Amazing Spider-Man #541
Back in Black: Part 3
On the phone with Peter Parker, the Kingpin is amused when Parker vows to kill him. However, Peter assures the Fisk that he’ll follow through on the threat as he has broken many laws in the last few days in order to learn who hired the hit that led to his Aunt May getting shot.[1] After ending the call with the Kingpin, Peter rips the webbing off the mouth of the man who was hired to eliminate Jake Martino, the man who shot Aunt May. He demands to know why Fisk ordered Martino silenced, threatening to rip out the man’s heart if he doesn’t talk. The shooter says the Kingpin wanted him silenced because Jake knew something that Fisk didn’t want anyone else to know. Seeing that man is telling the truth, Peter leaves the scene with the gunman before Mary Jane comes out to check on him.
At that same moment, the Kingpin calls one of the guards to his cell. He then breaks open the leg of his desk which hides a large sum of money rolled up inside. He hands all the money over to the guard, saying that he needs a few items and to spread the money around to make sure that he and the other inmates are undisturbed when the visitor he is expecting arrives.[2] When the guard asks Fisk what he wants, the Kingpin tells him to bring him the clothes that he was wearing when he was arrested.
Meanwhile, Spider-Man has brought the other shooter — Jim — to the sewers where he has him webbed upside down in a tunnel filled with rats. Peter gives him a quick lecture on the food chain and instead of leaving him to be eaten by rats, he tells Jim to send a message to every crook in the city that the Parker family is off-limits if anyone foolishly tries they’ll quickly discover that Spider-Man is on the top of the criminal food chain.
Later, Peter returns to the hospital where Aunt May is being kept on life support. Mary Jane tells him that there is no change in May’s condition. Worse, Mary Jane is running out of money and the fact they are paying in cash has got people raising questions about how May ended up with a gunshot in the first place. With the situation getting serious, Peter suggests that they might be able to save May’s life by giving her a blood transfusion of Peter’s blood. Mary Jane then reminds Peter that the last time that was done it had some serious consequences that required Peter to save her life later.[3] However, Peter thinks the effects of the serum will allow May to survive this time. Deciding to take the chance, Mary Jane breaks into a supply closet in order to get the materials needed to do a blood transfusion. After the deed is done, Peter ignores Mary Jane’s concerns and heads off just as a nurse arrives to check on May.
While at Ryker’s Island, the prisoners are awoken when the lights suddenly turn on and the cell doors open. As Wilson Fisk begins putting on the suit that has been stored in the prison, Peter Parker changes into Spider-Man outside and sneaks into the prison. Once he is dressed, the Kingpin walks to the center of the cell block as Spider-Man descends down on a web-line to face his foe. Spider-Man tells the Kingpin that this is the end of the road and only one of them are walking out alive.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Mary Jane Watson, Aunt May, Kingpin
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.
Peter discovered that the Kingpin ordered the hit last issue.
The Kingpin says that his lawyers have found a way that will ensure he will soon be released from prison. The Kingpin was incarcerated in Daredevil (vol. 2) #50. He will be released from prison in Daredevil (vol. 2) #92-93.
Peter gave his Aunt May a blood transfusion in Amazing Spider-Man #10. However, the radioactive properties of his blood started affecting her health requiring Peter to obtain a sample of the rare element ISO-36 in Amazing Spider-Man #31-33.
