Amazing Spider-Man #629

Sep 5

Sep 5 Amazing Spider-Man #629

With Great Power…

Carlie Cooper has arrived at the NYPD’s 5th Precinct where things have gone crazy between Spider-Man and the Juggernaut’s battle with Captain Universe and the recent earthquake that rocked the island of Manhattan.[1] Carlie is updated on what’s going on by Brenda, a uniformed police officer, who tells her that Spider-Man has a lot to answer for but nobody knows where to find the web-slinger.

At that moment, at a demolition site, Captain Universe has used his powers to restrain Spider-Man and the Juggernaut. Captain Universe has convinced himself that he was given the Enigma Force to get revenge against the Juggernaut, whom he believes is responsible for ruining his life. He then pulls Spider-Man and the Juggernaut into another realm. There, Spider-Man still tries to talk reason to Captain Universe, but he refuses to listen.[3] When he talks about how the Juggernaut ruined his life and how he almost killed Spider-Man in the process, he reveals that he was there to see it.

Suddenly, they start seeing Captain Universe’s memories. They learn that he was named William Nguyen and he was on the fast track at a major financial firm until the day the Juggernaut came crashing through his office. While he understands that Spider-Man was just doing his job trying to stop the Juggernaut, the damage caused to the building forced the company he worked for to downsize and William Nguyen found himself unemployed.[3] While he was assured the layoff would only be temporary, it wasn’t. Unable to find a job in his career, his girlfriend left him because she didn’t see a future with him anymore. William was later forced to get a job working at a fast-food restaurant. The hits kept on happening, William was later mugged on two different occasions and, unable to afford his apartment anymore, was evicted. Forced to live on the street, William hit rock bottom and one day decided to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge.

The Juggernaut is not the least bit sympathetic and this prompts Captain Universe to probe the Juggernaut’s mind to learn about his own past. The memories he pulls up are the time that Cain Marko gained his powers from the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak and was buried alive. He remarks about how he had to dig his way out.[4] However, this was nothing compared to his first battle with Spider-Man, who won their battle by tricking him into walking onto a foundation pour for a new high rise development. He explains that he spent a while month pounding his way through the very bedrock of Manhattan in order to get free. Spider-Man is shocked to learn how long it took the Juggernaut to get free. Hearing how he had to dig through bedrock prompts Spider-Man to try and get more information out of the Juggernaut, but Captain Universe has heard enough and continues his story. He explains how when he William Nguyen jumped off the bridge, the Uni-Power came to him, changing him into the latest Captain Universe. With this power, he decided to get revenge against the Juggernaut. As they fought, he tried to probe the Juggernaut’s mind to learn his weakness, but his helmet blocked mental probes. Captain Universe then trashed the Juggernaut’s helmet and then send him crashing to Earth. Assuming the Juggernaut was dead, William was surprised that the Uni-Power had not left him yet and so he decided to have fun by putting a drunk driver on top of the arch at Washington Square Park. That’s when he learned the Juggernaut survived their previous encounter and went after him to finish him off. The Juggernaut calls Captain Universe a wimp and says to try to fight him in a fare fight.

Deciding to oblige the Juggernaut, Captain Universe returns them to Earth and the pair prepare to spar. Spider-Man gets between them and tries, once again, to talk reason to William but he doesn’t want to listen. That’s when Manhattan is hit by another massive tremor. Ignoring this danger, Captain Universe tries to destroy the Juggernaut. However, the Uni-Power has other plans and leaves William Nguyen and transfers its essence over to the Juggernaut. With the power of Captain Universe, the Juggernaut seals Spider-Man and William in an energy sphere, telling them that he’ll deal with them in a moment. He then becomes intangible and sinks into the earth to get down to the bedrock under Manhattan. The Uni-Power has told Cain that these earthquakes are the result of the damage he caused to the tectonic plates years earlier trying to escape from his concrete prison. While the Juggernaut is using the Enigma Force to repair the damage done, Spider-Man works to try and free himself and William from the force bubble. He succeeds after wrapping himself and William in a coat of protective webbing and knocks the ball of energy into an electrical transformer.

That’s when the Juggernaut returns and grabs William, telling him that he finished the job the Nguyen abandoned and saved the city. William totally surrenders, saying that he gives up and can’t compete with superhumans. Spider-Man, thinking that the Juggernaut is going to kill William tries to talk him out of it. Surprisingly, the Juggernaut tells William that he’s sorry for everything and drops him. That’s when the Uni-Power decides that it is no longer needed and leaves. In the aftermath of the battle, the Juggernaut admits that Spider-Man was right and walks off. William is utterly devastated by his loss of power, but Spider-Man points out that he went up against the Juggernaut and got him to apologize, which is a nearly impossible feat.

Several weeks later, William Nguyen has published a best seller about his experience titled I Survived the Juggernaut. On a daytime talk show to promote his book, William talks about how the power he gained was too much for him to handle, but he learned that he has to be responsible for his actions as Captain Universe and is donating proceeds to of his book to pay restitution for the damage he caused. Peter Parker is watching this on television at the Coffee Bean while waiting for Carlie Cooper to show up for their date. Carlie catches the tail end of the interview and wonders what it would be like to have such power. Peter, with a smirk on his face, says that he can imagine what it’s like.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Juggernaut, Captain Universe (Nguyen), Carlie Cooper

Continuity Notes

Among the precinct chatter, someone makes mention to a “Japanese building” that is being built in Hell’s Kitchen. This is a reference to the Shadowland headquarters constructed by the Hand. See Shadowland #1 for details.
Spider-Man makes reference to the fact that he is an unregistered superhero. See Civil War #1-7, but in a nutshell, the government enacted a Super Human Registration Act. Spider-Man initially supported it but later rescinded his support over ethical concerns.
The Spider-Man/Juggernaut battle in question happened in Amazing Spider-Man #229-230.
The Juggernaut’s origins were originally depicted in X-Men #13.

Topical References

Real-world businesses: Amazon

Shed: Prologue

Doctor Curt Connors and his assistant Marissa watch in awe as a pair of iguanas begin mating the fifth time that day. This is due to Connors discovering a means of replicating the pheromones that stimulate the part of the neocortex to trigger what is basically the biological equivalent of love. He explains to Marissa that this application could be transferred to humans since they still have an r-complex in their brain that dates back to their lizard ancestry. That’s when his boss, Brian King, comes in and is upset to learn that Connors hasn’t moved onto human trials yet as he is getting pressure from his managers at Phelcorp who want results. He reminds Connors that he needs this job as the money helps him prove to the support workers that he is fit to look after his son.

The whole time King is emasculating Connors, the voice of the Lizard speaks up and tells him to stand up for himself and kill Brain King. Curt’s obvious upset is also affecting the iguanas causing them to become agitated. Instead of asserting himself, Connors excuses himself and leaves the room. Brain King warns Curt that this conversation is far from over and leaves. Meanwhile, Curt goes tearing through his office to find a vial of the Lizard formula and in his rage contemplates drinking it. Thankfully, his sanity reasserts itself and he stops himself from making a terrible mistake. As he resists the urge, the voice the Lizard quickly fades from his mind.