Amazing Spider-Man #540
Back in Black: Part 2
Peter calls to check on Aunt May in the hospital and Mary Jane tells him that she has been moved to intensive care and that she is being kept on life-support.[1] Peter is certain that she May will pull through because she always pulled through. Mary Jane tells Peter that all they have to do is wait, and not to come because they won’t even let Mary Jane into the room with her. When Mary Jane asks how Peter is doing, he says he is not anywhere near okay and to watch out as there will be more people being sent to the hospital before the end of the evening.
Spider-Man then web-slings across the city searching for the four illegal gun dealers that could have sold the rifle to the sniper who shot Aunt May. The first three are dead ends. When the fourth refuses to talk, Spider-Man tosses him out a window, only saving him with a web-line at the last minute. Keeping the arms dealer suspended upside-down, Spider-Man warns him he won’t ask him for information a second time. The man tells him who he has sold Gunter-Wass scopes and learns that he had sold three recently. Two were to game hunters and the third to a man by the name of Jake Martino, a freelance hitman who takes on jobs all over the world and has friends in high places. In order to learn what he can about Martino, Spider-Man finds a pair of police officers hassling a homeless man. He webs them into the alley so he can access the computer in their squad car and pull up the file on Jake Martino.
Spider-Man then goes to Martino’s last known address where he discovers that he is gone. Questioning Martino’s landlord, he learns that Jake left in a hurry and that he was headed for the train station.[2] As Spider-Man leaves, the landlord warns the wall-crawler that he is not the only one looking for Martino. Arriving at Grand Central Station, Spider-Man stands in the crowd with his eyes closed so he can focus his spider-sense and zeros in on Jake Martino. When Martino opens fire on the web-slinger, Spider-Man easily evades the shots and intentionally breaks Jake’s arm when disarming him. He then orders Martino to pick up the gun with his good arm. When he defuses, Spider-Man begins beating on him as Jake pleads for Spider-Man to stop. As he does so, Spider-Man pulls off his mask so Jake can see the face of the man who is going to kill him. With Jake Martino at his mercy, Peter tells him that he is going to kill him after Jake says who hired him, how painful that death will be will depend on how quickly Martino offers the answer. Unfortunately, before Jake can talk, Peter’s spider-sense goes off and he leaps out of the way of a spray of bullets that hit Jake. As this second assassin tries to flee the scene, Peter manages to tag them with one of his spider-tracers.
Ducking into the shadows, Spider-Man waits until EMTs take Jake Martino away for medical attention. Ironically, Jake ends up being taken to the same hospital where Aunt May is being kept on life support. Changing out of his costume, Peter finds Mary Jane and finds out that Aunt May isn’t expected to make it. Putting aside his vendetta for a moment, Peter joins Mary Jane up to intensive care where May is being kept alive. While he is checking on May, Jake Martino dies on the operating table before he can tell Spider-Man what he wants. Peter vows to Mary Jane that he’ll find a way to save May, when suddenly his spider-sense informs him that his spider-tracer is nearby.
Going outside, Peter catches the other shooter and quickly webs him up while he is reporting back to his employer. Listening to the man’s voice on the other end of the line, Peter instantly recognizes the man as Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin of Crime. Peter tells the Kingpin that he’s coming for him and that he’s going to die for what he has done.[3]
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Mary Jane Watson, Aunt May, Kingpin, Jake Martino
Continuity Notes
There’s a lot going on here. Let’s get down to it:
Peter Parker publicly revealed that he was Spider-Man in Civil War #2.
Peter renounced the Super-Human Registration Act in Amazing Spider-Man #535, making him an outlaw.
This resulted in the Kingpin ordering a hit on him and his family in Amazing Spider-Man #533.
Jake Martino, the sniper, shot Aunt May in Amazing Spider-Man #538.
The landlord offers to help Spider-Man because he saw the wall-crawler fighting alongside Captain America during the Civil War. Peter joined the Anti-SHRA forces in Amazing Spider-Man #536/Civil War #6.
The Kingpin has been incarcerated since Daredevil (vol. 2) #50. He will be released from prison in Daredevil (vol. 2) #93.
