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- "Almost got you. Thought you got away from me, didn’t you? I got you right where I want you. Surprise!"
- ―Spider-Man to Jackson Brice and Herman Schultz[src]
The Chase of Adrian Toomes' Crew was an open confrontation between Spider-Man and Adrian Toomes' Crew that began when the web-slinger interrupted an arms deal between local gangster Aaron Davis and the duo of Jackson Brice and Herman Schultz.
Background[]
- "Look, times are changing and we're the only people selling these high-tech weapons."
"Whoa! This must be where the ATM robbers got their stuff." - ―Herman Schultz and Spider-Man[src]
Adrian Toomes, desperate to provide and care for his family financially when his livelihood was taken away from him by the United States Department of Damage Control, set up a minor criminal empire that involved stealing high-tech weapons from the Damage Control trucks, modifying them with human technology and selling them on the black market for profit.
Armed with an exo-suit that main engineer Phineas Mason had created using Chitauri technology, as well as a Matter Phase Shifter that made solid surfaces intangible, Toomes stole Chitauri, Dark Elf and Ultron tech and placed former salvage employees Jackson Brice and Herman Schultz in charge of selling them. While Schultz was more reserved and understood the importance of staying below the government's radar in order for their business to strive, his partner Brice developed a habit of giving potential buyers demonstrations of the weapons they were selling, firing weapons publicly as well as wearing a modified gauntlet to destroy cars while calling himself the Shocker.
Herman Schultz and Jackson Brice offer Aaron Davis a weapons deal
Interested in acquiring these new weapons, a criminal named Prowler met with Shocker and Schultz under an overpass in Queens, wishing to purchase something minor to commit robberies as well as technology that would help him climb surfaces. The three men were unaware that their sale was being observed in secret by Spider-Man, who wished to follow the arms dealers back to their headquarters. However, after Spider-Man receives a phone call from his best friend Ned Leeds, which Schultz hears, he suspects Prowler of being complicit to a sting operation and pulls out his gun, intending to kill him. Not wanting to allow another man to die because of him, Spider-Man leaps down and lets his presence be known, asking Schultz to shoot at him instead, which Schultz agrees to.[1]
Attack[]
Spider-Man disarms Herman Schultz's gun
- "Hey, hey! If you're gonna shoot at somebody, shoot at me!"
"A'ight." - ―Spider-Man and Herman Schultz[src]
As Herman Schultz attempted to fire at Spider-Man, the latter used his Web-Shooters to snag the gun away from him, and then proceeded to rush towards Shocker. However, Shocker, equipped with his gauntlet, turned around and punched Spider-Man in the torso, sending the young hero flying backwards. Schultz got in the driver's seat of their van while Shocker boarded the back and the two drove away, with Prowler fleeing in another direction as well.
Spider-Man dragged from the moving van
As Spider-Man shot a web to the back of their van to follow them, Shocker proceeded to fire multiple blasts from the Ultron Blaster Gun, destroying the rear ends of the van, blowing out the doors, and yet unable to hit Spider-Man. When Brice accidentally dropped one of the guns when Spider-Man snagged the van doors, Schultz suggested Brice to call up Toomes for assistance. Realizing Brice's actions were futile, Schultz called Vulture to get the web-slinger off their back.
Vulture snagged Spider-Man up into the air
Intent on following them, Spider-Man used the rooftops and trees of the suburbs to catch up to the van, and nearly succeeded in intercepting them before he was snagged in mid-air by Vulture, who carried him up high into the air. However, the Spider-Man Suit detected the high altitude, leading into the deployment of the parachute hidden within the spider emblem on the back, wrestling Spider-Man free from Vulture's talons, although he ended up tangled in the parachute and unable to break free as he crashed into the Hudson River.[1]
Aftermath[]
Iron Man talks to Spider-Man about getting involved with Vulture
- "You said to move the merchandise!"
"Under the radar! Under the radar! That's how we survive! If you bring Damage Control or the Avengers down here, we're through!" - ―Jackson Brice and Adrian Toomes[src]
As Spider-Man began to drown, tangled in the parachute, he was saved by Iron Man, who plunged into the water and rescued him, as the Spider-Man Suit had notified him when he had been gaining severe altitude. As Parker recounted his recent entanglements with the alien weapons, Stark warned him not to involve himself with it, citing that other people were tasked with dealing with the situation. As Parker attempted to convince Stark that his time had been wasted in coming to Queens, Stark revealed that he was in India, having remotely controlled the Mark XLVII armor using Wi-Fi to save Parker.
Spider-Man discovers some Chitauri weapons
Stark then advised Parker to continue being a friendly, neighborhood Spider-Man, reminding him that he was not ready to handle anything serious and warned him to contact Happy Hogan if he encountered any of these weapons again. Having delivered his spiel, Stark disconnected the call, reverting the armor back to F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s control and piloted the armor away. Irritated, Parker decided to head back until he discovered a Chitauri core, which had been dislodged from one of the weapons. Parker took possession of the core, intending to use it to discover who was selling these weapons.
Adrian Toomes confronts Jackson Brice
Meanwhile, Jackson Brice and Herman Schultz returned to their base, with Adrian Toomes berating Brice for his reckless actions, which had placed them under Spider-Man's radar. Brice defended his actions saying that he had to move the weapons. Toomes became fed up with Brice's recklessness and attitude, as well as his self-proclaimed "Shocker" nickname. As Toomes attempted to explain that their livelihood would be jeopardized, Brice dismissed his concerns, prompting Toomes to fire him from the crew.
Jackson Brice is killed by Adrian Toomes
Vexed, Brice threatened to expose Toomes' actions to both his wife and the authorities, prompting Toomes to pick up what he believed was an Anti-Gravity Gun and use it to threaten Brice. However, Toomes accidentally picked up an alien weapon that instantly vaporized Brice, although Toomes was unfazed at the murder he had committed and merely proceeded to retrieve the Shocker's Gauntlet from Brice's ashes, passing it down to Schultz and appointing him to be the new Shocker.[1]