Credits: Written by Tom DeFalco, breakdowns by Sal Busceme, finishes by Bill Sienkiwicz and edited by Eric Fein.
Cast: Peter ‘Spider-Man’ Parker, Ben ‘Scarlet Spider’ Reilly, Kaine, 3Pete, Mary Jane Watson-Parker, Detective Jacob Raven, Doctor Miles ‘The Jackal’ Warren, Doctor Seward Trainer, Joe ‘Robbie’ Robertson and J.Jonah Jemeson Jnr.
Plot: Kaine lunges at Ben (posing as Peter in court) only to be stopped by Spider-Man who finally puts him on the ground. He is arrested by Jacob Raven, who has sought him for years over his partner’s death. This being the crime Ben was on trial for, as well as the crime that Kaine has confessed to, the judge dismisses the case, exonerating Peter. This information gets to the Daily Bugle and the staff are elated. After a back to work rant from JJJ, he too is seen to be thrilled at this turn of events.
Elsewhere 3Pete is with the Jackal as they both learn of these events, but the Jackal has his own plans.
In police interrogation, Kaine confesses to the murder of both Doctor Octopus and in Salt Lake City, Detective Louise Kennedy.
Ben takes MJ home, meeting Peter there and Ben’s taking place of Peter publicly comes to an end. Now he is free of both Kaine and the murder charge that have haunted him the last couple of years. Something of a happy ending, but this is Spider-Man comic, so we get neither of them. Seward calls and summons the trio to the lab, he has news regarding MJ and Peter’s unborn baby.
The news is both good and bad, the baby is healthy, but there’s some sort of anomaly. This creates doubt for the first time over who is the clone, Peter or Ben? More tests are needed and Dr Seward and the two Spider-people start working. The Two work together, both scientists at heart and are methodical and diligent until the results come in. After years of believing the reverse, it’s proven that Peter is the clone and Ben is the original Spider-Man. Then Peter after all that has happened, the battle, the trial and the loss of May, loses it.
He lunges at Ben, driven mad by it all, accusing him of rigging the tests and when Mary Jane tries to to break up this fight, Peter lashes out and backhands his pregnant wife across Seward’s lab. Shocked back to his senses, a fearful and ashamed Peter flees into the night.
Elsewhere 3Pete gets a new costume and the Jackal declares that’s time for their plan to proceed.
Notes: Apparently Peter Parker gets a pass. In the midst of a personal/mental crises that has been building for a long time, a hero with a bug them is (fairly) made into a pariah after lashing out at his wife. 10 Years or so later, a different (more popular hero) does something similar with his PREGNANT wife and no one mentions it again. There’s a disgusting sort of lesson here about the world and it’s one of my only two grumbles about this comic and I just wanted to get it out there in the interests of neither glossing over, nor glorifying domestic abuse.
This issue is a denouement for the Kaine/trial saga that was running from Amazing Spider-Man 400. We quickly get Peter’s name cleared and the swapping identities between Peter and Ben is done as well. So what we need now is some fresh drama and for that we get the question that hasn’t been looked at since Amazing Spider-Man #150, is the Peter we know the real Peter? It’s handled well enough for the most part, it’s clear that no one is happy with the result. Ben is shocked by the revelation, Peter is in shock as his world view is shattered into many pieces, something Ben had already gone through, now it appears that he didn’t have to. I mean it’s a psychiatrist’s dream the amount of therapy these people would need and we end on the promise of a much larger story as the Jackal makes his move.
Verdict
Writing: 3 out of 5 – Emphasising melodramatic moments other the psychodrama plays very much towards DeFalco’s strengths as he’d be less successful trying a more nuanced approach as J M DeMatteis would do. But he does well with it, it all works towards the goal of upending Peter’s life and preparing us for the next stage of the Clone Saga.
Art: 1 out of 5 – Well here we are again. Two acclaimed artists, with vastly differing styles in a collaboration that serves neither of them, dragging down a comic that is well above average in every other way. As soon as I see that a story that I’ve been enjoying is going to end in Spectacular, my heart sinks a little. I’m not even upset about it anymore, but sort of sad.
Overall : 4 out of 10 – A mostly satisfying end to an enjoyable slice of the clone saga. I’m eager to see where we go from here.
Next Time: Back to the Age of Apocalypse with X-Calibre.
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