Description
Spider-Man #81 (1990 McFarlane Series)
SHADOW OF THE CAT
Swinging across Manhattan, Spider-Man thinks about how he sometimes forgets how big the city is and sometimes wishes there were two of him, but then quickly changes his mind. The wall-crawler then focuses on the task at hand, finding someone who has been tearing a path across the city’s underbelly, stop him, and then get home to get a good nights sleep so he can focus on his studies in the morning. He briefly wonders what he was thinking when he decided to go back to school when he already has enough pressures including keeping his marriage together. When he arrives at a local dive bar for answers but seeing the storefront window broken and men laying on the street he realizes that he is too late. Going inside, Spider-Man admits that the beat up crooks make his life easier, he just can’t condone senseless violence. When one of the patrons notices it is Spider-Man he is relieved and tells the others they can stop playing dead since the wall-crawler is here to protect them. As the men get off the floor, their leader explains that the man who attacked them tonight said he would be back to finish the job if they didn’t get what he wanted. Seeing these tough guys in abject fear, he wonders who is responsible for this. When he notices a cat at the bar, the feline arches its back and hisses at him, making him also wonder what Betty Brant has gotten him into. Peter and Mary Jane are relaxing at home when the phone begins to ring. Mary Jane pleads with Peter to leave it be as this is the first night they have had by themselves after everything they have endured in recent times, especially after Peter is still recovering from being bitten in the neck by Morbius the Living Vampire. When the answering machine picks up, Betty Brant tells Peter to pick up the phone because she has a photo assignment. Telling Mary Jane that they need the money, Peter picks up the phone to see what Betty wants. Betty is investigating the kidnapping of a young child of a wealthy family and she wants Peter to join her at the building on Park Avenue where the child was snatched to take pictures. Peter isn’t sure if he wants to take the assignment because it sounds like tabloid material, however, Betty rings the doorbell, revealing that she is standing outside to pick him up. Spider-Man has found another gang of thugs who have been beaten up by the mystery attacker. These men are in better shap and Spider-Man hopes he can get more answers from them. However, when he signs his spider-signal on them, the men turn around and begin shooting at the wall-crawler. Dodging the bullets, Spider-Man tries to reason with the shooters but is forced to knock them out. Lookin
