Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #4
Betrayals
Spider-Man finds himself in the middle of a battle between the Fantastic Four and the Sandman and Trapster and wonders how he got himself in the middle of all this.[1] His thinks back to a few hours ago to the events that led to this current battle…
Spider-Man had come to visit the Fantastic Four, and after submitting to scans to confirm his identity, he is warmly welcomed by the team.[2] After the tests are done, Spider-Man is left alone with the Human Torch so they can hang out and catch up. After discussing the young girl who briefly posed as Spider-Man, the wall-crawler takes offense when Johnny starts oggling a commercial featuring his wife, Mary Jane. However, before Johnny can ask the power cuts out.[3] They rush to Reed’s lab to find out what’s going on and when Mister Fantastic kicks in the back-up power source he learns that the entire city has suffered a blackout.[4] That’s when Spider-Man notices that one of the Fantastic Four’s security monitors is following the Sandman. The Thing admits that this is his pet project since the Sandman claimed to have gone straight.[5]
Elsewhere in the city, the Sandman emerges from a limo. He has been working as a security detail for Senator Stuart Ward. Not liking the idea of standing around in a darkened hotel lobby, the Sandman takes Ward up the stairs to get back to his room. By this time, Spider-Man is on his way home and stops at a nearby payphone to tell wife Mary Jane that he is on his way home.[6] Mary Jane tells Peter to be safe and tells him to come home since Jill Stacy has been trapped in the lobby of the Plaza Hotel since the power went out and how she has a childhood fear of the dark. Agreeing to meet with Jill, Peter swings home, trying to justify continuing to lie to his wife about coming out of retirement. When Peter arrives at the Plaza, Jill is happy to see him and tells him that she had a fear of the dark since she was a kid. Grabbing a seat together, Jill explains that she has come to visit Senator Ward, a man she believes to be a colleague of her father, Arthur Stacy, recalling that they were in the military together.[7] When she received a call from the Senator to come to visit she didn’t think twice. The conversation quickly changes to how Peter feels about his wife being a famous super-model. Peter admits that it’s not all it’s cracked up to be since her job keeps her away for long and he fears it will have a negative impact on their marriage. That’s when Peter spots the Trapster among the people in the lobby and tells Jill that he needs to make a phone call.
Upstairs, Sandman has finished escorting the Senator to his room. There, Stuart tries to engage Sandman in conversation about his checkered past when Sandman hears a noise and goes to check it out. To his surprise, the door to Ward’s room has begun to melt. This has been caused by the Trapster who has come for the Senator. However, before he and the Sandman can get into it, Spider-Man arrives on the scene as well. He is disappointed that the Trapster didn’t go straight after doing time for the murder of Joey Z.[8] Expecting the Sandman to fight by his side, Spider-Man is surprised when Sandman strikes him. The blow is powerful enough to send Spider-Man flying off the balcony. Thankfully, he is saved from a deadly fall from the arriving Fantastic Four who came when they learned from Silver Sable that this job was unsanctioned. Spider-Man is confused by all of this particularly since the Sandman had gone straight and wonders what’s wrong.[9]
Back inside, the Sandman is furious that the Trapster implicated him, blowing his cover and ruining any hopes of exploiting his presidential pardon and involvement with the Wild Pack for his own ends. After trading blows they suddenly realize that Senator Ward disappeared in the scuffle. They chase Ward to the balcony patio outside. However, before they can eliminate the Senator, Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four arrive to stop them…
… By this time, the Thing is attacking the Sandman to no effect. Witnessing how the Sandman has turned his body into pliable sand, Mister Fantastic instructs Spider-Man to snare the Trapster with some webbing. When the wall-crawler throws the Trapster into Sandman, the Invisible Woman seals them both in an invisible forcefield so that a blow from the thing causes the Trapster’s paste to spray all over and glue the pair together. With te battle turning, Sandman and the Trapster flee the scene and although Spider-Man and the Human Torch are trailing behind them they manage to lose all trace of their foes. In the aftermath of the battle, Reed assesses that the danger has past and tells Spider-Man that his team has to go to oversee a midnight meeting happening atop their old headquarters, the Four Freedoms Plaza.[10]
With the battle over, Peter Parker changes out of his costume and meets back up with Jill. By the time they return to Peter’s apartment, they find Aunt May and Mary Jane asleep on the couch with a present waiting for Peter for Valentine’s Day. When Peter apologizes for Jill having a bad Valentine’s Day, Jill says it was actually the best one she ever had and kisses Peter on the cheek. While at that moment Senator Ward holds a press conference to condemn the attempt on is life and promises to get to bring whoever was responsible to justice. Once the conference is over, Stuart angrily calls the Wizard — whom he hired to orchestrate the phony attempt on his life — to complain about the sloppy job. However, the Wizard pointed out that they had to make the attack appear legitimate and assures Ward that everything is going according to plan.[11]
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing), Wild Pack, Sandman, Jill Stacy, Stuart Ward, Trapster, Wizard, Mary Jane Watson, Aunt May
Continuity Notes
Spider-Man makes two remarks:
He recounts the Fantastic Four’s origins as seen in Fantastic Four #1
He also remarks how Sandman and Trapster make half of the Fantastic Four’s foes the Frightful Four. Sandman and Trapster were founding members when the Frightful Four were first formed in Fantastic Four #36
Reed explains that it was necessary after Spider-Man’s recent involvement with “clones, doppelgangers, and artificial constructs” as well as his months-long disappearance. The facts:
The biggest concern is due to the Clone Saga which saw Spider-Man’s clone, Ben Reilly, return and interfere with Spider-Man’s life. However, Reilly seemingly perished during a battle with the Green Goblin in Spider-Man #75.
