Amazing Spider-Man #514
Sins Past Part Six
Gabriel Stacy has fled to an underground facility set up for him and his sister in the sewers of New York by Norman Osborn. Inside, he finds proof to Spider-Man’s claims that his father was really Osborn, who murdered his mother as the Green Goblin. This proof comes in the form of two goblin costumes — a female green one, and a male grey one — that are in display cases. His entry has activated a video recording of Norman Osborn. This recording also confirms what Spider-Man had told them. Although Norman admits that he killed Gabriel and Sarah’s mother it was because she was weak and insists that Spider-Man is just as responsible for her death as he is.[1] This comes as a shock to Gabriel who protests this as the recording plays on telling them that the Stacy twins are his true heirs to the Goblin Legacy.
Meanwhile, at the hospital, Spider-Man is joined by Mary Jane who heard that Sarah got shot on the news. Spider-Man tells her that the doctors managed to get the bullet out of Sarah but she’s still undergoing surgery. That’s when the doctor comes out and tells Spider-Man that while Sarah is healing nicely she needs fresh blood but her body is rejecting any blood type due to a unique genetic marker. Unfortunately, without an immediate family member available all the doctors can do is keep her stable with synthetic plasma that can keep her comfortable until the end. Remembering how he and Gwen both had the same blood type, Spider-Man offers to take part in a blood transfusion.
As Spider-Man is giving Sarah the blood she needs, Gabriel continues listening to the recording left behind by his father. Norman confirms that a side effect of the goblin formula in his DNA has made it so his twin children have rapid aging and that the only way to stabilize this process is by subjecting themselves to a purse dose of goblin formula. As Gabriel injects himself with the Goblin Formula and succumbs to the madness, Sarah is stabilized thanks to the blood provided by Spider-Man. However, the transfusion was so demanding that Spider-Man passes out from the rapid blood loss. When he wakes up Mary Jane is by his bedside making sure nobody unmasks him as the press are downstairs and offering five million dollars to anyone who can get a photo of Spider-Man’s identity.[2]
Suddenly, Spider-Man’s spider-sense goes off, warning him of danger. That’s when Gabriel — dressed as the Grey Goblin — comes crashing in through the window on a goblin glider, pulling Spider-Man back outside. There he beats on the wall-crawler, accusing him of tainting his sister with his blood. When Mary Jane rushes into the hall to get help, she learns that Sarah woke up and escaped from her room as well. Spider-Man is dumped onto a rooftop where he is too weak to fight back. However, before the Grey Goblin can kill him, Sarah arrives with a gun and tells her brother to go away. Instead, he tries to blow her up with missiles, but Sarah leaps out of the way and shoots the fuel tank on his goblin glider. The glider then explodes before Gabriel can bailout his burning body ends up falling into the harbor nearby. Spider-Man tries to convince Sarah that she had no choice. While Sarah agrees, she can’t bring herself to stay and when Spider-Man tries to go after her he blacks out again.[3] He dreams about to one of the last times he and Gwen were together. At that time, Gwen asks Peter if he believes in destiny then says that whenever she thinks about them together in the future, she can’t see her face. Peter tells her that it’s a silly idea because she can’t see her own face anyway and tells her that he’ll always love her. Muttering this in the waking world, Spider-Man is being cradled by his wife who says she knows and tells him to rest.
Not long after this, Gabriel Stacy wakes up on a beach with his costume in tatters. He is found by a family who call for an ambulance. When the father asks Gabriel who he is, Stacy says he can’t remember.[4]
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Mary Jane Watson, Sarah Stacy, Grey Goblin, Norman Osborn (recording), Gwen Stacy (flashback)
Continuity Notes
There is a lot of exposition going on here. Let’s get it all out of the way:
Over the last five issues, it was revealed that Norman Osborn had an affair with Gwen Stacy which produced twin children. The affair happened in Amazing Spider-Man #61, with Gwen secretly having these children around Amazing Spider-Man #119.
Norman Osborn, as the Green Goblin, murdered Gwen Stacy in Amazing Spider-Man #121.
In this recording, Norman says that is speaking to them “from the shadows or from the grave depending on when you find this video”. That is because this recording was taped during a period when the world thought Norman Osborn was dead following the events in Amazing Spider-Man #122. Osborn survived thanks to the Goblin Formula healing him as seen in Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal #1. Osborn remained in hiding until Amazing Spider-Man #412. At the time of this story, Norman Osborn is in jail following his arrest in The Pulse #5.
Upon hearing that there are superhero groupies, Spider-Man jokes about he picked the wrong time to get married. Peter Parker and Mary Jane have been married since Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21. However, shortly after this story, their marriage is erased from existence by Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. In the new timeline, Peter would be joking about being engaged, not married.
Sarah Stacy ends up running all the way back to Europe where we’ll see her again in Spectacular Spider-Man (vol. 2) #23-26.
Gabriel will continue to have amnesia but his memory will return in Amazing Spider-Man Presents: American Son #1-4. Also, Spider-Man’s blackout here hints to the changes in Spider-Man’s physiology that will completely transform him during the Other: Evolve or Die event which happens in Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1-4, Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #19-22 and Amazing Spider-Man #525-528.
