The most recent issue of the Amazing Spider-Man saw a noxious villain reach out to Spidey’s lab partner for forced assistance.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Amazing Spider-Man #67 by Nick Spencer, Marcello Ferreira, Carlos Gómez, Wayne Faucher, Morry Hollowell & VC’s Joe Caramagna, on sale now.
Spider-Man has made easy work of the villain Chance on various occasions. The pair first faced off in David Michelinie, Mike Harris and Kyle Baker’s Web of Spider-Man #15. This story saw Chance make a bet with the Foreigner that he could kill Spider-Man within 24 hours. Of course Chance failed, but this would not stop him from being goaded by the Foreigner once again into a similar bet in Amazing Spider-Man #39 by Spencer and Iban Coello. Now, Chance has found an opportunity to greatly increase revenue at his casino and he needs the help of Peter Parker’s lab partner Jamie to obtain what he desires.
Chance first encountered Jamie aboard his casino in the sky. This casino was host to a plethora of villains who would make bets on fights throughout the Marvel Universe. Jamie, with the help of Peter Parker, had recently developed a device that could predict the future. He used this device dubbed the Clairvoyant to accurately predict 8 consecutive victors. Unfortunately for Jamie, he had used up the majority of the Clairvoyant’s power source and the predictions began to prove false. Jamie fled from the casino after building up a hefty debt. Amazing Spider-Man #67 saw Chance coming to collect on that debt.
Jamie continued to work on the Clairvoyant but became frustrated that Peter would not tell him where the power source for the device came from. This caused Jamie to leave the room and return home to his little sister and sick mother. While taking the trash out, Jamie is accosted by Chance who had come to retrieve the money owed to him. When Jamie told Chance that he had no money, Chance assured Jamie that he had another plan in place.
Chance wanted Jamie to build a giant version of the Clairvoyant for his casino. Chance upped the stakes by stating that if Jamie could not or would not build a Clairvoyant for him, then he would kill Jamie’s family. Jamie became anxious as he did not have a power source for his own Clairvoyant, let alone one that could work accurately enough to keep Chance pleased. Jamie then realized that the Catalyst could be used to power both devices, but could prove extremely difficult for them to acquire.
The Catalyst first appeared in Spencer and Ferreira’s Amazing Spider-Man #46 where it was described as the most promising renewable energy since nuclear. A demonstration of the device was supposed to happen at Empire State University but was interrupted by Count Nefaria and his Lethal Legion. Nefaria had hoped to take the power from the Catalyst as his own but was inevitably stopped by Sin-Eater. This has led to an enhanced level of security guarding the Catalyst that should prove difficult for the likes of Chance and Jamie.
Chance is nothing more than a low-level villain more concerned with gambling than anything else. His acquisition of the Catalyst could draw attention from some of Spidey’s more serious foes. The Foreigner appears to still hold a hand in Chance’s business dealings and he could easily claim possession of the catalyst for himself. The events of Amazing Spider-Man #67 revealed that the Foreigner has big plans for the future. The Foreigner was shown currently in control of Symkaria, and the addition of the Catalyst to their arsenal could be catastrophic. Spidey will surely have his hands full fending off any enemy if they acquire the incredible power of the Catalyst.
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