Perceptions, Part 1

Deep in the wilderness of British Columbia, the rotting corpse of a young boy slowly becoming expose as nature disturbs his shallow grave. The scent of the rotting corpse alerts the attention of the Wendigo. The mythical creature pulls the mutilated body out of the ground. Cradling the body with an unexpected gentleness, the creature carries the boy out to the highway leading to a nearby town. When a car comes up from behind, it startles the beast and it lashes out, smashing the car to pieces. Frightened, the Wendigo lays the body onto the ground and flees back into the wilderness.

When the authorities find the body of the boy is later found, he is identified as eleven-year-old David Neusel. Eyewitness accounts create a media frenzy, among the throng of reporters that descend upon the quiet town of Hope, is Annie Brooks. Brooks learns from Chief Inspector Krahn, the RCMP's media liaison, that this wasn't the only missing child to go missing and turned up murdered. With a "bigfoot" monster on the loose, local hunters have been rushing into the woods to try and capture and kill the beast. This takes a heavy toll on the local wildlife. As the media presence in Hope grows, the story spreads across Canada and eventually the press in the United States beings picking up on the story.[1]

LAter, in New York City, Spider-Man has just webbed up a mugger and listens to his bogus story about trying to sell a knife to the old lady. He tries to get the mugger to confess, but he reufses. the entire process takes an hour, long enough for Spider-Man's webbing to dissolve sending the thug falling into the garbage strewen alley below. The fall knocks the mugger out, so Spider-Man heads off, leaving him to the authorities. However, the attempted mugging has slowed down his return home. When Spider-Man returns to his apartment in Soho, he discovers that his wife Mary Jane has fallen asleep while waiting for him.[2] The next morning, Peter gets sa call from J. Jonah Jameson at the Daily Bugle. He tells Peter to pack a bag as he is being assigned to take photos of the "bigfoot" story that is unfolding in Canada. Peter doesn't like the idea of leaving his wife again so soon, but needs the money. Soon he packs a bag and takes a flight to western Canada along with Daily Bugle reporter Melvin Gooner, much to his chagrin.[3]

In Canada, Anna Brooks feels the weight of breaking this story starting to weigh heavily. Thinking the Wendigo is responsible for the killing, she wondesr what could have motivate the monster to kill. With another boy, Bill Rice, still missing, she fears that he too may be dead. In the woods, the Wendigo feasts upon its latest kill. Not far away, an RCMP search party come upon the mutilated remains of the Rice boy. Inspector Krahn calls the discovery in, and tells his men to try and keep the pres as far away from the scene. The inspector then tells his men to get to the Rice home and inform them of the tragic news before the media gets wind of it. Krahn is now more determined than ever to find the creature and kill it. However, when the news does get out, the people of Hope become fearful for their lives. Homes are under lock and key, and the purchase of weapons and ammunition in the region skyrockets. Meanwhile, the press continues to sensationalize the story with each passing day. By this point, Peter Parker has just checked into his hotel room in the nearby town of Chilliwack where he checks in with Mary Jane. After confirming that things are just as horrific as the papers have stated, Peter tells his wife that he is going to get some fresh air and goes out web-slinging as Spider-Man.

It has now been nine days since David Neusel's body has been found and the peopel of Hope are still gripped in terror as the Wendigo is still on the loose. A group of hunters are out hunting for the creature and come across a wolf stalking the area. Before they can shoot the innocent creature, some one jumps them and knocks them out. A single word is carved into a nearby tree as a message to the others, that word is "Stop". THe man responsible, is the mutant hero known as Wolverine who has come back to his home country to end the madness that been gripping this community.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Mary Jane Watson, J. Jonah Jameson, Anna Brooks, Wendigo, Inspector Krahn, Melvin Gooner, Wolverine

Continuity Notes

1. Among the stories seen in a montage of newspaper stories is one about Chancellor Helmut Kohl's new role in the reunification of Germany. The Berlin Wall had fallen a few years prior to this comic book being published and Germany was in the process of being reunified. This should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616.

2. Peter and Mary Jane are referred to as husband and wife here. However, years later, their marriage was erased from existence by the demon Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. As such they should be considered a common-law couple as opposed to husband and wife here.

3. Peter hopes that Mary Jane will tape The Simpsons and Twin Peaks. The idea of "taping" a television show should be considered topical references per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616.