Amazing Spider-Man #644
Origin of the Species Part Three
The authorities and an army of super-villains are chasing Spider-Man across the city to reclaim a new born that is allegedly the son of Norman Osborn.[1] Due to this, the NYPD has experienced a rash of women coming into police stations claiming that Spider-Man stole their baby.
Meanwhile, Spider-Man is trying to get the baby Osborn to safety when he is attacked by the Vulture. Luckily, his battle is short lived when the Freak — who wants the baby for himself — attacks the Vulture. As the two villains fight it out, Spider-Man spots a woman nursing her own child on the stoop of an apartment complex. Spider-Man rushes to her and asks for a diaper and formula for baby Osborn, but she panics and runs away. That’s when Spider-Man notices that the police are clearing the block because the Rhino is on his way. Spider-Man’s spider-sense begins going off like crazy as he tries to see which direction the Rhino is coming from. The Rhino manages to catch Spider-Man off guard by coming down from above and the web-slinger narrowly avoids getting trampled on.
Meanwhile, at the Coffee Bean, Carlie Cooper has been searching the rubble of the Coffee Bean where the battle started to try and find Peter Parker who went missing in action. She is attacked by Tombstone, one of the villains knocked out by Spider-Man. He heard Carlie call Menace by her real name and realizes that Cooper might know where the baby is and orders her to tell him where she went. Luckliy, the police arrive just in time. Since he is outnumbered, Tombstone grabs the still unconscious Shocker and flees from the authorities. Filling in the officers and ETMs that have arrived on the scene, they go looking for Peter Parker and confirm that there is nobody left in the building. As Carlie leaves the Coffee Bean she wonders why Peter would leave without telling her and decides to go where she overheard Harry and Mary Jane say they were taking Lily Hollister figuring it is safe, unaware that Tombstone is secretly following her.
While back at the abandoned Kravinoff estate, Doctor Octopus continues to minor Spider-Man’s futile attempt to escape his agents via every camera in the city. He is joined by a mysterious benefactor who questions why Otto isn’t going after Spider-Man himself.[2] The criminal genius explains that he has sent the rabble after the web-slinger to soften him up. He assures his ally that he can find Spider-Man at any time, having taken inspiration from Spider-Man’s spider-tracers to create a similar device that he has planted on the accursed wall-crawler. He then hands the tracking device to his ally so he can secure the baby, and victory.
By this time, Mary Jane and Harry have brought Lily Hollister to the penthouse of Shelly Hatton, her producer. She reminds Shelly that he owes her a favor and he gives them access to the panic room. Once Lily is brought inside, Harry tells Mary Jane to stay with her as he has a plan.
Meanwhile, the constant chase is finally getting to baby Osborn who begins whaling as Spider-Man evades the Rhino. Luckily, Spider-Man manages to evoke the name of the Rhino’s late wife to shame him for going after a baby. Luckily this gambit works and the Rhino plods off in shame.[3] Spider-Man then arrives at what he thinks is Avengers Mansion.[4] However, when he looks down at the baby it has been replaced with a doll and he is then attacked by a demonic looking baby. Spider-Man fights off his attacker and after running through the gates of the mansion, it is replaced with a dirty alley. Spider-Man then realizes that he has fallen for one of Mysterio’s illusions.
Spider-Man easily knocks out Mysterio, having deduced his involvement. However, there is no moment of rest as the Vulture and the Freak have finally caught up with the web-slinger. That’s when Harry Osborn calls out to Spider-Man from the ground. Spider-Man is relieved to see his friend and hands the baby off to him, telling Harry to get the baby to safety. To throw off his foes, Spider-Man makes a decoy out of a scrap of cloth and a pile of garbage. As he fights the Vulture and the Freak, Spider-Man becomes concerned when Harry doesn’t get moving. After knocking out the Vulture and the Freak, Spider-Man leaps back down to the alley and asks Harry what’s wrong. Osborn tells Spider-Man that the baby died. This angers Spider-Man so much because he has seen so much death in the last while that he wanted just one win.[5] Giving in to anger, Spider-Man leaps off to find Doctor Octopus and make him pay. As Spider-Man leaves, the Chameleon pulls off his Harry Osborn mask. He’s surprised that this plan actually worked.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Doctor Octopus, Stanley Osborn (unnamed), Carlie Cooper, Lily Hollister, Harry Osborn, Mary Jane Watson, Chameleon, Freak, Mysterio, Rhino, Shocker, Tombstone, Vulture
Continuity Notes
The baby is not the son of Norman Osborn. Amazing Spider-Man #646 reveals that the father of this baby is actually Harry Osborn.
Mention is made about how Doctor Octopus almost defeated Spider-Man the last time they fought. This was in Amazing Spider-Man #600.
The Rhino talks about how Spider-Man has taken everything and mention is made of his wife, Oksana. The Rhino tried to go straight and married the woman in Amazing Spider-Man #617. Not long after this, a man trying to become the new Rhino ended up killing Oksana in order to battle his predecessor to the death. The original Rhino won and he blamed Spider-Man for Oksana’s death. This happened in Amazing Spider-Man #625.
Spider-Man hopes that Jessica Jones and Luke Cage are home to help him with the baby. That’s because the couple have a child of their own, Dani, who was born in The Pulse #13.
Spider-Man has faced a lot of death recently thanks to the machinations of the Kravinoff family. Including the death of Oksana mentioned above, he also witnessed the death of Billy Connors at the hands of the Lizard in Amazing Spider-Man #632, the murder of Mattie Franklin — aka the third Spider-Woman — in Amazing Spider-Man #634, and the death of Madame Web in Amazing Spider-Man #637.
Spidey Sundays Part Eleven
The criminals known as Bull and Brain have taken Mary Jane hostage in order to force Spider-Man to hand over his latest invention, a time machine. Spider-Man had just retreated to his bedroom and emerged as Peter Parker to hand over the device. While Brain gloats over his victory, Peter slips away to change back into Spider-Man. When he confronts the villain again, Brain explains his master plan. Setting the time machine to August 15, 1962, he intends to go back in time and use his knowledge of the future will make him smarter than anyone else in that era. Spider-Man warns Brain that this is a bad idea, but Brain thinks he is much too smart to fall for any tricks.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Bull, Brain, Mary Jane Watson
Continuity Notes
Although unclear here, the universe that Bull and Brain travel to is not the Earth-616 universe which becomes clear when you see how fast and loose writer Stan Lee is with continuity, the silly plot, and not to mention how Spider-Man is self-aware of the fact that he is a comic book character. As I write this (September 2020) the reality Bull and Brain come from and the one they visit have yet to be designated a reality number.
The date of August 15, 1962, is significant as Spider-Man’s first appearance was in the 15th issue of Amazing Fantasy, which was published in August, 1962.
