Spectacular Spider-Man #56
The Peril...and the Pumpkin?
Arriving at Bellevue Hospital, Spider-Man takes some pictures of Jack O'Lantern being brought into the hospital following his defeat at the hands of Machine Man. He then goes to the Daily Bugle as Peter Parker and sells the pictures to J. Jonah Jameson. Meanwhile, back at the hospital, a doctor goes into the secure wing to check on his patients, the Vulture and Nitro before checking on his newest patient, Jack O' Lantern. He is shocked to discover that the villain is still in his costume, but the officer on guard tells him that they cannot find a way to remove it. To make matters worse, the district attorney's office is still waiting on a representative from Stark International to take off the armor and take his pogo device. This horrifies the doctor as the delays could cost his patient his life. Outside, one of Jack O'Lanterns employers calls in to prepare to break him out.
At that same time, Peter Parker returns to ESU to do some research. Arriving there he witnesses a practical joke being played by his colleagues on Marcy Kane who has been wearing a series of strange hat-wear the last while, and it turns out she doesn't really have blond hair, but short black hair. She used to dye her hair, but the constant dye jobs was killing her hair, forcing her to stop. After the joke goes badly, Peter consoles her before resuming his work. When Debora Whitman questions why Peter didn't find the prank funny, he explains that Marcy has a right to her own privacy.
Meanwhile, Jack O'Lantern revives in the hospital and takes everyone there hostage. When Aunt May calls Peter to tell him that Nathan Lubensky is among the hostages. She asks Peter to come and be with her while she waits for news on Nathan's condition. Instead, Peter goes out as Spider-Man to save him, not wanting to fail Lubensky like he did his uncle Ben. When Debra offers to accompany Peter, he blows her off, telling her that the current crisis is strictly a family matter and abruptly leaves to change into Spider-Man.
Outside the hospital, Lieutenant Kris Keating tries to deal with the hostage situation without and casualties. When Spider-Man arrives on the scene and offers his aid, Keating tells the wall-crawler to let his officers handle it. Spider-Man sneaks onto the property and quickly takes down the sentries put outside. Elsewhere in the hospital, the hospitals are being threatened but Nathan Lubenski won't give in. Before anything can happen, Spider-Man comes crashing through the wall. After incapacitating the guard, Nathan refuses to find somewhere safe to hide, unwilling to give in to terrorists.
Spider-Man goes on and runs into Jack O' Lantern. Ultimately, the battle sways in Spider-Man's favor, prompting Jack O'Lantern to try and flee on his pogo-jet. Unfortunately for the villain, Spider-Man manages to web the device to a flagpole. With the villain defeated and the authorities arriving to make arrests, Spider-Man heads to Queens to meet with Aunt May. However, when he gets there, Aunt May scolds him for not being there. Peter is unable to give her an answer, not wanting to reveal to her that he is really Spider-Man.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Jack O’Lantern, J. Jonah Jameson, Steve Hopkins, Phillip Chang, Debra Whitman, Marcy Kane, Aunt May, Nathan Lubensky, Kris Keating, Vulture, Nitro
Continuity Notes
There are multiple references to Jack O'Lantern's battle with Machine Man. This happened in Machine Man #19. Spider-Man recounts his own encounter with Machine Man in Marvel Team-Up #99.
The Vulture has been in the hospital since his last battle with Spider-Man in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #45, while Nitro has been in the hospital since his defeat in last issue.
Peter invokes the death of Uncle Ben from Amazing Fantasy #15.
