Spider-Man #72
The World's Gone Mad!
This story continues from Amazing Spider-Man #415...
Climbing across the rooftops of Manhattan, Peter Parker takes photos of the Sentinel invasion of the city.[1] As he goes about this task, he thinks about how he used to be Spider-Man. That was until he lost his powers, even though they have recently been coming back sporadically.[2] His life was going well until the world went mad due to Onslaught's invasion. He is glad that he was able to get Mary Jane to the relative safety of the Daily Bugle building before going out on the field. That's when his spider-sense kicks back in alerting him of danger behind him. Turning to look, Peter sees a pair of Sentinels chasing after the real Spider-Man. This is just another reminder to Peter that Ben Reilly was the real Peter Parker all along and he was just a clone who took over Reilly's life for five years.[3] As a Sentinel blast's the wall-crawler's web-line, Peter thinks his "brother" is in trouble and climbs down to see what he can do to help.
Down on the streets, Spider-Man has webbed up one of the Sentinels and is about to toss compact car after two more. Throwing the vehicle at one of the Sentinel's destroys its face, but it allows the third to grab the web-slinger. Before the Sentinel can eliminate its target, Peter tosses rocks at its face to try and get its attention. That's when the Sentinel's sensors begin detecting Peter Parker's spider-powers. Before it can blast Peter with its free hand, Spider-Man manages to get his arms free and blasts the Sentinel's eyes with webbing. He then manages to break free from the Sentinel's grip and pull Peter to safety. As they swing away, the Sentinels blast Spider-Man from behind, the pain causes him to blackout. As they fall to the ground, Peter quickly uses Ben's web-shooters to spin a parachute that lands them safely inside a smokestack. There, Reilly recovers from the blast and feels a chill down his spine, remembering that the last time he was in one, Peter was disposing of his body when he thought Ben was dead.[4] The two then manage to make some jokes in light of the situation.[5] While they are joking, Spider-Man finds a vent at the bottom of the smokestack that leads into the sewers below.
Down there, Ben reminds Peter that this is strictly a Spider-Man situation and that he doesn't need to worry about Peter's safety during this crisis. That's when Spider-Man begins to grey out, prompting Peter to come to his aid. Suddenly, the Sentinels begin digging their way into the tunnel, having tracked Peter and Spider-Man with their sensors. Ben convinces Peter to get to safety and get back to his wife.[6] Peter relents, and is given Ben's web-shooters before he leaves. As Parker runs down the tunnel, Ben tells his "brother" to go and be a father to his unborn child.[7] By this point, the Sentinels have managed to rip their way into the tunnel. As one of them reaches in to kill Spider-Man, the wall-crawler sits back gaining his strength. When the Sentinel's hand gets close enough, Spider-Man uses a severed pipe to slice through the robot's hand off its wrist. He then throws the pipe at his attack, impaling it through the robot's head.
This doesn't stop a second Sentinel from grabbing Spider-Man and blasting him with its hand blaster. However, before the wall-crawler can be killed, Peter comes back and wraps the webbing around the Sentinel's neck. Feeling his spider-powers fading again, Peter quickly uses his waning strength to rip off the robot's head and uses it to smash the other robots. Peter admits that while he wasn't the real Spider-Man, he was good at it when he held the mantle. Ben agrees and the two agree to work together. Hearing that the Avengers and the X-Men are gearing up make a final strike against Onslaught, the pair decide to see what they can do to lend a hand.[8]
… Onslaught continues in X-Man #18.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Peter Parker, Sentinels
Continuity Notes
Onslaught unleashed the Sentinels on Manhattan in X-Men (vol. 2) #55.
Peter was stripped of his powers in Spider-Man: The Final Adventure #4, but they recently started coming back in Spectacular Spider-Man #237.
Peter Parker was told that he was the clone of Spider-Man and that Ben Reilly is the original in Spectacular Spider-Man #226. This, however, is all a grand manipulation created by the Green Goblin as revealed in Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal #1. The "five years" is roughly the length of time between Amazing Spider-Man #149 and this story per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616.
Ben, the real Spider-Clone, was seemingly killed during a battle with Spider-Man in Amazing Spider-Man #149. Peter then dumped Ben's body in a smokestack in the hopes it would cremate the body in Amazing Spider-Man #151. The clone survived and went into exile shortly thereafter as seen during the Parker Legacy story arc.
Ben also cracks a joke about how the simulacrums of Peter Parker's parents that recently surfaced to torment Peter. Richard and Mary Parker actually died about 20 years prior, as seen in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5. However, impostors surfaced in Amazing Spider-Man #365, they were exposed as simulacrums in Amazing Spider-Man #388.
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.
Peter and Mary Jane have been expecting a child since Mary Jane announced she was pregnant in Spectacular Spider-Man #220.
Although they intend to help, Spider-Man and Peter Parker were not present during the final battle with Onslaught which took place in Onslaught Marvel Universe #1.
Onslaught Reading Order
Onslaught: X-Men #1, Uncanny X-Men #335, X-Factor #125, Excalibur #99-100, Cable #34, Incredible Hulk #444, Wolverine (vol. 2) #104, X-Men Unlimited #11, Avengers #401, Fantastic Four #415, Generation X #18, X-Men Unlimited #12, X-Men (vol. 2) #55, Green Goblin #12, Amazing Spider-Man #415, Spider-Man #72, X-Man #18, X-Force #57, Excalibur #101, X-Factor #126, Uncanny X-Men #336, Cable #35, X-Force #58, Generation X #19, X-Man #19, Punisher (vol. 3) #11, Incredible Hulk #445, Iron Man #332, Avengers #402, Fantastic Four #416, Wolverine (vol. 2) #105, Thor #502, X-Men (vol. 2) #56, Onslaught: Marvel Universe #1
