WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Giant-Size Amazing Spider-Man: King’s Ransom #1 by Nick Spencer, Roge Antonio, Carlos Gomez, Ze Carlos, Alex Sinclair & VC’s Joe Caramagna, on sale now.
Between his war with Kindred and his search for the Lifeline Tablet with Boomerang, Spider-Man hasn’t had a moment to rest for dozens of issues. While his Kindred storyline is still in motion, the demonic presence preparing his next move. The Boomerang story with the Lifeline Tablet has ended, concluding with a shocking betrayal.
After winning over Spider-Man and readers throughout the last year, Boomerang betrayed Spider-Man’s trust, and he planned it from the start.
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During the Secret Empire storyline, Boomerang built an empire and helped the resistance, providing a place to coordinate. After things returned to normal, Kingpin gave Boomerang a pardon for all his past crimes. Things moved quickly from there when Fred Myers became Peter Parker and Randy Robertson’s new roommate and won over Peter’s trust. Boomerang had a fresh start, getting the chance to become a hero. He agreed to find the Lifeline Tablet pieces and keep them out of Kingpin’s hands. Along the way, he gained Spider-Man’s trust as well.
Unfortunately, that friendship was all a lie. Boomerang was working for Kingpin the entire time, as he laid out in a letter to Spider-Man after betraying him. The ruse began in the very first issue of this series, Amazing Spider-Man #1 by Nick Spencer, Ryan Ottley and Humberto Ramos. That’s when Boomerang moved in with Peter Parker and Randy Robertson. According to his note, he moved in because he knew Parker was close to Spider-Man and he could use him to get closer to the superhero.
Spider-Man didn’t even realize what was going on until Amazing Spider-Man #41, by Nick Spencer and Ryan Ottley. In the letter, Boomerang explained that a Mystical Artifacts and Treasures records keeper came to him for help. He needed to keep Lifeline Tablet pieces safe from Wilson Fisk, and choose the “hero” Boomerang to protect them. Boomerang said he escaped when Kingpin’s men showed up, but that was also a lie. Kingpin had already hired Boomerang to find the pieces. The record keeper gave Boomerang the information, and Kingpin’s soldiers murdered the man.
Things picked up later, with Boomerang planning to get Spider-Man to help him find the pieces. Boomerang reveals that the old man cast a spell on the tablet’s last piece. Only a “true and selfless hero could secure it” or the person who tried would die. Boomerang cut out on Kingpin after that. He knew he needed to complete the mission, and he needed to find a genuine hero to do it. That led him to Spider-Man. After Spider-Man’s fight with Kindred, he was back to work with Boomerang again in Amazing Spider-Man #62 by Nick Spencer and Patrick Gleason. The search for the last tablet piece sped up, and Boomerang ensured Spider-Man would find him and be the hero he needed to secure the last piece.
Now, Kingpin has the Lifeline Tablet and used it to bring his dead son, The Rose, back to life. Spider-Man had yet another friend betray him, even after he vouched for him with the street-level heroes in the New Avengers. After handing the tablets over to Fisk, Boomerang got his old life back at the Bar With No Name. But as Boomerang sat with his old criminal pals, the look on his face made one wonder if he made the right decision in the end.
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