Wild Blue Yonder Part Five

At an apartment, a group of drug addicts has managed to score some of the drugs that came from the Absorbing Man’s body. While the stuff gives them a good high, they discover that they have also taken on some of Absorbing Man’s powers. One unlucky person ends up absorbing the properties of porcelain when taking a crap and is shattered when one of his buddies comes to use the toilet.

Meanwhile, at the Daily Bugle, Ethan Edwards is dealing with a throng of television reporters after it was revealed that he is the new hero known as Virtue. As he asks Peter Parker for help, Peter is on the phone with Mister Fantastic who has just finished telling him that Ethan is actually a Super-Skrull sent to Earth years ago to conquer the Earth.[1] That’s when J. Jonah Jameson comes out of his office and orders both Peter and Ethan inside. Jonah promises that he won’t hold anything against Edwards for holding back on the biggest story of the year unless he tells Jonah everything right now. Cracking under the pressure, Ethan can barely stutter a response and instead decides to make an exit by flying out the window. Jonah then tells Peter to get out there and cover the story.

Instead, Peter changes into Spider-Man and quickly locates Ethan, who is now wearing a new Virtue costume with a mask. Spider-Man suggests that they get to Iowa and meet with the Fantastic Four, but Virtue is afraid to go back since his adopted father — a devoutly religious man — would not be impressed with the news that he has been using his powers as a superhero as his father believes superheroes are false idols who have set themselves up to be worshiped as gods. In a panic, Virtue flies off in an effort to try and stop the story from reaching his hometown of Hicksville. As Spider-Man is trying to figure out how he’s going to get to Iowa on his own, he hears screaming on the streets. Swinging down to see what’s going on, Spider-Man quickly finds a number of drug addicts that are suddenly developing uncontrollable absorbing powers and realizes that a problem like this is way out of his scope.

Meanwhile, the Fantastic Four have arrived at the Edwards family farm to learn more about Ethan. There they are ordered to get away by his father who threatens to shoot Mister Fantastic with a shotgun. However, when he pulls the trigger, the Invisible Woman catches the buckshot in an invisible force sphere. With the old farmer disarmed, Reed quickly explains that they want to learn more about his adopted son, as they are trying to help him. However, Mister Edwards believes that Ethan came from a flash from the heavens instead of an alien ship and is confused when Reed refers to the ship for what it is. However, when Reed and Sue bring him to the alien ship — which is being guarded by the Thing and Human Torch — he swears that he never saw the alien craft before. That’s when they hear a sonic boom, announcing the arrival of Virtue. Seeing his son flying in the air upsets Edwards, who ordered his son to use his powers in public. Virtue then attacks the Thing, telling the Fantastic Four to stay away from his family. However, Virtue is quickly knocked out when the Thing slams his hands on either side of Ethan’s head. When he brings Virtue to the alien ship it suddenly comes to life. Beaming information into Ethan’s mind, the ship begins speaking to him in an alien tongue. Fearing that it might be programming Ethan with orders to enslave the Earth, the Fantastic Four deem the ship a threat. However, it won’t let Reed get close enough to shut it down prompting the Thing to punch it into orbit.

Back in New York City, the Owl is being briefed about the chaos caused by his new drugs. Even though drug addicts are developing uncontrollable absorbing powers, customers are lining up and profits are high. The Owl is very pleased and figures the money that’s coming in will make him the undisputed leader of the mobs of New York. At that same time, Spider-Man has been spending his time dealing with the addicts that have suddenly developed the Absorbing Man’s powers. Some have more control than the others, such as one young man who threatens to stab the passengers of a city bus with his metal hands unless they hand over their valuables. However, just like all the others, these powers wear off after an hour and he begins to cry. As Spider-Man interrogates the man and learns the Owl is behind this new drug problem, he is unaware as one of the addict’s tears slips out of the bus and into the sewers where it joins a bunch of other free moving fluids. These fluids then begin combining until they start taking on the form of a man.

While in Iowa, Virtue wakes up from the interrupted reprogramming and finds himself fighting two fronts: On the one hand, he is attacking the Fantastic Four, threatening to use his healing powers to strip them of their abilities. On the other hand, he is also fighting the Skrull programming that is in direct conflict with his upbringing. Growing frustrated, Virtue then flies away. While back in New York, Spider-Man crashes the Owl’s hideout, while at that same moment the Absorbing Man has completely reformed his body and vows to kill everybody in the city.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Virtue, Absorbing Man, Owl, J. Jonah Jameson, Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing)

Continuity Notes

1. This happened five years earlier (as the Sliding Timescale goes) during the destruction of the Skrull homeworld by Galactus in Fantastic Four #256. Peter learned all of this last issue.