Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #26
The Mask
Standing on the rooftops holding the mask of the Green Goblin, Spider-Man thinks about his most recent ordeal with Norman Osborn. He recalls how Norman attempted to use drugs and mind control to try and make him an heir to the Goblin legacy.[1] The whole experience makes the wall-crawler realize how little he remembers about his own parents as they died while he was still young.[2] Leaving the Goblin mask behind, Spider-Man decides to go out and find out what kind of person his biological father was.
Meanwhile, on Manhattan’s upper west side, Old Man Franzetti closes up his cigar shop for the night. As he walks home, he once again thinks about how the gentrifying neighborhood will soon mean the end to his business. Suddenly, he becomes aware of an inky black smoke coming up out of the sewers. A taunting voice begins calling out to him, saying it is too late to make a deal. Franzetti tries to flee but a tentacle grabs him by the leg and then drags him into the sewers.
The next day in Forest Hills, Peter Parker is visiting his Aunt May and looking over old photos of his family. Eventually, May asks why Peter is so interested in hearing about his family. Peter explains that the memory of his father is growing fuzzy and wants to know more about him. May is happy to oblige, telling him that at her age she has a better time remembering events that happened decades earlier than things that happened a few days ago. She then starts telling him a story about Peter’s father and his friend, “Big” Mike Callahan, joining the military. Later that night, as he is swinging across the city, Spider-Man is amazed by the stories his Aunt May told him about his father. When Peter Parker returns to the apartment he shares with his roommate, Randy Robertson, Peter discovers that Randy’s father Joe has come for a visit. Randy is asking his father for advice on how to deal with the fact that he was attacked by the Green Goblin recently. Joe, who has plenty of experience dealing with super-villains, tells his son that he can’t let it change him.[3] Pausing long enough to see how Peter is doing, Joe learns about how he’s trying to learn more about his father and suggests that Peter look up one of his father’s old friends. This prompts Peter to call his Aunt May and ask her where he can find Mike Callahan.
A short time later, Peter Parker is standing outside Callahan’s, the bar the Mike Callahan had opened in the years since losing touch with his father. Inside, Peter finds Mike Callahan scolding his son Donny over something. That’s when he notices Peter is inside and asks if he can help him. Peter then introduces himself, Mike can’t believe how much Peter resembles his father. Mike quickly dismisses his son who sets off Peter’s spider-sense when he leaves. Mike apologizes for Donny, saying his boy is a waste. When Peter asks about his own father, Mike happy to tell him all about his father. Down the street at the Vargas Coffee Shop, the owner Miguel Vargas is cleaning up for the night when suddenly the utility sink starts overflowing. Reaching in to try and unclog the drail something grabs his arm. Suddenly the sink water starts turning black. Although Miguel manages to get his arm free a tentacle comes out of the train and pulls him into the water headfirst.
Back at Calahan’s, Mike tells Peter that there is one story about his father that will answer any questions Peter might have about what kind of man his father is. Mike then tells a story from their military days, saying that while on leave he and Richard decided to return to New York. The pair were going home after a night of partying when Richard heard an argument going on down an alley. Although Mike wanted to mind his own business, Richard insisted that they check it out. Down the alleyway, they find a large man bullying someone much smaller than him. Asking what’s going on, the larger man tells them that he’s setting his no-good son straight. Suddenly, the father took a swing at Richard. Richard took the hit and then calmly asks the man if his son could handle a punch like that and suggest that he talk about what’s wrong. Surprisingly, the father calmed down and the pair talked it out until dawn. In retrospect, Mike says that Richard Parker could have easily trounced the abusive father, but he talked to him instead, concluding that Richard was the kind of guy that believed in being responsible and not abusing the power he had. He then tells Peter that his father was a good man and he’s not the only one who can tell him and recommends that Parker look up more of his father’s friends. That’s when they hear a scream coming from outside. Grabbing a baseball bat, Mike tells Peter to stay put while he handles this situation. As Mike leaves, Peter’s spider-sense begins going off again.
Outside, Mike finds Miguel Varga trying to escape from his shop but two tentacles try to drag him back inside. Mike attacks these tentacles and is confronted by their source, a costumed villain calling himself the Squid. Before the Squid can attack Mike, Spider-Man ambushes the foe. As they battle, Spider-Man can barely recall the last time he fought the Squid, even though it happened a few weeks ago.[4] The Squid remembers Spider-Man though because his girlfriend — Ms. Fortune — broke up with him after their last encounter. When Spider-Man tries to attack the Squid, Mike Callahan stops him saying that the Squid is his son. This allows the Squid to grasp Spider-Man in his tentacles. However, Mike tells his son to stop. When the Squid refuses and says his father won’t push him around anymore, Mike suddenly realizes what this is all about. Callahan admits to his son that he hasn’t been the best father but he has always tried his best but has been difficult ever since his wife died. He wasn’t able to keep his son out of trouble and away from gangs and now his son has become a super-villain. The Squid says his girlfriend convinced him that this was the way to go that with his new powers nobody would be able to push him around anymore and now he has the power to kill Spider-Man.
Mike then points out that his last outing as a super-villain led to his defeat at the hands of Spider-Man, that the people who gave him and Ms. Fortune their powers almost got them killed and now he’s living in the sewers terrorizing the people in the neighborhood where he grew up. Mike admits that he failed as a parent and was more focused on running his bar than raising his son, but pleads with him not to kill another man because of that. The Squid lets Spider-Man go and tells Mike that he wanted his father to take care of him. Spider-Man gets up and tells the Squid to stop and is struck in the face. Spider-Man takes the blow and then, taking a page from his own father, asks the Squid if Mike could survive such a blow. This causes the Squid to calm down and he apologizes to his father and they spent the rest of the day talking about their issues. Later that same day, Peter is visiting his Aunt May again and she admits that while she and Uncle Ben raised him longer than his parents, Peter has grown up to be very much like his father. Peter smiles to himself and says that he’s starting to see it himself.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Squid, Aunt May, Randy Robertson, Joe Robertson
Continuity Notes
The Green Goblin’s scheme was chronicled in Spider-Man: Revenge of the Green Goblin #1-3, Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #25 and Peter Parker: Spider-Man #25. Peter thinks to himself that he can’t tell how many times he’s seen Norman Osborn die. That’s an exaggeration since Spider-Man has only been led to believe Osborn died once in Amazing Spider-Man #122. Norman survived as revealed in Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal #1 and revealed his survival to Peter Parker in Spider-Man #75.
Peter Parker’s parents, Richard and Mary Parker, were government agents that were killed in action while Peter was still a toddler, as revealed in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5.
Randy makes particular mention of the villain known as Tombstone. This is because Joe Robertson has a past with Tombstone, and the event went for jail for a time for failing to report a murder committed by the villain. Joe’s ordeal with Tombstone was chronicled in Spectacular Spider-Man #139-142 and 150-156.
Spider-Man previously fought the Squid in Peter Parker: Spider-Man #16.
