Sensational Spider-Man (vol. 2) #40

Jun 23

Jun 23 Sensational Spider-Man (vol. 2) #40

The Book of Peter

Once Upon a Time

There once a time there was a boy named Peter Parker, who despite the loss of his parents grew up in a loving home with his Aunt May and his Uncle Ben.[1] At school, however, Peter was bullied by classmates like Flash Thompson. However, he still believed that the world was basically a good place. One day when Flash tripped him in the hall, he was helped up by Liz Allan who offered to let Peter sit next to him on a class field trip.

One day everything changed, Peter was attending an exhibit on radioactivity where he was bitten by a radioactive spider. Gaining the proportionate ability of a spider, Peter became Spider-Man and attempted to cash in on the fame with the powers that he gained. One day, he refused to stop a burglar. When the officer told him he could have done something, Peter scoffed saying that it wasn’t his job. He learned a harsh lesson the night he came home and was told that his Uncle Ben was murdered. Learning that the police had the killer cornered in an abandoned warehouse, Peter went after him as Spider-Man. Peter was shocked to discover that his uncle’s killer was the same man he let go before. [2] At Uncle Ben’s funeral, Peter vowed never to allow something like this happen again.

However, no matter how hard he tried, thee would always be someone who would end up dead due to Peter being Spider-Man. Such as his foe the Green Goblin, and his first true love, Gwen Stacy.[3] The most recent of those victims is his own Aunt May….[4]

Now

Mary Jane finds Peter sitting by Aunt May’s hospital bed talking to himself and asks if he’s okay. Peter gets up to leave and tells her that he’s not okay and doesn’t think he’s been okay for a long time now. When she asks where he is going, Peter tells her that he’s going to blow off some steam. Swinging across the city, all Peter can think of are all the people who have died on his watch.[5] He eventually ends up in an alley where he blows off steam by trashing a bunch of dumpsters with his bare hands. That’s when someone puts a hand on his shoulder and tells him those dumpsters will never harm anyone ever again. When Peter whirls around with his fist raised he quickly drops his hand when he realizes that the person who sneaked up on him appears to be a harmless homeless man.

The homeless man says that he heard Peter smashing the dumpsters and decided to see if there was anything he can do to help. Peter tells the bum to back off telling him he is in no mood. However, the homeless man refuses to back down, offering to buy him a burger so they can sit down and talk about it. When the strange calls Peter by name, he is unimpressed because his name is published everywhere. That’s when the man turns his attention to Peter’s bloody hands. Peter assures him that it’s not a big deal because he heals quickly. However, when the homeless man tells him to look at his hands, Peter is shocked to discover they are fully healed and realizes that he is not dealing with an ordinary homeless person. Peter then demands to know who this man is, but the man tells Peter knows exactly who he is. Suddenly, the homeless man is washed in heavenly light and Peter suddenly realizes who he is speaking with after all.[6]

They go for food, but Peter can’t bring himself to eat in front of a being who is apparently omniscient. He decides to ask the being what Aunt May’s death has to do with his grand scheme for Peter’s life. The entity asks Peter that if this was the case what would he do. Peter admits that he would beg for the entity to save her that he would give up everything — even being Spider-Man — if it meant having her back. Peter then asks if the entity has the power to change fate and have someone else get bitten by the radioactive spider and spare those loved ones who died would he do it?

Instead of answering that question, the being posing as a homeless man decides to show Peter something instead. Suddenly, they find themselves at Robert Moses Beach and Peter remembers how he used to always come here as a kid. The man then asks Peter to walk with him along the boardwalk. Along the way, Peter asks the entity if becoming Spider-Man was a punishment for some kind of wrong he committed in a past life, or a test. The entity denies it is either, prompting Peter to ask what purpose it all has. The entity says that human suffering is part of the mystery of life, but to answer his question about the purpose of it all, he turns Peter’s attention to the beech which is now suddenly full of people. The entity then tells Peter that this is but a sample of all the lives that Peter has saved as Spider-Man. Peter is taken away by the sheer number of people, admitting that he never really thought about it before because the people he has saved they are only in his life for a matter of moments. The stranger then says the should keep moving. Peter thanks the entity for showing that, but agrees when the entity suggests that it still doesn’t end Peter’s suffering.

The stranger then tells Peter that everyone has their roles to play in life, that this is his, for better or for worse. He then offers some consolation, saying he has asked a lot more from people much closer to him than Peter. Hearing all of this, Peter feels very small and insignificant. When he admits that he doesn’t want Aunt May to die, the entity tells Peter to have faith. When Peter turns around, the entity is gone and he is back in the alleyway. Peter walks away from he alley more confused than ever.

Years later, Peter Parker has grown older and his hair has started to grow white. He is living happily with his wife Mary Jane and raising their two children, Benjamin and Mary.[7]

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Mary Jane Watson, (in flashback) Aunt May, Uncle Ben, Flash Thompson, Liz Allan, the Burglar

Continuity Notes

1. Peter Parker’s parents were government agents who were killed in the line of duty in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5. Peter was raised by his aunt and uncle from then on.

2. This is all a recap of Amazing Fantasy #15.

3. Gwen Stacy was murdered by the Green Goblin in Amazing Spider-Man #121. Although this story states that the Goblin died as well this was not the case. The Green Goblin was seeming killed in Amazing Spider-Man #122. He survived, as explained in Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal #2, and would later resurface again in Amazing Spider-Man #412.

4. Peter revealed his identity to the public in Civil War #2 and later became an outlaw in issue #4 of that series. As a result, Aunt May was hit by an assassin’s bullet in Amazing Spider-Man #538.

5. Peter thinks of various friends and family who have died over the years. They are:

Jean DeWolff who was fatally shot by the Sin-Eater in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #107.
Harry Osborn seemingly died due to complications of the Goblin Formula in Spectacular Spider-Man #200. In reality, Harry survived and will turn up alive again in Amazing Spider-Man #545. How he survived is explained in detail in Amazing Spider-Man #581-582.
Kraven the Hunter committed suicide after his final battle with Spider-Man in Amazing Spider-Man #294.
Ben Reilly, Peter Parker’s clone was killed when he was impaled by Norman Osborn’s Goblin Glider in Spider-Man #75. This story depicts Ben wearing his Spider-Man costume, which wasn’t the case when he died. It was likely depicted like this so readers could identify who it was.
Lastly, there is George Stacy who died pushing a child out of the path of falling debris caused by a battle between Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus in Amazing Spider-Man #90.

6. Despite what you can Google on the internet, there is no official statement on who this individual is. This whole story is a pastiche inspired by the Book of Job in the Bible. If anything this is supposed to be God. However, the lazy researchers over at the Marvel Database presume to think this character is the One-Above-All because contributors there have a hard time separating the Judeo/Christian God and the One-Above-All. Repeat After Me: There is no confirmation as to the identity of the individual in this story. Zilch. Zero. None. Every Wiki, Listicle, and YouTube video that says this is the One-Above-All is wrong. The reason they all say the same thing is because they all copy each other without doing any of their own fucking research because they’re lazy fucking content aggregators. It’s about quantity, not about quality. Also, Repeat After Me: The Judeo/Christian God and the One-Above-All are two separate entities. Also: Don’t e-mail me with your opinion on this, it’s 100% wrong and I don’t care.

7. Right after this story, Peter and Mary Jane’s marriage is erased from existence in Amazing Spider-Man #545. Per the Unofficial Appendix to the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, this possible future has been designed as Reality-7140