… And Then There Was One!

The police have surrounded a bank that is being robbed by they find themselves outgunned against a gang of doomsday preppers that are stealing the money in order to horde it for what they believe is the coming of a societal collapse.[1] However, before they can escape the preppers are attacked by the new Spider-Woman. She makes quick work of the gang and is about to fly away when she sees a press mob arriving to ask her questions. Deciding not to make the same mistake as Spider-Man, she decides to address their questions.

Meanwhile, in the nation of Madripoor, Jessica Drew — the original Spider-Woman — is on a case when suddenly some mysterious figure knocks the gun from her hand. When she tries to take down her attacker with a venom blast it has no effect. Suddenly, she is struck by some unseen force and immobilized unable to stop her attacker from accomplishing what they came to do.

Back in the state, Mary Jane is rushing to get ready for a flight to her next gig, one she hopes will allow her to get to the big time. Aunt May begins doting over the couple expressing her concerns over costs of everything, but Peter assures May that Mary Jane’s agent is looking after everything.[2] Unable to find her own suitcase, Mary Jane asks Peter if she can use his. At first, he says yes but quickly ruses upstairs to stop her before she can open it. Making an excuse for not sending her off with his ratty suitcase the reality is that he doesn’t want her to find the Spider-Man costume he has hiding inside, even though he hates himself for doing so as he promised Mary Jane that he would quit being Spider-Man.[3]

Two days earlier (some great narrative pacing there), in Los Angeles, Julia Carpenter — the second Spider-Woman — is working in the kitchen when she hears a knock at her door. Thinking it is her daughter, Julia rushes to the door only to be attacked by the same person who ambushed Jessica Drew in Madripoor.

Back in the present day, Peter Parker pays a visit to the Daily Bugle where J. Jonah Jameson is on the rampage again. When he asks Betty Brant what’s going on she shows Peter the front page of the latest edition of the Bugle which is about the new Spider-Woman. According to their sources with SHIELD, they have also learned about attacks on the past two Spider-Women. Although they survived the attacks, Jameson thinks this is a serial killer at work and, naturally, believes that Spider-Man is responsible. Peter deduces that this new Spider-Woman must be Mattie Franklin, the girl with spider-powers that recently took on the mantle of Spider-Man while he was retired and races off to find her.[4] At this point, Spider-Woman is busy fighting two creatures that have escaped from Mole Man’s subterranean domain. She is too busy quipping that she doesn’t see one of the creatures sneaking up behind her. Spider-Man arrives just in time to see the monster swallow Spider-Woman but the girl doesn’t give up without a fight, beating up the monster from inside. Spider-Man swings in and starts punching the monster until it spits Spider-Woman up. While Mattie is busy shaking vomit off her costume, Spider-Man forces the creatures to retreat back into the hole they came from. That’s when the press arrives and begins asking questions, by this point Spider-Man has had enough and carries Spider-Woman away to the nearest rooftop.

There, Spider-Man tells her that there is a killer gunning for Spider-Women and tries to convince her that it is too dangerous to be a superhero, pointing out that she is only a kid. He tells her he is speaking from experience since he wasn’t much older when he first became Spider-Man.[5] Mattie gets upset and accuses Spider-Man of being jealous of her. That’s when Spider-Man’s spider-sense goes off and he manages to pull Mattie out of harm’s way as their foe attacks. Their attacker is fast and manages to split the two heroes up so they can attack Spider-Woman. Spider-Man leaps to her side and is overpowered with the powers of the other two Spider-Women. Then the attacker begins doing to Mattie what the attacker did to the other two Spider-Women. Spider-Man pleads for the attacker to stop. That’s when the attacker — a woman with massive spider-legs protruding from her backs dressed in a spider-themed costume — comes out of hiding. This woman proclaims that she is also Spider-Woman and she will soon be the only Spider-Woman left alive.

This story is continued in Peter Parker: Spider-Man #5

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Spider-Woman (Franklin), Spider-Woman (Witter), Jessica Drew, Mary Jane Watson, Aunt May, Julia Carpenter, J. Jonah Jameson, Joe Robertson, Betty Brant

Continuity Notes

1. The gang is specifically called the Y2K Gang and they believe that the so-called Year 2000 Bug will bring about societal collapse. In the late 90s there was much worry over the fact that a lot of computers were not programmed to recognize the date of the upcoming year 2000. Generally, it’s was believed that vital computer systems (such as banks, hospitals, and government agencies) would crash causing a socioeconomic collapse. This fear proved to be unfounded. Its reference here should obviously be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616.

2. 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.

3. Peter agreed to retire as Spider-Man following the Final Chapter story arc. He secretly became Spider-Man again in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #2 and thus far managed to keep this a secret from Mary Jane.

4. Mattie Franklin got her spider-powers during the Gathering of Five story arc, she posed as Spider-Man in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #1-2.

5. Mattie states that she is 15 here, to which Spider-Man says he was a “bit older” when he first became Spider-Man. However, per Civil War #2, Peter Parker states he had been Spider-Man since he was 15 years old. One could assume that Spider-Man is (rather poorly) bending the truth here to try and convince Mattie to give up being Spider-Woman.