The One and Only

Spider-Man is on patrol thinking about how he is finally being Spider-Man for real in the first time since he started his crime fighting career now that he has the resources to do it properly. At that moment, his police scanner picks up report of a robbery happening at a nearby deli. Spider-Man quickly arrives on the scene as the thieves are trying to flee and wraps them up for the police, who are delighted that Spider-Man made their job a whole lot easier. As he is being thanked, Spider-Man cuts things short as he is picking up a report of a supervillain in the area.

As the web-slinger heads off to confront this foe police dispatch updates the report by saying that Hydro-Man is in a battle with the Young Allies. Spider-Man is looking forward to dealing with his old foe ever since he heard that Bench had escaped from Ryker’s Island. Having prepared a special batch of webbing just for him, Spider-Man puts in the cartridge and heads to the scene of the battle thinking that someone out there must appreciate all his hard work.

Unfortunately, one person who isn’t so appreciative in mayor J. Jonah Jameson who is furious to learn that his approval ratings are at an all time low. The biggest problem has to do with the amoung of time, money, and resources that Jameson is putting into his crusade against Spider-Man. Jameson ignores the facts that are presented to him, and tells his staff that he’ll find some way to prove to everyone that Spider-Man is a menace.

At the Diamond District, the Young Allies (Gravity, Firestar, and Spider-Girl) are no match for Hydro-Man.[1] That’s when Spider-Man arrives on the scene and quickly incapacitates Hydro-Man by firing a spider-tracer coated with liquid nitrogen that freeze the water based villain on the spot. Spider-Man then charges the Young Allies with keeping an eye on their enemy until the police arrive. As the web-slinger goes, the young heroes can’t help but think how Spider-Man makes crime fighting look so easy. Spider-Man then returns to Horizon Labs where, as Peter Parker, he is unviling his latest invention reverse engineered from the crime fighting tech he makes for his alter-ego. This invention is called the Cryo Cube 2000 and he demonstrates it for Horizon’s owner, Max Modell as well as his colleagues Grady Scraps and Bella Fishbach. The device successfully puts a group of worms in and out of crygenic suspension with no ill effects. Everyone is impressed with the device, particularly Max who thinks it could be a huge benefit for emergency organ transplants.

With his demonstration over, Peter excuses everyone so he can answer a call from his girlfriend, Carlie Cooper. She is at the scene of Spider-Man’s bust at the deli and wants to talk to Peter about something strange that has happened to her. That’s when one of the webbed up crooks manages to find the strength to snap free of the webbing and tries to make a run for it. Luckily, Carlie knocks him out with a single blow as he tries running past her. She tells Peter that her problems is a little hard to explain over the phone and asks to meet in person. As Peter ends the call he becomes concerned about what Carlie wants to speak about. He is so lost in his thoughts he almost walks into the path of a speeding bus and is yanked back to safety by Phil Urich and Norah Winters who were just passing by.[2] Peter is greatful, but is surprised to see Phil and Norah being so close since Norah, last he heard, was dating Randy Robertson. Phil gets defensive, but Norah quickly cuts through the tension to tell Peter that there have been three independent Spider-Man sightings at the same time, something that is impossible even though the web-slinger is now an Avenger and a member of the Future Foundation.[3] This reminds Peter that he hThas business at the Baxter Building and tells them that he’s got to run. Still, the mystery has Peter wondering these other “Spider-Men” could be.[4]

Elsewhere in the city, May Parker has come to say goodbye to everyone at the FEAST Center before she and her husband Jay Jameson leave for Boston. She is disappointed to hear that they are shutting the place down after it was revealed that the founder of FEAST, Martin Li, was actually the criminal known as Mister Negative.[5] They then return to Jay’s apartment that is currently being sprayed for bed bugs. May isn’t surprised that they would have to deal with something like this on their last day in New York. At that same moment, a street hood named Leonard Kornfiled is cornered in a back alley by two thugs looking to collect on his gambling debts. When they refuse to listen to Leonard’s new angle he quickly knocks them out with his newly gained spider-agility. This is because he was recently bit by one of the genetically altered bedbugs that the Jackal had unleashed upon the city.[6] The mad scientist and his assistant, the spider-like creature called the Tarantula, approach Leonard and hands him a business card. The Jackal tells Leonard that he gave him his powers and offers him an opportunity to use them for something useful if he agrees to meet at the address on the card at dawn. As Leonard leaps away, the Jackal decides to look for more degenerates that he has gifted with the powers of a spider.

