Amazing Spider-Man, The (1963 series) #171

Story continued from Nova #12 

Continuing right from Nova #12, Spider-Man, Nova, and Captain Steele pour over the evidence to try and figure out who killed Dr. Rider. Steele doesn’t want the superheroes to interfere too heavily in the investigation and uses a tape recorder to run through all of the information they’ve been told so far. Steele once more questions the only suspect who didn’t vanish, Michael Lincoln, when the other police come in to tell him that they’re taking the butler’s body out to the wagon. Another officer announces that none of the suspects have been spotted at their roadblocks but that a train was spotted leaving Montauk. Nova flies out to check out the train, while feeling that Captain Steele left a lot of information out of his report. Nova quickly catches up to the train which turns out to be a dead end. He flies back to Spidey who points out that the only ways out of town are by land or sea. Nova then realizes that he saw an unmarked hydrofoil heading for a nearby lighthouse when he was checking out the train. Deciding that their killer is likely heading there, Nova flies off with Spidey in tow, while Steele tells his men to watch Lincoln while he heads out to contact HQ!

Meanwhile, Harry and Liz walk around Chinatown and discuss their wedding plans. Harry doesn’t want to set a date until he’s sure his psychosis is behind him, but Liz promises that life will be nothing but safe and serene for them. As Harry and Liz drive off, they’re watched by someone from the shadows, who swears that he’s going to make Liz pay! While Nova and Spider-Man race towards the lighthouse, we find that all three of the remaining suspects have reconvened there! Risk reveals that he’s the one who shut out the lights at the house and, as a businessman, suggests that the three of them share Rider’s invention so that they may all profit from it. The others are wary, when the hydrofoil seen earlier arrives containing a group of AIM agents that Daze was set to meet up with. He reports the complications, when Spider-Man and Nova arrive once again to apprehend the suspects. The AIM agents attack Spidey and Nova, piling on them as best they can while the three suspects flee! Spidey and Nova deal with the AIM agents, until Nova flies off to chase the suspects. He’s shot out of the air by an energy weapon courtesy of Photon, who reveals himself once again. Photon turns the same energy weapon on Spider-Man, leaving both heroes unconscious!

Some time later, Spidey and Nova awaken on the watercraft, chained to an anchor. The AIM agents throw them into the water, leaving them to sink to the bottom and drown. Spidey holds his breath as best he can, while Nova’s plexiglass shield slides down in his helmet to prevent him from drowning. Spidey and Nova struggle against the chains until they’re finally able to break them, and Nova flies Spidey back to shore. There, they go over all the clues they know of before flying back to the Rider house, where they find AIM laying siege to the place! Spidey and Nova tackle AIM once more, when the police arrive to help. While the police deal with AIM, Spidey and Nova chase after the fleeing Photon. They catch up to him in Rider’s game room, where Photon has taken Rich’s recently arrived dad hostage! Nova distracts Photon by ricocheting off the walls, allowing Spidey to snatch Rich’s dad away from Photon. Nova knocks out Photon and Spidey explains that given all of the clues they had, there’s only one person that Photon could be! Captain Steele then arrives and reveals that they missed the most obvious clue of them all! He shows the photo of Rider and the calendar pages he’s touching. The calendar pages are for July through December, the first letter of each spelling out J-A-S-O-N-D. Steele then unmasks Photon and proves that he’s none other than…Jason Dean!