Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 3) #8
Ms. Adventures in Babysitting
Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel are trying to stop Doctor Minerva, a Kree warrior, from stealing an Inhuman cocoon. They thought this would be an easy win when suddenly, the Kree warrior transforms into a monstrous winged form. As Spider-Man takes charge of the situation he notices that the novice Ms. Marvel is frozen in fear. He snaps her out of it by asking him to do a slingshot maneuver that he and Captain Marvel used to do.[1] They manage to knock Minerva off her feet. Spider-Man then reminds Ms. Marvel that their first priority is the cocoon that she stole.
The pair rush the van carrying the cocoon and fight through Minerva’s hired men. Spider-Man snatches the cocoon and as he and Ms. Marvel flee the scene, Doctor Minerva recovers and follows after them. With their foe bearing down on them, Spider-Man orders Ms. Marvel to increase in size and keep Minerva at bay while. As Ms. Marvel fights Minerva the cocoon begins to hatch.
Meanwhile, at the Fact Channel studio, Cindy Moon is worrying about finding an affordable apartment, but the rent in New York is so high. Still, she needs to find a place because she can’t stay at Peter Parker’s apartment with the two of them unable to keep their hands off each other. Her thoughts are interrupted by another staffer who tells her to meet their boss, Natalie Long, in the editing bay. Cindy is warned that Natalie is in a bad mood. There she finds Natalie working on footage of Silk’s battle with Electro. Long wants to make Silk “theirs” like the Daily Bugle owns Spider-Man stories but finds her costume tacky as it looks like it was just webbed on. That’s when they get a call about Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel’s battle. After she finishes the call, Natalie discovers that Cindy has disappeared. That’s because Cindy is up on the roof changing into Silk. She is insulted by what her boss said about her costume but dismisses this so she can focus on lending Spider-Man a hand.
Back at the scene of the battle, Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel are shocked to discover that being inside the cocoon is a harmless baby. Needing to get the child to safety, Spider-Man passes it off to Ms. Marvel while he deals with Doctor Minerva. He temporarily blinds the Kree by tossing the remains of the cocoon into Minerva’s face. However, Minerva catches Spider-Man by surprise when she unleashes a powerful eye beam.
Meanwhile, Minerva’s minions chase after Ms. Marvel and manage to knock her down with one of their blasters. That’s when one of the men realizes that she is carrying a baby and decides he no longer wants any part of this. Ms. Marvel is surprised when this lone henchman turns his sonic weapon on his allies. When the man approaches Ms. Marvel to check on the baby, she tells him that his mask is scaring the child. The man pulls off his mask and apologizes for going after the cocoon, saying that he draws the line at kidnapping a baby.
At that same moment, Spider-Man is doing his best in a battle against Doctor Minerva, who reveals that she wants to harvest the genetics of the new Inhuman to boost her powers. That’s when Ms. Marvel confronts her and points out that she is using Earth henchmen instead of Kree soldiers and suggests that her activities on Earth are unsanctioned by the Kree empire. Spider-Man then pretends to put in a call to Avengers Mansion to follow up on this. Falling for Spider-Man’s bluff, Doctor Minerva retreats, vowing to get revenge. Spider-Man is relieved that his ruse worked and suggests they get the baby back to its parents.
Meanwhile, Silk — in her brand new costume — captures the Ringer who just committed a robbery at the Diamond District. After she has wrapped up the Ringer, Natalie Long arrives with a cameraman. She notices that Silk changed her costume and asks her what prompted the new look. Silk says she needed a change and takes off.
While at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt hospital, Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel reunite the baby with its parents. With the danger over, Spider-Man needs to head to Avengers Tower to report his encounter with Doctor Minerva. When Ms. Marvel asks to tag along, Spider-Man wisely has figured out that she is just in high school and tells her to get back to class. Still, he gives her some encouragement, telling her that when he started his career around her age he always wondered if he had what it took to be a hero, he tells her that she does. This pleases the novice hero who agrees to return to her classes. That leaves Spider-Man to figure out what to do with Minerva’s henchman who helped them in the end. Spider-Man reveals that he knows that he is Clayton Cole, who as the Clash fought Spider-Man early on in his career.[2] He tells Clayton that he believes in second chances and hands him a business card for Parker Industries and tells him to give them a call. Cole takes Spider-Man up and he is soon welcomed onto the staff of Parker Industries by Peter Parker.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel, Doctor Minerva, Silk, Natalie Long, Silk, Ringer, Anna Maria Marconi, Sajani Jaffrey, Living Brain
Continuity Notes
Ms. Marvel remembers that Spider-Man used this move while fighting the Spider-Slayer’s Slayer-Swarm as well as his battle with Terminus. See Amazing Spider-Man #652-654 and 692-694.
For more on Spider-Man’s encounters with Clash see Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 3) #1.1-1.5.
My Brother’s Keeper
The Inheritors are hunting for spiders across the multiverse and now Daemos has arrived on Earth-928. There he attacks Mayday Parker, aka Spider-Girl, in her own home.Pinning Spider-Girl under his foot, Daemos begins crushing her until her boyfriend Wes Westin tries to stop him, but the youth is quickly pinned to the wall by the massive Inheritor. Annoyed by Wes, Daemos then throws him through a wall. May, meanwhile, wonders how this new foe was able to attack her at home and worries about her family.
Elsewhere in the flaming home, Mary Jane Watson is trying to keep her son, Benjy, calm while also checking on her husband. Peter Parker was also no match for Daemos and, as a result, his cybernetic leg has been seriously damaged. Still, Peter refuses to give up and attacks the intruder in the hopes of saving the life of his daughter. Daemos tells Peter that he has come to consume the life energies of spider-totems and after he kills Parker he will also kill his daughter and son. Peter tells his wife that he always loved her and to save the children. By this time, Spider-Girl has gotten to her feet. Mary Jane hands Benjy to his sister and tells her to get him to safety, that the baby is now her greatest responsibility.
Spider-Girl takes her baby brother and flees the flaming home, hearing the screams of her parents from inside. Suddenly, another portal opens and a pair of Spider-Men emerge from the portal. They are Spider-UK and Old Man Spider. They tell May that they are gathering spiders from across the multiverse to stop the Inheritors from destroying the Web of Life. When May pleads with them to help save her father, they report that he is dead. To prove this Daemos emerges from the burning home with the lifeless husk of Peter Parker. He tells May that running is futile as he and his family will hunt her down and destroy her. However, Spider-Girl intends to avenge the death of her family and boyfriend and vows to destroy him first. As she retreats with the other two Spider-Men, Daemos tells her that when they meet next she is more than welcome to try.[1]
Recurring Characters
Spider-Girl, Daemos, Wes Westin, Mary Jane Watson, Benjy Parker, Peter Parker, Old Man Spider, Spider-UK
Continuity Notes
Although this story ends with May believing that her mother and boyfriend are dead, she will discover they survived in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 3) #15.
