This is a really cool arc. A new villain who has the power to “fuse” the abilities of known super-heroes (he’s named Fusion) debuts and tricks Spider-Man into failing to defuse a bomb that kills 300 people.
It turns out, though, that Fusion doesn’t actually have that ability. Rather, he can make people think that he has powers.
Spider-Man defeats him, of course, but not until after Fusion makes Spidey believe that his own neck is broken.
There’s a lot in this story. Peter is dealing with the fact that Mary Jane left him for being a superhero, and then he fails to save 300 people. He also believes that he, himself, is about to die. And the villain’s motive is that Spider-Man failed to save his son, many years earlier, and the boy died. And it’s not until Spider-Man realizes that it’s all an illusion that he is able to overcome Fusion’s power and save the day.
