Spectacular Spider-Man #233
Inner Demons
This story continues from Spider-Man #67....
After being possessed by Carnage symbiote, Ben Reilly fights to keep it under control. Despite his best efforts, he transforms into Spider-Carnage and goes prowling across the city. When he overhears some muggers trying to rob a couple, Spider-Carnage leaps down to stop them. He quickly stops the muggers, but when the Carnage symbiote's violent thoughts become too much, the wall-crawler begs them, and their would-be victims to flee. Finally, alone, Spider-Carnage regains control and tries to think of someone who can help him rid himself of the symbiote.
Meanwhile, Peter Parker continues to learn the truth about the Spider-Skeleton that was recently found, even though he is without his powers.[1] He has been trying to track down Seward Trainer, who previously ran tests that claimed that Peter was a clone and Ben Reilly was the real Spider-Man and has tracked the scientist down to a company called Multivex.[2] However, when Peter asks to see Trainer, the security tells Parker that he is busy. When Peter presses the issue, he is shown out by security, making him wonder why Seward is trying to avoid him. Peter's exit is observed by the mysterious man running Multivex. Satisfied that they have deflected Peter Parker, this mystery man orders Seward Trainer to get back to work.[3] While at her apartment, Jessica Carradine is developing her photos of her recent encounter with Spider-Carnage in the hopes to find proof that Spider-Man is as much a killer as the Daily Bugle claims him to be. Unfortunately, the film was exposed during the encounter and are now useless. While at Ravencroft Institute, Doctor Ashley Kafka observes Cletus Kasady with John Jameson, the head of security. Since the notorious serial killer has been separated from the Carnage symbiote, Cletus Kasady has been in physical and mental decline and will die if he is not reunited soon. John Jameson points out that this is a difficult task since the symbiote managed to escape and bonded with Spider-Man. That's when John is alerted about Spider-Carnage's approach on the institute.
Jameson mobilizes a strike team to try and deal with, but Spider-Carnage fights through them in order to get to Cletus Kasady. Inside, Ben Reilly fights the creature's urge to kill as it makes its way to Kasady's cell. Spider-Carnage demands that Cletus teach him how to control the symbiote. However, Kasady refuses to do so, taking joy that the alien creature is twisting the wall-crawler's mind and slowly turning him into a killer. As Spider-Man tries to fight the symbiote in his mind, the creature decides to try and bond with Cletus again. Not wanting this to happen, the wall-crawler fights with all his effort to get it under control. By this time, John Jameson has arrived on the scene. Spider-Carnage begs John to contain him in a cell so they can keep Carnage under control. Inside a cell, Spider-Carnage is contained thanks to microwaves, however, the wall-crawler insists that it is not powerful enough. Despite his reservations, John cranks up the power causing the symbiote to finally separate from Spider-Man. Fearing for Spider-Man's safety, John rushes in to check on him. That's when the symbiote springs to life and escapes through the nearby sink. They then rush to the cell containing Cletus Kasady where it bonds with him again. Although they failed to stop the symbiote from bonding with its original host, they finally figured out how the Carnage symbiote was able to escape from the facility.
Although both John and Spider-Man think they could do more to stop the symbiote, they can admit that they came out on top.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Peter Parker, Jessica Carradine, John Jameson, Ashley Kafka, Carnage, Gaunt (unidentified), Seward Trainer
Continuity Notes
A skeleton in a Spider-Man costume was recently discovered in The Spectacular Spider-Man #231. Its origins are finally explained in Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal #1. Peter recently lost his powers in Spider-Man: The Final Adventure #4, however they will eventually return in The Spectacular Spider-Man #237.
Seward Trainer ran the test to confirm who was the real Spider-Man and who was a clone in The Spectacular Spider-Man #226. However, Seward intentionally tampered with this test at the behest of the Green Goblin as revealed in Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal #1.
The identity of Seward's mysterious employer is revealed in the Blood Brothers story arc.
