Peter Parker: Spider-Man #43
Fifteen Minutes of Shame Part 2
Sonic TV’s Spring Break coverage has been terrorized by something living in the sands of Jones Beach, New York. Although a number of party attendees have been swallowed the sand they are downplaying the danger in the media. They also insist that the situation is well under control because Spider-Man is on the scene. The web-slinger is humiliated by being exploited by Sonic TV but has an important job of finding the missing people. Working with director Teale Hunter, Spider-Man learns that of all the people swallowed up by the sand the night before everyone has been found alive and well except for Maria Kelly who was singing at the moment of the attack. This convinces Spider-Man that whoever is responsible is only targeting celebrities.[1] Needing to sleep, Spider-Man is given the room in the Sonic TV Beach House that was occupied by the Crisqo the rapper. He is shocked to see that the room is decorated like it is owned by a twelve-year-old girl.
Meanwhile, the entity on the beach has also fallen asleep but it becomes disturbed when the dreams have are not its own memories, but those of the celebrities it has swallowed. The entity starts drawing strength from these celebrities that are now sharing his psyche and begins emerging from the sand.
The following morning, Spider-Man decides he is living in hell after being berated by the cast of The Real Deal. He is quickly dragged away by Teale Hunter who introduces the web-slinger to the celebrities he’ll be working with that day. When she rejects a singer named Lynny, saying his son has been overplayed he turns to leave and runs into the Sandman, who then floods the house with sand, driving everyone outside.[2] The Sandman is glad to see Spider-Man, who points out that the Sandman is talking weird and not acting like himself. After swallowing a singer named Rico, the Sandman explains that he was washed up on this beach after he couldn’t keep himself together and was washed away.[3] He then discovered that by absorbing the celebrities partying on the beach into his body he was gaining the ego he needed to pull himself back together. Now he’s back, and the Sandman is being impacted by the personalities of the musicians he has absorbed into his body.
When Spider-Man tries attacking the Sandman, he fails to stop the villain from gobbling up Lynny. However, the Sandman’s scheme to absorb every celebrity at Spring Break is starting to backfire as the conflicting personalities inside his body begin arguing with each other. Shaking off this momentary lack of control, the Sandman decides to absorb Spider-Man, deciding that the masked hero must have the biggest ego of all. As he chases Spider-Man around the beach, he continues sucking up pop stars and divas. Eventually, this causes the Sandman to take on the form that resembles the type of celebrity excess that is being glorified at this party.[4] That’s when Teale arrives with a truckload of celebrities that she offers up to the Sandman who gobbles them all up. Spider-Man is horrified that she would do such a thing, but Teale says its all part of a plan and to watch. Sure enough, the additional celebrities make the warring egos inside the Sandman become even more volatile and eventually the Sandman expells them all in a massive sand explosion. With the battle over, Spider-Man is hailed as a hero until he makes a bad pun about life being a beach.
Later, as the partying continues, Teale Hunter thanks Spider-Man for his help. When Spider-Man returns home and turns on the TV, it’s on Sonic TV where he learns that his joke has been turned into a fashion accessory by the celebrities he saved. Deciding he has had enough, Spider-Man disconnects the cable and falls asleep listening to the static.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Sandman, Teale Hunter, Tyson Hayley, Tiffany Gibson, Johnny Waterlog, Maria Kelly, T. Diddy
Continuity Notes
Teale talks about tricking the audiences into thinking the beach is safe, saying her network was able to keep the Macarena popular for a whole week. If you don’t know what the Macarena is, ask a parent. Needless to say, this is another topical reference.
When Lynny says there is a patchwork monster outside, Teale thinks he’s talking about Michael Jackson. This should be considered a topical reference since Jackson has been dead since 2009.
The Sandman has had difficulty keeping himself together since Venom ate a chunk of him in Peter Parker: Spider-Man #16. He couldn’t maintain his form and eventually crumbled away in Peter Parker: Spider-Man #22.
Sandman brags about having the “bling-bling”, which is as much a topical reference as it is a cringeworthy thing to be saying.
