Amazing Spider-Man #602
Tenth of September
Thinking about the level of security that has become everyday life at airports across America, the Chameleon thinks about all of the warnings the government has gotten and ignored leading to successful terror attacks. He remarks to himself that while there are eyes everywhere, they are all blind.[1] At that moment he has a struggling actor tied to a chair while he listens to a pre-recorded telephone conversation the actor had with his mother. The man is disturbed that the Chameleon is not answering his questions and is learning how to imitate his voice. Once the Chameleon perfects his mimicry he fires a polymer into the actor’s face that allows the spy to get a perfect cast of the actor’s face before dumping the body into a vat of acid that is stored underneath his hideout.
At that same moment, Spider-Man is after the criminal known as Slyde, whom he thought was dead.[2] While attempting to apprehend the villain Spider-Man suddenly discovers that Slyde is an NYPD police officer and this is a sting operation staged by mayor J. Jonah Jameson’s Anti-Spider-Man Squad. Spider-Man is hardly phased when officers wearing surplus Mandroid armor try to apprehend him.[3] He manages to escape the police by hitching a ride on the side of a passing bus. The fact that he is being hounded by J. Jonah Jameson’s Anti-Spider-Man Squad is ironic to Peter as he is due for a job interview at the city hall to get a job as Jameson’s photographer. His need to show up on time leaves Peter to think about how he was stood up by his ex, Mary Jane, who had made arrangements to meet him the night before and wonders if she did so intentionally.[4] As Peter arrives at city hall on time, he passes by and pays no mind to a street performer who is dressed up like the Statue of Liberty that is hanging around outside.
Inside, J. Jonah Jameson is being told that his latest sting to try and nab Spider-Man has failed and his aid, Glory Grant, warns Jameson about the latest round of negative polling. That’s when Peter arrives for his interview, gaining the attention of the Chameleon who is listening in on the conversation from afar. He knows Parker is one of the mayor’s new in-laws and a useful asset.[5] Jameson berates Peter for being late, warning him he won’t get away with that while he is working on the taxpayer dime. Hearing that Peter is going to be the mayor’s staff photographer, Theodore Haskell — the Deputy Mayor for Operations — suggests that they could take pictures inside the city’s new shadow command center that is to replace One Police Plaza in the event of a terrorist attack. While they can’t disclose it’s location, photos of the building’s interior will help boost the mayor’s flagging public image. Jonah loves the idea and thinks this will help him get over how his father guilted him into giving Peter the job. After being dismissed, Peter begins making fun of Jonah outside his office within earshot of other members of the staff. This upset Glory who pulls Peter aside and tells him that this isn’t the Daily Bugle anymore. Reminding Peter of the city’s current unemployment rate he should be grateful to have any job at all. Lastly, she points out that regardless of who he is personally, J. Jonah Jameson is the mayor of New York City and will be treated with respect. Stunned into silence by this scolding, Peter is told he’ll be contacted when the photo op is set up.
Leaving, Peter comes to terms with the idea of having to treat Jonah with respect. As he passes through the city hall courtyard his spider-sense begins going off like crazy but he can’t pinpoint the danger. The Chameleon, seeing Peter Parker as his way into the mayor’s inner circle strikes. Disguised as the street performer, the spy reaches out and pricks Peter in the back of the neck with his torch prop. It is tipped with a drug that knocks Peter out immediately. The Chameleon then summons a remote-controlled ambulance and loads Peter into it, pretending to be a good samaritan.
At that moment, Mary Jane Watson pays a visit to Harry Osborn who is busy mopping the floor at the Coffee Bean.[6] He’s delighted to see her back in town and out of habit he asks if she’s seen Peter.[7] After telling Harry it’s not uncomfortable to talk about her ex, she then tells Harry that she’s back in New York working on a new reality television show at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Before they catch-up further, Mary Jane needs to go to the bathroom and as she passes by the door to the backroom, Mary Jane notices that Harry has been sleeping at the Coffee Bean.[8]
Meanwhile, the Chameleon has Peter Parker strapped to a chair in his hideout. As he is going through the ritual he undergoes before taking on someone’s identity, the Chameleon can’t help but wonder where he’s heard the name Peter Parker before, but can’t remember where.[9] After perfecting Peter’s voice, the Chameleon makes a copy of his face and then plunges Parker into the vat of acid. Just then, Mary Jane calls Peter’s cell phone. Answering it, the Chameleon totally fools Mary Jane when she apologizes for not showing up the night before and agrees to meet with her to talk about her concerns about Harry. As an empty chair emerges from the acid, the Chameleon agrees to meet with her.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Chameleon, Mary Jane Watson, J. Jonah Jameson, Glory Grant, Harry Osborn, Slyde
Continuity Notes
The Chameleon specifically mentions the bombing of the American embassy in Nairobi on August 7, 1998; the ever-popular terror attacks of September 11, 2001, and a series of bombings in Mumbai, India on November 26-29th 2008. These specific references should be considered topical.
You’d think the mortality of a d-list villain like Slyde would be easy to validate, but it’s a lot more complicated than one would think. The original Slyde is Jalome Beacher who first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #272. He’s still alive. His step-brother Matthew was the second Slyde, first taking on the mantle in Spider-Man Unlimited #6. He was killed by a fight with Wolverine in Wolverine (vol. 3) #27, that Slyde is dead at the time of this story.
Spider-Man jokes about how the Mandroids were cutting edge technology when he was still in high school. As with many of Spider-Man’s jokes, this is an exaggeration. The Mandroid armor first appeared in Avengers #94. Which was in the fourth year of the Modern Age. Peter had graduated from high school in Amazing Spider-Man #28, two years prior to that.
Peter references being stood up by Mary Jane as following the wedding of Auny May and Jay Jameson. These events happened in Amazing Spider-Man #600 and 601.
Peter mentions how Glory’s former employer, Dexter Bennett at the DB newspaper is facing hard financial times. Dexter Bennett bought the Daily Bugle in Amazing Spider-Man #547 when the paper was struggling to keep in business. Bennett’s attempt to rebrand the paper as a tabloid called the DB have not been going so well as we learned in Amazing Spider-Man #591.
Mary Jane refers to Harry’s father as the director of HAMMER. HAMMER is a successor organization to SHIELD created by Norman Osborn after he was named head of the agency following his assassination of the queen of Skrull invaders in Secret Invasion #8.
Peter and Mary Jane have been broken up since Amazing Spider-Man #545. The details of their break-up are made in Amazing Spider-Man #605.
Harry has been in dire financial straits after a falling out with his father in Amazing Spider-Man #595-599.
The Chameleon has been intertwined in the life of Peter Parker more than a few times. First, he’s already attempted to steal Peter Parker’s identity before, as seen in Amazing Spider-Man #80. The Chameleon also learned Peter Parker’s identity on two different occasions. First, in Spectacular Spider-Man #242, although he forgot Peter’s secret after taking a nose dive off the George Washington Bridge in Webspinners: Tales of Spider-Man #11. However, he learned Peter’s identity again when Peter revealed his identity in Civil War #2. He attempted to use this knowledge to try and infiltrate Peter’s life but Aunt May saw through his disguise as seen in Sensational Spider-Man (vol. 2) #29-31. However, the Chameleon — along with virtually everyone else — was made to forget Spider-Man’s secret identity when Mephisto altered reality in Amazing Spider-Man #545.
