Amazing Spider-Man #533
The Night the War Came Home
Spider-Man has just unmasked in the middle of a press conference in order to show his support for the Super-Human Registration Act.[1] He had agreed to do so at the behest of his friend, Tony Stark, and now that he has revealed to the world that Peter Parker is Spider-Man he wonders what to do next.
While at the Daily Bugle, J. Jonah Jameson had just decided to quit smoking that morning when the news hit. After all the years he employed Peter and paid him for photos, Jameson thought Peter was a straight-up kid and now he finds out that he has been lying all these years and in a fit of rage he throws his newly retired ashtray across the room.[2] After Joe Robertson convinces Jonah he didn’t know either, Jonah decides that the Bugle needs to make a statement since this revelation puts the newspaper’s credibility into question. This reminds Jonah about an old maxim about how the only people who can really hurt you are your friends, and that Peter has truly hurt him and there will be one hell of a price for him to pay.
Meanwhile, Peter has ran to the bathroom to throw up after his press conference. Tony Stark waits outside, reminding Peter that he did the right thing. As Peter gets out of the bathroom, Tony tries to relate to Peter revealing his identity publicly.[3] However, Peter says that Stark has no idea what he was going through, as he has safeguarded his identity since he was 15 years old and he dreaded this day. Tony admits that he doesn’t know what it’s like because Tony doesn’t have a family to protect, and Peter tells him that Tony now has his family to look after now that he has made his identity public.[4] Peter then warns Tony that if anything happens to Mary Jane and Aunt May, and Peter is still alive he’ll make Tony regret it. Tony then tells Peter to spend the rest of the day with his family. As Peter walks outside there is already a mob of people protesting Peter Parker now that he has unmasked.
Once safely inside a limo he calls Mary Jane and Aunt May to see how they are doing.[5] They are in the middle of telling Peter how proud they are when Peter gets a call on the limo phone. This call is from Mister Fantastic of the Fantastic Four has called to congratulate Peter as well, saying what he has done is commendable.[6] Soon the Invisible Woman gets on the line and Peter decides to hold the two phones up to each other so everyone can talk to each other since all Peter is doing is repeating what people on the other line are saying. [7] After his flight back to New York, Peter Parker is served a lawyer who represents the Daily Bugle, who tells Peter that his former employers are suing him for a number of charges surrounding the fact that he was secretly Spider-Man for the years he sold photos of the wall-crawler to the Bugle.[8] Later, when Peter returns to Stark Towers there is a press mob outside and he ignores their questions as he goes inside.[9] Watching this news coverage is Flash Thompson, who can’t believe that Peter Parker could actually be Spider-Man and thinks this is some kind of trick Spider-Man is pulling to throw off his enemies. Also watching the incoming news reports about Peter Parker are Eddie Brock, from his hospital room, as well as Doctor Octopus and the Vulture who are already plotting schemes to get revenge against Spider-Man.[10]
Upstairs, Peter holds his wife for the first time since this madness first begun. Mary Jane is in the middle of telling him how proud she is of him when Aunt May calls him into the other room to see the news. Peter watches in horror as Tony Stark addresses the heroes who are opposing registration. He warns them to sign up with the government or they will be hunted down and arrested, particularly the list of 137 heroes whose identities that he knows. Tony says this order will be carried out without question, even for dissenters like Captain America. That’s when Tony drops a bombshell, that registered heroes will come after those who refuse to sign up. Among those tasked with hunting those who refuse to register are Spider-Man, something Peter never agreed to do when he agreed to support registration.[11] After hearing this, Peter and Mary Jane need some fresh air to think this out. When they attempt to leave Stark Tower from the back door they are swarmed by reporters with questions. That’s when a man with a gun tries to take a shot at Peter, but thankfully he able to jam his weapon with webbing. As the wounded gunman vows to sue, Peter and Mary Jane retreat back inside the tower.
