Amazing Spider-Man #269

Issue Details

Synopsis

BURN, SPIDER, BURN! Firelord, former herald of Galactus, is flying across the universe. After destroying a meteor swarm. After, he notices that he is near the planet Earth and decides that it would be an ideal place to rest before going off to his next destination.  Meanwhile, in Forest Hills, Peter Parker is visiting his Aunt May at her boarding house. There, the Lund sisters fuss over Peter, much of to the disapproval of Nathan Lubenski who has taken a disliking to how Peter treats his Aunt. Peter manages to find a means of getting away from the Lund sisters by having Arthur Chekov take his seat while he deals with the dishes. While he does so, Nathan turns on the television. They catch an anti-mutant editorial featuring the X-Men, as well as the singer known as Dazzler who recently outed herself as a mutant. Neither Nathan or Arthur think the editorial will cause nothing but trouble. In the kitchen, Peter is spending time with his Aunt May. Peter feels bad for not visiting as often as he should, especially since he has a fair deal of spare time. May suggests that Peter should go back to grad school, reminding him how devoted he was to science as a teenager. Peter misses studying science but isn't ready to go back just yet. Suddenly, he gets a jolt from his spider-sense warning him of danger, leaving Peter to wonder if the Beyonder has returned again.   What Peter is detecting is the arrival of Firelord, who has arrived in the city and desires to try some Earth food. He stops at Tony's Pizzarea, mashing in through the front door. There Firelord demands to be fed. The television is on in the pizzeria, and one of the patrons was watching the anti-mutant editorial on the news. When he notices Firelord, the man assumes that he is a mutant. Meanwhile, Firelord demands that the owner of the pizzeria make him a pizza. However, the owner tells him that they are serving breakfast food and the pizza ovens haven't been fired up yet. Firelord decides to remedy the situation by shooting fire from his eyes, melting the ovens into molten slag. Meanwhile, the man who thinks Firelord is a mutant sneaks out of Tony's and rushes to the construction site where he works. He rouses his co-workers about the "mutant menace" in the pizzeria. Grabbing tools as weapons the construction workers head back to the pizzeria.   At that moment back in Queens, Peter Parker is saying his goodbyes to Aunt May and her tenants. Nathan Lubenski is off to get the morning paper and takes the opportunity to speak to Peter in private. Nathan tells Peter that he doesn't like how the youth comes and goes out of his Aunt May's life and his continued refusal to return to school before departing and leaving Peter to think things over at a bus stop. As the two men part company, they are unaware that someone is watching them from the shadows. With the bus not coming for another 45 minutes, Peter climbs up into a nearby tree to change into his Spider-Man costume. At first, he thinks he is wearing his red and blue costume, but soon discovers he is wearing his black and white one instead. He remarks how having two distinct costumes will take some time to adjust to and hopes that he won't accidentally mix and match between the two. As Spider-Man swings through the city, his thoughts turn to the Beyonder, the god-like being who recently came to Earth. The wall-crawler wonders what Beyond might want on Earth and fears for the safety of the planet. Suddenly, his spider-sense kicks in, and Spider-Man decides to check it out.   Not far away, the construction workers outside of Tony's Pizza have attached a hose to a nearby fire hydrant and use it to try and put out Firelord's flame. This has no effect on the cosmic-powered being from space and he sends the construction workers flying with a single blow. Spider-Man swings in to save the construction workers from Firelord's wrath. The former herald of Galactus is furious at being physically assaulted. However, despite his superior power, Spider-Man is able to wrest Firelord's staff from his hands. Unfortunately, Spider-Man doesn't realize that Firelord merely channels his power through he staff. He learns the hard way when Firelord fires a massive burst of flame at Spider-Man. The hero leaps away from the condemned building mere seconds before Firelord's blast levels the building. Realizing that he is facing a former herald of Galactus, Spider-Man is horrified by how outmatched he is and tries to flee deeper into the city to get help.   In order to get ahead of the alien, Spider-Man tosses Firelord's staff into the Hudson River. While Firelord is recovering his weapon while the wall-crawler heads towards the Fantastic Four's headquarters. However, when he arrives on the scene, he discovers -- to his horror -- that the entire Baxter Building is missing. He suddenly remembers hearing that the Baxter Building was recently destroyed and wonders how he will be able to get ahold of the Fantastic Four. Spider-Man begins to panic over what to do next and decides to change into his civilian identity and lay low. When getting changed, Peter drops his wallet on the ground. Picking it up it flips open to a photo of himself with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben. He is reminded once again how his inaction when he first became Spider-Man led to Uncle Ben's death and vows not to let something like that again. He changes back into Spider-Man to try and stop Firelord even if it kills him. Spider-Man then swings back out into the open, hunting for Firelord, promising to put up one heck of a fight against the villain.