The Wings of Age!

At Ryker's Island, Adrian Toomes has been modifying audio equipment to create an electro-magnetic device. When a guard comes by his cell, Toomes uses the device to pin the guard to the door of his cell. He also uses the device to pull the bars out of his window. He then puts on a makeshift pair of wings to escape. Out at sea, his improvised wings begin to short out, but he just barely makes the boat waiting to pick him up. The crew is glad they caught him, as they don't want him to die before they get paid. Suffering from cancer, Adrian blames Spider-Man for not letting him die, but he assures the men he hired that he now intends to live forever.

In Forest Hills, Aunt May is surprised when she returns home to discover that her private detective, Bernard Scudder, has called her nephew Peter Parker. Scudder explains that he is stopping all surveillance on Richard and Mary Parker after he was harassed by a police officer. Peter asks why his Aunt hired a private eye to follow his parents. May explains that she doesn't think that they are Peter's parents. Thinking that May has gone senile, Scudder quits and leaves. Before Aunt May can explain herself, Richard and Mary return home. When they invite Peter to say, he tells them that he has to go because he has some things to think about. As Peter walks away, he wonders if his Aunt May is becoming senile in her old age, and gets upset because this is yet another problem he was not ready to deal with.

The next morning, Peter and his wife Mary Jane are working in their new home, a brownstone on the Upper East Side. They are testing out the security system they installed in the secret room where Peter is storing his Spider-Man gear. When Mary Jane opens the secret door without disabling the alarm. The jolt to Peter's spider-sense is incredibly painful. Peter has to adjust the settings, but Mary Jane tells him that he'll have to do them alone since she has to make a mall appearance to promote "Secret Hospital". Mary Jane isn't looking forward to it, but Peter is certain that her acting career will pick back up again. He then tells Mary Jane that he has to go to Empire State University to investigate something he has been putting off for some time.

Soon, Peter is at Empire State University where he meets with Dr. Benita Sanchez. He has taken an interest in her Juvinator device and how it can effect human aging. He also tells her about his Aunt May, but Sanchez cannot make an accurate diagnosis without actually seeing the patient. She then shows him the Juvinator. She hopes it can be used to reverse the aging process. Unfortunately, it needs the life force of one person to be transferred to another. Since this is unethical, she has been trying to come up with an artificial source. Peter leaves Benita to continue his work and tries to call his wife. Unfortunately, Mary Jane is still out. As he thinks about what to do about Aunt May, Peter's spider-sense begins going off. Meanwhile, at a mall in Long Island, Mary Jane makes her public appearance, disliking the whole experience. That's when an angry fan approaches her, upset about what her character has done on "Secret Hospital". As Mary Jane tries to explain that it's just fiction, the woman pulls a gun and is about to shoot Mary Jane. Thankfully, she is saved by a security guard who jumps the woman. This near death experience, Mary Jane wonders if this is what Peter goes through everyday as Spider-Man.

Back at ESU, the Vulture is trying to steal the Juvinator when he is interrupted by Spider-Man. Furious over the wall-crawler's interference, the Vulture forces the hero outside. Spider-Man is caught off guard by the ferocity of the Vulture's attack. He knocks Spider-Man into some nearby abandoned building before heading back to Empire State University. By the time Spider-Man comes back, the Vulture is about to use the Juvinator to steal Dr. Sanchez's life force. Spider-Man knocks the villain aside, and checks to see how Benita is doing. While he is distracted, the Vulture recovers and grabs the wall-crawler and begins absorbing his life force.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Aunt May, Richard Parker (imposter), Mary Parker (imposter), Mary Jane Watson, Vulture, Bernard Scudder, Benita Sanchez

Continuity Notes

• Toomes has been incarcerated since his defeat at the hands of Spider-Man in The Lethal Foes of Spider-Man #4.

• The Vulture has been suffering from cancer since The Spectacular Spider-Man #186-188.

• Aunt May hired Bernard Scudder when Richard and Mary got the date of May's wedding incorrect, as seen in Amazing Spider-Man #382. May's suspicions are correct as will be revealed Amazing Spider-Man #388. The real Richard and Mary Parker died a few decades earlier while on a government mission, as stated in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5.

• Scudder states that his grandmother got Alzheimer's in 1986. This should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616.

• Peter and Mary Jane are referred to as husband and wife here. However, years later, their marriage is erased from existence by Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. As such they should be considered a common-law couple here.

• The original twin towers of the World Trade Center are depicted as part of the New York City skyline here. This should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616. The original towers were destroyed in a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, and have since been replaced by the Freedom Tower.

• Spider-Man recognizes these ruins as the location where he battled the Hulk in Amazing Spider-Man #382.