This is part 1 on "Revenge of the Sinister Six", following up on "Return of the Sinister Six" which ran in Amazing Spider-Man a year or two earlier. But before Larsen gets to that, he's got several pages of Spider-Man and Ghost Rider fighting a very confused cyborg.
The splash page is pretty indicative of the fight. Ghost Rider won't shut up about vengeance. Spidey won't shut up, period (his mouth is running at a rate I'd associate with Deadpool these days). The cyborg doesn't even seem to know what going on, constantly calling out to people named "Martin" or "Dominic". The battle moves to the skies, then eventually crashes through a water tower. The cyborg goes spiraling out of control and slams into what I assume was a condemned building, since neither of our heroes bother to go looking for any casualties. Ghost Rider is satisfied vengeance has been served, while Spider-Man worries they helped put an 'unintelligible, innocent man, caught in a machine. . . to his death.'
But he'll still give Ghost Rider a lift back to his bike. I thought Rider could call that thing mentally. And the cyborg's not dead anyway, as we see him pick his way out of the rubble as they leave. Elsewhere, Sandman is checking in on the family he used to board with when he was trying to keep a low profile. Doc Ock got him to join the Sinister Six last time by threatening him, and since Sandman turned against him, he worries about retribution.
Good call, because the house explodes right in front of him. Sandman finds at least one injured person in the rubble and and swears he won't quit until Ock is dead. He's even willing to team up with the rest of the Six as part of their scheme for revenge on Ock for suckering them last go-round. As for the villain in question, he's in the middle of reacquainting himself with a set of Adamantium tentacles he had made back in Daredevil #165 (thanks, editor's notes!) They were acquired by an extremely withered looking old man I don't recognize, with a lot of weapons and killer robots. Is it supposed to be the Tinkerer? He wants his money, Ock says he'll have it soon, which is no good. Cash on the barrelhead or GTFO, Octavius.
Yeah, I'm sure he's fine. Ock crows about how powerful he feels while his arms trash the robots, but afterward, he knows he needs more for his big plans. Keep in mind, in "Return of the Sinister Six", Ock's plan was to release a substance into the atmosphere that meant anyone who used cocaine would have horrible seizures, while he held the only antidote. (Turned out the substance he released also ate away the ozone layer). One shudders to think what his big plan is this time. So he helps himself to all the guns and sets out to acquire more.
Sandman's not a complete moron. He doesn't trust the villains who were all too eager to destroy him on Ock's orders last time, so he waits for Spider-Man at the Daily Bugle to ask for help. Spidey agrees, and so he's looking on from the rafters as Sandman, Electro, Mysterio, Hobgoblin and the Vulture confront Ock. Who has been expecting them. Electro declares it's all over, and Otto offers the standard, 'That's what I was going to say to you!' comeback. Right as Spider-Man notes they're laying it on pretty thick, he senses someone big lurking outside.
Before this story is over, Spider-Man will get a metal arm, team-up with 10 other heroes, get the shit kicked out of him at least twice, and the Sinister Six will kill over 100,000 people. But they were aliens in another dimension so it's fine.
There's also a subplot about Mary Jane being offered a role in an "Arnold Schwarzenheimer" movie, but she'd have to do a nude scene. Peter's not real excited about other guys seeing her naked, and he's worried it'll give Aunt May a heart attack. Considering Larsen draws Aunt May so wrinkled and withered she looks like she'll blow away with a sneeze, I'm not sure that's much of an argument. The color patterns Wright uses on MJ's aerobics leotard can probably give Aunt May a heart attack.
[8th longbox, 24th comic. Spider-Man #18, by Erik Larsen (writer/artist), Gregory Wright (colorist), Rick Parker (letterer)]
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