we return to the West Coast for two issues in a row!