Amazing Spider-Man #673
The Naked City
The island of Manhattan has been cured of the so-called “spider-plague” with many citizens becoming aware of the fact that they are all naked in the middle of the city after being transformed into spider-monsters. Among those cured are Hawkeye, the Black Panther, and Misty Knight. They are taking it on stride because of their careers as superheroes, but are surprised about how arbitrary the transformations have been as something about them are physically different (such as facial hair) while other things are still the same. Carlie Cooper overhears Hawkeye talking about how he still has his appendix scar and notices that she still has the Spider-Man tattoo on her even after returning to human form.[1]
While in Union Square, where the final battle against the Queen took place, the gathered members of the Avengers, X-Men, and the Young Allies help with the clean-up effort, which includes handing out the clothing procured by Damage Control to hand out to all the naked people. Not everyone is embarrassed by the sudden nudity, as Hercules revels in this moment as it reminds him of the old days in Mycenae.[2] Meanwhile, Steve Rogers has Iron Man scan the Queen’s corpse to make sure that she is really dead and not a trick. After it is confirmed, Steve notices that both Agent Venom and Kaine disappeared in the aftermath of the battle. However, Kaine is still around, but using the steal capabilities of the costume he borrowed from Spider-Man to render himself invisible to everyone. Everyone except Madame Web, who wants to talk to Kaine about his future. That’s when Power Woman gets a call from her nanny and tells Luke that they have to go and rescue her after their daughter webbed her to the ceiling.[3] Ms. Marvel tells them to get going since the only thing left to do is clean up the message and Damage Control has that pretty much under control.
Unknown to everyone, the Jackal and his clones have infiltrated the cleanup crew and are taking samples of the Queen’s remains. He intends to use these samples to plague Peter Parker in new ways.[4]
While atop the Empire State Building, Peter confirms that he was able to cure everyone with the octo-bots he controlled with his mind. That’s when he gets a call from Aunt May, who tells him that planes are being allowed to leave the airport again. Mary Jane insists that he goes to meet up with her. Although when Peter leaves he can’t help but think he forgot something. Mary Jane is sure its not important and web-slings away on her own, enjoying the spider-powers that she still has. Peter quickly meets with Aunt May and Jay Jameson at the airport where officials are injecting people with the spider-plague cure before allowing them to board their flights. They catch a new board cast on one of the TVs where Reed Richards is hailing Eddie Brock as a hero as his Anti-Venom symbiote was the key to creating a cure. May is glad to see that Eddie Brock’s managed to do something right and no longer has to be that horrible Anti-Venom anymore. Peter then sees May and Jay off to their flight to Boston that was interrupted when the city went into lockdown.
Once they are gone, Peter is approached by Kaine who tells him that he is leaving town as well. He has decided to go somewhere that Peter has not been before to start a new life for himself. When Peter asks for his stealth suit back, Kaine says he is keeping it as Madame Web says he is going to need it, and tells Peter that he can hear all about it when they meet later in the evening.[5]
Meanwhile, J. Jonah Jameson meets up with Joe Robertson at the Lion’s Head Pub to touch base. The two men don’t have a whole lot of time to talk since Jonah needs to re-open the city and Joe has a paper to publish.[6]
At that moment, Spider-Man is swinging back into the city when he is stopped by one of the men on the city’s clean-up crew clearing cars from the George Washington Bridge. He wants to tell Spider-Man that after his experience with having spider-powers he realizes that Spider-Man is a hero. The web-slinger is touched by his kind words and thanks to the man before heading off. Soon Peter Parker arrives at home and enters his apartment through the skylight. Changing out of his costume he enters the living room and finds Carlie Cooper waiting for him. She tells Peter that she is leaving after picking up her things. When Peter makes an excuse about sleeping, she tells him to stop bullshitting her saying she has figured out that he is actually Spider-Man. Peter tries to make excuses but she wants to hear none of it, reminding him that she is a forensic specialist and figured it out and is furious that he of all people was keeping secrets from her after everything she has been through.[7] She has decided that she doesn’t even know who he is and tells him it’s over. Before Peter can begin to try and explain himself, Carlie storms out, slamming the door behind her.
Peter can’t understand how Carlie was able to figure it out since he was promised that nobody would be able to figure out his secret identity ever again.[8] Peter shows up at Avengers Mansion and begins calling for Doctor Strange to come out. Strange isn’t there, but he detects Peter’s urgency and visits him in his astral form. He demands to know why Strange’s spell didn’t work and Stephen looks into it. He explains that when Peter rallied people together during the Spider-Island crisis it weakened the spell. While people will still forget, Peter no longer has the protections that will continue to preserve his identity anymore. Peter realizes that this puts everyone he loves at risk and asks Strange to cast the spell again. Unfortunately, the spell was a one-shot deal and Strange cannot cast it again. Peter then rushes to Horizon Labs where Max Modell is thanking his staff for their part in helping save Manhattan. Peter interrupts to ask Max if there is any of the cure left. Max has one more dose left and Peter takes it, explaining that Spider-Man sent him to get it. Changing back into Spider-Man, Peter goes up onto the roof where he is confronted by Madame Web. She tells Peter that she is sorry for his loss. She then tells him that he could use the serum to cure himself, explaining that the web will find a new Spider-Man to continue on. However, Spider-Man has no intention of curing himself because he still thinks his powers are a gift that he must use to help people and that the cure is for someone else. Madame Web understands and tells Spider-Man that her apologies were not for his recent relationship woes but for the trials that he will face in the coming days, Madame Web then teleports away without explaining himself. Spider-Man is deeply upset by Madame Web and her visions of the futures and how they constantly torture him.
