Identity Crisis

Thinking she has captured Spider-Man, the daughter of Kraven the Hunter has brought Vin Gonzales — Peter Parker’s roommate — into the sewers.[1] As she asks Gonzales how he’d like to die, Vin tries to convince her that she’s made a mistake, but Kraven refuses to listen. As she kicks him around the room, she finds Vin’s begging unbecoming of the Spider-Man she knows and points out he has to be Spider-Man since she found the wall-crawler’s costume and equipment in Vin’s apartment. She continues to beat on Vin, telling him not to die too soon.

Meanwhile, Peter Parker has returned to his apartment and finds that Vin isn’t home. He finds this suspicious because he never goes out this late but tries to dismiss it as something wrong. To clear his mind, Peter decides to change into Spider-Man and go web-slinging. However, he is in for a shock when he opens his suitcase and finds that his costume is missing. Fearing the worst, that Vin — a police officer — has found the costume and is rounding up a posse.[2] Deciding he has to do something, Peter decides to call on Matt Murdock for help.[3] Webbing up his face, Peter pays a visit to Murdock at his home and asks to borrow his Daredevil costume,[4] saying he needs it to recover his own costume. Matt is surprised that Spider-Man is not coming to him for legal help.[5] Although Murdock is reluctant at first, he agrees after Peter points out it will help Murdock convince the public that he is not Daredevil.[6]

At that moment, Vin Gonzales wakes up and finds himself chained up again. Kraven’s daughter has realized she made a mistake — other than the obvious one — and thinks that Spider-Man must take some kind of formula to get his spider-powers for a limited time. To remedy this, she injects Vin with a dose of Mutant Growth Hormone so he will be able to defend himself in the coming hunt. Soon after, she is suddenly surrounded by an army of rats and a rabid dog under the command of Vermin, who demands that these intruders leave his domain. Killing the dog, Karven’s daughter finds this appropriate and warns Vermin against harming Vin, assuring Gonzales that this won’t take long.[7]

By this time, Spider-Man is wearing Daredevil’s costume and is heading to 5th Precinct where he hopes to recover his costume. Along the way, he tries to come up with an excuse to explain to Vin why Spider-Man’s costume was in Peter Parker’s room. Entering the front door, “Daredevil” convinces the desk sergeant that he is really a superhero and gets a meeting with Sargeant Quentin Palone. Saying that he needs to talk to Vin Gonzales about Spider-Man, Palone says that they just busted a drug dealer who claims that a young woman kidnapped Spider-Man and is going to dose him with MGH. Back in the sewers, the MGH stars kicking in and Vin decides to try and make an escape. Detecting this escape attempt, Kraven’s daughter catches Vin in a bolo and is upset hat this distraction allowed Vermin to escape.

Meanwhile, “Daredevil” has arrived at Pier 17 to look for clues as to where Vin has been taken. He is ambushed by Vermin, whom he remembers from past encounters and as he fights off his attacker, Spider-Man notices that Vermin is injured.[8] At that same moment, Vin is taken to the sewer tunnels where Spider-Man had his last battle with Kraven the Hunter and orders him to run, telling him that there is no joy in a cold-blooded kill. Because she threatened to harm his loved ones if he didn’t comply, Vin warns her that if she so much as harms anyone else she will wish he really was Spider-Man and then sprints down the tunnel. While on the surface, the real Spider-Man is discovering that Vermin is much more savage than before. As the creature continues to bite him, he makes a silent apology to Vin before passing out.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Kraven the Hunter, Vermin, Matt Murdock, Vin Gonzales, Quentin Palone

Continuity Notes

1. Peter Parker had just recently moved in with Vin Gonzales in Amazing Spider-Man #561

2. Peter states here that he is a wanted fugitive. This is because, following Civil War #1-7, superhumans must register with the government as part of the Super-Human Registration Act. Although Spider-Man supported the SHRA at first, he renounced his support in Amazing Spider-Man #535. More recently, Spider-Man has been accused of being the spider-tracer killer since Amazing Spider-Man #548.

3. Peter Parker knows has known that Matt Murdock is Daredevil for years during their hunt for the Sin-Eater back in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #107-110. Although Murdock also learned that Peter Parker was Spider-Man at the same time, his knowledge of Peter’s public identity was erased from his memory along with virtually everyone else after Mephisto altered reality in Amazing Spider-Man #545.

4. To convince Murdock that he is really Spider-Man by telling Murodck that they fought the Masked Marauder together. The pair actually fought the Masked Marauder on two separate occasions. The first time was in Daredevil #16-17, and a second time in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #26-27.

5. Spider-Man is being sued by a construction worker who blames him for nearly getting killed when Meance attacked him while on a job in Amazing Spider-Man #549.

6. Although Murdock has attempted to keep his identity a secret his identity was leaked to the public in Daredevil (vol. 2) #32. He has since been trying to trick the public into thinking otherwise.

7. The reason why Ana Kravinoff finds this appropriate is that her father, the original Kraven the Hunter, captured the Vermin as part of his Last Hunt, as seen in Web of Spider-Man #31-32, Amazing Spider-Man #293-294, Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #131-132.

8. Some facts about Spider-Man’s recollection about his past battles with Vermin:

   • He specifically recalls his battle with Vermin during Kraven’s Last Hunt. However, he seems to forget all the other times such as in Marvel Team-Up #128, Spectacular Spider-Man #178-184, and Spectacular Spider-Man #194-196.

   • He mentions that this battle happened not long after he and Mary Jane moved in together. This is a nod to the fact that Peter Parker’s marriage to Mary Jane Watson was erased from history in Amazing Spider-Man #545. Originally, Kraven’s Last Hunt happened shortly after the couple got married in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21.