The Infernal Triangle

Standing high above the city, Spider-Man thinks about how the only constant in life changes. People are constantly moving forward and changing. In his case, he’s even evolved into an entirely new species.[1] With is enhanced spider-sense, Spider-Man has been drawn to a particular block where people appear to be trapped in a pocket of misery. Scanning the area, he pinpoints the source, a homeless man with an empty bottle of booze and an empty plate who is being ignored by everyone around him. He suddenly recognizes the man. He returns later that evening to find the man in the pouring rain, just another homeless drunk to far gone to notice the indifferent people around him. However, this homeless bum is projecting his internal misery to everyone on the block. That’s because this particular homeless man was once a villain that Spider-Man fought called the Mindworm. He recalls the few times he fought the Mindworm, who used his telepathic abilities to commit his crimes.[2] He recalls the last time he defeated the Mindworm and got the impression that he really didn’t have the heart to be a supervillain. Peter had heard that Mindworm spent time at the Ravencroft Institute where he was a model prisoner and he was downgraded out of minimum security after a year.[3] Peter realizes that a lot can happen in a year and it guesses he never wondered what happened to the Mindworm after he was released. As the Mindworm notices Peter Parker standing in front of him he asks for a change in a mumbly voice. Peter wonders what he would need to do as Spider-Man to prevent something like this from happening. All he can think to do is give the Mindworm his sympathy and umbrella.

That evening, Peter is having dinner with Mary Jane and Aunt May. When May notices Peter is not listening she gets upset with him since he keeps on keeping his super-hero problems to himself even though he has two women who care for him he can ask for advice. So he decides to ask them what to do if there are two people drowning and he can only save one of them. He tells them that it’s a real-life problem, relating to them how he found the Mindworm begging for change in the street. Mary Jane points out that Spider-Man can’t save everybody and this is Peter’s point. He says if he decides to save Mindworm, what about the other homeless people he sees every day. Mary Jane points out that Peter is too hard on himself, saying that he could save a guy in the Bronx but be upset that he wasn’t in Brooklyn to save someone else at the same time. Peter agrees that it’s not his fault, but thinks it isn’t fair. May reminds Peter that he’s just one person and suggests he try writing to his congressman.

Over the next few days, Peter goes about his day as both Peter Parker and Spider-Man. However, he can’t get his mind off of the Mindworm and wonders how many times he took his own life for granted while the Mindworm was wallowing in the streets in his own filth. He also wonders if the Mindworm has any family or if anybody out there cares about him. Peter believes that a man is measured by the smallest margins, so it’s not how he deals with villains like Electro or the Green Goblin, but the smaller foes like the Mindworm. While his wife will always say that Peter is being hard on himself, he believes that he’s always treated his power like it was a toy.[4] He realizes that the Mindworm has always been mentally ill and he just treated him like any other criminal.

About a week later, Spider-Man decides to check on the Mindworm and when he arrives on the block where he peddles for change, Spider-Man instantly knows something is wrong when he sees everyone on the street on the ground curled up in the fetal position After checking that the people on the street are still alive, Spider-Man then goes looking for Mindworm. He is horrified to discover a gang of young men beating up on the Mindworm in an alley. They finally set him off when they shatter Mindworm’s bottle of booze. This angers him so much that the Mindworm unleashes a powerful telepathic blast across the whole area. Reeling from the pain, Spider-Man pleads with the Mindworm to stop, but he continues to punish those who attack him. One he shoves one away with a telekinetic blast. Another, made to think that he is being chased by a monster tries to flee on a subway platform and gets run over by the passing train. Reminding himself the illusions aren’t real, Spider-Man tries to stop the attackers, but they shove him aside. As they flee the scene, one of the thugs shoves Mindworm into the wall, making him strike his head against it. He tells the Mindworm’s attackers to keep on running. However, when he goes to check on the Mindworm he discovers that he is dead. Grimly, Spider-Man that he acts like the cities cleanly lady, but no matter what, he can never remove its stains.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Mindworm, Aunt May, Mary Jane Watson

Continuity Notes

1. This is a reference to Spectacular Spider-Man (vol. 2) #17-20 in which Spider-Man was mutated by the Queen, enhancing his spider-powers and gaining the ability to fire webbing from his wrists without web-shooters.

2. Spider-Man has fought Mindworm on two different occasions: Amazing Spider-Man #138 and Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #35.

3. The Mindworm was last seen in Spider-Man’s Tangled Web #5-6. Per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616, roughly a year (give or take a few months) have passed between that appearance and this one.

4. Peter refers to Mary Jane as his wife here. However, not long after this, their marriage is erased from existence by Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. In the altered timeline, Peter would refer to Mary Jane as his fiancee as opposed to his wife.