Issue(s): Web of Spider-Man #107, Web of Spider-Man #108
Cover Date: Dec 93 - Jan 94
Title: "The coming storm / Tainted" / "The eye of the storm / Tainted pt 2"
Credits:
Terry Kavanagh / Carl Potts - Writer
Alex Saviuk / Bill Wylie / Jesse Orozco - Penciler
Stephen Baskerville / Fred Frederick / Tim Tuohy - Inker
Eric Fein - Editor

Review/plot:
Terry Kavanagh, Alex Saviuk, & Stephen Baskerville do the main story in both issues. The other credits are for a Cardiac back-up.

We've seen Betty Brant and Joe Robertson investigating something in recent issues, and it turns out to be the fact that Dr. Marla Madison (J. Jonah Jameson's wife) is involved in weapons testing at Empire State University. JJ fires Betty over it, but it is basically true. They are developing weapons from bio-samples from two sand-based super-characters, Sandman and Quicksand. Madison was actually against doing the final testing in the city, but another scientist jumps the gun.

A third scientist gets caught in the explosion and becomes Sandstorm (no, it's not the Corruptor. or Drizzt Do'Urden.).

The incident also attracts the attention of Sandman and Quicksand.

Sandman wants to help guide Sandstorm. Quicksand wants to corrupt him. She seems to have the edge.

But Spidey is able to knock Sandstorm out by reversing the polarity of the experiment or something, and Sandman opts to stay with him, so that he can continue to try to guide him when he wakes up. Quicksand gets away. Sandstorm won't be seen again.

JJ tries to pull Marla out of the chaos, but they wind up about to fall off a building. They're rescued by Betty and Robbie. So JJ offers Betty her job back. The police tell Marla that they'll want to question her some more after she's brought to the hospital, but i don't think anything comes of that.

In the back-up, Cardiac fights Scorpion.

Cardiac is trying to prevent defective medicine from being shipped to countries with laxer regulations. Scorpion is working for the corrupt company, Tamco, that is trying to export them. Cardiac defeats the Scorpion, kills the company's chairman, and then buys the company. Making a habit of that is a good way to get the authorities suspicious.

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: Spider-Man apologizes to Mary Jane for not being around during Infinity Crusade (in the last few issues). Spidey was appearing in like a hundred books at this time and the idea that he's appeared nowhere else since last issue isn't really plausible, so i assume it's just nervous rambling from Peter (he thinks MJ is mad at him, but she's not). At the end of the main story in issue #108, MJ hears a voicemail from Nick Katzenberg. That's setting up the meeting at the hospital in Amazing Spider-Man #385, so this takes place before that.

The last we see of Scorpion, he's falling down an elevator shaft (i.e. not captured or demonstrably injured).

References: N/A

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

I really like the color contrast between Cardiac and Scorpion.