Spider-Man #90
It Started on Yancy Street… Again!
Peter and Mary Jane made the mistake of going for dinner on Yancy Street. When there is trouble, they both slip away so Peter can change into Spider-Man. Mary Jane doesn’t like this, reminding Peter that his alter-ego currently has a bounty on his head.[1] However, considering the trouble is a massive portal that has opened up in the middle of the street, Peter points out that this is a bigger problem than what local law enforcement can handle. Swinging onto the scene, Spider-Man tries to prevent three teenagers from being sucked through the portal, but the pull yanks them out of Spider-Man’s grip. Not willing to let them come to any harm, Spider-Man leaps in after them. He is grabbed by SHOC who tells Spider-Man that his powers somehow have something to do with the portal that opened up.[2] While using his body to prop the shrinking portal open, he uses part of his dark force to attach a device onto Spider-Man that will allow him to find his way back.
Passing through the portal, Spider-Man finds himself in another dimension which he recognizes as the Negative Zone based on descriptions from Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four. He soon crashes lands on a nearby planet called Tarsuu. Recovering from the crash, Spider-Man notices that something has changed his costume, making it black and white. Looking for the missing kids, Spider-Man soon finds himself in a city in the middle of a huge war between two different factions of Negative Zone natives. Amidst the chaos, he spots the three teenagers being taken prisoner by one of the soldiers. Trying to get through the battle, Spider-Man tries to use his web-shooters and discovers that they are not working. He is soon saved by a mysterious being clothed in total black. This warrior, named Dusk, offers to help Spider-Man rescue the three teens if he agrees to help fighting off the imperial troops who are attacking his people. Dusk convinces Spider-Man that his side is just by informing him that the imperial army is working on a device that will open a permanent portal to the wall-crawler’s dimension so it can be conquered.
In the middle of the battle, Dusk is struck by enemy fire and is seriously injured. Surprisingly, the rebels carry Dusk off the battlefield. Spider-Man follows after them to learn what’s going on. There, the man called Dusk explains that he is not the true Dusk, who disappeared some time ago, but only one of his loyal captains who took his place to inspire his people to fight against the empire. He tells Spider-Man to take on the guise of Dusk so that his people have a champion to rally behind and to hurry because time is growing short.
Meanwhile, at the imperial palace, the three teens are being examined by imperial scientists who confirm they are from the positive matter universe. They are briefly scared by their pet cat and they try to make a run for it, only to be stopped by guards. That’s when Spider-Man, dressed as Dusk, comes to rescue them. That’s when the wall-crawler is struck by a blast from the imperial army’s leader, the might Blastaar. Spider-Man uses his agility to lure Blastaar out in the open where he distracts his foe with various taunts.[3] Blastaar quickly figures out that he is not fighting the real Dusk, but comes to this realization too late as Spider-Man has tricked him into taking out the cooling systems that regulate the energy generators. With the generators overloading, Spider-Man makes a quick getaway just moments before they explode, seemingly taking Blastaar in the blast.[4]
With the battle over, Spider-Man is hailed as a hero by the citizens of Tarsuu. When he returns to the captain, he tells Spider-Man that his people cannot succeed until the true Dusk is found and charges Spider-Man with this task.[5] With the three teens now free, Spider-Man uses SHOC’s device to pull them back through the portal to Earth. Once on the other side, SHOC allows the portal to close. As the crowd cheers because they do not recognize Spider-Man in the Dusk costume. The wall-crawler tells SHOC to keep his true identity on the down-low since Spider-Man is not very popular right now. He then gives Mary Jane a signal so she knows who he is and that he made it home safe.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Mary Jane Watson, SHOC, Blastaar
Continuity Notes
Spider-Man has been framed for the murder of Joey-Z in Spider-Man #88. Spider-Man will eventually clear his name in Spider-Man #92.
SHOC thanks Spider-Man for is previous help against Crown. That was in Spider-Man #80
Spider-Man mentions how Blastaar usually clashes with his pal the Human Torch. Blastaar is traditionally a Fantastic Four villain who first fought the FF in Fantastic Four #62.
Although Blastaar seemingly perishes here, he turns up alive again in Warlock (Vol. 4) #3.
Although Spider-Man is tasked with finding the real Dusk, he never follows through with this quest which probably explains why the Negative Zone continues to be a fucking nightmare of endless war.
