Amazing Spider-Man #694
Final Grade
Since Andy Maguire, aka Alpha, decided to take control of his life things he’s been ignoring his old life. His parents keep calling asking to sort things out after he legally emancipated himself from their care. At school, cheerleader Paula Lake tries to get back togeather with Mark Hunsaker after her brief affair with Andy, but he wants nothing to do with her.
Peter Parker manages to get ahold of Andy and is upset because he hasn’t been showing up for his weekly check-ups at Horizon Labs. Alpha, who is in Japan, dismisses Peter’s concerns and tells him he’ll be back next week and hangs up on him. This further convinces Peter that Andy Maguire is not worthy of the immense power he has. This redoubles Peter’s efforts to try and find a cure for Alpha’s powers. However, Peter has been working on this non-stop at the expense of his personal life. At that moment, his Aunt May and Jay Jameson are heading home to Boston. May is disappointed that Peter wasn’t there to see him off and Jay assures her that he’ll call him when they get back. While inside the airport, J. Jonah Jameson watches as his father boards his private jet, happy to see his father go after avoiding him their entire visit.
Unaware that he has already missed them, Peter changes into Spider-Man so he can swing down to LaGuardia to see them off. However, he runs into the Avengers who think Spider-Man has answered their call. Iron Man is glad Spider-Man has joined them because Terminus just arrived in the city. Spider-Man can’t leave his teammates alone and hopes Aunt May can forgive him. Captain America surprises Spider-Man when he asks to call Alpha in as they will need his power. Spider-Man reluctantly calls Alpha and after hearing that the Avengers need him, Andy races back to the United States to join the battle.
He arrives in a matter of moments and beings attacking Terminus directly. The show of power is shocking to everyone and Spider-Man realizes that Andy has overcome the limitation that allowed him to only use one power at a time. When Terminus deflects one of Alpha’s energy blasts it disrupts air traffic in the area. Fearing for his Aunt May’s safety, Spider-Man hitches a ride on Captain Marvel and has her sling-shot him toward Jay Jameson’s private jet. Ripping open the door, Spider-Man enters the plane and assures May and Jay that he has come to save them.[1] After pressurising the cabin, Spider-Man rushes into the cockpit and helps Jay reboot the plane’s systems so they can get away safely.
Back at the scene of the battle, the Avengers are becoming concerned about Alpha’s increasingly reckless behavior that Captain America orders Thor to pull the kid from the fight. At this point, Spider-Man takes control of Jay’s plane hoping his spider-sense will help navigate them out of danger. May calls Peter’s cell phone to tell him what’s going on and Spider-Man accidentally answer the phone. Quick thinking, he tells May to hang up her phone, citing FAA regulations, surprisingly May ends the call without question. However, they can’t stay in the sky and need to land. Jay points out that there is a problem with the landing gear and Spider-Man goes outside to see that they are damaged. He tells Jay to bring the plane in for a landing while he works to shore up the damaged landing gear so they can land safely. Spider-Man uses his own body to brace the landing gear so they can land on the runway at LaGuardia. Emergency crews arrive on the scene with the mayor and, surprisingly, J. Jonah Jameson thanks Spider-Man for saving his father’s life. However, his Aunt May’s leg was injured in the landing, but Jameson assures Spider-Man that he will get her the best medical attention. Surprisingly, both Jonah and Spider-Man agree that Alpha is a menace that needs to be dealt with.
By this time, the Avengers have taken down Terminus, no thanks to Alpha, who took off as soon as the battle ended. Spider-Man arrives on the scene as his teammates try to figure out what to do with the alien invader. He demands that they hand over the alien’s staff as it was able to deflect and redirect Alpha’s energy and suspects that alien tech will provide a key to de-powering Andy Maguire. When Andy arrives at Horizon Labs for his weekly test, it’s Spider-Man who is waiting for him. Unaware of what’s really going on, Andy enters the machine that is prepared for him. Alpha realizes too late that his powers are being drained. Spider-Man explains that while he can’t completely de-power the youth, he failed his final test and has been using his powers irresponsibly. Spider-Man then says Alpha is going to re-do his training again and this time do it properly. Andy is forced to give up his Manhattan penthouse and return home to his parents and go back to school. He is going to resume a normal life until everyone forgets that he was ever Alpha and when they start again, Andy will wear a mask because his days as Alpha are done.
Later, Peter Parker visits his Aunt May in the hospital where doctors tell him and Jay that May will need a cane to walk.[2] When the doctor starts suggesting treatment in Boston, Peter insists that she and Jay stay in New York City where all their friends and family are so they can support them through this trying time. May reminds Peter that they left New York to get away from the craziness of the city, but Peter assures her that they’ll face whatever challenges as they come. At that moment, Roderick Kingsley has arrived in New York City after smuggling himself back into the country. Pulling his old Hobgoblin mask out of it bag and is glad to finally be home.[3]
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Alpha, Aunt May, Jay Jameson, J. Jonah Jameson, Glory Grant, Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Captain Marvel, Thor, Vision), Terminus, Roderick Kingsley, Paula Lake, Chrissy Chen, Alice Maguire, Ray Maguire, Mark Hunsaker
Continuity Notes
When Spider-Man calls her “Mrs. Parker”, Aunt May corrects him by saying her last name is now “Parker-Jameson” as she has been remmarried. Aunt May married Jay Jameson in Amazing Spider-Man #600. Peter plays dumb because Aunt May doesn’t know his secret identity.
The doctor says Aunt May is very old. According to Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #2 and the Sliding Timescale, May would be about 82 years old at the time of this story.
Roderick Kingsley fled the United States as a fugitive back in Spectacular Spider-Man #259-261. He decided to return to America in Amazing Spider-Man #691 after hearing that someone else was posing as the Hobgoblin. This was Phil Urich, who murdered Roderick’s brother Daniel and usurped the role in Amazing Spider-Man #649.
Topical References
Any reference to this story taking place in the year 2012 should be considered topical.
Dated pop-culture references: Andy states that he is guest starring on the Vampire Diaries. This series ended in 2017.