At the Baxter Building, Spider-Man, the Thing, and Mister Fantastic say goodbye to the Invisible Woman who is taking the children of the Future Foundation on a fieldtrip to Old Atlantis. This gives the rest of the team time to make sure Doctor Octopus didn’t plant any traps when he and the Sinister Six infiltrated their headquarters.[7] That’s when Spider-Man gets a call from Mary Jane who wants to remind him that it is May and Jay’s last day in the city and to check up on Betty because Flash Thompson has been called out of town again. Peter wonders why Flash is called out of town so much, unaware that Flash has become Agent Venom and is out on the preventing AIM from taking control of a fleet of nuclear submarines. After he is done the mission, Flash asks Kate Glover, his handler, to patch him in to Betty so he can tell her that he’ll be home in time for dinner. Flash can hear that Betty is blogging on her phone while talking to him and tells her to take it easy after her recent ordeals.[8] However, Betty can’t help but transcribe what is happening in the hospital as people keep coming in with spider-powers that they can’t control.

By this time, Spider-Man and the Thing have arrived at Avengers Mansion for a poker game. After deflecting the Thing’s questions about Mary Jane,[9] he excuses himself from the game to continue his training with Shang Chi.[10] At one of Iron Fist’s dojos, Spider-Man prepares for his final test. Shang Chi has him try to fight Madame Web while blindfolded. Spider-Man thinks this is an impossible task because she too has spider-powers but can also see the future. It’s during this sparring match that Madame Web reveals that she and Shang Chi have been grooming him for a challenge that he must face. However, she is totally cryptic about what this challenge will be and insists that Spider-Man will have to use his killing stroke in order to win, despite the fact that Spider-Man has vowed never to kill. Spider-Man is so troubled at he doesn’t notice a bunch of people web-slinging behind him as he makes his way home. Once he arrives at his apartment, Peter finds Carlie waiting for him inside but he is exhausted and asks her if they can talk about her problem in the morning. Carlie agrees to call it a night and figures it can wait until morning and the pair go to bed.

At that moment, the Jackal and the Tarantula return to his lab. There, clones of the Jackal tell him that their benefactor wants to talk to him right away. His benefactor has brought him the perfect specimen for their experiment. The Jackal is impressed but is concerned that if their next test subject still has his free will they are just making him more powerful. However, the benefactor assures him that their plan will succeed.[11] She reminds him that the process worked on Parker, referring to the Tarantula. However, the Jackal reveals that this isn’t the real Peter Parker, but Kaine, one of his clones.[12] Still, he activates the device which transforms the man in stasis into a spider-like creature like the Tarantula. When the test subject emerges he attempts to attack them but their benefactor orders him to kneel and he complies. The Jackal is impressed she was able to do this, but she assures the Jackal that her powers are increasing as more spiders become active. As people all over the city start developing powers similar to Spider-Man, this mystery woman says that soon Manhattan will become an island of spiders.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Jackal, the Tarantula, Spider-King, the Queen (in shadow), Carlie Cooper, J. Jonah Jameson, Max Modell, Grady Scraps, Bella Fishbach, Norah Winters, Phil Urich, Aunt May, Jay Jameson, Shang Chi, Agent Venom, Betty Brant, Mary Jane Watson, AIM, Young Allies (Gravity, Firestar, Spider-Girl), Future Foundation (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Thing, Franklin Richards, Valeria Richards, Alex Power, Bently-23, Dragon Man, Artie Maddicks, Leech, Tong, Korr, Mik, Vil, Wu, Turg), Avengers (Red Hulk, Hawkeye, Spider-Woman), New Avengers (Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Ms. Marvel, Wolverine), Kate Glover (voice only)

Continuity Notes

1. Spider-Girl mentions how she just got her spider-powers back. She was rendered powerless after the Doomsday Man ripped off her carapace in Ms. Marvel (vol. 2) #12. She remained a powerless crime fighter until her powers suddenly returned in Spider-Girl (vol. 2) #8.

