GENERATION X SPIDER-MAN (Issue #29)

COLD HEARTED

DECEMBER 1991

     Just as quickly as Spider-Man had entered the tall building on the east side of Philadelphia, he was forced out of it. Crash! The Beetle flew right into the hero and the collision sent the pair of super powered combatants right through the large floor to ceiling window. His micro powered, mylar wings fluttered repeatedly, allowing the villain to fly through the air. Spider-Man wrapped his armored foe in a headlock, trying desperately to gain the advantage. With the dark skyline of the city as the backdrop for their fight, the two enemies continued to clash in midair. The Beetle grabbed Spider-Man by the throat and continued to fly away from the building. Mary Jane peered out the smashed window, hoping that Peter was going to be alright. Once her costumed savior was out of sight, she ran as fast as she possibly could down a long stairwell. Eventually, she exited the building and looked for a payphone.

"How the hell did you find us?" the Beetle asked his masked enemy.

"Well, that's a long story." Spider-Man groaned. "I'll tell you when you're behind bars."

"That's never gonna happen," he cried.

Suddenly, the Beetle halted his own progress and the two separated, with the costumed hero flying down through the air towards the pavement below. After a quick double dap on the palm switch of his wrist gauntlet, the teenage superhero fired a webbing cable to the side of a nearby building. Then, he used it to swing to the safety of an adjacent rooftop.

"Whoa, that was a close call." the teenager muttered.

Realizing that another clash with the amazing wall crawler was dangerous, the Beetle decided to make a tactical retreat. The villain, clad in his purple and green armor, quickly flew through the air in the opposite direction. However, Spider-Man wasn't about to let him get away that easily. An acrobatic leap landed the hero onto the side of the towering BNY Mellon Center. He used it as a springboard and then leapt onto the side of another building, ricocheting through the cold night sky. Once he reached the apex of his leap, the vigilante fired a pair of webbing cables that wrapped around the ankles of the Beetle.

"What the hell is this?" the surprised criminal asked, looking down and seeing Spider-Man.

"This is called not giving up," Spider-Man replied. "You're going down, creep."

Propelled by his micro powered wings, the Beetle soared through the skyline of Philadelphia with the Amazing Spider-Man in tow. He dragged the costumed hero through the labyrinth of buildings that dotted the landscape of this historic city on a chilly December night. This was quite an incredible sight to behold. Spider-Man was clad in his skin tight, red and blue costume. It covered his entire body, with a pair of almond shaped polarized lenses for eyes. Meanwhile, the Beetle's titanium alloy battle armor was an impressive vision of power. It also covered his entire body and included a pair of yellow lenses on the helmet portion. Despite the villain's efforts, he wasn't able to remove the adhesive webbing from around his ankles. He reached down and tried to tear it off, but it was useless. Its tensile strength was absolutely incredible and wouldn't come off. As powerful as the Beetle's micro powered mylar wings were, they weren't designed to carry two people. They fluttered wildly, but soon the pair began to descend down towards the pavement below. Only a well timed swerve allowed the Beetle to narrowly avoid crashing into the side of a nearby skyscraper. Spider-Man continued to hold onto the webbing cables that were attached to the ankles of his enemy, while being dragged along the shiny exterior of the giant tower of steel and glass. The soles of his feet slid across the building and the young hero ran along the circumference of the structure as fast as he could, building up speed. Finally, he jumped through the air and landed on the back of the Beetle. Spider-Man released his webbing cables and used his arms to reign down a series of brutal punches to the back of his enemies head. His attack continued when he ripped the antennas off of the helmet of this armored villain. In an effort to get the wall crawler off his back, the Beetle smashed his opponent in the face with an elbow.