Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #4
Down Among the Dead Men Part Four
Hospitalized after a battle with Electro, Spider-Man is recovering from surgery. He hallucinates Aunt May standing over his bed telling him that this is exactly what she warned him would happen if he kept on being Spider-Man.[1] Surprised to see his Aunt, Peter asks her who was responsible for kidnapping her. She tells him it doesn’t matter because the one responsible was captured by Captain America and the Avengers. She then leans in and whispers into his ear to tell him that this is all a hallucination and at this very moment the Vulture is coming in for the kill. Spider-Man snaps back to reality as the Vulture assures the web-slinger that his death won’t take very long, but first, he wants to peek under his bandages to get a better look at his face.[2] When Adrian Toomes gets close enough, Peter smashes a pitcher of water in his face. That’s when security comes bursting in with guns drawn. When one of the officers accidentally clips Peter with a bullet, his partner tells him to stop shooting. The Vulture then grabs Spider-Man and flees the hospital room.
Carrying Spider-Man high above the city, the Vulture curses the web-slinger for costing him 20-million dollars as he intended to use to treat his grandson’s illness. Avoiding a flock of pigeons, the Vulture tells Spider-Man how he just learned about his grandson recently when Ramona his daughter-in-law came to visit him in prison, saying that she wanted her son to meet his grandfather before he died battling a superhero. Suddenly he had a family again and he asks Spider-Man if he knows how it felt when he discovered that his grandson was ill. The money would have paid for the best treatments for his grandson. His temper growing, the Vulture figures the bandages on Spider-Man’s face are making it hard for him to hear and rips them off. Getting a good look at Spider-Man’s face, the Vulture is disappointed by how unremarkable Peter Parker really is, how he could be just anybody on the street instead of the important person he always imagined the wall-crawler would be. He then drops Spider-Man to his death.
As he hurtles toward the street, Peter tries to fire some web-line and discovers that he is not wearing his web-shooters.[3] Luckily, Peter is saved by the Black Cat who came to the rescue after seeing that Peter was int trouble on television. Seeing this rescue, the Vulture rams into the Cat sending her flying. Luckily, they were close enough to a nearby rooftop for Peter to grab on to the ledge. Meanwhile, the Vulture sends the Black Cat crashing through an office building. On the other side, she manages to get loose from her foe, rope up Adrian’s legs. Swinging up to the Vulture, the Black Cat begins cutting him up with her claws. Climbing onto his back, she then rips out his power source. She then makes the Vulture crash into a billboard. As Peter Parker race up to the scene of the battle, the Vulture complains about the Black Cat coming after them, asking why she took a job from the Owl when she had apparently gone straight. She explains that while she is a private eye, she will take jobs on the side if it means taking down scum like him and beats on the Vulture for sending her to Florida on a wild goose chase.[4] When the Vulture explains why he ran off with the money, the Black Cat is impressed by Adrian’s ballsiness and then warns him against going after her ex-boyfriend again.[5] By this point, Peter Parker has made it up to the rooftops but the ordeal has caused him to pass out.
Later, at a warehouse in the Meatpacking District, Electro wakes up tied to a chair as the Doctor Gerhard Winkler examines him for the Owl. They explained how Electro has been doped up so he can’t move or use his power, but assure him that he will be able to feel pain. The Owl tells Electro to admit that he tried to run off with his money and take his punishment, as he still has a use for Dillon in his ranks, especially after his recent run-in with Daredevil.[6] Max pleads with the Owl not to torture him, saying that it was all the Vulture’s idea and offers to help bring the Vulture in. However, the Owl reveals that he already has Adrian Tooms, who was just dropped off by the Black Cat who was so unimpressed with him she raked her claws across his face. At that same time, Mary Jane Watson is taking a flight back to New York, while the Black Cat puts Peter Parker to bed. The man responsible for kidnapping Aunt May watches the latest news about the wall-crawler.[7] While at the Daily Bugle, Joe Robertson introduces J. Jonah Jameson to Saul Fischer who just got pictures of Spider-Man, unmasked, during his recent trip to the hospital.[8] Looking at the pictures, Jameson that the web-slinger’s face looks very familiar….
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Vulture, Black Cat, Electro, Owl, Gerhard Winkler, Mary Jane Watson, Joe Robertson, J. Jonah Jameson, Saul Fischer, Scorpion (unidentified)
Continuity Notes
Even though this is a hallucination, the real Aunt May also knows Peter is Spider-Man at the time of this story, having learned the truth in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #35.
The Vulture says he wants to know who he has really been fighting all these years. Spider-Man first fought the Vulture way back in Amazing Spider-Man #2. Per the Sliding Timescale, the Vulture and Spider-Man have been foes for about 11 years at the time of this story.
Peter is depicted as wearing a wedding ring here. However, not long after this story, Peter’s marriage to Mary Jane is erased from existence by Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. In the altered timeline, Peter wouldn’t be wearing a wedding ring, but maybe an engagement ring? Guys wear those now I hear.
The Vulture mentions how the Black Cat went straight and started her own private eye business. The Black Cat has gone straight since Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #73-79. She later founded her Cat’s Eye Investigations firm in Felicia Hardy: The Black Cat #4.
Spider-Man and the Black Cat dated for a time from Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #73 to 100.
The “fiasco with Daredevil” that the Owl is referring to happened in Daredevil (vol. 2) #41-45.
This mystery man is revealed to be the Scorpion in Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #9.
Saul Fischer’s other photo credits is getting a shot of Dazzler after a drug overdose and the Kingpin eating through a straw after his last battle with Daredevil. The Dazzler reference is not a reference to any specific event. However, the Kingpin credit is likely a reference to the Kingpin’s defeat at the hands of Daredevil in Daredevil (vol 2) #46-50.
Topical References
The Vulture specifically states that the money he had was going to use to treat his grandson’s Leukemia. This should be considered a topical reference since treatments for Leukemia will change with advances in medical science.
