PREVIOUSLY: Mob boss Hammerhead was believed dead at the end of the superhero Civil War but his demise was somewhat greatly exaggerated. This is his story.

REVIEW: Lying helplessly in a Ryker's Island Penitentiary infirmary bed, Hammerhead was shot twice in the head by some third-rate punk. The so-called punk left the room only to make way for a nurse and a couple elderly alerted to Hammerhead's vitals suddenly dropping. Surprisingly, Hammerhead is not dead; however, not much life is left in him. His life flashes before his eyes.

The story flashes back to 40 years earlier, in Toirrano, Italy. Hammerhead, then probably ten to twelve years old, is pretending to drive a fancy car his father, a mechanic, is working on.

In real-time, doctors are having a very difficult time “fixing” Hammerhead. It seems the doctors are waiting for a chopper to show up, as they are unable to perform any kind of surgery because of Hammerhead's steel-like skull.

Now a few years older, Hammerhead accidentally breaks a fellow female student's nativity scene in the school hall. Hammerhead indicates that he'll fix it, as he’s learned how to do such repairs from his father, an expert sculptor for the Vatican. Hammerhead also adds that he's been all over Europe, which is why he has an accent. The girl, named Angela, responds that she thought it was because he's from Russia. Hammerhead replies that he's Italian and goes on to say more, when one of the school's bullies, Rico, shows up and calls him a liar. Rico pushes Hammerhead to the ground and reveals an enormous scar on the top of his head – assumingly caused by his father’s sledgehammer attack.

In real-time, the doctors continue their life-saving efforts when the "transport" finally shows up. A man, with a grotesque shark-like mouth, instructs the doctors to prepare Hammerhead for transport immediately. The doctors comply.

At a local movie theatre, Rico and Angela, now in their late teens, are watching "The Godfather" unaware that Hammerhead is standing behind them, holding a large sledgehammer in his hand. Before either can move, Hammerhead starts pummelling them – blood splattering all over the place. Their deaths are fairly quick, though extremely painful. Having done what he came to do, Hammerhead sits down and watches the rest of the movie. A while later, Hammerhead is in the process of disposing of the sledgehammer in a dumpster when a fedora-wearing man approaches him and chastises him for dumping his sledgehammer in there. The man points out that Hammerhead should have gone down to the river to wash the blood off and destroy his prints, as well as washing away his sins. A perplexed Hammerhead concurs. The man asks why he sat down to watch the movie to which Hammerhead replies that he simply likes movies. The two start walking and continue their conversation.

In real-time, the shark-mouthed man is aboard the chopper that is transporting Hammerhead to an undisclosed location. It seems he killed the doctors that were working on Hammerhead, as he complains about getting blood on his suit.

Hammerhead's new boss, last name Manfredi, is quite satisfied with his new protégé's work. Seems Hammerhead collects money owed to Manfredi and kills the borrower if they don't have said money. He's doing such a good job that Manfredi wants him to move up in the organization. However, to coming into Manfredi's blood means he has to bring blood with him.

In real-time, it appears Hammerhead is now ready to be operated on. A henchmen tells another to call the "boss", as they are ready to go.

Hammerhead's father is tied onto the hood of a car, his face already quite bloodied. He's been captured by Manfredi's men, who stand around, seemingly awaiting the arrival of someone. That someone turns out to be Hammerhead himself. Holding a large sledgehammer, he approaches his dad. He tells his father that he doesn't hate him and proceeds to crush his hands and feet with his sledgehammer. His father reeling in pain, Hammerhead tells him that he should be ashamed to have beaten his only son to make himself feel stronger and for renouncing his Sicilian heritage. Having said that, he delivers a deadly blow to his father's head. He and Manfredi's henchmen walk away, planning for the future.

Years later, Hammerhead tries to make a deal behind Manfredi's back but he gets caught and is severely beaten up. As he lays dying in a dark back alley, he is approached by Doctor Jonas Harrow who vows "to make him better".

In real-time, a female doctor is operating on Hammerhead. She reveals that, despite having used adamantium bullets, the killer appears to have not use enough load to push the bullets through Hammerhead's adamantium-plated skull. Hammerhead is still alive but he's essentially brain dead. The female doctor, named Tramma recommends that they found somebody else. Mr. Negative, who is surprisingly behind Hammerhead's abduction from the hospital, tells Tramma that he wants Hammerhead and no one else. She replies that he's in a vegetative state and that there is nothing else she can do. Mr. Negative asks if it would make a difference if Hammerhead was lucid. She says it is impossible, as he's dropped below functional, but then Mr. Negative pulls some kind of glowing instrument out of his pocket. Tramma, upon seeing the object, tells Mr. Negative that it is worth a try.