Later, Spider-Man catches up with Mary Jane who is still out enjoying her spider-powers. Mary Jane is disappointed, but they both know that she has to be cured or else she will eventually become a spider-monster like everyone else. After Mary Jane is injected with the cure, the former couple sits down to talk. Mary Jane admits that she finally understands Peter’s motto about great power and great responsibility, but now also understands that it also comes with great sacrifice. Seeing that Peter is upset after hearing this, and tells her how he and Carlie broke up and how upset he is that Eddie Brock is being hailed as a hero after all the work he did to stop Spider-Island. Mary Jane tells Peter that he’s being foolish and the city does appreciate what he has done for it. To prove this, Mary Jane turns Peter’s head and makes him look at the Empire State Building which is lit up with red and blue lights, telling him that this is how New York City says thank you.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Carlie Cooper, Mary Jane Watson, Aunt May, Jay Jameson, J. Jonah Jameson, Joe Robertson, Max Modell, Kaine, Avengers (Commander Steve Rogers, Hawkeye, Iron Man, Red Hulk), Misty Knight, Shroud, Gravity, Firestar, X-Men (Storm, Wolverine, Emma Frost, Gambit), Shang Chi, New Avengers (Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Power Woman, Ms. Marvel), Hercules, Black Panther, Jackal, Mister Fantastic, Eddie Brock, the Queen (corpse)
Continuity Notes
Carlie Cooper, Hawkeye, Misty Knight, and the Black Panther all transformed into spider-creatures in Amazing Spider-Man #669, 670, Spider-Island: Heroes for Hire #1, and Black Panther: The Most Dangerous Man Alive #524 respectively.
Hercules had his own issue with the spider-plague in Herc #7-8.
Dani Cage gained spider-powers in Spider-Island: Avengers #1.
Some facts dropped by he Jackal here:
It was his genetic brilliance that created the spider-plague, a scheme he started back in Amazing Spider-Man #659.
He mentions how he used a DNA sample from when the Queen turned Spider-Man into a giant spider. That happened back in Spectacular Spider-Man (vol. 2) #17-20.
The Jackal explains that the man who was killed by the Queen in issue #671 was actually a clone.
For more on the Jackal’s next scheme see the Clone Conspiracy story arc in Clone Conspiracy #1-5, Clone Conspiracy Omega #1, Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 4) #20-24, Prowler (vol. 2) #1-5, and Silk (vol. 2) #14-17
For more on Kaine’s adventures see Scarlet Spider (vol. 2) #1-25.
There are of framed newspaper headlines in this bar that note a number of events in Marvel history:
“Captain America Missing Over Atlantis”. This is a reference to when Steve Rogers went missing in action in 1945 near the end of World War II. He ended up in suspended animation until he was revived by the Avengers early on in the Modern Age. See Avengers #4.
“Avengers Tower Falls”: Avengers Tower was destroyed during the Fear Itself event. See Avengers (vol. 4) #14.
“Red, White, and Blue: Captain America’s Alive!” This could be a reference to when Captain America was first revived in Avengers #4, or perhaps his recent resurrection. Cap was murdered in Captain America (vol. 5) #25 and later resurrected in Captain America: Reborn #1-5.
“Utopia Wreckage: Can the Mutant Dream Survive?” This is a reference to the formation and Utopia Island, the island nation for Mutants, during the Nation X story arc. See X-Men: Legacy Annual #1, Uncanny X-Men #515-522, X-Men: Legacy #228-230, and Nation X #1-4.
There is an article about the Fantastic Four that is obscured by one of the word bubbles in the panel. It’s likely a reference to the Fantastic Four’s first battle with Galactus which took place in Fantastic Four #49-51.
“Secret Empire Infiltrates the Oval Office” is a reference when the Secret Empire infiltrated the US Government in Captain America #169-175.
“I Am the Sin-Eater”: Is a reference to the articles written by Eddie Brock about the spree-shooter. See Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #107-110, Amazing Spider-Man #300, and Venom: Dark Origin #1-5.
“Daredevil P.O.’s mob K.O.’s Spot” isn’t very clear because I’m not sure what the abbreviations mean here. My guess is the more recent fall of the Kingpin that happened in Daredevil (vol. 2) #79.
Carlie mentions how her father and best friend, Lily Hollister kept secret from her. The facts:
Carlie’s father faked his death to cover up the fact that he was a dirty cop working for the mob. See Amazing Spider-Man #618-620.
Lily Hollister was secretly the Menace. Her secret identity was exposed when she was arrested. See Amazing Spider-Man #584-588.
Spider-Man publicly revealed his identity in Civil War #2, a move that backfired spectacularly when he later became an outlaw. He later made a deal with Mephisto to alter-reality to make everyone forget his identity in Amazing Spider-Man #545. In the altered reality, Doctor Strange cast a spell that not only erased knowledge of Spider-Man’s identity, it also prevented anyone from figuring out who he was unless Peter unmasked in front of them. See Amazing Spider-Man #638-641.
Topical References
Mary Jane states that Peter couldn’t figure out how to program their DVR when they were dating.