Amazing Spider-Man #647
Another Door
Vin Gonzales has been released from prison and stops at the diner just outside of Ryker’s Island.[1] He notices a shrine to Oksana Sytsevich, the wife of the Rhino who was murdered not long ago.[2] Vin remembers hearing about the tragedy when the waitress tells him about it. She instantly pegs him as someone who just got out of prison. Vin admits that he just got out and how he is looking forward to a new beginning.
Meanwhile, Peter Parker and Carlie Cooper are out shopping for Halloween costumes. Peter can hardly believe that they are making Spider-Man costumes when Carlie tells him that she has decided that she isn’t going to come with Peter and Michele to pick up Vin, nor is she going to go to Harry’s going away party. Peter points out that Harry is going into hiding to protect himself and his newborn son and they won’t know when they’ll see him again. He also points out that Vin spent months at Ryker’s Island.[3] Carlie Cooper reminds Peter that it was her investigation into the spider-tracer killings that landed Vin in prison. She isn’t sure that Vin wants her to be there, but Peter insists that he wants Carlie to go to both events, for him, because he wants her to be there.
Peter’s insistence gets on Carlie’s nerves because she wonders what she is to Peter. They have been out on a few dates already and he hasn’t kissed her or tried holding her hands. Then there was his strange disappearance while they were dealing with Lily and her newborn baby and the craziness that was involved. Peter isn’t sure why she is so hung up on titles and she throws her shopping basket in his face and tells him to leave her alone until he has figured out what he wants from her. Leaving the shop, Peter calls Michele, who is not surprised that Peter is running late and tells him to haul ass because her brother won’t be waiting at the diner outside of the prison forever.
Unfortunately, fate has other ideas for Peter Parker as across the street from him is a limo carrying Teri Hillman, a famous pop-star.[4] As she babbles away on her cell phone she is unaware that her limo driver has been replaced by the villain Overdrive, who uses his powers to supe up the limo and abscond with the celebrity. Peter welcomes this distraction as he has been meaning to bring Overdrive to justice.[5] However, with his costume soaking at home, Peter is forced to put on the cheap store-bought Spider-Man costume he just purchased to follow after his foe. Spider-Man leaps onto the limo and frees Terri Hillman. However, as Spider-Man runs up the side of the building, Overdrive uses his powers to turn the limo into a replica of the Spider-Mobile to chase after the web-slinger.[6] Overdrive fires the vehicle’s on-board web-shooters, sticking Spider-Man and Hillman together. However, Spider-Man causes Overdrive to bail out when he rips up the windows on the side of the building. Spider-Man then leaves his foe dangling for the cops. When officers rush to the roof, they find Hillman by herself. Because Spider-man had to strip off most of his costume to get free, she accuses Spider-Man of being a pervert.
Peter manages to web-slinger home, get a change of clothes, and arrive at the diner before Michele arrives to pick her brother up. Vin is amused that Peter and Michele bicker like an old married couple. That’s when Michele tells her brother that Peter has been dating Carlie Cooper, whom Vin had a thing for prior to his arrest. Peter meekly admits this but tells Vin that things aren’t going so well. Vin surprises Peter by having sympathy for his plight. Later that day, Vin goes down to the police forensics lab to seek out Carlie Cooper. All of the other officers are unhappy to see him since he broke the Blue Code of Silence with the spider-tracer case. When he finally meets with Carlie, he tells her to listen to what he has to say to her.
Later that evening, Aunt May and her new husband Jay Jameson are hosting a Halloween party at May’s home in Queens. The party is in full swing when Peter finally arrives and his Aunt is amused to see that Peter has dressed up like her son-in-law, J. Jonah Jameson. Peter is happy to see Harry, who couldn’t pass up the opportunity to dress himself and his son up as Doctor Octopus. Harry pulls Peter aside because he wants to ask him to send a message along to Spider-Man. Harry, wants the web-slinger to know that they’re square. Peter is glad to hear it, telling Harry that he’s going to come out of the other side of things better than ever.
