Credits: Written by Tom DeFalco, breakdowns and finishes by Sal Buscema and finished art Bill Sienkiewicz and all edited by Eric Fein.
Cast: Ben ‘Scarlet Spider’ Reilly, Peter ‘Spider-Man’ Parker, Mary Jane Watson-Parker, Dr. Seward Trainer and Dr. Carolyn ‘Doctor Octopus II’ Trainer.
Plot: As Spider-Man and the Scarlet Spider, Peter & Ben are busting a chop shop, primarily to get information on the new Doctor Octopus. When one of the criminals there admits he’s a husband and father, Peter is enraged and nearly kills the criminal, until Ben calms him down. Elsewhere, MJ is modelling maternity wear, but collapses as the shoot ends. Peter and Ben arrive at Peter’s home, Peter thinking on how he is called Pete and thinks of Ben as Ben, but Ben is the real Peter and Pete is just a clone and this is still a stressor to him. The phone rings and both men are off to the hospital after changing to regular clothes. As the hospital struggles to work out what is wrong, Ben calls in Seward. Seward suspected this was possible, but he’s ready for it. He makes a call, to have the antidote MJ needs delivered, but the call is monitored by Doctor Octopus and her unseen partner. They arrange to have the antidote delivery intercepted and as Peter sits by his wife’s bedside, Seward gets the call and learns that his daughter (Doctor Octopus) has the antidote and will exchange it for him. Ben will keep tabs, but Peter wants in as the stakes are too high. MJ gives him her blessing and all three men are off.
Seward meets his daughter’s men and they remove the tracer from him, but Ben and Peter are close and follow them under the water and find an underwater lair. Carolyn meets her father and demands the codes to open the files she stole. Needing the antidote and fearing for his life Seward hands the information over, but by now, Peter and Ben are inside and Carolyn’s partner is aware of this. Elsewhere in the base, Peter and Ben are whaling on the purple clad goons working for Doctor Octopus in an underwater bunker. (It’s a homage, see?) Ben is quippy and light, but Peter is feeling the weight of the last several months, the breakdown, the virus, the pregnancy, the Jackal’s return and the death of his last remaining parent. Carolyn heads towards this fracas, the information from Seward about his cyberspace research in her partner’s hands. Ben has to stop Peter’s rage as everyone who stood against them is either out, or unable to keep fighting.
As MJ worries at the hospital, Peter and Ben split up. Ben finds Seward and has to contend with Carolyn’s partner using remote tentacles against him, while Peter deals with Doctor Octopus herself. As he dodges her attacks, she screams about her distant father, who always had another thing in his life that he chose over her. Peter is taking this on board, as well as his encounter at the chop shop. As Carolyn rants, Peter is able to grab a tentacle and swing her into a wall, it collapses all around him, this leads to a massive electrical problem in the base, cutting off Carolyn’s partner, so Seward can be freed. But once again, Peter is trapped under tonnes of rubble and has to get himself free of it. (Again, it’s a homage, see?) But before he succumbs, Ben pulls him free.
They get back to the hospital, in enough to time to save MJ and despite Doctor Octopus getting away, everything seems resolved except for one thing. After one too many close calls and with fatherhood looming, Peter makes a fateful decision, to be there for his family, he has to give up the one thing that can take him away from them and he gives up being Spider-Man, leaving his costume and the identity. Ben intends to redesign the costume and Peter leaves behind one part of his life behind and embarks on his next adventure.
Notes: If Marvel had the stones to take some risks, then this is where the Clone Saga would end and not simply this phase of it. This gives an end to the story of the Peter Parker we have followed for the last 20 years. This Peter has become and adult and a father and now gives up Spider-Man, leaving it in the hand of a version of him that is single and ready to reclaim the life he once had. But it didn’t work out like that and an overzealous marketing department wanted to keep the gravy train going for longer and it limped on for another couple of years. The problem is that this is another issue that I’m looking at for this blog that is referencing an earlier story so heavily that you’re wanting to read that other issue, rather than the one you are reading. The Master Planner saga (Amazing Spider-Man 30-32) was a seminal story that bridged the gap from Peter at school to Peter at college. The Spider-Man rising after being buried under tonnes has become so iconic, but this has been diluted by earlier homages and call-backs. This is a bit more blatant and that does cut some of the drama from what should be dramatic and full of pathos. That said, it’s action packed enough to keep my interest and after laying the groundwork over the last several months, Peter’s decision to walk away from being Spider-Man makes a lot of sense. It does feel like the end of an era and that we’re on the cusp of a new and dynamic era of Spider-Man. I get that we were naive.a loved
Verdict: Writing 3 out of 5 – Solid if unremarkable characterisation with the more beaten down Peter commenting on the wise-cracking Ben and highlighting how far Peter has moved from the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man he was not so long ago. The story does it’s best to use the Master Planner parallels (purple suited villains, Doctor Octopus in charge, a loved one in danger and stolen medicine and the mountain on top of Peter) to enhance the story and this works, some of the time. Ultimately, the changing of the guard feels earned and it’s nice to see something akin to a happy ending for our hero.
Art: – No, not doing it. I’ve mentioned this again and again and I enjoyed this issue enough to not go there.
Overall: 3 out of 5 – Peter swings off into the sunset with his wife and we get the idea that there was a plan to this whole thing and that’s a nice thought.
Next Time: A look back over the Saga so far.
My Marvel Life 