The War at Home Part Four

Mary Jane wakes up at 2:30 in the morning when she discovers Peter is not in bed. Seeing that he is up watching the early morning news, she invites him back to bed, but he tells her he can’t sleep. As Mary Jane goes back to bed, Peter takes a great interest in the business report which says that Stark Industries and Fantastic Four Incorporated are receiving several no-bid contracts from the United States as a result of the Super-Human Registration Act.[1] Peter gets up and goes down to Tony Stark’s room to sarcastically congratulate Tony for the huge business he must be making. In no mood to deal with Peter, Tony asks him to get to the point as he has places to go. Peter demands that Tony take him to the prison they have set up for those who refuse to register, telling Stark that him after h has Peter arresting people he considered friends. Tony takes Peter to the Baxter Building where they meet with Mister Fantastic. When Peter asks where Sue and Ben are, Reed deflects these questions.[2] Peter is shocked to discover that all of the prisoners are being kept into the Negative Zone. Peter is even more shocked when they arrive outside Prisoner 42 and sees how massive the facility is.

Iron Man then starts giving Peter a tour of the facility, showing off all the various layers of security that are in place to prevent anyone from breaking out. Peter isn’t impressed with the conditions and hopes that this is only an interim solution to the problem. That’s when Iron Man reveals that this isn’t a temporary solution, this is the end of the line for anyone who flaunts registration unless they register. When Peter tries to protest on their behalf, Tony loses his temper telling Peter that there are no half-measures for dealing with people who refuse to register. Peter tells Tony to take off his helmet and look at him straight in the face when he says he’s willing to incarcerate people for life if they refuse to register with the government. Tony admits that he hates what they are doing, but he says that there is no other choice because the law is the law. Peter reminds Tony that the law should allow people to have a trial before they are locked away forever. However, Stark says they can do that and they will. When Peter points out that people like She-Hulk are trying to fight the law. Putting his helmet back on, Iron Man responds that they can fight things all they want, the only level of government that can overthrow this law is the Supreme Court, and even then the prison lost all their rights as citizens the moment they crossed over into the Negative Zone as the United States has no jurisdiction over this domain.[3] He does agree that it would be a terrible thing to be incarcerated in this prison for being against the SHRA, making a point to emphasize as a warning to Peter not to cross him.

When they return to the Baxter Building, Peter asks Tony to leave him alone for a few minutes with Mister Fantastic. With Stark gone, Peter asks Reed how he could support something like the Super-Human Registration Act. Reed tells Peter about his Uncle Ted. Ted was the black sheep of the Richards family as he was an eccentric writer. However, Ted ran afoul during a moment in history when the United States government was putting dissidents before a Senate hearing. Ted was put before this hearing and he refused to name anyone who might be involved in anti-government activities he was held in contempt for six months and when he was released his career was ruined. Even the family disowned him and ultimately, Ted killed himself.[4] Peter still doesn’t understand why Reed wouldn’t support someone brave like his Uncle Ted. Reed explains that they have to follow the law because it’s what keeps order in society and that if a law is bad, it should be changed through official channels. That’s when Tony comes back in telling Peter that it’s time to go. Before he leaves, Peter says that he would have liked Reed’s Uncle Ted, and makes a point of saying that Reed loved him. Alone in the dark, this gives Reed a lot to think about it.

Outside, Iron Man tells Peter that he wants to send him to Los Angeles to help set up something he’s calling the 50-State Initiative, thinking Peter needs a break from what’s going on in New York City.[5] Peter says he doesn’t need a break and then asks what would happen to Mary Jane and Aunt May, and Tony assures him that he would make sure they stay safe. He then says there will be a plane ready for Peter in the morning and takes off. Peter returns to Stark Tower where he secretly wakes up Mary Jane and Aunt May and tells them that they need to get away because it is no longer safe, saying he realizes he made a terrible mistake. As soon as he says there is some crashing from outside. Knowing what’s happening, Peter sends his family away as he changes into his Spider-Man costume. Suddenly, Iron Man comes bursting through the wall and rams into Spider-Man, angered by the fact that Peter would choose to betray him now.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Iron Man, Mister Fantastic, Mary Jane Watson, Aunt May, Prodigy, Gladiatrix, Living Mummy

Continuity Notes

1. Another company mentioned here is Halliburton, a company that — in the real world — has a lot of defense contracts with the United States government. Like any other real-life organization, the mention of Halliburton here should be considered a topical reference. The price tags on the Stark and FF Inc. contracts should be considered topical as well.

2. The Thing decided to remain neutral on the issue of the Civil War and went to Europe to wait it out in Fantastic Four #539. While Sue defected to Captain America’s side when she could no longer support pro-registration in Fantastic Four #540. Peter doesn’t ask where Johnny is, but Johnny was put in the emergency room in after he was beaten by a mob in Civil War #1. After he recovered he joined Captain America’s side in Civil War #4. The team won’t get back together until Fantastic Four #543.

3. She-Hulk is indeed using legal channels to fight against the SHRA, as we’ve seen in She-Hulk (vol. 2) #8.

4. Specifically, Peter says that his Uncle Ted was brought before the Joseph McCarthy’s House of Un-American Activities Committee which persecuted people they suspected of being Communists in the 1950s. This should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616.

5. Tony’s 50-State Initiative comes to fruition as we’ll see in Avengers: The Initiative #1. The team that Stark ends up setting up in California is the Order as we’ll see in Civil War #6.

Civil War Continuity

This story takes place between Civil War #4 and 5 and some of the plot elements here intersect with other tie-in and spin-off issues. These events are:

• Peter’s tour into the Negative Zone prison intersects with the events of Civil War: Front Line #9

• Peter’s talk with Reed Richards where he learns about Reed’s Uncle Ted is told from Reed’s perspective in Fantastic Four #540.