Spider-Men #4 — Nick Peron

Dec 26

Dec 26 Spider-Men #4

Trapped in another dimension where Peter Parker has died, Spider-Man arrives at the home of his Aunt May.[1] May and Gwen Stacy are shocked to see this other Spider-Man who looks like a grown-up version of Peter. They both think this is someone playing a sick joke and after May slaps Peter across the face, Gwen begins attacking him. That is until Miles Morales arrives and tells Gwen and May that this is a Peter Parker from another dimension. Peter realizes he made a mistake and apologizes for causing them so much grief. However, he couldn’t help himself when he found himself on a world where he was dead. When the reality of the situation starts to sink in, May Parker faints.

Meanwhile, at the Triskelion, Tony Stark continues to examine the robotic avatar that Mysterio used to interact with their reality. Stark isn’t convinced that this Spider-Man comes from another reality, but Fury is certain Parker is telling the truth, reminding Tony that they’ve seen other realities before.[2]

At that same moment, Mary Jane Watson gets a phone call from Gwen Stacy. Gwen wants to tell her about this other Peter Parker, but now that she is on the phone with Mary Jane she doesn’t know how to explain what’s going on. Later, May Parker wakes up on the couch and hears people talking upstairs. Going upstairs, she finds Gwen and Miles talking to the adult version of Peter Parker.[3] Peter also learns how Aunt May took Gwen Stacy into her home after the death of her parents and is blown away by some of the differences on this world.[4] When Gwen starts asking about what her counterpart on Peter’s world is like, his evasive questions lead her to believe that he is dating his world’s version of Mary Jane Watson.[5] He tells them that the Mary Jane on his world is a super-model. When Gwen asks what her other self does and Peter avoids answering the question. Luckily, May has made her presence known allowing Peter to easily change the subject.[6]

Gwen and Miles assure May that this is a Peter Parker from another dimension. Peter tries to explain it all in a way that May can understand. That’s when Miles asks if there is a version of him on Peter’s world. Peter admits that he isn’t sure, at least he hasn’t met one yet.[7] Talking with May, Peter learns that his counterpart on this world also lost his Uncle Ben.[8] He also learns that the only people that knew Peter’s identity prior to his death were May, Gwen, Mary Jane, Norman Osborn, and — much to Peter’s surprise — Kitty Pryde of the X-Men.[9] Peter is also surprised to hear that his counterpart also dated Kitty for a time.[10] This leads to all sorts of questions from both sides, but Miles tells them times up when he spots a SHIELD limousine pulling up outside.

As they leave the house, Peter tells May that he has changed his mind and this was a good idea after all. He gives May and Gwen hugs and tells them to take care. Although Nick Fury tells Miles to head on to school, Peter insists that he come along. As he gets in the limo he looks across the street and sees Mary Jane. However, when he reaches out to her she turns around and runs away, upsetting him. When he gets in the care, Miles asks what the Nick Fury on Peter’s world is like. When Peter tells them that his Fury is white, this Fury is sorry to hear that. They are taken back to the Triskelon where Tony Stark is still trying to figure out what dimension Mysterio was broadcasting from.[11] Spider-Man offers his assistance and they begin puzzling it out together.[12] However, it’s Miles who figures it out when he recognizes the building that Mysterio broadcast his internet videos from as one in his neighborhood in Brooklyn. Nick Fury then mobilizes the Ultimates and SHIELD agents to help the Spider-Men investigate.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man (Parker), Spider-Man (Morales), Mysterio, SHIELD (Nick Fury), Thor, Iron Man, May Parker, Gwen Stacy, Mary Jane Watson

Continuity Notes

The Peter Parker of Earth-1610 died in Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #160.
Fury and the Ultimates have encountered beings from other realities in Ultimate Power #1-9.
Miles is bringing up the time his Peter Parker swapped bodies with Wolverine of the X-Men. This happened in Ultimate Spider-Man #66-67.
Gwen Stacy’s situation is a lot more complicated than she makes it sound. John Stacy was killed by an exploding backpack (seriously) in Ultimate Spider-Man #31. Since her mother Ginger abandoned her family, May Parker took Gwen in. This is not actually the real Gwen Stacy but a clone. The real Gwen was consumed by this world’s version of the Carnage symbiote in Ultimate Spider-Man #62. This is actually a clone of Gwen created in Ultimate Spider-Man #98. She has all of Gwen’s memories up to the moment of her death so, for all intends and purposes, everyone treats her like she is the original.
Actually, on Earth-616, Peter and Mary Jane dated on-and-off for years starting in Amazing Spider-Man #42, they actually split up — seemingly for good — circa Amazing Spider-Man #545.
Peter is reluctant to tell Gwen that her counterpart on his world is dead after the Green Goblin made her do a nose dive off the George Washington Bridge. See Amazing Spider-Man #121.
We’ll actually learn all about the Earth-616 version of Miles Morales in Spider-Men II #1-5. Morales-616 is an adult and a mobster.
Earth-616’s Ben Parker was shot by a burglar in Amazing Fantasy #15. The Ben Parker of the Ultimate universe died much in the same way in Ultimate Spider-Man #5.
Only a handful of people knew Peter Parker was Spider-Man prior to his death (after which it became public) There individuals are:
- Norman Osborn has been aware of Peter Parker’s true identity since the very beginning since it was his genetically engineered spider that bit Peter in Ultimate Spider-Man #1.
- Peter revealed his identity to Mary Jane Waston when they were dating. This happened in Ultimate Spider-Man #13.
- Kitty Pryde learned Peter’s secret identity when he unintentionally blurted it out in Ultimate Spider-Man #44.
- The real Gwen Stacy learned of Peter’s secret identity in Ultimate Spider-Man #58. Since the clone shares all of the memories of the original, she also knew that Peter was Spider-Man.
- May Parker: Peter revealed his identity to her in Ultimate Spider-Man #99
Kitty and Peter started dating in Ultimate X-Men #66 until Ultimate Spider-Man #107.
Spider-Man mentions how the Tony Stark on his world doesn’t drink. Stark struggled with alcoholism an issue that was first explored between Iron Man #123-128. Although he has fallen off the wagon a number of times, at the time of this story Stark had been sober since Iron Man #313 when he started going to Alcoholics Anyonymous.
Peter also mentions how the Tony Stark of his world once hired him. Tony hired Peter as an assistant in Amazing Spider-Man #528 until Peter defected from the government sponsored Avengers in Civil War #5.