Sensational Spider-Man #4
Shooting Spider-Man
Joe Robertson and J. Jonah Jameson have just been given a photo of Spider-Man with the skeleton stolen from the morgue. The picture was taken by their former freelancer Peter Parker, justifying their decision to fly him in from Portland.[1] When Jonah tries to renege on the promised payment, Peter threatens to sell the photo to the Daily Globe instead unless Jonah agrees to pay the originally agreed amount, plus all of his expenses -- adding an additional three days of hotel stays to that equation. As expected, Jonah eventually relents, taking satisfaction that he will finally get Spider-Man once and for all. Realizing that their problems with Jameson have just gotten worse, Peter begins thinking about what he and Ben Reilly can do about the skeleton.
Meanwhile, Ben Reilly is working away at the Daily Grind. As he is delivering a drink to Desiree Winthrop -- a regular patron -- she invites him over to her place after his shift. When Ben confirms that all she wants to do is get help with her studies, he accepts the invitation. Heading back to the front counter, Shirley Washington pulls Ben aside and tells him that she was contacted by the Social Security Office who informed her that the social insurance number that Ben provided when he took the job is incorrect. Ben makes an excuse about filling out the form incorrectly and promises to straighten out the problem, however, he is secretly concerned because his credentials were all fabricated by his friend Seward Trainer.[2] That's when Jessica Carradine enters the Daily Grind after Ben has been avoiding her and convinces him to go out for dinner with her after his shift. As they walk the streets together, Ben thinks about how he recently discovered that Jessica is the daughter of the man who killed his Uncle Ben.[3] He doesn't know what to do about this situation, as he never suspected that Uncle Ben's killer had a daughter, let alone the possibility that he would end up dating her. He then asks her to tell him more about her father, saying that it is important to their relationship. Jessica resists at first, questioning the relevance, but decides to tell him anyway.
She explains how she believes Ben Parker misidentified her father and that his father was falsely accused of being a murderer.[4] She then goes on to say that when her father finally got out of prison he tried to go straight, but the wall-crawler tracked him down. Although the coroner’s report states that her father died of a heart attack, she has convinced herself that Spider-Man strangled her father to death and the authorities lied about the cause of death in order to protect Spider-Man's reputation.[5] She then tells Ben that only two people attended her father's funeral: Herself and the priest and she believes that if her father were alive today they would both be happy, blaming Spider-Man for everything that has happened to her family.
That's when police cars begin driving by with their sirens on, prompting Ben to cut their date short. He makes up a lame excuse of needing to find a phone to call Shirley and tell her that he will be running late for work, and this does nothing but convinces Jessica that Ben is living a double life. With no choice, Ben runs off to change into Spider-Man and see what the trouble is. Meanwhile, Jessica has her camera with her and decides to rush ahead to the scene of the disturbance in the hopes of getting photos of what is happening. She is shocked when Spider-Man shows up on the scene mere moments after she does. The situation turns out to be a bank robbery, and the wall-crawler begins taking down the ski-masked thieves until one of them grabs a hostage and threatens to shoot her if Spider-Man doesn't stand down. As the thief backs out with his hostage, Jessica goes up onto a nearby rooftop to take photos of the dramatic scene unfolding on the street below. Spider-Man slowly follows the crook outside and quick thinking uses his webbing to plug the barrel of the thieves' gun, while also creating a shield to protect his hostage from the shrapnel.
With the situation diffused, Spider-Man makes a quick exit and goes to a nearby rooftop to change out of his costume, little knowing that Jessica is tracking him with her camera. She manages to catch the wall-crawler as he is taking his mask off and snaps a photo. Instantly recognizing Spider-Man as Ben Reilly, Jessica is in utter shock. By this point, Ben's spider-sense kicks off warning him of danger and he puts his mask back on. Swinging to the opposite building he spots Jessica with her camera and fears the worst. The wall-crawler swings down and tries to explain himself, but Jessica is too angry to listen and storms away, leaving Spider-Man to wonder how to deal with this new development.
A short time later, Ben meets up with Peter Parker and the pair decides to bury the remains of the Spider-Clone in Queens cemetery. There he tells Peter about his recent discoveries regarding Jessica and her father, and Peter tells him that the burglar who killed Uncle Ben died of a heart attack when he faced him. This then turns into a discussion about their true natures. Even though Seward Trainer's tests concluded that Peter Parker was the clone and Ben Reilly is the original Spider-Man, the recent discovery of this skeleton throws it all into question and Peter insists they keep on searching for the ultimate truth of the matter.[6] When Ben questions why Seward would deceive them, it angers Peter who decides that he will investigate things on his own if Ben won't support his concerns and storms off, much to the disappointment of Ben. Meanwhile, Jessica Caradine has developed the photo of Spider-Man unmasking. Now that she knows the true identity of the man she thinks killed her father, she thinks how perfect this opportunity would be for revenge.
Blood Brothers continues in Amazing Spider-Man #411....
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Peter Parker, Jessica Carradine, J. Jonah Jameson, Joe Robertson, Shirley Washington, Desiree Winthrop
Continuity Notes
When Peter retired as Spider-Man in The Spectacular Spider-Man #229 he and Mary Jane moved to Portland as seen in Spider-Man: The Final Adventure #1. Spider-Man stole the skeleton from the morgue in Sensational Spider-Man #2. Peter took the photo, at the wall-crawler's insistence, during the Web of Carnage story arc.
When Ben was under the employ of Jason Tso, a mobster and nightclub owner, Seward Trainer used his hacking skills to create all the necessary documentation for Ben in order to prevent any suspicions about his identity. This was done in Web of Scarlet Spider #2.
Peter Parker's Uncle Ben was murdered by the Burglar in Amazing Fantasy #15.
Jessica is mistaken, as detailed in Amazing Spider-Man #400, it was May Parker who identified the shooter as she witnessed Ben getting shot. Ben bled out before the authorities could arrive.
This is another misconception by Jessica. In reality, her father was in league with Mysterio at the time he faced Spider-Man again. Seeing that the wall-crawler was the nephew of Ben Parker caused him to have a heart attack and die. That happened in Amazing Spider-Man #200.
Peter and Ben were tested by Seward Trainer in The Spectacular Spider-Man #226. Peter's suspicions about the validity of those tests are proven valid as seen in Spider-Man: The Osborn Journals #1.
