The Big Question

Following his last battle with the Green Goblin, Peter thinks about his relationship with God and figures that this must be one huge test. Imagining what a conversation with God might be like, Peter figures he’d ask why the Lord would allow the Goblin to put Flash Thompson in the hospital and then make Peter see a reflection of his heart. He figures God would tell him that it’s all part of His divine purpose and that if he were to tell Peter what those plans were, Parker would grow bored and grumpy having everything revealed to him. Although he finds this imagined conversation funny, Peter begins to cry into his Spider-Man costume.[1]

At that moment, at the AGK Building, the alarms go off prompting the security — lead by Mister Corman — to rush to the vault within the facility. Entering the vault they are unaware that a costumed woman has suspended herself above them. That’s when Corman’s boss, Mister Kirkland demands to know what’s going on. They quickly discover that an artifact called the Star of Persia has gone missing. That’s when one of the guards looks up and sees something. It’s a swatch of cloth and when Mister Corman grabs hold of it, he finds that the only thing on the cloth is a question mark.

By this time, Peter Parker has changed into Spider-Man and is watching Flash Thompson’s hospital room from outside. He is glad to see Liz Osborn is there reading to him and thinks how she is a saint for taking time out of her busy life to be there for him. Leaving the scene, Spider-Man once more blames himself for Flash being in this situation. However, his self-recriminations are interrupted when his spider-sense draws him to a trail of lotus flowers. Unaware that he is being observed by the woman who broke into the AGK Building, Spider-Man doesn’t sense any danger from the flowers but is drawn to them none the less. When he picks up one of the flowers, Spider-Man’s mind is suddenly flooded with images. First, he sees question marks, then people suffering, then a statue of Tārā — the god of meditation in the Buddist faith — The images are so powerful he can hardly breath. When it’s all over, Spider-Man is surrounded by lotus petals. As a cloth with a question mark on it flutters down to him he hears a woman’s voice whisper his name.

The following morning, Mister Kirkman meets with his board of directors to discuss what they are going to do about the Eye of Persia going missing. It’s during this meeting that Mister Corman tells them that the cloth with the question mark they found in the vault is a message from whoever took the Eye. They are all concerned that if word gets out that the Eye of Persia was stolen from their possession, it could raise questions about affairs that happened in Bangladesh. When Kirkland questions what they should do when this happens, Mister Corman suggests they do what they have been doing all along: nothing.

Meanwhile, Peter Parker is back at his apartment examining one of the lotus flowers he brought home from the night before. He can’t shake what happened because it was so weird. Weirder still, when Peter looks across the alley to the building next door he sees Barker, his neighbor’s dog, wearing a tuxedo. Concerned, Peter calls Barker’s owner, Caryn Earle, to tell her about the situation. However, Caryn can’t hear Peter over the noise, telling him that Barker has some friends over for a party and hangs up the phone, leaving Peter more confused than ever. That evening, the mystery woman is meditating and is reliving a memory where a number of people close to her were ambushed by armed men trying to get into their temple. When she awakens from her vision she spots a spider walking across the rooftop and moves it to higher ground so she doesn’t step on it.

The day after that, Liz Osborn tries to call Peter Parker to tell him about Flash’s current prognosis. Unable to reach him she leaves a voice mail telling Peter that Thompson’s body is expected to heal, but his brain has suffered serious scarring and he is non-responsive. Liz breaks down over the phone, asking what are they going to do now. Listening to this message later, Peter sheds some tears of his own. Praying to his Uncle Ben, Peter says he can’t get involved because he still feels responsible. looking out the window he sees Barker outside on the balcony again. This time, he’s got the cloth with the question mark tied around his neck. This prompts Peter to run up to the roof of his building while changing into Spider-Man along the way. There on the roof, he runs into the woman who broke into the AGK Building. She leads Spider-Man on a chase across the rooftops of the city. When she finally stops she shows him another cloth, this one-half red, half orange, with a question mark on it. She tells him that the question is the answer and as he tries to make sense of her words, the woman then headbutts the wall-crawler. When Spider-Man recovers from the blow, the mystery woman is gone. Picking up the cloth, Spider-Man figures it is some kind of message and that’s when his spider-sense goes off directing his attention toward the AGK Building.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Enigma (unidentified), Mr. Corman, Liz Osborn, Flash Thompson, Caryn Earle, Barker

Continuity Notes

1. Spider-Man just finished a rather emotional battle with the Green Goblin in Peter Parker: Spider-Man #44-47. Part of the Goblin’s scheme this time around was to manufacture a drunk driving accident that put Flash Thompson in a coma.

2. The mystery woman in this story is never identified by name in this story. Her real name is later revealed at Tara Virango and that she operates under the codename Enigma was revealed in Civil War: Battle Damage Report #1.