Amazing Spider-Man #663
The Ghost of Jean DeWolff
At the East River waterfront in Queens, Anti-Venom has arrived on the scene of criminal activity. He knows that Martin Li, the famous philanthropist, is also the criminal known as Mister Negative. Unfortuantely, due to his past criminal history as Venom, Eddie Brock can’t get anyone to believe him and has taken it upon himself to take down Mister Negative’s criminal empire.[1] He is surprised when Mister Negative’s Inner Demons are fleeing the scene of their crime as they are being chased by the newest vigilante in the city, the mysterious Wraith. While Anti-Venom is learning more about this vigilante, who claims to already be dead, the Wraith is using her powers to horrify the man trying to sell off a shipment of drugs. The Wraith demands to know how Mister Negative is getting these illegal drugs past the port authority. When the man refuses to talk for fear of what Mister Negative might do to him, the Wraith decides to show him who she really is and removes her mask. When Venom catches up he is shocked to discover that the Wraith is apparently Jean DeWolff, the former police captain who was murdered by the Sin-Eater.[2] By this point, the Wraith has gotten what she wanted and vanishes in a puff of smoke, something that Anti-Venom finds unbelievable.
The following morning, Peter Parker is woken up as his girlfriend, Carlie Cooper, is getting out of bed. She remarks how Peter came in so late the night before he fell asleep as soon as he got into bed. She thinks he must be working pretty hard at Horizon Labs and tells him how proud of him she is. However, the real reason Peter Parker is so exhausted is his responsibilities as Spider-Man have also increased. Outside of his job at Horizon Labs, Peter has also been going out on solo patrols as Spider-Man while also a member of both the Avengers and the Future Foundation.[3] Before she leaves, she tells him how she is investigating the new Wraith that has been attacking underworld figures for weeks now. As she leaves, she also congratulates him and Peter realizes that he has almost forgot that today is the day he is going to show off his latest invention to Max Modell, the head of Horizon Labs. After being greeted by his colleagues Grady Scraps and Sajani Jaffrey, Peter finds Max in the lab with Uatu Jackson working on the wunderkind’s latest invention.[4] Peter pulls Max aside to show him his latest invention, a more durable motorcycle helmet that is ten times more effective than anything else on the market. Max recalls seeing Spider-Man wearing a similar helmet more recently and congratulates Peter on a job well done. Peter returns to his private lab where he thinks about how he can use the resources of Horizon Labs to create new crime fighting gear for Spider-Man and then reverse engineer that technology into consumer products, like he did with his steal and ballistic Spider-Man suits.[5]
There, Peter tests out his latest invention, a new version of his web-shooters which can adjust setting based on his voice commands. After calibrating the voice commands, Peter decides to test them out as Spider-Man. He then stops at a local news stand and uses his new web-shooters to purchase a copy of Scientific American which features a story published about him in that very issue.[6] This brings more joy to Peter than his being on the Avengers and Future Fondation combined because this is an accomplishment that was all Peter Parker. He calls his Aunt May to tell her the news, and she pretends to not know the news when, in reality, she and her husband Jay Jameson are handing out copies to everyone at the FEAST Center. After she ends the call she is approached by a man she recognizes but can’t quite place him. That’s because this is Eddie Brock in disguise who has come if he can learn anything about Martin Li’s current activities. He admits that he hasn’t seen May around recently and she admits she doesn’t recall but is sure it had something to do with Martin Li. Eddie tells her that he’s not surprised because in his experience you learn something new about the owner of FEAST every day.[6]
In Martin Li’s private office, Mister Negative is told that their recent drug shipment was interrupted by the Wraith. He tells them that he is working on a plan which involves his alter-ego, Martin Li. Reverting to human form, Mister Negative comes out of his office and greets May. May is pleased to see him until they touch hands and she has a brief recollection of his darkest secret. This causes May to faint to the floor in a dead faint. Jay calls Peter to tell him what happened prompting him to rush to the FEAST Center. Jay then calls an ambulance and as everyone surrounds May, Eddie Brock leaves deciding that he should eliminate Mister Negative instead of wasting his time picking off his minions.
Meanwhile, Captain Yuri Watanabe and her team are going over the scene of the Wraith’s drug bust from the night before. After hearing one of the crooks talk about how the Wraith appeared to be Jean DeWolff, Carlie Cooper pulls Yuri aside to express some concerns. She reminds Yuri about their recent case involving Mysterio and how he was using gags to make it appear that dead police officers were still alive and how one of the next officers he was going to have someone impersonate was Jean DeWolff.[8] Yuri tells Carlie that she had the mask destroyed because it was in poor taste. Carlie appears to drop the subject, but manages to snatch Yuri’s cell phone out of her jacket pocket when she isn’t looking.
Back at the FEAST Center, May Parker is being loaded into an ambulance and Martin Li has decided to take off. Hearing him refer to May as a “distraction” angers Eddie that he changes into Anti-Venom and attacks his limo. As the vehicle is being torn to shreds, Mister Negative is trapped in the form of Martin Li for the time being and curses the nature of his powers. That’s when Spider-Man arrives on the scene and sees Anti-Venom attacking the limo. Still on the phone with Jay, Peter tells him that there was a car accident and he doesen’t know if he should stop to help. May takes the phone and tells Peter that she is going to be fine and tells him to do the right thing. This sets Spider-Man’s mind at ease and he ends the call so he can focus on Anti-Venom. With their attacker knocked off the limo, Martin Li and his minions can flee. As they go, he reminds them that they also must come up with a way to prevent Spider-Man from interfering with their plans. Anti-Venom tries to convince Spider-Man that Martin Li is the enemy but, unaware that Li is actually Mister Negative, the web-slinger doesn’t believe him. Anti-Venom begins fighting back and Spider-Man is reminded very quickly and painfully that proximity to Anti-Venom cancels out his spider-powers. At Anti-Venom’s mercy, Spider-Man fears that his foe is going to strip him of his powers with his curative touch.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Mister Negative, Anti-Venom, Wraith, Carlie Cooper, Grady Scraps, Sajani Jaffrey, Max Modell, Uatu Jackson, Aunt May, Jay Jameson
Continuity Notes
Some facts off the top:
Eddie Brock was previously the villain known as Venom dating back to Amazing Spider-Man #299 until he auctioned off his symbiote in Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #7.
