Peter Parker: Spider-Man #14
Denial
Everyone is dealing with the death of Mary Jane Watson in different ways.[1] Aunt May tries to occupy her mind by cooking. Jill Stacy mourns the death of her best friend by crying over old photos. Joe Robertson and his with Martha find comfort from each other. For J. Jonah Jameson, it’s just another day and he runs his newsroom at the Daily Bugle with the same tyranny as ever. Still, everyone sheds a tear for Mary Jane from Flash Thompson to Ben Urich. While everyone else is grieving, the only one who is not mourning is Mary Jane’s husband, Peter Parker, who — as Spider-Man — is in the middle of trying to stop the Hulk’s latest rampage through New York City.[2] The Hulk demands to know why the wall-crawler keeps on attacking him. As he evades the Hulk’s blows, Spider-Man explains how innocent people could be hurt or killed by one of the Hulk’s rampage, just like a recent planeful of people.[3] Spider-Man then goes on to mock the gamma-spawned brute that he made a bad decision picking New York City as the place to go to be left alone. Unfortunately, Spider-Man’s luck runs out and the Hulk eventually manages to grab the wall-crawler in his hand.
Meanwhile, Aunt May is putting the finishing touches on the spread for Mary Jane’s wake. While lighting candles she pauses to look at a photo of Peter and Mary Jane and the match burns down enough to singe her fingers and set a pile of napkins on fire. As she is putting the flames out there is a knock at the door. Fearing what people would think, May is taken away to by the fact that all the mourners have come all at once. When Jill hugs May and tells her that they’re all here to help the exhausted old woman allows herself to cry as she thanks everyone for their support.
By this point, the Hulk has been punctuating each demand to be left alone by slamming Spider-Man through whatever surface is readily available. Getting the point, the web-head tries to convince the Hulk to let go of him so he can do just that. Prying loose from the Hulk’s grasp, Spider-Man shoots webbing into the man-monster’s eyes. Reflexively, the Hulk swats Spider-Man away sending him landing on a subway newspaper stand. While recovering from the blow, Spider-Man vows to stop the Hulk when he notices he is laying on a pile of newspapers with a front-page story about his wife. Unwilling to accept the fact that his wife is dead, Spider-Man refuses to accept it and soon becomes filled with rage. More determined than ever to stop the Hulk, Spider-Man leaps toward his foe just as the Hulk clears the webbing from his eyes.
Back at the wake, everyone wonders where Peter is and how he is handling the news. Seeing May continuing to serve people, Arthur Stacy makes her take a break and sit down. When he asks her about Peter, she expresses her concern telling them that he doesn’t eat in those few moments when he is home. That’s when the mourners who work for the Daily Bugle get alerts about Spider-Man’s battle with the Hulk and turn off their mobile devices, deciding that being here is more important than the news.[4]
At the scene of the battle, the Hulk has now decided that he is going to kill Spider-Man, something that doesn’t phase the wall-crawler, who has heard death threats before and is now sick of them. Spider-Man vows from now on that he is never going to let any villain threaten him or his loved ones ever again. Laying into the Hulk with all his strength, Spider-Man insists that Mary Jane is not dead, that she’ll come back, just like others in his life that were thought to be dead.[5] He keeps on whaling on the Hulk until his fists are bloody, refusing to believe that his wife is dead. Hearing this, the Hulk stops fighting and tells the Hulk that his own wife is dead and that he is sorry for his loss. and leaves.[6] Stunned by this revelation, Spider-Man then becomes aware of a coming train and realizes that the tracks were ruined during the fight. Weakened from the fight, Spider-Man races against time to repair the damage done in order to avoid an accident. With time running out, Spider-Man is surprised when the Hulk comes back to help. After the train passes, Spider-Man tries to thank the Hulk but the brute had since departed.
When Peter Parker finally returns home, all the guests are gone and Aunt May is doing the dishes. He apologizes for not making it to the wake but tells May that he doesn’t believe Mary Jane is dead and insists she’ll come back. Later that evening, Peter gets a phone call from someone who tells him that Mary Jane is still alive.
Recurring Characters
Spider-Man, Hulk, Aunt May, Jill Stacy, Arthur Stacy, J. Jonah Jameson, Joe Robertson, Martha Robertson, Flash Thompson, Betty Brant, Glory Grant, Liz Osborn, Anna Watson, Ben Urich
Continuity Notes
Everyone thinks Mary Jane died in a plane crash in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #13. In reality, she is a prisoner of a stalker as we’ll learn in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #29.
Peter and Mary Jane are referred to as husband and wife here. However, years later, their marriage is erased from existence by Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545.
The Hulk was accused of destroying a commercial airliner in Hulk #4. However, at the time of this story the Hulk was recently cleared of those charges in Hulk #11.
Jameson and the other Bugle employees are all depicted as having pagers. This should be considered a topical reference as these devices are considered an obsolete technology.
Spider-Man specifically mentions how Norman Osborn and his Aunt May had recently cheated death. For years, Norman Osborn was thought to have died on the business end of his goblin glider in Amazing Spider-Man #122. However, he survived thanks to the healing properties of his Goblin Formula as explained in Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal #1. He resurfaced in Amazing Spider-Man #412. Aunt May, also appeared to die in Amazing Spider-Man #400. However, she was actually replaced with a dying actress by Norman Osborn as part one of his many schemes against the Parkers. Spider-Man learned the truth and saved May in Spider-Man #97-98.
The Hulk’s wife was Betty Ross, whom everyone believes died in Incredible Hulk #466. However, her body is kept in suspended animation for a number of years. She’ll return twice. The first as part of a reality warp created by Nightmare that ran from Incredible Hulk (vol. 2) #34-81. She’ll return to life for real in Fall of the Hulks: Alpha #1.
