Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #20
Retreat
This story continues from Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #2…
In the nation of Latveria, the locals adhere to the curfew bells even though their ruler, the notorious Doctor Doom, is apparently dead.[1] Once everyone is locked away in their homes, Spider-Man figures they can stop hiding. Accompanying him on this mission are Mary Jane and his Aunt May who are wearing old suits of Iron Man armor.[2] The trio soon arrives outside Doctor Doom’s castle and from there, Spider-Man leaps past the moat and climbs into the castle to get a look at the security systems they are dealing with. After shutting down the security system and dealing with the Doombots on guard, Spider-Man lets Mary Jane and Aunt May inside. Then using a special tracking device leads them down to Doom’s laboratory. There they find Doctor Doom’s time machine. After the women take off the protective suits of armor, they all hop on board the time platform and go back in time.
They arrive in Queens, many years in the past. As people harmlessly pass through them, Peter explains that they are chronically displaced so they can’t accidentally change history.[3] They soon find the home where Peter grew up and walk inside. There they witness as Peter’s parents — Richard and Mary Parker — are leaving their son in the care of his Uncle Ben and Aunt May while they go on a business trip. Peter and Mary Jane are completely taken back by the sight, with Mary Jane commenting that Peter’s parents look even better in real life than any of the pictures she’s seen of them. Soon, Richard and Mary leave and as they get into their car, the future Peter Parker races after them, trying to warn them that they won’t be coming back. He pleads with them that if they don’t leave they won’t die, and neither will Uncle Ben, and neither will he. Unfortunately, the chronal displacement prevents Richard and Mary from hearing any of this and they drive away.[4] Mary Jane rushes out to console him and eventually convinces him to come back inside the house. There, May is still watching as her younger self and late husband spend time with young Peter. and is delighted to relive this memory. When Peter tells her to take her time, May tells him that she has seen enough and thanks to him for coming up with this idea. When they return to the present, they are shocked to discover the time platform is surrounded by Doombots. Spider-Man quickly springs into action, but he is stricken by his illness which completely immobilizes him. By then, Mary Jane nad May have put back on their borrowed Iron Man armor and blast the Doombots to pieces. After Mary Jane checks to see if Peter is okay, he jokingly says that May can have his place in the New Avengers after he’s gone.
When they get back to New York, Spider-Man returns the borrowed armor, telling Tony Stark that he’s planning on doing everything he can with his family while they still have time. When Tony asks where he is thinking of going next, Stark is excited to hear he’s thinking about Las Vegas but changes his mind as soon as Peter says he’ll be taking his wife with him.[5] Peter says that since he doesn’t have any health insurance, he figures he can go to Vegas and use his spider-sense to win at cards. He quickly dismisses this idea since he’d probably be kicked out of the casinos for card counting Then he remembers how frequently his vacations get interrupted when supervillains show up, figuring he would be winning big when the Wrecking Crew would crash the casino. Hearing this, Tony Stark says he has just the solution for Peter and decides to show him what he means.
Later that evening, Morlun stands on the rooftop and feels that the time is right to feast. First, he goes to the Daily Bugle, and but finds no sign of Peter Parker there. He then goes in to Stark Tower, where he manages to travel through the building without setting off the alarms or alerting anyone. He doesn’t find Spider-Man among his teammates and begins to wonder where the web-slinger is. However, at that moment, Peter Parker is not on Earth at all as at that moment he and Mary Jane are aboard a ship so they can see the stars from outer space.
This story continues in Amazing Spider-Man 526……
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Morlun, Mary Jane Watson, Aunt May, New Avengers (Tony Stark, Wolverine, Luke Cage), (in flashback) Richard and Mary Parker, Uncle Ben
Continuity Notes
1. At the time of this story, Doctor Doom was trapped in hell in Fantastic Four #500. He will return in Fantastic Four #536-537.
2. Specifically, Mary Jane and May are wearing are his original grey armor (first seen in Tales of Suspense #39) and the golden variant (first seen in Tales of Suspense #40)
3. This story depicts Peter as being old enough to walk and talk on the day that his parents left him in the care of Uncle Ben and Aunt May. This contradicts many stories including Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5, Spectacular Spider-Man #225, and Amazing Spider-Man #600 which depict Peter as being at most a toddler when his parents died. There is no explanation for this discrepancy.
3. Peter parents were government agents who died while on a mission when Peter was still a child in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5. Uncle Ben, of course, died in Amazing Fantasy #15. Peter has been led to believe that something is slowly killing him since Amazing Spider-Man #524.
4. Peter refers to Mary Jane as his wife. However, not long after this story, his marriage is erased from existence by Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. In the new timeline, Peter would be calling Mary Jane his fiancee instead of his wife.
Topical References
Spider-Man quips that the design in Doom’s castle is very “Ivana Trump” and that it needs a visit from the “Queer Eye for the Dictatorship Guy”. Ivana Trump was the first wife of the personification of dog shit, Donald Trump, who at one point had her own line of fashions. The Queer eye thing is a joke based on the TV show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, or — as it’s called today— Queer Eye, is a reality television show where a team of gay men gives people make-overs.
As Peter explains how they are avoiding changing history, Mary Jane makes a passing mention to the 1985 time travel movie Back to the Future.
