Spider-Man Unlimited #2
The Hatred, The Horror, and The Hero!
Maximum Carnage continues from The Spectacular Spider-Man #203...
Spider-Man had come to Central Park in the aftermath of the "Maximum Carnage" massacre where he was confronted by Venom who was upset that Carnage was killed by someone other than himself.[1] That's when Carnage surprised them by emerging from a nearby pond and attacks. His ribs injured, Spider-Man is forced to take to the sidelines while Venom battles Carnage.[2] Carnage's mind has still been affected by the alpha wave device they used against him previously. This gives Venom the edge in battle, forcing Carnage to flee into the woods. When Spider-Man suggests they get Captain America and the others, Venom refuses anymore help, wanting to destroy Carnage for himself and strikes the wall-crawler in the chest and leaps away. This hurts Spider-Man even more. He decides to find a payphone so he can call the Avengers, and then his wife Mary Jane, then get to the emergency room.[3]
Elsewhere in the city, people are celebrating in the streets following the end of Carnage's reign of terror. They are watched from the rooftops by Nightwatch and Morbius the Living Vampire. Nightwatch pities them, as they still live in a dangerous world. Morbius, on the other hand, envies them. He also knows that Nightwatch is wondering if their next encounter will be as friends or foe. He tells Nightwatch not to think of such things and bids him a farewell and flies away. Across time, Mary Jane waits for her husband in the emergency room. There she comforts a woman whose husband was almost killed by Carnage and his minions but was saved by Captain America. They are relieved when a nurse comes out and tells the woman her husband just got out of surgery and is expected to survive. That's when Peter Parker comes out shortly thereafter with his ribs all bandaged up. Mary Jane begs Peter to finally take a break from being Spider-Man.[4] Unfortunately, he can't tell make that promise to her as long as Carnage is still on the loose. Just then, at Ryker's Island, a criminal waits out his trial in the cell previously occupied by Cletus Kasady. His thoughts are interrupted when Carnage comes ripping through the wall. He demands to know what the other criminal is doing in his cell. He rants about where this is where it all began, wishing he killed Eddie Brock before he broke out of prison.[5] That's when Venom enters the cell and the two come to blows. Carnage manages to get away when he fires some symbiotic spikes at one of the guards, forcing Venom to act as a shield to protect the innocent man. The projectiles do little but slow Venom down briefly, and he soon follows after Carnage.
Meanwhile, Peter Parker returns home and his happily reunited with his Aunt May and the couple who claim to be his parents.[6] Although the media says the danger is over, he warns everyone that there are still monsters always find a way to return. This causes Liz Osborn to cry, as despite her best judgment she wishes her husband, Harry Osborn, the Green Goblin, would return.[7] As she walks away with her son Normie, the young boy gives Peter a dirty look. Peter asks to speak to his father in private, and the two go up to the rooftop to talk. He reminds his father of the speech he gave early on during Carnage's rampage. That in order to defeat monsters you need to fight fire with fire.[8] He points out that even though this world is full of monsters, there are courageous men and women out there that fight for good, like the Avengers and believe that good always triumphs over evil. He assures Richard that he is not a monster, just someone who is afraid, and tells him the best thing to do is, to be honest with each other.
Later that night, Mary Jane wakes up to Peter exposing the film in his camera. He is destroying the photos of the destruction he photographed during Carnage's rampage because he can't bear to see them published. When he tells her that he is going back out as Spider-Man, she tells him to stop and listen to him for a moment. Although Mary Jane has been trying to get Peter to take a break from being Spider-Man, she realizes that he will never stop going out there and making the world a better place. Even though that causes her a great deal of stress, she loves him even more for it and encourages him to go out and be a hero. She then tells him that he hit the jackpot with her and kisses him goodbye.[9] Going back out into the city, Spider-Man vows to stop Carnage, his way. Meanwhile, the mass-murderer has fled to the St. Estes Home for Boys in Brooklyn. There he is haunted by the memories of his past. Telling his past tormentors to leave him be, he is attacked once again by Venom. The two come to blows until Venom punches Carnage through the wall where he wrote "Carnage Rules" in his own blood.[10] However, before Venom lands a killing blow, Spider-Man knocks the lethal protector aside.
