The Amazing Spider-Man #342

POWERLESS PART 2 - THE JONAH TRADE

Peter Parker returns home angry that he couldn't do more. His wife Mary Jane tells him not to be so hard on himself because he's not Spider-Man anymore.   He is referring to when they were out on the town and they came upon a couple being mugged in an alley. Peter wanted to leap in and help, but Mary Jane reminded him that he doesn't have his spider-powers anymore. Peter grabs a piece of wood to use as a defensive weapon, but she insists that he could get hurt. Instead of coming in to help, Peter throws the piece of wood into a store window setting off the alarm and scaring off the crooks. Mary Jane tells him that he did the best he could given the circumstances, but still, Peter feels useless. When he tells Mary Jane that he's going up to the roof to get some air, she worries that he is taking the death of Aunt May's fiancée Nathan Lubenski.  Meanwhile, at Doctor Turner's office, the doctor has outfitted the Scorpion with a new tail based on the original designs of the one that was recently taken from him by the Rhino.  After the villain tests out his weapon to make sure it's working, he is ordered to use it to destroy Spider-Man. After the Scorpion leaves, Doctor Turner goes to his staff and tells them it is time for them to leave. While on the roof of his Soho apartment, Peter Parker is approached by the Black Cat who is concerned about how Spider-Man needed help during his recent battle with the Tarantula. When Felicia presses him for answers, Peter admits that he got rid of his powers. Peter then tells her that she can end her revenge scheme against him by breaking Flash Thompson's heart.  Felicia tells Peter that her relationship with Flash Thompson is none of his business. She tells him that she realizes that she has feelings for Flash and she isn't sure hurting Peter is worth hurting Peter. As they are discussing this, Mary Jane arrives on the roof with hot cocoa for herself and Peter. Seeing Peter talking to Felicia, hurts her and she goes down without another word.  Meanwhile, at Blessing Hospital, Doctor Elias Wirtham are examining a young woman with a heart problem. When her heart monitor starts giving the alarm, Wirthham sends the nurse to get a crash cart. However, she won't come back in time to save this young woman's life. Left alone, Wirthham realizes that he is going to have to act. He holds his hand over the woman's chest and it begins to glow. When the nurse and other doctors arrive, she is back to normal. Her survival is considered a miracle. The next day at Empire State University, Peter is working on a way to commercialize his spider-tracers to make some extra money. His work is interrupted by a phone call from Aunt May who invites him out to lunch. There, she tells him how her new mailman, Willie Lumpkin, has invited her out to see a band concert in the park. She tells Peter that he is a nice man and wonders if it's too soon after Nathan's death to start seeing someone. Hearing this, Peter tells her that she can't go on mourning Nathan's death forever and she should go for it. Later Peter goes to the offices of J. Jonah Jameson's News Digest for an assignment.  He realizes that he won't be able to get sensational photos without his spider-powers, but is glad that he doesn't have to deal with super-villains anymore. Just as he is thinking this, the Scorpion comes crashing into the office to kill J. Jonah Jameson once and for all.  As he walks out of the office with Jameson as a prisoner, he tells the publisher that he would consider sparing his life if Spider-Man takes his place.  As the Scorpion gets away, Peter tries to call the Avengers and the Fantastic Four, but neither team is home.  With no other choice, Peter calls Flash Thompson to ask if Felicia is around. While the Scorpion makes his demands to the police, Peter waits for Felicia to arrive with his Spider-Man costume. When Spider-Man and the Black Cat arrive on the scene, the Scorpion lets slip that he was hired by Doctor Turner, which comes as a surprise to Spider-Man. While the Black Cat tangles with the Scorpion, Spider-Man makes sure that Jonah is safe. As usual, Jameson figures that Spider-Man is in league with the Scorpion. Spider-Man doesn't have time for Jameson's recriminations and tells him to get to safety. When the Scorpion ambushes the wall-crawler, he just barely manages to grab onto the edge of the roof before he falls off. However, as the Black Cat continues to battle the Scorpion, Spider-Man loses his grip. Quick thinking, he fires a web line and swings into a nearby skylight. Spider-Man rushes up the stairs and tries to snare the Scorpion in a web ball, but the villain easily breaks free. The Black Cat leaps in to get Spider-Man out of harm's way.  However, Spider-Man can't just stand back and do nothing and leaps at his foe. The web-slinger is easily whipped away. Angered that Spider-Man was hurt, the Black Cat uses her claws to slash open the Scorpion's power pack and pushes him into a nearby rooftop swimming pool. This shorts out the Scorpion's tail. Without his primary weapon, the Scorpion leaps onto a passing helicopter to get away, but not before Spider-Man tags him with a modified spider-tracer. The pair rush to Doctor Turner's office and discover that it is totally deserted. Searching for clues, Spider-Man finds a laurel wreath in a trashcan and has a pretty good idea of who Doctor Turner really is.