That’s when Vin Gonzales (dressed as an old timey prisoner) arrives with Carlie who is dressed like the Black Cat. Peter is glad to see that she came after all. However, she tells him that she only came to say goodbye to Harry and that after Osborn is gone, any reason for them to remain friends goes with him.[7] Meanwhile, Harry is happy to see Vin and introduces him to his son, Stanley. This quickly changes when Vin tells Harry that his father asked that he take good care of the boy. Harry doesn’t understand at first until Vin rolls up his sleeve to reveal a Green Goblin tattoo. He tells Harry that Norman Osborn is the higher power that he began believing in while in prison.
Outside, Peter Parker meets up with Mary Jane and he cannot believe that she chose to dress up like Jackpot.[8] Peter admits that he is down because he doesn’t handle change very well. He relates to his battle with Overdrive, something that happened the last time they threw a big party for Harry.[9] Mary Jane tells Peter to cut the bullshit because Carlie called for advice on what to do about him and she is aware of the problems they have been having. She understands why Peter is keeping Carlie at arms length because he is worried that something might happen to her like it did with Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane herself.[10] She points out that everyone goes through changes and that Peter can’t spend his time trying to keep people at a distance because he can’t know if they wouldn’t make the same choices if Spider-Man never existed. Lastly, she reminds him that it was a burglar who killed his Uncle Ben, not Peter, and not everything is his responsibility.[11] When he asks Mary Jane what she told Carlie, she says she told her that Peter deserves to be happy and that she hoped that some day he’d start agreeing with that.
The two have a moment of awkward silence before going their separate ways. Peter then finds Carlie in the kitchen getting a beer. She is asking Peter where Harry went when he asks her if she wants to be his girlfriend. Carlie responds by kissing Peter, and he can’t help but admit that this feels like the rightest thing in the world.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Overdrive, Carlie Cooper, Vin Gonzales, Michele Gonzales, Mary Jane Watson, Flash Thompson, Harry Osborn, Stanley Osborn, Aunt May, Teri Hillman
Continuity Notes
Vin Gonzales was an officer with the NYPD who was involved in the Spider-Tracker Killer conspiracy which ran from Amazing Spider-Man #547 to 588. It involved members of the NYPD planting spider-tracers on dead bodies in an effort to pin crimes on the web-slinger. Vin became the star witness and ended up going to jail for his crimes.
Oksana married the Rhino in Amazing Spider-Man #617. The Rhino retired from his criminal career to be with her. However, he was pulled back into a life of crime when a would-be successor murdered Oksana in order to fight his predecessor in Amazing Spider-Man #625.
Peter specifically states that Vin was in prison for six months. This should be considered a topical reference beacuse it denotes the passage of time between Amazing Spider-Man #588 and this issue. Per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616, he actually only would have been in prison for a month and a half.
If you don’t remember Terri Hillman check out Amazing Spider-Man (Digital) #1-10.
Spider-Man has clashed with Overdrive on three different occasion (not two as he states here). They were in Free Comic Book Day: Spider-Man 2007, Amazing Spider-Man #564, and Amazing Spider-Man #645.
Don’t remember the incredibly embarassing Spider-Mobile? Check out Amazing Spider-Man #130.
Peter met Carlie through Harry Osborn’s relationship with Lily Hollister as we saw in Amazing Spider-Man #545.
This is because when Peter first met Jackpot in Free Comic Book Day he thought she was Mary Jane in disguise. He was mistaken as he later learned in Amazing Spider-Man #551.
Peter mentions this was a welcome back party for Harry who was away in Europe for some time. That party was in Amazing Spider-Man #545. As explained in Amazing Spider-Man #581-582, Harry was whisked off to his father to Europe to undergo rehab after he seemingly died in Spectacular Spider-Man #200.
