Title: Web Of Spider-Man
Issue Number: 43
Release Date: October 1988
Highlights
- Death of the Cult of Love members, Teacher, and Brother Bruce
- Last appearance of Reverend Tolliver, and Tracy Cushing
- Flash, with the help of Reverend Tolliver, have kidnapped Betty Leeds from the Students of Love's compound, and with Peter now there too, she's begging him for help
- Though Peter initially protests the kidnapping, he agrees with Reverend Tolliver that it's for a good purpose - to deprogram the brainwashing the cult has instilled in Betty's mind
- Teacher hands Brother Guy a list of Betty's friends, which she created when she joined the cult, tricked into believing it was an emergency contact list
- He also tells Guy to check on Brother Bruce, who may be in a fragile state after the kidnapping
- He's down in the basement working on more arson materials
- Aunt May goes to visit Peter and Mary Jane, but as Mary Jane showers, she finds the envelope of sultry photos taken for the lingerie shoot, causing her to faint
- As they make progress on breaking the hold on Betty's mind, members of the Students of Love burst into Flash's apartment from the door and windows
- Reverend Tolliver is ushered through the battle to the hallway by Peter, who tells him to get help
- He leaves a message for Ben Urich
- The cult take Peter, and Flash hostage, while also bringing Betty back to the compound
- Down in the basement, Brother Bruce leaves his new flame thrower, only for it to light a pile of clothing on fire
- Back at the apartment, Mary Jane burns the photos and negatives after May tells her that if she causes her nephew any embarrassment that she'll deck her
- Ben calls Kate with the location of the cult's compound, and she asks him to pick her up
- Brother Bruce is scolded for his violent tendencies, demanding that the hostages be killed, but Teacher tells him to go meditate\
- Instead, he finds a gun in Teacher's desk, and decides to handle things himself
- With the house now on fire, and Betty, Peter and Flash all tied to chairs, sequestered in the same room, Peter decides it's now or never, and breaks his binds
- When Flash asks how he did that, he replies, "spider strength", but Flash doesn't believe him, so he replies, "adrenalin, frayed ropes, loose knots, gamma rays, take your pick"
- Bruce tries to shoot them, but Peter disarms him, and tells him he better get out of there while he's letting him
- With Flash and Betty unconscious from the smoke, and a quick change to Spider-Man, our hero attempts to get them out of the building
- He's stopped by Teacher, who also now has a gun
- Teacher shoots at Spider-Man, but he dodges, and the bullet hits Bruce
- Spider-Man says he'll web up his wound, but Teacher tells him to instead get Betty and Flash out, and that he'll help Bruce
- Teacher instead walks away from Bruce, but as he does, Bruce grabs him by the leg pleading for help
- The delay causes the burning ceiling to collapse on both of them
- They don't make it out of the fire
- Kate and Ben arrive, and Betty points Kate to Tracy
- It's not Kate's Sister, and distraught, she tells Peter, exclaiming, "Not everyone gets a happy ending"
- It's kind of like the Mad Dog Ward story arc, wherein it's long, drawn out, and not that interesting
Oddities
- Editor's Day Off: In issue 40 of Web Of Spider-Man, Kate Cushing refers to her sister as "Tracy", but in issue 42, says her name is "Tracey"
- Now in issue 43, we're back to "Tracy"
Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)
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