Spectacular Spider-Man #133
I Am Spider!
This story continued from Amazing Spider-Man #295…
Imprisoned in the Mad Dog Ward, Peter Parker has been drugged into a stupor to the point where he barely think, let alone escape. Forced to participate in an arts and crafts exercise, Peter tries to tell the other patients that he is Spider-Man, but nobody can understand him. Shedding a tear in frustration, Peter remembers how he promised Tanya and Jacob Gibbs that he would help free their mother, Vicky, from the Mad Dog Ward after her husband had her committed. Thinking about his life outside the Mad Dog Ward, Peter laments how the drugs in his system have made him so helpless. That's when Peter is joined by the patient calling himself Captain Zero. Zero wants to know when they are going to revolt against their masters. Peter tells Zero that his idea was a mistake and someone might get hurt. That's when two of the nurses come in and tell Captain Zero that they have a special mission for him. The simple-minded Zero agrees to follow them.
That's when Mary, a nurse who has been trying to help Peter, enters the room. She tells him that they are planning to give Zero a lobotomy after he got worked up during the brief revolt the day before. When Parker suggests that they take the patients off their medication, Mary explains that they need to be weened off to prevent them from getting sick. Peter tells her to do is so he can rescue Captain Zero and Vicky and go to the police. Meanwhile, at the Gibbs household, Frank Gibbs returns home to find his children are still awake. When he orders them to bed, Jacob refuses to comply as they are still upset that he had their mother committee. Angry at his children, Frank is about to strike his son when Tanya pulls a gun on him. Realizing how out of control things have gotten, Frank explains to his children that his employers had her mother committed so she couldn't report the crimes he commits in the Kingpin's mob. He finally decides to ask his children what it would take for them to trust him again. They want their mother home and Frank, realizing that their lives are miserable with Vicky, and agrees to try and bring her back home. Since that will get them in trouble with the Kingpin he tells his children that they'll leave town and assume new identities.
At that moment, at the Kingpin's headquarters, the Arranger comes with a status report on the Mad Dog Ward. He tells his master that one of the patients is claiming to be Spider-Man. If this is true, the Arranger fears that this could jeopardize their operations. The Kingpin reminds the Arranger that he was hired to make decisions and sends him on his way. The Arranger calls Doctor Hope and tells him that he is to deal with the man who alleges to be Spider-Man however he sees fit. When the Arranger hangs up, Doctor Hope decides to continue experimenting on Brainstorm, and look into this "Spider-Man" tomorrow. He then goes into the lab where Brainstorm is being held and continues his mental conditioning. The following day, the lack of medication is causing the patients to slowly regain their facilities. Mary fears that this could be dangerous, but Peter insists that this is the right thing to do as his strength is slowly returning. Suddenly, the patients begin to revolt, giving Parker the moment he needs. Before he can leave, Mary hands him his Spider-Man costume. Wrapping it around his shoulders like a cape, Peter runs down to the room where they are keeping Captain Zero and frees him. They also find Vicky and free her as well.
He is then confronted by Doctor Hope, some guards, and Brainstorm. Spider-Man is then forced into a cell with Brainstorm. But despite the brute's conditioning, Spider-Man manages to overpower him. Just then, Frank Gibbs arrives to rescue his wife, taking Doctor Hope at gunpoint and ordering him to set himself and his wife free. With Hope as their hostage, Frank assists his wife and Peter in escaping from the Mad Dog Ward. As they escape in a car, Captain Zero watches from the rooftops, rejoying that the good guys have won. The next day, Peter returns to Happy Valley in disguise along with Ben Urich in the hopes of getting photos and exposing the Mad Dog Ward in the Daily Bugle. However, he discovers he is too late, as the Arranger has called a press conference to admit to the illegal operations at the Mad Dog War, placing blame squarely on Doctor Hope. As the pair leave, Peter bumps into Mary who has quit after hearing the bogus cover up story. while elsewhere, the Gibbs family is leaving New York City, trying to decide on a new place to call home.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Ben Urich, Frank Gibbs, Vicky Gibbs, Kingpin, Arranger, Doctor Hope, Brainstorm, Captain Zero, Jacob Gibbs, Tanya Gibbs
Continuity Notes
Frank Gibbs had his wife committed to appease his boss the Kingpin in Web of Spider-Man #33.
Peter thinks about his wife, Mary Jane. However, years later, their marriage is erased from existence by the demon Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. As such, Peter and Mary Jane should be considered a common-law couple as opposed to husband and wife.
Peter has been trying to convince the patients to revolt against their keepers since Amazing Spider-Man #295.