Gwen Stacy was murdered by the Green Goblin in Amazing Spider-Man #121. While Mary Jane broke up with Peter because she realized she could never have a normal life with Peter as Spider-Man as seen in Amazing Spider-Man #638-641.
11. Yeah, good luck trying to convince Peter that. He’s been whining about Uncle Ben for over 50 years worth of comics at this point. Amazing Fantasy #15.
Honor Thy Father
Not long after Harry Osborn and his newborn son Stanley have left the part, Vin Gonzales decides to leave as well, telling May Parker that he has a curfew to keep. As he walks home he is confronted by Harry. When Vin asks where Stanley is, Harry assures him that the baby is someplace safe.
After learning that Vin has become a servant to his father, Norman Osborn, Harry warns tells Gonzales about a promise he made to himself to always keep Stanley safe. That he is in no position to cut himself any slack if his son is threatened by anybody. Vin puts his hand on Harry’s shoulder and tells him that he’s not threatening him at all, that his father and his followers only want what’s best for Stanley.
Suddenly, Harry pulls out a taser and incapacitates Vin with it. He then rolls his paralyzed friend over so Vin can get a good look at his eyes and see that Harry doesn’t have any of his father’s insanity. When he is certain that Vin can see this, he then begins pummeling him bloody. Once he is finished beating on Vin, he tells him to send a message back to his father. He says that Norman stole Lily away from him in every way possible and Stanley is the only thing he has left from that relationship that hadn’t been tainted by his father and he intends to keep it that way.[1] As he walks away he also tells Vin to never threaten an Osborn at his own damn party.
Recurring Characters
Harry Osborn, Vin Gonzales, Aunt May
Continuity Notes
Norman, after discovering Lily Hollister was the Menace, had an affair with her and manipulated her into forcing Harry to do her bidding when it turned out that Lily was pregnant. See Amazing Spider-Man #595-599.
Stand-Off
J. Jonah Jameson has held a press conference to announce his latest city ordinance that prohibits anyone who doesn’t work for the city from repairing any damage done to city infrastructure. The gathered press have all sorts of questions about why Jameson is making this move, but reporter Norah Winters hits it home by asking the mayor if this has anything to do with Jonah’s long standing vendetta against Spider-Man. Annoyed by this question, Jameson tells them that the press conference is over and returns to his office.
Not long after this a city truck carring garbage pails has jack knifed in the middle of a bust street, taking out a lamp post in the process. As city crews try to figure out who is responsible for fixing this mess, Spider-Man arrives to see what he can do to help. Spider-Man is shocked when an officer on the scene tells the web-slinger that he is not authorized to help with the clean-up. The web-slinger can hardly believe it and points out that he can help get traffic moving, a move that is supported by the drivers caught in the gridlock. However, the workers on site tell Spider-Man that if he does clean things up, they won’t get the overtime they are entitled to and their pay is more important that serving the public.
That’s when one of the drivers tells them that his wife is pregnant and her water just broke. The police officer allows Spider-Man to temporarily lift the lamp post that is blocking traffic so they can get around and then orders him to drop it immediately after they’re through. Spider-Man complies and, ironically, this is as the mayor’s limo is passing by. It hits the lamp post and is flipped onto its roof. One of the mayor’s aids crawls out of the car and tells them that the mayor is trapped inside. Jonah finds himself at the mercy of Spider-Man, who refuses to do anything unless Jonah agrees to rescind his new law. It’s only then that Spider-Man helps extract Jameson from the limp and rush him to the hospital.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, J. Jonah Jameson, Norah Winters
Norah’s Last Night in NYC
Peter Parker is out for coffee with his friend, Norah Winters. When he invites her to the costume party being held at Aunt May’s, she tells him that she has grown tired of New York and has decided to pack things up and heading back home. When Peter tries to press her for her reasons for leaving but she only curses the barista before storming out in a huff.
Peter decides to get to the bottom of things by crossing paths with her as Spider-Man. Making up a story about how he was struck by purple ray that knocked his spider-sense for a loop and could use her help. Spider-Man then takes Norah on his patrol and she even helps him with the incredibly minor threat of Simple Simon.
