Free Will

After Peter Parker suddenly collapsed, his wife Mary Jane has him rushed to the hospital emergency room.[1] As Peter is rushed into the emergency room, nurses ask Mary Jane if Peter has any pre-existing health conditions, however, she can't provide any answers as this was a sudden collapse. Doctors are frantically examining Peter's body, and discover that his heart rate is spiking all over the place and work as hard as they can to keep him stable. Out in the hallway, Mary Jane thinks about everything that has happened to them recently: Her pregnancy, Peter's retirement as Spider-Man and losing his spider-powers, and the recent discovery that he is a clone.[2] She wonders if Peter is finally suffering from the degeneration that affects all of Jackal's clones eventually.

Meanwhile, Spider-Man has failed to stop Will o' the Wisp from freeing Dragon Man from Iron Rock. The Wisp was forced enslaved by Jonas Harrow and forced to free the android for Roxxon, who hoped to use the creature to make an army of synthetic soldiers. As Spider-Man tries to contain the creature, the wall-crawler is interrupted by an Iron Rock security forces come to try and contain the situation. Unfortunately, they only agitate Dragon Man further. The wall-crawler manages to usher the guards away and tries to calm down Dragon Man. This fails, thanks to one of the remaining guards who tries to shoot the creature in the back. This only angers the android creature more, but Spider-Man once again tries to calm the creature again. While back at the Roxxon facility, Jonas Harrow wonders what is taking Will o' the Wisp so long to return with Dragon Man. That's when one of his technicians inform him that not only has Wisp been freed from the implant that made him their slave, but Spider-Man is interfering with their plans. Back at Iron Rock, Will o' the Wisp wakes up and puts a quick end to the battle by using his powers to burn out the device he planted on Dragon Man to put him under Roxxon control, ending his threat. At the Roxxon facility, Jonas Harrow tries to explain his failure to the businessmen who hired him. As the security forces at Iron Rock try to regain control of the situation, they are unaware that someone has managed to sneak in and intends to take advantage of this situation.[3]

Meanwhile, Will o' the Wisp thanks Spider-Man for freeing him from Harrow's control. The two then create a scheme to turn this around the mad scientist. At the Roxxon facility, the monitors come back on, and Harrow and his men are led to believe that Spider-Man has been defeated. While back at the hospital, Mary Jane tires to reach Ben Reilly to tell him what happened, but can't get ahold of him. That's when one of the doctors tells her that things aren't looking good and her husband's condition continues to deteriorate. By this time, Spider-Man and Will o' the Wisp use Dragon Man to sneak into the Roxxon facility and ambush them. There, they trash all of Harrow's equipment. However, this causes Dragon Man to go on another rampage. While the wall-crawler is calming Dragon Man down, Will o' the Wisp corners Jonas Harrow and is about to kill him. However, Spider-Man succeeds in calming Dragon Man and convinces Jackson that killing Harrow won't see justice done. Convinced to spare Harrow, Will o' the Wisp thanks Spider-Man for his help and leaves. In all the confusion, Dragon Man manages to escape as well. Spider-Man decides to let the android go, thinking that everyone deserves a second chance.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Peter Parker, Mary Jane Watson, Will O’ the Wisp, Roxxon Oil (Jonas Harrow, Dragon Man), Looter (unidentified)

Continuity Notes

1. 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.

2. There is a lot to unpack here, the issues mentioned here are:

   • Mary Jane revealed that she was pregnant in The Spectacular Spider-Man #220.

   • Peter was later told that he was a clone and that Ben Reilly was the real Spider-Man in The Spectacular Spider-Man #226. This turned out to be a massive deception created by the Green Goblin in Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal #1.

   • Peter retired as Spider-Man in The Spectacular Spider-Man #229.

   • Later, he lost his powers in Spider-Man: The Final Adventure #4. However, his powers will eventually return as seen next issue.

3. This mysterious figure is revealed to be the Looter in Sensational Spider-Man #8.