Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #53
Parts and Pieces
In Queens, Mary Jane and Aunt May are talking about Peter’s double life as Spider-Man. May admits that she is still having problems processing the revelation that Peter has been Spider-Man all these years. She can’t even bring herself to call Peter anything other than his name until she can come to terms that Peter is also Spider-Man.[1] That’s when Mary Jane gets a call from Peter, who tells her that he is coming home after investigating the connection between Digger and the Vegas Thirteen. He tells her that the creature is an amalgamation of thirteen mob bosses that were murdered back in 1957, that was brought to life due to a combination of chemicals dumped on the location and a gamma bomb blast.[2]
Elsewhere in New York, Digger looks around the city and sees that all of the old homes owned by the various crime bosses that comprise his body are now long gone, torn down and replaced with newer buildings. Digger plans to get revenge against every crime family that was played a hand in the death of the Vegas Thirteen, but first, he’s going to take everything from Morris Forelli.[3] Later, Peter is back in New York and trying to wrap his head around the ethics of helping Forelli. Peter tells Mary Jane that he knows he has to stop Digger because he has hurt and killed people, but on the other hand, so has Morris Forelli. When he suggests bringing Mary Jane back to her hotel room, Mary Jane says she’s not going back there this evening. She reminds him that they got back together because they need each other and it’s time for him to prove it.[4] They start kissing and one thing leads to another. Later, Peter watches Mary Jane sleep and thanks God for bringing her back into his life.
Later that evening, Digger crashes in on an illegal sports gambling den and begins trashing the place. When Peter gets a text message from Morris about the attack, he’s already on patrol as Spider-Man and heads to the scene.[5] As Spider-Man battles Digger, the monstrous mobster has figured out that the web-slinger is working for Forelli, saying that that’s how Morris works. Spider-Man then tries to reason with the creature, but when he begins saying the name of the men who he used to be, Digger goes berzerk. As they fight, gunmen hired to Forelli arrive on the scene and begin opening fire before Spider-Man can convince them to stop. As Spider-Man leaps out of the way of the bullets, Digger withstands the onslaught. Realizing that Digger hasn’t fallen, the mobsters open fire again, this time they blast off a chunk of Digger’s skin before Spider-Man rushes them to safety. Furious that Forelli sent gunmen to “help” him out, Spider-Man leaves the shooters webbed up. Going back to the scene of the battle, Spider-Man discovers that Digger has escaped again, but he finds a sample of the monster’s blood which he hopes will help him find a way to stop the creature once and for all. While down in the sewers, Digger nurses his wounds and begins the next phase of his plans.
First, Spider-Man goes to the Forelli mansion to confront Morris and tell him not to send gunmen to one of his battles again. He then chastises Forelli for being no different than Digger, as he doesn’t seem to care who gets hurt until in this little war. That’s when Lynne comes in and tells Spider-Man to let go of her father and slaps him across the face. It takes the wall-crawler a moment to compose himself and then, as he leaves, tells Forelli that he has a lead to check on. He then warns Forelli that if his men hurt Digger he’s likely mad and will come right at him and tells him to keep his loved ones inside. Swinging away, Spider-Man tells Forelli that he’s increasing his rate to twelve grand. After Spider-Man is gone, Morris apologizes to his daughter because if he wasn’t the man he is, she wouldn’t be in any danger.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Digger, Mary Jane Watson, Aunt May, Morris Forelli, Lynne Forelli
Continuity Notes
Aunt May recently discovered Peter was Spider-Man in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #35.
The origins of Digger were detailed in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #51-52.
The deaths of the Vegas Thirteen in 1957 is said to be on direct orders of Morris Forelli. However, as the Sliding TImescale moves forward it becomes difficult to explain how Morris could be alive in the Modern Age without Forelli’s life being extended by artificial means. Marvel has yet to provide an official explanation. My take on it is that Morris Forelli is a direct family member of the Forelli that ordered the hit on the Vegas Thirteen.
At the time of this story, Peter and Mary Jane had just gotten over a brief separation that lasted from Amazing Spider-Man Annual 2001 until Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #50. They are referred to as husband and wife here, however not long after this story their marriage is erased from existence by Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. As such they should be considered a common-law couple here.
Peter is depicted using a pager here. This should be considered a topical reference because, holy shit, nobody uses pagers anymore.
