THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #164

"Deadline!"

• Writer: Len Wein
• Artist: Ross Andru
• Inker: Mike Esposito
• Print Date: Jan., 1977

Featuring:

Plot Summary:

Ok, the situation is this: After a bone-numbing battle, the web-slinger has become a helpless captive of the mountainous man-menace called the Kingpin. And, frankly, things are going to get worse. All along, the Kingpin needed to capture Spider-Man alive to implement his plan: to steal Spider-Man's life force so that his son, Richard Fisk, can live again. Richard was last seen in Spider-Man playing the role of the mysterious Schemer and trying to take down the Kingpin's organization. Since then, he went to work for Hydra and died battling one of the Red Skull's sleeper robots.

However, the Kingpin had him placed in cryogenic suspended animation, and now the time has come to revive him at the cost of Spider-Man's life. There's nothing Spider-Man can do to talk him out of it, and even the Kingpin's beloved Vanessa speaks out against this plan. The Kingpin ignores all arguments to the contrary, and finally, activates the vita-drain. Electrodes connected to Spider-Man's body siphon away his very life force sending those energies through the mechanism to the waiting body of Kingpin's comatose son. For several minutes, the young man absorbs the stamina and vitality, and then, his eyes finally open. Richard awakes confused and with no memory of his death. His mother ushers him out of the room before he discovers what his father has done. As for our hero, Spider-Man comes out of the vita-drain weak, powerless, and with only six hours left to live! Since he's no longer a threat, the Kingpin has a nearly dead Spider-Man tossed out on the street.

Near death, Peter makes it back to his apartment where he is met by Glory Grant. Since he is so obviously ill, Glory insists on putting him to bed and runs to find a doctor. Realizing that there is only one doctor in the world that can help him, Spider-Man makes his way to the apartment of Dr. Curtis Connors. The doctor tries a couple of different ideas to rejuvenate Spider-Man. First, he feeds him a high-protein drink. Next, Spider-Man enters an enervator the doctor designed to help with his regeneration experiments. The enervator helps a bit, but when Connors pushes it too far, it explodes shaking up the pair. Finally, Doctor Connors theorizes that with a taser-like device, Spider-Man may be able to reverse the vita-drain process and recover his stolen life-force. Armed with the device and with only two hours to live, Spider-Man heads out in the night.

Attempting to zero in on Richard Fisk with his spider-sense, Spider-Man tours the five boroughs. With only 30 minutes until his fateful deadline, Spider-Man finally gets a tingle in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. As the Kingpin and Richard Fisk argue about the nature and cost of Richard's resurrection, Spider-Man moves into place. With a well-aimed shot to the forehead, Spider-Man takes back his life and energy as Richard Fisk collapses to the docks. Enraged, the Kingpin decides to deal with Spider-Man personally, and begins tearing the scaffold that Spider-Man is perched on.

Realizing he can't avoid the Kingpin indefinitely, Spider-Man leaps down to meet him, and the battle is on. As Spider-Man gets a well placed punches in, Vanessa orders the Kingpin's thugs to open fire. Fleeing the machine-gun fire, Spider-Man heads out on to the docks with the Kingpin close behind. The Kingpin throws a huge hook on a cable mechanism, but Spider-Man easily dodges and retaliates by webbing the Kingpin foot to the platform. However, as Kingpin struggles to free himself, the hook mechanism swings back on the cable and knocks the Kingpin off the platform. The force of Kingpin's weight carries the entire platform into the river. For a time, the two figures are lost to sight, but eventually Spider-Man surfaces. The Kingpin was apparently buried under all the wreckage. A sorry tomb, if he was really dead.

As Spider-Man returns to shore, Vanessa orders the Kingpin's thugs to put away their weapons. Normally, she would order Spider-Man's death, but she is in his debt for rejuvenating her son.