Blood Ties

In his darkened apartment, Ben Urich is lost in his work. He stops to reflect on his life and thinks about all of the things he has lost recently and concludes that all that’s left of him is the reporter.[1] He then watches an interview with Norah Winters, who has recently released a book on her relationship with Phil Urich. She tells the host of the show about how the Goblin Formula drives everyone who takes it insane, yet they can still operate normally. However, she admits that she should have seen the truth sooner and she can’t deny that she is as much a loser as Phil Urich.[2]

Phil wonders what that makes him and he takes to the street. He thinks about how he figured out who Daredevil really was, and how he brought down Norman Osborn, yet he didn’t see this.[3] That’s when Ben gets a call from Mary Jane Watson, who is in the process of gathering all of Peter Parker’s friends and loved ones in order to get them to safety while the Green Goblin is laying siege to the entire city. She tells him to warn anyone at the Daily Bugle who he thinks might be a target. He thanks her for the call and tells her he will. As he hangs up the phone he is confronted by the Goblin Knight, who has come to make sure Ben is safe. He tells Urich to hide and then takes off. Realizing that this was his nephew, Urich thinks that his nephew’s need to protect him means it is not too late for either of them.

Ben soon arrives at the Daily Bugle where he meets with Joe Robertson and tires to convince him to take his family and go into hiding. Joe agrees to do so after all of the other staff is warned. He then asks Ben to get into contact with Norah Winters, since she is ignoring Joe’s calls. He agrees to do so, and assures Joe that he has a place to hide after all the many attempts on his life.[4]

However, Ben doesn’t go into hiding because he wants to chase this story. He then pays a visit to Parker Industries to get the help of Peter Parker. There, Sajani Jaffrey tells him that Peter Parker is dead, but he knows he is lying and wants Parker’s help investigating the effects of the Goblin Formula on others.[5] That’s when she takes him into a room where she has been keeping Carlie Cooper, the person most recently exposed to the Goblin Formula.[6] Sajani has been trying to work on a cure for the Goblin Formula, while Carlie has been fighting with all of her will to keep the insanity at bay. However, Sajani isn’t sure if the formula won’t kill her. Carlie however, has realized that Ben Urich has come to try and cure his nephew and begs him to try the cure on Phil.

Ben takes the cure and as he leaves, Sajani warns him that Spider-Man’s spider-bots can’t register Goblin activity and tells him that if he finds Phil, to use one of the spider-bots to call Spider-Man for help.[7] He assures her that he knows what to do.

Later, the Goblin Knight breaks into Norah Winter’s apartment to get revenge on her for the things she has been saying about him. Instead of finding his ex-girlfriend, Phil finds his Uncle Ben waiting for him. He tries to convince Phil that the Green Goblin is using him and lulls the youth into letting his guard down. Unfortunately, before Ben can inject the cure into Phil, two more goblins come into the apartment with Joe Robertson as their prisoner. The Goblin Knight thinks Ben lured him into a trap but both Joe admits that he was secretly following Ben out of concern for his safety. Ben then reveals that he can cure Phil, telling him that Norman Osborn set a legal precedence that exposure to the Goblin Formula makes you insane and not criminally responsible for your crimes.

However, Phil refuses and smashes the cure, as he has come to like the power that the Goblin Formula has given him. He then slashes Joe with his flaming sword. Realizing his nephew is too far gone, Ben rushes to a window and shouts at the spider-bots to alert Spider-Man to Phil’s location. When the two other Goblin Nation gang members try to silence him, the Goblin Knight slashes them from behind, telling them that only he has the right to kill his uncle. That’s when Spider-Man arrives and after a brief battle, the wall-crawler quickly disarms the Goblin Knight. However, Spider-Man is forced to let him go when Ben determines that Joe is still alive and needs immediate medical attention. However, he tells Phil to enjoy his freedom while it lasts as he intends to track him down and shut him down for good.

