Run for Your Life!

Kaine has confronted Mary Jane in a dark alley, telling her that she is about to die. He tells her that it is destined and there is no way to avoid it.[1] Before he can put a hand on her, Kaine was attacked by Spider-Man, who has come to the aid of his wife.[2] The wall-crawler vows to kill Kaine if he so much as touches his wife. That's when Kaine tells Peter that he is the one who will kill his wife. With this revelation, Kaine rips off his mask revealing the face of Peter Parker underneath. Peter wakes up screaming and realizes that this was all a nightmare. Peter wonders what caused him to have this nightmare and wonders if it was as a result of his striking Mary Jane earlier.[3] Having heard Peter scream, Mary Jane comes into the bedroom to check on him. When she asks him what his nightmare was about, he tells her that he doesn't remember. When he looks in the mirror, Peter sees the face of the Jackal looking back at him. Mary Jane tells Peter doesn't look so good, something that Peter is just noticing himself.

Later that day, Peter Parker goes to the Daily Bugle to look for work. However, Joe Robertson doesn't have anything for him, pointing out that he is struggling to keep the Daily Bugle afloat after the offices were recently destroyed.[4] That's when he meets Angela Yin who gushes over his work. This does little to help Peter's mood. He thinks about how he used to rely on working for the Daily Bugle. It was an ideal job when he was going to school, but Peter thinks about how he always wanted to be a scientist. Looking in a shop window, the mannequin suddenly takes on the appearance of the Jackal. This frightens Peter, who wonders if these are like the visions that he and Ben had recently.[5] He wonders if these are more post-hypnotic suggestions implanted in his mind by the Jackal, but finds this hard to believe because the Jackal is dead.[6] Spider-Man wonders if he is losing it, or since he recently learned that he is a clone, wonders if he is starting to degenerating.[7]

Meanwhile, Mary Jane is posing in maternity clothing for a fashion shoot.[8] He is doing such a good job, the clothing company begins considering hiring her on a permanent basis, much to her delight. Elsewhere, Spider-Man is swinging home when suddenly he is stricked with a powerful headache. He wonders what is happening to him. That's when an vision of the Jackal appears in his mind. The villain explains that he implanted this message in his mind. As a final revenge he programmed into Peter's mind. He opted to compell Peter to murder his wife instead over driving him insane. Later, Mary Jane returns home, thinking about how her life is turning around. On top of having a baby on the way, she also is happy that her modeling career is making a comeback.[9] When she gets home, Peter is waiting for her in the dark. Seeing that his wife is back, Peter warns Mary Jane that the Jackal tampered with his mind and tells her to run for it. He then begins to resist the mental commands to kill. When Peter tries to approach his wife, Mary Jane breaks a lamp over his head. As she flees, Peter tells her to call the Fantastic Four or the Avengers. Instead Mary Jane decides to try and get ahold of Ben Reilly.

Later, at the headquarters of the New Warriors, their training session goes awry when Speedball is knocked into Firestar who is walking by with plates full of food.[10] The plates are caught by Justice thanks to his telekinetic powers. That's when they get a panicked phone call from Mary Jane who is looking to reach the Scarlet Spider.[11] He wonders how she got the New Warrior's emergency line, and she quickly explains that she is being chased by a brainwashed Spider-Man who is trying to kill her. Learning which subway station is near their headquarters, Mary Jane rushes to catch the subway. Spider-Man follows after her, but manages to resist the Jackal's programming long enough for her to get away on the train. However, this is only a minor reprieve as the programming continues to press him to continue hunting down his wife. However, three stops later, Spider-Man manages to catch up to the subway train and begins stalking her through the subway cars.

Eventually, the train stops at the station where the New Warriors are waiting for Mary Jane. When Spider-Man manages to grab Mary Jane, the New Warriors order the wall-crawler to stand down. He tells them that he can't help himself, that he has to kill Mary Jane, and begs for them to stop him.

... This story continues in Web of Spider-Man #129.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Mary Jane Watson, Joe Robertson, Angela Yin, New Warriors (Speedball, Turbo, Firestar, Justice, Powerpax), Rolfe, Tom Privetire

Continuity Notes

1. Kaine has been having visions of someone murdering Mary Jane since Spider-Man #55.

2. 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.

3. Peter hit Mary Jane in The Spectacular Spider-Man #226.

4. The Daily Bugle was trashed by the Jackal in Spider-Man: Maximum Clonage Omega #1.

5. These memories were part of the Smoke and Mirrors storyline.Smoke and Mirrors

6. The Jackal seemingly died in Spider-Man: Maximum Clonage Omega #1. However, this is later revealed to have been a clone as seen in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 4) #22

7. Spider-Man was told that he was actually the Spider-Clone in The Spectacular Spider-Man #226. However, this is a deception orchestrated by the Green Goblin as revealed in Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal #1.

8. Mary Jane revealed she is pregnant in The Spectacular Spider-Man #220. She started modeling again in Web of Spider-Man #128.

9. Mary Jane's modelling career was ruined by Jonathan Ceaser sometime ago after she rejected his advances in Amazing Spider-Man #309.

10. The man everyone thinks is Speedball is actually an impostor who took the real Speedball's place in New Warriors #50. This is revealed in New Warriors #68-69.

11. The Scarlet Spider joined the New Warriors in New Warriors #62.