His consciousness withering, Hammerhead's memories are begging to take root, but then they fade away, as they always do. Memories of encounters with other super-villains, such as Doctor Octopus and the Kingpin and one of his most famous foes – Spider-Man. Hammerhead suddenly regains consciousness, thanks to Mr. Negative's unexplained (and very strange) intervention. When Mr. Negative addresses him, Hammerhead defiantly threatens to kill him for whatever they are doing to him right there and then. Unfazed by Hammerhead's threats, Mr. Negative tells him that he is going to die if he wastes anymore time and/or if he threatens him again. He will live, however, if he talks to Mr. Negative. With that said, Mr. Negative tells Hammerhead that he's wasted his life pretending to be an Italian mob boss like "Al Capone", when he could have been using his talents for an entire different purpose. Having said that, Mr. Negative reveals what he has in store for Hammerhead. He pulls a large sheet back, revealing some kind of metal-laced exo-skeleton, whose head is shaped like a hammer. Turning to Hammerhead, Mr. Negative tells him that there are many things he needs broken. Hammerhead pretty much tells Mr. Negative to go to hell. Mr. Negative explains how Al Capone died – from complications of syphilis – and proceeds to ask Hammerhead if that's how he wants his life to end. Realizing that he has but one choice, Hammerhead agrees to become some kind of cyborg, thanking Mr. Negative at the same time. Doctor Tramma and her team of specialist, surgical tools in hand, approach Hammerhead and prepare to give him an anaesthetic. Hammerhead, however, does not want any; he wants to feel everything.

REVIEW: Harry Osborn is trying to get hold of Peter Parker, who is supposed to meet he and Lily Hollister, so they can all go to Harry's surprise birthday party together. It turns out that Peter is busy being Spider-Man at that exact moment – fighting the Trapster – so he is forced to ignore Harry's calls. The battle is short-lived; however, as Spidey easily gets the upper hand on his opponent and knocks him out very rapidly.

Harry and Lily arrive at the party location and Lily suggests that Peter may already be inside. Harry doesn't believe Peter is, as he usually feels uncomfortable around the rest of his friends, which is why he made sure they could all show up together. Speaking of Peter, he is atop the exact same building, changing into his civilian clothing. Unfortunately, he encounters a small problem while changing clothes. His Spider-Man mask is stuck to his head! He tries to take it off, but to no avail.

When Harry and Lily enter the party location, a Spider-Man-mask-turned-into-a-bandana Peter Parker yells out a hearty "Happy Birthday" to his best friend, who – needless to say – is surprised at his appearance. Peter immediately apologizes to Harry for being late to which Harry comically replies by asking rhetorically if he was at a Harley-Davidson convention. One of Harry's friends, Jay Hunter, comes over and introduces himself to Peter. Harry introduces Peter as an old college buddy of his and Jay makes a jerk-ish comment that he had no idea they went to community college together. Peter thinks Jay is a jerk but Harry defends Jay, as his father might invest in the "Coffee Bean" and at least Jay wasn't late to his birthday party, nor did he come in a costume. Peter replies that he is not trying to embarrass him and that he can explain everything. Harry, however, doesn’t have time to listen to him.

While Peter grabs some food from a nearby buffet setting, he overhears so-called colleagues of Harry making fun of Harry as well as his father, Norman Osborn. Peter approaches them and asks that they take it easy. Jay Hunter tells the others that Peter is one of Harry's college buddies, which most likely is code for the "Looney Bin".

Five seconds later, Jay Hunter is covered in punch juice, courtesy of Peter Parker, and he's not too happy that his expensive suit is ruined. Two men escort Peter to the exit door, as he yells back that he doesn't care how expensive his suit is. Harry comes over to Peter and yells at him for messing up a potential deal with Jay Hunter. Peter explains that they were saying things about him and his dad. He then apologizes to Harry for ruining everything and walks away, telling Harry that he'll give him a call the next day. Harry is about to go back inside but turns around and runs after Peter. He tells Peter that he's a good friend to him and that he wants him to know that. He then tells Peter that the party was lame anyways, and suggests they go out for a slice of pizza. Peter likes the idea, as he's shoved his stuff mushrooms down Jay Hunter's pants.

The end...for now.

REVIEW: The issue opens in court where Spider-Man is charged with murder in the second degree (multiple counts), assault, assault with intent, assault on a police officer (multiple counts) and obstruction of justice (multiple counts). Matt Murdock, a.k.a. Daredevil is representing Spidey while Chris Dingess works for the prosecution. When Murdock is asked to enter a plea, he turns to Spider-Man, who pleads not guilty.