Once they get Robertson to Bellevue Hospital, Spider-Man warns Ben to call him in advance if he decides to go after the Goblin Knight again. However, Ben has decided against doing that again and instead returns home. He thinks about the nature of loss and how you can only mourn someone once you have accepted that they are gone. However, he hasn’t lost everything, since he still has the ability to tell the truth. Looking at old photos of Phil as the heroic Green Goblin, Ben decides to begin writing the true story about his nephew.[8]

Recurring Characters

Ben Urich, Goblin Knight, Spider-Man, Joe Robertson, Monster, Sajani Jaffrey, Mary Jane Watson, Norah Winters, Pedro Olivera, Aunt May, Jay Jameson

Continuity Notes

1. Ben touches on his personal losses at the time of this story. One is the recent death of his wife Doris, who died in Secret Invasion: Front Line #5. The other is the recent revelation that his nephew, Phil Urich, was the Hobgoblin. Phil took on the mantle of the Hobgoblin in Amazing Spider-Man #649. He was outed by Spider-Man in Superior Spider-Man #15-16.

2. Norah dated Phil Urich from Spider-Island: Deadly Foes #1 until he was outed as the Goblin. This revelation also cost Norah her job at the Daily Bugle as seen in Superior Spider-Man #16. Phil, by the way, exposed himself to the Goblin Formula back in Green Goblin #1.

3. Ben Urich deduced that Matt Murdock was Daredevil back in Daredevil #164, but kept this secret from others. He has als brought down Norman Osborn on two different occasions. The first was in Spider-Man: Legacy of Evil #1, and the other time was in The Pulse #1-5.

4. Ben mentions how he was once attacked by the Kingpin and Elektra. When she was in the employ of the Kingpin, Elektra was once hired to kill Ben Urich and almost succeeded in doing so in Daredevil #179.

5. Sajani told the press that Peter Parker died during the Monster’s attack on Parker Industries in Superior Spider-Man #29. This story takes place between the events of Superior Spider-Man #29.

6. Carlie was unwillingly exposed to the Goblin Formula by the Goblin King in Superior Spider-Man #24.

7. The Goblin King hacked the spider-bots to ignore crimes committed by Goblin Nation in Superior Spider-Man #10.

8. Phil was, for a brief period of time, a heroic version of the Green Goblin. He operated under that guise from Web of Spider-Man #125 until Green Goblin #13.

Chasing Ghosts

The Wraith wakes up in one of the labs at Parker Industries. Sensing that she is awake, the Living Brain tries to offer her a warm beverage but she kicks the drink out of its hands. When the robot tries to defend itself, she quickly overpowers the vintage machine and leaves the lab to figure out what’s going on.

In another lab, Carlie Cooper grows impatient with the Goblin Formula cure that Sajani Jaffrey is working on. Sajani insists that more tests need to be done in order to ensure that the cure won’t kill. The trouble is that any lab rat she exposes to the formula goes crazy before exploding.

That’s when the Wraith enters the room and, not recognizing Carlie because her facial recognition software cannot register a Goblin, thinks she is a threat and attacks her. As the two fight Sajani tries to explain that she is trying to cure the so-called Monster, but the Wraith won’t listen. Worse, the battle is causing Cooper to lose control of her sanity. This forces Sajani to take the risk and inject Carlie with the cure before she can harm anyone.

Luckily, the cure works and Carlie begins reverting back to human form, allowing the Wraith’s facial recognition software to not only see her, but identify her as well. Before passing out, Cooper tells the Wraith that it was the Goblin’s who kidnapped her, not Peter Parker. After being told how the Goblin Nation hacked her software, the Wraith crushes the lenses she uses to identify her opponents. Now that she can see clearly now, she heads off. When Sajani asks what the Wraith wanted with Peter Parker and Spider-Man. The Wraith says that if she survives this she’ll tell Jaffrey all about it but, in light of recent developments, the truth doesn’t seem to really matter anymore.[1]

Recurring Characters

The Wraith, Sajani Jaffrey, Living Brain, Carlie Cooper

Continuity Notes

1. The thing that Carlie and the Wraith know about Spider-Man is that his body had been taken over by Doctor Octopus. This happened in Amazing Spider-Man #698. Carlie became suspicious of Spider-Man’s change in personality and began looking into it in Superior Spider-Man #3 until she uncovered the truth in issue #19.