Appearing in "Trail's End"

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Synopsis for "Trail's End"

This story continues from The Spectacular Spider-Man #211...

A prison truck is transporting convicted criminals to Rykers Island. On the way, the driver listens to a radio report of Spider-Man's current campaign against the underworld.[Continuity 1] Unfortunately, the other guards don't know that the driver is actually the Chameleon in disguise. Spotting Spider-Man swinging by overhead, the Chameleon helps the prisoners hijack the bus. As the prisoners exit the bus and begin terrorizing people on the street, Spider-Man is drawn down to the streets below. There, he suspects that something is not right and enters the bus. Sure enough, his hunch is correct as he catches the Chameleon, forcing the spy to drop his disguise. The Chameleon demands to know why Spider-Man is inside the bus instead of out helping the people in the street.

Getting himself under control, Spider-Man leaps back out to stop the escaped criminals before someone gets hurt. While Spider-Man is busy, the Chameleon flees the scene, upset with himself for being so easily frightened by the wall-crawler. As the Chameleon escapes via a jetpack, the web-slinger takes down all the convicts except for one. The last of them gets a drop on Spider-Man and threatens to shoot him point-blank with a shotgun. Spider-Man calls his bluff, and the crook quickly folds. By this time, the Chameleon has returned to Kraven the Hunter's mansion. Assuming the form of his fallen friend, the Chameleon vows that his final battle with Spider-Man will happen here.[Continuity 2] He starts his endgame by activating a spider-tracer that he has in his possession. Spider-Man finds it in the prison bus with a note asking Spider-Man if he can handle the chase that is about to begin. He begins to pick up another signal, where a rooftop fire suddenly starts. Spider-Man puts out the blaze and realizes that the Chameleon is setting up these threats so he cannot ignore his summons. While at his hideout, the Chameleon begins to gloat over how easy it is to manipulate Spider-Man and begins preparing for his eventual arrival.

Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., Ashley Kafka confronts Mister Reynard and Warrant, telling them that she refuses to return to New York until she sees them censured by the Justice Department for their handling of the Lizard's capture.[Continuity 3] However, Reynard is looking to get Kafka persecuted for interfering in their operation. He also argues that the Lizard might not be dead as they have yet to find the body.[Continuity 4] This is all in front of the Deputy Attorney-General of the United States. He decides to try and find a compromise between both parties. However, Warrant and Reynard decide to quit and become freelance bounty hunters instead in order to create plausible deniability for the government. To appease Kafka, the Deputy Attorney-General agrees to help open a new Ravencroft Institute after Carnage wrecked the facility during his last escape.[Continuity 5] However, Raynard creates more problems for Kafka, by making his last official business as a federal agent to have a number of criminals from the Vault transferred to her facility immediately, despite the fact that Kafka is unprepared for their arrival. Kafka is upset because Raynard is setting her up to fail for the benefit of his new bounty hunting enterprise. Later, in Reynard's office, both he and Warrant celebrate their newest venture, Warrant, Inc. While across the town, Ashley Kafka tells the news to John Jameson, who has just agreed to sign on as her head of security.

Back in New York City, Spider-Man saves innocent people from being crushed when one of the Chameleon's bombs knocks down the communication tower atop the Empire State Building. as the web-slinger webs up the antenna, he notices part of Kraven the Hunter's costume attached to it. This makes him realize where the Chameleon is hiding out, the last place the wall-crawler ever wanted to return. While at Kraven's mansion, the Chameleon waits for Spider-Man's eventual arrival, knowing that nothing can stop what he has set in motion. Shortly thereafter, Mary Jane waits for her husband to return home.[Continuity 6] She sees Spider-Man past and realizes her husband wasn't coming home. She wonders who she can call and decides to call Peter's Aunt May. However, the elderly woman is deeply asleep as Mary Jane tries to call, and so she doesn't answer. Later, Spider-Man arrives outside Kraven's mansion. There he finds that someone had dug up the mock Spider-Man grave that has has been set there and placed an open coffin in the open grave.

... This story continues in Amazing Spider-Man #389.


Continuity Notes

  1. Spider-Man has been trying to hunt down the Chameleon since he discovered that the spy was responsible for creating artificial beings that posed as his parents. This couple first surfaced claiming to be Peter Parker's parents in Amazing Spider-Man #365. The ruse was exposed in Amazing Spider-Man #388. The real Richard and Mary Parker died two decades prior to this story as explained in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5.
  2. The Chameleon blames Spider-Man for the death of Kraven, who took his own life during the Kraven's Last Hunt event.
    Kraven's Last Hunt

    The Chameleon began plotting his revenge back in Amazing Spider-Man #375.

  3. Warrant went after the Lizard in web of Spider-Man #110-111.
  4. The Lizard seemingly perished in Web of Spider-Man #110, however he will turn up alive and well in Sensational Spider-Man #7.
  5. Carnage escaped from Kafka's custody in Spider-Man Unlimited #1 during the Maximum Carnage event.
    Maximum Carnage


See Also


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