Amazing Spider-Man #669
Arachnotopia
Peter Parker and Carlie Cooper have broken into Miles Warren’s old lab at Empire State University to search for clues that might connect the Jackal to the “spider-plague” that has been infected the city. There they are ambushed by Chance, the Scorcher, and White Rabbit, who have been laying in wait for anyone who came snooping around. Although Carlie tries to hold her own, she is far too inexperienced with her new spider-powers and gets kicked in the face by the White Rabbit. Fearing for her safety, Peter unleashes the martial arts moves he recently learned from Shang Chi to take the three villains down. When she asks how he was able to do all that, he tells her he’ll explain everything later. Peter realizes that his ability to keep his double-identity a secret from Carlie is becoming harder and harder, especially when she suggests that he call Spider-Man down to the police station so the three of them can figure out what to do next.
Watching this scene unfold from his lair, the Jackal is amused over Peter Parker’s plight. While the Jackal finds this all amusing, his female benefactor is concerned that they are starting to get too close to their plans and but the Jackal assures her that phase two of their plan is moving forward according to plan and soon there will be spiders everywhere.
Meanwhile, at the headquarters of Project Rebirth, the Spider-King has broken out of his holding facility threatening to spread the spider-flu outside of the quarantine zone for examination.[1] However, Agent Venom is on the scene and he assures his handlers, Kate Glover and Aaron MacKenzie, that he will get the situation back under control before the Spider-King can escape from the facility with his swarm of plague carrying spiders.
Back in the city, the Anti-Spider-Man Squad is patrolling the city telling people who have not been infected to report to Horizon Labs as a vaccine has been developed. Among the crowd is Mary Jane Watson, who can’t believe that she’s the only person in the city unaffected by the spider-plague. While in the Holland Tunnel, citizens from New Jersey are trying to get back the cordon into New York in the hopes of getting spider-powers of their own. However, they are blocked by Luke Cage and soldiers in Mandroid armor tasked with keeping people out of Manhattan. While elsewhere in the city, Iron Man and the Red Hulk are trying to keep the infected inside the city who are trying to escape the island.
While back at Horizon Labs, J. Jonah Jameson is looking at the current numbers and is furious that over a million people have been infected so far and that the media is calling Manhattan “Spider-Island.” Modell and his crew are working on a larger version of Peter Parker’s spider-sense jammer that they hope will do a better job at keeping the infected in the city.[2] However, Tiberius Stone upsets Jameson by saying that the device will cost the city millions of dollars until Max Modell says that they are waiving the fee to the city. That’s when Mister Fantastic reports to Jameson that he found the source of the spider-plague, explaining that it was carried by genetically altered infestation of bedbugs. The good news is that the process made the bedbug sterile but the bad news is that the virus has mutated and is now airborne. Reed then explains that the virus works by rewriting human DNA to turn them into a new breed he is calling homo-arachnis. The idea of an entire world of spider-men deeply upsets Jonah. However, Reed tells them that the vaccine is simple since mutants and superhumans are immune due to their already altered DNA. As such, Reed has mass produced a vaccine that will give everyone the super-human ability to know where magnetic north is, an admittedly useless power but the only one that can be mass produced in such short notice. They then prepare to do a test to determine if Jameson has been infected so they don’t waste a vaccine on someone who is already infected. Unfortunately, the Jonah’s worst nightmare comes true when he is informed that he is already infected and is about to enter stage 2 of the infection.
Elsewhere in the city, Anti-Venom continues his one-man crusade of curing the infected with the healing powers of his symbiote. However, the citizens of Manhattan are not willing to give up their powers so easily and begin attacking him. In another part of the city, Madame Web begins overwhelmed because the efforts to cure people are not happening fast enough and the city is being overwhelmed with new spiders every moment bombarding her psychic visions to the point that looking into the future is painful for her. There are too many spiders on the web of destiny that Madame Web collapses to the ground, no longer able to see the future. This leaves her champion, Spider-Man, could be.
While at the 18th Prescient, Carlie Cooper is looking for Peter when she is told that Spider-Man is waiting for him on the roof. She finds the web-slinger alone and becomes suspicious that Peter isn’t there. While she keeps asking probing questions, Peter hopes that the spell that Doctor Strange cast to mask his identity to everyone except the people he openly unmasks for will keep her from making the connection between Peter Parker and Spider-Man.[3] Spider-Man evades the line of questioning when he picks up a report about the Shocker robbing a bank nearby and suggest that they deal with it because it is one of his foes and his responsibility.
Spider-Man tries to convince Carlie to go back since she is inexperienced with her powers, but she proves useful by convincing the members of the Anti-Spider-Man Squad on the scene that this is the real Spider-Man. They quickly learn how the Shocker was able to deal with officers in Mandroid armor when they see that he has sprouted four additional arms all armed with his trademark vibro-gauntlets. As they evade his gauntlet blasts, Spider-Man asks why the Shocker is robbing a bank. The villain explains that he needs the money because the Mad Thinker offered him a cure if he could meet the price. Getting Herman to talk, Spider-Man is horrified when the Shocker to remove his mask and reveal that he now has six eyes on top of the additional appendages he has grown. That’s when Carlie begins undergoing a strange transformation into a spider-creature as well.
All over the city people are entering the next phase of their transformations boosting the power that is gained by the Jackal’s benefactor who turns out to be the woman who calls herself the Queen. With her power reaching their peak, the Jackal and his minions bow before their master.[4]
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Carlie Cooper, Agent Venom, Luke Cage, Iron Man, Red Hulk, J. Jonah Jameson, Max Modell, Tiberius Stone, Uatu Jackson, Bella Fishbach, Sajani Jaffrey, Mister Fantastic, Anti-Venom, Scorcher, Chance, White Rabbit, Jackal, Tarantula, the Queen, Spider-King, Shocker, Kate Glover, Aaron MacKenzie, Mary Jane Watson, Glory Grant
Continuity Notes
The Spider-King was captured during Venom (vol. 2) #6.
This spider-sense jammer was first built by Peter to cancel out the powers of the Spider-Slayer’s Spider-Swarm back in Amazing Spider-Man #654.
After revealing his identity to the public in Civil War #2, Spider-Man found himself on the run from the law and his family a target. He then sought out the aid of Doctor Strange to cast a spell to make everyone forget. The way the spell works is that nobody remembers that Peter was Spider-Man and only those he unmasks for can remember his identity. See Amazing Spider-Man #641 for details. As we’ll learn in issue #673, Peter openly using his spider-powers during Spider-Island has weakened the spell hence why Carlie is getting close to deducing that Peter is really Spider-Man.
It should be noted that the Jackal that appears in this story is actually a clone as revealed in Amazing Spider-Man #673. The Spider-Island event continues in Spider-Island: Cloak and Dagger #2-3, Spider-Island: Avengers #1, Black Panther: The Most Dangerous Man Alive #524, Herc #7-8, and Spider-Island: Spider-Woman #1.
