Marked

Brighton Beach, Brooklyn

Russian mobster Dmitri Ivankov is upset when he is delivered a piece of paper with a black spot on it. One of his men points out that in the book Treasure Island the pirates would give such a note to enemies they wished to kill. The whole thing is dismissed either as a prank or a criticism from one of Ivankov’s enemies over the bad press his gang has received over a drive-by shooting in Staten Island the week before.

Two Weeks Later

Peter Parker is running late again thanks to the poor service of the subways to visit his Aunt May who has been reassigned to the FEAST Center on Coney Island.[1] When he arrives just as Aunt May is kicking out Dmitri Ivankov. The mobster had come to make donations to the FEAST Center which May has refused due to his involvement in sex trafficking and protection rackets. Ivankov leaves, admiring May for reminding him of his grandmother.[2] When Peter asks if the cops are any help, but May tells her nephew that nobody in the neighborhood is willing to stand up to Ivankov and his mob and nobody can get any proof of his crimes. Peter tells his aunt to keep faith that someone will find proof soon fully intending on getting involved as Spider-Man.

Later in Red Hook, Dmitri and his men meet with an illegal arms dealer named General Koschei whose status as a Russian military hero grants him access to the newest weapons on the market.[3] After a demonstration of a new rifle that has an x-ray scope and fires explosive rounds, Ivankov orders six. As the deal is being made, they are unaware that Spider-Man is spying on them and taking photos. As he scans the area, the wall-crawler is surprised when a black hole suddenly begins opening behind the guards allowing hands to reach through and kill them. In all the commotion, the General spots Spider-Man in his scope and is about to shoot the wall-crawler when suddenly, the same killer snaps his neck. A portal then opens in front of Ivankov and out emerges a man in a white bodysuit with black spots all over his body. Spider-Man swoops in to stop the killer and recognizes him as the Spot. Unfortunately, when the web-slinger tries to nab the Spot, but the villain teleports away. Dmitri asks Spider-Man to help protect his life, but Spider-Man only agrees to do so if he promises to testify against his fellow mobsters. Unfortunately, Dmitri calls Spider-Man’s bluff, forcing Spider-Man to carry him to safety.[4]

As Spider-Man tries to flee the scene with Ivankov, the Spot keeps on using his portals to disorientate the wall-crawler and prevent him from leaving.[5] When Spider-Man tries to punch the Spot in the chest, his fist passes through a portal through his chest and out of the Spot’s face, making the web-spinner punch himself in the face. Refusing to let the Spot murder the mobster, Spider-Man then webs the criminal to himself in order to stop the Spot from trying to kill Dmitri. Spider-Man is unnerved by the killer’s silence when suddenly, the Spot pulls out a diary and hands it to Spider-Man.[6] It is a confession of the Spot’s current motivations.

It details how the Spot survived his failed attempt at double-crossing MODOK which resulted in the Mandarin using his blacklight ring to envelop the Spot with his own portals.[7] He found himself trapped in the anti-dimension that exists on the other side of his portals, although he was occasionally able to project his image into the real world he couldn’t find a way out.[8] Going mad, the Spot then managed to find a temporary escape by focusing on the one thing that was good in his life before he was transformed into the Spot.

Unfortunately, Spider-Man is unable to read this confession because the Spot has written nothing but an illegible series of spots on the page. When the wall-crawler points this out the Spot has already vanished. Looking at the package included with the diary, Spider-Man notes that it is addressed to someone named Wyatt Ohnn. Dmitri recognizes the name as the boy who was accidentally shot during his drive-by shooting. This angers Spider-Man who wraps up Dmitri and his assistant, Fyodor to the authorities. Later, Spider-Man drops off the package to the hospital room where Wyatt Ohnn is on life support. His mother opens the package and is surprised to discover that it contains a copy of Treasure Island the story her ex-husband used to read to their son before the accident that turned him into the Spot.

This entire experience has driven Dmitri Ivankov mad and he has been sent to Bellevue Hospital where he rants and raves about the Spot coming after him.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, The Spot, Aunt May, (in flashback) Bookie, Joe Smith, Thunderball, Vanisher, Killer Shrike, Ox

Continuity Notes

1. Peter laments over his roommate, Vin Gonzales, ending up in jail and Harry Osborn’s girlfriend Lily Hollister being outed as the Menace. This all happened during the Character Assassination story arc which ran from Amazing Spider-Man #584-588.

2. Ivankov mentions how his grandmother helped drive off four Panzer tank divisions during the Battle of Stalingrad. This battle took place between August 1942 and February 1943. This should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616 as Dmitri is an individual who lives in the modern age who has a normal human lifespan.

3. General Koschei is stated to have defended the border of Grozny during the First Chechen War that raged from December 1994 until August 1996. This should also be considered a topical reference.

4. Spider-Man complains about how until recently he was accused of being a serial killer and his worst enemy has made the government basically brand him as a terrorist. There is a lot to unpack here:

   • Spider-Man was accused of being the so-called spider-tracer killer back in Amazing Spider-Man #547 when bodies were turning up with spider-tracers on them. It was later revealed in Amazing Spider-Man #585 that this was actually a conspiracy to frame Spider-Man being operated by police officers within the NYPD who hate the wall-crawling vigilante.

   • Spider-Man’s comment about the government being secretly run by his worst enemy is a slight exaggeration. He is referring to Norman Osborn who was put in charge of SHIELD after he killed Queen Veranke, the leader of a Skrull invasion of Earth in Secret Invasion #8.

   • Sidebar: Spider-Man begins talking in a husky voice, saying that he is practicing his Christian Bale impression. This is a reference to the actor’s role in the Dark Knight movies released by Warner Brothers based on Batman, a character published by rival DC Comics. References to Bale should be considered topical.

5. Spider-Man glosses over the Spot’s past career recalling how he got his powers trying to recreate the abilities of Cloak and Dagger and was part of the Kingpin’s criminal organization. This was all detailed in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #94, and 97-100. Spider-Man also mentions the Spot’s being delegated to the “D-List” of super-villains. This is a reference to the Spot being part of the ridiculous Spider-Man Revenge Squad circa Spectacular Spider-Man #245-246, which was the last time Spider-Man faced the Spot.

6. One of the crates has a label reading “Ditko, Inc.” this is a reference to Steve Ditko, the co-creator of Spider-Man.

7. The Spot attempted to betray MODOK in Super-Villain Team-Up: MODOK’s 11 #3.

8. This statement is used to explain a seemingly normal Spot appearing in the Bar With No Name in Amazing Spider-Man #552. It’s interesting to note that in the flashback at the Bar With No Name pictured here the Melter is depicted among the patrons. At the time of this story, the original Melter — Bruno Horgan — had been dead since Avengers #263. It’s probably an error on the part of the artist as there is no official explanation as for it. Also present is Joe Smith, who Spider-Man first fought in Amazing Spider-Man #38. Smith wasn’t really a villain, so why he is at the Bar With No Name is also a mystery.