Happy Birthday Part Two

Doctor Strange was too late to stop New York’s superheroes (including Spider-Man) from unintentionally reforming Dormammu while trying to banish an invasion of Mindless Ones from the Dark Dimension.[1] While Dormammu is still weak, Doctor Strange will combat him while the others deal with the Mindless Ones that are still running loose on Times Square. The Thing is the first one to leap into battle with Spider-Man, Iron Man, Thor, Cyclops, the Human Torch, and Mister Fantastic following from behind. While not far away, Doctor Strange engages in battle against Dormammu, deciding to dispense his usual speeches and launch into an attack. After Spider-Man saves more people who are endangered by the Mindless Ones, he decides that Doctor Strange shouldn’t fight Dormammu alone and swings to his aid.

It’s by this point that Doctor Strange and Dormammu decide to battle to the death erecting a mystical barrier around themselves. Spider-Man arrives and tries to stop Mindless Ones from interfering and is knocked into the sphere by them instead. Doctor Strange is horrified because Spider-Man’s presence is affecting the essence of his spell. Suddenly there is a massive mystical explosion.

Spider-Man finds himself in darkness wondering if he is dead, however, he decides he’s still alive when he hears Doctor Strange yelling at him to be quiet. The mystic then uses his abilities to reform their physical bodies, which requires a lot of effort in a non-mystical realm. With their forms restored, Doctor Strange explains that the spell he was trying to cast was supposed to spread both his and Dormammu’s essence across the various dimensions before the demonic being can gain full power and destroy the Earth. However, the inclusion of Spider-Man to the mix caused Dormammu to alter his spell and instead of destroying both himself and Doctor Strange, Strange and Spider-Man have found themselves sent back to the moment Strange calls the “precreation hesitation” that occurred prior to the Big Bang. Strange explains he might be able to cast a spell to bring them back but it will take some effort and they will find themselves shifting backwards and forward through history before they finally reach their mark.

The spell Doctor Strange uses brings them back into the timestream where they keep on shifting back and forth between Times Square before the Mindless One invasion and a possible future where everyone is killed by Dormammu.[2] Strange warns them that they must do what needs to be done to prevent this future from happening. That’s when Spider-Man hears Mary Jane calling for help and ignores Doctor Strange’s orders that they must stay together. Spider-Man tries to protect her from a group of Mindless Ones but one of them snaps her neck. When Spider-Man lunges at the Mindless One that killed Mary Jane, he slams into the side of a tombstone instead. Realizing that it is raining and he is in a cemetery he witnesses his older self who is standing over Aunt May’s grave. He tells May that he’ll do her proud but can’t stay long to talk because the police are after him. As officers arrive on the scene, this older Peter Parker puts on his Spider-Man costume which is much different, with a button-up jacket with collar.[3] Spider-Man suddenly finds himself in two places at once. His past, on the day the radioactive spider first bit him, and the future where he is confronted by the police.[4]

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Dormammu, Doctor Strange, Mindless Ones, Iron Man, Thor, Human Torch, Thing, Cyclops, Spider-Man (Earth-312500)

Continuity Notes

1. Reed Richards thinks that Dormammu was not able to cross over into this dimension. This is technically true, Dormammu vowed never to try to invade Earth under his own power after he was defeated by Doctor Strange in Strange Tales #127.

2. This possible future has been identified as Earth-31128 on the Unofficial Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe. While this is not an official source per se, they also happen to write the Official Marvel Handbooks so this designation is as good as any since it’ll probably get used in a future Handbook.

3. This possible future is identified as Earth-312500 in the Spider-Geddon Handbook #1. It is later revealed in Amazing Spider-Man #637 that this version of Spider-Man takes a darker past during the Grim Hunt story arc, killing Kraven the Hunter after he murdered Kaine and Spider-Woman (Mattie Franklin). This version became a wanted criminal after he started murdering his foes.

4. Amazing Fantasy #15. ‘Nuff Said.