Living in Fear

Years Ago:[1]

Ricky Dickinson remembers the day that his brother, Wyndell went to get them some money. This involved breaking into a parked car. Unfortunately for Wyndell, he was caught in the act by Spider-Man. The sight of the hero scared Ricky to the point that he fled the scene, leaving Wyndell to deal with the wall-crawler alone. When Wyndell pulled a knife, Spider-Man easily webbing him. Catching up with Ricky, the boy begs not to get hurt and tells Spider-Man that he will do whatever the masked hero wants. Sure enough, when the police came for Wyndell, Ricky told them everything. After the Dickinson brothers were arranged, Wyndell was furious. However, he refuses to go to jail and tells Ricky that he leaves. However, he promises that if they ever catch him, Wyndell will take it out on his younger brother. Ricky was left alone to go to trail alone. He pleaded guilty and was given a suspended sentence because of his age. He went to college and eventually got a job as an assistant manager at the Johnson Scott Company. Even though his records were sealed because he was a minor at the time of the crime, Ricky kept a low profile, keeping his co-workers at an arm's length in order to keep his troubled past a secret.

Now:

One day, Ricky returns home to his apartment to find a costumed individual waiting inside for him. The man in the costume introduces himself as Bloodshed, then removes his mask revealing himself to be none other than Ricky's brother Wyndell. Ricky is shocked to see his brother after so many years. Sitting down with a beer, Wyndell tells Ricky where he has been all this time. He explains that he became a mercenary getting a lot of lucrative work in the far east. However, he went into the drug trade to make even more money. He hooked up with some American drug dealers in Thailand that offered to grant him even greater strength. Wyndell accepted their offer and was experimented upon. As Bloodshed he returned to the United States where he protected drug shipments from rival gangs and the authorities. However, recently he was forced to dump a drug shipment when his vessel was boarded by the Coast Guard. When he reported this loss to his employer, mobster Phillippe Bazin, he was unhappy. He finishes his tale by telling Ricky that he now has to come up with one million dollars within the next three days or Bazin will have him eliminated. Hearing that his younger brother was working for a securities firm, he had come to convince Ricky to steal the money for him. When Ricky asks why Wyndell doesn't rob a bank, his elder brother explains that can't take needless risks this time around. Reminding Ricky that he owes him, Bloodshed crushes his television with his bare hands as a show of his power. He then leaves telling Ricky to come through for him or his head will be crushed just as easy as that television.

The next day, during Ricky's lunch hour, the young man frets over his brother's threats and if he should go through with the theft. When he leaves the office he spots Spider-Man calls out to him. Immediately regretting it, Ricky is surprised when the wall-crawler turns around and asks him what's up. Ricky chickens out, telling the masked hero that it was not him who called out and runs off, leaving the wall-crawler confused. He's not the only one as Bloodshed has been following his brother from the rooftops. He begins to wonder if there isn't some connection between his brother and Spider-Man. Fearing that his brother might rat him out again, Bloodshed attacks the hero. Although Spider-Man is caught off guard, he soon gets his feet. Hearing Bloodshed's rants about wanting revenge confuses the hero because he doesn't recognize him. Bloodshed then tosses a taxicab, prompting Spider-Man to catch it and rescue the driver inside. Spider-Man's attacker then lashes into the cab in order to get at the hero but finds no trace of him. Furious, Bloodshed storms off, unaware that Spider-Man quickly ducked down a manhole. As his attacker leaves, the wall-crawler tags Bloodshed with a spider-tracer.

Hours later, Ricky tries to figure out his next course of action after Wyndell trashed his apartment in retaliation for almost tipping off Spider-Man. Deciding to go out for some food, Ricky doesn't notice the spider-tracer on the floor that was dislodged from Bloodshed's armor during his tantrum. When he gets outside his apartment, Ricky spots Spider-Man coming by. Recognizing Ricky from earlier in the day, the wall-crawler tries to talk to him but Ricky runs off scared. Spider-Man finds this curious, he looks at the residential listing of Ricky's apartment building. Spotting Dickinson's name on the directory, he finds the name familiar but can't recall when he saw it before. The next evening, Spider-Man goes to the Daily Bugle as Peter Parker to look up Richard Dickinson in the Bugle's archives. There he finds the story about how he busted Ricky and his brother for attempted car theft. However, the article only mentions one of the Dickinson brothers, but Peter remembers there being two. He suspects that Ricky might be Bloodshed and decides to go looking for him as Spider-Man. To this end, he starts looking around the area where he first bumped into Ricky the day before.

By this time, Bloodshed has forced his way into the office where Ricky works to force him to hand over the money. The villain finds his brother waiting for him at his desk. Wyndell is furious when Ricky explains that he can't bring himself to steal the money his brother needs. Threatening to kill Ricky, Bloodshed backs off when Spider-Man comes crashing through the window. Not seeing the costumed villain, Spider-Man confronts Ricky, thinking he is Bloodshed. However, his spider-sense begins going off quickly warning him that he is making a mistake. Bloodshed still manages to ambush Spider-Man and decides that perhaps his deby will be forgiven if he manages to kill the costumed hero. Although Bloodshed has the advantage, the battle turns when Ricky leaps onto his back. Bloodshed bats his brother away, but this distraction gives Spider-Man the time to recover and hit his foe as hard as he can. The blow is so powerful that it knocks out Bloodshed. With the battle over, Spider-Man apologizes for jumping to conclusions about Ricky and thanks to him for his help. After Spider-Man leaves, Ricky calls the police. After giving his statement to the authorities, Ricky walks home and for the first time, the guilt over his past is no longer there.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Ricky Dickinson, Bloodshed, Phillipe Bazin

Continuity Notes

1. According to the Official Index to the Marvel Universe #1 this flashback takes place after the events of Amazing Spider-Man #20. Examining the Sliding Timescale this flashback occurred roughly 8 years prior to this story.