Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 #173

Description

An explosive conclusion to the Molten Man saga! Barely recovered from his battle with Molten Man, Spider-Man must lunge into action to save Liz Allan. In a battle to the death, who will emerge victorious?

If You Can’t Stand The Heat…!

At the end of the previous issue, Spider-Man had just been belted up by the Molten Man, when he was confronted by two Police officers pointing guns at him. He’s about to simply shoot webbing at them then run away, but one of the cops panics and shoots his arm. Luckily, it only seems to be a flesh wound, so Spider-Man takes out the cops then runs away, although his arm is still hurting badly.

Meanwhile, at a pharmaceutical company nearby, the Molten Man breaks in by distracting the guards with a fire. He then finds a young woman, and tells her that she has to help him, or he’ll burn her. He then starts giving her instructions, whilst mentioning that his hands are too hot to handle the chemicals she’s using, which is why he needs her. After a while, the woman has finished making a serum, which she injects into the Molten Man. This turns the Molten Man into Mark Raxton, and he apologizes for threatening the woman whilst he was so desperate. However, as he leaves, his skin starts burning again, and he bursts into flames, the Molten Man worse than ever.

Some of Peter’s friends are later walking down the street, when a police car pulls up. The officers tell the group that they need Liz Allen, as the Molten Man has threatened to destroy the pharmaceutical labs he’s in if she doesn’t come along. Liz agrees, and goes off with the police officer.

After visiting Curt Connors and getting his gunshot wound looked after, Spider-Man heads home, where he changes to Peter Parker. However, a moment after he’s changed, he gets a call from Robbie Robertson, who tells him about the situation with Liz. Peter then heads to the pharmaceutical company, where he sees Liz heading into the building. Inside the building, the Molten Man tells Liz that it’s too late for him to do anything but die, and he just doesn’t want to die alone.

By now, Peter has changed to Spider-Man and snuck into the building, but is noticed by the Molten Man. The two of them start fighting, and as Spider-Man accidentally punches Molten Man into some oxygen tanks, they explode, setting the building on fire. The Molten Man then keeps attacking Spider-Man, not noticing that Liz Allen is in danger from the fire. Spider-Man gets her to street level as the building falls apart, but the Molten Man yells out at Spider-Man not to ruin his death. He says that last time they fought, when he fell into the river, he only survived thanks to pollutants in the water, which somehow temporarily got rid of his condition. The Molten Man then yells at Liz to come back, saying that his death won’t mean anything if she’s not there. He then explodes, seemingly dying, and out of guilt, Liz Allen runs away.