When The Hammer Strikes is the second issue of Adventures of Spider-Man.
Plot[]
At his home, Spider-Man trains by using cardboard cutouts of some of his enemies. As Spider-Man jumps over one of the cutouts he accidentally slams into the kitchen sink and breaks it.
Meanwhile, at the Daily Bugle, Hammerhead enters Joseph Robertson's office and orders him to stop running anti-crime editorials in the Daily Bugle or else he will harm him. However, Robbie tells Hammerhead and his goons that he is not afraid of him. Hammerhead and his men then leave Robbie's office and on the way out they pass Peter Parker. As Peter walks up to Robbie's office he hears Robbie say that he is going to kill the anti-crime story. Peter enters the office and asks Robbie why he is going to kill the story because he has never done that before. Robbie tells Peter that he is being threatened by a gangster named Hammerhead who is the leader of the biggest and most feared crime syndicate in New York City. Robbie also tells Peter that he has to cancel the editorial because he can't risk anyone at the Daily Bugle getting hurt. However, Peter tells Robbie that he has to run the story because the Daily Bugle has a responsibility to inform the citizens of New York. After hearing what Peter has to say Robbie decides to print the editorial anyways.
The next morning Peter is working on the kitchen sink and says to himself that Robbie did the right thing and that his editorial will make Hammerhead and his gang run out of town. However, Peter gets a phone call saying that Robbie had been beaten and was now in the hospital. Peter blames himself for what happened because he was the one that told Robbie to run the article in the Daily Bugle.
Meanwhile at the Lindsay Convention Center, which is hosting the Green's Comicon, a man named Nathan tells Hammerhead that he can no longer afford his janitorial services because of how much he raised the price. However, Hammerhead shouts st Nathan and tells him that he will continue to pay his prices or else he will kill him. Hammerhead then tells his men that no one will be stupid enough to challenge him and that soon he will have the entire city under his control.
Sometime later Peter and J. Jonah Jameson visit Robbie at Mercy Memorial Hospital. Jameson scolds Robbie and asks why he would do something so stupid. Robbie answers that he talked to Peter and realized that Hammerhead and his gang have to be brought to justice. As Peter and Jameson leave Robbie's room Jameson realizes that Peter convinced Robbie to run the editorial, and it was his fault Robbie ended up in the hospital. Peter realizes that he can't change what happened to Robbie but as Spider-Man he might be able to finish what Robbie started.
Peter had read in the editorial that Hammerhead was running his organization out of the Lindsay Convention Center and goes there as Spider-Man. However, Hammerhead and his men quickly spot Spider-Man and attack him.
At that moment Jameson arrives at the Lindsay Convention Center to take on the gangsters himself. However, Jameson is spotted by Hammerhead and he has his men beat on him. Spider-Man arrives and defeats the thugs. However, Spider-Man notices that Jameson is barley breathing and that he needs to take him to the hospital. As Spider-Man picks up Jameson he notices Hammerhead driving a car headed straight for them. Spider-Man, with Jameson in his arms, leaps over Hammerhead's car. Spider-Man then puts Jameson down. As Hammerhead drives toward Spider-Man he leans out of the window and uses a Tommy Gun to shoot at Spider-Man. Spider-Man then jumps up and kicks the car with his spider strength which causes the car to change direction. Hammerhead then speeds off.
Sometime later Peter visits Robbie at the hospital. There Robbie informs Peter that the editorial was enough to run Hammerhead out of town putting an end to his criminal enterprise. However, Jameson, who is lying in the bed next to Robbie's, says that if Spider-Ma hadn't got involved he would be in the hospital.
Later on Peter has a plumber come to his house to fix the sink. However, Aunt May walks into the house and finds her kitchen floor covered with water. Peter tells May that he will clean up the mess. Peter, breaking the fourth wall, then turns to the reader and winks while he tells May that while he cleans she can lecture him on responsibility.
Characters[]
- Spider-Man / Peter Parker
- Hammerhead
- Joseph Robertson
- J. Jonah Jameson
- Nathan
- May Parker
- The Avengers (Mentioned only)
- Hulk (Mentioned only)
- Ed
Locations[]
- Mercy Memorial Hospital
Items[]
- Web-Shooters
- Lizard (Cardboard cutout)
- Kingpin (Cardboard cutout)
- Rhino (Cardboard cutout)
- Doctor Octopus (Cardboard cutout)
- Venom (Cardboard cutout)
- Kraven the Hunter (Cardboard cutout)
Trivia[]
- After fixing the faucet, Peter Parker says "I'm no Tim Allen, but fixing that faucet was child's play." This is a reference to Tim Allen's role as Tim "The Toolman" Taylor in the ABC sitcom, Home Improvement.
- In Home Improvement, Tim Taylor was actually terrible at fixing things and was often accident prone.
- When Peter sees Hammerhead and his men walking out of Robbie's office he thinks to himself that "They look like extras straight out of an old Edward G. Robinson movie." Edward G. Robinson was a Romanian-American actor during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Edward G. Robinson is best remembered for his tough-guy and gangster roles in such films as Little Caesar and Key Largo.
- When Spider-Man goes to the Green's Comicon a child asks if Spider-Man will sign his Adventures of Spider-Man comic book. This means that within Earth-TRN566 there exists a comic book series similar to the one in Earth-1218. However, the plots of the stories would have to be radically different since no one in Earth-TRN566 knowns that Spider-Man is really Peter Parker.
- Hammerhead states that his head is reinforced with steel. In Spider-Man: The Animated Series, Hammerhead states that his head is reinforced with adamantium.
- Spider-Man mentions a blunderbuss which was a type of gun used in the 1700s.
- While firing a Tommy Gun at Spider-Man, Hammerhead says that the bullets will shoot through Spider-Man like a howitzer. A howitzer is a type of cannon used by the military.