The next morning, Spider-Man meets with Iron Man who heard what happened and apologizes for it. However, Spider-Man is mad that Tony name-dropped him when naming those who would be hunting those who refuse to register. After hearing Peter’s complaint, Tony admits that he should have told him first. Still, Tony suspects that after tomorrow they’ll be at war and he has gathered an army to deal with dissenters. Going into the next room Spider-Man sees that Iron Man has gathered members of the Avengers, the Thunderbolts, and the Fantastic Four to help enforce the Super-Human Registration Act.[12]
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Iron Man, Mary Jane Watson, Aunt May, J. Jonah Jameson, Joe Robertson, Flash Thompson, Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Thing), Eddie Brock, Doctor Octopus, Vulture, Rhino, Electro, Hydro-Man, Kingpin, Curt Connors, Mysterio, Norman Osborn, Ringmaster, Sandman, Shocker, Stilt-Man, Titania, Tombstone, Black Cat, Captain America, Cyclops, Punisher, Falcon, Doctor Strange, Sub-Mariner, Black Panther, Wolverine, Daredevil, Wasp, Doc Samson, Thunderbolts (Atlas, Blizzard, Fixter, Mach-4, Radioactive Man, Songbird), She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel, “Yellowjacket”
Continuity Notes
This story takes place during the events of Civil War #2. Peter states that he first became Spider-Man when he was 15 years old. Per the Sliding Timescale, Peter became Spider-Man roughly 12 years prior to this story, making him around 27 years old at the time of this story. It should be noted that everyone who learned Peter Parker’s identity through this press conference are made to forget by Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545.
Jameson hired Peter on as a freelance photographer in Amazing Spider-Man #2. Peter had consistently worked for the Bugle for years until about Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #31.
Tony first revealed his identity in Iron Man (vol. 3) #55, however, he walked this back by claimed to have retired from the role in Iron Man (vol. 3) #89. He started operating as Iron Man in secret again in Iron Man (vol. 4) #1, but had recently re-revealed he was Spider-Man again in Civil War #1.
At the time of this family, Tony believes that his only family was the people he thought were his biological parents Howard and Maria Stark, who seemingly died in a car accident, as revealed in Iron Man #28. He will later learn that he was adopted in Iron Man (vol. 5) #17 and he will meet his biological parents years later in International Iron Man #6. He will also learn that he has an adopted brother, Arno in Iron Man (vol. 5) #12.
Mary Jane states that she saw Peter unmask on CNN. The network referenced here should be considered a topical reference.
Mister Fantastic states that he has been a public face for years. The Fantastic Four never hid their civilian identities from the public. It was revealed in Fantastic Four #543 that the group held a press conference to introduce themselves to the public not long after they got their powers in Fantastic Four #1.
It should be noted that Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman know who Peter Parker and Mary Jane are because Peter revealed his identity to the Fantastic Four in Spider-Man/Human Torch #5.
The lawyer states that the damages the Bugle is seeking should be no less than five million dollars. The dollar amount listed here should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616.
Media outlets that Peter is questioned by are CNN, ABC, and Newsweek. One of the reporters asks if Peter is having an affair with actress Jennifer Aniston. All of these should be considered topical references.
Some facts about the heroes and villains featured reacting to Spider-Man’s reveal here:
Eddie Brock is dying of cancer. He made this discovery in Spectacular Spider-Man (vol. 2) #4, the symbiote abandoned him in the around that time as well. It’s later revealed that the cancer diagnosis was a manipulation created by the symbiote in Venom (vol. 4) #11 to try and prevent Eddie from abandoning it. Although Brock originally knew that Peter Parker was Spider-Man when he first bonded with the symbiote (as revealed in Amazing Spider-Man #300), at the time of this story Eddie no longer remembered Peter’s double identity after Spider-Man: The Venom Agenda #1. What Brock does with the knowledge of Peter’s double identity is visited in Sensational Spider-Man (vol. 2) #38-39.
Doctor Octopus’ reaction to Spider-Man’s unmasking is seen in Sensational Spider-Man (vol. 2) #28.
While the Vulture goes after Spider-Man in Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #14-16.
Mysterio is depicted among the collage of villains reacting to the news. Spider-Man: Back in Black Handbook #1 confirms that the Mysterio seen here is Francis Klum.
May states that Captain America was the hero of her generation as though she was alive during World War II. Any notion of the sort should be considered a topical reference as it becomes increasingly impossible for May to have been alive during the War without some means of artificially extending her lifespan.
Among the gathered heroes is an individual who appears to be Yellowjacket. However, this is actually a Skrull spy as we’ll learn in Secret Invasion #1. Per Mighty Avengers #15, Henry Pym was replaced with a Skrull prior to Beyond! #1.
Civil War Continuity
The events of this story take place between issues of the Civil War series and its various spin-off and tie-in series. These moments are:
The first page where Peter Parker is revealing his identity follows the final page of Civil War #2 when Peter first removes his mask before the cameras.
Page 2 through 23 take place after the first page of Civil War #3 and are followed by the events of Civil War: Front Line #2.
Continuity Errors
Eddie Brock’s name on his hospital charts is listed as Edwin Brock. This is incorrect as his first name is actually Edward. I suppose we can assume this is an alias that Brock has given (as weak as it is) so people don’t recognize him.