Spider-Man #60
The Truth is Out There!
This story continues from Amazing Spider-Man #403...
Having tracked down Kaine, Stunner overpowers him and intends to kill him in order to avenge the death of her beloved Doctor Octopus.[1] Since Spider-Man was attempting to bring Kaine to justice to clear Peter Parker of a murder charge, he tries to get between the two.[2] Stunner is furious that Spider-Man is interfering, especially after Doctor Octopus saved his life, and strikes him away.[3] As the pair struggle, Kaine attempts to put his hand on Stunner's face and give her the Mark of Kaine. Unfortunately, Spider-Man recovers and splits the two apart again. Spider-Man tries to convince Kaine to come with him, explaining that he is needed to clear his name. However, Kaine isn't interested and tells the wall-crawler to go back to his wife and unborn child and leave Ben Reilly to rot in prison.[4]
Stunner slams Kaine into an abandoned building where the two start to fight. Their fight compromises the structural integrity of the building. Although Spider-Man tries to pull Stunner out, Kaine drags the wall-crawler before he can. Pulling free, Spider-Man goes digging through the rubble for Stunner. When he finds her, the web-slinger is shocked when she suddenly vanishes. Kaine tries to use this opportunity to escape, but Spider-Man goes after him. Kaine warns Spider-Man that he is far stronger than the hero and he will defeat him in an all-out fight. Spider-Man agrees but manages to knock Kaine out with an unexpected sucker punch and webs him up. Meanwhile, at the courthouse, District Attorney Blake Tower is concluding his final arguments. Watching these proceedings is Mary Jane, who is showing her support even though nobody knows that the man on trial is actually Ben Reilly, Peter's clone. Tower insists that Peter Parker is guilty and demands that the judge give the maximum sentence.[5]
While outside, Spider-Man tries to drag Kaine into the courtroom to force him to confess to the murders that Peter Parker has been accused of. Unfortunately, Kaine breaks free and tries to fight himself free. News of the battle quickly reaches the courtroom, much to the show of Mary Jane and Ben Reilly. Also hearing this is Jacob Raven, who pulls out his gun, hoping that Spider-Man finally captures Kaine. Meanwhile, Spider-Man and Kaine's battle take them into a vacant courtroom, where the pair battle it out. Kaine is furious that Spider-Man would assume that he knows nothing about suffering. Kaine decides that fighting off the wall-crawler isn't enough, that he needs to show him the truth. Kaine then takes off his mask, revealing the horribly scared face of Peter Parker. Kaine then explains that he is not just a clone of Peter Parker, but Miles Warren's first attempt at cloning him. He explains that he is suffering from the same degeneration factor that plagues Warren's other clones. However, even though the Jackal tried to kill him, Kaine turned out to be much stronger than the real Spider-Man and managed to escape. He explains that he vowed to watch over Peter's life to make sure that it turned out happy and that nobody would ever interfere in it, it is why he spent years hunting down Ben Reilly, and later framing him for murder.[6]
Still, Spider-Man refuses to let Ben Reilly go down for a crime he did not commit and is willing to reveal his true identity in order to prove him innocent. The wall-crawler storms into the courtroom and is about to remove his mask in front of everyone gathered. Kaine, not wishing Peter to throw his life away, stops him by demanding that he has a confession to make. Blake Tower is outraged by this interruption and demands that the judge have Kaine and Spider-Man arrested until they can complete the trial. However, Kaine isn't phased by the district attorney's demands and slams his head onto a nearby table. He then threatens to snap Blake's neck if they do not listen to him. Kaine then admits to the murder of Jacob Raven's partner, and to prove it he uses his Mark of Kaine to burn a hand imprint into to the table that matches the marks left on all his victims. Despite this, Kaine refuses to allow himself to be arrested, fighting off the police officers on the scene. He then decides to make himself Ben Reilly's executioner and lunges at him, ready to kill the man he has haunted for years.
... The Trial of Peter Parker concludes in The Spectacular Spider-Man #226.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Ben Reilly, Mary Jane Watson, Jacob Raven, Kaine, Stunner, Blake Tower, Sandra Franklin
Continuity Notes
Kaine murdered Doctor Octopus in The Spectacular Spider-Man #221.
Peter Parker was accused of murder in Amazing Spider-Man #400 for a crime that Kaine committed years earlier, as seen in Spider-Man: The Lost Years #3. Although incarcerated, Peter Parker and Ben Reilly switched places so Peter could clear his name, as seen in the Mark of Kaine story arc.
Spider-Man was infected with a virus by the Vulture, leaving him for dead in the Back from the Edge story arc.and he was ultimately cured by Doctor Octopus during the Web of Death arc.
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. Mary Jane revealed that she was pregnant in The Spectacular Spider-Man #220.
Blake Tower specifically asks for the death penalty. However, this should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616, as the state of New York abolished the death penalty in 2004.
While Kaine's admission that he haunted Ben Reilly for years is true, his reason for killing Louise Kennedy here is not an accurate recounting of events, as seen in Spider-Man: The Lost Years #1-3. However, Kaine's has a history of mental instability, which likely accounts for the discrepancy here.
