Hostage Crisis

One of the Kingpin’s men has been sent to Chicago to hire Blackout to go after Peter Parker, the man who they know builds Spider-Man’s technology.[1] However, when he presents a briefcase full of cash for the villain he discovers that most of the bundles of money are newspaper. That’s when Blackout attacks the man, telling him that he wants his name to be synonymous with murder once again.[2]

In New York City, “Peter Parker” is having a stack of wheatcakes made by “his” Aunt May.[3] When May goes into the kitchen to cook some more, it allows “Peter” and Jay to have a talk. It’s mostly about how “Peter” is starting his own buisness. Jay is also glad that Peter is spending more time with his Aunt, showing him that “Peter” does really care about her.[4] They also bring up how May wants “Peter” to disassociate himself with Spider-Man, particularly since the web-slinger has been brutal against his enemies in recent months.[5] “Peter” tells Jay that he is working on it, but he is not in a financial situation where he can give up the money that Spider-Man pays him. Jay expresses his concerns that working for Spider-Man makes him a target, recounting how Peter was recently a target of the Hobgoblin. “Peter” promises Jay that he will never do anything to hurt May. As they shake on it, May comes in with her camera and snaps a photo of the pair, telling them she couldn’t resist capturing the moment of her two favorite men.

When Otto leaves Jay and May’s apartment, he thinks about how Peter Parker took his aunt May for granted. He, however, did the same thing as well, recounting how he took advantage of May’s loneliness to trick her into marrying him so he could gain access to a nuclear reactor she had inherited.[6] Still he intends to change that. Another concern is how Parker put a target on his back by letting the world know that he creates tech for Spider-Man, another mess to fix. However, Otto figures this will be easier now that he has neutralize the Kingpin earlier.[7] As Otto enters the subway he is unaware that Blackout is trailing him.

Otto loathes going into the subway, but it is necessary because he wants to test the range of his spider-bots. That’s when his Spider-Man alert app goes off and he discovers that the spider-bots have detected Blackout breaking into May and Jay’s apartment. Otto pushes his way to the back of the subway car and exits the train while changing into Spider-Man, hoping he can get back to May’s apartment in time to stop Blackout.

At that moment, Blackout uses his ability to plunge an area into pitch black darkness to subdue both May and Jay. Spider-Man tries to see what is going on, but his spider-bots cannot pierce the darkness. When he arrives, Otto changes back into Peter Parker and finds Jay alone in the apartment. Jameson tells “Peter” that Blackout kidnapped May to get at him and warned that he would kill her if they went to the authorities. He then hands “Peter” a burner cell phone that Blackout will call to give him instructions. His rage growing, Otto assures Jay that he will get his wife back to him alive, no matter what.

When Blackout does call, Otto has returned to his headquarters at Spider-Island Two. After confirming that May is still alive, “Peter” demands to know what Blackout wants. Blackout explains that he wants “Parker” to sabotage Spider-Man’s equipment to give the killer an edge when they eventually battle to the death. Otto tells him that he isn’t sure when he could get a chance and Blackout warns him to comply and will check back later, warning that any hint that someone is tracking him, Blackout will kill May. However, Blackout hasn’t accounted for the genius of Otto Octavius or that Spider-Man learned his location and identified the van he is driving around in the moment he called, and that his spider-bots can monitor him from a distance. Opening up a tracing app, Otto watches as Blackout brings May to an abandoned slaughterhouse.

However, before he goes after Blackout, Otto decides to learn what he can about his foe. He makes a call upstate to Danny Ketch, formerly the Ghost Rider, to learn what he can about Blackout.[8] Danny explains how Blackout killed his sister and explains how ruthless he is and explains how his powers work.[9] When Danny offers a hand, Spider-Man tells him he is probably dealing with the other Blackout and just wanted an update on Ketch’s old foe just in case.[10] Ketch’s parting advice to Spider-Man is to kill Blackout if he gets the chance otherwise he’s putting a noose around the neck of everyone he loves.

Dealing with a supernatural foe bothers Otto, and as he web-slings across the city he briefly considers seeking Doctor Strange for help. However, he decides against this for fear that Strange might be able to divine that he stole Peter Parker’s life and foil his plans. Otto dismisses this, reminding himself that he has set out to become a superior version of Spider-Man and will continue to prove it by facing Blackout alone. Otto starts staking out the slaughterhouse and when Blackout prepares to move May to another location he finds an army of spider-bots waiting for him outside. Spider-Man then ambushes Blackout. Although he assures May that she is being saved, the Parker woman is afraid of Spider-Man. Blackout manages to break free and when he tries to attack May, he discovers that the spider-bots have her in a protective force-field.