With the night almost over, Spider-Man gets Norah to open up about why she is planning on leaving New York City. Winters admits that her mother is pressuring her to come home to Wisconsin, telling she has taken all the time she needed to “make it” and come home and work for a real newspaper instead of the Front Line. Spider-Man tells her that New York City needs the type of truth that Norah writes about at the newspaper and tells her that she should tell her mom to shove it.
The following day, when Peter goes to get his morning coffee he’s happy to see that Norah has decided to stay in New York City after all. When Peter asks what changed her mind, Norah says nothing of her evening with Spider-Man and tell him the exact same thing that Spider-Man told her the night before. Hearing this makes Peter smile.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Norah Winters, Simple Simon
American Hero
Flash Thompson is heading home in his wheelchair when he is confronted by some muggers.[1] Flash holds his own against the muggers when Spider-Man swings in and quickly wraps them up. Flash thanks Spider-Man for the assist and refuses any more help. He tells Spider-Man that he could have handled them, and eventually tells Spider-Man that the loss of his legs wasn’t the web-slinger’s help. More over, he knows that Spider-Man has been following him for a while, playing the guardian angel.
Spider-Man admits that he was doing this, but says he feels responsible because Flash joined the military in an attempt to be like his hero. Flash sees that Spider-Man didn’t really get the point of the recent news article written about him. Flash says he was inspired by Spider-Man, and wanted to live by example. Pointing out that if he wanted to be just like Spider-Man, he could have tried web-slinging instead of serving his country. Still Spider-Man still feels bad that Flash lost his legs. Flash points out that if it wasn’t for Spider-Man’s inspiration he would have been killed in action instead of just missing two legs. Flash tells Spider-Man that he needs to stop following him around like this and if he wants to hang out, he should just come by for a beer sometime. Spider-Man says he could do that and swings off.
However, Spider-Man swings back a moment later and reminds Flash how he served in two different wars, telling him that the inspiration thing works both ways before swinging off once more.[2]
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Flash Thompson
Continuity Notes
A newspaper story at the beginning of this tale mentions how Flash recently lost his legs serving in the military. That happened in Amazing Spider-Man #574. It also mentions how Flash started a Spider-Man fan-club when he was a teenager. That was in Amazing Spider-Man #17.
Flash has served in two conflicts. Flash’s first stint in the military ran from Amazing Spider-Man #47 to 108.
Topical References
This story states that Flash served in the Iraq War. It also states that he is the second living person since the Vietnam War to have received the Medal of Honor. This should be considered topical since the wars in question are now incredibly dated and the Medal of Honor distinction will eventually become subject to change.
Dated references: Flash has a John McCain campaign sticker on the back of his wheelchair. This was already a two year old reference when this story was published (McCain ran in 2008 and lost to Barack Obama) but also because McCain later died a decade after his failed presidential bid.
You Again
Assistant Editor Tom Brennan addresses the reading audience to tell the biggest mystery of the last 102 issues of Amazing Spider-Man, who was the woman who made out with Peter Parker back in issue #546? Enter, the story of Mia Flores….