2. Peter reminds himself that his spider-sense is gone. He sacrificed it when activating a device that eliminated similar powers harnessed by the Spider-Slayer and his Slayer Swarm in Amazing Spider-Man #654.

3. At the time of this story Spider-Man is the member of three different teams. He has been a long standing member of the New Avengers since New Avengers #1. He recently joined the original Avengers when they reformed in Avengers (vol. 4) #1. Most recently, he joined the Future Foundation in Amazing Spider-Man #657.

4. Spider-Man considers the possibility of who these other Spider-Men can be. These individuals are:

   • The Chameleon who has posed as Spider-Man on a number of occasions dating back to his first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #1.

   • More recently, Screwball posed as Spider-Man to help the Bookie win a bet in Amazing Spider-Man #562.

   • Lastly, he mentions the new Venom, whom Spider-Man just recently met in Venom (vol. 2) #4.

5. Some facts about May here:

   • May has been working for the FEAST Center since Amazing Spider-Man #546.

   • Her boss, Martin Li, was publicly exposed as Mister Negative in Amazing Spider-Man #664.

   • May and Jay decided to move to Boston last issue because they think that New York has become too dangerous.

6. The Jackal infested the city with genetically altered bedbugs in Amazing Spider-Man #659. It should be noted that the Jackal that appears in this story is actually a clone sent on the behalf of the original as explained in Amazing Spider-Man #673.

7. The Sinister Six broke into the Baxter Building in Amazing Spider-Man #660.

8. The details about Betty and Flash:

   • Flash agreed to become the newest host for the Venom symbiote to do covert missions for the military in Amazing Spider-Man #654. To cover for his missions, Flash has led everyone to believe that he is a goodwill ambassador for Veteran Affairs.

   • Flash mentions how Betty was recently abducted and tied to a bomb by Crime-Master that was in Venom (vol. 2) #3-4.

   • Also mentioned is how Betty was recently assaulted. That happened last issue when she was mugged coming home from the movies.

9. The Thing asks why Peter and Mary Jane broke up. All Peter will say is that it is a long story, and that’s putting it mildly:

   • During the Civil War, Aunt May took a bullet meant for Peter in Amazing Spider-Man #538. He later made a deal with Mephisto to save her life, but it would cost Peter and Mary Jane their marriage, see Amazing Spider-Man #545.

   • In the altered reality, not only are Peter Parker and Mary Jane no longer married, but Mary Jane decides to break up with Peter because she couldn’t handle his double life and the risks it brought to her family. See Amazing Spider-Man #638-641.

   • Sidebar: The reason why the Thing knows about Peter Parker’s personal life is because Peter revealed his identity to the Fantastic Four back in Spider-Man/Human Torch #5. Although the spell cast by Doctor Strange in Amazing Spider-Man #641 erased everyone’s memories of Peter’s double identity, he re-revealed his identity to the FF in Amazing Spider-Man #591-592.

10. Spider-Man started training under Shang Chi back in Amazing Spider-Man #664 to make up for his lost spider-sense. Spider-Woman asks if the training has to do with the fact that she recently kicked Spider-Man’s ass. That was in Free Comic Book Day: Amazing Spider-Man 2011.

11. The identities of the Jackal’s benefactor and her prisoner are revealed to be the Queen and Steve Rogers, aka the original Captain America. These revelations are made in Amazing Spider-Man #669 and 670 respectively. The reason why Captain America was chosen is because he and the Queen once had a romance together as explained in Spectacular Spider-Man (vol. 2) #17-20.

12. Kaine was one of the first clones of Spider-Man ever created by the Jackal, as explained in Web of Spider-Man #117. Kaine was recently recovered by the Jackal in Amazing Spider-Man #637.