The last time Spider-Man fought the Foreigner he was nearly killed because of the Foreigner’s ability to hypnotize his opponents in combat.
WARNING: The following contains fleeting spoilers for Amazing Spider-Man #67 by Nick Spencer, Marcelo Ferreira, Carlos Gomez, Wayne Faucher, Morry Hollowell, Andrew Crossley and VC’s Joe Caramagna, on sale now.
With the Foreigner slowly interfering in Spider-Man’s life in Peter Parker’s ongoing adventures, it is only a matter of time before the two of them clash once again. While the assassin isn’t one of the most powerful villains in Spider-Man’s rogues gallery, the Foreigner had an edge in combat that allowed him to get the drop on Spidey: he hypnotizes his opponents in the middle of a fight.
And when these two fought in 1987’s Spectacular Spider-Man #129, by Peter David and Alan Kupperberg, that little secret almost allowed the Foreigner to strangle Spider-Man to death.
At that point, so many years ago, Foreigner had made even more of a mark on Spider-Man’s life than he currently has. He had just murdered Ned Leeds, leaving Betty Brant without a husband, which put him firmly in Spider-Man’s crosshairs. Adding salt to the wound was the fact that Foreigner was in a relationship with the Black Cat, who seemed to be conspiring against Spider-Man with her new paramour. Peter Parker discovered their relationship and attempted to pursue Cat, but she gave him the slip.
Unfortunately, Peter had multiple issues going on in his life. Aside from trying to help Betty accept the death of her husband, his alter ego was under investigation for murder thanks to the Foreigner’s machinations. After helping Betty face Ned’s death, Peter got a lucky break when he intercepted a phone call from Black Cat, wherein she accidentally gave him her and the Foreigner’s current location. Not wasting another moment, he suited up and barged in on the two, triggering a fight between him and the Foreigner.
He learned the hard way why Silver Sable respected him so much. Leading Spider-Man into his training room, the two began a one-on-one fight. Things took a turn when Foreigner began using his “ability” to disappear and reappear around the room, keeping Spider-Man off-balance and putting him on the defensive. The fight leaned more and more in the Foreigner’s favor until he was literally strangling Spider-Man with his own webbing. But Spider-Man had one last desperate move to use against his foe. While the Foreigner was holding onto him, Spider-Man leaped out of the nearby window, stunning the Foreigner long enough to escape.
At that point, Spider-Man figured out how he was pulling his disappearing act. The Foreigner was using hypnosis during the fight, somehow having mastered the ability to induce a ten-second trance just by maintaining eye contact. This was how he managed to disorient Spider-Man long enough to seem like he was moving faster than the wallcrawler could track. With the element of surprise gone the fight was much more even. But at that point, Black Cat revealed her hand, having been playing the Foreigner until she had sufficient evidence to clear Spider-Man of any wrongdoing.
With his plan in ruins and his ally now against him, Foreigner used the arrival of the police to make his escape, leaving the fight unfinished, but placing victory firmly in Spider-Man’s hands. Although this wasn;t Spider-Man’s most memorable adventure, it shows how dangerous the Foreigner could be and proves why Spider-Man needs to stay on his toes when he’s around.
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