The judge asks what the prosecution recommends in terms of bail and Dingess responds that Spider-Man poses a substantial flight risk. Murdock speaks and tells the judge that his firm is prepared to post a two million dollar bond to secure Spider-Man's presence at trial. Dingess comments that, as long as Spidey is wearing a mask, no one knows who Murdock would be posting a bond for. Matt argues that his representation as both the bondsman and officer of the court should be sufficient. He then adds that Spider-Man is allegedly responsible for the arrest of hundreds of criminals, both super-powered and otherwise and, to incarcerate him with said criminals pending is trial is tantamount to a death sentence. Dingess snidely remarks that he – Matt – seemed to manage. Murdock points out that Dingess is referring to the urban legend that he's secretly Daredevil, despite the fact that he's blind. Just then, a lawyer named Matthew Dowd enters the courtroom and interrupts the proceeding, requesting to speak with the judge. When allowed to do so, he introduces himself and explains that he's filing his appearance in connection to a civil case: Ryan Maxwell versus Spider-Man, a.k.a. John Doe. Dowd goes on saying that his litigation has been bogged down by the fact that they've been unable to ascertain Spider-Man's identity. Accordingly, he filed a motion earlier that morning requesting a court order to unmask Spider-Man.

A short time later, outside the courtroom, Spidey asks Murdock if the court can force him to unmask. Murdock answers that they can't do that without probable cause and the appropriate authority. The Superhuman Registration Act prohibits the state police from unmasking arrested heroes; however, if the judge thinks the civil lawsuit is sufficient justification, he may be forced to unmask then. Murdock tells Spidey that he's spent a lot of time thinking about this case, so he shouldn't worry.

Back in court, Dowd cannot believe Murdock is trying to convince the judge that there is a constitutional right to dress in spandex and wear a mask. Murdock claims that there is, embodied in the fourteenth amendment, and points to the "Griswold vs. Connecticut" case. Prosecutor Dingess speaks up, asking the judge if he can be heard on the matter; the judge agrees. Dingess explains that by passing the Superhuman Registration Act, which requires super heroes to disclose their identities to law enforcement, congress has already come down in favour of unmasking super heroes. As such, no superhuman's right to privacy extends to their identity – that is the law of the land. Murdock argues that the law of the land is being challenged. Having said that, he hands the judge a copy of the "United States of America vs. Steve Rogers" case, alleging wrongful death caused by the S.H.R.A. In connection with said action, Murdock has filed an appeal to the Supreme Court, challenging the constitutionality of the Registration Act, under "Griswold vs. Connecticut" and the fourteenth amendment, to be consistent. Dowd speaks up and points out that the privacy issue is not relevant to his civil case. If Spidey had hit Dowd's client with his car, he would have every right to run his license plate to see who owns it, which is the same thing here, in his opinion. Surprisingly, Murdock aggress that Dowd is right, insofar as he agrees with his analogy. He then asks for a twenty-four hour recess to be given an opportunity to present evidence of his client's "car". On their way out of the courtroom, Spidey asks Murdock what he is doing. Matt responds that he's going to find Spider-Man.

The following day, when Murdock meets with Spidey, he hands him a law book and tells him to study it, since he's going to be on trial for his life. As they walk into the courtroom, Matt tells Spidey he has a surprise for him.

Minutes later, the judge asks Murdock to explain the meaning of his stunt – eight Spider-Men are leaping, swinging, crawling all over the courtroom. Murdock answers that it is not a stunt. It's a demonstration to prove that there are a wide variety of people who could have driven the "car", using Dowd's earlier hit-and-run analogy. Based on said analogy, in order for Dowd to meet his burden of proof, he has to prove who wore the costume on the day in question; however, unmasking Spider-Man would have no evidentiary relevance. Dowd can't believe the judge is buying into Murdock's explanation but she does and denies the plaintiff's motion to compel. Murdock then requests that Spider-Man be granted a move for summary judgment in his favour on the civil action, as there is no evidence against him at present; the judge grants the motion. She dismisses the charges, but without prejudice. If Dowd and his client can prove who was wearing the spandex when, they can re-file. The judge, unfortunately, denies Murdock's request for bail and provides instructions for Spider-Man to be held without bail pending his criminal trial.

Later, Spidey is glad that the civil suit was denied, but not too happy that he's being held without bail. He asks Murdock where all the other Spider-Men came from. Matt responds that he had some friends who were willing to return the favour (Ronin, Patriot, Arana, Black Cat, Iron Fist, Shang-Chi and Nightcrawler). Spidey asks where Iron Fist got one of his web-shooter, as it was confiscated at central booking. Murdock answers that someone broke into the evidence locker the night before and stole it. The web-shooter than just showed up at his office, so he didn't ask any questions. Then, smirking, he tells Spider-Man that the Black Cat sends her regards. Spider-Man thanks Murdock and shakes his hand. Murdock jokingly replies to wait until he sees his bill, which includes all the spare costumes. Then, taking his leave, the tells Spidey to not forget to read the law book he gave him. When Spidey opens up the law book, he is stunned to see that a square-shaped hole has been cut through the pages of the book and his web-shooter sits in the middle of the hole.

Continues in Amazing Spider-Man #582 on sale in late 2008.