Spectacular Spider-Man #219
Two of a Kind
This story continues from Amazing Spider-Man #396...
After being raked in the face by a vulture whose talons were coated with poison, Spider-Man begins to hallucinate.[1] Daredevil tries to comfort him, but the wall-crawler only manages to snap out of it when Daredevil calls him by his first name.[2] Spider-Man refuses to be taken to the hospital because the Owl is trying to make his getaway. Daredevil chases after his old foe and demands to know what's was in the vulture's talons. The Owl tells Daredevil that Leland Owlsey is dead. Daredevil tosses his billy-club at the Owl to try and stop him, but the projectile is caught by the Vulture, who arrives on the scene. The villain has come out to monitor his poisoned vultures as they go about to poison the population of New York. By this point, Spider-Man has fought off some of the effects of the poison coursing through his system and webs up two of the Vulture's vulture. With the two avian villains fleeing the scene, Spider-Man manages to tag the Owl with one of his spider-tracer.
Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh, Mary Jane makes the painful decision to come knocking at the door of her father's apartment. She is apprehensive as to how this visit will go, especially after the abusive relationship she had with her father.[3] Back in New York, at an abandoned mansion, the Vulture question's the Owl's devotion for "killing" his civilian identity. To help convince the Owl that the best way to solve his problem is to eliminate everyone who remembers Leland Owlsley, the Vulture sent his poisoned vultures to start eliminating the people who once knew the Owl. When the Owl is horrified by the revelation that his former business partner, Paul Greyson was poisoned earlier that day. Greyson will die at midnight if he is not given the antidote -- which the Vulture reveals he had after all. Grabbing the vial of antidote, the Owl flies off to save the life of Greyson, even though he is conflicted over what to do. While at the Parker residence, Spider-Man has brought Daredevil home with him so he can test his blood and find out how much time he has left. Daredevil is surprised that Spider-Man is being so cavalier about his secret identity.[4] After examining his blood sample, Peter Parker doesn't like what he sees and tells Daredevil that they need to find the cure fast. By this point, the Owl catches up with Greyson but waits too long and the man dies on his feet. Thinking over his decision, the Owl flies back to his hideout.
Back in Pittsburgh, Mary Jane enters her father's modest apartment, and notices that he is still writing. Although Philip Watson has given up on writing the Great American Novel, he continues to write as it is the only thing he can do to pay the bills. Looking over her father's desk, she is surprised to see that he still uses a typewriter to write his stories. She then gets upset when she sees that her father still has a photo of her mother on his desk. Philip grabs the photo and begins to cry. He tells his daughter that he still loved his wife even though he treated her so poorly. He tells her that he would give anything to be able to go back and fix things. Mary Jane realizes that her father has been running away from his past just as much as she has. While in Brooklyn, Spider-Man follows the signal of the spider-tracer he tagged the Owl with. As he leads Daredevil to their foe's hideout. The wall-crawler tries to downplay how the poison is affecting him, but he can't fool Daredevil's enhanced senses. Unfortunately, as the Owl returns to his hideout, he unintentionally crushes the spider-tracer planted on his foot, making Spider-Man lose the signal. Daredevil tells Spider-Man that eh can pick up the trail. They go to a nearby rooftop where Daredevil begins to meditate. This allows him to narrow the focus of his enhanced senses so he can pick up the location of the Vulture and the Owl. While back in Pittsburgh, Mary Jane leaves her father's apartment. However, before she leaves, she finally breaks down and allows her emotions to come through. In tears, she tells her father that this isn't the last time she will see him, but the end of their estrangement.
While in New York, Spider-Man and Daredevil arrive at the Vulture's hideout. As they battle the two foes, the Vulture releases his two poisoned birds. While Daredevil deals with the Vulture, Spider-Man webs one of the vultures, but the other -- and the Owl -- escape out the open window. Spider-Man webs the second bird, and the Owl lands a blow that kills the bird of prey. The Owl tells Spider-Man that his debt to Daredevil is over and drops the vial containing the cure. With the Vulture and his deadly birds wrapped up, Daredevil comes outside just as Spider-Man drinks the antidote. With the danger over, Daredevil gives Spider-Man some advice on his problems. He tells the wall-crawler to not let them tear him apart, find the things that are important in him and build a life around them. Confident that Spider-Man is in recovery, Daredevil leaves, tell his web-head that the police are on their way. Although Spider-Man has taken Daredevil's advice to heart, he tests the remaining drops of the antidote and discovers that it wasn't anything but tap water and that unless he develops a cure, he will die. Meanwhile, Mary Jane believes that now that she has made peace with her family she can finally return home and begin the next chapter of her life.
This story continues in Amazing Spider-Man #397...
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Daredevil, Mary Jane Watson, Owl, Vulture, Phillip Watson
Continuity Notes
Spider-Man states that he killed Peter Parker. He has abandoned his civilian identity following the Pursuit story arc.
Daredevil and Spider-Man have known each other's secret identities since Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #107.
Mary Jane's abusive family life was first chronicled in Amazing Spider-Man #259.
Although Spider-Man and Daredevil have been aware of each other's civilian identities since Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #107, at the time of this story, everyone thinks Matt Murdock is dead. This is because around the time of this story, Matt Murdock faked his death, so he can start a fresh new life during the events of Daredevil #321-325. As such, Spider-Man thinks it is a different person in the Daredevil costume here.