Mia has just threw herself on Peter Parker on the dance floor. Peter finds this a strange way to introduce oneself and after he gets her name takes off. Mia is only pretending to be interested in Peter Parker so she can get into Harry Osborn’s entourage.[1]
Some days later, Mia returns to the Deep End night club with her friend, who is already bored with this hot spot. Mia insists that they keep going because she hopes to run into Peter Parker again. Seeing Harry Osborn and his girlfriend Lily Hollister rushing out of the club, Mia notices that Harry is upset about something. She assumes that this could mean Harry and Lily are breaking up, reinforcing the idea that Peter Parker can get her close enough to Harry to cash in on his eventual rebound. As Mia and her friend walk away, the woman known as Paper Doll emerges from the wall and can’t believe how pathetic Mia sounds.[2]
Later, Mia goes to the FEAST Center after hearing that Peter Parker sometimes volunteers there. She meets Eddie Brock who is serving soup to the other homeless. She learns that Peter has a habit of bailing on his volunteer time and decides to do the same.[3] Mia then hears that Peter might be helping with J. Jonah Jameson’s bid to become mayor, only to learn from Glory Grant that Peter hasn’t been seen in a while.[4] Some time after this, Mia tracks down Spider-Man at Club Eternal with the other Avengers. She figures that since Parker photographs Spider-Man all the time he might know where to find him. However, the web-slinger denies knowing him and when she’s not looking this Spider-Man (who is actually Venom in disguise) eats Mia’s dog.[5]
Mia still doesn’t give up and crashes the wedding of Aunt May and Jay Jameson. However, when she tries to grab the brides bouqette, Mary Jane Watson snatches it away before Mia can grab it. Peter is too distracted by Mary Jane’s arrival to give Mia the time of day.[6] A week after this, Mia bumps into who she thinks is Peter Parker on the street and trades number. However, this is actually the Chameleon who dumps his burner phone into the sewers after their exchange. As he retreats into an alley and removes his disguise, the Chameleon considers the Flores woman a freak.[7]
Lastly, Mia Flores tracks down Peter Parker to the Halloween party/going away party being thrown for Harry Osborn. She walks in on Peter and Carlie Cooper kissing and realizes that her attempts to hook up with Peter as a means of getting to Harry are now over and she sits on the couch to fume. That’s when Harry Osborn recognizes her, much to her surprise. Harry has heard that Mia was a legendary party girl and wishes he could have met her sooner. Now that he is the father of a newborn his partying days are over. Hearing this causes Mia to curse Peter Parker’s name and storm out of the part. When Betty Brant asks Mary Jane who that was, all Mary Jane can say is that it is obviously someone who knows Peter, a sentiment mirrored by Peter’s roommate Michele Gonzales.
Recurring Characters
Mia Flores, Spider-Man, Harry Osborn, Mary Jane Watson, Betty Brant, Lily Hollister, Eddie Brock, Glory Grant, Aunt May, Dark Avengers (Ares, Spider-Man (Gargan), Ms. Marvel, Hawkeye), Chameleon, Paper Doll, Stanley Osborn
Continuity Notes
This scene is taken right out of Amazing Spider-Man #546.
This moment happens during the events of Amazing Spider-Man #559. Harry is unhappy because he discovered Peter was reducing himself to becoming paparazzi while working for the DB!
Mia’s appearance at FEAST occurs just prior to Amazing Spider-Man #568, prior to Eddie Brock’s transformation into Anti-Venom. At the time, Brock was working at the FEAST Center to atone for the sins he committed as Venom after being cleared of a cancer diagnosis (that turns out wasn’t even real as we’ll learn in Venom (vol. 4) #11)
J. Jonah Jameson’s mayoral bid happened in Amazing Spider-Man #591-592. The reason why Peter isn’t around is because he was in the Macroverse with the Fantastic Four where time moves much faster, hence explaining his long absence.
This moment was circa Amazing Spider-Man #595. This was shortly after Noman Osborn was made director of SHIELD after killing the leader of a Skrull invasion of Earth in Secret Invasion #8. Osborn then used this position of power to form his own team in Dark Avengers #1, which consisted of villains posing as heroes, including Venom (Mac Gargan) posing as Spider-Man.
May and Jay’s wedding was in Amazing Spider-Man #600.
The Chameleon took over Peter Parker’s life to get access to the location for New York City’s new anti-terror war room through Peter’s job at the mayor’s office. This was in Amazing Spider-Man #602-604.
Other Notes
This issue features a parody advertisement for a J. Jonah Jameson themed musciall called Turn on the Dark. This is a parody of the Broadway show Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark. The troubled production suffered a ton of setbacks and closed in 2014 as a massive financial loss.