Dopplegangers is likely a reference to the Spider-Doppleganger a left over from the Infinity War that also seemingly perished in Spider-Man #37.
As far as artificial constructs go, Reed could be referring to the recent appearance of artificial constructs of Peter Parker’s parents that were active from Amazing Spider-Man #363 until their destruction in Amazing Spider-Man #388. Although Reed doesn’t know Spider-Man’s double-identity at this time (the FF don’t learn Spider-Man’s identity until years later in Spider-Man/Human Torch #5), it doesn’t seem implausible that Spider-Man would have told Reed about this without giving away his identity.
Lastly, there’s Spider-Man’s disappearance, which followed the events of the Final Chapter story arc. Peter promised Mary Jane that he would retire as Spider-Man following that event, however, he recently reneged on this promise in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #2.
Again, Johnny wouldn’t know why he was offending Spider-Man here because he won’t learn Peter’s double identity until Spider-Man/Human Torch #5.
Reed wonders if the blackout is caused by the strange magnetic pulse he picked up earlier. This is a reference to the Magneto War event which was occurring in the X-Men titles at the time. Particularly Uncanny X-Men #366 in which Magneto wreaks havoc on the Earth’s electromagnetic field in order to force the United Nations to allow him to form his own nation for mutants.
The Thing mentions how the Sandman was one of Spider-Man’s old foes, how he went straight, and how Reed helped the Sandman get a spot on Silver Sable’s Wild Pack. Some facts:
The Sandman started off as a criminal in Amazing Spider-Man #4
After being traumatically merged with Hydro-Man in Amazing Spider-Man #217-218, he eventually decided to go straight in Marvel Two-In-One #86
The Thing’s assertion that Reed Richards help Sandman get on Sable’s Wild Pack is not correct. Sandman forged his own working relationship with Silver Sable after he helped Sable and Spider-Man against the Sinister Syndicate in Amazing Spider-Man #281 and she hired him on as seen in a flashback in Silver Sable and the Wild Pack #18. He had already been a member of Sable’s organization when she reformed the Wild Pack into a team of specific mercenaries which included Sandman among their number in Silver Sable and the Wild Pack #1.
Peter and Mary Jane are referred to as husband and wife here. However, years later, their marriage was erased from existence by Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. As such they should be considered a common-law couple here instead.
Arthur Stacy’s past history wit Stuart Ward, which is far from friendly, is detailed in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #23-24.
Spider-Man expresses his disappointment that the Trapster didn’t go straight after clearing the wall-crawler of involvement in the murder of Joey-Z. In Spider-Man #88, Norman Osborn had Trapster frame Spider-Man for the murder of Joey Z. However, Spider-Man ultimately learned the truth and forced the Trapster to confess in Spider-Man #92.
Some more facts about the Sandman are made here:
Sue tells Spider-Man to not feel bad about being ambushed by Sandman pointing out that it took all the Fantastic Four to take down Sandman in the past. At the time of this story, the Fantastic Four battles Sandman in Fantastic Four #’s 36, 38, 41-43, 57, 61-63, 94, 129-130, 133, 148, 176-178, 218, 400, and Annual #14, as well as Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Comic Magazine #9-10, Amazing Spider-Man #657
Spider-Man mentions how Sandman was a reserve Avenger. Captain America awarded Sandman with reserve Avengers status in Avengers #329.
Sandman’s sudden change in personality is not explained here, those details are revealed in Peter Parker: Spider-Man #12.
When the Fantastic Four were presumed dead following the events of Onslaught: The Marvel Universe #1, the hero team known as the Thunderbolts took it over in Thunderbolts #2. When the Fantastic Four turned up alive following the events of Heroes Reborn: The Return #1-4, te Thunderbolts kept the Four Freedoms of their headquarters, although at the time of this story the building was damaged beyond repair when the Thunderbolts were outed as members of the Masters of Evil in Thunderbolts #10. The Fantastic Four are going to observe a prisoner transfer between the Kree and SHIELD as seen in Fantastic Four (Vol. 3) #13-15. The Kree prisoners were captured by the Avengers during the events of Avengers (Vol. 3) #7.
The Wizard and Stuart Ward’s partnership comes to fruition in Amazing Spider-Man Annual 1999.
