Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #13
Time Enough…?
Spider-Man is swinging across the city in order to get his thoughts in order but his introspection is quickly ended when he spots a robbery in progress.[1] While Peter is busy wrapping up these crooks, Mary Jane is at their apartment. She thinks he has forgotten about her flight and decides she can’t wait. Aunt May pleads with Mary Jane to stay, with everything that’s going on she and Peter need to sort out their marital problems. Mary Jane can’t wait and tells May that if Peter comes home to have him try to meet her at the airport, although she’s convinced that this won’t happen either.[2]
While at a warehouse, Robert Farrell has been betrayed by his new friend Troy, who has only pretended to be friends with him in order to get access to his Rocket Racer gear and steal it for his own use.[3] After putting on the Rocket Racer gear, Troy says that everything he told Robert was false and knocks him out with a kick and hits the road as the new Rocket Racer.
At that same moment, Mary Jane is flagging a taxi and instantly regrets it after her last experience. However, she lets her guard down when she sees that the driver is a woman and not the stalker who has been terrorizing her.[4] As they leave for the airport, Mary Jane tries to calm herself down, reminding herself that her stalker blew himself up. At that same moment, Spider-Man is still swinging across town and considers how lucky he is and decides that he’ll make sure he lets Mary Jane know how much he loves her. However, when he gets home he learns from Aunt May that Mary Jane left to catch her flight for her next photo shoot. Peter is horrified to learn that he got his days mixed up and rushes up to his bedroom so he can change back into Spider-Man and swing to the airport in the hopes he can get to her before her flight leaves.
As Spider-Man swings across the city, he is spotted by the new Rocket Racer who decides to stop having fun and follow after the wall-crawler and earn his reputation. Meanwhile, Mary Jane thinks about her current situation and thinks she should be staying home trying to fix her marriage instead of traveling out for a photo shoot. At the same time, Spider-Man is also chastising himself for neglecting his wife and hopes he can get a chance to talk to her before she’s gone. Just then, he spots a robbery in progress. At first, he decides to ignore it but then remembers how his past inaction led to the death of his Uncle Ben.[5] While at the same time, police answer a 911 call that has been placed by Robert Farrell from his cell phone. When they force their way into the building, Farrell tells them how his Rocket Racer equipment was stolen and the thief needs to be caught.
As the Rocket Racer starts closing in on Spider-Man, the wall-crawler is trying to figure out the best way to airport when he spots a man threatening to jump off the ledge of a building. Although a priest manages to talk the man into coming back in he slips and is about to fall, Spider-Man spins a safety net for him to land in before continuing on his way. The Rocket Racer is closing in on Spider-Man but fate has other ideas in store for the new Rocket Racer when a chef opens the back door to his restaurant causing the Rocket Racer to crash into it knocking himself out.
Spider-Man soon arrives at JFK airport and changes back to Peter Parker. However, when he gets to the security line-up they tell him he’s not allowed to pass without a valid boarding pass. This won’t stop him as Peter uses his wall-crawling abilities to sneak by security by climbing overhead. By this time, Mary Jane has gotten onto the plane and as she finds her seat decides that she’ll call Peter when she lands and tell him to take the next flight out as she wants to make their marriage work. That’s when the elderly man sitting next to her realizes that Mary Jane is upset by something and offers her a lollypop, telling her that the flavor will just explode in her mouth. When Peter Parker finally gets to the gate, he arrives just in time to see the plane take off. When he returns home he tells Aunt May that he missed Mary Jane but vows to go and find his wife.
What Peter doesn’t know is at that moment, there is a problem with the plane as it starts to lose altitude. Suddenly, the plane explodes.[6]
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Mary Jane Watson, Aunt May, Robert Farrell, Stalker
Continuity Notes
Peter is preoccupied with the news that Mary Jane has been harassed by a stalker. She told him this last issue. Mary Jane has been getting harassing phone calls and other threats from a stalker since Peter Parker: Spider-Man #6. Peter and Mary Jane are referred to as husband and wife here. However, years later, their marriage is erased from existence by Mephiston in Amazing Spider-Man #545. As such they should be considered a common-law couple here.
Mary Jane’s cryptic comments are referring to the events of Peter Parker: Spider-Man #8.
Although Robert Farrell’s friend is identified as Troy here, the Rocket Racer entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #9 reveals that his real name is actually Henry Sleeman.
Mary Jane got into a cab driver by her stalker in Peter Parker: Spider-Man #12. He terrorized her until he dropped her off at the Daily Bugle and then seemingly blew himself up. He’s still alive as we’ll see later in this issue.
You know the murder of Uncle Ben happened in Amazing Fantasy #15 right?
The cliffhanger leaves readers to wonder if Mary Jane lived or died. Spoiler alert: She survives as we’ll see in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #29.