He later became Anti-Venom after Martin Li’s corruptive touch inverted the remains of symbiote in his body turning him into Anti-Venom in Amazing Spider-Man #568-573.
Anti-Venom discovered that Martin Li was also Mister Negative in Amazing Spider-Man Extra! #2.
Jean DeWolff was murdered by Sin-Eater back in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #107. Eddie Brock has a connection to this case because, as explained in Amazing Spider-Man #300, he covered the SIn-Eater story for the Daily Globe, a story that ruined Brock’s career when he misidentified who the real killer was. Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #107-110.
At the time of this story Spider-Man is actually on three different teams. He has been a long standing member of the New Avengers since New Avengers #1, he more recently joined the original Avengers team when they reformed in Avengers (vol. 4) #1. Even more recently, he joined the Future Foundation in Amazing Spider-Man #657.
Mention is made of how Uatu developed a fast and effective suspect identification software. See Amazing Spider-Man #656.
Some facts about Peter’s recent inventiveness:
The stealth spider suit was made to make Spider-Man totally invisible both visually and audibly so he could destroy a stolen supply of Reverbium. He later reversed engineered the technology to make a new pair of noise-cancelling headphones. See Amazing Spider-Man #650.
The ballistic armor was made to protect him against Massacre a villain who used heavy ordinance to kill his victims. See Amazing Spider-Man #656. This armor was what Peter reversed engineered into a motorcycle helmet.
There are various newspapers with articles about other things that were going on in the Marvel Universe at the time this comic was published. They are:
The recent battle between the Hobgoblin and Hercules. That happened in Herc #1-2.
Another newspaper asks who a mysterious black-clad mercinary is. This is Agent Venom, aka Flash Thompson, who has recently been operating secretly for the military since being bonded to the Venom symbiote in Amazing Spider-Man #654.
Yet another headline asks what happened to Daredevil. Following the Shadowland event, Matt Murdock retired as Daredevil to go on a mission of rediscovery, leaving the Black Panther in place to defend Hell’s Kitchen. See Shadowland #1-5 and Daredevil #508-512.
May mentions her recent wedding and how something happened between her and Martin Li but she doesn’t remember. May got married to Jay Jameson in Amazing Spider-Man #600. When she returned to the FEAST Center after her honeymoon she walked in on Martin Li and discovered he was Mister Negative in Amazing Spider-Man #618. He erased her memory with his corrupting touch which turned May into a total bitch until she fought off the effects in Amazing Spider-Man #633.
Mysterio scheme Carlie is talking about here happened in Amazing Spider-Man #618-620.
Topical References
Rachel Ray
Out of Nowhere
The vigilantes Cloak and Dagger have tracked down a drug dealer named Mataeo Caldron in an alley. However, when they try to apprehend him, all three are shocked when Caldron suddenly develops a spider-sense and spider-agility. Mataeo wasily fights through the pair and escapes to the rooftops. Both Cloak and Dagger can’t help but notice that this penny-ante drug dealer suddenly had the powers of Spider-Man.
On the rooftops, Mataeo is making the same conclusion and wonders how he got these powers. That’s when the Jackal emerges from the shadows and claims responsibility. He tells Caldron that he was being tested and passed with flying colors and asks the drug dealer if he’s ready to move on to the next stage of his training.
Recurring Characters
Cloak, Dagger, Jackal, Mataeo Caldron
Thanks… But No Thanks
After four long nights working in the lab, Peter Parker is glad to finally have time to go out and go on patrol as Spider-Man. He thinks about how busy things have been recently. First he saved the city from Doctor Octopus with the Avengers and then managed to land a dream job at Horizon Labs.[1]
As he web-slings across town, Spider-Man spots a large man hasstling an old woman at an ATM and intervenes thinking that this is a mugging. However, Spider-Man finds himself in for a scolding from the old lady who explains that the man is her grandson and he was only bugging her for money out of the trust fund she set up for him. Embarassed, Spider-Man swings off and saves an old man who has wandered out into the street and is in the path of a speeding taxi cab. Although Spider-Man saves his life by yanking the old man out of the way he is scolded again, as the hold man accuses the web-slinger of giving him whiplash and staining his jacket with is webbing. Spider-Man man dismisses this as the attitude of the typical New Yorker and heads off to see what else he can do to help the city.
That’s when he spots a drug dealer fleeing from the cops. When the kid runs into an alley, he runs into a web that Spider-Man set up to stop him. However, the police officers are furious over Spider-Man’s interference as they were hoping the kid would lead them to his supplyer. After getting yelled at for the third time for one night, Spider-Man heads for home, wondering why he even bothers sometimes. However, at that moment, the old man he saved earlier returns home and complains to his wife about his encounter with Spider-Man. However, she is greatful that Spider-Man saved his life because her husband forgot to put in his hearing aids when he left the house. She hugs her husband, glad that he is still alive and is thankful Spider-Man was there to save him.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man
Continuity Notes
Both of these events happened in Amazing Spider-Man #648