Amazing Spider-Man #518
Skin Deep Part Four
Now
Now that Charlie Weiderman blames Peter Parker for sending Spider-Man after him, the wall-crawler swings off to get his family out of town and pauses when he spots a news report about Weiderman’s murder of two of their old high school classmates. This adds an extra layer of urgency now that Charlie is willing to commit murder. Swinging over to his apartment, Spider-Man is horrified to discover that Charlie has set it on fire. Swinging inside, the web-head calls out for anyone who might be trapped inside and gets ambushed by Charlie Weiderman, whose metal skin protects him from the fire. When Spider-Man tries fighting back, Charlie grabs the wall-crawler and intends to hold him until the smoke and fire kill him. Unable to squeeze free, Spider-Man fires webbing up to the ceiling and pulls it down on the both of them, making Weiderman reflexively let him go. With fire all around him, Spider-Man has to punch through the floor to the apartment below in order to getaway. Once he’s out on the street, the web-slinger vows to avenge Mary Jane and Aunt May if any harm has come to them and then passes out from smoke inhalation.[1]
Peter has a dream where he and Charlie’s older selves are sitting in the same science class as their younger selves. The teacher is giving a lecture on the different states of matter and how it can change from one state to another. The lecture is interrupted when someone throws something at the back of young Charlie’s head. This quickly leads to an argument where the young Peter and both Charlies blames the older Peter for their lives going wrong. That’s when the teacher suddenly changes into Tony Stark, who begins talking about the nature of Vibranium. He explains that at room temperature Vibranium molecules are absolutely still hence why the absorb the vibrations of other objects. Peter asks Stark how to change the state of Vibranium from a liquid to a solid. Tony explains that only an extreme amount of pressure — about 13 atmospheres — would be able to change the state of Vibranium. This gives Peter a solution on how to stop Charlie, but he’s not sure if Weiderman will be able to forgive him.
That’s when Spider-Man wakes up and after confirming that nobody was injured in the fire, swings off to Stark Industries where he pays a visit to the real Tony Stark and asks him if he can borrow some equipment.[2] With the equipment secured, Peter calls the Casa Quesada Hotel and confirms that Mary Jane was able to get herself and Aunt May to safety.[3] Spider-Man then tracks down Charlie, who is on the rampage after being confronted by the police. Spider-Man quickly incapacitates Weiderman by slamming two parked cars into him. He then webs up Weiderman and carries him off to the Stark lab where a pressure chamber has been set up for him. By this point, Charlie has broken free from the webbing but is quickly kicked into the chamber and sealed inside. Apologizing to Charlie, Spider-Man then turns the pressure up to 15 atmospheres. His mind then drifts back to the past, he remembers the day that Charlie and his family were moving away. Peter was there and hoped that Charlie could find a better life after things were so miserable for him at Midtown High.[4] Charlie had pointed out that bullies like the jocks at Midtown High exist in every highschool in America As Charlie’s dad tells him to say his goodbyes, Peter tells Charlie that if he ever needs anything to look him up. Before getting into the family car, Weiderman then asks Peter if he thinks there will ever be a day where he doesn’t feel so helpless all the time. At the time, Peter really hoped that things eventually have to change. As he watched Charlie leave, the look of helplessness on his face haunted Peter. It’s this face that is looking back at Spider-Man as Charlie pleads with the wall-crawler to free him from the pressure chamber.
Later, Peter Parker and Tony Stark are on hand as EMTs are removing Charlie from the pressure chamber where the sudden change of pressure turned Charlie’s Vibranium skin into a solid-state, trapping him within. Tony assures Peter that they’ll do whatever they can to free Charlie from his metallic prison.[5] That’s when one of the lab technicians that his wife is on the phone.[6] Mary Jane tells Peter that Charlie didn’t just destroy their apartment, both she and Aunt May have arrived in Queens and discovered that even Aunt May’s home was destroyed during Charlie’s rampage.[7]
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Charlie Weiderman, Mary Jane Watson, Tony Stark, Aunt May
Continuity Notes
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.
Spider-Man refers to Tony Stark as “boss” because Stark is a co-leader of the New Avengers who had just formed in New Avengers #1.
Aunt May makes a comment about the house cleaning at Casa Quesada only comes only once every six months. This is a tongue-in-cheek reference to then Joe Quesada, then editor-in-chief at Marvel Comics when this story was published. At the time, Quesada has mandated that Marvel titles have longer story arcs that run for six parts of more.
This flashback before Peter was bitten by the radioactive spider that gave him his powers in Amazing Fantasy #15. Per Civil War #2, Peter was 15 years ago. According to Amazing Fantasy #17, Peter started going to Midtown High when he was 13 years old. So this story takes place in the 2-year span in-between. Peter first became Spider-Man during the first year of the modern age so these flashbacks take place a year or two before the beginning of the modern age, making them take place 12 or 13 years prior to this story.
Tony Stark doesn’t succeed, but Harry Osborn does as we’ll learn in Amazing Spider-Man #582.
Peter and Mary Jane are referred to as husband and wife here. However, shortly after this story, their marriage is erased from existence by Mephisto as we’ll see in Amazing Spider-Man #545. In this new timeline, the technician would be referring to Mary Jane as Peter’s fiancee instead of his wife.
May’s house is later restored by Harry Osborn as we’ll learn in Amazing Spider-Man #581-582 and Amazing Spider-Man Family #4