As the pair continue their fight, Blackout vows that Spider-Man will die today. Using one of the meat hooks, Blackout smashes the lenses of Spider-Man’s goggles and then plunges the entire room in darkness. Despite his spider-sense, Spider-Man is quickly overpowered by Blackout. As the room clears, Blackout hopes Peter Parker is watching as his hero is killed and goes to rip out Spider-Man’s throat with his fangs. However, Otto has prepared for this and is wearing a thin layer of electrically charged mesh under his costume. It violently shocks Blackout once he sinks his teeth into it causing him to recoil in pain. With Blackout knocked out, Spider-Man frees May and sends her to a nearby diner where there are two police officers who will help.

With May out of sight, Spider-Man returns his attention to Blackout and begins savagely beating him. He mocks Blackout for trying to revive his reputation and begins breaking his bones before stringing him up on meat hooks. Blackout spits in Spider-Man’s face, telling him there is nothing he can do to stop him as he will heal and come after Parker and his family again and again, never stopping, because he is part demon. However, Spider-Man is far more insidious than Blackout expects. He takes a pair of pliers and begins pulling out Blackout’s teeth for further examination and then threatens to use solar simulator to further torture him. Blackout suddenly changes his tune and pleads with Spider-Man to stop. The wall-crawler then tells Blackout that he is going to send out the message to everyone that Parker and his family are off limits and that if anything happens to them he will come after them for bloody retribution. Blackout promises, but Spider-Man isn’t done and begins torturing him with his solar simulators anyway. He is unaware that May Parker had heard Blackout’s screams of agony and came back to see what was going on. Horrified by what she is seeing, May quickly races off to find the police.

The next day, “Peter Parker” has stopped to get some flowers for May, who is in the hospital and is recovering fine. On his way out, he bumps into a pick pocket who quickly comes back and gives him back his wallet after realizing he stole from “Peter Parker”. The mugger pleads with “Parker” not to tell anyone, saying he has a family and runs off. Otto is pleased with the results of his “pep-talk” with Blackout.

At that moment, below Manhattan at the Goblin Underground, the Goblin Knight reports to his leader, the Goblin King to tell him whath appened to Blackout. The Knight is worried about their mission because Spider-Man doesn’t appear to be playing by the rules. However, the Goblin King insists on moving forward because of tradition.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Blackout, Aunt May, Jay Jameson, Danny Ketch, Doctor Strange, Goblin King, Goblin Knight

Continuity Notes

1. The Kingpin confirmed that Peter Parker built tech for Spider-Man when he kidnapped Parker in Amazing Spider-Man #695-697.

2. It is mentioned here that Blackheart used to be part of the Hood’s gang. This was from New Avengers #35 to 57.

3. This scene plays homage to a similar scene from Amazing Fantasy #15.

4. Jay has been annoyed about Peter Parker constantly running off and neglecting his Aunt. This changed after Otto Octavius took over Peter Parker’s life circa Amazing Spider-Man #700.

5. May expressed her displeasure with “Peter” working for Spider-Man in Superior Spider-Man #10. Since Otto took over as Spider-Man, he has been exceptionally brutal to his foes. The example provided here was when he savagely beat Screwball and the Jester in Superior Spider-Man #6.

6. Doctor Octopus first met May Parker back in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 when he took her hostage. May never fully understood that Otto was a criminal and he eventually romanced her and almost married her had Spider-Man not stopped the ceremony in Amazing Spider-Man #131.

7. Spider-Man took down the Kingpin’s hideout, Shadowland, in Superior Spider-Man #14. At the time, the Kingpin left the body of a man genetically modified to be an exact copy of the Kingpin, leaving everyone to believe he was killed in the raid.

8. Danny Ketch regularly clashed with Blackout when he was the Ghost Rider dating back to Ghost Rider (vol. 3) #2.

9. Blackout killed Barbara Ketch in Ghost Rider (vol. 3) #7. Danny also mentions how he thought Blackout was dead. Ghost Rider seemingly killed Blackout in Ghost Rider (vol. 3) #66. However, he survived this and was later a prisoner at the Raft as detailed in New Avengers: Most Wanted Files #1. His survival has been attributed to the fact that Blackout is part demon.

10. This other Blackout is Marcus Daniel who has been active as a costumed criminal since Nova #19. A footnote here tells readers to check out Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #6 for more information on Blackout, as he is among the villains that Spider-Man battles in that story.