Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #34
Meltdown
After being seriously beaten by Morlin, Spider-Man has come to Ezekiel Sims for help only to learn that it is too late. Ezekiel explains that now that Morlun has made physical contact with Peter, he can follow him anywhere, and the specially built cell won’t keep him safe. When Peter asks Ezekiel to use his own spider-powers to help him fight Morlun, Sims says he can’t help because he’s gone this far making sure Morlun doesn’t know of his existence and he can’t risk exposing himself. Spider-Man admits that he has never asked for anything in his life and always stood on his own two feet but if there is anything Ezekiel can give him to help fight Morlun he’d really appreciate it. Unfortunately, Sims has nothing for him and tells Peter that he’s on his own. Peter admits that this won’t be the first time and says goodbye.
Swinging away from the office building, Spider-Man tries to come up with a plan, but suddenly there is an explosion nearby forcing him to act. Watching this from his office, Ezekiel Sims tries to convince himself that he has other responsibilities to be concerned about. When Spider-Man arrives at the scene of Morlun’s recent rampage, he discovers that his foe has a child in his hands. Morlun tosses the kid toward a burning car. Spider-Man saves the boy but this action causes him so lose his temper. He lays into Morlun but only slows him down slightly. Jumping to safety, Spider-Man realizes that it’s now morning and needs some time. Webbing up Morlun, the wall-crawler snatches some change from a panhandler and uses it to call Midtown High to tell the secretary that he won’t be coming in that morning.[1] Overhearing this is Joey Gladstone, a student that Peter Parker has taken a keen interest in mentoring. Hearing that Mister Parker won’t be coming in, Joey assumes its an excuse.
As Peter hangs up the phone he hears someone screaming for help. He’s exhausted after fighting for more than 12 hours and needs to rest, but can’t abandon the woman who Morlun is now threatening. Spider-Man comes at his enemy, using a lamp post to bludgeon him. However, this has as little effect on Morlun as his firsts did and Spider-Man is thrown against a wall again. The wall-crawler struggles to get up but is too weak. Quick thinking, he fires a web-line at a passing car and is pulled away from the scene. Meanwhile, Ezekiel is in the middle of a board meeting but can’t focus on what is being discussed as he is watching the city from out the board room window.
By this time, Spider-Man is on the waterfront and decides to use the last of his change to call his loved ones. He first tries calling Mary Jane but gets her voice mail and hangs up.[2] He then calls Aunt May to tell her that he loves her no matter what happens. With the operator telling him that he is almost out of time, Peter tells her that he needs to go and hangs up before she can get an explanation out of him. As he does so, his spider-sense starts screaming at him as Morlun is now right behind the wall-crawler. Spider-Man refuses to go down without a fight and launches a new attack but Morlun grabs him by the throat. However, before Morlun can kill Spider-Man, he is ambushed from behind by Ezekiel who realized he couldn’t stand back and let Peter die. When Ezekiel strikes Morlun in the face the blow manages to draw blood. The two spider-powered men manage to work in tandem attacking Morlun from all angles. Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, Morlun shrugs off their blows and eventually, he manages to grab Ezekiel. He begins draining Sims’ life force and then tosses him aside. As he falls into the water below, Ezekiel apologizes to Peter for not doing more to help.[3] Morlun then decides to give Spider-Man a bit of a break since while he digests the energy he took from Ezekiel. Spider-Man leaps into the water after his friend but finds no trace of Ezekiel.
When Spider-Man returns to the surface he finds that Morlun is gone and is about to write off Ezekiel’s sacrifice as a waste when he spots the drop of Morlun’s blood on the pier. Breaking off the section of the pier with the blood, Spider-Man swings back to his apartment where he examines the sample. He discovers that Morlun’s DNA is an amalgam of different animal cells that eventually break down, requiring him to feed on animal totems on a regular basis. The more pure the source, the more power Morlun has and the longer it lasts. Peter considers Ezekiel’s story about how Peter got his powers and doesn’t care if it’s true or not, regardless of how he got his powers, Peter’s powers are far from pure.[4]
Later, at the Southern New York Nuclear Power Plant, Spider-Man triggers a false alarm to get the facility staff to evacuate.[5] This allows Spider-Man to get access to the nuclear reactor so he can carry out his plan to take down Morlun.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Morlun, Ezekiel Sims, Aunt May, Joey Gladstone
Continuity Notes
Peter Parker started working as a teacher at Midtown High in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #31.
Peter and Mary Jane made the decision to spend some time apart in Amazing Spider-Man Annual 2001. This was after Mary Jane was held captive by a Stalker from Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #13 to 29.
Although it appears as though Ezekiel dies here, he turns up alive again next issue.
Ezekiel came to Peter in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #30 and suggested that Peter’s powers were passed on to him by the spider through mystical means as opposed to because it was irradiated. For you clueless people out there, we’re talking about the spider that bit Peter Parker back in Amazing Fantasy #15.
Two of the plant workers are talking about the science fiction series Babylon 5 as though it is a relatively new series. The show ran from 1994-1998. This is a tongue-in-cheek reference since the series was created by J. Michael Straczynski, who also wrote this run of Spider-Man. It’s mention here should be considered a topical reference as the plot elements that are discussed here, while unique for their time, is now ubiquitous among contemporary prestige television programs.
