Photographer Wanted

Peter Parker is out of money and an unpaid bill has led to his gas getting shut off. As a result, he is forced to take any photography job that’s available. He answers the ad to take a family portrait and arrives at a forboding looking home. He hears someone crying for help inside and rushes in. There he finds Madame Web surrounded by a number of dolls. She tells Peter that he will have to solve the riddle of 99 problems. When he tries to get her to talk sense, one of the dolls explodes. As Peter recovers from the blast a trap door opens under him sending him falling deep below the house. On the way down, he changes into his Spider-Man costume.

When he lands, he is confronted by Jack O’Lantern who tells Spider-Man that he has been poisoned and will die. Spider-Man’s mind is fogged by the gas surrounding the room and as he lunges to attack Jack O’Lantern, he is bitten from behind by Morbius the Living Vampire. Morbius is then joined by the Werewolf. Spider-Man, unable to tell if this is happening right now or already happened fights them off and runs into the next room. Remembering that he is bleeding out from Morbius’s bite, he webs up his neck wound and keeps going. However, the hallway takes on a surreal quality thanks to either the gas, the bite, or the poison in his veins. Suddenly, the room begins closing in around him and he has to force his away free. In his confused state, he briefly thinks about his Uncle Ben and decides that he has to fix his mistake.[2]

Forcing his way through to the next room, Spider-Man is then attacked by the Frankenstein Monster. The creature grabs the web-slinger by the throat and begins choking him. Unsure if this is real or a hallucination, Spider-Man pushes away from the monster with all of his force, causing the monster’s stitching around its arm to snap, freeing him. By this time, his spider-sense is screaming in his head as Mister Hyde tries to attack him from behind. Spider-Man quickly kicks him away and continues down the hall. Now he hears cries for help and finds the Beetle tied up to a number of the same dolls he saw around Madame Web.

That’s when he is confronted by Arcade, who tells Spider-Man that he has been hired to facilitate this test. He also offers Spider-Man a pill. Naturally, the web-head refuses but in his confused state wonders if he already took this pill and becomes even more confused. Aracde tells Spider-Man that the rules of the game are simple: He is to fight 99 of the vilest villains on the way to a bomb that he has to disarm. If he deviates from this task he will be blown up. Suddenly, Spider-Man blacks out, once again wondering if he took this pill. When he wakes up he finds himself aboard a commercial airliner full of villains.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man

Continuity Notes

1. Blah blah blah, Amazing Fantasy #15.

Where Does This Story Fit In Continuity?

This series was published during the Superior Spider-Man run and it has raised a lot of questions as to where this fits into continuity. As I write this (January 2021) people at the Marvel Chronology Project have pretty much given up on where this fits in continuity. This is because there are all sorts of confusing representations of villains from across 50+ years of Spider-Man history. The story ends with the revelation that the Kingpin and his son Richard Fisk were the masterminds behind this scheme, then Peter Parker goes home to Mary Jane. This creates a lot of issues because Richard Fisk had been killed in Daredevil (vol. 2) #31, and Peter Parker and MJ broke up circa Amazing Spider-Man #545. This creates all sorts of issues with the villains that appear here, particularly Mysterio appears here in his Ultimate Universe costume, something that Peter Parker would not see until Spider-Men #1-5.

However, I think people are looking at this story the wrong way. They’re trying to find a way to connect it to the past, prior to Superior Spider-Man and in doing so is where they trip themselves up. During the Superior Spider-Man run, the spirit of Peter Parker continued to live on in his mind even though it was taken over by Doctor Octopus. At one point, Octavius seemingly “slew” Parker’s spirit in Superior Spider-Man #9. Parker’s mind began coming back in Superior Spider-Man #19, ultimately revealing himself in issue #25 and retaking his body in issue #30.

Obviously, Peter Parker’s mind went somewhere between issue #9 and 19. Given the dream-like quality of this story and the fact that Arcade, the Kingpin, and Richard Fisk all somehow know Peter Parker is Spider-Man, I think this was all a dream that Parker was having when he was “buried” in his own mind between Superior Spider-Man #9 and 19. It would be the only place where a story like this would make sense.

This is all speculation on my part and until there is some official explanation it’s my opinion that this entire story is a dream and the only person who really “appears” here is Spider-Man.