Issue(s): Spectacular Spider-Man annual #12
Cover Date: 1992
Title: "Down and downer / Sons of the tiger / The hunt begins"
Credits:
David Michelinie / Glenn Herdling / Eric Fein - Writer
Scott McDaniel / Todd Smith / Vince Evans - Penciler
Keith Williams / Don Hudson - Inker
Eric Fein - Assistant Editor
Danny Fingeroth - Editor

Review/plot:
Spider-Man and two of the New Warriors were in the middle of fighting some enhanced Dreadnoughts.

Despite making the mistake of hitting Namorita with water, the Dreadnoughts 2000 seem undefeatable.

They seem to just have every weapon imaginable.

The heroes do get some back-up from the rest of the New Warriors.

But the Dreadnoughts are ultimately stopped when Spider-Man realizes that someone is controlling them remotely - Spider-Man thinks it's AIM - and he stops them.

The "Target" company does seem to really be an AIM facility, but Spider-Man decides that whoever is behind the attacks is "even bigger than AIM".

Note also that "heroes have been vanishing left and right". I guess Auric was on the left and Silver was on the right.

In the administration building, Spider-Man and the Warriors learn that the wave cannon that was being tested in the first chapter was built by Target/AIM for a private installation in upstate New York. So that's where they head next. Meanwhile, Justin Hammer offers to take care of the meddling heroes for the consortium.

At the upstate facility, Spidey and the Warriors fight their way through a bunch of automated defenses and then eventually the "powerful individuals" that Hammer mentioned; a veritable horde of super-villains.

Granted the likes of Discus, Stiletto, and Bombshell are among them, but this is way too many villains for Spider-Man and a bunch of teen super-heroes to handle, and it's at this point that i feel like this story goes off the rails. But more on that next issue. I guess this story actually grinds down in this issue, which features 10 pages of the heroes fighting automated defenses and exploring corridors.

The Venom origin continues in this issue, and there's also a feature showing Spidey's 10 Most Embarrassing Moments, which totally misses the important stuff like having to team up with the Human Fly and NFL Superpro and having to fight Big Wheel.

There is also a back-up by Glenn Herdling/Todd Smith/Don Hudson featuring Prowler, aka Hobie Brown and his brother Abe, the former Son of the Tiger. The two siblings hear a story from a homeless veteran about how he was with their father, whose nickname in Vietnam was the Tiger, when he was killed. The homeless guy chased after a sniper that wounded their father, and when he returned, their father was dead. Abe freaks out and tries to kill the homeless guy, but Hobie pulls him off.

WTF, Abe?!

The brothers were actually supposed to be investigating reports of the homeless disappearing, but the fight between them causes them to slip up. They wind up back together again anyway, facing guys in jackets that will make you excited if one of your first comics was Marvel Team-Up #144, and probably no one else.

Yes, the villain of this story is the White Dragon! The story parallels what the vet told them about their father. Abe is hit with a knife, and Prowler chases after the guy who threw it, and that's when White Dragon comes out.

The difference is that the homeless vet is there to save Abe.

The vet only had one bullet in his gun, but Prowler returns in time after that, and then some local protesters show up and drive the Dragon off.

Note that the White Dragon says that "this is far from over" and there's a blurb advertising a Prowler limited series. There is eventually a Prowler limited series, but it doesn't come out until the end of 1994, is by a different creative team, and doesn't feature the White Dragon.

The continuation of the Cloak and Dagger story has the Lightmaster engaging in some good old fashioned Golden Age style bondage with Dagger.

Meanwhile, Cloak goes to Genetech and gets a gun that is supposed to stop Lightmaster.