Spider-Man tells Venom that he can't let Venom murder someone, even someone like Carnage. However, Venom refuses to listen because he is devoted to eliminating his "son" in order to protect the innocent. Unfortunately, during the fight, Carnage manages to escape again. At that moment, Mary Jane gets a phone call from Felicia Hardy, who asks if Peter made it home safe. Hearing that Peter went back out in to capture Carnage worries Felicia. She fears that Spider-Man is going to be in too much trouble, considering the beating she got from battling Carnage and his minions earlier, a beating that took her out of the fight.[11] Meanwhile, Spider-Man and Venom follow Carnage to a nearby cemetery where the maniac is digging up his mother's grave reconcile how she treated him as he was growing up. He is insulted when the wall-crawler and Venom interrupt him. As the battle continues, Spider-Man once more gets between Venom and Carnage, not wanting either to be killed. Carnage swats Spider-Man aside. When Spider-Man lands between the graves of Harry Osborn and his father Norman, and suddenly he realizes why this cemetery was so familiar.[12]
When Carnage leaps toward the web-slinger to make the kill, he is kicked out of the way by the Black Cat. Carnage grabs his mother's coffin and tries to flee the scene. Unfortunately, the maniac is tackled into a power transformer by Venom. There is a massive explosion that burns away Carnage's symbiote and rendering him unconscious. Spider-Man and the Black Cat also look for Venom, unaware that he was knocked clear of the blast and has fled the scene. Just then, an Avenger's Quinjet arrives carrying Vision, Sersi, and Thunderstrike. They have come to collect Carnage and take him away. The Vision advises tells them that Captain America warned them about Cletus' blood being able to recreate the symbiote and have come with a containment pod.[13] In the aftermath of the battle, the Black Cat looks at the shattered remains of the coffin that Cletus had dug up and noticed that it was empty. Spider-Man figures it that nothing about Carnage is logical. The Black Cat then muses how monsters like Carnage always have a habit of returning. Looking at the graves of Harry and Norman Osborn, Peter hopes that's not always true.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Venom, Carnage, Mary Jane Watson, Aunt May, “Richard and Mary Parker”, Black Cat, Morbius the Living Vampire, Nightwatch, Liz Osborn, Normie Osborn, Avengers (Vision, Sersi, Thunderstrike)
Continuity Notes
Carnage was seemingly slain in The Spectacular Spider-Man #203.
Spider-Man's ribs were injured back in Spider-Man Unlimited #1.
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 originally asked Peter to stop being Spider-Man in Spider-Man Unlimited #1.
Brock broke out of Rykers Island in Amazing Spider-Man #345.
These are not really Peter Parker's parents, but impostors as revealed in Amazing Spider-Man #388. The real Richard and Mary Parker died on a government mission, as revealed in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5.
At the time of this story, everyone thinks that Harry Osborn is dead following the events of The Spectacular Spider-Man #200. However, unknown to everyone at the time, Harry survived as explained in Amazing Spider-Man #581. He will resurface again in Amazing Spider-Man #545.
Richard gave Peter this speech in The Spectacular Spider-Man #201. Peter states here that his father was imprisoned in a Soviet prison. This should be considered a topical reference per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616.
"Face it Tiger, you hit the jackpot!" was the first thing Mary Jane ever said to Peter, as seen in Amazing Spider-Man #42.
Carnage painted this on the wall in Amazing Spider-Man #361.
Felicia was badly beaten by Carnage's "family" in Web of Spider-Man #103.
At the time of this story, everyone believes that Norman Osborn is dead following a battle against Spider-Man in Amazing Spider-Man #122. His survival is explained in Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal #1. He will resurface again in Amazing Spider-Man #412. They discovered that Carnage's symbiote lives in his blood in Spider-Man #36.
Other People's Dreams
Out busting a drug addict as Spider-Man, Peter Parker is running late to show up at a premiere of a movie that is being released by the production company that produces "Secret Hospital", the soap opera that Mary Jane appears on. The film is an Australia import called Bush Ranger starring a breakout actor named Dirk Leydon. As he gives a speech to the audience, Mary Jane is happy that her husband has finally arrived and tells him he is just in time. Having enough of Leydon's long-winded speech, Peter and Mary Jane decide to get something to eat.
However, on their way out, Peter notices federal agents stationed outside of the theater. Going back inside, he witnesses as the government officials try to arrest Dirk Leydon for past crimes. The movie buff turned actor surprises, everyone when he grabs the microphone and absorbs the electricity turning him into Megawatt. With his electrical powers, Megawatt manages to escape, prompting Peter to go after him as Spider-Man. The wall-crawler tracks the villain down to a derelict building and instead of fighting he asks why he is wanted by the police.
Megawatt tells Spider-Man his origins in a grandiose way, as though he was reciting a screenplay. He explains that when he was a young child, he got caught stealing trading cards and knew he was destined for a career of crime. As he tells this story, a person working in the office across the street sees the flashes of light caused by Megawatt's powers and calls the police. Back inside the building, Megawatt continues his story. He explains that he had become a petty criminal until the day he met Doctor Jonas Harrow who offered to give him powers.[1] Shortly after getting his powers, Megawatt attempted to rob a safe and ran afoul of the costumed hero Daredevil.[2] Even though they had no record of his previous theft, he pleaded guilty. He eventually escaped prison and fled to Australia where he became a big name actor.
That's when the police arrive on the scene, Megawatt lashes out and is eventually taken down by Spider-Man. When the police try to take Megawatt out of the way, he manages to power back up by stubbing his foot on an exposed wire and gets away. When Peter returns home, he and Mary Jane watch a news report about how Megawatt fled back to Australia. Although the United States is trying to extradite him, the media frenzy has made his movie a hit. Peter laments that a villain gets a happy ending and he gets bruises for his trouble. Mary Jane comforts her husband, telling him that she wouldn't love him more any other way.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Mary Jane Watson, Jonas Harrow, Daredevil
Continuity Notes
Spider-Man remembers Harrow as the mad scientist who gave powers to Hammerhead and augmented the Kangaroo's abilities. This happened in Amazing Spider-Man #113 and 126 respectively.
Daredevil's bust happens during the events of Daredevil #54.