Sensational Spider-Man #16

Feb 24

Feb 24 Sensational Spider-Man #16

Paralyzed!

Since returning to New York, Mindy Brown has had trouble sleeping after her husband's recent accident.[1] She is awoken in the middle of the night by noises elsewhere in her home. Going to investigate the source of the noise she is shocked to see the Prowler in costume in her house. She immediately assumes that this is her husband, Hobie, but the Prowler tells her that it is not Hobie, and never will be again.

In the early morning hours in Queens, Mary Jane is trying to examine the puncture marks on her husband, Peter Parker's neck.[2] He struggles because the bite marks are still painful to touch, and she suggests that Peter have someone take a look at them.[3] Peter points out that he can't make up a good excuse for the wounds, and that he has been busy between his classes as Empire State University and dealing with the Chameleon and the Rose as Spider-Man anyway.[4] They are interrupted by Mary Jane's Aunt Anna who is coming into the room to deal with the laundry. This prompts the couple to scramble to cover up Peter's Spider-Man costume until Mary Jane can convince Anna that she will handle the wash instead.

Meanwhile, Hobie Brown is having a nightmare about the Prowler. In it, his alter ego leaps across a rooftop only to fall to his death. However, in this dream, Hobie is witnessing this himself. When the Prowler hits the ground, Hobie removes the heroes mask, revealing another man underneath. Blaming himself for an innocent man getting killed, Hobie begins to scream as he wakes up in the hospital room he has been in since his recent injuries. His wife, Mindy, is sitting next to him and asks what he was dreaming about. Hobie confides that he feels helpless after learning that someone stole his Prowler costume and that using it might lead to this person to get hurt, and he can't help but feel responsible. That's when Spider-Man reveals that he is in the room and asks Hobie for clues to help him find this thief. Spider-Man explains that he decided to come and check on his old ally after he heard reports of someone in a Prowler costume has been involved in a series of break-ins.[5] When the wall-crawler asks who might know Hobie's double identity, Brown says that other than his wife, his brother Abe, and the Rocket Racer, there is nobody else. Despite this, Spider-Man tells Hobie to focus on getting better and let him worry about the person masquerading as the Prowler.

Later, Spider-Man searches the city for the new Prowler. He feels bad for Hobie but is glad to hear that his injuries were not as serious as once thought and that he will be able to walk again. Still, he can relate with Hobie's frustration and his feelings of responsibility regarding the current situation, making his vow to catch the new Prowler even more important.[6] While in an apartment not far away, the man who has co-opted the Prowler costume revels in the robberies he has committed. Leaving his home, the Prowler finds a building to break into. As he is cutting a hole in one of the windows he is briefly distracted because he sees something out of the corner of his eyes. Just as he is about to dismiss it as nothing, the Prowler is ambushed by the Vulture. Unaware that this is a different person in the Prowler costume, the Vulture seeks to get revenge for the original Prowler foiling his plans to take over Bestman Electronics.[7]

As the Prowler tries to explain that the Vulture has the wrong person, Spider-Man leaps in and kicks his old foe in the face. As the two trade blows, the Prowler makes a hasty retreat. When the wall-crawler notices this it causes enough of a distraction for the Vulture to strike him. The force of the blow sends Spider-Man crashing into an apartment building. After making a hasty apology to the tenants, the web-slinger goes outside and discovers that the Vulture has managed to escape as well. With no trace of either Vulture and the Prowler, Spider-Man is forced to give up his search for the night. The following morning, Peter is upset to discover that the photos he took while in the Savage Land ended up on page 17 of the morning edition of the Bulge instead of the Sunday magazine that was scheduled to go out on Sunday. He is especially upset that the Bugle isn't reporting on how Roxxon was responsible for almost flooding the Savage Land. J. Jonah Jameson doesn't care, and questions why Peter still cares about it after he had been paid for the job.[8] Jonah then quickly changes the subject by introducing Peter to Billy Walters, the newest freelance photographer to join the Daily Bugle. Jameson wants Peter to take the young photographer under his wing and teach him everything he knows, a job that Peter is less than enthusiastic about. He sends both Parker and Walters out to 38th Street where a disturbance has been reported.

Soon, the two photographers arrive on the scene to see terrorizing some construction workers. Just before Peter can slip away and change into Spider-Man, Billy assures Peter that he is going to be right behind him to watch everything he does, preventing Peter from doing his job as Spider-Man...

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Vulture, Mindy Brown, Prowler, Mary Jane Watson, Anna Watson, Hobie Brown, J. Jonah Jameson, Billy Walters, Frank Rizzo

Continuity Notes

Mindy Brown was pursuing a career in California as seen in Prowler #1-4. Her return to New York follows Hobie's injuries sustained when the Prowler was involved in the Great Game in Spider-Man Unlimited #14.
Peter and Mary Jane are referred to as husband and wife here. However, years later, their marriage is erased from existence by Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. As such they should be considered a common-law couple here.
At the time of this story, Peter was bitten by Morbius in Spider-Man #77.
At the time of this story, Spider-Man dealt with the Chameleon in The Spectacular Spider-Man #242-245, while the Rose has been a constant issue since Amazing Spider-Man #419.
Spider-Man refers to Hobie as an "old pal", the pair have often worked together since they first met back in Amazing Spider-Man #78.
Spider-Man can relate to Hobie Brown's sense of responsibility because, for years, the wall-crawler has blamed himself for the death of his Uncle Ben back in Amazing Fantasy #15.
The Vulture attempted to seize control of Bestman Electronics in Prowler #1-4.
Peter was recently in the Savage Land in Sensational Spider-Man #13-15.

Brother's Keeper 2

Spider-Man has been called to Ravencroft Institute on the behalf of Doctor Ashley Kafka. She has been treating a man named David Kalen, otherwise known as the mutated monster called DK. Unfortunately, her treatments have not been going very well and David's condition is starting to deteriorate. She explains that he has been suffering from survivors guilt after the death of his brother. She reminds Spider-Man of how David and his brother Henry were environmental consultants who discovered that Sanders Chemicals was illegally dumping chemicals and polluting the environment. In order to try and cover it up, the owner of Sanders Chemicals attempted to kill them in an explosion at a toxic waste dump. Although Henry was killed, David was mutated into the sludge monster known as DK. DK had gone on a rampage until he was stopped by Spider-Man. This explanation comes as a relief to Spider-Man it was his clone, the late Ben Reilly, who fought DK in the past.[1]

The wall-crawler asks Ashley what he can do, and she explains that David's state of mind has caused him to begin reverting to DK, who has the ability to degenerate things just by touching them. She fears that David might turn his powers inward and commit suicide. Since Kalen turned himself in willingly, the institute can't force him to stay and he has recently been talking about leaving. Because of the situation, Ashley hopes Spider-Man can convince David to stay and continue his treatment. Spider-Man agrees to help, but secretly he worries about his ability to help someone he has never met before. Entering David's room, Ashley and Spider-Man try to convince David to stay. However, this is the last straw for the disturbed man and he turns into DK once more. Melting his way out of his cell, DK flees the scene with Spider-Man not far behind. Down one hallway, the wall-crawler is horrified to find the dissolved remains of some security guards that had the misfortune of trying to stop DK. That's when his spider-sense begins going off just as DK reaches out for Spider-Man from the shadows.